BOXING
Chen Nien-chin wins gold
After a challenging three-round bout, Taiwan’s Chen Nien-chin took gold in the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament women’s 69kg welterweight final in Phuket on Saturday. The 24-year-old Hualien native secured her place in the final after outboxing Ariane Nicholson of New Zealand 5-0 in the semi-finals. On Saturday, Chen fought Thai boxer Baison Manikon at the Angsana Convention and Exhibition Space. In the third round, Manikon threw multiple close quarter exchanges, but Chen was able to counter and take gold in the first international boxing exhibition of the year.
SOCCER
Ronaldo apologizes to fan
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has apologized after he appeared to knock a cellphone out of a supporter’s hand following his side’s 1-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday. Footage emerged on social media of Ronaldo appearing to swipe his hand toward the ground as he walked off the pitch and headed for the tunnel at Goodison Park. Eyewitnesses said the 37-year-old had knocked a fan’s phone out of their hand and it smashed to the ground. Ronaldo took to Instagram to apologize for the incident. “It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing ... I would like to apologise for my outburst,” Ronaldo wrote.
BOXING
Barty writes kids’ books
After retiring from professional tennis, former world No. 1 Ash Barty is to open a new chapter in her life with the release of a series of children’s books later this year. The Australian, who last month decided to call time on her tennis career at the age of 25, told News Corp that she would release a six-book Little Ash series, with many stories based on her real-life experiences and her family. The book is to be published by HarperCollins and hit shelves from July. “This project has been so much fun and something I have always wanted to do,” Barty said yesterday. A second book project, a memoir of Barty’s life and sporting journey, is to be released by the same publisher in November.
BASKETBALL
NBA fines three over fight
The NBA on Saturday fined three players a total of US$50,000 for their roles in Thursday night’s on-court altercation between the Orlando Magic and hosts the Charlotte Hornets. Magic forward Admiral Schofield was fined US$20,000, while Magic center Robin Lopez and Hornets center Montrezl Harrell were fined US$15,000 each. All three players received technical fouls and were ejected with 7 minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Charlotte’s 128-101 victory. The incident began when Charlotte’s Jalen McDaniels fouled Orlando’s R.J. Hampton on a drive to the basket and the pair had to be separated. “Lopez escalated the incident when he aggressively approached and made contact with the Hornets’ PJ Washington, who was acting as a peacemaker between Hampton and McDaniels,” read a statement issued by the office of NBA president of league operations Byron Spruell. “Harrell, who then made contact with Lopez, was shoved forcefully in the back by Schofield. Both Schofield and Harrell were deemed to have further escalated the incident.”
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
Australian restaurant chain Grill’d has made a cheeky apology for putting a “curse” on Oscar Piastri’s Formula One title hopes with their offer of a free burger for every time the McLaren driver gets on the podium. The Melbourne native has not finished in the top three since the promotion relaunched five races ago, losing the championship lead to teammate Lando Norris and now 24 points behind. Online conspiracy theorists have been quick to put two and two together. The chain’s Piastri 81 Burger debuted ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in March, with his endorsement, and was relaunched in September after he
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