BADMINTON
Taiwanese duo advance
Taiwan’s mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan have advanced to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters. The pair defeated Denmark’s Mads Vestergaard and Christine Busch, ranked No. 20 in the world, 21-18, 21-19 yesterday to secure their first-ever semi-final berth at a Super 500 tournament. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. After the match, Ye said he was unsatisfied with his and Chan’s performance, especially because they had trailed at the start of both games. “It’s great that we were able to come back,” he said, adding that they would work on improving that aspect of their game. They are to next face China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping, the second seeds in the mixed doubles event.
SOCCER
UEFA runs out of medals
UEFA has apologized for running out of winners medals during the Europa League final trophy ceremony on Wednesday after more Tottenham Hotspur players than expected lined up to receive their individual prizes. Spurs captain Son Heung-min and two other players, the last to line up for individual medals, were left empty-handed after their team beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the club’s fourth European title. Son lifted the trophy without a medal around his neck. “To our great displeasure, we did not have enough medals available on stage during the trophy ceremony presentation due to an unexpected discrepancy in the player count,” UEFA said on Thursday, adding that “more team members — including injured players — participated in the ceremony than initially anticipated. The missing medals were promptly delivered to the winning team in the dressing room, along with our sincerest apologies for the oversight.”
SAILING
Americans to miss own cup
American Magic has put its participation in the next America’s Cup in serious doubt after it cited “transparency” concerns related to Team New Zealand’s decision to hold the 2027 regatta in Naples, Italy. The team who represented the New York Yacht Club in last year’s cup in Barcelona, Spain, issued a statement on Thursday saying defending champions Team New Zealand “has been unwilling to commit to the transparency and cooperation necessary” regarding its plans for Naples that were announced last week. If American Magic does not compete and no other American team enters in its place, then for the first time in the event’s history, there would not be an American syndicate in the America’s Cup. American boats have won the America’s Cup a record 30 times and held it from its first race in 1851 all the way through 1983, when an Australian syndicate won. Team New Zealand responded to the American Magic statement by publicly releasing the latest draft version of the 2027 protocols “as an illustration of complete transparency.” American Magic’s complaint was made public shortly after British team Athena Racing, representing all challengers, issued a statement criticizing what it called the lack of information provided by Team New Zealand on the deal with Italian organizers. It is “difficult to understand what exactly has been agreed between Team New Zealand and the government of Italy as the sporting framework and details of the event do not yet exist,” Athena said.
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
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