TABLE TENNIS
Taiwanese legend withdraws
Taiwanese legend Chuang Chih-yuan has withdrawn from the world rankings of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), although he can still participate in other international tournaments. As of Tuesday, Chuang’s name had been removed from the ITTF world rankings list, where he was last ranked 44th. Taiwan’s governing body said that Chuang submitted to the ITTF an application to withdraw from the list last week. “We double-checked his intentions before we sent the letter to the ITTF,” said Yeh Kuo-chin, the national body’s secretary-general. Yeh did not rule out the 43-year-old participating in international tournaments, as he is still sponsored by the Sports Administration’s Golden Plan. “He probably does not plan to compete in as many tournaments as he did. Now that he has no world ranking, he will be unseeded if he competes in a tournament,” Yeh said. Chuang has said that he would focus more on training young talent. Chuang has participated in all six Summer Olympics since the Athens Games in 2004, with his best performance being a fourth-place finish in the men’s singles at the 2012 London Olympics. In August last year, after Taiwan’s men’s team lost to Japan in the quarter-finals, Chuang announced that the Paris Olympics would be his last. Over the past five months, the only international tournament he has competed in was the WTT Champions Macau in September, at which he lost in the first round.
Photo: CNA
GOLF
OWGR adds Taiwan tour
The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) on Tuesday said that it would include the PGA Tour of Taiwan in its system effective on Week 1 this year. The body — which administers and publishes weekly rankings based on the relative performances of male golfers at “Eligible Golf Tours” worldwide — said that it would also use a new points distribution curve for tournaments with “Low Field Ratings” to award a larger percentage of rankings points to the top finishers. Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion and a golf broadcast analyst, is to take over as chair of the body on April 10, its board said.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Paolo Guerrero retires
Peru’s record goalscorer Paolo Guerrero on Tuesday announced his retirement from international soccer at the age of 41. “The national team needs new people, new faces. What people are asking for are new players, so let’s give the youngsters a chance,” Guerrero told reporters. Guerrero made his national team debut against Bolivia in October 2004. He is Peru’s all-time leading scorer with 40 goals in 125 appearances. The former Bayern Munich, Hamburg SV and Corinthians striker’s final game for Peru was a 1-0 loss to Argentina in November in FIFA World Cup qualifying. Guerrero, who plays for Alianza Lima in his homeland, participated at six Copa America tournaments as well as the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Stade Rennais, four days after firing coach Habib Beye, stunned Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on Friday, snapping the defending champions’ seven-match winning run in French Ligue 1. Second-placed RC Lens could leapfrog the champions and retake top spot last night after press time if they beat Paris FC in the capital. PSG started brightly, with Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue carving openings to no avail. Rennes fired Beye on Monday and promoted his assistant Sebastien Tambouret, and the same players who had lost four games on the bounce seemed transformed. Jordanian forward Mousa al-Tamari bagged the opener, unleashing a fierce strike
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Manchester City FC halved Arsenal FC’s lead at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 home defeat of Fulham FC, and Aston Villa FC stayed in the frame with a late 1-0 victory at home to Brighton and Hove Albion FC on Wednesday. Nottingham Forest FC squandered a chance to put some distance between themselves and the bottom three as they drew 0-0 at home to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Second-from-bottom Burnley FC pulled off a remarkable 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace FC to boost their slender survival hopes. City have little margin for error in their pursuit
RSS