The Taiwanese men’s basketball team fought a cliffhanger gold medal match against South Korea at the East Asian Games yesterday, but lost the game by one point in the final minutes.
South Korea beat Taiwan 98-97, leaving Taiwan’s final hope of winning a gold medal yesterday in tatters.
The Taiwanese women’s basketball team also had to settle for silver after they received a 83-58 drubbing from China. Japan won the women’s bronze medal match by defeating South Korea 86-77.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Chang Ming-huang of Taiwan won silver in the men’s shot put with a distance of 18.33m, failing to match gold medalist Zhang Jun of China’s 20.41m.
China also defeated Taiwan in the women’s four rowing final.
Former world record holder Liu Xiang of China coasted to victory in the 110m hurdles, easing back into contention after a long injury lay-off.
PHOTO: AFP
The biggest name at the Games and one of China’s most celebrated sportsmen, Liu strolled home in a leisurely time of 13.66 seconds in front of a sell-out crowd of 3,500 at Hong Kong’s Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground.
The 2004 Olympic champion had time to slow up at the line as compatriot Ji Wei came in a distant second and South Korea’s Park Tae-Kyong took bronze.
“I felt a bit tired because it’s the last race of the season, but I’m quite pleased with my performance,” Liu told a throng of more than 100 journalists at a packed post-race news conference.
PHOTO: AFP
“I’m very happy to win the gold although the time was not great,” the 26-year-old said, adding that only more competitive racing would bring back his sharpness.
The winning time was well off Liu’s former world record time of 12.88, and the 13.15 he ran in September when he finished second to US rival Terrence Trammell in his first race after surgery.
The world record of 12.87 was set by Cuba’s Dayron Robles in June last year.
Liu’s appearance was his fourth — and slowest — since the Achilles injury that forced him out of last year’s Beijing Olympics and saw him undergo surgery in the US in December last year.
Asked if he thought he could again break the world record, a tired-looking Liu, who at one point during the press conference slumped back in his chair and puffed his cheeks out, was cagey.
“It will be difficult to break the record but my aim next year is to get below 13 seconds,” he said, also putting his fatigue down to waking up at 6am for the heat in the morning.
Games officials had beefed up security for Liu’s appearance in light of the intense media and public interest that surrounds him.
But the superstar said he was unfazed by all the attention.
“I have got used to it since Athens and I am getting more accustomed to it,” he said.
At the 2004 Athens Games, Liu became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic track gold medal, propelling him to superstar status back home and earning him lucrative sponsorship deals.
China, who have brought a strong team to Hong Kong, added to their haul with victories in track and field, men’s diving, rowing and women’s weightlifting.
The Games, which feature nine teams and 22 sports, conclude tomorrow.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS