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.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
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