TENNIS
Taiwanese advance in Dubai
Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and partner Giuliana Olmos of Mexico on Monday eased through the first round of the women’s doubles at the Dubai Open to set up a round-of-16 match against Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri. Seventh seeds Chan and Olmos beat Magda Linette of Poland and Romania’s Monica Niculescu 1-6, 6-2, 10-4, while Wu and Eikeri downed Russia’s Anastasia Potapova and Vera Zvonareva 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 10-6. Top seeds Hsieh Su-wei and and Belgian partner Elise Mertens, fresh off their history-making Australian Open victory last month, earned a bye to the round of 16, where they are to play Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Germany’s Laura Siegemund.
SOCCER
Ito sues accusers
Japan international player Junya Ito is suing two women who accused him of sexual assault for ￥200 million (US$1.33 million) in damages, his lawyer said. The 30-year-old winger, who plays for French club Stade de Reims, is under investigation by Japanese police over the alleged incident in Osaka last year. He denies any wrongdoing. Ito’s lawyer, Hirotaro Kato, told reporters on Monday, that is “extremely important to restore his honor as soon as possible, as a period of a player’s career is limited.” Local media reports said Ito’s physical trainer has also been accused. A report about the accusations against Ito was published in a Japanese magazine while he was at the Asian Cup in Qatar last month. He left the Japan squad before their quarter-final against Iran.
SOCCER
Roy Hodgson steps down
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson on Monday stepped down less than a year into his second stint at the Premier League club, with Oliver Glasner appointed as his replacement. The former Liverpool and England boss guided Palace to safety last season, but results this term have not met expectations with the South London club 16th in the table. Former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Glasner has signed a deal to become Palace boss until the end of the 2025-2026 season. Hodgson’s decision follows back-to-back losses to Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea. The 3-1 loss to Chelsea at Selhurst Park marked the 76-year-old’s 200th match in charge of Palace.
OLYMPICS
Rider escapes punishment
Australian equestrian Shane Rose on Monday escaped punishment for wearing a “mankini” during a showjumping competition, allowing him to resume preparations for this summer’s Paris Olympics. The three-time Olympic medalist slipped into the fluorescent orange outfit — popularized in the movie Borat — during an event at Wallaby Hill near Sydney earlier this month where riders were encouraged to wear fancy dress. It sparked a complaint to Equestrian Australia, but the governing body opted not to sanction the 50-year-old after a groundswell of public support for the rider. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that he was happy he could again focus on his Olympic preparations. “It’s a great relief to get it to happen and prepare for Paris as best I can,” said Rose, who also posted an offer of free mankinis on his Facebook page.
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
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
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
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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