Digest

BADMINTON

China overpowers Malaysia in Uber Cup

China's women's badminton team crushed Malaysia 5-0 in the second round of the Uber Cup group stage in Aarhus, Denmark, on Sunday.

Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei drew first blood against the 20-year-old Eoon Qixuan, winning 21-13, 21-11.

Liu Xuanxuan and Xia Yuting outplayed Lee Meng Yean and Thinaah Muralitharan 21-12, 21-17 in the following doubles tie.

He Bingjiao overwhelmed Siti Nurshuhaini 21-8, 21-3 in just 23 minutes in the third matchup.

Huang Dongping and Jia Yifan then smashed Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing 21-9, 21-12 in the doubles, before 21-year-old Wang Zhiyi defeated 18-year-old Karupathevan Letshanaa 21-15, 21-11 to seal the victory for China.

China will face host Denmark on Tuesday in the final round of the group stage.

The Chinese men's team overwhelmed minnow Tahiti 5-0 on Sunday in the first round of the Thomas Cup.

MOTOR SPORTS

Bottas wins in Turkey, Verstappen seizes lead

Valtteri Bottas scored his first win of the season Sunday at the Turkish Grand Prix, a mixed day for Mercedes when Max Verstappen reclaimed the overall championship lead from title rival Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton started 11th because of a 10-place grid penalty, drove his way to third, but wound up a disappointing fifth after a late-race tire change. The Mercedes strategy allowed Verstappen to swing the championship battle in his favor. The Dutchman now leads Hamilton by six points with six races remaining.

"It's been close the whole year," Verstappen said. "This season has been really good."

F1 now leaves Europe, and next up is the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas on Oct 24.

"With the (six) points it's not going to be easy. We'll see in Austin how it's going to go," Verstappen said. "I think some tracks can be a bit better (for us)."

Sergio Perez capped a strong day for Red Bull by finishing third.

Hamilton was fastest in Saturday qualifying but wasn't credited with the pole because of an engine change by his Mercedes team. He seemed headed for a podium finish but Mercedes called him in for the tire change over Hamilton's objections.

GOLF

Red-hot Ko racks up tour scoring records

Ko Jin-young of South Korea wrote her name in the LPGA Tour record book not once but twice Sunday as she produced a wire-to-wire victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup in West Caldwell, New Jersey.

Ko's 5-under-par 66 lifted her to 18-under for a four-shot victory over Germany's Caroline Masson. It was Ko's 14th straight round in the 60s, tying Swedish great Annika Sorenstam's LPGA record.

What's more, Ko went 114 straight holes without making a bogey or worse until she bogeyed No 17 on Sunday. It's the longest such streak on record for either the LPGA or PGA Tour, breaking Tiger Woods' mark of 110 bogey-free holes.

Ko said that a bogey-free round was her goal but she wasn't necessarily thinking about the records in play and the names attached to them.

"I just focus, despite the others like Tiger Woods or Annika Sorenstam," Ko said.

"I just play by myself ... I don't know what happened to me. I don't know. I just have fun. I'm just trying to have fun on the course with my caddie and the other players."

Ko, 26, defended her title at the Founders Cup, which she won in 2019 at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix. The world No 2 has won three tournaments in her last seven starts.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Brady, Brown combine to keep Bucs rolling

Antonio Brown is 33 years old and no longer the top playmaker on his team. With Tom Brady's help on and off the field, though, the oft-troubled receiver is making the most of an opportunity to revive his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brady threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns, while Brown showed no signs of slowing down as a playmaker, becoming the fastest NFL player to 900 receptions as the defending Super Bowl champions rolled to a 45-17 rout of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

"I take so much inspiration from Tom. As a professional, as a leader, making sure that I'm doing my job, making sure that all the other 10 guys are doing their job," said Brown, who had seven catches for 124 yards and two TDs. "He just continues to up the standard and raise the bar."

Brady threw for more 400 yards with five TDs in the same game for the first time in his 22-year career. The Bucs improved to 4-1 as they head into a Thursday game at the Philadelphia Eagles.

BASKETBALL

Nets resigned to losing Kyrie for home games

Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash said the NBA team understands that star guard Kyrie Irving will not be available for home games because he remains unvaccinated for COVID-19.

A vaccination mandate by New York City means Irving may not play in home games unless he receives the injection.

Similar regulations would keep the seven-time All-Star out in road games at San Francisco, Los Angeles and against the New York Knicks as well.

"I think we recognize he's not playing home games," Nash said Sunday after practice. "So we're going to have to for sure play without him this year. So it just depends on when, where and how much."

Irving took part in his first practice with his teammates at the team's workout facility after a ruling Friday by the city that such sessions are in a "private office space" and therefore not covered by the rule.

Xinhua - Agencies