Digest

BASKETBALL

China cruises into Asia Cup quarterfinals

China thrashed Indonesia 108-58 at the FIBA Asia Cup in Jakarta on Monday evening to progress to the quarterfinals.

Indonesia is one of three co-hosts of the 2023 World Cup, but its spot in the tournament was conditional on the team reaching the quarterfinals of the Asia Cup, with those hopes now dashed.

China led 59-21 at halftime after Sun Minghui drained a buzzer-beating floater from beyond the arc. By the end of a one-sided encounter, China led 18-6 in 3-pointers, 42-22 in points in the paint, and 48-27 in rebounds.

Gu Quan made five 3-pointers and pocketed a game-high 23 points for China, Hu Mingxuan added 14 points, and Zhou Qi had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Team China head coach Du Feng was relieved to reach the last eight, saying he had felt under pressure in all the games so far. "Thank you so much to all the players for their efforts tonight," Du added. China will play Lebanon on Wednesday for a place in the semifinals.

TABLE TENNIS

Top seeds advance to WTT Champions last 16

Top seeds Ma Long and Chen Meng notched victories to advance to the second round of the men's and women's singles respectively at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions, which kicked off in Budapest on Monday.

Ma defeated Austrian veteran Robert Gardos 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 12-10) to easily advance to the last 16, while Chen, who withdrew from the WTT Star Contender last week due to a shoulder injury, made a comeback against Monaco's Yang Xiaoxin, winning 3-2(8-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-3).

Chen admitted she is still not back to peak condition but was very happy to win the match under such difficult circumstances.

The WTT Champions is a singles-only event, with 32 players participating in each draw. Except for the absence of China's top-ranked man Fan Zhendong, the top 15 men's and women's paddlers in the world are competing at the event.

SOCCER

Neuer: Lewandowski departure massive loss

Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer admitted that the team will miss Robert Lewandowski as his transfer to Barcelona is a "massive loss" for the German champion.

Barcelona on Saturday announced it had reached an agreement "in principle" with Bayern to sign the Polish striker.

In an interview with Bild on Monday, goalkeeper Neuer said: "Of course it's a massive loss. We know the statistics and we are aware of what he achieved here in the last few years. We will miss Lewandowski. He promised that he will return here to say goodbye, so I'm happy we will see him again."

Bayern hopes new signing Sadio Mane can provide firepower in Lewandowski's absence, although the Senegalese was more of a creator than a scorer of goals at previous club Liverpool.

"We can still be strong thanks to his arrival. We greeted him in the locker room very well," Neuer said.

Veteran striker Thomas Muller also lamented Lewandowski's exit, telling Bild: "Both club and player showed that they respect each other. After all, we suspected that the transfer might happen. But when the time comes, it's not easy to realize it. I think Lewandowski feels the same."

OLYMPICS

Start date for LA28 Games announced

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics kicked off a six-year countdown on Monday with the announcement of the dates for the Games' return to the city.

The opening ceremony will be July 14. Competition will run through July 30. The Paralympic Games will be Aug 15-27.

"This milestone makes the Games real for every athlete actively training for their LA28 dream and the fans who follow the journey," said LA chief athlete officer Janet Evans, a five-time Olympic medalist swimmer.

Los Angeles previously hosted the Olympics in 1984 and 1932.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was on hand for the announcement. He visited future venues and met with LA28 leadership.

"I have been really impressed by the progress and creativity of the LA28 team," Bach said. "They are using the power of the Olympic Games to inspire young people to get involved in sport."

The Games will use existing stadiums and venues across the region.

TENNIS

Russian Kasatkina says she is dating woman

Russia's highest-ranked women's player, Daria Kasatkina, said in a video interview released Monday that she is dating a woman.

The French Open semifinalist's comments come as the Russian parliament discusses tightening already stringent restrictions on public discussions of LGBTQ relationships.

In the interview on YouTube with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko, Kasatkina said "yes" when asked if she has a girlfriend.

Kasatkina added that she believes that "living in the closet" would not be sustainable long-term. "There is no point, it would always be going round in your head, until you say something. Obviously, each person decides how to open up and how much," Kasatkina said.

Soon after the interview was released, Kasatkina posted a picture on Instagram of her embracing Olympic silver medalist figure skater Natalia Zabiiako with a heart emoji and called Zabiiako "my cutie pie" in a Twitter post. Zabiiako, who won her Olympic medal with the Russian team in 2018, posted the same picture on Instagram, also with a heart.

Xinhua - Agencies