CRICKET
Sri Lanka thrash Ireland
Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory with five overs to spare against Ireland in both teams’ T20 World Cup Super 12 opener yesterday. After Ireland had won the toss and chose to bat first in overcast and wintry conditions at Bellerive Oval in Hobart, Australia, Sri Lanka’s bowlers made regular breakthroughs to restrict the Irish to 128-8 after 20 overs. “This is the kind of cricket we want to play,” Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka said. “We knew the spinners would play a major role in this game... Death bowling is our key area and the start is important, we did that really good. We want to continue with that confidence.” Chasing 129 for victory never proved a difficult challenge for Sri Lanka, who chased down the below-par target in 15 overs to claim the win. Kusal Mendis was the top scorer with 68 off 43 balls, with five boundaries and three sixes, including hitting a six to win the match off the final ball of the 15th over. Sri Lanka and Ireland are joined by Australia, New Zealand, England and Afghanistan in Group 1 for the second round.
RUGBY UNION
England’s women oust SA
England yesterday turned on the power to rout South Africa 75-0 in Auckland and set up a quarter-final against Australia as the last eight line-up was decided at the Women’s Rugby World Cup. A rampant England showed why they are the tournament favorites in a muscular display where forwards scored 12 of their 13 tries. Earlier, Canada beat the US 29-14 and Italy defeated Japan 21-8 to also book quarter-final berths. While they scored more tries and points than any other team, England are take a third seeding into the quarter-finals behind hosts New Zealand and Canada as they failed to earn a bonus point in last week’s 13-7 defeat of France. It means they are to face the sixth-seeded Wallaroos next week, while the other quarter-finals are to be between teams who have already met each other in pool play. The top-seeded Black Ferns are to face Wales, second seeds Canada are to repeat yesterday’s match against the US and France are to play Italy. On her tournament debut, lock Rosie Galligan scored a hat-trick of tries, while there were doubles for hooker Connie Powell and replacement flanker Sadia Kabeya.
BADMINTON
Taiwan juniors take second
Taiwan on Saturday lost 1-3 to South Korea in the final of the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships in Santander, Spain, but still claimed second place in the annual tournament — an all-time best. Undefeated in the group preliminary stage, with wins over Germany, Peru, Portugal and Georgia, Taiwan saw off England 3-0 and then edged out defending champions Indonesia 3-2 in the semi-finals. The final against South Korea started with the men’s singles. Kuo Kuan-lin lost a bruising, 65-minute match 21-14, 22-24, 19-21 to Byung Jae Kim, putting Taiwan down 0-1. After a loss in the second match, Taiwan managed to stave off elimination in the third, with the men’s doubles pairing of Huang Jui-hsuan and Tsai Fu-cheng stringing together a 21-18, 17-21, 21-13 win to bring the score to 1-2. In the fourth match, women’s doubles team Nicole Gonzales Chan and Yang Chu-yun briefly raised hopes of a Taiwan comeback with an early five-point lead, but went on to lose the first game 18-21 and the second 12-21.
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
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