SOCCER
Malaysian player in ICU
A Malaysian national team player who was the victim of an acid attack yesterday remained in an intensive care unit (ICU) with fourth-degree burns that would require more surgery, local media reported. Faisal Halim sustained burns on the neck, shoulder, hands and chest in Petaling Jaya, outside the capital, Kuala Lumpur, over the weekend. Nicknamed “Mickey”, the 26-year-old plays on the right wing for Selangor Football Club and Malaysia. “After the first surgery, the specialist doctors found that it was not second-degree burns, but fourth-degree burns,” state news agency Bernama quoted Selangor Football Association deputy president Shahril Mokhtar as saying, adding that he would need at least two more surgeries. Selangor State Police Chief Hussein Omar Khan told reporters that investigations over the motive for the attack continued and that two suspects had been arrested.
WEIGHTLIFTING
European champ killed in war
Two-time European weightlifting champion Oleksandr Pielieshenko died on the front line in the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Olympic Committee said on Monday. Pielieshenko “died in the war with the enemy” on Sunday, the committee wrote on Telegram. He was 30. He joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the first days of Russia’s invasion, it added. Pielieshenko came back from a doping suspension in 2013-2015 to win the 2016 European under-85kg division by 1kg. He retained the title in 2017 in Croatia. “War takes the best of us. This is a very heavy loss for the entire weightlifting community of Ukraine. Heroes do not die,” National coach Viktor Slobodianiuk wrote on Facebook. More than 400 Ukrainian athletes and officials have been killed in the war.
SOCCER
Halt games, Brazil clubs say
Three top-tier clubs on Monday urged the Brazilian Football Federation to suspend national league matches for the next 20 days because of serious flooding. Internacional, Gremio and Juventude are based in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which has been devastated by floods since last week. Authorities say at least 83 people have been killed over the past seven days in the region and another 111 are reported missing. “The absolute priority at this moment is to support thousands of people who have been hit,” Internacional said in a statement. “We ask for understanding, solidarity, empathy and support at such a delicate an extraordinary moment.” The federation said it would consider the request.
BASEBALL
Phillies sweep Giants
Zack Wheeler on Monday struck out 11 in seven innings, Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer and Kyle Schwarber added a solo shot to help the Philadelphia Phillies complete a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 6-1 win. Harper went deep off Giants rookie Mason Black, spoiling the major league debut of the Giants right-hander, who pitched into the fifth inning against the team he grew up rooting for. “I hope he enjoyed it with his family and his teammates and everything else, because you only get one debut,” Harper said. The win was the major league-leading Phillies (25-11) sixth consecutive victory.
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
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
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
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
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