Fiji swept all before them to win gold yesterday at the World Games Rugby Sevens, retaining the title they won four years ago in an exciting tournament that saw Taiwan finish a respectable sixth out of eight teams.
The Main Stadium was turned into a mini Hong Kong as a crowd of more than 9,000 locals and foreign fans descended to cheer on their favorites.
Fiji, who had looked unimpressive a day earlier, had obviously been saving themselves, as they dominated proceedings from the start, outscoring Taiwan by four tries to one in their opening game, before comfortably beating a strong and previously undefeated South Africa in the semi-final 21-7 to set up a gold medal match with surprise finalists Portugal.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
The Taiwanese, meanwhile, quickly got over the Fiji defeat to put on a good show against Hong Kong in their second match. No. 6 Chen Chih-wei was the star, scoring both tries in an end-to-end first seven minutes to give Taiwan a 10-7 halftime lead.
Hong Kong hit back almost immediately after the break with a try in the corner to take a 12-10 lead, before Wang Jen-his got his second try of the day, breaking from the halfway line after a turnover to touch down for a 17-12 win that set up a fifth-sixth place decider with the US.
Unfortunately, Taiwan couldn’t replicate their victory over the US on Saturday, losing after a thrilling match that saw the lead change hands on three occasions.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
Taiwan got off to the worst possible start, conceding two tries in the first five minutes to trail 14-0, but they put themselves right back in contention in first-half overtime as star player Chen scored under the posts after a turnover to make it 14-7 at the break.
Almost immediately after the restart, Taiwan made it 14-12 as a nice switch of passes between Chen and Wang Kuo-feng saw Wang score in the corner. The crowd then went wild as straight from the kick-off, Wang Ju-an dummied his way through the US defense to score and put Taiwan 19-14 in front.
However, they couldn’t hold out for the win as the US scored from a penalty with 90 seconds left to make the final score 21-19 and secure fifth place, pushing Taiwan into sixth.
In the final, the Fijians proved too strong and too full of running for the Portuguese, running in an impressive seven tries to win the match 43-10 and take the gold medal.
The crowd was further entertained as a streaker ran across the pitch just after the final buzzer, before the heavens opened to make for a wet medal presentation.
South Africa took the bronze medal after beating Argentina 17-0 in the third-fourth place play-off.
Japan finished seventh, while Hong Kong took the wooden spoon after losing all six matches.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
RSS