BADMINTON
Trio make semi-finals
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, Chou Tien-chen and Wang Tzu-wei kept their hopes of winning at the Korea Open alive, advancing to the semi-finals in Incheon, South Korea, yesterday. World No. 1 Tai won 24-22, 22-20 against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia in their women’s singles quarter-final and faces world No. 6 Ratchanok Intanon for a spot in the final. Chou, who is seeded third in the tournament, beat Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia 21-18, 21-9 in the men’s singles. The two started aggressively, remaining neck and neck until 8-8, when Chou seized the initiative by taking the next three points. The Taiwanese widened the gap with a separate five-point run and remained in front to close out the first game. In the second game, Chou gained the upper hand early and gave his opponent no chance to rally, losing only nine points before finishing the match in 39 minutes. In his semi-final, Chou faces Wang, who defeated Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 21-10, 15-21, 21-13.
GOLF
Hur Mi-jung leads Indy
Hur Mi-jung shot a nine-under 63 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Indy Women in Tech Championship. Hur had a bogey-free round at the Brickyard Crossing course in Indiana, the layout that features four holes inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. “I was trying to keep on being present,” Hur said. “That’s the key to play good today... If you think about the future, mess up everything. It’s really hard to do it, but that’s my goal for the whole year.” England’s Bronte Law was two strokes back alongside Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Japan’s Sakura Yokomine. Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun was in a share of 23rd after a three-under-par round of 69, while Hsu Wei-ling was below the projected cut with a 73.
SOCCER
Belotti brace guides Torino
Torino Skipper Andrea Belotti’s quick-fire second-half double, including a sensational overhead-kick in front of goal, sealed a 2-1 comeback win in Serie A over AC Milan on Thursday. Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek had put Milan ahead from the spot after 18 minutes at the Stadio Olimpico. However, in four-minute spell, Belotti sealed all three points for Walter Mazzarri’s side. “We didn’t want to lose a third in a row,” Belotti said.
SOCCER
FIFA mulls Iran trip
FIFA is weighing sending a delegation to Tehran to make sure female fans are admitted to the World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Cambodia on Oct. 10. Former France World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff told reporters on Thursday that he would be part of any delegation. “Iran is a hot topic and I am organizing myself to be there on October 10,” Djorkaeff said. It was his first interview since his appointment a week ago as chief executive officer of the FIFA Foundation, whose objectives include making soccer more accessible to women in the Middle East. The presence of a delegation is important “to show that FIFA intervened there with conviction,” he said. On Sunday, Gianni Infantino, president of the governing body of world soccer, said he had been “assured” by Iran that women could attend the match. Iranian women have been banned from stadiums since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
Italian Luca de Aliprandini described Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom at Val d’Isere as the hardest race of his life, coming two days after his Swiss partner Michelle Gisin suffered a heavy fall in training which required neck surgery. De Aliprandini finished 26th in the men’s event won by Loic Meillard, but the result paled into insignificance with two-time Olympic ski champion Gisin in hospital with injuries to her wrist, knee and cervical spine (neck). “It was Michelle’s wish that I race here. I couldn’t say no to her, but it was the toughest race of my entire life,” an emotional De
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
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