BASEBALL
Chen to start in opener
Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly on Sunday named Taiwanese left-hander Chen Wei-yin as their opening game starting pitcher for this year’s MLB season. Chen is to take the mound in a season opener for the first time in his North American career when the National League Marlins host the American League’s Detroit Tigers on April 5. The 30-year-old southpaw signed a five-year deal worth US$80 million with Miami in the off-season after spending his first four North American seasons with the American League’s Baltimore Orioles. Chen, the Orioles’ first player from Taiwan, went 11-8 with a 3.34 ERA last season and overall in Baltimore was 46-32 with a 3.72 ERA and 547 strikeouts. Chen played for Taiwan in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and spent eight seasons with the Japan League’s Chunichi Dragons from 2004 through 2011.
BASEBALL
Ball strikes Liriano in face
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Rymer Liriano was stretchered off and taken to a hospital after being struck a horrifying blow to the face while batting against Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Matt West in a pre-season game on Sunday. West’s pitch in the eighth inning struck Liriano flush on the left side of his face, just below the brim of his batting helmet and he crumpled to the ground, his arms and legs flailing. Team trainers and medical staff tended him before he was immobilized then driven off the field to a waiting ambulance and taken to a hospital. “Rymer Liriano suffered multiple facial fractures during today’s game and will remain in the hospital for further testing and observation,” the Brewers wrote on Twitter late on Sunday. Earlier, Brewers manager Craig Counsell had said that Liriano was conscious, but added: “It’s serious. He got hit in the head. I can’t give you many details.”
ATHLETICS
Kotlyarova fails drug test
Russian 400m runner Nadezhda Kotlyarova said she has tested positive for the banned substance meldonium. Kotlyarova tells Russia’s Tass agency that she failed a drug test at last month’s Russian indoor championships and is protesting her innocence. She said the spate of positive tests for the endurance-boosting meldonium, which was added to the banned list from Jan. 1, is “injustice,” adding that she intends “to see this situation out to the end.” Kotlyarova, 26, raced at last year’s world championships in Beijing, reaching the semi-finals, and was also part of the Russian relay team that won silver in the 4x400m at the 2013 European indoor championships.
CRICKET
Bangladesh appeal ban
Bangladesh have appealed to cricket’s world governing body to lift the suspension on paceman Taskin Ahmed, who was ruled out of the ongoing World Twenty20 in India due to an illegal action. Taskin and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny were on Saturday suspended from bowling in international cricket after being reported by match officials following Bangladesh’s qualifying match against the Netherlands in Dharamsala, India, on March 9. While Sunny’s elbow extension for the majority of his deliveries exceeded the 15o limit, not all of Taskin’s balls were found to be legal, the International Cricket Council said while announcing their suspensions. Bangladesh, who came through the qualifiers to reach the Super 10 stage, lost to Pakistan in their opening Group Two match on Wednesday last week.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at