TABLE TENNIS
Taiwan men win gold
Taiwan on Friday won gold in the men’s team section of the fourth World Deaf Table Tennis Championships after beating Ukraine 3-2. The team of Wang Yi-hsiang, Yang Rong-tsung and Lu Shih-jie were tied with Ukraine at 2-2, but Wang won the decider over Ukraine’s Ovcharenko Majsym, 3-1, to clinch gold. The second-seeded Taiwan men’s team advanced to the semi-finals after defeating the Philippines 3-1 and Poland 3-0 in the group stage. They beat Japan 3-1 in the semi-finals to reach the gold medal showdown against Ukraine, who won last year’s Summer Deaflympics. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s women’s squad fifth after defeating Hungary 3-1. The championships are being held at the National Taiwan University Sports Center until Thursday.
CRICKET
India decimate Windies
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finished with a 12-wicket match haul as India handed the West Indies a crushing innings and 141-run defeat inside three days during the first Test at Windsor Park in Roseau on Friday. Ashwin had claimed 5-60 to help skittle out West Indies for 150 in the first innings on a slow, turning track in the first match of the two-Test series. India amassed 421-5 in reply before declaring their first innings with debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal (171), skipper Rohit Sharma (103) and Virat Kohli (76) scoring the bulk of their runs. Having conceded a lead of 271, West Indies did even worse in their second innings when they were bundled out for 130. Ashwin was the wrecker-in-chief again, claiming 7-71 even though teammate Jaiswal was player of the match. “Our bowling was superb. Bowling them out for 150 actually set the game for us,” Rohit said. “On that pitch, we knew we wanted to bat once, bat long.”
ATHLETICS
England upgraded to gold
England’s 4x100m women’s relay team have been upgraded to Commonwealth Games gold after last year’s winners Nigeria were disqualified because of a doping contravention, it was announced on Friday. The English quartet of Asha Philip, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and Daryll Neita finished second on home soil in the Midlands city of Birmingham last year. However, the Commonwealth Games Federation has announced Nigeria sprinter Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha had returned an adverse finding in her sample for two banned anabolic agents. Nwokocha’s results from the 100m, 200m and sprint relay have been declared void, with the issue of her anti-doping infractions passed on to the Athletics Integrity Unit for any possible further sanctions.
CYCLING
UCI tightens gender rules
Female transgender athletes who transitioned after male puberty are no longer able to compete in women’s races, world cycling governing body UCI said on Friday. The UCI’s decision came after US rider Austin Killips became the first openly transgender woman to win an official cycling event in May. “From now on, female transgender athletes who have transitioned after [male] puberty will be prohibited from participating in women’s events on the UCI international calendar — in all categories — in the various disciplines,” the international federation said in a statement. The UCI said the ban, starting tomorrow, was necessary to “ensure equal opportunities.”
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
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