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Taiwanese legend Chuang Chih-yuan has withdrawn from the world rankings of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), although he can still participate in other international tournaments.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.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
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