GOLF
Bae faces military issue
The burgeoning USPGA Tour career of South Korean golfer Bae Sang-moon appears on hold after the 28-year-old was ordered to return home to complete military service. Bae, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, had his overseas travel permit extension request rejected by the South Korean Military Manpower Administration, the Yonhap news agency reported on Monday, quoting his mother. The world No. 84, who has qualified to compete in the US Masters in April, must return to South Korea at the end of January or he could risk criminal charges as his current permit expires in the coming days, his mother added. All South Korean men between 18 and 35 must complete two years of military service, with the country still technically at war with North Korea after a peace treaty went unsigned following the 1950-1953 Korean War. Bae, who won the Frys.Com Open in October, is the highest ranked South Korean golfer and would be expected to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 when the sport makes its return to the Olympics.
BASKETBALL
Prices rise on coach rumor
The prospect of spotting Jim Harbaugh, reported to be on the brink of becoming the University of Michigan’s next football coach, has caused ticket prices to more than double for the school’s basketball game tonight. Harbaugh, 51, who mutually agreed to part ways with the San Francisco 49ers following four National Football League seasons and a Super Bowl appearance last year, will be introduced today at his Ann Arbor, Michigan, alma mater, ESPN reported, citing a person who spoke with the school’s top boosters. The university issued a statement late yesterday saying interim athletic director Jim Hackett would have a news conference today at noon “to make a major announcement regarding Michigan football.” The average resale price paid in the past few days for a ticket to the Wolverines Big Ten conference basketball opener against Illinois was US$116, more than twice the US$48 average paid last week, according to secondary market ticket aggregator SeatGeek.
YACHTING
‘Wild Rose’ wins handicap
The Wild Rose was yesterday named the overall winner of the Sydney to Hobart race, following doubts about the results after some boats diverted to search for a crashed light plane. Supermaxi Wild Oats XI on Sunday won a record eighth line honors title, becoming the most successful yacht in the history of the 628 nautical mile (1,163km) competition when it crossed the line in 2 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes and 26 seconds late on Monday. Wild Rose, which was also formerly named Wild Oats, won the handicap honors with a corrected race time of 3 days, 10 hours, 47 minutes and 43 seconds. The handicap honors take into account the size, weight and length of each boat and the time they took to complete the race.
SKI JUMPING
Kraft outpoints Cup leader
Stefan Kraft of Austria won the opening event of ski jumping’s Four Hills tour in Oberstdorf, Germany, on Monday after it was postponed for a day because of bad weather conditions. Kraft soared 136.5m for the first-round lead and held his nerve with a jump of 129m in the second. He finished with 291.9 points, 6.9 more than compatriot Michael Hayboeck, who jumped 137.5m and 132.5m. Hayboeck took the overall World Cup lead by 1 point from Norway’s Anders Fannemel, who placed sixth with 270.7 points. Slovenia’s Peter Prevc was third, with 283.9 points.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set