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Taiwanese legend Chuang Chih-yuan has withdrawn from the world rankings of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), although he can still participate in other international tournaments.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.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
SHORT-HANDED: Reigning champions the Boston Celtics were without stars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, but they still downed the Timberwolves Oklahoma City on Thursday stretched the NBA’s best winning streak to 13 games with a home victory, while reigning champions the Boston Celtics held on for a last-shot triumph at Minnesota. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 29 points and eight assists to spark the Thunder over the Los Angeles Clippers 116-98, improving the Western Conference leaders to 28-5. The Thunder’s winning streak is the longest since the team relocated from Seattle after the 2007-2008 season. “It’s just being present, going day by day, working on ourselves, and I think we’re doing a good job on that,” said Isaiah Hartenstein, who added 11
RSS