ULTRAMARATHON
Taiwanese finishes third
Taiwanese runner Tommy Chen on Friday completed the Classic Edition of the 6633 Arctic Ultra, a non-stop 617km foot race along the arctic circle in Canada. Chen completed the race in 7 days, 23 hours, 19 minutes, behind British athlete Guy Belchier, who was second, and Australian Aaron Crook, who was first in 7 days, 22 hours, 35 minutes. Seven runners competed in this year’s Arctic Ultra, which started at Eagle Plains in Yukon territory and ended on the shore of the Arctic Ocean, the event’s Web site said. The 38-year-old Taiwanese was the only Asian athlete participating in the race this year. When he was in Taiwan last month, Chen said he trained hard for the race and expressed hope that more people would bravely take action to pursue their dreams. “When you put your heart and soul into it, you will be closer to achieving your dreams,” he said.
BADMINTON
Taiwan’s Lin makes semis
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Friday bested countryman Lee Chia-hao to advance to the men’s singles semi-finals at the Orleans Masters in France. Lin was to play Ayush Shetty of India in the semi-finals after press time last night. It took Lin, ranked No. 14 in the world by the Badminton World Federation, 59 minutes to beat Lee 18-21, 22-20, 21-12 in the quarter-finals at the Palais des Sports arena. In the opener, Lin lost momentum after leading 8-3. He bounced back in the second game and played aggressively in the third to shut Lee down.
RUGBY UNION
Barrett injures hand
The Auckland Blues yesterday said that All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett would be sidelined for an undefined period after fracturing a hand in his team’s 21-20 Super Rugby Pacific loss against the ACT Brumbies on Friday. Barrett was forced off during the first half at Eden Park with the injury after helping his team to take the lead. In the 33-year-old’s absence, the Australian side fought back to secure their first win in Auckland since 2013. “The Blues medical team has confirmed that Beauden Barrett, who was forced out of the game at halftime, has suffered a hand fracture,” the Blues said in a statement on Instagram. “The injury requires ongoing assessment before determining details of treatment or time required for recovery. We’ll update when we can.” Hand fractures typically have a recovery time of six to eight weeks. Brumbies prop James Slipper became the second-most-capped Super Rugby player of all time, making his 186th appearance to pass former Otago Highlanders scrumhalf Aaron Smith. Former Canterbury Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett holds the record with 202 matches. In results from round four games played yesterday, the Fijian Drua beat the Waikato Chiefs 28-24 in the rain in Lautoka, Fiji. The win ended the visitors’ unbeaten start to the Super Rugby Pacific season. Ponipate Loganimasi’s stunning try helped put the Drua in a winning position. Loganimasi gathered a kick inside his own half, spun through a tackle and kicked ahead before winning the chase for the touchdown. Elsewhere, Moana Pasifika downed the Wellington Hurricanes 40-31 and the NSW Waratahs defeated the Western Force 34-10. The Canterbury Crusaders face the Queensland Reds today.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
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