ICE HOCKEY
Panthers beat Bruins
Aleksander Barkov on Wednesday had two goals and two assists, while Sam Reinhart added four assists as the Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins 6-1 to tie their NHL Eastern Conference second-round playoff series at 1-1. Brandon Montour had a goal and two assists, while Steven Lorentz, Gustav Forsling and Eetu Luostarinen also scored. The Panthers chased Bruins starter Jeremy Swayman early in the third period after four straight goals, then added two more against Linus Ullmark. Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 14 saves for the Panthers. Charlie Coyle had the goal for the Bruins, who lost to Florida for the first time in six meetings this season. In Vancouver, Conor Garland broke a tie with 5 minutes, 34 seconds left as the Canucks overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in Game 1 of their Western Conference series. Garland took a short pass from Dakota Joshua, faked a slap shot at the right circle, sped in on Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner and slipped a wrist shot between his legs from a sharp angle for Vancouver’s second goal in 39 seconds.
Photo: AFP
OLYMPICS
Flame starts France relay
The French leg of the Paris Olympic flame relay began yesterday in the southern port city of Marseille, a day after it arrived from Greece on a 19th-century ship. Former France soccer star Basile Boli carried the torch from a majestic cathedral overlooking the city and handed it over to 83-year-old Colette Cataldo. The event drew dozens of spectators including Marseille archbishop Jean-marc Aveline. “That really makes the heart beat fast and it’s fantastic,” said Boli after handing over the torch. “It’s the Olympic flame, it’s the symbol of sport and of living together.” The event marked the start of a 12,000km torch relay across France and its far-flung overseas territories, terminating at the opening ceremony on the Seine in Paris on July 26.
ICE SKATING
Shoma Uno retires
Two-time figure skating world champion and three-time Olympic medalist Shoma Uno of Japan yesterday said that he is retiring from competition. Uno, 26, won a second consecutive world title last year despite an ankle injury. “My skating life started when I was five, and I am very grateful that I was able to continue for 21 years and lead a fantastic life in competition,” the Nagoya native wrote on Instagram. Uno, who was born prematurely weighing just 0.9kg, was the world’s first skater to successfully land a quadruple flip in competition.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
Olympic bronze medalist Lee Meng-yuan has become the first Taiwanese athlete to top the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) men’s skeet world rankings, while top Taiwanese shooters won golds in each of yesterday’s finals in Taoyuan. Lee’s 6,610 points put him ahead of fellow men’s skeet medalists from the Paris Olympics Americans Vincent Hancock and Conner Prince. Lee on Monday said that he was surprised by the result, although he had expected his ranking to rise after the Games, which was also the first time a Taiwanese athlete had competed in men’s skeet. Despite topping the rankings, Lee said he believed Hancock, who