TAEKWONDO
Taiwan’s Chuang wins gold
Taiwan’s Chuang Chia-chia on Friday won the nation’s first gold medal in the WTF World Taekwondo Championships since 2007, beating Olympic silver medalist Nur Tatar of Turkey 5-0 in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Competing in the under-67kg weight class, Chuang solidified her 1-0 lead in the third round after a tie in the first. Chuang’s personal best until now was a silver medal in the previous world championships in 2013. She won her first world championship gold a day after her 26th birthday, boosting her hopes of competing in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next year. Sung Yu-chi was the most recent Taiwanese athlete to win a world championships gold medal, in Beijing in 2007, in the men’s 68kg weight class.
GOLF
Espana leads Espana Open
Edouard Espana of France shot a three-under-69 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the Open de Espana. Espana made four birdies to go with one bogey, despite strong winds sweeping the Real Club de Golf El Prat course near Barcelona, leaving him at seven-under 137 and one stroke ahead of Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez. Espana is Spanish for Spain, making the French player a suitable leader for this particular tournament. “I’m leading an open with my name everywhere, so it’s very cool,” Espana said. Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez made his second hole-in-one of the season and the ninth of his European Tour career on the eighth hole. Jimenez’s ace equaled Colin Montgomerie’s European Tour record. The 51-year-old Jimenez sat six shots back.
OLYMPICS
NZ win sevens spot
New Zealand became the second team to qualify for the debut of women’s rugby sevens at the Olympics next year when they reached the quarter-finals of the fifth round of the Women’s Sevens Series in London. The reigning world champions suffered a shock first defeat in 38 matches in a group game against Spain on Friday, but recovered to beat France in the final game of the day and clinch a spot in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil qualify automatically as hosts. The top four from the Women’s Sevens Series, which has one more round to go after London, qualify automatically for the Olympics. New Zealand, Canada, Australia and France occupied those spots going into the London round, but the US, England and Russia are still in the hunt.
RUGBY UNION
Head injury rule changed
Players who suffer head injuries during this year’s World Cup in England are to be allowed a temporary substitute while they undergo a medical assessment, the sport’s global governing body announced on Friday. World Rugby said it was adopting temporary substitutions for head injuries at the elite level into its full-time law book on Aug. 1, just over a month before the start of the World Cup after what World Rugby said were “overwhelmingly positive results” during a global trial period. World Rugby head medical officer Martin Raftery said: “As someone who has been involved as a team doctor in elite sport for more than 25 years, I firmly believe that medical management of concussion in rugby has never been stronger.” Officials cited research from last year’s British Journal of Sports Medicine which said that prior to the temporary substitution rule, 56 percent of players with a confirmed concussion remained on the field following their injury, with the figure now under 12 percent.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and