BADMINTON
Taiwanese pair make final
Taiwanese made one final at the Vietnam Open after the men’s doubles pair of He Zhi-wei and Huang Jui-hsuan advanced with a walkover in yesterday’s semi-finals in Ho Chi Minh City. Japanese pair Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami were unable to play yesterday, handing He and Huang free passage into today’s final against Raymond Indra and Patra Harapan Rindorindo of Indonesia, who beat Cui Hechen and Peng Jianqin of China 24-22, 21-16 at the US$100,000 event. In the women’s doubles, Lee Chih-chen and Lin Yen-yu lost 21-16, 21-18 against Tidapron Kleebyeesun and Nattamon Laisuan of Thailand, while in the women’s singles, Vietnam’s Thuy Linh Nguyen beat Lin Hsiang-ti 21-13, 22-20. At the Hong Kong Open, the final Taiwanese were eliminated. Chiu Hsiang-chieh and Wang Chi-lin were the last Taiwanese remaining at the Hong Kong Coliseum, but were beaten in their men’s doubles semi-final 21-23, 21-15, 21-16 by South Korean duo Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae. Chiu and Wang advanced on Friday with a 23-21, 21-17 win over Chinese pair Huang Di and Zhou Haodong.
TABLE TENNIS
Taiwan’s Kao loses
Taiwan’s Kao Cheng-jui yesterday was eliminated in the men’s singles at the World Table Tennis Champions Macau, losing to Qiu Dang of Germany 4-2 (8-11, 16-14, 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 11-3). Kao reached the semis with a 3-2 (4-11, 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7) win against Truls Moregard of Sweden. Lin Yun-ju exited on Friday, beaten in the quarter-finals 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-9) by Lin Shidong of China. In the women’s singles on Friday, Taiwan’s Cheng I-ching was eliminated in the quarters by China’s Wang Manyu, who won 3-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7).
BASEBALL
Taiwan finish with loss
Taiwan yesterday lost to Britain 2-1, both teams’ final game at the WBSC Under-23 Baseball World Cup in Shaoxing, China. Britain went ahead in the top of the second inning after Taiwan left three men on base in the bottom of the first. They doubled their lead in the fourth inning and held Taiwan scoreless until the seventh and final inning. Right fielder Huang Bo-rui hit a double and pinch hitter Wang Shun-ho singled to right center to bring Huang home with two out, but second baseman Zheng Jun-wei hit a fly-ball that was caught to end it. On Friday, Taiwan beat Australia 4-3. Taiwan finished fifth in the Placement Round with a 2-3 record. Nicaragua (5-0) were first, followed by Venezuela (3-2), South Korea (3-2) and the Netherlands (2-3). South Africa (0-5) were last. The teams from the Super Round are to play the bronze-medal game and the world championship final today.
CRICKET
England level series
Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell on Friday shared 90 runs to lead England to a T20 series-tying win over Australia at Sophia Gardens. The series is to be decided today at Old Trafford. Set 194 to win, England slipped to 79-3 when Phil Salt walked into an apparent trap laid by fellow captain Travis Head, but Livingstone and Bethell broke the back of the chase. Bethell’s dismissal disrupted England, but Livingstone carried them to the brink of victory with a superb 87 off 47.
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
For some, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the essential spearhead for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup bid, while others believe his presence would prevent Roberto Martinez’s strong side from flourishing. The debate around the five-time Ballon d’Or winner rages on, as it did at UEFA Euro 2024 and four years ago in Qatar — yet Ronaldo endures, ready to play in a record sixth World Cup. The 41-year-old remains a global superstar despite swapping the European elite for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, and is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 strikes. With 25 of those coming in 30 games under Martinez, the coach
Taiwanese sprinter Chen Yi-cen on Friday won the silver medal in the women’s 400m final at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, with a time of 53.16 seconds. Chen, 15, was the youngest among the eight finalists, and her performance also met the qualifying standard of 53.50 seconds for the Nagoya Asian Games in Japan in September and October. Chen first made her mark at the National Games in Tainan in 2023, at the age of 13, winning the women’s 400m final in 55.55 seconds to become the youngest gold medalist in the history of the event. Meanwhile,
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