TABLE TENNIS
Chuang edged by Mizutani
World No. 9 Chuang Chih-yuan of Taiwan fell just short of the title at an invitational men’s table tennis tournament in Greater Kaohsiung on Sunday, losing 4-0 to Japan’s Jun Mizutani in the event’s title match. Mizutani won US$40,000 in prize money and Chuang won US$20,000 in the US$105,000 tournament held in the K-Arena. Mizutani only managed to beat the 32-year-old Chuang 4-3 in a match on Saturday, but the Taiwanese player unable to muster as much resistance in the final. Chuang had earned a shot at the title by beating Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany 4-1 in the semi-finals earlier in the day.
SOCCER
Lewandowski pledges best
Robert Lewandowski attempted to reassure Borussia Dortmund fans on Sunday that he is fully committed to their Bundesliga ambitions, despite having already agreed to move to bitter rivals Bayern Munich at the end of the season. The Polish international took to social media to tell supporters that he will “give everything to BVB [Dortmund]... I want to address you directly. I have six months left here during which we all have the objective of achieving together.” The 25-year-old is the joint top-scorer in the Bundesliga this season with 11 goals. “Even if some of you do not agree with my decision, I hope to have your support. I will give everything for BVB,” he said. Lewandowski had a deal with the club only until June. “We have known for a long time that Robert will be playing for another club in the summer. The confirmation of the transfer changes nothing,” Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said.
BASKETBALL
Clippers’ Paul out injured
All-Star point guard Chris Paul will be sidelined for up to six weeks because of a separated right shoulder, but will not require surgery, the Los Angeles Clippers said on Sunday. The Clippers announced the prognosis after Paul, 28, had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam earlier in the day and was re-evaluated by team doctors. Paul incurred the injury during the third quarter of the Clippers’ 119-112 win against the Mavericks in Dallas, Texas, on Friday when he tripped over guard Monta Ellis. He has since been diagnosed with a joint separation and “will be out up to six weeks,” the Clippers said in a statement. Paul, a six-time All-Star, has appeared in 34 games for the high-flying Clippers this season, averaging 19.6 points, a league-high 11.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds.
SKIING
Shiffrin rebounds in Bormio
Mikaela Shiffrin recovered her winning ways in Bormio, Italy, on Sunday to boost the US women’s team, as doubts over Lindsey Vonn’s fitness for next month’s Winter Olympics intensified. The slalom world champion beat in-form Swede Maria Pietilae-Holmner and France’s Nastasja Noens to emerge as the US women’s team’s best chance of a gold medal in Sochi, Russia. Asked if she would be the only female US contender at the Games, Shiffrin said: “I’m sure the speed team will return to form in January, but at the same time, we all race for ourselves.” Shiffrin was 12th in Courchevel, France, and second to Marlies Schild in Lienz, Austria, after clinching the season’s inaugural FIS World Cup slalom in Finland in November last year. At the finish area in Bormio, US Ski Team coaches Patrick Riml and Alex Hoedelmoser said defending Olympic downhill champion Vonn might not be seen back in action before the Games. “Her knee is very swollen and it’s impossible for her to consider skiing for now,” Hoedlmoser said.
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
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
RSS