GOLF
Taiwan’s Chien drops back
Kim A-lim on Friday birdied the final two holes for a seven-under 65 and the lead in the suspended second round of the rain-delayed LPGA Chevron Championship, while Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun, the first-round leader, had dropped down the leaderboard. Thirty-one players were unable to finish the second round before it got dark in the first women’s major tournament of the season. After opening with a 71 on Thursday at The Club at Carlton Woods, Kim on Friday had eight birdies with just one bogey to reach eight-under 136. Americans Lilia Vu and Megan Khang were tied for second, a stroke behind. Chien shot a 67 in the first round, but remained at five-under with four holes to play in the second round, which was to resume after press time last night.
Photo: AFP
ATHLETICS
Challenge Taiwan starts
More than 8,000 triathletes from more than 20 countries lined up for the start of the 11th annual two-day Challenge Taiwan in Taitung County yesterday. Participants were to swim, cycle and run over a variety of distances, including full-distance (226km), half-distance (113km), Olympic (51.5km) and sprint (25.75km). The swimming portion was at Taitung Forest Park’s Flowing Lake, after which the athletes would cycle along a section of Provincial Highway No. 11 before finishing with a run to Tie Hua Village in Taitung City. Traffic controls would be in place across several road sections in Taitung County until 12pm today to make way for the cycling and running courses, the event’s organizers said.
TENNIS
Fellow Serb beats Djokovic
Novak Djokovic on Friday lost to a Serb countryman for the first time in 11 years. Dusan Lajovic won 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) in their quarter-final at the Srpska Opento to down a world No. 1-ranked player for the first time. “It is the biggest win of my career,” Lajovic said on court. “The emotions are very mixed because I’m playing here in front of the home town and I’m also playing against Nole, who is a good friend and he’s a hero of our country.” Djokovic’s previous loss to a fellow Serb was in 2012 to Janko Tipsarevic in Madrid. “Dusan is a fantastic person, great guy,” Djokovic said. “Someone I’ve known for a very long time, since he started playing professional tennis. So many times on the Davis Cup team together, trained together. I’m happy for him, to be honest. He deserved to win today.”
TENNIS
Swiatek advances to semis
Iga Swiatek on Friday rallied to beat Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 for a place in the Porsche Grand Prix semi-finals. She next faces third-seeded Ons Jabeur, who eliminated Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-0 in their quarter-final in Stuttgart. Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka rallied to defeat Spain’s Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance, with her semi against Anastasia Potapova, who upset fourth-seeded Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. The semis were to be played after press time last night.
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
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
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