BADMINTON
Trio make semi-finals
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, Chou Tien-chen and Wang Tzu-wei kept their hopes of winning at the Korea Open alive, advancing to the semi-finals in Incheon, South Korea, yesterday. World No. 1 Tai won 24-22, 22-20 against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia in their women’s singles quarter-final and faces world No. 6 Ratchanok Intanon for a spot in the final. Chou, who is seeded third in the tournament, beat Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia 21-18, 21-9 in the men’s singles. The two started aggressively, remaining neck and neck until 8-8, when Chou seized the initiative by taking the next three points. The Taiwanese widened the gap with a separate five-point run and remained in front to close out the first game. In the second game, Chou gained the upper hand early and gave his opponent no chance to rally, losing only nine points before finishing the match in 39 minutes. In his semi-final, Chou faces Wang, who defeated Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 21-10, 15-21, 21-13.
GOLF
Hur Mi-jung leads Indy
Hur Mi-jung shot a nine-under 63 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Indy Women in Tech Championship. Hur had a bogey-free round at the Brickyard Crossing course in Indiana, the layout that features four holes inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. “I was trying to keep on being present,” Hur said. “That’s the key to play good today... If you think about the future, mess up everything. It’s really hard to do it, but that’s my goal for the whole year.” England’s Bronte Law was two strokes back alongside Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Japan’s Sakura Yokomine. Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun was in a share of 23rd after a three-under-par round of 69, while Hsu Wei-ling was below the projected cut with a 73.
SOCCER
Belotti brace guides Torino
Torino Skipper Andrea Belotti’s quick-fire second-half double, including a sensational overhead-kick in front of goal, sealed a 2-1 comeback win in Serie A over AC Milan on Thursday. Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek had put Milan ahead from the spot after 18 minutes at the Stadio Olimpico. However, in four-minute spell, Belotti sealed all three points for Walter Mazzarri’s side. “We didn’t want to lose a third in a row,” Belotti said.
SOCCER
FIFA mulls Iran trip
FIFA is weighing sending a delegation to Tehran to make sure female fans are admitted to the World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Cambodia on Oct. 10. Former France World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff told reporters on Thursday that he would be part of any delegation. “Iran is a hot topic and I am organizing myself to be there on October 10,” Djorkaeff said. It was his first interview since his appointment a week ago as chief executive officer of the FIFA Foundation, whose objectives include making soccer more accessible to women in the Middle East. The presence of a delegation is important “to show that FIFA intervened there with conviction,” he said. On Sunday, Gianni Infantino, president of the governing body of world soccer, said he had been “assured” by Iran that women could attend the match. Iranian women have been banned from stadiums since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Taiwanese martial artists bagged one gold, four silver and three bronze medals at the World Junior Wushu Championships in Brunei, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam said yesterday. Liu Yu-tzu won the gold medal in the girl’s taijiquan A group and also picked up a silver medal in the girl’s taijijian A group. Hu Hsin-ling, Yu Min-hsun and Chen Chao-hsiang each won a silver medal in the girl’s jianshu B, boy’s nangun B and boy’s taijijian A groups respectively. Hu also won a bronze medal in the girl’s qiangshu B group, while Yu and Lin Shih-hung picked up bronze medals
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