JUDO
Yang Yung-wei wins gold
Taiwan judo star Yang Yung-wei on Friday won a gold medal in the men’s under-60kg category at the Perth Oceania Open in Australia. Yang, 26, who is ranked world No. 4 by the International Judo Federation, knocked out his 21-year-old Taiwanese opponent Lin Chong-you in the gold-medal bout. Yang advanced to the final by beating Johan Rojas of Colombia in the round-of-16, Michel Augusto of Brazil in the quarter-finals and Joshua Katz of Australia in the semi-finals. Yang’s coach, Liu Wen-teng, said that the next major goal was qualification for next year’s Olympics in Paris. That would include preparing for the Tokyo Grand Slam on Dec. 2 and 3, which would pit Yang against some of the top judokas in the region, Liu said. “We expect that Japan will enter its best judo athletes in the Tokyo competition,” Liu said. The coach said he was confident regarding Yang’s chances of being one of the top eight seeds in Paris. “Seeding is important in judo, as you will be in a better position in the draw,” he said.
Photo: CNA
CRICKET
Semi-finalists decided
Australia yesterday beat Bangladesh by eight wickets at the World Cup in India, although the Aussies were already assured of a semi-final place against South Africa before the match started. On Friday, South Africa completed their group campaign with a five-wicket win over Afghanistan in Ahmedabad. They were already assured to finish second before the result. England played Pakistan last night, with the game to finish after press time. Pakistan had an almost hopeless shot at edging New Zealand for the fourth semi-final spot, but England’s first-innings score of 337 meant that chance was gone once Pakistan had faced 44 deliveries in their reply. They were 35-2 after eight overs. The group stage concludes with India, who are guaranteed top spot, to play the Netherlands today.
MOTOGP
Alex Marquez wins sprint
Alex Marquez of Gresini yesterday shocked Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin and reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia to win the Malaysian Grand Prix sprint from fourth position as the title contenders dropped to second and third place respectively. Ducati’s Bagnaia, chasing his second world crown, had the first half of the sprint under control after starting from pole at the Sepang International Circuit, but the Italian was unable to hold of a late surge by Marquez. The result meant Bagnaia’s championship lead over Spain’s Martin was reduced to 11 points ahead of the main race today. Enea Bastianini took the fourth slot as Ducati bikes filled the first four places, with KTM’s South African rider Brad Binder being the best among the non-Ducatis, finishing fifth. Australian Jack Miller was sixth, while title-contender Marco Bezzecchi was seventh. Marc Marquez’s difficult season continued as the six-time MotoGP champion crashed for the 27th time in this campaign.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
RSS