JUDO
Yang Yung-wei wins gold
Taiwan judo star Yang Yung-wei on Friday won a gold medal in the men’s under-60kg category at the Perth Oceania Open in Australia. Yang, 26, who is ranked world No. 4 by the International Judo Federation, knocked out his 21-year-old Taiwanese opponent Lin Chong-you in the gold-medal bout. Yang advanced to the final by beating Johan Rojas of Colombia in the round-of-16, Michel Augusto of Brazil in the quarter-finals and Joshua Katz of Australia in the semi-finals. Yang’s coach, Liu Wen-teng, said that the next major goal was qualification for next year’s Olympics in Paris. That would include preparing for the Tokyo Grand Slam on Dec. 2 and 3, which would pit Yang against some of the top judokas in the region, Liu said. “We expect that Japan will enter its best judo athletes in the Tokyo competition,” Liu said. The coach said he was confident regarding Yang’s chances of being one of the top eight seeds in Paris. “Seeding is important in judo, as you will be in a better position in the draw,” he said.
Photo: CNA
CRICKET
Semi-finalists decided
Australia yesterday beat Bangladesh by eight wickets at the World Cup in India, although the Aussies were already assured of a semi-final place against South Africa before the match started. On Friday, South Africa completed their group campaign with a five-wicket win over Afghanistan in Ahmedabad. They were already assured to finish second before the result. England played Pakistan last night, with the game to finish after press time. Pakistan had an almost hopeless shot at edging New Zealand for the fourth semi-final spot, but England’s first-innings score of 337 meant that chance was gone once Pakistan had faced 44 deliveries in their reply. They were 35-2 after eight overs. The group stage concludes with India, who are guaranteed top spot, to play the Netherlands today.
MOTOGP
Alex Marquez wins sprint
Alex Marquez of Gresini yesterday shocked Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin and reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia to win the Malaysian Grand Prix sprint from fourth position as the title contenders dropped to second and third place respectively. Ducati’s Bagnaia, chasing his second world crown, had the first half of the sprint under control after starting from pole at the Sepang International Circuit, but the Italian was unable to hold of a late surge by Marquez. The result meant Bagnaia’s championship lead over Spain’s Martin was reduced to 11 points ahead of the main race today. Enea Bastianini took the fourth slot as Ducati bikes filled the first four places, with KTM’s South African rider Brad Binder being the best among the non-Ducatis, finishing fifth. Australian Jack Miller was sixth, while title-contender Marco Bezzecchi was seventh. Marc Marquez’s difficult season continued as the six-time MotoGP champion crashed for the 27th time in this campaign.
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
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
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
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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