GOLF
Jutanugarn and Yang lead
Local player Ariya Jutanugarn shared the lead at the Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi after yesterday’s first found, shooting a six-under-par 66 to sit alongside South Korea’s Amy Yang. Four players were in a share of third on 67: Kim Sei-young of South Korea, Feng Shanshan of China, Minjee Lee of Australia and Ryann O’Toole of the US. The two Taiwanese in the field were both over-par. Yani Tseng was one-over after a 73 for a share of 44th, while Candie Kung was tied for 58th after a 75.
CRICKET
India take nine wickets
Australia finished day 1 of the first Test against India on 256-9 on a turning pitch at the Maharashtra Stadium in Pune yesterday. The visitors chose to bat, with openers David Warner (38) and Matt Renshaw (68) providing a solid start, but regular wickets in the second half of the day undid their efforts. Mitchell Starc, who was undefeated on 57, provided a late lift with a flurry of boundaries. Umesh Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 4-32.
RUGBY UNION
Ioane dominates opener
Rieko Ioane ran riot as the Auckland Blues stamped their attacking intent on the new Super Rugby season with a 56-18 win in the opening match against the Melbourne Rebels in Australia yesterday. Ioane ran in three tries — with the best being a solo run from 30m out to beat three defenders with pace and power — as the visitors skipped away in the second half after leading 25-15 at the break. Pauliasi Manu, Matt Duffie, Augustine Pulu and Melani Nanai also crossed for Auckland, with Ihaia West kicking 18 points and Piers Francis three. For the Rebels, Nic Stirzaker and Jackson Garden-Bachop scored tries, Garden-Bachop hit one conversion and Reece Hodge kicked two penalties.
BASKETBALL
Yao Ming named CBA head
Former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming yesterday was elected president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The 36-year-old, China’s most successful basketball export, became the first non-government official to lead the sport’s national governing body, Xinhua news agency said. Yao was confirmed as president at a CBA congress in Beijing, a report posted on the association’s microblogging account said. Local media said he was elected unanimously. The 2.29m Shanghai-born player was the top overall draft pick in 2002 and played nine seasons for the Rockets until retiring in 2011 after injuries began taking their toll. “After being regrouped as a full-fledged non-governmental organization, we have to better study our own situation while learning from overseas expertise to work out our way to develop the game in China,” the China Daily quoted him as saying at the congress.
BOXING
Pacquiao, Khan in talks
Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao on Thursday said he was “in negotiations” to face British fighter Amir Khan, after weeks of conflicting reports over his next bout. “My team and I are in negotiations with Amir Khan for our next fight. Further announcements coming soon,” Pacquiao, 38, said on Twitter. Pacquiao’s post follows various accounts from different sources over who he will be facing next and where the fight will be held.
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
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
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier