TENNIS
Liang powers to ATX final
Taiwan’s Liang En-shuo and partner Eudice Chong of Hong Kong defeated second seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara to advance to the ATX Open women’s doubles final in Texas. Third seeds Liang and Chong needed almost two hours to overcome the Japanese duo in Austin. The Taiwanese-Hong Konger pairing converted six of 12 breakpoints and completed two aces to narrowly win 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 10-6. Liang and Chong were last night after press time to face top seeds Taylor Townsend of the US and Australia’s Storm Hunter in the WTA250 tournament.
Photo: Screen grab from Liang En-shuo’s Facebook page
? BASKETBALL
Taiwan loses in Manila
Taiwan yesterday suffered another loss in Group B of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, after losing their lead over rivals China at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines. Taiwan was leading by seven points going into the fourth quarter, when China staged a comeback to take the game 100-93. Taiwan’s Ray Chen led with 26 points over China’s Zhu Junlong with 19. Brandon Gilbeck also had 11 rebounds and four assists for Taiwan, who are at the bottom of Group A after four games. Their only win was on Thursday last week, when they bested South Korea 77-65.
Photo: AFP
BADMINTON
Lin exits in Germany
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Saturday narrowly lost to France’s Christo Popov to crash out of the men’s singles semi-finals of the German Open in Mulheim. World No. 11 and fourth seed Lin forced Popov into a tight third game in 1 hour, 10 minutes, before losing 21-10, 18-21, 21-18. Lin has only won two of their five matchups. Chi Yu-jen lost his semi-final to Popov’s brother Toma Junior Popov 21-19, 21-15. Other Taiwanese exiting in the semi-finals were Chiu Hsiang-chieh and his men’s doubles partner Wang Chi-lin, Hsu Ya-ching and her women’s doubles partner Sung Yu-hsuan, and Yang Po-hsuan and his mixed doubles partner Hu Ling-fang.
BADMINTON
Sindhu stranded in Dubai
India’s double Olympic medalist P.V. Sindhu on Saturday said that she was left stranded at Dubai airport on her way to the All England Open after flight operations were suspended in the city as a result of the ongoing conflict in the region. Explosions were heard across the Gulf as Iran responded to US and Israeli airstrikes, with blasts in the United Arab Emirates’ capital of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, leading to Dubai International Airport suspending all flights. “To everyone who has been messaging and checking in, thank you, it truly means a lot. I am safe right now, stuck here with my team, and we are doing okay as the situation around the war with Iran continues to evolve,” Sindhu wrote on social media. She added in an update yesterday that they have been “moved to a more secure place” while they “wait for things to settle.”
SOCCER
AFC postpones matches
AFC officers yesterday postponed first-leg knockout matches to be played by clubs in the Middle East this week, after the US’ and Israel’s strikes on Iran. “In light of the developing situation in the Middle East ... matches in the West Region, originally scheduled for March 2-3, 2026, will now be rescheduled,” it said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
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