BADMINTON
Taiwanese duo win final
Taiwan’s He Zhi-wei and Huang Jui-hsuan yesterday beat Indonesia’s Raymond Indra and Patra Harapan Rindorindo 16-21, 21-19, 21-18 to win the men’s doubles at the Vietnam Open. The Taiwanese pair made the finals with a walkover on Saturday after Japan’s Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami withdrew from the semi-final. The BWF Super 100 tournament, which started on Tuesday last week at the Nguyen Du Club in Ho Chi Minh City, had a total purse of US$100,000.
TENNIS
Chan exits Seoul singles
Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching on Saturday crashed out of the Korea Open women’s singles qualifiers, losing 6-1, 6-1 to 12th seed Kyoka Okamura of Japan. Chan and her Russian partner Veronika Kudermetova are tomorrow to start their women’s doubles campaign against Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia and Britain’s Olivia Nicholls. Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Chinese partner Jiang Xinyu are today to play Nao Hibino of Japan and Priscilla Hon of Australia. Meanwhile at the Thailand Open in Hua Hin, Taiwan’s Liang En-shou yesterday crashed out of the second day of qualifying in the women’s singles, losing 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew, after beating Thailand’s Kamonwan Yodpetch 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday. Liang and Chinese partner Tang Qianhui are tomorrow to play Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and Feng Shuo of China in the first round of the women’s doubles.
RUNNING
Misoi, Edesa smash records
Kenya’s Brimin Misoi and Ethiopian star Workenesh Edesa Gurmesa yesterday smashed the Sydney Marathon course record to win the men’s and women’s races respectively. Misoi sliced 46 seconds off the previous best set two years ago by compatriot Moses Kibet, crossing the line in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 17 seconds after making his break from the leading pack at the 30km mark. Edesa, world No. 10, was even more impressive, shattering the old record of 2:24:33 set five years ago by Kenyan Stella Barsosio by almost 3 minutes.
RUGBY UNION
Japan sweep Samoa
Japan yesterday set up a Pacific Nations Cup final showdown with defending champions Fiji after sweeping aside Samoa with a rampant 49-27 win in Tokyo. Japan scored four tries in the first half and three in the second to give Eddie Jones his third straight win after a tricky start to his second stint as head coach. Jones would hope to keep the streak going in next weekend’s final in Osaka against Fiji, who beat the US in the first semi-final.
HOBBY-HORSING
Germany hosts tournament
Germany on Saturday and yesterday held its first hobby-horsing championship in Frankfurt, with about 300 young riders competing in time jumping, style jumping and dressage on their wooden stick horses in front of 1,500 spectators. The competition is part of a growing wave of hobby-horsing events internationally. “Hobby-horsing just gives me self-confidence and I just enjoy doing it with other people,” said Max Gohde, a 15-year-old competitor from Gifhorn, Germany, who has been practicing since 2020. “And now there’s also this atmosphere here, where everyone is just happy for you, and I think that’s just really cool.”
‘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
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946