BADMINTON
Taiwan wins nine medals
Taiwanese shuttlers bagged five gold and four bronze medals at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Thailand to secure top spot on the tournament’s medal table. Taiwan’s first gold came on Sunday, when Yih Chung-hsiang defeated India’s Anish Danei Thoppani 21-8, 22-24, 21-19 in the Under-15 men’s singles final. Huang Tzu-yuan and Kung Chia-yi won the U-15 mixed doubles title, with Su Wei-cheng finishing first in the U-17 men’s singles competition. This was followed by golds for U-17 men’s doubles pairing Lai Po-yu and Lin Yi-hao, and U-17 mixed-doubles duo Bao Xin Da Gu La Wai and Hsieh Mi-yen. The four bronze medals were awarded in the U-15 men’s singles, U-15 men’s doubles, U-17 men’s doubles and U-17 mixed doubles.
SKIING
Kilde beats Odermatt again
Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on Sunday beat rival Marco Odermatt for a second straight day with another aggressive and precise run to win the men’s FIS Alpine Ski World Cup super-G race at Beaver Creek, Colorado, after edging the Swiss in the downhill on Saturday. Kilde tore down the challenging Birds of Prey course in 1 minute, 10.73 seconds, with Odermatt placing second, 0.20 seconds behind him. “It was tricky, quite dark, and there were lots of places where you could do mistakes,” Kilde said. “I just tried to keep it going, be smart and also charge down the pitch. I tried to go clean.” In the women’s World Cup, Olympic downhill gold medalist Corinne Suter won the super-G at Lake Louise, as Italian speed star Sofia Goggia proved human after all. Switzerland’s Suter, who had settled for second and third in the downhills won by Goggia on Friday and Saturday, clocked 1 minute, 20.75 seconds — her time withstanding a fierce challenge from Austrian Cornelia Huetter — who was runner-up by just two-hundredths of a second. “I think this season will be a very, very tight season,” Suter said. “There are so many girls who are skiing so fast and can win.”
GOLF
Hovland repeats Hero win
Viktor Hovland led by four shots at the turn. No one got closer to him than two shots during the final nine holes at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas on Sunday. It sounds easy, but was far from it. Hovland pulled a six-iron from an awkward lie into the water on the 18th hole and had to make a 6m bogey putt for a 3-under 69 to secure victory, enabling him to join tournament host Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners of the holiday event. “I made it a little more exciting, I guess,” Hovland said.
SOCCER
Sterling home after break-in
Raheem Sterling is to return home from England’s FIFA World Cup camp in Qatar, with doubts over whether he would return in time for Saturday’s quarter-final against France. The English Football Association said that the Chelsea forward was left out of Sunday’s 3-0 win over Senegal to deal with “a family matter.” Sterling’s home was broken into by armed intruders while his family were on the property on Saturday night, British media reported. “At the moment, clearly the priority is for him to be with his family. We’re going to support that and leave him to have as much time as he needs,” England manager Gareth Southgate said.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to