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.”
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danish qualifier Elmer Moller at the Madrid Open on Sunday. The world leader extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October. Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against
When Paddy Dwyer arrived in China in 1976, crowds jostled to catch a glimpse of him and his companions — the first Western soccer team to play in the country. China was emerging from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, and on the brink of market reforms that would take the country from economic stagnation to explosive growth. “All we could see was lines of people running beside our bus, trying to look in the windows, to see their first visual of a white person,” he said. “It was all bicycles,” he said. “There were very few cars to be seen.” Dwyer,
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
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