GOLF
Taiwanese crash out
Japan’s Yuri Yoshida on Thursday moved into a share of the lead at the midpoint of the Lotte Championship at Ewa Beach in Hawaii, while three of the four Taiwanese at the tournament missed the cut. Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun had been in a five-player group in second after a five-under-par 67 in the first round at the Hoakalei Country Club on Wednesday, but imploded on Thursday, shooting an eight-over-par 80, including a triple-bogey on the seventh hole, ending her tournament. Hou Yu-sang was in a share of 55th after a 74 put her on 144 overall, nine shots behind Yoshida. Min Lee’s second-round 76 and Cheng Ssu-chia’s 75 meant they also missed the cut. Yoshida carded a five-under-par 67, putting her at nine-under 135 alongside Kim A-lim of South Korea, Russia’s Nataliya Guseva and China’s Liu Ruixin. “Today I feel like ... the wind [changed] every time, every single hole, so some holes I made a mistake and some holes I think it’s great,” Kim said. “So that’s golf.”
Photo: AFP
TABLE TENNIS
Cheng I-ching beaten
Taiwan’s Cheng I-ching on Thursday exited in the round-of-16 in the women’s singles at the WTT Champions Frankfurt. Cheng lost 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 12-10) against He Zhuojia of China. They had met twice previously, with one win apiece. In the men’s singles, Lin Yun-ju was to play Hugo Calderanol of Brazil in the quarter-finals after press time last night.
MOTORSPORTS
Ty Majeski fined
NASCAR Truck Series championship contender Ty Majeski this week was fined US$12,500 by the stock car series after missing media obligations to vote in his home state of Wisconsin on Tuesday. Majeski is one of four drivers who can win the truck title at Phoenix Raceway, with the race scheduled for this morning Taiwan time. Majeski spoke with Thorsport Racing owners and they agreed he would cast his ballot in person on Tuesday. Majeski called the penalty “unprecedented” and said he would appeal the decision. “I felt like I needed to do my duty as a US citizen to vote. My team owners and I, we all made the decision to exercise that right,” he said. A NASCAR spokesman said the team never disclosed that Majeski was not available because he was voting. “This has never happened before,” Majeski said. “Election day, everyone knew it was election day for a long time. It’s unfortunate circumstances for everybody.” Majeski said he has always voted on election day and has never filled out an absentee ballot. “I wanted to make sure my vote was counted,” he said.
CRICKET
Alzarri Joseph suspended
West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph on Thursday was hit with a two-match suspension after storming off the field during the series-clinching ODI win over England. Cricket West Indies (CWI) said that Joseph had been sanctioned for “conduct falling short of CWI’s standards of professionalism.” Joseph marched off the pitch during Wednesday’s game at Kensington Oval in Barbados shortly after taking the wicket of Jordan Cox in the fourth over, in an apparent protest at the field set by Windies skipper Shai Hope. That left them briefly down to 10 players before Joseph then returned for the sixth over. Joseph apologized in a statement, saying that “my passion got the best of me.”
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
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