BADMINTON
Taiwanese exit Denmark
Taiwanese star and world No. 2 Tai Tzu-ying on Friday crashed out of the women’s singles quarter-final at the Denmark Open in Odense. Tai lost 10-21, 22-20, 21-16 to Thailand’s world No. 7 Ratchanok Intanon. She was the first of Taiwan’s shuttlers to fall in the day’s matches, followed by world No. 40 Pai Yu-po, who lost her singles quarter-final to China’s Han Yue 21-17, 16-21, 21-16. In the men’s singles quarter-finals, world No. 4 Chou Tien-chen lost 25-23, 21-12 to in China’s Shi Yuqi. In the men’s doubles quarter-finals, the world No. 24 duo of Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han lost to the world No. 1 pairing of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia 21-12, 21-15 in a speedy 36 minutes, followed by Lee Yang and Lu Chen losing 18-21, 21-19, 21-13 to Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi.
JUDO
Taiwanese wins silver
Taiwanese Yang Yung-wei on Friday won the silver medal in the under-60kg final at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in the United Arab Emirates. World No. 1 Yang knocked out four opponents to advance to the final against 19-year-old Giorgi Sardalashvili of Georgia. The 25-year-old Taiwanese failed to defend his Abu Dhabi title after succumbing to Sardalashvili, who won the Malaga Junior European Cup in May. Yang was a gold medalist at the Antalya Grand Slam in April and the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in November last year. He is next to compete at the Tokyo Grand Slam in December.
CHESS
Niemann sues Carlsen
Hans Niemann is seeking US$100 million in a US lawsuit alleging that world champion Magnus Carlsen, Chess.com and others destroyed his career with false accusations of cheating, elevating a controversy that has roiled the chess world since last month. The 19-year-old grandmaster on Thursday filed the lawsuit in US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St Louis against Carlsen, who has suggested that Niemann cheated during his upset win over Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup. The suit alleges that Carlsen, Chess.com and others worked together to defame and libel Niemann after his Sinquefield Cup win. Niemann says tournaments have banned him, matches have been canceled and reputable chess schools would not hire him over the accusations.
GOLF
Lowry leaves to buy putter
Ireland’s Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open champion, on Thursday surprised shoppers at a golf store after accidentally breaking his putter during the PGA CJ Cup. Lowry broke his putter during the opening round and was forced to make his shopping trip as the course equipment trailers had already left the course. “I was pulling my putter out of the bag and as it came out, it fell. Tried to flick it up with my foot and I caught it like right where the graphite meets the steel on those shafts and it just snapped in half,” he said. “I had to like pick Matt Fitzpatrick off the ground from laughing.” Lowry used a lob wedge as a putter before his agent retrieved a putter from a club member’s bag to complete the round. After that, he drove an hour to Bluffton, South Carolina, to a PGA Tour Superstore. “The customers were doing a couple of double takes. It was fine. Never a dull moment,” he said.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
His team were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in agonizing fashion on Tuesday, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DR Congo) human statue Michel Kuka Mboladinga would be remembered as the tournament’s most remarkable supporter. The colorfully dressed Kuka has earned fame as the fan who stands completely immobile throughout his team’s games, looking toward the sky with his right arm raised and palm open. He has become a media star and on Tuesday was accompanied by a delegation of several hundred Congolese supporters whose trip to Morocco was paid for by the country’s government. They took their
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