TENNIS
Hsieh beats Chan in Ningbo
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Czech partner Katerina Siniakova on Wednesday defeated Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and China’s Jiang Xinyu in straight sets to advance to the women’s doubles quarter-finals at the Ningbo Open. Hsieh and Siniakova, the No. 1 seeds, dominated their opponents 6-3, 6-1 in an hour of play on a hard court. They are today to face the Chinese pairing of Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai, who beat Emily Appleton of the UK and Isabelle Haverlag of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-3.
Photo: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
BASEBALL
Koo seeks to keep WBSC seat
Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) president Jeffrey Koo Jr is to seek re-election as executive vice president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) tomorrow, aiming to raise Asian baseball’s global profile and expand grassroots development, the federation said on Wednesday. Since taking office in 2022, Koo has spearheaded initiatives to grow the sport across Asia, including establishing the Southeast Asia Baseball Development and Training Center in Thailand and the Asian Women’s Baseball Training Base in Hangzhou, China. He also visited the United Arab Emirates to explore opportunities to develop baseball in West Asia as part of his “Asian Major League” initiative, the BFA said.
BASKETBALL
UK federation suspended
The British Basketball Federation (BBF) has been suspended by the sport’s world governing body and its men’s team barred from international competition because of governance issues, FIBA announced on Wednesday. FIBA in August set up a task force to investigate “regulatory noncompliance” within British basketball after a power struggle between the federation and Super League Basketball. The BBF in April awarded a 15-year licence to run a new professional men’s competition to a consortium led by American businessman Marshall Glickman. However, the nine clubs who last year set up Super League Basketball, after the collapse of the British Basketball League, refused to join, claiming the tender process run by the national governing body was an abuse of its dominant position. “These measures aim to restore regulatory integrity and promote sustainable governance of men’s basketball in Great Britain as soon as possible,” FIBA said in a statement. Under the terms of the suspension the BBF would not be permitted to license or recognize national men’s competitions, or field a men’s national team in FIBA senior competitions.
CHESS
FIDE approves new Tour
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has approved a new global competition set up by Norway Chess that would crown a “World Combined Champion” across three time formats — Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz, organizers said on Wednesday. The tournament series, called the Total Chess World Championship Tour, would feature four events a year in cities around the world, with the overall winner taking the FIDE title. A one-off pilot event is scheduled for late next year before the full championship season begins in 2027. “We are looking for the total chess player — a versatile, tactically intelligent and technically skilled athlete who adapts to multiple time controls,” Norway Chess CEO Kjell Madland said. “It will be a game changer, both for the players and the fans.”
HOMETOWN ZERO: Fans relished the fall of former Brewer-turned-Cubs manager Craig Counsell, as Milwaukee braces to face the Dodgers, who in 2018 denied them a pennant Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy has referred to his team as the “Average Joes,” a nod to their small-market status and lack of big names, but after they beat rivals the Chicago Cubs 3-1 in the decisive fifth game of their National League Division Series (NLDS) on Saturday night, Murphy decided it was time for an upgrade. “You can call them the average Joes, but I say they’re the above-average Joes,” he said. The Brewers relied on contributions from just about every player to get past the Cubs. Andrew Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning, and William Contreras and Brice
Mexico’s teenage playmaker Gilberto Mora has lit up the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as he basks in the limelight afforded by the absences of Barcelona and Real Madrid stars Lamine Yamal and Franco Mastantuono. “I don’t know if I’m the biggest star, and I’m not really interested in that. I think you can always give more,” 16-year-old Mora said before Mexico’s 4-1 win against host nation Chile in the round-of-16 on Tuesday, in which he provided the assist for the opening goal. Next on Mora’s schedule is a quarter-final clash against Argentina this morning Taiwan time, but after
‘IT’S BASEBALL’: In just the second error to end a post-season series in the MLB, the Phillies reliever fumbled a comebacker and threw to home, despite the signal Eyes red, Orion Kerkering on Thursday received words of support from his Philadelphia Phillies teammates. “Just keep your head up. It’s an honest mistake. Just, it’s baseball,” he remembered hearing. “You’ll be good for a long time to come,” they added. “It’s not my fault, then. We had opportunities to score,” was the message he kept getting. Kerkering made a wild throw past home plate instead of tossing to first after mishandling Andy Pages’ bases-loaded comebacker with two outs in the 11th inning. Pinch-runner Kim Hye-seong scored and the Phillies were eliminated with a 2-1 loss that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a
It might not have been Xander Schauffele’s most prestigious tournament victory, but it should be the American’s most memorable. Schauffele yesterday shot a seven-under 64 to win the Baycurrent Classic in Japan — a country where his Taiwan-born mother grew up and where he has many connections. Schauffele, who shot 19-under 265 over four rounds at the Yokohama Country Club, finished one shot ahead of American Max Greyserman, who was also the runner-up at the event a year earlier as he chases his first PGA Tour title. When she was four years old, Schauffele’s mother, Chen Ping-yi, moved to Japan, where her Taiwanese
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