S'pore paddlers thumped in Incheon
INCHEON • Chinese opposition proved too strong for Singapore's paddlers in the quarter-finals of the International Table Tennis Federation Korea Open yesterday.
World No. 6 Feng Tianwei was beaten 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5 by China's top-ranked Liu Shiwen. Team-mate Yu Mengyu (No. 16) was whitewashed 11-7, 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 by Zhu Yuling (No. 3).
2 ST readers win Longines watches
Congratulations to Edward Khoo and Low Hai Shen for winning the Longines-Straits Times readers' contest held in conjunction with tennis' French Open.
Khoo (S****937D) won the men's timepiece for coming up tops in the digital contest, while Low (G****240N) claimed the women's timepiece with his print entry.
Both watches were worth $3,990.
Wada gives Rio drug lab the chop
MONTREAL • The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said on Friday that it has suspended the accreditation of its Brazilian doping control laboratory in Rio de Janeiro, just six weeks before the city hosts the Olympics.
The move prohibits the Rio lab from carrying out all anti-doping analyses on urine and blood samples. It means that samples that would have been processed by the lab, including those from the Olympics, will be transported to other Wada-accredited labs around the world.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
All Blacks, England both sweep series
New Zealand and England both completed clean sweeps of their respective three-Test rugby series.
The All Blacks thrashed Wales 46-6 at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
The hosts, who led 18-6 at half-time in the third Test, won the first two Tests 39-21 and 36-22.
In Sydney, Owen Farrell kicked England to a pulsating 44-40 win over Australia. It was the first 3-0 series win by a touring side since the South African Springboks in 1971.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Trio lead BMW golf event at half-time
PULHEIM • Henrik Stenson fired a flawless seven-under 65 on Friday to surge into a tie for the lead at the halfway stage of golf's BMW International Open in Germany.
The Swede joins overnight leader Raphael Jacquelin and Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat atop the leader board on 11-under 205, after carding seven birdies in Pulheim.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
No fifth Olympics for Murofushi
TOKYO • Japanese hammer thrower Koji Murofushi, who won Olympic gold in Athens 12 years ago and bronze in London four years ago, has come up short in his bid to compete at a fifth Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.
The 41-year-old, who also won the world title in Daegu in 2011, came out of a two-year retirement to make his bid but failed to meet the qualifying mark of 77 metres. He finished 12th at the Japan national championships on 64 metres.
REUTERS
