JUDO
Taiwanese wins in UAE
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Friday bagged his first Grand Slam title by defeating Russian Ramazan Abdulaev in the men’s under-60kg judo final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). With seconds left on the clock, the 24-year-old Yang used a rapid dropping throw to pin his opponent on the mat with an arm choke to score a waza-ari, the second-highest score in judo’s three-tier system. Abdulaev tried to make a quick comeback, but it was not enough before time ran out, allowing the young Taiwanese to clinch gold. Prior to the final, Yang had three previous matches in Abu Dhabi, scoring ippon — the highest score — against each of his opponents, first in the opening round against Ahmed Al Naqbi of the UAE, then Dilshot Khalmatov of Ukraine in their quarter-final and Samuel Hall of the UK in their semi-final. Yang won silver at the Tokyo Olympics. The only other Taiwanese at the UAE event was Lin Chen-hao, who lost her opening and only bout against Belgium’s Ellencs Salens in the women’s under-48kg category.
TABLE TENNIS
Cheng and Lin advance
Taiwanese Olympic medalist Cheng I-ching and compatriot Lin Yun-ju on Friday advanced to the next round of the mixed doubles after beating Singapore’s Pang Yew En Koen and Lin Ye 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-6) at the World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Houston, Texas. They face Hong Kong pair Ho Kwan Kit and Lee Ho Ching in the quarter-finals. However, Cheng lost 1-4 (6-11, 13-11, 6-11, 5-11, 2-11) in her singles round-of-16 match against China’s Chen Xingtong. Taiwan’s other mixed doubles pairing, world No. 58 Chen Szu-yu and Chen Chien-an, exited after a round-of-16 loss against China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha. The score was 1-3 (7-11, 6-11, 11-7, 6-11). In the men’s doubles, Chen Chien-an and Chuang Chih-yuan lost 0-3 (4-11, 6-11, 5-11) against world No. 14 South Korean duo Jang Woo-jin and Lim Jong-hoon.
GOLF
Taiwan’s Chan leads
Taiwan’s Chan Shih-chang yesterday was in a share of the lead after the third round of the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship in Thailand. Chan, who was tied for second with a four-under-par 68 in the second round, shot a 68 yesterday to put himself at the top of the board alongside Sihwan Kim of the US. Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana was third, two shots behind the leaders.
? SOCCER
Klopp advises Mane
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp on Friday urged forward Sadio Mane to control his emotions when opponents try to wind him up and “pay them back” with the quality of his play. Klopp said that opposition players often try to antagonize Mane. “It has been a thing for much longer,” Klopp told British media. “Even when it was not obvious to the outside, you can see it in games that they go for him because they want to wind him up.” Klopp said that he has spoken with Mane about how to deal with such situations. “Sadio is now of an age where he is not that emotional anymore, but we all need emotions, obviously, and sometimes we control them better and sometimes less,” he said. “We’ve had these talks... The headline [from our discussions] is: ‘We pay back with football. Whatever we do, we pay them back with football.’”
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning