CRICKET
Hendricks ton leads S Africa
Reeza Hendricks smashed a century on his one-day international debut to guide South Africa to a 78-run victory over Sri Lanka in the third match in Pallekele yesterday. Hendricks, whose 89-ball 102 gave the visitors strength after being put into bat first, became only the third South African to register a ton in his first ODI. Colin Ingram and Temba Bavuma are the other two. Jean-Paul Duminy’s 92 off 70 deliveries helped South Africa to 363-7. Sri Lanka made 285 all out in reply, with Dhananjaya de Silva’s 84 the only substantial contribution.
CRICKET
Bangladesh level series
A fine all-round performance by Shakib al Hasan lifted Bangladesh to a series-leveling 12-run win over the West Indies in the second fixture of a three-match T20 International series at the Central Broward Stadium in Florida on Saturday. Shakib belted 60 and senior opener Tamim Iqbal topscored with 74 as Bangladesh posted a 171-5 after they were put in to bat. The captain then claimed the important wickets of Marlon Samuels and opposing skipper Carlos Brathwaite as the Caribbean side were restricted to 159-9 in reply.
GOLF
Bhullar wins in Fiji
A late chip-in eagle saw India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar hold off a charging Anthony Quayle to claim the Fiji International by one stroke yesterday. Bhullar began the final day at the Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course with a one-shot lead, but found himself trailing late in the day as the Australian Quayle came home in 29 and set the target at 13-under. However, the eagle on the 17th moved Bhullar back into the lead and he held his nerve to par the last and sign in for a 66 and a one-shot victory over Quayle, who finished with a final-round 63. Taiwan’s Hung Chien-yao finished in a share of 60th.
GOLF
Justin Thomas zooms ahead
Justin Thomas turned on the jets midway through the third round and opened a three-stroke lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, on Saturday. A week before defending his title at the PGA Championship, Thomas carded a 3-under 67 after starting the day tied for the lead with Englishmen Ian Poulter and Tommy Fleetwood. The American gathered five birdies in nine holes from the sixth en route to a 14-under 196 total with one round left at the Firestone Country Club.
GOLF
Phatlum maintains lead
Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum recorded her first bogey of the championship at the Women’s British Open on Saturday and ended the third round as she started it, with a one-stroke lead in Lancashire. Apart from her lone hiccup, Phatlum continued her relentless accuracy off the tee and into the green, carding a composed three-under-par 69 at Royal Lytham & St Annes. However, she could not break clear of England’s Georgia Hall, who sank a 10-foot birdie at the last hole to also shoot 69 and keep the heat firmly on the leader. Taiwan’s Phoebe Yao was in a share of ninth after a 67, five shots off the lead, as was Teresa Lu (73). Farther back, Hsu Wei-ling was in a share of 47th, having begun her fourth round just before press time last night.
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
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
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
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two