■EAST ASIAN GAMES
Mixed day for Taiwan
Table tennis gold medal favorites China finished round-robin play undefeated yesterday to qualify for the semi-finals in the men’s competition in Hong Kong. The Chinese men beat Japan 3-0, closing out the round-robin stage without dropping a single match. In the semi-finals, they will face Hong Kong, who qualified by beating Taiwan 3-1. South Korea, who had two wins on Wednesday, will play either Japan or Macau in the other semi-final. The Chinese women qualified with two wins on Wednesday. Yesterday, they were joined by Japan, who defeated Macau 3-0. Hong Kong and Taiwan qualified in Pool B with one win each. In women’s basketball, Japan edged China 59-54, with Ryoko Utsumi scoring 18 points. Taiwan crushed Hong Kong 112-47. In men’s basketball, six Taiwanese players were in double digits in their 118-59 rout of Macau.
■CHINESE BOXING
Tournament starts today
This year’s Chinese boxing (San Da) tournament and the first national K-1 kickboxing competition will be held in Taipei today, with winners from the past few years competing for the title of the first K-1 king of Taiwan. The Chinese Boxing (San Da) Combat Association, which is organizing the event, has held four national San Da tournaments since it was established in 2003, but has not staged a national K-1 tournament before. The“K”in K-1 stands for karate, kickboxing, kung fu and other stand-up martial arts. San Da, also known as Chinese boxing, is basically kickboxing with throws and it combines techniques from kung fu, kickboxing and freestyle wrestling.
■BASEBALL
Chen gets a pay rise
Chen Wei-yin, a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) pitcher from Taiwan, re-signed on Wednesday with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan’s Central League for an annual salary of ¥110 million (US$1.15 million), a sharp rise from the ¥35 million he was offered last season, a Japanese newspaper reported on Wednesday. The pay rise came in the wake of Chen’s 1.54 earned run average last season.
■BOXING
Hopkins returns with a win
Bernard Hopkins of the US returned to the ring after a near 14-month absence to score a unanimous points decision victory over Mexican Enrique Ornelas in a non-title light-heavyweight bout on Wednesday. Hopkins, 44, the former middleweight and light-heavyweight champion, used his experience to land sharp counters and when Ornelas stood back, scored with lead right hands.
■GOLF
Appleby, Hend share lead
A three-putt bogey at the last dropped home favorite Stuart Appleby into a tie for the lead with compatriot Scott Hend on six-under after a blustery first round at the Australian Open yesterday. Former world No. 3 Adam Scott was just two shots back in a tie for fifth after an eagle three at the par-five 12th helped him to a 68.
■TENNIS
Mauresmo retires
Twice Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo announced her retirement yesterday. “I came here to announce the end of my career. I made this decision after careful consideration,” the 30-year-old told a news conference before bursting into tears. Mauresmo first topped the rankings in September 2004 and clinched her Grand Slam titles in 2006 when she won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
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LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
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