The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) has cried foul after East Asia Basketball Federation Association (EABA) Chairman Yao Ming's (姚明) decision to use world rankings instead of a qualifying tournament saw Taiwan miss out on a place at the upcoming FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Qatar.
The CTBA had written to the EABA asking for a "more reasonable explanation" as to why Yao and EABA Secretary-General Hu Shufen (胡淑芬) opted to forgo a qualifying tournament without consulting EABA member federations first, the association said in a statement yesterday.
Photo: Reuters
According to the CTBA, the EABA said it was not feasible to hold a qualifying tournament in the region and that it would be "the most appropriate arrangement" to select the three teams allocated for the subzone based on FIBA's world rankings.
Under the EABA's selection method, Taiwan missed out on the continental championships, which will take place in Doha from Sept. 17 to 24, due to its rank as the fourth-best nation in the region behind China, Japan and South Korea.
According to the CTBA, its Secretary-General Lee Yun-hsiang (李雲翔) complained to Hu in person at a recent FIBA assembly and wrote to FIBA Asia demanding a further explanation.
Meanwhile, in a more unorthodox bid to reverse the EABA's decision, CTBA Chairman Hsieh Tien-lin (謝典林) challenged Yao — an eight-time NBA all-star widely considered the greatest Chinese basketball player of all time — to a one-on-one game, a proposal described by one netizen as "suicidal."
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break