GOLF
Taiwan’s Chien slips
Windy conditions at the LPGA Thailand yesterday gave Chien Pei-yun trouble as the Taiwanese carded a 72 to slip from first to a share of seventh after her opening-round 64. Kim Sei-young, Madelene Sagstrom and Patty Tavatanakit shared the lead at 10-under after two rounds at Siam Country Club Pattaya.
Photo: EPA-EFE
TABLE TENNIS
Taiwan beat Germany
Taiwan yesterday beat Germany at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center in South Korea. In the first game of their quarter-final series, Chuang Chih-yuan defeated Qiu Dang 3-2 (11-8, 6-11, 11-1, 8-11, 11-9) before Lin Yun-ju came back from 2-0 down to defeat Dimitrij Ovtcharov 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9) and Kao Cheng-jui beat Patrick Franziska 3-1 (9-11, 16-14, 11-9, 11-9) to earn a semi against France today.
Photo: EPA-EFE
TENNIS
Wu Fang-hsien exits
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien on Thursday exited in the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Dubai Championships at Aviation Club Tennis Center in the United Arab Emirates. Laura Siegemund of Germany and Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich defeated Wu and partner Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway 3-6, 6-2, 10-4. The winners in the women’s singles were: Jasmine Paolini, Sorana Cirstea, Iga Swiatek and Anna Kalinskaya.
Photo: Reuters
TENNIS
Norrie, Fonseca advance
Defending champion Cameron Norrie beat Tomas Barrios Vera of Chile 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Rio Open. Later, 17-year-old Joao Fonseca became the first player born in 2006 to reach the quarter-finals of an ATP Tour tournament. He beat Cristian Garin of Chile 6-4, 6-4 and was to play Argentina’s Mariano Navone, who came from qualifying, for a place in the semi-finals.
FOOTBALL
Chiefs sign Araiza
Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs have signed punter Matt Araiza, bringing him back to the NFL two months after he was dismissed from a gang-rape lawsuit filed in 2022. “We are proud to announce that our client Matt Araiza has signed with the Chiefs,” JL Sports, Araiza’s agency, wrote on social media on Thursday, adding that it was “grateful” to Kansas City general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid “for giving Matt this opportunity.” The Buffalo Bills released Araiza in August of 2022, two days after a civil lawsuit was filed alleging he was among those who gang-raped a 17-year-old girl in 2021 when he was a player at San Diego State University. The San Diego District Attorney’s Office announced in December of 2022 that no criminal charges would be filed in the case. Araiza was dropped from the civil lawsuit in December and he dropped the defamation countersuit he had filed in July 2023.
SOCCER
Lazio defeat Torino
SS Lazio on Thursday moved back into contention for Europe with a 2-0 win against Torino in Serie A. Matteo Guendouzi and Danilo Cataldi scored second-half goals for the Roman club. Lazio moved up to seventh place, one point behind city rivals AS Roma.
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Golden State erased a double-digit deficit and pulled away late for the victory. “We just stayed solid,” said Curry, who entered the contest mired in a shooting slump and had just four points on one basket in the first half. “Just all-around effort.” The Thunder, fueled by 31 first-half points from Gilgeous-Alexander, led by as many as 14 in the
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