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.
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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