■Cricket
Sri Lanka ties W Indies
Sri Lanka and the West Indies President's XI played to a draw Monday in their three-day practice match despite a polished half century knock from Ryan Hinds. The discarded West Indies middle-order batsman hit 83 as the President's XI was dismissed for 296 replying to Sri Lanka's score of 299. The 22-year-old had good support from captain Daren Ganga (54) and wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh (43). Hinds, who had sent down 25 overs in the Sri Lankans first innings and took 1-30, batted with assurance against the mixed spin and pace attack at Arnos Vale in St. Vincent. He reached his 50 in 167 minutes off 154 balls and struck two fours. He shared in successive half-century partnerships with Ganga and Baugh. The West Indies plays its first test against Sri Lanka, starting Friday in St. Lucia.
■ Soccer
Nakata wardrobe watched
All of Japan's youths are eagerly watching what Hidetoshi Nakata is going to do next at the Confederations Cup. No, not on the field, but with his wardrobe, his hair, his travel accessories. The 26-year-old Parma midfielder is one of the leading trendsetters in Japan, as famous for his threads as his treads. "Nakata is the top fashion leader in Japan," said Yumiko Yunai, a soccer writer for the Sports Nippon Newspaper. "Everybody watches him and imitates him." Yunai described how Nakata once returned from Italy, arriving at Tokyo airport wearing a long, trailing gray woolen scarf.
■ Athletics
Freeman may soon retire
Cathy Freeman, who provided one of the biggest highlights of the Sydney 2000 Olympics with her stirring win in the 400m, is considering retirement after a difficult comeback, her managers have confirmed. Freeman is training near London but has reportedly been in the doldrums after placing fifth behind No. 1-ranked Ana Guevara in Eugene, Oregon last month and failing to win a race since her return to the track from an extended break. "She's just weighing up how she feels about her running and about sport and about where she's at in her life right now," Chris Giannopoulos, an IMG senior executive, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp radio. About reports that Freeman, 30, was set to quit, Giannopoulos said: "I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a possibility. It's certainly something that has crossed her mind but she's not made any decisions about it and won't be pressured into doing so." Freeman is eligible for Australia's 4x400 relay team at the World Championships in Paris.
Agencies
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
RSS