BOXING
Zhang ends Joyce’s streak
China’s Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang on Saturday set his sights on Ukraine’s heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk after dealing Britain’s Joe Joyce a first professional defeat. Referee Howard Foster stopped the fight in the sixth of 12 scheduled rounds at London’s Copper Box Arena after the ringside doctor twice inspected Joyce’s puffed up right eye, which was almost closed. “Today belongs to me... I’m 39 years old, but I’m disciplined, I train hard. Next step I’m going for the title,” Zhang said through a translator after punching the air and shouting: “Chinese Power.”
SOCCER
Fans throw rats at rivals
Royal Charleroi fans pelted Royal Standard de Liege supporters with dead rats during a Belgian league game, Standard said yesterday, confirming claims by fans on social media. A dozen dead rodents painted red, Standard’s color, were hurled in the direction of home fans by Charleroi supporters. “We hope that the [Jupiler] Pro League will take action, that our club will file a complaint and that the animal associations will get involved,” supporters wrote on Facebook. “Hooded spectators in rat-catcher outfits threw these rats towards a stand occupied by families and people with reduced mobility,” a Standard supporter told Belgian television. Standard on Friday won the match 3-1.
TENNIS
Rune in Monte Carlo final
Danish teenager Holger Rune on Saturday edged a thrilling clash with fellow rising star Jannik Sinner to set up a Monte Carlo Masters final against Andrey Rublev. The 19-year-old claimed a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 win under floodlights after a rain-affected day in the principality. Russian fifth seed Rublev saw off Taylor Fritz 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 in the first semi-final. Rune continued his meteoric rise in the sport with another statement victory, having climbed into the world’s top 10 this season after capping off a breakthrough season last year with the Paris Masters title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. “It was quite unbelievable,” Rune said. “Jannik started firing, hitting a lot of winners and he has been in good form the past few months. I had to dig deep and find solutions, which I did well. It was fun to play like this.”
RUGBY UNION
Australia lose 7 to injuries
New Australia coach Eddie Jones was dealt a blow yesterday when seven players picked in his maiden squad were ruled out after a spate of concussions and injuries during a bruising Super Rugby Pacific weekend. They include ACT Brumbies trio Len Ikitau, Blake Schoupp and Darcy Swain, along with Waratahs pair Ned Hanigan and Dave Porecki, all of whom had head knocks. Brumbies backrower Pete Samu also missed out with an ankle injury sustained during a hard fought 43-28 win over the Fijian Drua, while the Waratahs’ Langi Gleeson has a calf strain. “While we feel for the players who have been ruled out, it provides an opportunity for those who will now come into camp,” said former England boss Jones, who assumed control of the Wallabies in January when Dave Rennie was axed. The 33-man squad are today to assemble on Queensland’s Gold Coast for a three-day camp as they prepare for the Rugby Championship, starting in July, then the World Cup in France.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
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