Digest

SPORT CLIMBING

Deng speeds to gold at World Cup finale

China's Deng Lijuan won the women's speed final at the 2022 IFSC Climbing World Cup series in Jakarta on Saturday.

Deng was dominant in the Indonesian capital, reeling off consistently fast times — 7.05 seconds in the first round, 6.91 in the quarterfinal, 6.69 in the semifinal and 6.66 in the final.

The podium was completed by Poland's Kalucka sisters, with a silver for Natalia and a bronze for Aleksandra.

Indonesia's Aspar Aspar claimed gold in the men's final with a time of 5.39 seconds to defeat compatriot Kiromal Katibin (5.75 sec).

The small final saw China's Cao Long and Long Jinbao battling for the bronze medal, with Cao grabbing the victory in 5.16 sec after Long fell from the wall.

Although missing the podium at this stop of the series, Indonesia's Veddriq Leonardo claimed the men's season title with 4,455 points. Katibin (4,080) finished second, with Long Jinbao (3,105) third.

The women's season title went to Aleksandra Kalucka, followed by American Emma Hunt and Natalia Kalucka.

SURFING

Team China makes 'big progress' at ISA Games

The Chinese surfing team ranked 20th at the 2022 ISA World Surfing Games, which ended on Friday at Huntington Beach, California.

"It's beyond my expectation," said team leader Zhou Changcheng. "We finished 27th in the 2019 edition. This time our young surfer Yang Siqi entered the women's fifth round of the repechage and ranked 29th, which is big progress."

The Chinese team have trained abroad since May.

Kirra Pinkerton of the United States won gold, and confirmed an Olympic slot for one woman from Team USA. Kanoa Igarashi of Japan, the runner-up at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, won the men's gold medal and guaranteed Japan an Olympic slot for a male surfer.

Pinkerton also took Team USA to the top of the podium in the overall team rankings for the first time since 2009.

SOCCER

Mighty Lions roar to shock win over Wuhan

Guinean striker Jose Kante scored four goals as the Cangzhou Mighty Lions stunned table-topping Wuhan Three Towns 4-3 to end the latter's 17-game unbeaten streak in the Chinese Super League (CSL) in Wuhan on Saturday.

Before the game, Cangzhou sat just above the relegation zone on 12 points, while Three Towns stood atop the league with 47 points.

Assisted by Dutchman Deabeas Owusu, Kante broke the deadlock with a 17th-minute volley — his first goal in the CSL since joining from Kazakhstan club Kairat Almaty in late August.

Three Towns, who were without the services of several key players due to fatigue and injuries, equalized in the 33rd minute through a penalty from Brazilian forward Davidson, only to see Kante slot home three minutes later.

"It was amazing. I think it's one of the best games I've played," said Kante after the victory, adding that he valued the three points for his relegation-battling team more than his four goals.

Also on Saturday, defending champion Shandong Taishan cruised past Shenzhen FC 4-0 to move four points behind Wuhan in the standings. Changchun Yatai defeated Wuhan Yangtze River 2-0, and Dalian Pro held Beijing Guo'an to a 2-2 draw.

Women's game hits record attendance

The second leg of the Brazilian women's soccer final set a South American record for attendance at club games in another sign of the growth of the sport.

Corinthians' 4-1 win against Internacional in Sao Paulo brought 41,070 fans to the Neo Quimica Arena on Saturday. The result gave the club its third consecutive Brazilian title and fourth in 10 years. The two teams drew 1-1 in the first leg in front of over 36,000 fans in Porto Alegre.

The previous record attendance for women's club soccer in the region was set in June in Colombia, when America de Cali beat Deportivo Cali 3-1 in front of 37,100 fans.

Brazil's soccer confederation pays 33 million Brazilian reals ($6.3 million) to the men's champion. The women's champion receives 1 million Brazilian reals ($200,000).

SKIING

Olympic champ Svindal has cancer surgery

Two-time Olympic skiing champion Aksel Lund Svindal underwent surgery after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, the Norwegian said on Saturday.

"I felt a change in my body. I wasn't sure what it was, or if it was anything at all. But I decided to have it checked out. I went to see a doctor, and was quickly (transferred) to the hospital where they confirmed what the doctor suspected. Testicle cancer," Svindal wrote on Instagram, accompanied by a picture of himself in a hospital gown.

The 39-year-old Svindal retired from skiing after claiming a silver medal in his final race — the downhill at the world championships in Are, Sweden, in February 2019.

Svindal won the super-G at the 2010 Vancouver Games and the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and ended his career with four Olympic medals in all.

At the worlds, he claimed five golds and nine medals overall.

Svindal also won the overall World Cup title in the 2006-07 and 2008-09 seasons. His 36 World Cup race wins tie him with Austria's Benjamin Raich for seventh place on the all-time men's list.

Agencies