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.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
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