ATHLETICS
Taiwan’s Li strikes gold
Taiwan’s Li Ting-yu came from behind to bag a gold in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Sri Lanka on Monday. “In the final 10 meters, I overtook the Japanese runner by using my willpower,” Li said after winning the race in a time of 10 minutes, 44.94 seconds at the Sugathadasa International Stadium in Colombo. Li, a 12th grader who remained second or third for most of the race, took the lead coming into the last 100m, but was overtaken by Mizuki Sato of Japan. Li didn’t give up and countered by powering past the Japanese with only meters to go. Li’s performance was not only an improvement on her personal best of 10:55.46, but it also broke the Taiwanese record. “I ran smoothly. The weather this evening was great, so I had the opportunity to perform well,” said Li, who had been feeling unwell ahead of the race with an upset stomach. She also vowed to run an even better time in this year’s World Junior Championships to be held next month in Barcelona, Spain. As of Monday, Taiwan had bagged six gold, three silver and four bronze medals at the championships.
SAILING
Yacht sinks in Strait Cup
All six crew members were rescued after a Chinese yacht sank in the Taiwan Strait while competing in a race to China, officials said yesterday. The 12m Wind and Surf, based in China’s Xiamen, reported it was taking on water on Monday, just hours after it started the race from Kaohsiung. The crew was forced to abandon the boat because it was going down so quickly, Chan Cheng-feng of the Kaohsiung Sailing Association said. They were rescued by the Taiwanese coast guard. A total of 17 ships, including 12 from China, took part in the race that finished in Xiamen, organizers said. It was the first accident of its kind since the Strait Cup started in 2009.
TENNIS
Kohlschreiber wins opener
Philipp Kohlschreiber began the defense of his Gerry Weber Open title in Halle, Germany, with a win over wild-card Dustin Brown in an all-German matchup on Monday. The 163rd-ranked Brown twice pushed Kohlschreiber to a tiebreak, before the eighth-seeded defending champion won 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4) in 1 hour, 23 minutes. Canada’s Milos Raonic, the other seeded player playing on the opening day of the grass-court tournament, defeated last year’s beaten finalist Philipp Petzschner. Fifth-seeded Raonic served 19 aces to beat the German 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), setting up a second-round clash with Zhang Ze of China, who overcame another German, Tobias Kamke, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2). The 28-year-old Kohlschreiber next faces Lukas Kubot after the Pole beat Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-4, 6-4. There were wins too for Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, who beat Dutchman Robin Haase 6-3, 6-2, and Germany’s Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, who defeated Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
GOLF
Teen gets US Open spot
Fourteen-year-old Andy Zhang of China is set to become the youngest competitor at a US Open since World War II after American Brandt Snedeker and Britain’s Paul Casey withdrew from the event on Monday because of injuries. Zhang, who attends school in the US, gained his spot in the 156-strong field at the Olympic Club when Englishman Casey pulled out because of a shoulder injury. American Tadd Fujikawa was previously the youngest player since World War II at a US Open — aged 15 years, five months and seven days during the 2006 edition at Winged Foot.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
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