Cheng Chao-tsun on Monday won Taiwan’s first gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, with a meeting record in the javelin.
Cheng took gold by setting an Asian Athletics Championships record with a throw of 86.72m, edging out Shivpal Singh of India, who registered a distance of 86.23m.
The gold medal performance qualified Cheng for a spot in the World Athletics Championships to be held in Doha in late September.
Photo: AP
Huang Shi-feng almost made it two medals for Taiwan in the event, finishing fourth with a throw of 81.46m, just behind bronze medalist Ryohei Arai of Japan’s 81.93m.
The title saw Cheng return to form after being hampered by injury.
Cheng set a new Asian record in the javelin with a gold medal-winning throw of 91.36m at the Universiade in Taipei in 2017, but injured himself while training for the Asian Games in Jakarta last year, where he could only manage fifth place with a distance of 79.81m.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese “Hurdle King” Chen Chieh won the silver medal in the men’s 400m hurdles final with a personal best time of 48.92 seconds.
He finished well behind Abderrahman Samba of Qatar, who won gold with a time of 47.51.
It was Chen’s third consecutive 400m hurdles silver medal at the Asian Athletics Championships.
Chen, who represented Taiwan at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, set his previous best of 49.05 seconds at the Taipei Universiade in 2017.
The Asian Athletics Championships end today.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
‘HELLA ENERGY’: Minnesota’s 42-point victory set a club record for points in a playoff game, but the team have to keep up their momentum to stay in the series, Edwards said Anthony Edwards on Saturday night scored 30 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed Oklahoma City 143-101 to tighten their NBA playoff series. Edwards added nine rebounds and six assists. while shooting 12-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range as the hosts Timberwolves pulled a game back to be 2-1 behind in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. However, moments after the 42-point win, Minnesota were determined to forget all about it. Such is life in the NBA playoffs. “You’ve got to erase this one,” Edwards said. “This one is over. I know everyone is happy about this one, but we know OKC is
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in