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.
Japanese badminton star Chiharu Shida on Tuesday told Chinese fans to “stop stalking” her, adding that she was “very scared” by the unwanted attention. Shida, who won women’s doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics last year, has a strong following in China partly because of her engagement with the local culture. The 27-year-old, currently competing at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, has been dubbed the “Badminton Goddess” by fans and media. She hit out at some supporters on Tuesday, accusing them in an Instagram post of taking their fandom too far. “Every time we compete in China we always experience the harm
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have shown the team do not need star power to win trophies and with the French Ligue 1 title won with six games to spare, the French champions would look to finish the season without losing, manager Luis Enrique said on Saturday. A 1-0 victory over Angers SCO at the Parc des Princes helped PSG win their fourth straight Ligue 1 title and a record-extending 13th overall. PSG can still break Nantes’ 30-year-old record of 32 games unbeaten. Although Nantes lost one game en route to the title, no French club has ever gone an entire league
THREES KINGS: The Celtics claimed a piece of league history by setting a new record for the number of threes in a season, ending their game with 1,370 Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun on Friday combined for 65 points as the Houston Rockets halted Oklahoma City’s 11-game winning streak with a statement 125-111 victory. In a potential Western Conference finals preview, the Rockets produced a dominant all-round performance to jolt the top-seeded Thunder’s all-conquering preparations for the post-season. Green finished with 34 points from 11-of-24 shooting, while Turkish big man Sengun made 31 points as second-placed Houston improved to 51-27. Oklahoma City grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but Houston soon knocked the Thunder out of their stride with a physical approach to move into the
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has failed in an attempt to persuade the PGA Tour to deliver serious concessions in exchange for a US$1.5 billion investment, leaving elite golf no closer to reconciliation just days from the season’s first major. The PGA Tour’s stance would give credence to the rising sense that the organization has increasing confidence in its position after a turbulent period caused by the formation of the Saudi-backed LIV Tour. Sources indicate that in correspondence sent to the PGA Tour last week, PIF sought assurances that the LIV circuit could continue to operate and that PIF governor Yasir
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