TENNIS
Taiwan’s Wu makes quarters
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and her Norwegian partner, Ulrikke Eikeri, yesterday beat seventh seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 10-6 in their round-of-16 women’s doubles match at the Dubai Open. They next face Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the quarter-finals after they shocked top seeds Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and her Belgian partner, Elise Mertens, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 10-8.
CHESS
Eight-year-old takes record
An eight-year-old on Sunday became the youngest player to defeat a grandmaster in classical chess when Ashwath Kaushik beat Poland’s Jacek Stopa at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland. Indian-born Ashwath, who lives in Singapore, defeated 37-year-old Stopa to break the record set a month earlier by Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia when he beat grandmaster Milko Popchev, the Chess.com Web site said. Ivanovic is also aged eight, but was born five months before Ashwath. “It felt really exciting and amazing, and I felt proud of my game and how I played, especially since I was worse at one point, but managed to come back from that,” Ashwath told Chess.com. Ashwath learned to play the game at the age of four, and became a World Under-Eight Rapid Champion in 2022, the Web site said. “He picked it up on his own, playing with his grandparents,” his father Kaushik Sriram said. “It’s surreal as there isn’t really any sports tradition in our families. Every day is a new discovery.” Ashwath finished the tournament in 12th place after losing to International Master Harry Grieve.
SOCCER
Son, Lee ‘sorry’ for fight
Son Heung-min yesterday apologized for his role in a bust-up with South Korea teammate Lee Kang-in at the AFC Asian Cup and urged fans to forgive the Paris Saint-Germain player. “Kang-in has been going through a very difficult time after the incident,” Tottenham Hotspur’s Son wrote. South Korea were beaten 2-0 by Jordan at the tournament earlier this month and it later emerged that skipper Son had dislocated a finger in an altercation with Lee on the eve of the semi-final. Lee, who has been blamed by fans for the fracas and dumped by advertisers, said yesterday that he had traveled to London to apologize to Son in person. The incident at the Asian Cup reportedly happened after some younger players, including Lee, rushed through their meal so they could leave to play table tennis. This displeased Son and some of the older players, because meals on the eve of big games are seen as a time for bonding. Lee then tried to punch Son, local media reported.
CRICKET
Kohli has second child
Virat Kohli has announced the birth of his second child, ending speculation over the reason for his absence from India’s ongoing home Test series against England. Kohli said his wife, the Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, delivered a baby boy on Thursday last week. The couple already have a daughter named Vamika. “With abundant happiness and our hearts full of love, we are pleased to inform everyone that on 15th February, we welcomed our baby boy Akaay and Vamika’s little brother into this world,” Kohli wrote on Instagram.
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
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
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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