TAEKWONDO
Taiwan’s Chuang wins gold
Taiwan’s Chuang Chia-chia on Friday won the nation’s first gold medal in the WTF World Taekwondo Championships since 2007, beating Olympic silver medalist Nur Tatar of Turkey 5-0 in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Competing in the under-67kg weight class, Chuang solidified her 1-0 lead in the third round after a tie in the first. Chuang’s personal best until now was a silver medal in the previous world championships in 2013. She won her first world championship gold a day after her 26th birthday, boosting her hopes of competing in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next year. Sung Yu-chi was the most recent Taiwanese athlete to win a world championships gold medal, in Beijing in 2007, in the men’s 68kg weight class.
GOLF
Espana leads Espana Open
Edouard Espana of France shot a three-under-69 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the Open de Espana. Espana made four birdies to go with one bogey, despite strong winds sweeping the Real Club de Golf El Prat course near Barcelona, leaving him at seven-under 137 and one stroke ahead of Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez. Espana is Spanish for Spain, making the French player a suitable leader for this particular tournament. “I’m leading an open with my name everywhere, so it’s very cool,” Espana said. Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez made his second hole-in-one of the season and the ninth of his European Tour career on the eighth hole. Jimenez’s ace equaled Colin Montgomerie’s European Tour record. The 51-year-old Jimenez sat six shots back.
OLYMPICS
NZ win sevens spot
New Zealand became the second team to qualify for the debut of women’s rugby sevens at the Olympics next year when they reached the quarter-finals of the fifth round of the Women’s Sevens Series in London. The reigning world champions suffered a shock first defeat in 38 matches in a group game against Spain on Friday, but recovered to beat France in the final game of the day and clinch a spot in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil qualify automatically as hosts. The top four from the Women’s Sevens Series, which has one more round to go after London, qualify automatically for the Olympics. New Zealand, Canada, Australia and France occupied those spots going into the London round, but the US, England and Russia are still in the hunt.
RUGBY UNION
Head injury rule changed
Players who suffer head injuries during this year’s World Cup in England are to be allowed a temporary substitute while they undergo a medical assessment, the sport’s global governing body announced on Friday. World Rugby said it was adopting temporary substitutions for head injuries at the elite level into its full-time law book on Aug. 1, just over a month before the start of the World Cup after what World Rugby said were “overwhelmingly positive results” during a global trial period. World Rugby head medical officer Martin Raftery said: “As someone who has been involved as a team doctor in elite sport for more than 25 years, I firmly believe that medical management of concussion in rugby has never been stronger.” Officials cited research from last year’s British Journal of Sports Medicine which said that prior to the temporary substitution rule, 56 percent of players with a confirmed concussion remained on the field following their injury, with the figure now under 12 percent.
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
For some, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the essential spearhead for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup bid, while others believe his presence would prevent Roberto Martinez’s strong side from flourishing. The debate around the five-time Ballon d’Or winner rages on, as it did at UEFA Euro 2024 and four years ago in Qatar — yet Ronaldo endures, ready to play in a record sixth World Cup. The 41-year-old remains a global superstar despite swapping the European elite for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, and is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 strikes. With 25 of those coming in 30 games under Martinez, the coach
Taiwanese sprinter Chen Yi-cen on Friday won the silver medal in the women’s 400m final at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, with a time of 53.16 seconds. Chen, 15, was the youngest among the eight finalists, and her performance also met the qualifying standard of 53.50 seconds for the Nagoya Asian Games in Japan in September and October. Chen first made her mark at the National Games in Tainan in 2023, at the age of 13, winning the women’s 400m final in 55.55 seconds to become the youngest gold medalist in the history of the event. Meanwhile,
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