Taiwanese U-12 team pulls off 4-2 win against Cuba in opening game of tournament

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/27
By:  Central News Agency

TAIPEI (CNA) — Taiwan got off to a good start in the U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan on Friday with a solid 4-2 win against powerhouse Cuba in the tournament's opening game.

Taiwan took the lead in the first inning on a walk and a single through the right side of the infield by Huang Tien-szu (黃天賜) and added two more runs in the third to go up 3-0. The Cubans narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the fourth with two runs against starting pitcher Chen Kai-sheng (陳楷升), but Chen gave his team a key insurance run in the fifth with a base hit to right-center, driving home Yeh Hung-jen (葉弘仁) from second.

Reliever Lin Cheng-yu (林丞宥) retired the Cubans in order in the sixth on two strikeouts and a groundout to preserve the win. Taiwan will next play South Africa in a Group A game on Saturday.

The U-12 Baseball World Cup is the under-12 baseball world championship sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Considered the highest level of competition in its age category, the U-12 Baseball World Championship is played every two years.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/26
By: Yang Chi-fang and Ko Lin

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Taiwan got off to a good start in the U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan on Friday with a solid 4-2 win against powerhouse Cuba in the tournament's opening game.

Taiwan took the lead in the first inning on walk and a single through the right side of the infield by Huang Tien-szu (黃天賜) and added two more runs in the third to go up 3-0.

The Cubans narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the fourth with two runs against starting pitcher Chen Kai-sheng (陳楷升), but Chen gave his team a key insurance run in the fifth with a base hit to right center, driving home Yeh Hung-jen (葉弘仁) from second.

Reliever Lin Cheng-yu (林丞宥) retired the Cubans in order in the sixth on two strikeouts and a groundout to preserve the win.    [FULL  STORY]

Franky Zapata falls in the ocean halfway through trip to Dover

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/07/26
By:  Taiwan News

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — French inventor Franky Zapata failed to make it across the English Channel on his own invention, the Flyboard, but plans to try again in the near future.

Franky Zapata, former jet-ski champion and inventor of the Flyboard, has failed in his attempt to ride his jet-powered creation across the English Channel. Zapata took off from Calais, France, on Thursday morning (July 25), planning to arrive at Dover's Margaret's Bay on the English side of the channel in just 20 minutes.

He never made it across, however, as an attempt to refuel on a boat halfway through his trip went awry, with Zapata falling into the ocean. Nevertheless, the inventor believes he can still make a successful go of it.

Zapata did not sustain any injuries from his fall and is planning to attempt the voyage again next week, reports the BBC. "It is a huge disappointment," a member of Zapata’s team said soon after the failed attempt, adding, "He must have missed the platform by just a few centimeters."
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/26
By: William Yen

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Taiwan Blue fended off a strong challenge from the Gilas Pilipinas before pulling away in overtime to defeat the visitors 99-91 in the women's division of the 2019 William Jones Cup being played in New Taipei.

It was Taiwan Blue's first win in the six-team women's division after a 75-67 defeat to Japan on Wednesday and a 89-59 defeat against compatriots Taiwan White on Thursday.

The Philippines fell to 0-3 after a blowout loss to New Zealand and a heartbreaking 85-83 defeat to Japan.

In a game in which neither team ever held a double-digit lead, the game predictably came down to the final minute.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/25
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Ko Lin

Taipei, July 25 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) continued her winning streak at

the Yonex Japan Open Thursday, beating her Indonesian opponent to cruise into the quarterfinals.

Tai downed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in two straight games — 21-18, 21-15 — in the second round of the tournament at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Tokyo.

Tunjung, who had never beaten Tai in their previous encounters, managed to take an early lead with 12-10, but finally finding her tempo, Tai went on the attack with consecutive points to tie the game 18-18, before finally winning the first game.

Despite falling behind again early in the second, Tai, the world No. 1, managed to regain her aggression halfway through the game before edging out her opponent to take the match.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/24
By: By William Yen

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwanese-American point guard Jeremy Lin (林書豪), who won his first NBA title

last month with the Toronto Raptors, said Wednesday that his biggest dream right now is to play on the same team with his younger brother, a star in a Taiwan basketball league.

"About five years ago, I began to consider whether I should play basketball in Asia because every year when I visit the region, I see so many fans, and they make me want to play a few seasons in the region," Lin told reporters in Taipei.

He said that because of the time difference, basketball fans in Asia have to get up early to watch NBA games, which is unfortunate.

If the opportunity arises, as long as he is fit, Lin said, he would like play in the region.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/23
By: Long Po-an and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Taiwan's right to host an international figure skating event has been revoked, the nation's skating association said Tuesday, less than four months before the tournament was scheduled to be held.

Taiwan was originally set to host the 2019 Asian Open Figure Skating Classic from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 at Taipei Arena.

However, Taiwan's Chinese Taipei Skating Union (CTSU), announced late Tuesday that it received an emergency notification from the International Skating Union (ISU) the previous night that its right to host the event had been revoked.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/07/22
By: Long Po-an and Chung Yu-chen

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) Taiwan 17-year-old table tennis player Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) won the men's singles title at the T2 Diamond tournament in Malaysia Sunday.

The teen defeated China's Fan Zhendong (樊振東), who was the word's top ranker player for the first six months of the year, 4-1 in the final.

In the first game, Lin took a 10-5 lead and kept up the pressure on Fan to win 11-7.

Lin continued to play to a high level in the second game, which he won 11-4. However, Fan then found his form to briefly threaten a comeback as he took the third game 11-8.
[FULL  STORY]