Badminton powerhouse China clinched three golds at the Badminton Asia Championships yesterday in Taipei, but they fell short of earlier expectations after losing to South Korea in the mixed doubles.
The three golds — in the women’s singles and doubles and men’s singles — compared with five they swept in the 2011 Asian tournament and four in last year’s event.
Ko Sung-hyun and Kim Ha-na of South Korea beat Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, who won the mixed doubles gold medals in London, 22-20, 21-17 in the biggest upset of the event, which drew more than 6,000 fans.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, reuters
Both of China’s teams lost out in the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles, leaving two South Korean pairs to vie for the top spot.
The first-seeded Ko Sung-hyun and Lee Yong-dae saw off third-seeded Kim Ki-jung and Kim Sa-rang 21-13, 22-20.
In the women’s singles, the second-seeded Wang Yihan beat her Chinese compatriot Li Xuerui, the London gold medalist and the first seed of the event, 21-13, 22-20.
In the men’s singles, Du Pengyu, the second seed, overwhelmed Chen Long, China’s bronze medalist in last year’s Games, 21-17, 21-19.
Controversial Chinese women’s doubles team Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli saw off their Chinese fellow players Tang Jinhua and Ma Jin 21-15, 14-21, 21-15. The duo were booted out of the Olympics in a playing-to-lose scandal.
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
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