Youngsters rule in badminton finals
Teenage top seeds reigned at the Singapore Sports Hub National Open Badminton Championships yesterday.
Jaslyn Hooi, 19, saw off the 23-year-old Grace Chua 21-16, 21-8 in the women's singles final at the OCBC Arena. Another 19-year-old, Jason Teh, beat the 22-year-old Vega Nio Nirwanda 21-14, 21-11 in the men's singles final.
In addition to their respective trophies, Hooi and Teh won $1,000 each in prize money.
Leow 15 strokes behind leader in HK
Singapore's SEA Games golf champion James Leow shot a two-over 72 at the Hong Kong Open yesterday for a 212 total. He was joint-62nd after the third round.
Australian leader Wade Ormsby carded a 66 for 197 to lead by two ahead of Thai Gunn Charoenkul (65) in the US$2 million (S$2.7 million) event, which was rescheduled from last month because of the ongoing protests.
Williams storms into Auckland final
AUCKLAND • Serena Williams delivered a masterclass in her semi-final at tennis' WTA Auckland Classic yesterday, needing only 43 minutes to down rising star Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-1.
She will play the unseeded Jessica Pegula, who stunned Caroline Wozniacki 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the final.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Injured trio pull out of Australian Open
MELBOURNE • Australian Open organisers said yesterday that US Open tennis champion Bianca Andreescu, Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet had withdrawn from the Jan 20-Feb 2 Grand Slam because of injury.
Andreescu said that it was a "tough decision", but she had to respect the recuperation plan for her knee. Tournament officials said on Twitter that the two men also had knee issues.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
