JUDO
Taiwan’s Yang wins bronze
Taiwan’s Yang Yung-wei on Friday won bronze in the men’s under-60kg category at the Grand Prix Portugal. Yang, who was defeated by Dilshodbek Baratov of Uzbekistan in the round of eight, bounced back to beat three-time Grand Prix winner Balabay Aghayev from Azerbaijan in the repechage after Aghayev was given three shido — called when rule violations occur — while the two were competing in the golden score contest, or sudden death overtime. The 26-year-old Taiwanese judoka faced off against 20-year-old Youssry Samy of Egypt in the bronze-medal game and took the Egyptian opponent down with a triangle choke, which encircles the neck and one arm with the legs. His bronze was his first this season. Yang’s coach Liu Wen-teng told reporters that there are more competitors than usual because it is an Olympic year. However, Yang has performed well despite the packed schedule, Liu said. Yang is to compete in the Judo Grand Slam Paris this week in his bid to secure more points ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Photo: CNA
SOCCER
Cagliari pay tribute to Riva
Cagliari on Friday paid tribute to former star Gigi Riva in their first home match since the Italy great died. The Sardinian cub, struggling after promotion to Serie A, lost 2-1 to Torino, but remembered more successful days as they commemorated the center-forward of their only league-winning team. Duvan Zapata and Samuele Ricci put the visitors two goals up by half-time. A 77th-minute reply by Nicolas Viola could not save Claudio Ranieri’s team. Riva was listed at No. 11 in Cagliari’s starting line-up and the team warmed up in white shirts, replicas of those worn by their predecessors in 1970, the year of the Sardinian club’s only Serie A title. Play was interrupted in the 11th minute as the 30,000-strong crowd paid tribute to Riva, who passed away on Monday at the age of 79 in Cagliari.
SOCCER
Gotze scores only goal
Mario Gotze on Friday scored deep into the second half as Eintracht Frankfurt beat FSV Mainz 05 1-0 in the Bundesliga. Mainz started the night third from bottom in the standings. They had the early running, but were floored by Gotze’s 73rd-minute winner as the playmaker headed home a loose ball. There was a suspicion of offside, but the goal was allowed after a video analysis.
SPEED SKATING
Stolz sets world record
Reigning world champion Jordan Stolz of the US on Friday set a world men’s 1,000m speed skating record, the teen clocking in at 1 minute, 5.37 seconds at the Utah Olympic Oval. The 19-year-old, who won three titles at last year’s World Championships, set the mark at a World Cup race outside Salt Lake City, shattering the old mark of 1 minute, 5.69 seconds set by Pavel Kulizhnikov of Russia in the same oval in February 2020.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
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
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
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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