CRICKET
Azhar’s 59 leads Stallions
Aashir Azhar’s blazing half-century guided the Taipei Stallions to victory over Taipei Super 11 in the Taiwan Premier League’s Group A at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei yesterday. The Stallions were 102-3 and into the 12th over of 20 when Azhar came to the crease. He hit seven sixes and two fours in the 25 deliveries he faced to push his side to 171-5. Gokul Kumar was the star with the ball for Super 11, taking 3-17. In the reply, Deepak Vishnu outscored Azhar with 77 from 50 balls, but nobody else got past 20 as they slumped to a 22-run loss. In the second match, the Taipei Indians posted a meager 64 all out in 16.2 overs against PCCT with Mushtaq Mohammad taking three wickets, but the tiny total looked a long way off when PCCT limped to 19-4 in seven overs. The scoring rate did not increase much, but the flow of wickets ended as PCCT secured a four-wicket win after 18.2 overs. Games today are scheduled between the Raging Bulls and TCA in the morning, and the Stallions against PCCT in the afternoon.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Super 11
SOCCER
Peru defeat Uruguay
Peru on Friday won their first match in South American World Cup qualifying at the expense of coach Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay. The 1-0 home win gave the hosts a boost in the 10-team round-robin competition after a long losing streak. Miguel Araujo scored the only goal of the match with a header in the 88th minute to move Peru out of last place in the South American standings. Third-place Uruguay have 15 points after nine matches, four fewer than leaders Argentina and one behind second-placed Colombia. The first six teams in the table will secure a berth in the next FIFA World Cup in 2026 in North America. Peru have six points, one more than last-placed Chile. Uruguay wasted several opportunities in the first half, with Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez and Maximiliano Araujo stopped by Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. The hosts took control of the match in the second half. “I honestly feel responsible, due to the players we had in the midfield and in the offense, for such a small proportion of goal chances we created in the second half,” Bielsa said.
RUGBY UNION
Elsom warrant issued
An international arrest warrant has been issued for former Australia captain Rocky Elsom over his conduct as president of French club Narbonne in 2015 and 2016, French media reported. The 41-year-old was found guilty of forgery, use of forgery and misuse of corporate assets by a Narbonne court on Friday, Agence France-Presse, French sports daily L’Equipe and other media reported on Friday. A powerful blindside flanker, Elsom played 75 Tests for Australia and captained the Wallabies from 2009 until just before the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He also enjoyed a successful spell with Irish province Leinster and told Britain’s Times newspaper in an interview last weekend that he was teaching in a Dublin school.
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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