Digest

BADMINTON

Chens cheer home fans at World Tour Finals

Home favorites Chen Long and Chen Yufei enjoyed winning starts at the BWF World Tour Finals in Guangzhou on Wednesday.

Chen Long overcame Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 21-17, 10-21, 21-17 in an hour and 10 minutes. In Group B's other match, Jonatan Christie of Indonesia beat Aners Antonsen of Denmark 23-21, 21-16.

In Group A, world No 1 Kento Momota of Japan cruised past Wang Tzuwei of Chinese Taipei 21-10, 21-9. World No 2 Chou Tienchen of Chinese Taipei edged Anthony Ginting of Indonesia 11-21, 21-15, 25-23.

In the women's singles, China's world No 1 Chen Yufei easily accounted for compatriot He Bingjiao 21-9, 21-18. Japan's Nozomi Okuhara survived a torrid test against Tai Tzuying of Chinese Taipei, 15-21, 12-18, 21-19.

In the mixed doubles, world champions Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China crashed to one of their quickest defeats of the year, losing 21-15, 21-15 in 33 minutes to Japanese pair Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino, whom they had beaten six times in a row.

BASKETBALL

Zhejiang Lions cut Faried contract short

Former NBA player Kenneth Faried has been released by the CBA's Zhejiang Lions.

"The Zhejiang Lions terminated the contract of American basketball player Kenneth Faried on December 4," read a Lions statement, which added that they are scouting for a foreign replacement to strengthen the squad.

Faried joined the Hangzhou-based Lions in November in a deal reportedly worth around $4 million. He last played in the NBA for the Houston Rockets at the end of the 2018-19 season.

The 30-year-old averaged 17.3 points, 10 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in seven CBA appearances. Zhejiang is fifth in the 20-team CBA standings with a 10-5 win-loss record.

Faried was named MVP of the NBA Rising Stars Challenge in 2013 and was a member of the United States squad which won the 2014 FIBA World Cup, but his career has failed to hit the heights since.

WEIGHTLIFTING

Record-breaker Deng leads China's charge

China's Deng Wei set a world record as the host bagged three gold medals at the IWF World Cup in Tianjin on Wednesday.

In the women's 64kg category, Deng lifted 117kg to beat the previous record by a kilogram.

Kuo Hsiung-chun of Chinese Taipei won the clean and jerk (141kg, with her last attempt). Deng's 138kg was enough to see her win the total category (255kg) ahead of Kuo (246kg).

In the men's 96kg division, China's world champion Tian Tao managed 175kg in the snatch and 215kg in the clean and jerk to secure first place. In the women's 55kg division, China's Zhang Wanqiong took gold ahead of compatriot Liao Qiuyun.

SNOOKER

O'Sullivan handshake snub over germ fears

Snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan refused to shake hands with his opponent and the referee on health grounds before a match at the Scottish Open on Wednesday.

"I'll admit I'm a bit OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) with germs," the 44-year-old O'Sullivan told Eurosport after his 4-0 win over fellow Englishman James Cahill. "I don't open door handles, I always have tissues on door handles. I am a bit OCD like that.

"I have got a bit of a germ thing. It's easier to do that and I don't get any germs."

Meanwhile, China's Ding Junhui, who won the UK Championship last weekend, advanced into the last 32 with a 4-0 win over compatriot Mei Xiwen, secured with breaks of 132 and 100.

Reigning champion Mark Allen beat Louis Heathcote 4-1.

SOCCER

Selfie-hunting pitch invader riles Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo was confronted by two pitch invaders, including one seeking a selfie, after his goal helped Juventus defeat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Firstly, the Portuguese star was warmly hugged in the middle of the pitch by a fan wearing a Juve shirt and hat.

Just moments later, a second supporter, dressed all in black, sprinted across Leverkusen's BayArena pitch to snap a selfie.

An angry Ronaldo pushed the fan away before security staff intervened.

"I feel good, the annoyance I felt has passed and the team is in good shape," said Ronaldo, who appeared to hurt his shoulder in the incident.

"Today we played a good second half. We are all growing and even I personally felt better today, more confident and I hope to continue like this."

Ronaldo's 75th-minute close-range strike and Gonzalo Higuain's injury-time effort earned victory for Juve, which had already been assured of topping Group D.

BOXING

Russian fighters KO neutral Olympic option

Russian boxers will only take part in the Tokyo Olympics if doping sanctions forcing them to compete as neutral athletes are overturned, the general secretary of the Russian Boxing Federation told Associated Press on Wednesday.

Umar Kremlev said he has spoken with the Olympic boxing team and it "unanimously" rejected the conditions laid out by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as punishment for manipulating doping data.

The WADA sanctions, announced on Monday, ban the use of the Russian team name, flag or anthem at a range of major competitions over the next four years, including next year's Tokyo Games.

"They said we won't go without our flag and anthem," Kremlev said. "We aren't going for medals, but for that feeling that I brought the highest honor home for my country."

If the sanctions aren't overturned, Russian boxers would prefer to turn pro than compete at the Olympics, Kremlev said.