S'pore junior mixed team finish 10th
MARKHAM (Canada) • Singapore's shuttlers fell 3-0 to Thailand yesterday in the play-off for ninth at the World Junior Mixed Team Championships.
The Republic's 10th-placed finish is an improvement on their 12th spot last year.
The result of the China-South Korea final was not available at press time.
Cahill to step down as Halep's coach
PARIS • Darren Cahill, the coach of world No. 1 and French Open champion Simona Halep, said on Friday that he will take a break from tennis next year for family reasons.
The 53-year-old Australian helped Romanian star Halep to a maiden Grand Slam triumph at Roland Garros in June, as well as a year-ending world top spot to crown their four-year partnership. He had previously coached Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Kuchar 2 strokes in front of Champ
MEXICO CITY • Matt Kuchar grabbed a two-shot lead at the US PGA Tour's Mayakoba Classic in Mexico on Friday, firing his second straight 64 for a 14-under total of 128.
Kuchar, owner of seven tour titles but seeking his first since the 2014 RBC Heritage, was two strokes clear of Cameron Champ, who fired a nine-under 62 for a 130 total.
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Lopez secures her first LPGA Tour win
SHANGHAI • Mexico's Gaby Lopez celebrated the biggest victory of her golf career yesterday when she triumphed at the Blue Bay LPGA in China.
She beat world No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn (73) of Thailand and held off a late challenge from France's Celine Boutier (66) for her maiden victory on the US-based LPGA Tour.
Lopez carded a final-round 73 to go eight-under 280 for the tournament on the island of Hainan, defeating Ariya by a stroke.
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Momota to meet Chou in China Open final
SHANGHAI • Badminton world champion Kento Momota fought back from a game down yesterday to defeat Olympic title-holder Chen Long and reach the men's singles final of the Fuzhou China Open tournament.
The Japanese world No. 1 will meet Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen in today's decider after beating China's Chen 19-21, 21-17, 21-17.
Top seed Momota is chasing a fourth tournament victory in the World Tour calendar to add to the maiden world title he claimed in August.
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