BADMINTON
Taiwanese into semis
Taiwanese badminton players have secured all four semi-final spots in the men’s doubles at this year’s BWF Canada Open, guaranteeing that the title would return to Taiwan for the first time in more than a decade. Among the semi-finalists are top-seeded twin brothers Lee Fang-jen and Lee Fang-chih, joined by three other Taiwanese pairs: He Zhi-wei and Huang Jui-hsuan, Chang Ko-chi and Po Li-wei, and Wei Chun-wei and Yang Po-chih. The Lee brothers, who placed third at the Swiss Open in March, are set to face He and Huang in an all-Taiwan semi-final matchup. In women’s doubles, Hsu Yin-hui and Lin Jhih-yun advanced to the semi-finals after a hard-fought victory over compatriots Hu Ling-fang and Jheng Yu-chieh in the quarter-finals on Friday. The other women’s doubles semi-final would see Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mai Tanabe take on Taiwanese duo Chang Ching-hui and Yang Ching-tun. Meanwhile, in singles play, world No. 6 Chou Tien-chen was eliminated from the tournament after falling to India’s Srikanth Kidambi 18-21, 9-21 in the quarter-finals.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Korbin Albert joins Lyon
US midfielder Korbin Albert has joined Lyon from Paris Saint-Germain on a three-season deal until the end of June 2028. Albert joined PSG in 2022. She played 71 matches in all competitions and scored nine goals for the Parisian club. Albert has made 26 appearances for the US. She was part of the team which won gold at the Paris Olympics last year
RUGBY
HK set for World Cup
Hong Kong qualified for the Rugby World Cup for the first time in their history yesterday as they romped past South Korea 70-22 in Incheon, South Korea, to become Asia champions. The victory gave Hong Kong a sixth consecutive Asia Rugby Championship and with it a place in the expanded 24-team tournament to be hosted by Australia in 2027. Hong Kong, globally famous for its annual Sevens tournament, would now rub shoulders in the 15-a-side showpiece with the likes of world champions South Africa and New Zealand’s All Blacks. “It’s pretty overwhelming to be honest,” said No. 8 Josh Hrstich, the Hong Kong captain. “Just super, super proud of our playing group, our management, coaching staff and people behind the scenes. There’s a lot that goes into making a team successful,” he said.
RUGBY
All Blacks beat France
Will Jordan scored a try in each half and Beauden Barrett kicked to perfection as the All Blacks overcame three canceled tries to claim a nervous 31-27 win over France to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series in Dunedin yesterday. Fielding only three players from their Six Nations title-deciding win over Scotland, the depleted French gave Scott Robertson’s team a huge scare in an entertaining match at sold-out Forsyth-Barr stadium. However, a late Barrett penalty proved enough for the All Blacks to hold on, snapping a three-match losing streak against Les Bleus. “Just a typical test match against the French for us,” said Jordan, who was denied a hat-trick try by the television match official. The teams are meet in Wellington on Saturday and in Hamilton a week later.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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