BADMINTON
Chou ousted in first match
Taiwanese men’s singles star Chou Tien-chen yesterday lost his first match of the Victor China Open to world No. 7 Li Shifeng of China. The world No. 11 was defeated 21-14, 18-21, 21-18. Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi fared better in Changzhou, beating France’s Toma Junior Popov 21-15, 10-21, 21-16. Among other Taiwanese results, mixed doubles pair Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin thrashed the Netherlands’ Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek 21-13, 21-13. In the men’s doubles, Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin upset compatriots Su Ching-heng and Ye 21-14, 21-14, while Chang Ko-chi and Po Li-wei lost 21-14, 21-17 to China’s He Jiting and Zhou Haodong. Sung Shuo-yun was beaten 21-15, 21-13 by China’s He Bingjiao in the women’s singles.
CRICKET
NZ level England T20 series
Mitchell Santner starred with the ball on Tuesday, before Tim Seifert led the way with the bat as New Zealand beat England by six wickets at Trent Bridge to end a four-match Twenty20 series all square at 2-2. When Jonny Bairstow was making a quickfire 73, T20 world champions England were on course for a huge total. However, with England white-ball captain Jos Buttler rested from the game, New Zealand took four wickets for 35 runs — with left-arm spinner Santner returning fine figures of 3-30. New Zealand controlled their chase, with Seifert making 48 and the in-form Glenn Phillips 42 before Mark Chapman’s unbeaten 40 completed a comfortable win with 16 balls left. “They [England] got off to a great start tonight, but we knew that if we kept taking wickets it was the best way to slow them down,” New Zealand captain Tim Southee said. “We were trying to be smart and make them take aggressive options.”
BASKETBALL
Stewart breaks WNBA record
New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart on Tuesday broke the WNBA record for most points scored in a single season after her 40 against the Dallas Wings took her tally to 885 points from 38 games. The five-time All Star forward moved past the 860 points set by Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi in 2006 when the regular season was 34 games. Stewart has two games left — against Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday and Washington Mystics on Sunday — to add to her tally. “I have something I can hold over her head a little bit,” Stewart, 29, said, jokingly. “It means a lot. Any time I’m in the same limelight as ‘D’ it’s a huge honor. I really appreciate everything I’ve been able to do, and wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates.”
SOCCER
Messi mural goes viral
High-school students in Argentina pieced together a massive mural of soccer superstar Lionel Messi out of thousands of recycled plastic bottle caps. The mural fills the floor of an open-air high school courtyard in the Grand Bourg neighborhood, just outside the capital, Buenos Aires. It depicts the beaming forward holding aloft the golden FIFA World Cup trophy from last year’s win in Qatar, along with a caption offering thanks to Argentina’s tattooed captain. Sebastian Ramirez, a teacher at the school, posted a video clip on social media that went viral summing up a widely-held assessment of Messi’s legacy. “A tribute to the greatest,” he said.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
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
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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