sports
Las Vegas Aces’ assistant coach Natalie Nakase becomes first Asian American coach to win WNBA title
- Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Natalie Nakase became the first Asian American coach to win a WNBA title after the team defeated the Connecticut Sun 78-71 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday.
- Nakase, 42, joined the Aces’ coaching staff under head coach Becky Hammon in February.
- A former collegiate point guard who averaged 4.9 points and 3.7 assists per game for the University of California, Los Angeles, the Japanese American athlete decided to pursue coaching in 2007 following a knee injury.
- With the dream of becoming a coach in the NBA, she joined the Clippers in 2012 and became an assistant coach to their NBA G League development team in 2017.
- She then became a player development assistant coach for the Clippers in 2018 and stayed with the team until she joined the Aces in February.
Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Natalie Nakase made history on Sunday as the first Asian American coach to win a WNBA title.
The Aces captured their first championship title in franchise history by defeating the Connecticut Sun 78-71 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.
Naomi Osaka pays tribute to Serena Williams ahead of Grand Slam queen’s last US Open
- Japanese professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, 24, paid tribute to her idol Serena Williams, 40, at a press conference for the U.S. Open on Saturday.
- “She's introduced people that have never heard of tennis into the sport. I think I'm a product of what she's done,” Osaka told reporters. “I wouldn't be here without Serena, Venus, her whole family. I'm very thankful to her.”
- Osaka and Williams have faced each other four times on the court, with the Japanese star beating her idol in three of their matches.
- Williams is set to face Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in her final U.S. Open tournament on Monday, while Osaka will play against American athlete Danielle Collins on Tuesday.
Japanese professional tennis player Naomi Osaka paid tribute to her idol, Serena Williams, ahead of the legendary athlete’s final U.S. Open before she retires.
Osaka, 24, spoke about Williams, 40, at a press conference for the U.S. Open on Saturday, proclaiming that her idol has “changed the sport [tennis] so much.”
‘My dream has come true’: Thai boy saved during Tham Luang cave rescue receives football scholarship
- Duangpetch “Dom” Promthep, 17, was offered a scholarship to study at Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicester, England.
- The teenager made an announcement on Instagram on Aug. 15.
- “Today, my dream has come true. I’m going to be a football student in England,” Promthep wrote in Thai in his post.
- Promthep was one of the 12 boys saved during the Tham Luang cave "miracle" rescue in Thailand’s Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai province on June 23, 2018.
- It took more than 10,000 people to save Promthep, his coach and his fellow Wild Boars football team members.
- The rescue effort proved successful as all 12 team members and their coach made it out of the cave alive between July 8, 2018, and July 10, 2018.
A teenager who was one of the 12 boys saved during the Tham Luang cave “miracle” rescue in Thailand in 2018 has received a scholarship to study football in England.
In an Instagram post on Aug. 15, Duangpetch “Dom” Promthep, 17, announced that he has been offered a scholarship to attend Brooke House College Football Academy in Leicester, England.
Huynh Nhu set to become first Vietnamese woman football player to join European team
- Vietnamese football star Huynh Nhu traveled to Portugal on Monday in preparation for signing with Länk FC Vilaverdense, a Portuguese football team, for a two-year contract.
- Nhu, a 30-year-old forward player and the captain of Vietnam’s women’s national football team, could become the first female Vietnamese football player to join a European team if she passes her medical.
- “I have received much advice. There are people who said I need to learn from the male players who had unsuccessful spells abroad in the past. But recently, Nguyen Quang Hai has left a good impression in France,” Nu said.
- “I hope that my image, as well as Vietnamese football, will thrive overseas and there will be more and more female players that can play football abroad,” she added.
- Born in the provincial city of Tra Vinh in 1991, Nhu is one of the world’s most prominent Vietnamese football players. She has won several awards, including the Vietnam Golden Ball award on four occasions.
- With Vietnam's women’s national football team, Nhu won gold during the SEA Games in 2017, 2019 and 2022, as well as during the ASEAN Football Federation Championship.
Vietnamese football star Huynh Nhu is set to become the first female Vietnamese football player to join a European football team.
Nhu, a 30-year-old forward player and the captain of Vietnam’s women’s national football team, traveled to Portugal on Monday in preparation for signing with Länk FC Vilaverdense, a Portuguese football club, for a two-year contract.
ENHYPEN to throw first pitch at LA’s Dodger Stadium to celebrate Korean Heritage Night
- K-pop boy group ENHYPEN will throw the ceremonial first pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Miami Marlins game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday.
- The upcoming baseball game will celebrate Korean Heritage Night.
- ENHYPEN will perform during KCON LA 2022 at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
- The septet will return to the U.S. in October for their “Manifesto” world tour.
K-pop boy group ENHYPEN is helping Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium celebrate Korean Heritage Night by throwing the first pitch of the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Miami Marlins game on Friday.
The Dodgers made an announcement on Twitter on Aug. 18, saying that fans need to “wait and see” to find out which member of the septet will throw the pitch.
Filipino sports icon Lydia De Vega, once known as ‘Asia’s fastest woman,’ dies of cancer
- The Philippines’ track and field legend Lydia De Vega, who was once dubbed “Asia's fastest woman,” has died at age 57 after a four-year battle with breast cancer.
- De Vega is among the Philippines' most decorated athletes in history, having received numerous medals from the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and Asian Athletics Championships.
- In the ‘80s, she held the throne as Asia's fastest woman for winning the 100m dash events in the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games.
- Her daughter Stephanie announced the news of her passing on Wednesday night via Facebook post.
