BADMINTON
Chou eyes Loh rematch
Taiwan’s world No. 7 shuttler Chou Tien-chen yesterday opened his men’s singles campaign at the Thailand Open with a decisive victory over Japan’s Yushi Tanaka, putting him on track for a rematch against Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew after their brutal Taipei Open showdown. Chou, the third seed, downed world No. 23 Tanaka 21-17, 21-17 in 32 minutes. If Chou and Loh win their second-round matches, they would face each other in the quarter-finals, just five days after Loh edged Chou 21-14, 15-21, 22-20 in a close final in Taipei. They are tied at four wins apiece in their previous eight matches.
BASKETBALL
Taiwan to face Japan in fall
Taiwan is on Nov. 28 to play Japan in the first round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers. FIBA on Tuesday announced the draws for qualifying for the 2027 World Cup in Doha. Taiwan would also play South Korea and China in Group B. Sixteen teams in Asia are vying for seven World Cup spots, with hosts Qatar already qualified. Four groups of four teams compete in the first round, with the top three teams from each group moving on to the second round.
TABLE TENNIS
Lin Yu-ju rises in rankings
Taiwanese paddler Lin Yu-ju rose two spots to world No. 12 in WTT men’s singles rankings released on Tuesday. The 23-year-old left-hander, nicknamed “The Silent Assassin,” this year was knocked out of the Singapore Smash and the WTT Champions Chongqing quarter-finals by world No. 1 Lin Shidong of China. Last month, Lin made it to the WTT Champions Incheon semi-finals.
TENNIS
Taiwan’s Chan out in Italy
Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and partner Giuliana Olmos of Mexico on Tuesday crashed out of the Italian Open, losing 6-4, 6-2 to Russia’s Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva in their women’s doubles round-of-16 match. Chan and Olmos had advanced with a 6-4, 1-6, 10-7 victory over China’s Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai on Saturday last week. Fourth seeds Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia also exited in the second round with a 7-5, 6-2 loss to Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday. Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Chinese partner Jiang Xinyu on Friday last week lost their opening round 6-3, 6-4 to third seeds Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani of Italy.
CYCLING
Wiggins reveals addiction
Former Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins has revealed he became addicted to cocaine after retiring from cycling. In an interview with the Observer, the five-time Olympic gold medalist said he is “lucky” to be alive. “There were times my son thought I was going to be found dead in the morning,” the 45-year-old Wiggins said. “I was a functioning addict. People wouldn’t realize. I was high for most of the time for years.” The British cyclist was a gold medalist in four straight Olympics from 2004 and won the Tour in 2012. He retired in 2016. Wiggins told the Observer his cocaine addiction became a “really bad problem” and he was “walking a tightrope.” He quit his addiction a year ago, the newspaper said.
Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday homered for the fifth consecutive game, tying a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record. Yankees star Aaron Judge was the last player to homer in five consecutive games, accomplishing that feat last year. Ohtani, who leads the National League with 37 home runs, homered in the first inning off Minnesota Twins starter Chris Paddack. He hit a slow curveball 134m to center. He carried the bat midway down the first-base line and then did a bat flip. He did not hit a home run later in the game with the Dodgers trailing, but his presence was felt. With two outs
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Ben O’Connor won Thursday’s monster Alpine stage to the ski resort of Courchevel as three-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar responded to attacks from Jonas Vingegaard and dropped him to cement his grip on the yellow jersey. With just three stages left before the race ends in Paris, Pogacar looks poised to retain his title, with a comfortable lead of more than 4 minutes over Vingegaard, a two-time champion. Stage 18 featured three extremely difficult ascents, including the 26.4km climb of the Col de La Loze to the finish. At 2,304m, La Loze is the highest summit in this year’s Tour. Two
US top seed Taylor Fritz dropped an early yesterday morning marathon to Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina of Spain, while the UK’s Emma Raducanu and Canada’s Leylah Fernandez reached the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA DC Open. World number four Fritz, two points from victory in the ninth game, dropped the last five games in falling to the 26th-ranked Spaniard 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 7-5 after three hours and five minutes in a match ending just before 2am. Davidovich-Fokina advanced to the semi-final against US fourth seed Ben Shelton, who beat sixth-seeded hometown hero Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. Fritz, who had 20 aces and six
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