Lai Xiang-chen became the first Taiwanese woman to play professional volleyball in Germany after a German team announced signing her on Sunday.
The VfB Suhl LOTTO Thuringen professional women’s volleyball team announced Lai’s signing on its official Web site and Instagram, saying it was pleased to add the 30-year-old Lai as the team’s libero to strengthen its defense.
“Lai brings international quality to the libero position,” the team wrote. “With her training in Taiwan’s competitive youth programs and several seasons in her home country’s top league, Lai established herself as a key player in reception and defense.”
Photo: CNA
VfB also praised Lai’s previous achievements such as playing for Taiwan’s national team several times at international tournaments, including the Asian Women’s Volleyball Cup, the Asian Volleyball Championship and the Asian Games.
VfB is pleased to welcome Lai for her strong technique, speed and skill in reception and defense, head coach Laszlo Hollosy said.
“Xiang-chen impressed us not only with her game intelligence, but also with her professional attitude and presence on the court,” Hollosy said. “We are convinced that she will play an important role in our defensive structure and be a key figure in the coming season.”
Before Lai, the only other Taiwanese woman to play volleyball professionally in Europe was Yang Yi-chen who joined Italy’s Lardini Filottrano as a setter in 2018.
Lai most recently played for China’s Guangdong Shenzhen Glorious in the China Volleyball League for two seasons from 2023 to this year before getting her German contract.
Lai said she chose Suhl, because she believes it is a great environment for her to develop further as a player and as a person.
“I’m excited about the new challenges and look forward to being part of the team and giving my best in the coming season,” she said over VfB’s Web site.
In another statement, Lai said that she had wanted to play in Europe early on in her career and that she was able to get the opportunity to fulfill the dream after VfB came across her tournament tapes by chance.
The opportunity to play in Germany is not only a career milestone but also a chance to find new excitement and growth, she added.
Lai said she would spend time in Taiwan getting into better physical shape for the start of the new European season in October.
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt yesterday backed Nick Champion de Crespigny to be the team’s “roving scavenger” after handing him a shock debut in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane. Hard man Champion de Crespigny, who spent three seasons at French side Castres before moving to the Western Force this year, is to get his chance tomorrow with first-choice blindside flanker Rob Valetini not fully fit. His elevation is an eye-opener, preferred to Tom Hooper, but Schmidt said he had no doubt about his abilities. “I keep an eye on the Top 14 having coached there many years
ON A KNEE: In the MLB’s equivalent of soccer’s penalty-kicks shoot-out, the game was decided by three batters from each side taking three swings each off coaches Kyle Schwarber was nervous. He had played in Game 7 of the MLB World Series and homered for the US in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), but he had never walked up to the plate in an All-Star Game swing-off. No one had. “That’s kind of like the baseball version of a shoot-out,” Schwarber said after homering on all three of his swings, going down to his left knee on the final one, to overcome a two-homer deficit. That held up when Jonathan Aranda fell short on the American League’s final three swings, giving the National League a 4-3 swing-off win after
Seattle’s Cal Raleigh defeated Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 18-15 in Monday’s final to become the first catcher to win the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. The 28-year-old switch-hitter, who leads MLB with 38 homers this season, won US$1 million by capturing the special event for sluggers at Atlanta’s Truist Park ahead of yesterday’s MLB All-Star Game. “It means the world,” Raleigh said. “I could have hit zero home runs and had just as much fun. I just can’t believe I won. It’s unbelievable.” Raleigh, who advanced from the first round by less than 25mm on a longest homer tiebreaker, had his father