- De Vega has kept a low profile since her retirement in 1994 and made her last public appearance in 2019 as one of the flagbearers during the opening ceremony of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Filipino sports icon Lydia De Vega, who was once dubbed “Asia’s fastest woman,” has died after a four-year battle with breast cancer.
The track and field legend succumbed to her illness on Wednesday at age 57, according to an announcement by her daughter Stephanie.
Gondola project at Dodger Stadium sparks gentrification and privacy fears from Chinatown residents
- A mile-long gondola project at Dodger Stadium has sparked fear among Chinatown residents who worry about gentrification and privacy concerns.
- The project, backed by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, is currently in the hands of the environmental nonprofit Climate Resolve.
- Chinatown residents believe that the project will “hurt” their neighborhood as the ride will be “just 40 feet” above residents’ homes.
- The gondola ride would be free for anyone who shows a current Dodgers ticket and could carry around 5,000 people per hour.
Chinatown residents in Los Angeles are expressing gentrification and privacy concerns regarding the upcoming mile-long gondola project at Dodger Stadium.
The gondola project, backed by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, is a planned mile-long ride that would stretch from Union Station to the Dodgers Stadium. Climate Resolve, an environmental nonprofit organization, is currently overseeing the project.
Speed skater Miho Takagi finally strikes gold after 3 silver finishes at Beijing Winter Olympics
- Japanese Olympic speed skater Miho Takagi won her first gold medal in the 1,000-meter speed skating competition on Thursday.
- Takagi finished her performance with a final time of 1:13.19, beating the previous Olympic record of 1:13.56 set by Jorien ter Mors at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
- The 27-year-old had won three silver medals prior to her gold medal win in the 1,500-meter, 500-meter and team pursuit speed skating competitions.
After winning three silver medals at the Beijing Winter Games, Japanese speed skater Miho Takagi set an Olympic record during the 1,000-meter women’s speed skating final on Thursday en route to her first gold medal.
Takagi set an Olympic record during her performance at the 1,000-meter event on Thursday, finishing with a final time of 1:13.19. The previous Olympic record, set by Jorien ter Mors at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, was 1:13.56.
Olympic gold medalist Yuna Kim slams reversal of teen figure skater’s suspension over positive drug test
- Yuna Kim, a former Olympic figure skating champion, criticized the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision to reverse Kamila Valieva’s suspension and allow her to continue competing following a positive drug test.
- Valieva, a 15-year-old Russian figure skater, failed a drug test on Dec. 25 in which she tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart drug.
- The young athlete was initially suspended by the CAS, but the decision was reversed, and Valieva was allowed to compete at Tuesday’s event.
- Kim criticized the decision as unfair in an Instagram post on Monday.
After 15-year-old Russian Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva was permitted to continue competing following a positive drug test, former Olympic figure skater Yuna Kim blasted the decision on Instagram as unfair.
According to Insider, Valieva failed her drug test on Dec. 25 and tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart drug that is often used by athletes as an endurance booster. Fox News also reported that Valieva had tested positive for two other substances: L-carnitine and hypoxen.
Child actor Su Yiming wins China’s sixth Olympic gold medal as the nation’s first snowboarding medalist
- Su Yiming, a 17-year-old snowboarder and former child actor, became China’s first snowboarding medalist after winning the gold medal in the Snowboard Big Air final on Tuesday.
- Su successfully landed a pair of 1800s on his first two runs, securing the gold medal over runners-up Mons Roisland from Norway and Max Parrot from Canada.
- His victory also helped earn China its highest number of medals at a Winter Olympics, with Su’s win delivering the nation’s sixth gold medal and 12th overall medal this year.
- “I had always dreamed about what it would be like to stand on the podium of the Olympics, and today, I did it,” Su told The Wall Street Journal.
Teen snowboarder Su Yiming won gold in the Snowboard Big Air final on Tuesday, claiming China’s sixth gold and 12th overall Winter Olympics medal this year.
The 17-year-old successfully landed a pair of 1800s on his first two runs, one frontside and one backside, in the competition. The spin is considered one of the most challenging tricks in snowboarding.
US-born freeskier Eileen Gu wins second medal at the Beijing Olympics with silver finish in slopestyle
- California-born freestyle skier, Eileen Gu, landed a silver medal on Tuesday’s slopestyle course at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
- The 18-year-old barely fell short of the gold medal, scoring only 0.33 points behind Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud.
- Gu finished the slopestyle course with a final score of 86.23.
- The young Team China athlete is now set up to potentially become the first action-sports athlete to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics game.
Freestyle skier Eileen Gu has won her second medal at the Beijing Winter Games, finishing second in the slopestyle course on Tuesday and falling just short of the gold by only 0.33 points behind Mathilde Gremaud.
Competing in subzero temperatures, Gu was sitting in eighth place after the first two runs but managed to land a big score on her third run, placing second with a final score of 86.23, reported the New York Times. The first-place winner of the slopestyle course, Mathilde Gremaud, finished with a final score of 86.56.
Wisconsin fan booted from basketball game after slant-eye gesture at Northwestern students
- A TikTok video showing a Wisconsin Men's Basketball fan doing a slant-eye gesture at Northwestern students during Tuesday’s game has gone viral.
- The spectator can be seen a few seconds later in the video being escorted out by athletics staff.
- The official TikTok page of the Wisconsin Badgers chimed in under the video, writing: “His actions have no place at our events and run completely counter to our values.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include a statement from a Northwestern University Athletics spokesperson.
A TikTok video of a Wisconsin Badgers fan directing the slant-eye gesture at a group of Northwestern students has gone viral, with many commenters calling out the spectator for his “embarrassing” display of racism.
