SOCCER
Ten Hag rues lapse
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag on Wednesday said that his side had failed to maintain their intensity in their 1-1 UEFA Europa League draw with Dutch side Twente and should have pushed to finish the visitors off before they had the chance to equalize. Christian Eriksen put United ahead in the first half at Old Trafford, but was at fault for Twente’s equalizer in the 68th minute, when a lapse of concentration allowed Sam Lammers to steal the ball and score. “We kept them alive, we were 1-0 up, controlling the game,” Ten Hag told reporters. “You have to be consistent and keep going in the second half, we dropped the level and gave the goal away.” In other games, Alkmaar beat IF Elfsborg 3-2, Bodo/Glimt downed Porto 3-2, Galatasaray beat PAOK 3-1, Midtjylland and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim drew 1-1, Dynamo Kyiv lost 3-0 against SS Lazio, Ludogorets were defeated 2-0 by Slavia Prague, OGC Nice and Real Sociedad drew 1-1 and RSC Anderlecht beat Ferencvaros TC 2-1.
Photo: EPA-EFE
TENNIS
Taiwan’s Wu advances
Tony Wu yesterday beat Denis Yevseyev of Kazakhstan in a walkover to advance to the quarter-finals at the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand. Yevseyev was trailing 6-4, 6-1 in the second set of their round-of-16 match when he called a halt. Wu is to play Dalibor Svrcina of the Czech Republic today for a place in the semis. In the men’s doubles, Taiwan’s Ray Ho and British partner Joshua Paris lost 6-4, 2-6, 10-7 in the quarter-finals to Australian duo Blake Bayldon and Thomas Fancutt.
OLYMPICS
Toyota ends sponsorship
Toyota Motor chairman Akio Toyoda yesterday said that the company would not renew its 10-year contract as a top sponsor for the Olympics and Paralympics following the Paris Games. The world’s biggest automaker, which had already suggested it would not renew the contract when it expired, would continue to financially support athletes, Toyoda said on the company-owned media channel.
RUGBY UNION
Beauden Barrett to start
New Zealand veteran Beauden Barrett yesterday was recalled to start at flyhalf in the second Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia in Wellington. Damian McKenzie, who has started all eight games in the No. 10 shirt for New Zealand this season, drops to the bench for tomorrow’s clash. Barrett, 33, is to make his 131st appearance for the All Blacks, who retained the Bledisloe Cup with a 31-28 win over Australia in Sydney last week. Coach Scott Robertson told reporters he had always planned to start with Barrett. McKenzie “has started every game until now and we’ve got to give guys opportunities,” he said Robertson backed McKenzie to have an impact off the bench. “He’s had a great season to date. There’s areas of his game he can get better, but he can come on and game-manage what we need to do to finish the match.”
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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