BADMINTON
Lee wins Kaohsiung Masters
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao yesterday defeated Malaysia’s Cheam June Wei to win the men’s singles final at the Victor Kaohsiung Masters. World No. 31 Lee beat Cheam 21-15, 21-12 in 33 minutes, extending the Taiwanese’s win record over the Malaysian to 4-2 since they first faced off at the Malaysia International Youth U-19 in 2015. In the women’s singles final, world No. 29 Taiwanese Hsu Wen-chi survived compatriot and world No. 30 Pai Yu-po 22-20, 21-18. In the men’s doubles final, Taiwan’s Chang Ko-chi and Chen Xin-yuan took 58 minutes to overcome fellow Taiwanese Chen Zhi-ray and Lin Yu-chieh 19-21, 21-16, 22-20. In the women’s doubles final, the Taiwanese duo of Sung Shuo-yun and Yu Chien-hui lost 21-14, 21-18 to the Indonesian pairing of Jesita Putri Miantoro and Febi Setianingrum, while in the mixed doubles finals, Taiwan’s Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang fell 21-18, 21-13 to Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat.
TRACK AND FIELD
Richardson wins 100m
Sha’Carri Richardson on Saturday earned her Olympic redemption, winning the 100m final at the US trials to punch her ticket to Paris. The world champion wrested the lead midway through the race and accelerated through the final meters to finish in a world-leading 10.71 seconds, with Melissa Jefferson taking second in 10.8 and Twanisha Terry third in 10.89. The fan favorite saw her Tokyo Olympic dream shattered with a positive cannabis test three years ago, but was able to shake off the bitter memories as she took in the wild cheers from the adoring crowd in Eugene, Oregon. “I feel honored. I feel everything, every chapter I’ve been through in my life ... prepared me for this moment,” she said in a televised interview after the race.
CRICKET
Australia fall to Afghanistan
Gulbadin Naib on Saturday was Afghanistan’s man with the golden arm, bowling his team to a surprise 21-run victory over previously unbeaten Australia in their Group One Super Eight encounter in the T20 World Cup at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Set a target of 149, Glenn Maxwell (59 off 41 balls, six fours, three sixes) had the Test and One-Day champions on course until he became Gulbadin’s third wicket in the 15th over, opening the door to a result that keeps the duel for semi-final spots alive going into the final two fixtures in the group today. In Antigua and Barbuda, leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav took three key wickets while Hardik Pandya blasted an undefeated half-century as India moved to the brink of the semi-finals with a 50-run rout of Bangladesh.
MOTORSPORTS
Norris grabs pole despite fire
Lando Norris’ Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday started with a fire and ended with a flourish as the McLaren Formula One driver secured the team’s first pole position in three years. Fire engines rushed into the paddock as smoke billowed out of McLaren’s multistory hospitality unit at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Team boss Zak Brown said a team member had been released from the hospital after precautionary checks and everyone else was in good shape. “Happy to report that everyone is fine, other than our motorhome,” the American told Sky Sports television. Some media reports said the fire was possibly electrical in origin.
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
Taiwan suffered its first defeat of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, losing to defending champion Japan 3-1 at the Taipei Dome last night. Japan’s victory put Taiwan’s score at two wins and one loss in WBSC Premier12 championship Group B play. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly from Japanese batter Shota Morishita allowed Masayuki Kuwahara to score a run on Taiwan’s starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清). Taiwan’s attempt to catch up in the bottom of the first ended to no avail and an uneventful second inning saw the score
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
SIXTY IN VAIN: In California, De’Aaron Fox contributed a record in points, but it was not enough as his Kings lost 130-126 in overtime to the Timberwolves in the NBA Cup The floor and ball both looked different at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday, but not the Cavaliers, who remained unchanged and kept their perfect start to the NBA season unblemished. They improved to 14-0 with a 144-126 win over the Chicago Bulls in their NBA Cup opener, which served as another showcase for a Cavs team clicking like never before. After the final buzzer, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen celebrated more history by dancing on the court with a giant green frog, who has quickly become an impromptu mascot to an unscripted start. “It’s Cleveland,” Allen said,
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