TABLE TENNIS
Chuang edged by Mizutani
World No. 9 Chuang Chih-yuan of Taiwan fell just short of the title at an invitational men’s table tennis tournament in Greater Kaohsiung on Sunday, losing 4-0 to Japan’s Jun Mizutani in the event’s title match. Mizutani won US$40,000 in prize money and Chuang won US$20,000 in the US$105,000 tournament held in the K-Arena. Mizutani only managed to beat the 32-year-old Chuang 4-3 in a match on Saturday, but the Taiwanese player unable to muster as much resistance in the final. Chuang had earned a shot at the title by beating Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany 4-1 in the semi-finals earlier in the day.
SOCCER
Lewandowski pledges best
Robert Lewandowski attempted to reassure Borussia Dortmund fans on Sunday that he is fully committed to their Bundesliga ambitions, despite having already agreed to move to bitter rivals Bayern Munich at the end of the season. The Polish international took to social media to tell supporters that he will “give everything to BVB [Dortmund]... I want to address you directly. I have six months left here during which we all have the objective of achieving together.” The 25-year-old is the joint top-scorer in the Bundesliga this season with 11 goals. “Even if some of you do not agree with my decision, I hope to have your support. I will give everything for BVB,” he said. Lewandowski had a deal with the club only until June. “We have known for a long time that Robert will be playing for another club in the summer. The confirmation of the transfer changes nothing,” Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said.
BASKETBALL
Clippers’ Paul out injured
All-Star point guard Chris Paul will be sidelined for up to six weeks because of a separated right shoulder, but will not require surgery, the Los Angeles Clippers said on Sunday. The Clippers announced the prognosis after Paul, 28, had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam earlier in the day and was re-evaluated by team doctors. Paul incurred the injury during the third quarter of the Clippers’ 119-112 win against the Mavericks in Dallas, Texas, on Friday when he tripped over guard Monta Ellis. He has since been diagnosed with a joint separation and “will be out up to six weeks,” the Clippers said in a statement. Paul, a six-time All-Star, has appeared in 34 games for the high-flying Clippers this season, averaging 19.6 points, a league-high 11.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds.
SKIING
Shiffrin rebounds in Bormio
Mikaela Shiffrin recovered her winning ways in Bormio, Italy, on Sunday to boost the US women’s team, as doubts over Lindsey Vonn’s fitness for next month’s Winter Olympics intensified. The slalom world champion beat in-form Swede Maria Pietilae-Holmner and France’s Nastasja Noens to emerge as the US women’s team’s best chance of a gold medal in Sochi, Russia. Asked if she would be the only female US contender at the Games, Shiffrin said: “I’m sure the speed team will return to form in January, but at the same time, we all race for ourselves.” Shiffrin was 12th in Courchevel, France, and second to Marlies Schild in Lienz, Austria, after clinching the season’s inaugural FIS World Cup slalom in Finland in November last year. At the finish area in Bormio, US Ski Team coaches Patrick Riml and Alex Hoedelmoser said defending Olympic downhill champion Vonn might not be seen back in action before the Games. “Her knee is very swollen and it’s impossible for her to consider skiing for now,” Hoedlmoser said.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but