SOCCER
Lee spot-kick rescues point
Taiwan captain Lee Meng-chian scored a penalty 10 minutes from time against hosts Myanmar to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw in Group A of AFC Challenge Cup qualifying on Monday. With group favorites India making it two wins out of two with a 4-0 win over Guam in the earlier match, the pressure was on the hosts and they looked to be heading for the win they needed when forward Soe Kyaw Kyaw found the back of the net in the 18th minute. However, in the 80th minute the referee awarded Taiwan a penalty, which was successfully converted by Lee to earn Taiwan their first point of the tournament being held at the Yangon Youth Training Center. Taiwan face Guam today in their final group match.
CRICKET
India crush Australia
India won the second Test against Australia in Hyderabad yesterday by an innings and 135 runs, with Ravichandran Ashwin taking 5-53 as Australia were bowled out for 131 in their second innings. “India deserve a lot of credit,” Australia captain Michael Clarke said. “They outplayed us in every facet of the game. There is no doubt we have a lot of work to do. In all facets of the game. There will certainly be no stone left unturned. The batsmen haven’t put enough runs on, and there is no excuse for that. There will be no break between the Test matches. There will be a lot of hard work, I can assure you. You don’t get better sitting on the couch. We have had guys get in and out without making big scores. That’s unacceptable.” The third Test starts on Thursday next week.
BASKETBALL
Lin to play in Philippines
Taiwanese-American NBA star Jeremy Lin and the Houston Rockets are set to face the Indiana Pacers in a pre-season game in the Philippines in October, according to a report on Monday. Neither club nor the NBA has commented on the report, but NBA Philippines Facebook and Twitter accounts have posted messages with the league logo and the phrase “Big Things Are Coming,” with an announcement date of yesterday. The same logo is also found on the Web site of the Mall of Asia arena, where InterAKTV reported the first-ever NBA pre-season exhibition game will match the Rockets and Pacers on Oct. 10. Basketball is popular in the Philippines and Filipino fans have had a taste of NBA talent as recently as 2011 when Kobe Bryant and other top players were there while the league was shut down in a money dispute between players and club owners. No NBA club has played in the Philippines since the Washington Bullets toured Asia in 1979.
TRIATHLON
Alcatraz competitor dies
For the first time in its 33-year history, a participant in the world-renowned “Escape from Alcatraz” triathlon has died. The death of Ross Ehlinger, 46, on Sunday during the swimming portion of the event — held in a frigid San Francisco Bay amid 1.8m swells and a powerful outgoing tide — raised questions about what effect the tough conditions had. This year’s event was held on Sunday rather than in June to accommodate the America’s Cup sailing race. The answer appears to be that the father of three from Austin, Texas, may have had an underlying health problem exposed in an especially grueling triathlon. The San Francisco medical examiner is still investigating the cause of death, but race organizers and a heart surgeon who participated in the race speculated that the attorney succumbed to an underlying health problem, rather than being a victim exclusively of the conditions or drowning.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was