GOLF
Kim A-lim hits ace
Kim A-lim of South Korea on Friday sank a hole-in-one on the par-three ninth and birdied the final two holes for a five-under 67 and a one-stroke lead over Russia’s Nataliya Guseva at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii. “Calculate number and then chose line and then hit it,” said Kim, who used a nine-iron on the 140-yard ninth hole. “I think 99 percent lucky.” Taiwan’s Hou Yu-sang hit a 73 at the Hoakalei Country Club to go with her first two rounds of 70 and 74. She was 217 overall and in a share of 58th.
Photo: AFP
TABLE TENNIS
Taiwan’s Lin reaches semis
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju on Friday advanced to the semi-finals of the men’s singles at the WTT Champions Frankfurt in Germany. Lin defeated Hugo Calderanol of Brazil in the quarter-finals 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-9), his third five-game match out of three at the tournament. He was to play after press time last night against China’s Lin Shidong, who beat Sora Matsushima of Japan 3-1 (11-2, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9) to make the last four.
Photo: AP
BASEBALL
Sasaki given MLB nod
Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki yesterday was given the green light to move to the MLB. Sasaki, widely regarded as one of the best players in Japan’s domestic league, would be posted for a potential move to the US, said his club, the Chiba Lotte Marines. That means MLB clubs will have the right to bid for the 23-year-old right-hander this off-season, in an agreement between the Japanese and US leagues. Sasaki threw a perfect game in April 2022 and was part of the Japan team who won last year’s World Baseball Classic. Sasaki said he had “nothing but gratitude” to the Marines for agreeing to post him. “You only get one baseball career and I don’t want to have any regrets,” he said.
SOCCER
OFC invites Australian clubs
Australian clubs have been invited to join the Oceania Football Confederation’s new OFC Professional League, almost two decades after the nation left the Pacific’s regional body to switch to Asia. The Auckland, New Zealand-headquartered OFC, which represents 11 full member associations and two associate members, on Friday issued the invitation to clubs from Australia ahead of the start of the new competition in 2026. “OFC’s consideration of an Australian based club reflects the strong Pacific communities across Australia and the ease of travel access to Pacific nations,” the body said on its official Web site. The proposed move would bring “significant benefits, including increased visibility and market reach, enhanced competitive standards, stronger economic and cultural links, and new development pathways for Pacific players,” the OFC said.
Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said. The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
Mary McGee, a female racing pioneer and subject profiled in an Oscar-contending documentary, Motorcycle Mary, has died, her family said. She was 87. “McGee’s unparalleled achievements in off-road racing and motorcycle racing have inspired generations of athletes that followed in her footsteps,” her family said in a statement. The family said McGee died of complications from a stroke at her home in Gardnerville, Nevada, on Wednesday, the day before the release of the short documentary Motorcycle Mary, on ESPN’s YouTube channel. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was an executive producer on the film, which became available globally on Thursday. Its premiere
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