TABLE TENNIS
Taiwanese legend withdraws
Taiwanese legend Chuang Chih-yuan has withdrawn from the world rankings of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), although he can still participate in other international tournaments. As of Tuesday, Chuang’s name had been removed from the ITTF world rankings list, where he was last ranked 44th. Taiwan’s governing body said that Chuang submitted to the ITTF an application to withdraw from the list last week. “We double-checked his intentions before we sent the letter to the ITTF,” said Yeh Kuo-chin, the national body’s secretary-general. Yeh did not rule out the 43-year-old participating in international tournaments, as he is still sponsored by the Sports Administration’s Golden Plan. “He probably does not plan to compete in as many tournaments as he did. Now that he has no world ranking, he will be unseeded if he competes in a tournament,” Yeh said. Chuang has said that he would focus more on training young talent. Chuang has participated in all six Summer Olympics since the Athens Games in 2004, with his best performance being a fourth-place finish in the men’s singles at the 2012 London Olympics. In August last year, after Taiwan’s men’s team lost to Japan in the quarter-finals, Chuang announced that the Paris Olympics would be his last. Over the past five months, the only international tournament he has competed in was the WTT Champions Macau in September, at which he lost in the first round.
Photo: CNA
GOLF
OWGR adds Taiwan tour
The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) on Tuesday said that it would include the PGA Tour of Taiwan in its system effective on Week 1 this year. The body — which administers and publishes weekly rankings based on the relative performances of male golfers at “Eligible Golf Tours” worldwide — said that it would also use a new points distribution curve for tournaments with “Low Field Ratings” to award a larger percentage of rankings points to the top finishers. Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion and a golf broadcast analyst, is to take over as chair of the body on April 10, its board said.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Paolo Guerrero retires
Peru’s record goalscorer Paolo Guerrero on Tuesday announced his retirement from international soccer at the age of 41. “The national team needs new people, new faces. What people are asking for are new players, so let’s give the youngsters a chance,” Guerrero told reporters. Guerrero made his national team debut against Bolivia in October 2004. He is Peru’s all-time leading scorer with 40 goals in 125 appearances. The former Bayern Munich, Hamburg SV and Corinthians striker’s final game for Peru was a 1-0 loss to Argentina in November in FIFA World Cup qualifying. Guerrero, who plays for Alianza Lima in his homeland, participated at six Copa America tournaments as well as the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
RSS