GOLF
Kim takes lead in Cambodia
South Korea’s Kim Hyung-sung played through searing heat to pull one shot clear of Irishman Niall Turner in the third round of the inaugural Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic yesterday. Kim, 31, the joint overnight leader, battled to a four-under 68 at the sun-baked Angkor Golf Resort to lead on 15-under 201. Turner stayed hot on his playing partner’s heels with five birdies against a lone bogey for a 68 as the duo continued their chase for a maiden victory in the Asian Tour. Filipino Elmer Salvador reeled in four straight birdies after the turn for a 68 and a share of third place, four off the lead, alongside Thailand’s Thanyakon Khrongpha. Taiwan’s Lu Wen-teh carded a two-under 70 to finish the day tied for 39th at three-under 213, while his compatriot Hsu Mong-nan shot a one-over 73 to finish tied for 53rd at even-par 216.
Photo: AFP / ASIAN TOUR
FOOTBALL
Bills spend big for Williams
The Buffalo Bills pulled off the biggest free-agent acquisition in franchise history by agreeing to a contract with two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Mario Williams that gives their pass rush a significant boost. Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but US media said the deal was potentially worth US$100 million over six years and includes US$50 million in guaranteed money. Williams, 27, who was flown to Buffalo this week on a private jet with the team’s general manger and defensive coordinator, said he was excited about joining the organization and said a determined fan base that showed support by putting his name on pizzas and on signs along roads helped get the message across. Williams, regarded as one of the top free agents available, was drafted first overall in 2006 by the Houston Texans and would be counted on to bolster a Bills defense that managed just 29 sacks last season. The Bills, who finished 6-10 last season and missed the playoffs for the 12th straight year, entered the offseason intent on bolstering their pass rush. Williams, who was limited to five games last year because of a torn chest muscle, has 53 sacks and 241 tackles in 82 career games during six NFL seasons with the Texans.
GOLF
Manassero holes eight-under
Italian teenager Matteo Manassero carded an eight-under 64 to equal the course record and claim a three-shot lead in the opening round of the Andalucia Open on Thursday in Spain. The 18-year-old had nine birdies and just one bogey to carve out a convincing lead over a group of five players at five-under — Sweden’s Niclas Fasth, South Africa’s Hennie Otto, Spain’s Eduardo de la Riva and English duo Lloyd Kennedy and Anthony Wall. Manassero enjoys the Spanish conditions — in 2010, he became the youngest ever winner on the European Tour when he triumphed in Castellon. “You need to put the ball in play and then do well around the greens. It’s a course that suits me pretty well,” said Manassero, who still has an outside chance of making the Masters next month. Manassero, who also captured last year’s European Tour event in Malaysia, played the Masters in 2010 after qualifying as British amateur champion. Former Masters champion Mike Weir opened with a 68, while Abu Dhabi winner Robert Rock and tournament host Miguel Angel Jimenez
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier