GOLF
Taiwan’s Cheng grabs third
Taiwan’s Cheng Ssu-Chia on Saturday shot a five-under-par 66 to tie for third at the Dana Open in Sylvania, Ohio. The 26-year-old had six birdies, four of them in the last six holes, and a single bogey to leave her 11-under par after the third round, tied with defending tournament champion Linn Grant of Sweden and Xiyu Lin of China. “I just stay patient out there,” Cheng said. “I didn’t really have the best start like today or even just like the past two days. I just kind of stayed patient out there and just one shot at a time.” Taiwanese Hou Yu-sang was tied at 31st after carding a two-under-par 69 with an eagle on the ninth hole, three birdies and three bogeys. Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen was leading the tournament with a 16-under 197.
RUGBY
Savea to join Moana Pasifika
World player of the year Ardie Savea yesterday announced he would play for Moana Pasifika next season in a major coup for the Super Rugby side. Savea, who played club rugby in Japan this year, said he was sad to end more than a decade’s association at Wellington Hurricanes. The All Blacks back-row forward said the time was right to honor his Samoan family and “give back to my heritage.” The deal with Moana Pasifika is for three seasons and leaves him eligible to represent New Zealand through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Auckland-based Moana are made up of players with a Pacific islands family background, including Savea’s older brother Julian Savea, a former All Blacks wing who switched from Hurricanes last year.
MOTORSPORTS
Hamilton’s slump continues
Lewis Hamilton has a record 104 Formula One pole positions, but Saturdays have become tricky for Mercedes’ seven-time world champion and Hungary marked a year since he last qualified fastest. Hamilton returned, emotionally, to the top of the podium at Silverstone on July 7 — his first win since 2021 — but the 39-year-old has outqualified teammate George Russell only three times so far this season. Hamilton qualified fifth at the Hungaroring on Saturday — a circuit where he has had a record nine career poles — while Russell was only 17th. McLaren’s Landon Norris took pole position, while teammate Oscare Piastri was second and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third.
OLYMPICS
Teams voice toilet worries
A possible lack of toilets on the barges used for carrying athletes during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday has thrown national teams an unexpected curve ball. The opening ceremony is to take place on the Seine River with athletes on barges floating past spectators in one of the most anticipated events of the Games. However, some of the vessels would not have toilets. “Being one of the larger delegations, we haven’t yet had confirmation whether we will have a boat with a toilet but we do hope so,” Australian chef de mission Anna Meares told a news conference on Saturday. “But preparations in the case that we don’t have a toilet on the boat are under way, and making sure that we have access to facilities both prior to and on the departure of the boat.” Athletes would be pleased to hear that the expected time on the water for the opening ceremony would only be about 45 minutes.
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
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
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
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
RSS