Digest

MMA

Li loses to last-minute replacement Rodriguez

China's Li Jingliang dropped a split decision to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 279 in Las Vegas on Sunday.

The catch-weight (180 pounds or 82 kilograms) bout was part of the main card at UFC 279, with Rodriguez weighing 8.5 pounds more than Li.

The difference in bulk and size quickly became apparent, with Li (6 foot or 1.83 meters) having a hard time finding his range against Rodriguez (6-foot-1 or 1.85 meters).

It still turned out to be an extremely close match-up, however, with Li countering with swift movement and strikes from different angles.

Two of the three judges scored it 29-28 in Rodriguez's favor.

Rodriguez was a late replacement for Li's originally scheduled opponent, Tony Ferguson, after Khamzat Chimaev failed to make the weight for his scheduled bout against Nate Diaz. Rodriguez was supposed to fight Kevin Holland, who filled the void left by Diaz and eventually lost to Chimaev.

Writing on social media, Li said of the last-minute switch: "I'm here to fight, no matter who the opponent is. I would like to accept all the unexpected (events) for the people who care for me. There's a saying that the harder your fist is, the wider your roads are. I believe that heroes always emerge in troubled times."

BASKETBALL

China loses women's U18 title to Australia

Australia beat defending champion China 81-55 in the final of the FIBA Under-18 Women's Asian Championship in Bengaluru, India, on Sunday.

In its first appearance in the tournament's final, Australia shot 47.9 percent from the field and outperformed China 56-26 in rebounds.

Isla Juffermans led Australia with a double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds. Dallas Loughridge and Nyadiew Puoch added 17 and 14 points, respectively.

China went scoreless in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter as the Aussies strengthened their grip on the game.

China never led during the game. Wang Jing was the only Chinese player to reach double figures with 16 points.

Earlier on Sunday, Japan defeated Chinese Taipei 77-45 to take the bronze medal.

TABLE TENNIS

China confirms roster for Chengdu tourney

The Chinese squad for the upcoming World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Chengdu was announced on Sunday.

The men's team comprises Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun and Wang Chuqin－who have all directly secured their spots through world rankings－and Lin Gaoyuan, who qualified by winning a team selection competition.

On the women's side, Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Wang Yidi are all in the squad based on their rankings, while Chen Xingtong earned the remaining ticket by claiming the title at the WTT Contender Muscat tourney in Oman.

The table tennis team worlds will be held in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province between Sept 30 and Oct 9.

GOLF

Lin narrowly misses out on maiden LPGA title

Ally Ewing made five consecutive birdies on the back nine on Sunday and held off China's Lin Xiyu to win the Queen City Championship for her third LPGA title.

The 29-year-old American fired a bogey-free final-round 66 to finish on a 22-under total at a rain-softened Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lin birdied four of the last seven holes for a 65 and kept the pressure on Ewing to the final hole before losing by a stroke.

Lin missed out on her first title in her 189th tour event as she tries to become the second Chinese mainland player to win an LPGA title after Feng Shanshan.

"It was another really good day," Lin said. "I did whatever I could do. I put together one of the best rounds I've played this year out here.

"Come out second, which is a little sad, but Ally also played so well, so congrats to her."

Lin seized the lead with birdies on three of the first seven holes, but Ewing fought back with a birdie blitz of her own to seal the win.

SOCCER

Juve rages after VAR rules out late 'winner'

Juventus came back from two goals down at halftime to draw an incident-packed match with Salernitana 2-2 on Sunday as Atalanta gave up the Serie A lead after a 1-1 draw with Cremonese.

Max Allegri's Juve drew for the fourth time this season but the point shared doesn't tell the story of a match which ended with four red cards being shown after Arkadiusz Milik's last-gasp winner was ruled out following a VAR check.

The Poland striker sent the Allianz Stadium into raptures with a glancing header five minutes into stoppage time, but the goal was chalked off for Leonardo Bonucci being offside and interfering with play.

Bonucci had tied the match on the rebound from his own missed penalty just two minutes previously to set up a grandstand finish which ended in controversy.

"We haven't seen that video, what if he keeps everyone onside? We don't have that video, nobody has it, so I don't know," Allegri said on DAZN.

Xinhua - Agencies