South Korea battered Taiwan 4-0 yesterday in the women’s four-team East Asian championship.
The scoring began in the 27th minute when skipper Kim Yoo-mi sent a cross toward goal that Taiwan’s defenders failed to clear from the box. Midfielder Jeon Ga-eul hit a right-foot shot that bounced past Taiwan goalkeeper Huang Feng-chiu and into the net.
A minute later, midfielder Lee Jang-mi headed in a Park Hee-young free-kick from the right side of the box to make it 2-0.
PHOTO: AFP
Taiwan’s decisive opportunity arrived in the 37th minute, when striker Tan Wen-li received a sharp Tseng Shu-o pass and breached the South Korean defense, only to see her shot hit the side netting.
Lee scored from a spot-kick moments before the break after Huang pulled down South Korea midfielder Kim Joo-hee.
Substitute striker Yoo Young-a made the scoreline 4-0 in the 73rd minute, when she pocked in a lob from defender Hong Kyung-suk that flew above the Taiwanese defenders.
South Korea, winners of the 2005 championship, stayed dominant throughout, but it was an anxious match for coach Lee Sang-yup, with several of his players suffering injuries and illness.
“We have many injuries and the way the game went showed that,” he said.
Several South Korean players were suffering from colds, influenza and general fatigue after a training camp in California, he said.
“Coordination among the players did not go well. It is a worrying factor,” he said.
Taiwan coach Chou Tai-ying said her side also had difficulty preparing because the team was unexpectedly called in to replace North Korea, who qualified but declined to take part in the tournament.
Japan and China also feature in the tournament.
Later in the men’s championship, holders South Korea thrashed Hong Kong 5-0 in their opening game.
Captain Kim Jung-woo headed South Korea in front in the 10th minute, before goals from Koo Ja-cheol, Lee Dong-gook and a superb Lee Seung-yeoul strike made it 4-0 at halftime.
World Cup-bound South Korea showed less urgency after the break at a near-empty National Stadium and substitute No Byung-jun completed the rout with a tap-in in stoppage-time.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans