BADMINTON
Lu and Yang exit Singapore
Taiwan’s Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han on Friday crashed out of the men’s doubles quarter-finals in Singapore Open, after losing to Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani. The Indonesian duo swiftly defeated the Taiwanese 21-16, 21-17 in just 32 minutes. The Taiwanese world No. 24 are to have a chance at redemption at the Taipei Open, which starts on Tuesday.
RUGBY UNION
Samoa win Nations Cup
Replacement hooker Seilala Lam yesterday scored two tries including the match-winner in the 70th minute as Samoa rallied to beat Fiji 23-20 to win the Pacific Nations Cup for the first time in eight years. On an eventful final day of the four-nation tournament, Australia A first beat Tonga 39-22 to briefly move atop the table, but Samoa rallied from 17-3 down at halftime to overcome Fiji with Lam’s two second-half tries to win the trophy for the third time. Samoa came into the final round unbeaten on two wins, with 10 points and ahead of Australia A on seven points and Fiji on five.
OLYMPICS
Jim Thorpe wins reinstated
Jim Thorpe has been reinstated as the sole winner of the 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon in Stockholm — nearly 110 years after being stripped of those gold medals for contraventions of strict amateurism rules of the time. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday announced the change on the 110th anniversary of Thorpe winning the decathlon and later being proclaimed by King Gustav V of Sweden as “the greatest athlete in the world.” Thorpe, a Native American, returned to a ticker-tape parade in New York, but months later it was discovered he had been paid to play minor league baseball over two summers, an infringement of the Olympic amateurism rules. He was stripped of his gold medals in what was described as the first major international sports scandal. To some, Thorpe remains the greatest all-around athlete ever. He was voted as The Associated Press’ Athlete of the Half Century in a poll in 1950. In 1982 — 29 years after his death — the IOC gave duplicate gold medals to his family, but did not reinstate his Olympic records, nor his status as the sole gold medalist of the two events.
BASEBALL
MLB to pay out US$185m
The MLB on Friday agreed to pay minor leaguers US$185 million to settle a federal lawsuit alleging contraventions of US minimum wage laws, a case that progressed through the courts for eight years without reaching a trial. An early estimate is that perhaps 23,000 players could share the money with an average payment of US$5,000 to US$5,500, according to a filing by Brian Kriegler, the players’ damages expert. “This settlement is a monumental step for minor league players toward a fair and just compensation system,” Garrett Broshuis, the players’ lead lawyer and a former minor league pitcher, said in a statement. “I’ve seen first-hand the financial struggle players face while earning poverty-level wages — or no wages at all — in pursuit of their major league dream.” If approved, US$120,197,300 will be split among the players, US$55.5 million will go the players’ lawyers and up to US$5.5 million will cover reimbursement costs of the suit.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Shahzad Khan was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
OBJECTIVE REACHED: ’Now for us, it’s about getting healthy, making sure everybody is ready to go, and we can ramp up,’ the Atlanta Hawks’ C.J. McCollum said after the game The Atlanta Hawks on Friday secured an NBA playoff berth with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Boston Celtics locked up the Eastern Conference second seed with a lopsided win of their own. C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who came into the contest at sixth in the East and still in danger of falling into the play-in tournament that would see the seventh-through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff berths in each conference. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points apiece, and Dyson Daniels added a triple-double of 13
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