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.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
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
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah on Tuesday said that he would leave the English club at the end of the Premier League season, marking an earlier-than-planned departure for one of the club’s greatest-ever scorers and soccer’s biggest names. The 33-year-old Egypt forward, who has scored 255 goals in 435 appearances for Liverpool, “reached an agreement” to quit the team a year before his contract was due to expire, the Premier League champions said. Salah’s form has dipped in his ninth year at Anfield, to such an extent that he was dropped for a stretch of games late last year — leading to the
There were some big games to be played yesterday in the NBA, with the Atlanta Hawks to play the Detroit Pistons in a matchup pitting a Hawks team who are rolling against a Pistons team trying to lock up the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed. The Oklahoma City Thunder were to play the Boston Celtics, a showdown featuring the two most recent champions, while the Houston Rockets faced the Minnesota Timberwolves, a game that could factor mightily into Western Conference seeding. Elsewhere, the Washington Wizards were to play the Utah Jazz, with the Wizards on a 16-game slide visiting against a team
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