The highly anticipated 2011 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships will commence at the Taipei Arena tomorrow afternoon with nearly 100 world-class contestants from 16 countries taking part in the four-day event that is expect to wow and will be beamed live to a number of countries around the world.
This year’s competition showcases four of the reigning world champions in ice skating’s various disciplines, headed by Mao Asada of Japan, who won the women’s gold at the 2008 and last year’s World Figure Skating Championships.
Also from Japan — Asia’s powerhouse in ice skating — is media darling Daisuke Takahashi, who took home the top honor in the men’s competition at last year’s World Figure Skating Championship in Turin, Italy, to add to his already impressive list of accomplishments.
Photo: AFP
In the ice dancing, Canadian pair Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are the favorites to win the gold following their triumph at last year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, as they look to continue their dominance in the event.
Rounding out the foursome of world champs are Chinese pair skating sensations Pang Qing and Tong Jian, who won gold at the World Championships in 2006 and last year and are looking to land their fifth Four Continents Championship to close out an illustrious career that began more than a decade ago.
“We are very excited to be here in Taipei for one of our last competitions,” Tong said at a press conference held in Taipei yesterday afternoon.
The couple is expected to retire from official competition later this year to start a family.
“[The wedding] will definitely take place,” Tong said when asked by reporters about beginning a lifelong partnership with his skating partner.
Representing Taiwan in this year’s event will be a pack of six outstanding skaters, led by Melinda Wang, who placed 23rd in the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships.
Meanwhile, in related figure skating news, China is facing new questions about the ages of some of its athletes after discrepancies were found in the birthdates of eight skaters.
According to a list of birthdates published on the Chinese Skating Association’s Web site and found by The Associated Press, the skaters violated the sport’s age limits by competing when they were either too young or too old.
The birthdates on the federation’s Web sites differ from those listed on the athletes’ International Skating Union biographies.
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