BADMINTON
Tai eases past first round
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday thrashed her opponent 21-11, 21-8 on the second day of the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur. The world No. 2 took just 24 minutes to beat World No. 46 Sim Yu-jin of South Korea in their round-of-32 match. World No. 4 Chou Tien-chen took significantly longer in his men’s singles match, beating World No. 29 Sameer Verma of India 10-21, 21-12, 21-14 in 52 minutes. Wang Tzu-wei slogged through a 1 hour, 33 minute game to beat Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie 16-21, 21-18, 27-25. In the men’s doubles, Chang Ko-chi and Po Li-wei beat China’s He Ji-ting and Zhou Hao-dong 18-21, 21-13, 21-18. In the mixed doubles, Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang progressed due to a walkover, while Lee Jhe-huei and Hsu Ya-ching lost their match.
ATHLETICS
Shoes trip up Yulimar Rojas
Venezuelan triple jump world record-holder Yulimar Rojas will not compete in the long jump at this month’s world championships after her qualifying mark of 6.93m was deemed invalid due to unapproved shoes. The back-to-back triple jump world champion surpassed the long jump qualifying standard at the Reunion de Atletismo Ciudad de Guadalajara last month, but was wearing triple jump shoes, which are not allowed in the event, World Athletics said. “Ms Rojas had intended to compete in the long jump after this event, with approved shoes, to qualify for the World Athletics Championships Oregon 2022, but injury prevented this,” World Athletics said in a statement. The approved sole thickness limit for shoes in the long jump is 20mm and for the triple jump is 25mm.
SOCCER
‘Impractical’ scores probed
The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has launched an investigation into two first-division matches that finished with scorelines of 91-1 and 95-0, describing them as “impractical” results. The West African country’s soccer governing body said it was investigating officials and players who were involved in the two fixtures, in which Gulf defeated Koquima Lebanon 91-1 and Kahula Rangers beat Lumbenbu United 95-0. The SLFA said it has zero tolerance for match manipulation or anything of the sort. “The general public is therefore assured that the said matter will be thoroughly investigated and anyone found culpable will face the full force of the law,” it said in a statement. If confirmed, the two scorelines would rank among the highest recorded in soccer history. The highest is thought to have occurred in Madagascar in 2002 when AS Adema beat SO l’Emyrne 149-0. The SO l’Emyrne players intentionally scored one own-goal after another in protest against refereeing decisions with which they disagreed.
BASEBALL
Mets mar Scherzer return
The New York Mets on Tuesday wasted a stellar performance by Max Scherzer in his return from an oblique injury, losing 1-0 to the Cincinnati Reds on Mike Moustakas’ game-ending sacrifice fly. Scherzer struck out 11 while pitching six innings of two-hit ball in his first big league start since May 18. Throwing mostly fastballs, Scherzer —who turns 38 in three weeks — allowed only one runner to reach third, and he responded by striking out Matt Reynolds to get out of the second inning.
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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