■ BADMINTON
China win all five titles
Chen Jin, who lived for years in the shadow of the greatest player of all time, emerged into the spotlight in Paris on Sunday to become world champion as China swept all five world titles for only the second time in history of the game. The third-seed made this achievement possible with a convincing 21-13, 21-15 men’s singles win over Taufik Hidayat, the gifted but unpredictable former world and Olympic champion from Indonesia. Chen kept his promise to himself that he would go one better than last year, when he finished runner-up to Lin Dan, his legendary compatriot. On an historic day for China, Lin Wang won the women’s singles title, Du Jing and Yu Yang claimed the women’s doubles, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng took the men’s doubles, while Bo Zheng and Jin Ma were winners in the mixed doubles. The only previous occasion on which all five titles were won by one nation was when China did it in 1987 in Beijing.
■GOLF
Kuchar beats Laird in playoff
Matt Kuchar of the US hit a spectacular recovery shot to win a playoff against Martin Laird of Britain at the first hole to claim the Barclays title on Sunday in the opening leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs in Paramus, New Jersey. After hitting his drive into heavy rough on the left side, Kuchar punched a low approach shot that landed short of the firm green, hopped on and rolled to the back, before turning left and following a slope down toward the cup. Kuchar, 32, sank the three-foot putt for a winning birdie at the par-four 18th and raised his arms in triumph. Kuchar came from five strokes behind to reach the playoff, posting a bogey-free five-under 66, while overnight leader Laird shot level-par 71 for his 12-under 272 total.
■ SOCCER
Wilshere arrested, bailed
Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere was arrested in the early hours of Sunday following a high-street row, according to a spokesman for the player. Wilshere was released on bail following the incident in Kensington High Street in London. Officers and paramedics called to the scene found a man with minor facial injuries and a woman with a broken arm. Police later stopped a vehicle and arrested four men, two aged 18 and two aged 21, on suspicion of assault. They were taken to a west London police station and bailed to return in mid-October pending further inquiries, a Metropolitan police spokesman said. A statement, issued on behalf of the 18-year-old, insisted Wilshere was only acting as a peacemaker in the incident. “Jack Wilshere was arrested by police in the early hours following a fracas, but was released on bail later. The police have made it very clear that he is an important witness to the incident and played the role of peacemaker and is unlikely to face any charges as a result,” the statement said.
■FOOTBALL
Bengals release Bryant
The Cincinnati Bengals released wide receiver Antonio Bryant before he could make an appearance, opting to put their faith in the experienced hands of Terrell Owens. Cincinnati had agreed a US$28 million four-year deal with Bryant in March, according to local media, but a knee injury kept him out of the team’s pre-season games and the Bengals confirmed his release on their Web site on Sunday. Bryant was initially chosen by the team over Owens after both players worked out in March, however, Bryant’s inability to recover from injury, and the signing of Owens last month, led to the team going back on their original decision.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite