GOLF
Yani Tseng to get top award
The world’s No. 1 female golfer, Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), was unanimously selected as one of 10 Taiwanese to receive the country’s Outstanding Young Persons award this year, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who heads the selection committee, announced yesterday. The 22-year-old golfer’s hard work, diligence and emotional control have contributed to her success, Wang said. He added that she projects elegance and good posture on the golf course. Tseng’s father, Tseng Mao-hsin (曾茂炘), said at the news conference where the announcement was made that his daughter was very happy to be selected for the award, but would not be able to attend the award ceremony because she was busy with her training in the US. However, she is expected to give an acceptance speech via teleconferencing.
RUGBY WORLD CUP
Jesus painted as All Black
A New Zealand cathedral has taken the country’s devotion to its national rugby team to a new level, exhibiting a painting depicting Jesus as an All Black. The work by artist Don Little, painted in the style of a Russian Orthodox icon, shows a haloed Jesus wearing an All Blacks jersey as he dispenses blessings while clutching a white rugby ball. The painting went on display this week at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Wellington and sold within a few days to an Australian collector. Cathedral dean the Very Reverend Frank Nelson, said: “Central to Christian belief is that God became a human being in this world ... he happened to do that 2,000 years ago in Palestine. What intrigues me about this, and what I want people to think about, is that if it were to happen today, why should he not be an All Black?”
RUGBY WORLD CUP
Aussie, Kiwi rivalry sours
Rugby World Cup chief Martin Snedden yesterday described New Zealanders’ treatment of Australian fans as “disappointing,” after fierce trans-Tasman rivalries took on a spiteful edge. Australian fans complained of being spat on and abused when the Wallabies slumped to a shock defeat against Ireland in Auckland last weekend, identifying New Zealanders, not traveling Irish fans, as the culprits. Snedden told the Sydney Morning Herald: “The overwhelming response [in New Zealand] has been one of welcoming and supporting the visiting teams and their fans. If some visiting Wallaby fans have not been welcomed this way, we would be very disappointed.”
RUGBY WORLD CUP
Tindall’s royal wife surprises
Zara Phillips has made a surprise arrival in New Zealand, but has yet to see her husband, England center Mike Tindall, the New Zealand Herald reported yesterday. The granddaughter of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II was pictured at an evening charity event for the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust in Auckland. The newspaper said that Phillips made no mention of the headlines that followed her husband’s boozy night out in Queenstown after the game against Argentina. She told the audience: “Hopefully there will be an All Blacks-England Final.” Phillips, 30, who married Tindall less than two months ago in Edinburgh, had not been due in New Zealand for two more weeks, but brought forward her trip, the newspaper reported. Tindall has not spoken publicly since he and other members of the England team were caught on security cameras in a bar during their night out, celebrating the win over Argentina in their opening World Cup match.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
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