Sports

Flawless Chien, Smith share lead in Florida

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 18, 2017
By:AFP, MIAMI

Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun and Australia’s Sarah Jane Smith, each seeking a first LPGA title, on Thursday both fired bogey-free six-under-par 66s to share the lead after the opening round of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

The showdown at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, features 12 top players vying for a US$1 million season playoff bonus, as well as final shots in Player of the Year and low-scoring Vardon Trophy races.

Chien, an LPGA rookie, managed her best round since July, when she had her lone top-10 finish of the year, sharing third at the Marathon Classic.

“I don’t think too much. Just hit the ball,” Chien said. “Just need to more believe myself. I change a little backswing so feel a little bit more solid.

“This has been a good year for me. This is [the] last tournament, so I just want to finish it and get some rest,” she added.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s national baseball team in Japan for 2017 APBC tournament

This is the first ever Asia Professional Baseball Championship series

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/15
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – National baseball teams from Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea

Taiwan’s national baseball team (By Central News Agency)

are getting ready for the Asia Professional Baseball Championship which kicks off on Nov. 16 in Tokyo, Japan.

The Taiwanese national team departed Taipei on Nov. 14 to head to Japan where they will prepare for their Friday match against the national team from South Korea.

The first match of the series will be at 7p.m. on Nov. 16 between Japan and South Korea at the Tokyo Dome.

The Asia Professional Baseball Championship is sanctioned by the World Softball Confederation, and was launched jointly between the Korean Baseball Organization, the Nippon Professional Baseball League, and the Chinese Professional Baseball League based in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Defeat a wake-up call for Taiwan players

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 16, 2017
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwan men’s national soccer team manager and players said their 2-1 loss to Turkmenistan and subsequent ousting from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup finals was reality check for the team.

Taiwan’s elimination was confirmed on Tuesday night, when visiting Bahrain defeated Singapore 3-0 in their Group E match.

Turkmenistan and Bahrain lead Group E with 10 points in three wins and one draw, with both advancing to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals in the United Arab Emirates.

Taiwan and Singapore were eliminated from their final matches as neither having enough aggregate points to catch the top two teams, with Taiwan on six points after two wins and three losses, and Singapore with two points in two draws after five matches.
[FULL  STORY]

Asian Rugby Championship Division II held in Taipei

India, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan will compete for champion of Division II, matches on Nov. 15 and Nov. 18

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/14
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taipei News) – Taiwan will host the Asian Rugby Championship for Nov. 15 to 18

Asian Rugby Football Union logo

in Taipei for the Division II teams. The matches will be held at Taipei Municipal Stadium.

Division II consists of four teams: India, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. The first two matches will take place on Nov. 15 with India facing off against Singapore, and Taiwan’s team going up against Thailand.

The victorious teams will play each other to determine the division champion on Nov. 18. The two defeated teams will also play on No. 18 to determine third and fourth place respectively. The winner of the division will be promoted to division one next year.

The Asian Rugby Championship (ARC) is organized as part of the International Rugby Union. The Asian Rugby Championship format replaced the former Asian Five Nations Tournament in 2015. Under the new format, teams compete for points in separate divisions, in order to challenge the top three Asian rugby teams of the Rugby Union.
[FULL  STORY]

Taiwan loses to Turkmenistan in 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/14
By: Lee Chin-wei and Ko Lin

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) Taiwan’s men’s national soccer team lost to Turkmenistan 2-1 in

Chen Po-liang (陳柏良/CNA file photo)

the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifiers at the Sport Toplumy Stadium in Balkanabat Tuesday.

Turkmenistan led 2-0 at half time with goals by strikers Murat Yakshiyev and Altymyrat Annadurdyyev.

In the second half, Taiwan’s midfielder Chen Po-liang (陳柏良) reduced the deficit to 2-1 with a penalty conversion in the 86th minute after an opposing player committed a foul in the box.

