The China Post
Date: anuary 26, 2017
By: Joseph Yeh

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Yomiuri Giants outfielder Yang Dai-kang (陽岱鋼) will not represent Taiwan in

the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) due to injuries, a local baseball association said, in what is the latest blow to a national squad in serious lack of stardom.

CTBA Secretary-General Richard Lin (林宗成) said the organization had received official notice from the Giants, Yang’s ball club, that the ace outfielder would not be able to join the team.

Yang has yet to fully recover from injuries he suffered last year and so must decline CTBA’s invitation with regret, Lin said, citing a statement from Giants’ managements.

Yang, who fractured two ribs on Aug. 16, said he had been “playing through the pain” for the remainder of the season.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/23
By: Lee Yu-cheng and Romulo Huang

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) The first Asia Professional Baseball Championship will be held in Tokyo Nov. 16-19, the Taiwan-based Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) announced on Monday.

The tournament will be jointly organized by the CPBL, Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB) and KBO League of South Korea, the CPBL said in a statement.

The organizers will offer a cash prize of 20 million Japanese yen (US$176,000) to the winner of the tournament and 5 million Japanese yen to the first runner-up, it said.   [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 22, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Fubon Braves forward Tsai Wei, a last-minute replacement, yesterday beat out tough competition to win

the Super Basketball League’s (SBL) All-Star Game slam dunk contest at New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang Gymnasium.

Tsai thanked Fubon teammate Joseph Lin, younger brother of injury-plagued Jeremy Lin of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, for serving balls courtside during the competition.

Winning on points from successful tries, including a high-flying one-handed dunk and a reverse jam, 1.9m Tsai defeated Pauian Archiland forward Wang Lu-chih in the event’s final.

Tsai collected NT$20,000 in award money and was crowned Slam Dunk Champion, which surprised even his coach and Fubon teammates.

He did not plan on entering the contest, but was persuaded at the last minute to replace Taiwanese-American T.J. Burke, who was injured in training on Friday.

In the first round of the competition, Tsai and Wang eliminated challengers Kuo Shao-chieh of Bank of Taiwan and Huang Tsung-han of Taiwan Beer respectively.

“Most people, myself included, thought Kuo Shao-chieh had the best chance to win it, because he has good skills,” Tsai said.    [FULL  STORY]

OPENING-ROUND EXIT:Taiwan’s Chan Chin-wei fell at the first hurdle in the women’s doubles, as she and Junri Namigata of Japan fell to a 6-3, 6-1 loss in just 59 minutes

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 20, 2017
By: AFP, Melbourne

Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei exited the second round of the Australian Open yesterday as

diminutive Dominika Cibulkova kept her campaign on track as the sixth seed moved deeper into a tournament that has happy memories.

The 27-year-old Slovak, traveling under the radar, despite winning the WTA Finals in October last year, saw off Hsieh on Margaret Court Arena 6-4, 7-6 (10/8), winning on her fifth match point.

It set up a third-round clash against Russian 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova, who progressed after her opponent Sara Errani retired while losing 6-2, 3-2 with what appeared to be a leg injury.

If Cibulkova comes through that, dangerous ninth seed Johanna Konta or Caroline Wozniacki, a former world No. 1, could be next up.   [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 17, 2017
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter, with Reuters, MELBOURNE

Taiwanese No. 1 Lu Yen-hsun crashed out of the first round of the Australian Open

yesterday when Russia’s Andrey Rublev rallied from a set down to earn a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 victory at Melbourne Park.

The Moscow-born world No. 156 mixed 19 aces with six double faults, converting four of seven break points in winning 137 of the 259 points contested to wrap up the victory in 2 hours, 50 minutes.

Taipei-born Lu, ranked 61st in the world, had his chances, but managed to convert only three of the 22 break points he created to exit the first Grand Slam of the year on the first day.

Rublev next faces world No. 1 and top seed Andy Murray in the second round.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/01/16
By: Timothy Huang and Elizabeth Hsu

New York, Jan. 15 (CNA) Nearly 2,000 Taiwanese expatriates living in New York and other parts of the United States flocked to a basketball game in the city Sunday to see the Brooklyn Nets play the Houston Rockets on what was designated as Taiwan Night, but the player they most wanted to see remained on the sidelines due to an injury.

Dressed in a white suit, Jeremy Lin sat on bench at the Nets Stadium, which was decorated to celebrate Taiwan culture, while people clutched giveaways of Lin bobblehead dolls.

Lin, the first American-born NBA player of Taiwanese descent, was still suffering from a strained hamstring that has been plaguing him all season and has limited him to 12 games in his first season with the Nets.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 17, 2017
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter, with Reuters, MELBOURNE

Taiwanese No. 1 Lu Yen-hsun crashed out of the first round of the Australian Open

yesterday when Russia’s Andrey Rublev rallied from a set down to earn a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 victory at Melbourne Park.

The Moscow-born world No. 156 mixed 19 aces with six double faults, converting four of seven break points in winning 137 of the 259 points contested to wrap up the victory in 2 hours, 50 minutes.

Taipei-born Lu, ranked 61st in the world, had his chances, but managed to convert only three of the 22 break points he created to exit the first Grand Slam of the year on the first day.

Rublev next faces world No. 1 and top seed Andy Murray in the second round.  [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Chen Wei-ling could get gold for 2008 Olympics, while China’s team faces ban

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/13
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News) — The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday announced that three

Chinese women weightlifters would be stripped of their Olympic gold medals for doping at the 2008 Beijing Games, leaving the door open for Taiwanese competitor Chen Wei-ling (陳葦綾) to see her medal upgraded to gold.

The IOC said Cao Lei in the 75-kilogram class; Chen Xiexia at 48kg; and Liu Chunhonog at 69kg all tested positive for GHRP-2, which stimulates production of growth hormone. Liu also tested positive for sibutramine, a banned stimulant.

Liu was also a gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 69kg class, Cao took two gold at the 2006 and 2007 World Weightlifting Championships, while Chen took three golds at the 2007 World Weightlifting Championships.

In addition to the three Chinese medalists, five other athletes were disqualified in the latest round of tests from an new initiative to re-analyze samples stored from the Beijing and London Olympics. The IOC has recorded more than 100 positive tests in various sports since the re-testing program began, with the majority from Russia and former Soviet block countries.    [FULL  STORY]