On April 8, the schedule for the 2023 Chinese Super League season was officially unveiled. The new season's journey will kick off on April 15 and last until November 4, with a total of 240 matches to be played in 30 rounds throughout the season. Among them, Taishan will challenge Shanghai Shenhua on the road, and the match will be played on April 16 at 7:35 pm.
On the same night, the CFA Super Cup was in full swing, with Shandong Taishan facing Wuhan Sanzhen. In the first half, Wei Shihao gave an assist and Aziz scored; in the second half, Xie Pengfei scored twice. In the end, Taishan lost 0:2 and Wuhan Sanzhen won the Super Cup for the first time.
In the NBA, the Heat defeated the Wizards, the Raptors lost to the Celtics, and the Bucks edged out the Magic. With that, the dust has settled on the Eastern Conference playoff and play-in spots.
Super League Tournament:
The 2023 Premier League season is about to kick off
On April 8, the schedule for the new Chinese Super League season was officially announced. The first match will be played on April 15, when Beijing Guoan will face off with Meizhou Hakka. There will be a total of 240 matches in 30 rounds throughout the season.
Taishan's first round away match against Shanghai Shenhua will be played on April 16 at 7:35pm. In addition, Taishan's key matches in the first half of the season are away to Beijing Guoan on April 29, away to Qingdao Hainiu Derby on May 28, and a June 9 clash with Sanzhen.
From the schedule point of view, May will be the most intensive month of the Super League schedule, the fourth round to the tenth round will be seven rounds of the league. June 9, after the end of the twelfth round, the league will enter the intermission.
Round 13 will begin on June 28 and Round 24 will end on August 27, followed by a second intermission. Round 25 will be played on September 15 and Round 28 on October 20th. It is worth noting that the 2023 season is the 30th season of the professional league and the 20th season of the Chinese Super League.
Super Bowl:
Shandong Taishan 0:2 defeated Wuhan Sanzhen
On April 8, the 2023 CFA Super Cup took place at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Zhejiang Province, with Shandong Taishan and Wuhan Sanzhen engaged in a fierce battle.
Only 10 minutes into the game, Sanzhen broke the deadlock, Wei Shihao left bottom of the cross, Yakubu parry header broke the goal, Wuhan Sanzhen 1:0 lead Taishan. In the first half, both sides had 50.4% of the possession and 49.6% of the ball in favor of Wuhan Sanzhen and Shandong Taishan respectively. But Wuhan Sanzhen led 6-3 to take a 2:0 lead.
In the second half, Taishan replaced Wang Tong, Fellaini and Liu Binbin one after another, but Wuhan Sanzhen remained the scoring side. In the 55th minute, Xie Pengfei was intercepted after a breakthrough, and the ball was passed to Stan Qiu's feet. Stan Qiu straight, Xie Pengfei low shot broke the goal, Wuhan Sanzhen 2:0 lead Taishan.
Taishan's best chance to score came in the 81st minute. At that time, Wuhan Sanzhen goalkeeper Liu Dianzha made a major mistake and kicked Fellaini. Liu Binbin completed the breakaway in the process, but VAR intervened and ruled it offside, nullifying the goal.
In the end, Wuhan Sanzhen won the 2023 CFA Super Cup with a 2:0 victory over Shandong Taishan thanks to a goal each in the first and second halves.
NBA Tournament:
Setting the Eastern Conference play-in schedule
On April 8, the NBA regular season, the Heat defeated the Wizards, the Raptors lost to the Celtics, and the Bucks edged out the Magic. With that, the dust settled on the Eastern Conference playoffs and play-in spots.
Those six teams are outright locks for playoff spots, including the Bucks first, Celtics second, 76ers third, Cavaliers fourth, Knicks fifth, and Bucks sixth. The Cavaliers will face the Knicks in the first round and the 76ers will face the Bucks in the first round.
Four teams will advance to the play-in rounds - Heat 7th, Hawks 8th, Raptors 9th, and Bulls 10th. The play-in schedule is as follows:
The Heat's home game against the Hawks will be the first to start on April 12 at 7:00 a.m. BST. The winner of the two teams will enter the playoffs in seventh place in the Eastern Conference before taking on the Celtics, who are second in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors' home game against the Bulls will begin at 7 a.m. BST on April 13th. The winners of the two teams will compete with the Heat and Hawks for the last playoff ticket in the East. The game will begin on April 15 at 7 a.m. BST.
Orleans Masters:
Quarterfinalists 3 wins and 2 losses
On April 8, the quarter-finals of the BWF Super 300 Series Orleans Masters came to an end, with China earning three quarter-final spots. Lei Lanxi, Chen Boyang/Liu Yi and Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning beat their opponents to enter the semifinals, while Li Yijing/Luo Xu Min and Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin regretted to go out.
In the Men's Singles Quarterfinals, Lei Lan Xi competed against Lanier of France and won 21-19. Leilanxi will face Denmark's Johannessen in the semifinals.
In Men's Doubles, Chen Boyang/Liu Yi knocked out France's Covey/Labarre 2-1 (21-17, 19-21, 21-10) after a three-game battle.
The national badminton team had mixed results in the women's doubles, with Liu Shengshu/Tanning crushing Chinese Taipei's Hsu Yin/Li Zhi Miao, winning in two consecutive sets, 21-11, 21-14. Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min played three games against Japan's Reina Miyaura/Huako Sakamoto, eventually losing 1-2 (17-21, 21-19, 22-24).
Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin lost 0-2 (14-21, 15-21) to Malaysia's Chen Tangjie/Tu Yiwei in the Mixed Doubles quarterfinals.
