FENCING
U-17 team win title
Taiwan’s male under-17 fencers successfully defended their team epee title after defeating South Korea at the 2025 Asian Cadet Fencing Championships in Kuwait. The team clinched the gold with a 45-40 win in Sunday’s final. Chen Bing-jyun got his revenge against Choi Chan-young, who had beaten Chen in Friday’s individual epee final. Joining Chen on Taiwan’s gold-winning team were Lin Mao-xiang, Lee You-chen and Su Min-yi. Coach Ding Hong-kai lauded the young fencers for their boldness in attacking and resilience throughout the competition despite their inexperience. “Even when our athletes made mistakes, they were able to correct them immediately and capitalize on delayed actions to turn the bouts in their favor,” Ding said.
TABLE TENNIS
Lin Yun-ju ends in fourth
Taiwan’s top male paddler Lin Yun-ju lost 4-0 on Sunday to China’s Lin Shidong, world No. 1, in the men’s singles third-place match at the Asian Cup Table Tennis Tournament in China. Lin Yun-ju’s bid for a medal in the tournament ended with a 1-9, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 defeat in the match, which lasted 35 minutes. It was his seventh consecutive loss to the 19-year-old Chinese player in seven tries. Despite his loss, Lin Yun-ju’s fourth-place finish was a personal best in the Asian Cup and earned him a ticket to the Table Tennis World Cup tournament in April. Meanwhile, in the tournament’s title match, China’s Wang Chuqin, who beat Lin Yun-ju in the semi-finals earlier in the day, defeated his compatriot Liang Jingkun to take the gold.
SOCCER
Van Persie confirmed
Feyenoord have confirmed Robin van Persie as their new coach, a return to the club where he started and ended his illustrious playing career, after a deal was reached to release him from his position at Heerenveen. The 41-year-old Dutchman has signed a contract until June 2027 and would be joined by assistant coach Rene Hake, who briefly worked under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United earlier this season before the latter was sacked. “Everyone knows how special my bond with Feyenoord is,” Van Persie told the club’s Web site.
TENNIS
Williams declines invitation
Former world No. 1 Venus Williams would not compete at next month’s Indian Wells tournament despite the WTA 1000 event giving the 44-year-old American a wild card. Williams, who played only two tournaments last season, said at a speaking event in Denmark that she had not been told of the wildcard before the tournament announced it on Wednesday last week and added that she was unable to compete due to prior commitments. “I found the announcement super amusing because, I don’t know, people seem to be happy, so I was like: ‘Maybe I’ll just go with it, I don’t know,’” Williams said at the event in the city of Naestved. “I’m actually not going. I’m going to be overseas.” Williams boycotted the event for 15 years after fans booed and heckled her younger sister Serena during her 2001 final victory over Kim Clijsters, apparently in response to Venus withdrawing injured from their semi-final.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
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