MARTIAL ARTS
Chao claims World bronze
Taiwanese martial artist Chao Tang-hsuan secured Taiwan’s first medal at the 17th World Wushu Championships in Brazil, claiming bronze in the women’s nandao discipline. Competing in Brasilia on Wednesday, Chao placed third out of 22 participants with a score of 9.693 points, finishing behind China’s Zhang Yalin (9.746) and Malaysia’s Tan Cheong Min (9.726). A student at National Taiwan Sports University, Chao is one of 13 Taiwanese athletes competing at the biennial tournament. She began practicing martial arts in third grade and has previously claimed one gold and two silver medals at the 2019 Asian Junior Wushu Taolu Championships, along with a bronze in the group event. The World Wushu Championships — the sport’s premier competition, featuring taolu and sanda as its two main disciplines — runs until today, bringing together more than 200 martial artists from more than 70 countries.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Mbappe equals ‘Titi’s’ tally
France forward Kylian Mbappe said equaling Thierry Henry’s tally of 51 international goals was an honor, but added that surpassing Olivier Giroud’s record was not something he dwells on. Mbappe’s 82nd-minute strike against Ukraine on Friday, set up by his Real Madrid teammate Aurelien Tchouameni following a swift counterattack, lifted him to 51 international goals, level with Henry in second place on France’s all-time scoring list, behind Giroud’s 57. France opened their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with a commanding 2-0 victory over Ukraine, with Michael Olise scoring early before Mbappe sealed the result late on at the Wroclaw Stadium in Poland. “Big up to Titi [Henry], but now I want to surpass him. It’s an honor to equal a player like Henry,” Mbappe, 26, told TF1. “Everyone knows what he means to us French people, even more so to strikers. He’s someone who paved the way, and I have a lot of respect and admiration for him,” he said. Mbappe is firmly on track to surpass Giroud, who ended his international career after the conclusion of the UEFA European Championship last year, where France lost to eventual champions Spain in the semi-final. “The record is getting closer, but it’s not something I think about,” the France captain said.
RUGBY SEVENS
Kenya coach suspended
Dennis Mwanja, Kenya’s national women’s rugby coach, has been suspended for two weeks over allegations of inappropriate behavior, the national board said on Friday. The Kenya Rugby Union said it would investigate preliminary reports from the Kenyan Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage detailing an alleged safeguarding incident involving the coach. The board said Mwanja would take leave of two weeks “to enable investigations to be conducted fairly and transparently.” There were no further details released. Mwanja became the Kenya Lionesses sevens coach in 2022 and led the team to two subsequent finals of the Africa Women’s sevens. The team qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics, as well as the 2020 Tokyo games, after South Africa declined the regional spot. Arguably the second best on the continent, they finished second to South Africa in this year’s women’s rugby Africa Cup tournament in Madagascar in June.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
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