BASEBALL
Taiwan pitch perfect game
Taiwan pitched a perfect game at the Asian Baseball Championship on Saturday, beating Pakistan 15-0 to face South Korea yesterday. Taiwan’s starter, Lin Yu-ching, and relief pitchers Lai Hung-cheng and Kuan Ta-yuan did not allow any hits and none of the Pakistani batters got on base. In addition, Taiwan made no errors. The game ended early in the seventh inning, shortened from the regular nine-inning game. Taiwan, which lost to Japan in the opening game and defeated the Philippines on Nov. 29, was standing at 2-1, behind Japan and South Korea, both of which have clinched three victories. Team manager Hsieh Chang-heng said it had not been decided who the starting pitcher would be in the game against South Korea. If Taiwan want to remain in competition for the championship, they need to win their next two games against South Korea and China.
ATHLETICS
Gitau wins in Fukuoka
Kenyan runner Joseph Gitau outpaced Polish Olympian Henryk Szost to take the lead for the last 8km and secure a surprise win in the Fukuoka international marathon yesterday. The Japan-based 24-year-old, who belongs to the JFE Steel athletics club in Hiroshima, clipped nearly 15 minutes off his personal best of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 54 seconds to cross the finishing line in 2:06:58. Japan’s Hiroyuki Horibata failed to clear the bottom line to qualify for the world championships next year, finishing second in 2:08:24, while Szost, ninth in the London Olympics, came third in 2:08:42. Ethiopian running legend Haile Gebrselassie, the Fukuoka champion in 2006, abandoned the race shortly after passing the 32km point. Gitau and Szost then took the lead ahead of Horibata, Martin Mathathi of Kenya and Arata Fujiwara of Japan after passing the 33km mark, before Gitau took the sole lead from 34km.
HOCKEY
England beat Germany
Adam Dixon and Harry Martin scored early first-half goals four minutes apart as England beat London Olympic gold medal winners Germany 4-1 at the Champions Trophy men’s field hockey tournament yesterday. England led 3-1 at halftime of the Pool A match after own goals by each team, then added the only goal of the second half after Germany’s Niklas Grell was sent off after receiving his second yellow card. Earlier in Pool B, Pakistan’s Abdul Haseem Khan scored in the 56th minute and Shafqat Rasool added a goal into an empty goal in the final minute to secure a 2-0 win over Belgium.
CYCLING
Beef man now president
The Spanish cycling federation (RFEC) has elected Jose Luis Lopez Cerron, the man who delivered the beef to Alberto Contador that the rider said led to him testing positive for clenbuterol in 2010, as its new president. Lopez Cerron, a former professional cyclist and organizer of Spain’s Tour of Castilla and Leon, was voted in at an assembly in Madrid on Saturday, the RFEC said on its Web site. The 56-year-old bought the allegedly contaminated meat in Irun, a town on Spain’s border, before taking it to Astana’s team hotel in Pau, France, where it was eaten by Contador on the 2010 Tour de France’s second rest day. The rider, who has since switched to Team Saxo-Tinkoff, went on to win the race, but his subsequent positive test for clenbuterol, a banned substance, led to him being stripped of the title, his third victory after triumphs in 2007 and 2009. He was banned for two years and returned in August to win the Tour of Spain.
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
LIKE FINE WINE: Thirty-eight-year-old Djokovic won his 101st title of his career in Athens, becoming the oldest tournament winner since Ken Roswell, 44, in 1977 Elena Rybakina on Saturday clinched her biggest title since Wimbledon in 2022, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (7/0) at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The world No. 6 put on yet another serving masterclass and was at her returning best as she became the first Kazakh and the first player representing an Asian country to lift the WTA Finals singles trophy. Having gone 3-0 in round-robin play, Rybakina earned a record US$5.235 million and would finish the year ranked No. 5 in the world. “It’s been an incredible week, I honestly didn’t expect any result, and to go so far,
EMPTY STANDS: Maccabi fans were banned from attending by police, who cited violence and hate crimes when the team played Ajax in Amsterdam last season Aston Villa beat Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 on Thursday in a Europa League game played amid heightened security measures, with more than 700 police officers deployed to deal with possible protests. Morgan Rogers put through Ian Maatsen in first-half stoppage time for the defender to score from a tight angle and Villa doubled the lead on the hour with Donyell Malen hitting the bottom corner from the penalty spot. It was Villa’s third win from games in the competition. The game at Villa Park had become the center of a political debate after Maccabi fans were banned from attending, as
Bjorn Werner on Saturday signed everything thrust in front of him by NFL fans who packed a Berlin plaza. His old Indianapolis Colts jersey — it is a best-seller in Germany — footballs, scarves, miniature helmets. Even a cleat. Werner’s NFL career ended after three seasons because of injuries, but he has become a star in his home country as a TV commentator and media personality. He cohosts a popular podcast, has a big social media presence and is credited with helping popularize the sport in Germany. As the former first-round draft pick waded through throngs of fans, he looked around and took
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