BADMINTON
Lee, Yang romp to final
Taiwan’s men’s doubles duo Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday took just 36 minutes to upset sixth-ranked Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in their BWF French Open semi-final. Lee and Yang, who are ranked 16th in the world, beat the Japanese 21-18, 23-21. They were to face world No. 1 players Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India after press time tonight.
BASKETBALL
New Taipei Kings take fourth
The P.League+’s New Taipei Kings yesterday placed fourth in the East Asia Super League after losing their third-place playoff match against the Korean Basketball League’s Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters 76-78. The were playing at the Lapu-lapu Hoops Dome in the Philippines after a 92-84 semi-final loss to the JBL Super League’s Chiba Jets Funabashi on Friday. Eight teams, including the Taipei Fubon Braves, competed in the tournament featuring clubs from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Philippines.
SKIINIG
Boozed-up spectators fight
The 50km women’s classic cross-country race in and around Oslo’s famous Holmenkollen stadium was on Saturday marred by drunken brawls among spectators. Several fights broke out, with some people storming the barriers toward the ski slope and falling over a fence. “There was fighting and there was also lashing out against the police,” Oslo police said. A Red Cross manager was reported as saying that 130 people aged 16 to 20 required assistance from the Red Cross station in the area, either due to injuries or intoxication. The race was won by Sweden’s Frida Karlsson who did not notice the spectacle, but was booed as she approached the finish line. Swedish skier Moa Lundgren told the newspaper Expressen that she had sensed a boozy atmosphere as she raced. “It really smelled of alcohol and something sweet out on the track,” she said. “It was a naval battle,” she added, using a common Scandinavian expression for drunken chaos.
TENNIS
Djokovic pushed for win
Novak Djokovic on Saturday struggled to a winning comeback at the BNP Paribas Open five years after his last appearance, defeating Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. World No. 1 Djokovic, who had not played since losing an Australian Open semi-final to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in January, is chasing a sixth title at the desert venue in the season’s first Masters event. “I was a bit nervous at the beginning, you know, whether I’m going to start off well... I had not played a match in more than five weeks,” Djokovic said. “He made me produce some really important points in games in order to prevail. I’m glad that I was pushed, which is important.” Djokovic was not the only top player to be tested. Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka saved four match points on the way to her 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) second-round victory over 64th-ranked Peyton Stearns, and US Open champion Coco Gauff rallied in the final set to beat France’s Clara Burel 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). “This match definitely goes into the book of craziest and the best matches of my career,” world No. 2 Sabalenka said. “She played incredible tennis. I kept telling myself: ‘Stay there, fight for every point. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
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
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
FINAL WEEK LOOMS: PSG rose to 22nd place to set up another tense challenge against 24th-placed Stuttgart, while Man City require victory against Club Brugge Manchester City are on the brink of a humiliating UEFA Champions League exit after a stunning loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, while Real Madrid is no longer at risk after routing Salzburg. Man City blew a two-goal lead in a high-stakes clash of super-wealthy underachievers that PSG won 4-2 in Paris, who could still be eliminated alongside the English champions after the final round of games next week. Only the top 24 in the 36-team standings are to advance. Man City, the 2023 champions, are in 25th place, but could squeeze into the knockout playoffs round by beating Club Brugge. “We will
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