SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014 S P ORTS Yao, Liu strike gold for China NANNING: Yao Jinnan and Liu Yang upset the established order as they claimed gold for hosts China with their maiden individual titles at the world gymnastics championships yesterday. Yao, 19, pipped defending champion and compatriot Huang Huidan by a razor-thin 0.067 points in the women’s uneven bars for her first world crown, which follows her four-gold rampage at the Asian Games last month. And Liu, 20, stunned Olympic and world champion Arthur Nabarrete Zanetti of Brazil on the men’s rings in a show of strength that lifted him from last year’s fourth place. Yao, sixth on the uneven bars last year, outdid Huang in qualifying and she carried her momentum into the eight-way final at the Guangxi Gymnasium in Nanning. She was seen rushing to the athletes’ passage after seeing her winning score. “Nothing happened. I was just very happy,” Yao explained later. She also had to console her defeated teammate. “When I saw Huang Huidan crying, I really thought that she did better than me.” “So it’s just a feeling that I don’t know how to express.” Yao has changed her given name this year to Ziyi because Jinnan phonetically sounds similar to words meaning “hard to get gold.” She will start using the new name in competition next year but the change has paid off with her successful defence of the national title in May and her Asiad one-woman show in South Korea. But having finished only fifth in the world all-around on Friday, Yao said she was not using elements of extreme difficulty which she usually practises. “I think I have done 80 per cent of myself,” she said. “I think my performance still had several tiny flaws. “I will continue working hard, making up for my poor events and keeping doing well in my skilled events.” As the last performer, Yao dazzled with high-level pirouetting and aerial skills and finished with a lofty double layout somersault. She earned 15.633 points with Huang at 15.566. Russian Daria Spiridonova came in third at 15.283. Yao won balance beam silver and team bronze at the 2011 worlds when she was also third in the allaround. but dogged by a thigh injury, she failed to medal at the 2012 Olympics. Liu, who contributed to China’s men’s team victory over Japan with a top rings score, outdid the 24-year-old Zanetti in both difficulty and execution. Displaying solid strength moves and clockwork swings, Liu collected 15.933 points against Zanetti’s 15.733. Another Chinese competitor, You Hao, tied for third spot with Russia’s Denis Abliazin. Liu, 20, said his performance was not “text book”, as some reports had admiringly described it, as his young age meant he still had much to learn. “I still have a long way to go, so I still need work hard,” he said. In the other apparatus events, North Korea’s Olympic champion Hong UnJong won the women’s vault, beating allaround champion Simone Biles of the United States into second spot. Hungary ’s Olympic champion Krisztian Berki won his third world pommel horse title, following his triumphs in 2010 and 2011. European champion Abliazin won the men’s floor gold at 15.750, with defending champion Kenzo Shirai of Japan second on 15.733 after he was hit with a 0.1point deduction for stepping out of bounds after one of his tumbling passes. The championships close today with the remaining event-by-event finals: women’s balance beam and floor exercise, and men’s vault, parallel bars and high bar. —AFP ARLINGTON: Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) fights off a tackle attempt by New Orleans Saints’ Junior Galette (93) during the second half of an NFL football game in this file photo. —AP Who owns the Bills: The Patriots, of course NEW YORK: Even though the Pegulas just bought the Buffalo Bills, everyone knows who really owns them: The New England Patriots. New England has won 20 of the past 21 matchups, and when it journeys to Buffalo on Sunday, it will face a festive atmosphere. Buffalo folk have been busy celebrating the $1.4 billion sale of the NFL franchise to Terry and Kim Pegula, who also own the NHL’s Sabres. The Pegulas are keeping the team in the area. “It would be big for them being their first game as new owners, but it would be better for us,” Bills running back Fred Jackson said. “If we don’t handle business, we’ll all feel rather sour.” Buffalo is off to a better-than-expected start, and riding momentum following a come-frombehind 17-14 win at Detroit. There are questions about whether New England’s decade-plus run of divisional dominance is showing signs of decay. The Patriots were blown out 41-14 at Kansas City two weeks ago before rebounding with a 43-17 win over Cincinnati. Which are the real Patriots? “ We’re really past that now,” coach Bill Belichick said. “I don’t think that has anything to do with this week.” What the Dallas Cowboys have done, to win four successive games, especially with a banged-up defense minus any star players, has been impressive. Beating the defending Super Bowl champs in Seattle would be stupendous - and stamp Dallas as a surprise title contender. The Cowboys have defied expectations thanks to the running of DeMarco Murray, just the third running back in league history - and first since OJ Simpson in 1975 - to start the season with five straight 100-yard games. A sixth against the Seahawks’ stingy and physical defense that leads the NFL in stopping the run would be another huge achievement. Seattle is coming off a short week following a 27-17 win on Monday night in Washington thanks to the wizardry of Russell Wilson. It’s now accepted that Wilson is going to pull off a trick or two, but his big night could have been part of a blowout win if not for Seattle’s penalty issues. The New York Giants are at Philadelphia in the primetime matchup late today. After dropping their first two games, the Giants stopped being so generous turning over the ball, and began grasping the offense new coordinator Ben McAdoo brought from Green Bay. This is the first of six successive games against teams with winning records for New York. This