Digest

BADMINTON

Guangzhou to host BWF World Tour Finals

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday announced that the BWF World Tour Finals will take place in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, from Dec 14-18.

At the season-ending finale, the top eight players and pairs in each category will compete for $1.5 million, the largest prize pool in badminton history, on the red courts of the Tianhe Stadium.

"Guangzhou staged two spectacular editions of the BWF World Tour Finals in 2018 and 2019, and we look forward to putting on another grand show for our loyal fans in China," said BWF secretary general Thomas Lund.

"We also thank the government of China for extending its invitation to the world's top badminton players, and we remain confident that our hosts will deliver a spectacular Finals event with the highest standard of player safety and comfort," he added.

BASKETBALL

Sixers star Embiid becomes US citizen

Joel Embiid is an American citizen.

A native of Cameroon, Embiid said he was sworn in as a citizen two weeks ago in Philadelphia. The NBA scoring champion and Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center said his family — he has a wife and young son — played a pivotal role in his decision.

"I've been here for a long time," Embiid told The Associated Press Thursday at training camp. "My son is American. I felt like, I'm living here and it's a blessing to be an American. So I said, why not?"

Embiid, who played college basketball for one season at Kansas, also has citizenship in France. He said it is way too early to think about which country he could potentially represent in international hoops.

The 28-year-old Embiid averaged a career-best 30.6 points in 68 games last season. The 7-footer (2.13 meters) also averaged 11.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists in helping Philadelphia reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight year.

TENNIS

Novak enjoys winning return to ATP action

Novak Djokovic, playing an ATP singles tournament for the first time since winning Wimbledon in July, reached the Tel Aviv quarterfinals on Thursday with a straight-sets victory over Spain's Pablo Andujar.

Djokovic eased to a 6-0, 6-3 win over his 115th-ranked opponent in 86 minutes, firing 30 winners and breaking Andujar four times.

It was the fewest games Djokovic has lost in any match this season.

He was always in control against his Spanish rival who he has now defeated three times, taking command of the match by winning the first seven games.

"The first match started off in a perfect way for me," said Djokovic, who last played in Israel as a teenager 16 years ago in a Davis Cup tie.

"I won seven games in a row and we were fighting in that eighth game (which took over 20 minutes to complete). It was one of the longest games I've ever played in my life and I've played many, many games in my life. But credit to Pablo for fighting and playing a great match as well."

SOCCER

Conte brands Juventus rumors 'disrespectful'

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte on Thursday hit out at "disrespectful" speculation that he could quit the English Premier League club to rejoin Juventus after the Serie A team's poor start to the season.

The Italian, whose Tottenham contract expires at the end of this season, has close ties with Juve after winning the title in Turin as both a player and manager.

Having led Spurs to Champions League qualification last term before masterminding their unbeaten start to the new English topflight season, Conte's stock is high.

But despite reports Max Allegri could be fired after Juventus won only two of its first seven Serie A games, Conte is adamant he remains committed to Spurs.

"I think this is disrespectful for the Juventus coach and disrespectful for me working for Tottenham," Conte told reporters.

Xinhua / Agencies