Digest

BADMINTON

Shuttlers win two golds at Indonesian Open

China won the women's singles and mixed doubles titles at the Indonesian Open in Jakarta on Sunday.

Chen Yufei overcame Spain's Marin Carolina in the women's singles final, 21-18, 21-19.

"Marin played at a fast pace and was aggressive. At the start of the second set, I was struggling to keep up, falling behind in the score, but I adjusted my strategy and was able to catch up," said Chen.

Her compatriots Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, the top-ranked pair in the world, defeated the Japanese duo of Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino 21-19, 21-10 in the mixed doubles final.

"We meticulously prepared for our opponents' playing style and stayed patient throughout the match, which kept mistakes to a minimum. So, that's why they probably felt under pressure," Zheng said.

World No 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark eased past Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21-14, 21-13 in the men's singles final.

South Korean pair Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee won the women's doubles while India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were the victors in the men's doubles.

VOLLEYBALL

China suffers second consecutive defeat

Team China slumped to its second straight loss at the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL), falling to Italy 3-2 (23-25, 25-23,18-25, 25-22, 15-12) in Hong Kong, China on Sunday.

China opened its Hong Kong campaign with victories over Canada and Bulgaria, before losing to Poland on Saturday. Italy made it four wins from four in Hong Kong with victory on Sunday.

Italy eliminated China in last year's VNL.

China's Li Yingying scored a game-high 24 points, but China just came up short in the deciding set. Miriam Sylla and Sylvia Nwakalor led Italy's scoring with 15 points apiece.

In other matches on Sunday, the Netherlands swept Bulgaria in straight sets, while Turkiye triumphed over the Dominican Republic 3-1.

FENCING

Chinese trio among the medals at Asian c'ships

China's Chen Qingyuan and Shi Yue claimed the women's foil individual gold and bronze medals respectively on the second day of the Asian Fencing Championships in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on Sunday, while Yu Lefan claimed silver in the men's sabre individual.

Shi and Chen, who last year finished first and second respectively, made it to the last eight along with teammate Fu Yiting.

Shi rallied to edge past Karin Miyawaki by a single point, but succumbed to another Japanese, Sera Azuma. Azuma faced Chen in the final after Chen breezed past Fu.

Yu, 24, whose best international result was a 10th-place finish at a World Cup meet in Heidenheim, Germany in February, reached the men's sabre individual final by beating last year's silver medalist, Akira Komata of Japan, 12-11.

However, Yu struggled to find his rhythm against world No 1 and defending champion Koki Kano of Japan, and eventually lost 15-10 to pocket silver.

Sunday's results left China top of the medal table, with one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.

GOLF

Clark fends off McIlroy to earn first major title

Wyndham Clark fired an even-par 70 on Sunday to win the 123rd US Open, capturing his first major title and denying four-time major winner Rory McIlroy his first in nine years.

Clark, whose previous best finish in six prior major starts was a tie for 75th, held his nerve at Los Angeles Country Club, where his 10-under-par total of 270 gave him a one-shot triumph over McIlroy, who also shot 70.

Clark, ranked 32nd in the world, started the day tied for the lead with Rickie Fowler and had a three-shot lead after his fourth birdie of the day at the par-five 14th.

His lead dwindled to one shot after bogeys at 15 and 16, and McIlroy kept the pressure on with an unlikely par at 17 — where his tee shot was left onto the fairway of the neighboring second hole.

Clark missed the green at the par-four 17th, but stuck his third shot within two feet of the pin for a needed par.

His approach at 18 left him a 60-foot (18-meter) putt, and he made a confident run with his first attempt and sealed the victory with a par putt from within 3 feet.

McIlroy had opened with a birdie, then parred 12 straight, finding green after green but unable to get any birdie putts to drop.

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler also carded a 70 to finish third, two shots behind McIlroy.

Xinhua - Agencies