■ BOXING
Fighter in a coma
A South Korean boxer who lost consciousness after his WBO intercontinental flyweight bout is in a coma due to a brain injury, a hospital official said yesterday. Choi Yoi-sam lost consciousness and was rushed to a hospital shortly after winning Tuesday's contest against Indonesian challenger Heri Amol. The 33-year-old South Korean boxer was knocked down in the final round of the 12-round fight, but it was not known whether that caused him to pass out. "Choi's condition is very bad. He is in a coma," said Lee Mi-jong, a spokesman at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul. The boxer had surgery on Tuesday to stop the swelling of his brain, he said.
■ BASKETBALL
McGrady gets good news
The sore knee that forced Houston Rockets swingman Tracy McGrady out of a game on Sunday involves no structural damage to the joint, the Houston Chronicle reported on its Web site on Tuesday. "There was no structural damage," said Rockets trainer Keith Jones of the results of an MRI exam. "There was some inflammation in the tendon by the kneecap where the tendon starts. That's really it. Now, we stay aggressive with it. We'll change a few things and get it stronger and see where it goes. He's still day-to-day, and we'll see what happens." McGrady was originally hurt his left knee on Dec. 15 in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks. On Sunday, the 28-year-old left at half-time against Detroit after aggravating the injury. McGrady said on Sunday that he likely won't play tomorrow at Memphis.
■ SOCCER
Osim leaves intensive care
Japan's former national team coach Ivica Osim has left intensive care and started rehabilitation after suffering a serious stroke last month, local media reported. The 66-year-old Bosnian collapsed while climbing the stairs at his home after watching soccer on television and was in a coma for some time. "He's in higher spirits than I would have imagined," Japan Football Association General Secretary Kozo Tashima told reporters on Tuesday after visiting Osim. Tajima was also forced to break the news that Osim had been replaced as coach by Takeshi Okada, 51, who previously served in the same job 10 years ago. Osim's family had previously insisted information about his successor be kept from him until he was on the road to recovery, Kyodo news agency said. "He's a very intelligent person, so I believe he is able to remain objective," Tashima told reporters.
■ SOCCER
Vietnam lines up Brazilian
Vietnam has granted citizenship to a Brazilian-born goalkeeper enabling him to play for the national team, officials said yesterday. Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet signed a decision on Tuesday to grant citizenship to Fabio Dos Santos, a player with Dong Tam Long An in the topflight V-League, the club's executive director Pham Phu Hoa said. Santos, 27, is the first foreign soccer player to be granted Vietnamese citizenship, Hoa said. He has been playing for Dong Tam Long An for the past five years. "Santos is Vietnam's best goalkeeper at the moment, and his chances of being called for the national squad are very high," Hoa said. Tran Quoc Tuan, the general secretary of the Vietnam Football Federation, praised the decision. "This is very good for Vietnam's soccer," Tuan said. "It reflects that V-League is very attractive to foreign players. It may pave the way for other foreign players to join Vietnamese citizenship.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
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
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
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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