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.”
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
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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