TAEKWONDO
Taiwan’s Lo wins gold
Taiwanese Olympic medalist Lo Chia-ling on Sunday won gold in the women’s under-57kg class at the Tallinn Open G2 tournament in Estonia. Lo beat South Korean Kim Yu-jin 2-0 in a best-of-three-round match held under a new sparring rule introduced by World Taekwondo in June to replace the previous total points system. Taiwan coach Liu Tsung-ta said that Lo adjusted for the new rule system by “being a bit more offensive, rather than counterattacking all the time.” Teammate Chen Po-yen won silver in the men’s under-58kg class at the tournament.
GOLF
McIlroy wins FedExCup title
Rory McIlroy on Sunday produced the largest final-round comeback in PGA Tour Championship history to beat world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by one stroke in Atlanta, Georgia. McIlroy, who began the final round at East Lake six shots back of Scheffler, carded a four-under-par 66 to reach 21 under on the week at the Tour’s season-ending event to capture his third FedExCup title and an US$18 million first-place prize. After receiving the trophy, McIlroy spoke about his passion for the circuit amid the threat from LIV Golf. “I believe in the game of golf, I believe in this tour in particular. I believe in the players on this tour,” world No. 4 McIlroy said. “It’s the greatest place in the world to play golf, bar none — and I’ve played all over the world.”
FOOTBALL
Fans praise free beer
In the post-game analysis, free beer at the Nebraska Cornhuskers-Northwestern Wildcats game on Saturday in Ireland was the right call. The freebies flowed for two hours during Northwestern’s 31-28 victory, and the catering company for Aviva Stadium on Sunday hailed its workers for keeping the refreshments coming, after it decided to give out beer because it could not process payments due to technical issues. The stadium, which was hosting the US universities for the Big Ten conference opener, does not accept cash. Levy UK + Ireland did not give an estimate of lost revenue. Ronan McGowan said he got “three or four” plastic cups of Guinness, “but it took 40 minutes, I missed the game. It wasn’t good.” McGowan said people were also “ordering a lot of drinks,” which slowed everything. Nebraska fan Elena Kuiper was already in line when she realized the beer was free, adding that “news traveled fast.” Her husband, Scott Kuiper, said a man sitting next to him moved quickly. “He took off right away and went up there to go get one,” he said on Sunday at Dublin Airport.
CYCLING
Kenyan rider dies in crash
Kenyan cyclist Sule Kangangi on Saturday died in a crash while competing in a gravel race in Vermont. Kangangi was riding at a high speed in the Vermont Overland race when he crashed. “Sule is our captain, friend, brother. He is also a father, husband and son. Gaping holes are left when giant’s fall. Sule was a giant,” his team, Team AMANI, posted on social media. The Vermont Overland is a 95km dirt road race that includes nearly 2.13km of climbing, according to the race’s website. About 900 cyclists were competing on Saturday in the race that begins and ends in the community of Brownsville in the town of West Windsor, officials said.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was