TABLE TENNIS
Chen Szu-yu exits Budapest
Taiwan’s Chen Szu-yu and her doubles partner Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong on Saturday crashed out of the women’s doubles semi-finals at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender European Summer Series in Hungary. The world No. 2 Japanese duo of Mima Ito and Hina Hayata defeated Chen and Lee 3-2 in five hard-fought games over nearly 40 minutes at Budapest’s BOK Hall. While Chen and Lee started off strong with back-to-back wins of 11-7, 11-7, the Japanese pair found their footing in the third game. After winning 11-8, Ito and Hayata dominated the next two games 11-4, 11-4. The WTT Champions Series in Budapest starts today, with 28-year-old world No. 31 Chen taking on Ito in the women’s singles round of 32, while Taiwan’s Cheng I-ching is to play Chen Xingtong. In the men’s singles round of 32, Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju, seeded fifth in the tournament, is to face China’s Lin Gaoyuan, while Taiwan’s Chuang Chih-yuan is to play Hungary’s Bence Majors.
MOTOR SPORTS
Nick Cassidy nabs first win
New Zealander Nick Cassidy on Saturday took his first win in the electric Formula E championship despite crashing and wrecking his car in a rain-soaked and red-flagged race in New York. The Envision Racing driver started on pole position and finished ahead of Brazilian Lucas di Grassi of Venturi Racing and Dutch teammate Robin Frijns. Heavy rain at the Brooklyn circuit left standing water and sent the top three aquaplaning into the wall and sustaining heavy damage. The race was halted and called off. “I was pretty calm after everything happened, but obviously very disappointed initially,” Cassidy said. “It felt like it was in the bag with 10 to go, then it started raining.”
RUGBY UNION
Fans call Jones ‘traitor’
Eddie Jones was on Saturday embroiled in angry exchanges with Australian supporters, who accused the England head coach of being “a traitor” and an “angry little man,” after their 21-17 series victory over Australia in Sydney. Rugby Australia condemned the behavior as “totally unacceptable.” In one video posted online, a supporter, who is seen holding a beer, can be heard being urged to “spray” Australian-born Jones before pointing at the former Wallabies head coach and saying “you’re a traitor.” Jones is seen approaching the fan. “What did you say? Come here and say it,” Jones says. When contacted by the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday, Jones said that “clowns think they have full go to abuse coaches.”
TENNIS
Hewitt enters hall of fame
Lleyton Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, was on Saturday inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in a ceremony delayed from last year by COVID-19. Hewitt won the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon titles among 30 career ATP triumphs and helped Australia capture the Davis Cup in 1999 and 2003. The 41-year-old from Adelaide was unable to travel to the Hall of Fame last year from Australia. “I think I needed that extra year to come up with some proper words,” Hewitt said. “This is an incredible honor for me.” The ceremony was staged on the court where Hewitt won his first ATP grass court match as a teen in 1998.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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