BADMINTON
Taiwanese duo win final
Taiwan’s He Zhi-wei and Huang Jui-hsuan yesterday beat Indonesia’s Raymond Indra and Patra Harapan Rindorindo 16-21, 21-19, 21-18 to win the men’s doubles at the Vietnam Open. The Taiwanese pair made the finals with a walkover on Saturday after Japan’s Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami withdrew from the semi-final. The BWF Super 100 tournament, which started on Tuesday last week at the Nguyen Du Club in Ho Chi Minh City, had a total purse of US$100,000.
TENNIS
Chan exits Seoul singles
Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching on Saturday crashed out of the Korea Open women’s singles qualifiers, losing 6-1, 6-1 to 12th seed Kyoka Okamura of Japan. Chan and her Russian partner Veronika Kudermetova are tomorrow to start their women’s doubles campaign against Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia and Britain’s Olivia Nicholls. Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Chinese partner Jiang Xinyu are today to play Nao Hibino of Japan and Priscilla Hon of Australia. Meanwhile at the Thailand Open in Hua Hin, Taiwan’s Liang En-shou yesterday crashed out of the second day of qualifying in the women’s singles, losing 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew, after beating Thailand’s Kamonwan Yodpetch 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday. Liang and Chinese partner Tang Qianhui are tomorrow to play Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and Feng Shuo of China in the first round of the women’s doubles.
RUNNING
Misoi, Edesa smash records
Kenya’s Brimin Misoi and Ethiopian star Workenesh Edesa Gurmesa yesterday smashed the Sydney Marathon course record to win the men’s and women’s races respectively. Misoi sliced 46 seconds off the previous best set two years ago by compatriot Moses Kibet, crossing the line in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 17 seconds after making his break from the leading pack at the 30km mark. Edesa, world No. 10, was even more impressive, shattering the old record of 2:24:33 set five years ago by Kenyan Stella Barsosio by almost 3 minutes.
RUGBY UNION
Japan sweep Samoa
Japan yesterday set up a Pacific Nations Cup final showdown with defending champions Fiji after sweeping aside Samoa with a rampant 49-27 win in Tokyo. Japan scored four tries in the first half and three in the second to give Eddie Jones his third straight win after a tricky start to his second stint as head coach. Jones would hope to keep the streak going in next weekend’s final in Osaka against Fiji, who beat the US in the first semi-final.
HOBBY-HORSING
Germany hosts tournament
Germany on Saturday and yesterday held its first hobby-horsing championship in Frankfurt, with about 300 young riders competing in time jumping, style jumping and dressage on their wooden stick horses in front of 1,500 spectators. The competition is part of a growing wave of hobby-horsing events internationally. “Hobby-horsing just gives me self-confidence and I just enjoy doing it with other people,” said Max Gohde, a 15-year-old competitor from Gifhorn, Germany, who has been practicing since 2020. “And now there’s also this atmosphere here, where everyone is just happy for you, and I think that’s just really cool.”
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Manchester City have confirmed defender Josko Gvardiol suffered a broken leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Gvardiol was one of two City centerbacks who went off injured in the second half, along with Ruben Dias, before Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equalizer for the visitors. The draw left second-placed City six points behind English Premier League leaders Arsenal. City, announcing Gvardiol sustained a tibial fracture to his right leg, added in a statement issued on Monday: “The defender will have surgery later this week and assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
His team were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in agonizing fashion on Tuesday, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DR Congo) human statue Michel Kuka Mboladinga would be remembered as the tournament’s most remarkable supporter. The colorfully dressed Kuka has earned fame as the fan who stands completely immobile throughout his team’s games, looking toward the sky with his right arm raised and palm open. He has become a media star and on Tuesday was accompanied by a delegation of several hundred Congolese supporters whose trip to Morocco was paid for by the country’s government. They took their
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