ULTRAMARATHON
Taiwanese finishes third
Taiwanese runner Tommy Chen on Friday completed the Classic Edition of the 6633 Arctic Ultra, a non-stop 617km foot race along the arctic circle in Canada. Chen completed the race in 7 days, 23 hours, 19 minutes, behind British athlete Guy Belchier, who was second, and Australian Aaron Crook, who was first in 7 days, 22 hours, 35 minutes. Seven runners competed in this year’s Arctic Ultra, which started at Eagle Plains in Yukon territory and ended on the shore of the Arctic Ocean, the event’s Web site said. The 38-year-old Taiwanese was the only Asian athlete participating in the race this year. When he was in Taiwan last month, Chen said he trained hard for the race and expressed hope that more people would bravely take action to pursue their dreams. “When you put your heart and soul into it, you will be closer to achieving your dreams,” he said.
BADMINTON
Taiwan’s Lin makes semis
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Friday bested countryman Lee Chia-hao to advance to the men’s singles semi-finals at the Orleans Masters in France. Lin was to play Ayush Shetty of India in the semi-finals after press time last night. It took Lin, ranked No. 14 in the world by the Badminton World Federation, 59 minutes to beat Lee 18-21, 22-20, 21-12 in the quarter-finals at the Palais des Sports arena. In the opener, Lin lost momentum after leading 8-3. He bounced back in the second game and played aggressively in the third to shut Lee down.
RUGBY UNION
Barrett injures hand
The Auckland Blues yesterday said that All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett would be sidelined for an undefined period after fracturing a hand in his team’s 21-20 Super Rugby Pacific loss against the ACT Brumbies on Friday. Barrett was forced off during the first half at Eden Park with the injury after helping his team to take the lead. In the 33-year-old’s absence, the Australian side fought back to secure their first win in Auckland since 2013. “The Blues medical team has confirmed that Beauden Barrett, who was forced out of the game at halftime, has suffered a hand fracture,” the Blues said in a statement on Instagram. “The injury requires ongoing assessment before determining details of treatment or time required for recovery. We’ll update when we can.” Hand fractures typically have a recovery time of six to eight weeks. Brumbies prop James Slipper became the second-most-capped Super Rugby player of all time, making his 186th appearance to pass former Otago Highlanders scrumhalf Aaron Smith. Former Canterbury Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett holds the record with 202 matches. In results from round four games played yesterday, the Fijian Drua beat the Waikato Chiefs 28-24 in the rain in Lautoka, Fiji. The win ended the visitors’ unbeaten start to the Super Rugby Pacific season. Ponipate Loganimasi’s stunning try helped put the Drua in a winning position. Loganimasi gathered a kick inside his own half, spun through a tackle and kicked ahead before winning the chase for the touchdown. Elsewhere, Moana Pasifika downed the Wellington Hurricanes 40-31 and the NSW Waratahs defeated the Western Force 34-10. The Canterbury Crusaders face the Queensland Reds today.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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