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.
“I don’t remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that’s the first thing I loved,” two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball. However, that journey unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity — a reality he confronted throughout his career. At 175cm, Thomas is less than 2cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood at about 200cm on average. Compared with the NBA’s average career length of less than five years, Thomas’ 13-season career stands out as
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties, but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco. Now, the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides. On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. “The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football [CAF] decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident said.
Top seeded Jessica Pegula on Friday once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three of her matches at the tournament so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the US took 2 hours, 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets and broke early for a 2-0 lead
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