SOCCER
Taiwan, Thailand draw
Taiwan and Thailand tied 2-2 in a friendly match at the National Stadium in Kaohsiung on Friday, with own-goals benefiting both teams. Thailand’s Kritsada Kaman helped his opponents take the lead in the 48th minute before teammate Teerasil Dangda equalized with a right-footed shot from inside the penalty area. An own-goal by Wang Rui in the 84th minute seemed to have sunk the hosts, but Chen Ting-yang leveled three minutes later.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Transportation Bureau
BADMINTON
Both Taiwanese exit
Badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen on Friday swiftly routed Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, storming into the Indonesia Open semi-finals, while Tai Tzu-ying exited in the women’s singles, beaten 21-18, 21-13 by Carolina Marin of Spain. Danish ace Axelsen played with an aura of invincibility in Jakarta, racing to a quarter-final victory over the world No. 8 21-5, 21-19 in 39 minutes. “I think first set, I played really, really well. I came out really strong. I’m a little bit disappointed about my level in the second game, but all in all, I’m really happy to be in the semi-final,” he told reporters.
CRICKET
Declaration does not shock
England captain Ben Stokes’ bold declaration on the opening day of the first Ashes Test might have come as a shock to cricket traditionalists, but it was “no surprise” to teammate Jonny Bairstow. England were 393-8 at Edgbaston, with Joe Root unbeaten on 118 and in superb touch after leading a revival from a mid-innings slump, when Stokes called a halt. With 20 minutes left in the day, Stokes was prepared to lose the promise of extra runs in the hope of snaring an Australia wicket in the four overs remaining before Friday’s close. However, there was no breakthrough, with Australia 14-0 at stumps. “I’m sure there’s many decisions Ben has made that have taken commentators and other people by surprise, but it was no surprise to us,” Bairstow said. Australia paceman Josh Hazlewood, who marked his return to Test cricket with 2-61 in 15 overs, said that the tourists were not taken aback by Stokes’ declaration. “I think once Joe got his hundred and they were playing a few shots, I sensed it was coming, that’s sort of the way they’re playing their cricket at the moment,” he said. Australia were 78-3 at lunch at press time last night.
CYCLING
Swiss Gino Mader dies
Swiss cyclist Gino Mader died on Friday, one day after crashing and falling down a ravine during a descent at the Tour de Suisse. He was 26. Mader crashed after a left-hand turn on a fast downhill road approaching the end of the mountainous fifth stage into La Punt. His fall of about 30m ended in a stream. “Gino lost his battle to recover from the severe injuries he sustained,” his Bahrain-Victorious team said in a statement. “Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team.”
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
RSS