BADMINTON
Hsu, Lin lose Swiss final
Taiwan’s Hsu Ya-ching and Lin Wan-ching made it through to yesterday’s Yonex Swiss Open women’s doubles final in Basel, but lost 13-21, 21-16, 21-8 to Indonesia’s Lanny Tria Mayasari and Ribka Sugiarto in a match that lasted one hour, 21 minutes. In their semi-final on Saturday they trounced Australia’s Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu 21-12, 21-13. Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen and Lin Chun-yi were to face off in the men’s singles final after press time last night.
TENNIS
Sabalenka exits Miami Open
Aryna Sabalenka, back on court for the second time in as many days following the apparent suicide of former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov, had a difficult and emotional week come to an end on Saturday with a 6-4 1-6 6-1 loss to Anhelina Kalinina. After a gutsy second round win on Friday over good friend Paula Badosa, the world No. 2 appeared to have little left in the tank physically, mentally or emotionally for a late night Stadium court battle with Ukrainian Kalinina. When her return wide gave Kalinina the match, the 25-year-old Belarusian bowed her head, took a few steps then flew into a rage, venting her frustration by smashing her racket to pieces at center court. With racket destroyed, she then turned and walked off court without shaking the Ukrainian’s hand. “It’s always tough to play on big stages against these top players,” Kalinina said. “Today was really tough with nerves, but I managed in the tough moments to deal with it... So I’m a little bit proud of myself today.” The result and outburst were hardly a surprise. Sabalenka issued a brief statement on Wednesday saying her “heart was broken” by the “unthinkable tragedy,” but has otherwise remained out of the spotlight. The statement was also the first mention since the tragedy that the couple had split.
OLYMPICS
France battles mosquitoes
France is scrambling to make sure that virus-carrying tiger mosquitoes, a growing menace in Europe, do not spoil the Paris Olympics for athletes and fans, with millions of visitors due in the French capital for the summer Games. The Asian tiger mosquito has made its home in much of northern Europe, including France, over the past two decades, spreading diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika. Climate change is said to be behind its easy adaptation to colder climes, with authorities recently declaring Normandy in the northwest, the last remaining mosquito-free region in all of France, infested just like the rest of the country. Authorities have tried in vain to get rid of the insects, including by fumigating parts of Paris. However, with the start of the Paris Games only four months away, they are on the clock, with experts saying that a tiger mosquito bite could destroy an athlete’s chance of making it to the starting line. “When you are sick with dengue, you won’t be jumping over any hurdles,” said Didier Fontenille, an entomologist and expert on vector-borne diseases. Health authorities have promised “increased surveillance” of the mosquito threat, which has been notoriously difficult to eliminate. France reported 45 dengue cases last year, attributed to local virus transmission.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
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