The World Games boules competition got underway in a humid 228 Memorial Park yesterday with a number of Taiwanese athletes in action.
In the first matches of the day, Taiwan’s men’s duo Chen Hung-wen and Sun Chia-yi got off to a good start against their French opponents and took a 5-0 lead, only to lose 10-7.
Later on, Chen and Sun lost 13-0 to Thailand, before finishing off the day with a 13-6 victory over Israel.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Meanwhile, in their women’s doubles opening fixture Chen Szu-an and Yang Tai-hua were on the end of a 13-1 drubbing by a Thai pairing. Chen and Yang later lost 13-3 to France and also 13-2 to Spain, before drawing 12-12 with Canada in their final match.
In the raffa, men’s pairing Chen Hung-ting and Huang Wei-hsiang went down 15-5 to Argentina, while women’s duo Chung Yu-chun and Yang Ya-ting lost by the same score to a Turkish pair.
On the first day of 10-pin bowling at the Happy Bowling Center, Taiwanese mixed doubles pair Fang Chin-nan and Wang Yu-ling failed to make the grade, finishing a disappointing 11th in their qualifying round.
PHOTO: SAM YEH, AFP
Meanwhile, in the frisbee at the Main Stadium, Taiwan continued their poor form, losing 13-4 to the US and 13-7 to Canada.
In gymnastics, acrobatics and trampoline competitions at the Kaohsiung Arena, Taiwanese athletes failed to make any of the finals.
Down by the sea at Siziwan, Taiwan’s men finished fifth in the beach handball after defeating Pakistan 24-17, 22-11, while the women secured fifth place after beating Ukraine 10-6 in a penalty shootout. Italy took the women’s gold.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
In related news, a Brazilian competitor got into trouble with police after taking off her top to catch some sun on the Siziwan sand. The rare site of a topless female attracted a lot of attention, according to reports, but the Brazilian beauty was quickly reminded of local customs and made to put her clothes back on by officers at the scene ... after they had also gotten an eyeful, of course.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in