■TCHOUKBALL
Teams visit diplomats
Two teams from a senior high school in Taipei County visited Taiwanese diplomats in Rome on Wednesday after taking first and second place at last weekend’s Beach Tchoukball International Festival in Rimini, Italy. Huang Chin-cheng, president of the International Tchoukball Federation based in Kaohsiung County, led the two teams as they called on Taiwanese representative to Italy Yih Jung-tzung and Taiwan’s ambassador to the Holy See, Larry Wang. During the meeting, Yih said sports were an effective form of diplomacy and praised the players as the country’s “goodwill ambassadors.” Wang gave the teams commemorative pins that are used as a symbol of friendship between Taiwan and the Vatican, and talked with the players about diplomatic relations between the two countries. Huang said Taiwan’s wins at the competition — in which more than 100 teams competed — demonstrated the country’s leading edge in the sport.
■SOCCER
Lyon win, grab third place
Olympique Lyonnais took a big step toward Champions League qualification for next season by beating Monaco 3-0 on Wednesday. Goals either side of halftime from Miralem Pjanic and Bafetimbi Gomis, and a late strike by Lisandro Lopez secured a comfortable victory for Claude Puel’s side over the beaten French Cup finalists. Lyon are now third in the table, a point behind second-placed Lille and a point above Auxerre. With the top three qualifying for the Champions League, Lyon can make sure of a place in Europe’s top club competition with victory at home to already-relegated Le Mans tomorrow.
■SOCCER
Pohang knock out Kashima
Reigning champions Pohang Steelers beat Kashima Antlers 1-0 on Wednesday, joining three other South Korean clubs in the Asian Champions League quarter-finals. Mota’s deflected right-foot shot in the 29th minute was enough for Pohang to dispose of the last Japanese team in contention. Eninho scored once in each half, twice giving Jeonbuk Motors the lead at Adelaide United, but the visitors needed a late extra-time goal from Lee Dong-guk to win 3-2. That allowed Jeonbuk to join Pohang in the next round along with other South Korean clubs Seongnam Ilhwa and Suwon Bluewings. Also going through were Zobahan, who beat Mes Kerman 1-0, and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, 3-0 winners over Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor.
■SOCCER
Teens to train at Barca
China will select 40 teenagers to train at Spanish club Barcelona next month in a major Chinese Football Association (CFA) initiative to develop elite players in Europe. The players, all under 15, will be chosen by Barca scouts at a two-month camp in Hebei Province and then will stay with more than a dozen youth clubs affiliated to the European champions over the next three years. The project is a part of the CFA’s ambition to train up to 500 teenagers overseas.
■ICE HOCKEY
US slump to third loss
Hosts Germany needed two goals from brothers Marcel and Nicolai Goc to seal their qualification to the world championship second round with a 3-1 win over Denmark in Cologne on Wednesday. The US slumped to their third straight group defeat, 3-2 against Finland, to fight for their place in the top division. The losing run by the US left Germany and Finland to progress from Group D along with Denmark. Switzerland beat Canada 4-1 to finish top of Group B, with Canada also advancing in second spot.
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