SHOOTING
Lin qualifies for Tokyo
Taiwa’s Lin Ying-shin on Wednesday bagged a bronze medal in the 10m women’s air rifle event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, securing an Olympic spot in the process. Lin, 20, with a score of 628.9 qualified for the final, where she scored 229.9 for third place. India’s Elavenil Valarivan and Seonaid McIntosh of England claimed gold and silver. With her bronze, Lin becomes Taiwan’s third markswoman, after Tien Chia-chen and Wu Chia-ying, to secure a place at the Tokyo Games. Tien last year placed fourth in the women’s 25m air pistol event at the ISSF World Championship in Changwon, South Korea, and Wu in February won the 10m air pistol silver at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi.
TENNIS
Federer backs prize sharing
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that he would fight to ensure a bigger share of the prize pot for lower-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The prize money for players at the top of the sport has improved significantly since he began playing, but that is not the case at the other end, he said. Having been elected to the ATP Player Council this month, Federer said that a higher percentage of revenue from ATP tournaments could be used to improve the earnings of players who fail to make it to the main draw. “If there should be increases it shouldn’t be at the top anymore,” he said. Men’s and women’s champions at Flushing Meadows earn US$3.85 million each, while the first-round appearance fee is US$58,000. It is important to ensure that promising players do not fade away due to financial constraints, Federer added.
BASKETBALL
Warriors top China charts
Golden State Warriors continue to be the most popular NBA franchise online in China for a third consecutive year, according to an annual report on the teams’ digital performance. The NBA Red Card report, which was released yesterday by digital marketing agency Mailman, measures online influence using a number of performance metrics, including growth in followers and engagement on Chinese social media. The Warriors claimed the top spot ahead of the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. Former Raptors point guard Jeremy Lin, who this week secured a move to China’s Beijing Ducks, was the most popular player. NBA teams gained a cumulative 47 million new followers on Chinese social media last season. Mailman CEO Andrew Collins said that the NBA’s move to allow the franchises to sell international sponsorship rights would further boost their brand in the Chinese market.
AUTO RACING
‘Fastest woman’ crashes
Driver Jessi Combs, considered the “fastest woman on four wheels,” was killed in a car accident trying to break her own record, police said on Wednesday. Combs’s jet car crashed on Tuesday in the Alvord Desert in Oregon, where she was pronounced dead at the scene, officers said in a statement. Combs, 39, earned her title in 2013 when she hit 641kph. Combs, who also appeared on various TV shows, previously tried to break her record in October last year. According to industry media, she was able to exceed her previous speed to reach 777kph, but a mechanical problem meant the record could not be validated.
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite