■ BADMINTON
Hidayat through to finals
Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia outclassed Park Sung-hwan of South Korea 21-10, 22-20 on Saturday to reach the final of the badminton world championships. The 2004 Olympic champion will chase a second world title against Chen Jin of China, who overcame European champion Peter Gade of Denmark 19-21, 21-8, 21-11. Park suddenly became a dark horse in the title race after knocking out defending champion Lin Dan of China in the quarterfinals, but the 16th-ranked South Korean suffered his eighth loss in as many matches against Hidayat. In women’s singles, Lin Wang of China routed Tine Baun of Denmark 21-11, 21-8 in the first semi-final. In the mixed doubles semi-finals, He Hanbin and Yu Yang of China beat Taiwan’s Lee Sheng-mu and Chien Yu-chin 21-13, 21-8. In the women’s doubles semi-finals, Du Jing and Yu Yang of China defeated Taiwan’s Cheng Wen-hsing and Chien Yu-chin 21-16, 21-15.
■ MOTO GP
Spies grabs pole position
American Ben Spies captured his first pole position after a brilliant performance in Saturday’s qualifying session for the Indianapolis MotoGP. The 26-year-old put his Yamaha on the front row of the grid after lapping the famous “brickyard” circuit in one minute 40.105 seconds. “This is a great feeling for me to get my first MotoGP pole position and for it to come in front of the American crowd and here at Indianapolis with all the history makes it even more special,” Spies said. Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo of Spain was second fastest in 1:40.325 while American Nicky Hayden finished third. World champion Valentino Rossi qualified seventh despite falling twice.
■ GOLF
Laied has three-shot lead
Briton Martin Laird fired a six-under 65 to surge into a three-shot lead after Saturday’s third round of the Barclays tournament, the opening event of the FedExCup playoff series. The Scot reeled off four birdies in a row from the second hole on the way to a 12-under-par total of 201 at Ridgewood Country Club. “I’m playing really well,” the 27-year-old Glaswegian told reporters. “The putter’s nice and hot.” Overnight leader Jason Day (70) of Australia was in joint second place with long-hitting American Dustin Johnson (64), one stroke better than Australian Adam Scott (68) on 205. Six players were one more shot away on 206, including Briton Justin Rose, who registered a 65. Tiger Woods, who led after the first round before slipping four behind at the halfway mark, nearly shot himself out of the playoffs by posting a triple-bogey seven at the first hole after launching his tee shot into a car park.
■ GOLF
Edoardo vies for wild card
Italian brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari set up an intriguing finale at the Johnnie Walker Championship, with a Ryder Cup place also at stake for the older of the two. Francesco, already assured of his place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team, led after the third round at Gleneagles on Saturday while Edoardo, who is hoping to convince European captain Colin Montgomerie to include him on a wild card, trailed by one stroke. The pair, who won the World Cup together last year, were to play together in yesterday’s final round after Francesco posted a four-under 68 for a 10-under 206 total. Yesterday’s showdown was to be a repeat of last month’s Scottish Open when Edoardo outdid his brother to take the title. Another victory for Edoardo would make it difficult for Montgomerie not to choose him as one of his three wild cards.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
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