CRICKET
Jaiswal hits double-ton
Yashasvi Jaiswal yesterday scored his maiden double-hundred as India were bowled out for 396 shortly before lunch on Day 2 of the second Test against England. Jaiswal finished with 209 runs, including 19 fours and seven sixes, as the opener almost single-handedly kept India’s innings together. England were bowled out later yesterday for 253, with Zak Crawley’s 76 the top score. Jasprit Bumrah claimed 6-45 to give India a first-innings lead of 143, which they extended to 171 at stumps by reaching 28-0.
Photo: Reuters
SOCCER
Laporta outlines plans
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said that the planned European super league could take off next season or at least by the 2025-2026 season, but if it fails to, the La Liga side would have to re-evaluate everything. The Court of Justice of the EU in December last year ruled that European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, and its global counterpart, FIFA, breached EU law when they prevented 12 clubs from forming a super league. Barca and Real Madrid are the only clubs still supporting the breakaway project. “The super league could start next season, or it will be in 2025-[20]26, and if not, I will rethink everything,” Laporta told Catalan radio station RAC1. The Premier League has said its sides would face a 30-point deduction and a fine for attempting to join a breakaway attempt. “Whether or not the English come, I don’t care. They already have a Super League with the Premier League,” Laporta said.
SOCCER
Lecce beat Fiorentina
US Lecce on Friday scored twice in the last three minutes to beat ACF Fiorentina 3-2 in Serie A. Lecce dominated the early action and went 1-0 up after 17 minutes when Remi Oudin scored direct from a free-kick. Fiorentina took control in the second half and Rolando Mandragora equalized for the visitors five minutes in when he picked up a clearance 30m from goal and rifled in a low shot. Lucas Beltran made it 2-1 midway through the second half thanks to an atrocious mistake in the Lecce defense. Goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone was slow in clearing the ball and his interception rebounded off Beltran and into the empty net. Just when Lecce looked doomed, Piccoli scored with a header in the 90th minute. Then Patrick Dorgu sent the home crowd wild when he grabbed the winner two minutes into stoppage-time.
SOCCER
Mbappe gifted opener
Kylian Mbappe on Friday had a penalty brilliantly saved, but was gifted the opening goal as champions Paris Saint-Germain edged RC Strasbourg 2-1 in Ligue 1. Goalkeeper Alaa Bellaarouch saved Mbappe’s well-struck penalty in the fifth minute to leave the superstar striker holding his head, but Mbappe took his 20th league goal of the campaign after a panicked clearance from the rookie in the 30th minute.
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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