SOCCER
Brighton move into eighth
Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday moved into eighth place in the Premier League with a 4-2 mauling of Tottenham Hotspur to end a superb year under Italian manager Roberto de Zerbi. After his side’s first win in four Premier League games, De Zerbi was at pains to point out the size of the club’s achievements. “I am really lucky to be this coach of this team with these players. I am very pleased with the passion they have, they have everything,” he said. “You can’t forget we are Brighton. Sometimes they forget we are Brighton. We are not Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle or Arsenal, we are still Brighton. The other eight or nine big teams in the Premier League they do not sell their big players.” Joao Pedro scored two penalties as Brighton leaped to a 4-0 before being pegged back. Elsewhere, West Ham United beat Arsenal 2-0, denying the Reds a return to the top of the table.
Photo: AP
CRICKET
Cummins leads Australia
Australia Captain Pat Cummins’ second 10-wicket haul in Test matches yesterday led his side to a 79-run win over Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the fourth day of the second Test. Cummins made all the crucial breakthroughs late in the day as the hosts bowled Pakistan out for 237. Pakistan lost 5-18 during a chaotic finish after Australia were out for 262 in their second innings. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey (53) helped push Australia’s lead to set the visitors 317 to win.
CRICKET
SA coach touts team
South Africa coach Shukri Conrad revealed his frustration on Thursday over his players being under-rated following an innings-and-32-run win over No. 1-ranked India in the first Test at Centurion. With opening batsman Dean Elgar scoring 185 and Marco Jansen making a career-best 84 not out, South Africa took their first-innings score to 408 for a 163-run lead on the third day. Their pacemen then bundled India out for just 131 in 34.1 overs, with only Virat Kohli (76) resisting their surge to victory. “This win was massive for us and what makes it bigger is that it makes sure India have never beaten us in a Test series here,” Conrad told reporters. “We know what a quality side India are, but we also know what we are. We are a brilliant team at home and we have really gelled as a unit. A lot of the time that has been about freeing the guys up, allowing them to be the best versions of themselves,” he said. “People have questioned whether South Africa still produce good players and we have shown that we do.”
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
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