BADMINTON
Tai retires hurt in HK
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday retired from her match against world No. 31 Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia at the Hong Kong Open. Wardani, who beat Tai at the Taipei Open last week, was leading 6-2 when the Taiwanese star had to stop. In the men’s singles on Wednesday, Taiwanese world No. 9 Chou Tien-chen beat Canada’s Sheng Xiaodong 21-18, 21-12 and yesterday eliminated Saran Jamsri of Thailand 21-15 21-19. At the Vietnam Open, Taiwan’s Tung Ciou-tong and Lin Hsiang-ti face each other today in the quarter-finals. World No. 65 Lin defeated compatriot Huang Yu-hsun 21-16, 21-9, while world No. 102 Tung ousted Keisha Fatimah Azzahra of Azerbaijan 8-21, 21-15, 21-14 at the US$100,000 event. Other Taiwanese were to play after press time last night at both tournaments.
Photo: CNA
TABLE TENNIS
Lin Yun-ju wins in Macau
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju yesterday defeated Anton Kallberg of Sweden 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-9) in the men’s singles at the World Table Tennis Champions Macau. With the round-of-16 win, Lin earned a place in the quarter-finals today against Lin Shidong of China. Taiwan’s Kao Cheng-jui also advanced to the quarters, beating Chinese player Lin Gaoyuan 3-1 (11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9). Kao faces Sweden’s Truls Moregard today. In the women’s singles, Taiwan’s Cheng I-ching booked a quarter-final against Wang Manyu of China with a 3-1 (11-7, 12-10, 10-12, 11-6) victory over Orawan Paranang of Thailand. Cheng ousted compatriot Chien Tung-chuan in the round-of-32.
BASEBALL
Taiwan smash Colombia
Taiwan yesterday piled on six runs in the final frame as they beat Colombia 10-0 at the WBSC Under-23 Baseball World Cup in Shaoxing, China. Lead pitcher Huang Zi-hao conceded four hits in five scoreless innings before Chen Ping-hong closed out the seven-innings game at the Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Culture Center. Second baseman Tseng Yu-ching, third baseman Wang Nian-hao and designated hitter Lin Chia-wei each had two RBIs as Taiwan won their first game in the Placement Round. They face Australia today.
SOCCER
Kuwaiti officials sacked
The Kuwait Football Association has suspended one of its top bosses and its head of public relations over failings that left fans in sweltering temperatures for hours during a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Iraq. The association in a statement on Wednesday expressed its “deep regret” for ticketing and other logistical problems that marred the game at the 60,000-capacity Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium on Tuesday. It also said it would launch a probe into the shortcomings, which resulted in fans fainting in temperatures of more than 40°C as they pleaded with staff for water, with videos of the incidents shared on social media. The game was a 0-0 draw.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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