Sports officials and fans on Saturday congratulated Taiwan’s Chen Chien-an and Cheng I-ching for winning the mixed doubles silver at the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Duesseldorf, Germany.
It was the best showing in the mixed doubles category for Taiwan at the championships.
Chiang and Chen won the championship bronze in Zagreb, Croatia in 2007, and bronze in Manchester, England in 1997.
Photo: AFP
Chen Chien-an and Chuan Chih-yuan won the men’s doubles after defeating Hong Kong duo Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem in the semi-final by four games to three.
Chen and Cheng took a 3-1 lead in the best of seven final, but Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura and Kasumi Ishikawa came from behind to claim the victory with 4-3.
“I got upset at myself for letting it slip when we were leading by 3-1. We could have done better, but the title slipped away from us,” Chen said. “The Japanese duo made their rally in the fifth game, when they increased the pace and made many drop shots and changes to their plays. They took the initiative and we had to react to their attack, then we got behind and had to catch up, but they did not let up.”
Photo: EPA
In the men’s singles, Taiwan’s Chuang Chih-yuan ended his tournament in the final 16, losing to China’s Ma Lung, who is top-ranked in this category.
Chuang was defeated 8-11, 11-13, 1-11, 6-11, ending Taiwan’s medal hopes for the tournament.
Manchester City have confirmed defender Josko Gvardiol suffered a broken leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Gvardiol was one of two City centerbacks who went off injured in the second half, along with Ruben Dias, before Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equalizer for the visitors. The draw left second-placed City six points behind English Premier League leaders Arsenal. City, announcing Gvardiol sustained a tibial fracture to his right leg, added in a statement issued on Monday: “The defender will have surgery later this week and assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka yesterday got her season off to a winning start for Japan in the United Cup, after the UK’s Emma Raducanu pulled out of their singles clash with a fitness issue, while in Brisbane, Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Wu Fang-hsien crashed out of the women’s doubles. In Perth, despite Osaka’s win, the UK took the match 2-1 with a deciding mixed doubles victory. Osaka was too strong for reserve and 276th-ranked Katie Swan, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 as Raducanu watched from the sidelines. “I’m proud of how I fought,” Osaka said. “I’d never played here, it was tough.” Britain
Bangladesh will not play their Twenty20 World Cup matches in India after Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League team amid growing tensions between the countries, Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul said on Sunday. Kolkata Knight Riders said on Saturday they had released the Bangladeshi bowler after being told to do so by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Bangladesh are scheduled to play three Twenty20 World Cup matches in Kolkata next month, with the Feb. 7-March 8 tournament being cohosted by India and Sri Lanka. “Bangladesh will not go to India to play the