However, the Taiwanese team failed to find the net again before the referee blew for full time.    [FULL  STORY]

World Combat Games coming to Taiwan in 2019

Agreement signed by government officials and the GAISF on November 9th

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/13
By:  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIWAN (Taipei News) – After a 6 year hiatus, the World Combat Games has

World Combat Games in Taiwan 2019

announced that Taiwan will host the third international World Combat Games in 2019.

An agreement was signed on Thursday Nov. 9 between Taiwanese government officials and the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). Details on the total number of events, venues, exact dates and ticket prices are still undecided.

The event is expected to be held in late 2019, with either Taipei or Kaohsiung as the host city, said a report from insidethegames.biz.

There are 15 different combat sports expected to be included in the program; aikido, boxing, fencing, judo, ju-jitsu, karate, kendo, kickboxing, muay thai, sambo, savate, sumo, taekwondo, wrestling and wushu.    [FULL  STORY]

Hsieh downed by Bencic in Thailand

BREAK POINT:After playing the entire tournament without dropping a set, Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh Su-wei failed to add a third WTA singles title to the two she earned in 2012

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 13, 2017
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter

Former top-10 player Belinda Bencic of Switzerland yesterday won the first WTA Tour title of her comeback after five months on the sidelines at the Hua Hin 125k Championship, defeating Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh Su-wei in the final in Thailand.

World No. 165 Bencic, who is coached by Martina Hingis’ mother, defeated the fourth seed 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour, 38 minutes.

The Swiss player, who reached a career-high seventh in the world rankings last year, saved five of seven break points and converted five of 11, winning 79 of the 143 points contested to claim her first title of the year on the senior tour.

The Swiss star dropped just one set on her way to capturing the trophy, the first of her quarter-final against Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia, before fighting back to win in three.

It was Bencic’s third WTA Tour singles title after victories in Eastbourne, England, and Toronto in 2015.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese duo into finals of German table tennis tourney

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/11
By: Lee Chin-wei and Ko Lin

Taipei, Nov. 11 (CNA) Taiwan’s Cheng I-ching (鄭怡靜) and Chen Szu-yu (陳思羽)

Cheng I-ching (鄭怡靜/CNA file photo)

advanced to the women’s doubles final of the German Open table tennis tournament on Saturday in Magdeburg, Germany.

The Taiwanese duo came from behind to beat Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi-kem and Lee Ho-ching 11-3, 6-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 in the semifinals, and will face Japanese players Hina Hayata and Miu Hirano on Sunday in the finals.

The German Open is an annual table tennis tournament in Germany, run by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). It is currently an ITTF “World Tour Platinum” event.    [SOURCE]

Former sports announcer joins Swiss assisted-suicide organization

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/10
By: Lung Po-an and Kuan-lin Liu

Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) Famed former sports announcer Fu Da-ren (傅達仁) took to

Image taken from Fu Da-ren’s Facebook page

Facebook Thursday night to announce that he has joined Swiss non-profit organization Dignitas where he plans to undertake physician-assisted suicide.

The 84-year old Fu, who is currently in Switzerland on the “last trip of his life” with family, said that he found the organization through Facebook and recently enrolled as a member, according to the social media post.

Only individuals who are members of Dignitas can ask the society for physician-assisted suicide. Dignitas considers the soundness of mind of the petitioner as well as the seriousness of his or  her condition before approving the decision.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese advance to 2017 Macau Open badminton semifinals

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/10
By: Lee Chin-wei and William Yen

Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) Taiwan’s Pai Yu-po (白馭珀) advanced to the women’s singles

Image taken from Pai Yu-po (白馭珀) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pypamber/)

semifinals of the 2017 Macau Open badminton tournament on Friday.

Pai who ranks 42nd in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, defeated Han Yue of China 21-9, 21-9 in a quarterfinal encounter to set up a semifinal battle against another Chinese, world No. 60 Zhang Yiman.

The Macau Open is a Grand Prix Gold event, a cut below the top tier Superseries tournaments, and has not attracted the top players in the game, giving players like Pai a chance to earn valuable ranking points.

The highest seed in the women’s singles is Aya Ohori of Japan, ranked 15th in the world.    [FULL  STORY]