BADMINTON
Lu and Yang advance
Mixed doubles pair Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han were the only winners for Taiwan at the Singapore Open yesterday after Tai Tzu-ying withdrew due to a strained left hamstring. With their 21-18, 21-19 win over Yew Sin Ong and Ee Yi Teo of Malaysia, Lu and Yang advanced to the quarter-finals, where they face Sabar Gutama and Moh Isfahani of Indonesia. Tai’s father, Tai Nan-kai, said that his daughter sustained a hamstring strain on Wednesday and she withdrew from the tournament in the hope of a quick recovery to compete at the Taipei Open next week. The other Taiwanese who played yesterday all lost. In the men’s singles, Lin Chun-yi lost 21-12, 19-21, 21-16 to Anthony Ginting of Indonesia, while Chou Tien-chen was eliminated 14-21, 22-20, 21-18 by India’s H.S. Prannoy. In the women’s singles, Sung Shuo-yun lost 20-22, 21-18, 21-4 to Aya Ohori of Japan, while Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin were defeated 21-18, 21-23, 21-14 in the men’s doubles by Chinese pair He Jiting and Zhou Haodong.
ATHLETICS
Omanyala misses trip
Ferdinand Omanyala yesterday said that he has given up on competing at the World Athletics Championships in the US because of a delay in getting a visa. The 26-year-old Kenyan sprinter had been hoping to shine in the 100m at the championships, which are to begin today in Eugene, Oregon. “I have given up my trip to Oregon. Even if I am given a visa today it’s too late,” Omanyala told reporters. He had been due to compete in the 100m heats today, but lost a race against time to secure his US visa and travel to Oregon — a trip of about 24 hours or more. “It would mean booking flights which can only be possible at night and the race is on tomorrow. It’s not possible,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do. It’s been my longest day of waiting and I don’t like waiting.” The Kenyan teams had been due to leave for the US in two batches on Monday and Tuesday, but several members including Omanyala did not receive visas. Omanyala is the third-quickest man in the world this season, setting a time of 9.85 seconds in May.
BASEBALL
Royals players absent
The Kansas City Royals will be without 10 of the 26 players on their active roster for their upcoming trip to Toronto due to Canadian restrictions on travelers who are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Manager Mike Matheny on Wednesday said the club would be without hitters Andrew Benintendi, Hunter Dozier, Cam Gallagher, Kyle Isbel, M.J. Melendez, Whit Merrifield and Michael Taylor, along with pitchers Dylan Coleman, Brad Keller and Brady Singer. The 10 players are to be placed on the restricted list and forfeit four days of pay and major-league service time in accordance with the terms of the MLB’s collective bargaining agreement. “It’s an individual choice,” Matheny said. “The organization’s done a real good job bringing in professionals and experts to talk guys through tough conversations and then put it in their hands to make the decisions they believe is best for them and their families.” Players cited personal decisions for themselves and their families behind their reasoning to not be vaccinated. “It was a choice I made talking with my family, talking with my wife,” Merrifield said. “I didn’t think that the risk was worth it, honestly. I don’t feel like COVID is a threat to me.”
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
Taiwan’s Lin Cheng-jing won a bronze medal in the clean and jerk in the women’s under-49 kg division at the 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Bahrain on Saturday. Lin won her first medal at a World Weightlifting Championships for lifting 107kg in the clean and jerk in her weight class, 2kg more than Rosegie Ramos of the Philippines. However, Ramos won bronze for the combined lift after topping Lin by 5kg in the snatch. Ri Song-gum of North Korea won gold in the division’s combined lift with a total of 213kg, while Xiang Linxiang of China took silver with
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