is also Eli Month: Giants quarterback Manning is 30-7 in October. The Eagles have been dynamic on special teams, with four touchdowns, and also have three defensive touchdowns. Elsewhere today, it’s Denver at the New York Jets, San Diego at Oakland, Green Bay at Miami, Carolina at Cincinnati, Baltimore at Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh at Cleveland, Washington at Arizona, Chicago at Atlanta, Detroit at Minnesota, and Jacksonville at Tennessee. Tomorrow, San Francisco is at St. Louis. The action began on Thursday with Indianapolis taking sole possession of first place in the AFC South by beating Houston 33-28. The Colts won their fourth straight by building a 24-0 lead and holding on. Colts passer Andrew Luck threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns, with TY Hilton making nine receptions for 223 yards with one touchdown. That was enough to beat Houston, even though defensive end JJ Watt scored his third touchdown of the season, returning a fumble 45 yards.—AP Federer halts Djokovic to reach Shanghai final SHANGHAI: Roger Federer brought world number one Novak Djokovic’s juggernaut to a halt when a 6-4 6-4 victory in the Shanghai Masters yesterday set up a final against unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon. The 33-year-old Swiss was in aggressive mood against his younger opponent, who was on a 28-match winning streak in China, and converted his third match point with a backhand volley to end a semi-final slugfest that lasted one hour 35 minutes. Federer, who will return to second in the rankings on Monday, broke serve in the fifth game of the first set after a couple of unforced errors from the twice Shanghai Masters champion. The 17-times grand slam winner broke again in the opening game of the second set and went on to exact sweet revenge for his defeat in their last meeting, at the Wimbledon final in July. Earlier, Simon moved into his first Masters Series final in six years after outclassing big-serving Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. The world number 29 faced little pressure on his serve and dominated the match from the baseline with some sumptuous groundstrokes to beat the 33-year-old Lopez 6-2 7-6 (1). Lopez, who knocked out world number two Rafa Nadal in the second round, netted a backhand volley to hand Simon the first break of the match in the third game and the tall Spaniard only had himself to blame as a double fault gifted a second break. The frazzled world number 21, under pressure from Simon’s winners, finally held to make it 5-2 but the Frenchman wrapped up the set in 25 minutes with an ace down the middle that SHANGHAI: Roger Federer of Switzerland returns a shot against Julien Benneteau of France during their men’s singles quarterfinal match of Shanghai Masters Tennis Tournament. —AP swerved teasingly away from the left hander. Lopez mixed up his tactics in the second set, opting to attack the net more to hustle his opponent, whose only previous Masters Series final appearance came in 2008 in Madrid, with some success. The Spaniard came through seven deuces in the third game to avoid another break while Simon only dropped four points on his serve in the set. The pressure finally told on Lopez in the tiebreak as he crumbled under a mix of double faults, netted returns and wild smashes to lose it 7-1.—Reuters Pornanong takes 3-shot lead at LPGA Malaysia CHINA: Hong Un Jong of North Korea performs during the women’s vault final at the gymnastics world championships in Nanning. —AFP Kuwait defeat Jordan AMMAN: Former England international Ray Wilkins began his tenure as Jordan coach in defeat after a late goal by Yusuf Nasser gave Kuwait a 1-0 win in a friendly on Friday. The striker found space between two Jordanian defenders to hit a first time right foot shot into the corner of the net in the 85th minute of the friendly in Amman. Former Chelsea, AC Milan and Manchester United midfielder Wilkins only took charge of the Asian Cup finalists last month. Jordan, who have been drawn in Group D of Januar y ’s Asian Cup in Australia alongside holders Japan, Iraq and Palestine, will take on Kuwait again tomorrow.—Reuters KUALA LUMPUR: Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum made six birdies on the front nine on her way to a 6-under 65 yesterday that gave her a three-shot lead after the third round of the LPGA Malaysia tournament. Pornanong closed in on her first LPGA victory as she moved to 14under 199 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. Japan’s Ayako Uehara had three consecutive birdies from the 12th hole in a round of 69 to sit alone in second place. Four players were tied for third a stroke further back, including second-round leader So Hyeon Ryu, who had double bogeys at both the 17th and 18th to give up her lead. Her South Korean compatriot Chella Choi was also at 10 under after a 68 which included a quadruple-bogey 8 at the 14th hole. They were joined by China’s Shanshan Feng (69) and 17-yearold New Zealander Lydia Ko (70), who can take over the No. 1 ranking if she wins on Sunday and the currently top-ranked Stacy Lewis finishes tied for 12th or worse. Lewis was at 5 under, tied for 20th, after shooting a 72 which included a double-bogey at the par-3 seventh, where she also dropped a shot in the second round. Pornanong made the turn in 29 - the first time she’s gone under 30 at the midpoint of a round - but had a more routine back nine with two birdies balanced out by two bogeys. “The front nine was amazing,” the 25year-old Thai player said. “Like I make everything. Back nine I just feel a little bit nervous.” Her Thai compatriot Ariya Jutanugarn had the round of day with a 64 that included nine birdies. She was five shots off the lead as she chases an LPGA Tour card for next season. Ariya and Pornanong are aiming to become the first Thai player to win on the tour. —AP MALAYSIA: Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand throws the ball to her caddie on the 16th hole during the third round of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 2014 golf tournament. —AFP