China’s 2016 world finalist Ding Jinhui took the first steps to avenging last year’s defeat as he will go into Friday’s second session of his world championship semi-final leading champion Mark Selby 5-3. The 30-year-old — who received a congratulatory kiss and heaps of compliments from the mercurial five-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan after beating him … Read more
World number four Ding Junhui took control in the second session against Ronnie O’Sullivan to lead 10-6 in their World Championship quarter-final. The China number one, losing finalist at Sheffield’s Crucible venue to Mark Selby last year, rattled off five frames in a row from 5-5 including a century clearance against the five-time world champion … Read more
The Asian Games in Indonesia will feature 39 sports, more than at the last event in South Korea, with some unusual additions including bridge, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said Friday. But cricket, which was at the last two Asian Games, is being dropped after the OCA complained that major sides had failed to … Read more
Online retail giant Alibaba Thursday batted down criticism over a decision to add e-sports to the lineup of the 2022 Asia Games in China, responding to scepticism about an event it will play a major role in promoting. The decision by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Monday to debut the new category during the … Read more
Tai Tzu Ying cemented her status as the world´s top female shuttler as she beat reigning Olympic champion and world number two Carolina Marin in straight games at the Singapore Open on Sunday. World number one Tai took just 38 minutes to seal a clinical 21-15, 21-15 victory at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It was … Read more
Li Yongbo, who led the Chinese national badminton team to gold medal victory at six Olympic games, will step down as head coach, media reports said on Wednesday. Fans have been calling for Li’s retirement since China’s subpar performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where they won only two gold medals, the lowest number since … Read more
A simmering feud between tennis stalwarts Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi has boiled over after an ugly public spat following India’s latest Davis Cup triumph in Bangalore. No sooner had the hosts sealed a 4-1 win Sunday over Uzbekistan in the second round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 tie, than Bhupathi lashed out … Read more
China’s Lin Dan, a two-time Olympic champion, on Sunday engineered a brilliantly ruthless strategy against arch-rival Malaysian world number one Lee Chong Wei to win his first ever Malaysia Open badminton title. Showing no sign of fatigue, 33-year-old Lin pushed Lee, one year his senior, from back to front, forcing the recent All England Open … Read more
Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei and two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China, the two greatest badminton stars of this era, on Friday stormed into the finals of the Malaysia Open for an epic showdown. Lee, the world No. 1, inflicted a crushing 21-12, 21-9 defeat on helpless Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki in 39 minutes … Read more
South Korea scored a blistering victory against arch rival the North in a rare ice hockey match Thursday, in a game that resonates beyond the sportsfield. Playing in the South just an hour’s drive from the heavily fortified demilitarised zone that divides them, the two Koreas faced off in the women’s world ice hockey championships … Read more
When the North and South Korean women’s hockey teams clash in a rare match this week, defector-turned-star-player Hwangbo Young will cheer for the country that has labelled her a traitor. The two Koreas are due to face off during the women’s world ice hockey championships division II group A game being held in the South’s … Read more
India’s PV Sindhu won a much-anticipated clash with compatriot Saina Nehwal in straight games to book a place in the semi-finals of the India Open badminton tournament in New Delhi on Friday. Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu served past former champion Saina 21-16, 22-20 in an intense 47-minute quarter-final battle at the Siri Fort Sports … Read more
Peering up at a thinned out crowd, the Chinese team waved half-heartedly after failing to reach the play-offs in the World Women’s Curling Championships, a competition they won eight years ago. The tournament, held in Beijing last week, was the latest setback for a team that is already feeling the growing weight of expectation ahead … Read more
Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Kang Jung-Ho, the first player to jump directly from South Korea into Major League Baseball, will not be with the team on opening day, the club confirmed Friday. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Kang’s visa application was ongoing and he would not be in the team’s starting lineup for the … Read more
Chinese authorities have stepped up security for Thursday’s tense World Cup qualifier against South Korea, whose fans will receive a police escort after protests over Seoul’s decision to deploy a controversial missile defence system. The clash between the neighbouring countries is the most anticipated of Thursday’s Asian games, which also include Australia’s trip to face … Read more
India has said it may bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games after organisers stripped Durban of the event over its failure to meet key obligations. With memories still fresh of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, which were plagued by delays and corruption, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said it was considering a repeat … Read more
Fidgeting nervously, Canadian ice hockey defenceman Alex Plante cleared his throat and addressed a roomful of Olympic officials in a halting new language: “I want to represent South Korea.” South Korea is among the world’s most racially homogenous non-island societies but its ice hockey team is becoming unusually diverse as Seoul seeks to avoid humiliation … Read more
Ageing badminton legends Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan have been tenaciously defying the odds on their way to the last eight at the All-England Open. The post-Olympics months have brought a surge of young talent who are threatening to paint the courts at the first World Super Series tournament of the year with new … Read more
China’s Olympic champion Chen Long was dumped out of the All-England Open on Thursday, losing in the second round to Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, the world number 12 from Thailand, 21-16, 21-19. Seven months and an absence of competition made Chen vulnerable and so did Tanongsak´s sensible strategy of not too frequently attacking an opponent who creates … Read more
World number one Tai Tzu Ying overcame an early wobble to reach the second round of the All-England Open in Birmingham on Wednesday. The World Super Series champion from Taiwan came from 16-18 down in the first game against Nitchaon Jindapol to record a professional 21-16, 21-14 victory over the world number 16 from Thailand. … Read more