BOXING
Taiwanese wins gold
Shen Shin-ai on Friday scored a points victory over Sila Bibolsynkyzy in the women’s light flyweight division (48kg) final to win Taiwan’s first gold at the Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan. The southpaw Shen won two out of three rounds, conceding only the final round to her opponent. Shen had already made history by becoming the first Taiwanese boxer to reach a final at the junior championships by defeating Palak Ajay Zambare of India in the semi-finals. Shen’s success might be the result of her participation in other sports, said Peng Chun-ming, director-general of Taiwan’s national boxing association. Peng told reporters that Shen practiced wushu when she was an elementary-school student and it was not until she was about to graduate that she started boxing. She even played badminton when she was in junior-high school due to the lack of boxing facilities, Peng added.
Photo: CNA
TENNIS
Sabalenka beats Rybakina
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a rain-disrupted group match on Friday to book a semi-final clash with Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals. The Belarusian, who finished second in her group behind unbeaten American Jessica Pegula, kept her bid for the year-end number one ranking on track with a victory that took two days to complete. She had won the first set, but was trailing in the second when play was halted on Thursday after multiple rain delays. Swiatek downed sixth-seeded Ons Jabeur 6-1, 6-2 to finish top of her group with a perfect 3-0 record. US Open champion Coco Gauff closed out group play with a 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 victory over Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova and advanced to the semi-finals — her place secured after Swiatek’s win.
TENNIS
Djokovic reaches last four
Novak Djokovic on Friday edged out Holger Rune at the Paris Masters to reach the last four, while Stefanos Tsitsipas set up a meeting with Grigor Dimitrov. Djokovic missed a match point in the second set, but eventually claimed a 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 win over Denmark’s Rune in the quarter-finals at Bercy Arena. Djokovic faces Andrey Rublev for a place in the final after the Russian defeated Alex de Minaur 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. “It was quite a similar match to last year’s final, it was anybody’s game in every set,” said Djokovic, referring to the match the two played last year, which the Serbian lost. “I played an awful tie-break in the second set, probably the worst one this year, but again credit to him for staying mentally tough and playing solid. We have similar games. Move well, defend well and all-round players.” The 36-year-old claimed his second career victory against Rune, who is now working with Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker, after suffering two successive defeats by the world No. 7.
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
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
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
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