YOUTH OLYMPICS
Lin Yun-ju misses medal
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju missed out on a medal at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday, losing 4-3 to Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan in his table tennis semi-final and then missing out by the same scoreline against Kanak Jha of the US. Lin took the first game against Harimoto and lost the next three to be on the verge of elimination, but rallied in games 5 and 6 to set up a decider, which the Japanese took 11-6. Lin still had a shot at bronze, but repeated the pattern against Jha by taking the first game, falling behind, rallying and losing in the decider. Wang Chuqin of China won the gold medal. Meanwhile, tennis player Tseng Chun-hsin of Taiwan exited in the men’s singles, beaten in straight sets by Facundo Diaz Acosta. The Argentine won 6-2, 6-4 in 67 minutes. It was a similarly poor result in the doubles, with Tseng and partner Ray Ho ousted by Diaz Acosta and partner Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-2.
GOLF
Hataoka leads in S Korea
Nasa Hataoka of Japan yesterday fired a seven-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the KEB Hana Bank Championship in South Korea. Hataoka had eight birdies through 16 holes to reach eight-under, but then dropped a shot at 17. Danielle Kang and Charley Hull were two shots back on a chilly, windy day at the Sky 72 Ocean Course. Minjee Lee trailed by three. Two Taiwanese were further back, with Hsu Wei-ling in a share of 38th with a round of 74 ans Chien Pei-yun in a share of 54th after a 76.
GOLF
Taiwan’s Pan third on day 1
Pan Cheng-tsung’s eight birdies yesterday helped the Taiwanese to a share of third at the the CIMB Classic, with Bronson Burgoon of the US leading after a nine-under-par 63. At the revamped TPC Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the 31-year-old Burgoon chipped in for an eagle on the 18th hole, his ninth after starting from the 10th tee, and then added five birdies on his back nine. That gave him a one-shot lead over compatriot Austin Cook on a low-scoring first day, with Billy Horschel also in third at seven-under par with Pan and Scott Piercy. Pan sank five birdies on the front nine, but only three on the back nine and a bogey on 11 hampered his charge.
RUGBY UNION
Australia backs revamp
Australia has thrown its weight behind a radical revamp of the international calendar that would have the world’s top 12 nations all playing each other once every year in a bid to improve revenue. World Rugby chief executive officer Brett Gosper on Wednesday told Sydney newspaper the Daily Telegraph that the game’s global governing body was studying the feasibility of the proposal, which was revealed by vice chairman Agustin Pichot last month. “Certainly the southern hemisphere are keen to make sure that we’re working more closely with our northern hemisphere colleagues and it’s not an us-and-them scenario, it’s actually how can we work together to make sure we maximize the opportunities for the game of rugby as a whole,” Rugby Australia head Raelene Castle told broadcaster Fox Sports. “Yeah absolutely, Rugby Australia’s onboard and we’re very open to the conversations that are happening at a World Rugby level.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB