BADMINTON
Lee, Yang place 2nd in Paris
Taiwanese shuttlers Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan finished runners-up at the French Open on Sunday after losing to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the men’s doubles final. Lee and Yang, who are ranked 16th, lost 21-11, 21-17 against the world No. 1 pair from India in a match that lasted just 37 minutes at the Adidas Arena in Paris. Despite the score being tied 4-4 early in the opener, Rankireddy and Shetty quickly set an aggressive tone to take the lead for the rest of the game. Lee and Yang improved in the second game, leading 14-13 at one point, but a series of unforced errors allowed their opponents to seal the win. The Taiwanese duo have lost all three of their matches against the Indian pair. Lee and Yang said that they were disappointed with their performance, and felt they were too conservative with many of their shots, pledging to fight harder next time they face the Indian duo. Rankireddy and Shetty attacked well, which is why many of their defensive shots went wide, the Taiwanese pair said, adding that they should have focused on attacking.
SPEEDSKATING
Champ Stolz sets record
Jordan Stolz on Sunday became the youngest allround speedskating world champion since Eric Heiden accomplished the feat as an 18-year-old in 1977. He is also the first American to win the title since Shani Davis in 2006, capping a dominating performance with the highest points total ever. Nineteen-year-old Stolz started the day with a track record in the 1,500m at Max Aicher Arena, crossing the line in 1 minute, 41.78 seconds. He then took 13 seconds off his personal best in the 10,000m. The Wisconsin native, who is positioning himself to be one of the biggest stars at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, totaled 144.740 points to eclipse by 0.821 the previous allround mark set by Patrick Roest of the Netherlands in 2019 on the high-altitude oval in Calgary, Canada. “I’ve been beaten by a phenomenon,” said Roest, a three-time world champion who settled for the runner-up spot this time behind Stolz. “He is just incredibly strong, he can handle all distances and he even defeats long-distance specialists in their own event. What he does is quite special.”
SUMO
Hakuho could lose stable
Sumo’s greatest champion, Hakuho, could have his stable of wrestlers forcibly closed after he failed to control a protege who was thrown out of the sport for bullying, Japanese media reported. The wider group to which Hakuho’s Miyagino stable belongs on Sunday submitted a plan to sumo authorities to transfer all of his wrestlers to other set-ups within the organization, reports said. If the proposal is accepted, Hakuho’s stable would close its doors from next month and the former yokozuna, who won a record 45 tournaments before retiring in 2021, would also be moved elsewhere. However, the stable could return, reports said. Hakuho was last month fined and downgraded to the lowest rank for sumo elders for failing to control the behavior of his protege Hokuseiho. Twenty-two-year-old Hokuseiho, who is 204cm tall, is alleged to have punched lower-ranked stablemates and stolen money from them. He was forced to quit the sport in disgrace when sumo authorities issued a recommendation for him to retire.
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