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.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946