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.”
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
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