CRICKET
Super 11 win in Taipei
Taipei Super 11 yesterday won their opening match in Group A of the Taiwan Premier League, beating the Taipei Indians by three wickets at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. The Indians reached 136-8 batting first and had their eye on two points for the win when they had reduced Super 11 to 99-6 on the fifth ball of the 16th over in the T20 tournament. However, Sathishkumar Chinnapaiyan walked to the crease and smacked 30 not out from just 11 deliveries, four of which went for six, to guide his team home with one ball to spare. In the afternoon game, the Taiwan Stars’ Adeel Ahmad Jamil struck 86 not out from 38 deliveries to lead his side to a three-wicket win over Formosa in Group B.
CRICKET
US reach Super Eight
The US on Friday made history by reaching the second round in their debut at the T20 World Cup after their last group game against Ireland was washed out. Rain meant the match at Broward County Stadium was abandoned without a ball bowled, advancing the US to the Super Eight stage and automatically qualifying them for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. In other games, New Zealand thrashed Uganda by nine wickets in a Group C clash of already-eliminated teams in Trinidad, while South Africa survived a scare from Nepal in scrambling a one-run victory in their final Group D match in St Vincent.
SOCCER
Messi scores brace
Lionel Messi on Friday scored twice and assisted on another goal in his first international start since November last year as Argentina outclassed Guatemala 4-1 to complete their Copa America preparations. Messi played the full 90 minutes for manager Lionel Scaloni after playing 35 minutes off the bench in a 1-0 win over fellow Copa America contenders Ecuador in Chicago last weekend. He previously missed a pair of international friendlies in March with a hamstring issue. His sharp performance on Friday should ease Argentine concerns ahead of their Group A opener against Canada in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday.
OLYMPICS
Tests deem Seine unsafe
Water in the Seine River had unsafe elevated levels of Escherichia coli less than two months before swimming competitions are scheduled to take place in it during the Paris Olympics, test results published on Friday showed. Contamination levels in the first eight days of this month, after persistent heavy rain in Paris, showed bacteria such as E. coli and enterococci beyond limits judged safe for athletes. The report was published by monitoring group Eau de Paris one day after a senior International Olympic Committee executive said there were “no reasons to doubt” races would go ahead as scheduled in a historic downtown stretch of the Seine near the Eiffel Tower. The final decision on approving the events safe for athletes rests with the governing bodies of individual sports. According to European standards, the safe limit for E coli is 900 colony-forming units per 100ml. During the first eight days of this month, test results showed that E coli levels frequently exceeded the threshold. Enterococci levels were better, mostly staying within safe limits.
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
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
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
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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