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.
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
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