TENNIS
Taiwan’s Wu out in France
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Australian partner Olivia Tjandramulia yesterday crashed out of the women’s doubles quarter-finals at the Internationaux de Strasbourg in France. The duo lost 6-1, 6-0 to Desirae Krawczyk of the US and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico. Taiwanese sisters Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching were to face Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Chinese partner Wang Xinyu in the quarter-finals after press time last night. Hsieh and Wang on Tuesday beat Angelina Gabueva of Russia and Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-4, 6-2 to set up the showdown with the Chans.
SOCCER
Seven held over Irons attack
Twenty-six men involved in attempts to attack family and friends of West Ham United players in the Netherlands last week have reported to police, with seven detained, but 10 more still sought, Dutch media reported yesterday. Dutch police used a television program on Tuesday to appeal for help to try and identify hooligans, showing images of suspects involved in the attack at the conclusion of the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final second leg between AZ and the London club on Thursday last week. Dutch police had identified 24 supporters as suspects in the apparently premeditated attack at AZ Stadium in Alkmaar. Police had given those involved a deadline to report otherwise have their images shown on national television.
ICE HOCKEY
US top Sweden in worlds
Dylan Samberg on Tuesday scored in overtime and the US beat Sweden 4-3 to finish the group stage with a perfect record at the Ice Hockey World Championship. Samberg’s winner from the slot 1 minute, 37 seconds into overtime clinched first place for the US in Group A, two points in front of Sweden, ahead of today’s quarter-final games, when the US are to play the Czech Republic and Sweden face cohosts Latvia. In Riga, Canada defeated the Czechs 3-1 to finish second in Group B, and set up a quarter-final against defending champions Finland.
MOTORSPORTS
Honda to power Aston Martin
High-flying Aston Martin is to be powered by Honda engines from 2026 in what the Formula One team says is “the last piece of the jigsaw.” This represents a return to F1 for Honda, who left in 2021, but retained links with Red Bull and AlphaTauri. The tie up, announced yesterday, comes in the run-up to this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix with Aston Martin a surprise second to world champions Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.
CYCLING
Not a robot: Evenepoel
Belgian star Remco Evenepoel on Tuesday took a swing at his critics as he announced he was back in training after abandoning the Giro d’Italia with COVID-19 even though he was in the lead. “Ups & downs are part of our job and I can accept that,” the 23-year-old, who held a narrow lead when he dropped out, wrote on Facebook. “What is hard to accept is all the fake and negative comments I got after having to leave the race.” “I just want to ask everyone to remember I am not a robot, but also a normal human being, husband, son, teammate etc. with normal feelings,” he wrote, adding that he would use it as motivation.
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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