BADMINTON
Chou falls in quarter-finals
Taiwanese badminton ace Chou Tien-chen on Friday failed to reach the BWF World Championships men’s singles semi-finals in Switzerland, losing to Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen. The world No. 2 was defeated 16-21, 21-11, 14-21 in a quarter-final that lasted 71 minutes. Chou had defeated Wangcharoen in their previous four encounters dating back to August last year. In the first game in Switzerland, Chou opened up a 6-3 lead before an 8-8 stalemate, but the Taiwanese failed to keep up the pressure on Wangcharoen and finished 16-21. The 29-year-old jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the second game and protected his advantage the rest of the competition before putting his rival away. However, Chou fell behind early in the deciding game, trailing 2-3, and ultimately failed to fend off Wangcharoen. In the men’s doubles, Taiwanese duo Liao Min-chun and Su Ching-heng were ousted in the quarter-finals by Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia 17-21, 19-21.
CYCLING
Kittel announces retirement
German sprint specialist Marcel Kittel on Friday announced his retirement from the sport, saying that he lacked the commitment and drive that was necessary to remain a top athlete. The 31-year-old, who has 19 Grand Tour stage wins, including 14 on the Tour de France, in May terminated his contract with Katusha–Alpecin by mutual agreement to take a break from cycling. He joined the Swiss outfit last year, but never managed to reproduce the form that made him one of the world’s best sprinters, leading him to take some time out of cycling. “The biggest question of the last few months was: Can I and do I want to continue to make the sacrifices needed to be a world-class athlete?” Kittel said in a statement. “And my answer is: No, I do not want that any more, because I have always found the limitations on a top athlete as an increasing loss of quality of life... That is why I am very happy and proud that at this point in my life I can make the decision to follow my heart in a new direction.” Kittel’s last significant victory came last year in the sixth stage of the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico, while his last win on the Tour de France was in 2017.
SOCCER
Jordan lifts Sevilla to victory
Midfielder Joan Jordan on Friday scored in the second half to help Sevilla beat Granada 1-0 on the road and win their second La Liga match in as many rounds. Jordan, one of several summer signings by Sevilla, finished off a shot by Luuk de Jong that was blocked by a sliding defender after Jordan set up his striker in the 52nd minute. Granada, promoted this season, succeeded through their pressure to disarm Sevilla’s attack in the first half, but the hosts’ efforts waned after Jordan’s goal. “We are very motivated and I think we can get a lot better,” said Jordan, a former Sociedad Deportiva Eibar player. The visitors lost rightback Sergio Reguilon when he could not recover from a hard head knock with Granada’s Victor Diaz and was carried off on a stretcher in tears in the 18th minute. Sevilla are coached by former Spain and Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui. Elsewhere, Levante UD striker Roger Marti converted two second-half penalties to complete a 2-1 comeback win over Villarreal. Villarreal goalkeeper Andres Fernandez stopped the first penalty, but a video review revealed that Fernandez left his line too early and the penalty was retaken.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was