South Korea made history yesterday by ending China’s 12-year stranglehold on the Uber Cup with a 3-1 victory that saw China’s world No. 1 Wang Yihan sensationally lose in straight sets.
The South Koreans were expected to buckle under the might of a team that fired a massive 686 points in four ties, finishing victors in every one of their 16 rubbers and winning 32 sets, while conceding just one.
The fans sensed an upset, however, when Bae Seung-hee, ranked 16, out-battled, out-thought and outclassed Wang in the first singles rubber and set the tone for five grueling hours of stunning badminton from the South Koreans.
Bae, who has been impeccable after losing in the group stages, kept her cool to pip Wang 23-21 in a tense first set, before pressuring her opponent into a series of errors to seal the rubber with a 21-11 win at Kuala Lumpur’s Putra Stadium.
The record book favored China, with South Korea unable to beat them in five Uber Cup finals since 1988, and order ought to have been restored by the world’s top doubles team, Ma Jin and Wang Xiaoli. Their opponents, Lee Hyo-jung and Kim Min-jung, however, defied history and held their nerve to win 18-21, 21-12, 21-15.
The wheel spun back towards China when world No. 2 Wang Xin proved too good for South Korea’s Sung Ji-hyun, who crashed 21-14, 16-21, 21-7, but Lee Kyung-won and Ha Jung-eun sealed a thrilling finale and took the cup, beating Du Jing and Yu Yang 19-21, 21-14, 21-19.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
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This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-che on Friday made history for the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A affiliate, hitting the Worcester Red Sox’s first cycle, while netting two runs, as they beat fellow Taiwan teammate Stuart Fairchild’s Columbus Clippers. The 24-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect went 4-4, completing a full cycle, starting with a triple in the second inning off Ryan Webb in the WooSox’s 9-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple A affiliate. He scored in the same inning after teammate Vinny Capra, a fellow former Pirate, grounded out. The Pingtung County native followed that up with a walk in the third, an
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