■ BOXING.
Thai boxer challenges Sosa
Thai boxer Noknoi Kratingdaenggym will challenge World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight champion Edgar Sosa of Mexico in June, his promoters said yesterday in Bangkok. The 22-year-old Noknoi, who holds the WBC light flyweight youth title, will take part in his first senior title challenge fight against Sosa on June 7 at the Arena Mexico in Mexico City. Petchyindee Boxing Promotion chairman Virat Vachirarattanawong said it will be a good opportunity for the Thai boxer, who will face a tough opponent in the current titleholder. “Noknoi is ready to challenge the title — it is not easy to beat Sosa but we are ready,” he said in a statement.
■ FIELD HOCKEY
Antilles surprise India
India’s hopes of qualifying for the women’s field hockey tournament at the Beijing Olympics suffered a setback in a surprise 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands Antilles in Kazan, Russia, on Sunday. The result means that Netherlands Antilles now have two wins from their first two matches, keeping them on track for a possible appearance in Sunday’s Olympic qualifier final. India need to win their last three group matches to be sure of a final birth. The Caribbean side took the lead after an India penalty corner broke down. Netherlands Antilles stormed forward with Clair Visser scoring in the bottom corner. India levelled in the second half through the impressive Rani Devi who picked the ball up on the left and fired the ball across the goalkeeper into the far corner.
■ BADMINTON
Jonassen wins men’s final
Kenneth Jonassen won an all-Danish men’s final and Xu Huaiwen of Germany captured the women’s singles title at the European Badminton Championships in Herning, Denmark, on Sunday. The top-seeded Jonassen beat Joachim Persson 21-13, 21-16 for his first European singles title. Jonassen set the early pace and was in control of the final from the start. Xu came from one set down to beat Tine Rasmussen of Denmark 12-21, 21-12, 21-17 for her second straight women’s championship.
■ CYCLING
Cunego wins Amstel Gold
Italy’s Damiano Cunego of Lampre took over the lead in the ProTour competition on Sunday after winning the Amstel Gold Race in Maastricht, Netherlands. He beat Luxembourg’s Frank Schleck and Alejandro Valverde of Spain in an uphill sprint at the end of the 257.4km race. Cunego got 40 points for his win after scoring 33 in the recent Tour of the Basque Country stage race and leads the individual ProTour standings with 73 points. Early ProTour leader Andrei Grepiel of Germany did not ride the Amstel Gold Race and slipped to second with 62 points. Tour of the Basque Country winner Alberto Contador is third with 58 points.
■ RUGBY
Louden to leave Australia
NSW Waratahs’ attack coach Todd Louden will leave Australia after this year’s Super 14 season to become head coach of Japanese club Ricoh, reports said in Sydney, Australia, yesterday. In signing with the Tokyo side for almost US$552,000 a year over two seasons, Louden has knocked back a lucrative offer from an English club, and opted against applying for the Waratahs’ head coach job, The Sydney Morning Herald said. Louden was touted as a favorite for the Waratahs’ position, to be vacated at the end of the Super 14 series next month by Ewen McKenzie, whose contract will not be renewed.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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