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.”
‘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
Olympic bronze medalist Lee Meng-yuan has become the first Taiwanese athlete to top the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) men’s skeet world rankings, while top Taiwanese shooters won golds in each of yesterday’s finals in Taoyuan. Lee’s 6,610 points put him ahead of fellow men’s skeet medalists from the Paris Olympics Americans Vincent Hancock and Conner Prince. Lee on Monday said that he was surprised by the result, although he had expected his ranking to rise after the Games, which was also the first time a Taiwanese athlete had competed in men’s skeet. Despite topping the rankings, Lee said he believed Hancock, who