GOLF
Thompson leads Kingsmill
Lexi Thompson had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and finished with a six-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Virginia. Playing her third tournament since losing the ANA Inspiration in a playoff after being penalized four strokes for a rules violation that a TV viewer spotted, Thompson had a one-stroke lead over US Solheim Cup teammates Gerina Piller and Brittany Lincicome, and young American Angel Yin. Thompson played her opening nine in even-par with a birdie on No. 11 and a bogey on No. 17, then birdied No. 1 and Nos. 3 through 7 on Kingsmill Resort’s River Course. Candie Kung, Hsu Wei-ling, Min Lee, Chien Pei-yun, Yani Tseng and Cheng Ssu-chia were the Taiwanese competing. The best placed among them was Kung in a share of eighth after a round of three-under 68. Hsu was a shot behind with the rest in the 70s.
CYCLING
Geraint Thomas withdraws
Britain’s Geraint Thomas has pulled out of the Giro d’Italia due to injuries sustained in a crash last weekend, Team Sky announced yesterday. Thomas had started the 100th edition of the race as Sky’s coleader with Spain’s Mikel Landa hoping to challenge for the race leader’s pink jersey. However, a crash on the climb to Blockhaus, caused by a rider colliding with a police motorcycle at the side of the road during the ninth stage, saw the Welshman lose more than five minutes in time to his rivals and left him with injuries that have hampered his campaign since. “I’ve been suffering since my crash on Sunday,” said Thomas, who had to have his dislocated shoulder popped back in by the race doctor before continuing and finishing the stage. “I’ve had an issue with my shoulder, which is manageable, but my knee has also been getting worse each day.” On the road, Colombian rider Fernando Gaviria won a bunch sprint at the end of the longest stage on Thursday to earn his third victory in his first Grand Tour. Gaviria, who rides for Quick-Step Floors, edged Italian rival Jakub Mareczko at the end of the 229km route from Forli to Reggio Emilia. Sam Bennett of Ireland was third in the 12th stage. Overall, Tom Dumoulin remained 2 minutes, 23 seconds ahead of 2014 winner Nairo Quintana and 2:38 ahead of Bauke Mollema.
RUGBY UNION
Wayne Smith to step down
Wayne Smith will step down as an All Blacks assistant coach at the end of the Rugby Championship in October, choosing not to join in the team’s attempt to win a third consecutive World Cup. The 60-year-old Smith yesterday announced he would end an almost two-decade coaching involvement with the All Blacks to spend more time with his family and to pursue personal interests. “There are a lot of things I want to do,” Smith said. “I want to reconnect with some people. I’ve got a grandson and I want to spend time with the family. We’ll do a wee bit of travel and I’ll probably do a couple of projects ... but essentially it will be time to refresh.” Smith ruled out any coaching involvement with another major national team. “I’ve got no interest helping other teams try to beat the All Blacks,” he said. “I’ve told [New Zealand Rugby chief executive] Steve Tew and [All Blacks head coach] Steve Hansen that. I will do some stuff in rugby, but it won’t be with tier-one teams competing against the All Blacks.”
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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