SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014 SPORTS Yao, Liu strike gold for China NANNING: Yao Jinnan and Liu Yang skilled events.” As the last performer, Yao upset the established order as they dazzled with high-level pirouetting and claimed gold for hosts China with their aerial skills and finished with a lofty dou- maiden individual titles at the world ble layout somersault. gymnastics championships yesterday. She earned 15.633 points with Huang Yao, 19, pipped defending champion at 15.566. Russian Daria Spiridonova and compatriot Huang Huidan by a came in third at 15.283. Yao won balance razor-thin 0.067 points in the women’s beam silver and team bronze at the 2011 uneven bars for her first world crown, worlds when she was also third in the all- which follows her four-gold rampage at around. but dogged by a thigh injury, the Asian Games last month. she failed to medal at the 2012 Olympics. And Liu, 20, stunned Olympic and Liu, who contributed to China’s men’s world champion Arthur Nabarrete team victory over Japan with a top rings Zanetti of Brazil on the men’s rings in a score, outdid the 24-year-old Zanetti in show of strength that lifted him from last both difficulty and execution. year’s fourth place. Displaying solid strength moves and Yao, sixth on the uneven bars last year, clockwork swings, Liu collected 15.933 outdid Huang in qualifying and she car- points against Zanetti’s 15.733. Another ried her momentum into the eight-way Chinese competitor, You Hao, tied for final at the Guangxi Gymnasium in third spot with Russia’s Denis Abliazin. Nanning. She was seen rushing to the Liu, 20, said his performance was not athletes’ passage after seeing her win- “text book”, as some reports had admir- ning score. “Nothing happened. I was just ingly described it, as his young age very happy,” Yao explained later. She also meant he still had much to learn. “I still had to console her defeated teammate. have a long way to go, so I still need “When I saw Huang Huidan crying, I real- work hard,” he said. ly thought that she did better than me.” In the other apparatus events, North “So it’s just a feeling that I don’t know Korea’s Olympic champion Hong Un- how to express.” Yao has changed her Jong won the women’s vault, beating all- ARLINGTON: Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) fights off a tackle attempt by New Orleans Saints’ Junior Galette (93) during given name this year to Ziyi because around champion Simone Biles of the the second half of an NFL football game in this file photo. —AP Jinnan phonetically sounds similar to United States into second spot. words meaning “hard to get gold.” Hungary’s Olympic champion She will start using the new name in Krisztian Berki won his third world pom- Who owns the Bills: The Patriots, of course competition next year but the change mel horse title, following his triumphs in NEW YORK: Even though the Pegulas just have done, to win four successive games, espe- of six successive games against teams with win- has paid off with her successful defence 2010 and 2011. bought the Buffalo Bills, everyone knows who cially with a banged-up defense minus any star ning records for New York. of the national title in May and her Asiad European champion Abliazin won the really owns them: The New England Patriots. players, has been impressive. Beating the This is also Eli Month: Giants quarterback one-woman show in South Korea. men’s floor gold at 15.750, with defend- New England has won 20 of the past 21 defending Super Bowl champs in Seattle would Manning is 30-7 in October. The Eagles have But having finished only fifth in the ing champion Kenzo Shirai of Japan sec- matchups, and when it journeys to Buffalo on be stupendous - and stamp Dallas as a surprise been dynamic on special teams, with four touch- world all-around on Friday, Yao said she ond on 15.733 after he was hit with a 0.1- Sunday, it will face a festive atmosphere. Buffalo title contender. downs, and also have three defensive touch- was not using elements of extreme diffi- point deduction for stepping out of folk have been busy celebrating the $1.4 billion The Cowboys have defied expectations downs. culty which she usually practises. bounds after one of his tumbling passes. sale of the NFL franchise to Terry and Kim thanks to the running of DeMarco Murray, just Elsewhere today, it’s Denver at the New York “I think I have done 80 per cent of The championships close today with Pegula, who also own the NHL’s Sabres. The the third running back in league history - and Jets, San Diego at Oakland, Green Bay at Miami, myself,” she said. “I think my performance the remaining event-by-event finals: Pegulas are keeping the team in the area. “It first since OJ Simpson in 1975 - to start the sea- Carolina at Cincinnati, Baltimore at Tampa Bay, still had several tiny flaws. “I will continue women’s balance beam and floor exer- would be big for them being their first game as son with five straight 100-yard games. Pittsburgh at Cleveland, Washington at Arizona, working hard, making up for my poor cise, and men’s vault, parallel bars and new owners, but it would be better for us,” Bills A sixth against the Seahawks’ stingy and Chicago at Atlanta, Detroit at Minnesota, and events and keeping doing well in my high bar. —AFP running back Fred Jackson said. “If we don’t han- physical defense that leads the NFL in stopping Jacksonville at Tennessee. dle business, we’ll all feel rather sour.” the run would be another huge achievement. Tomorrow, San Francisco is at St. Louis. The Buffalo is off to a better-than-expected start, Seattle is coming off a short week following a action began on Thursday with Indianapolis tak- and riding momentum following a come-from- 27-17 win on Monday night in Washington ing sole possession of first place in the AFC behind 17-14 win at Detroit. thanks to the wizardry of Russell Wilson. It’s now South by beating Houston 33-28. The Colts won There are questions about whether New accepted that Wilson is going to pull off a trick or their fourth straight by building a 24-0 lead and England’s decade-plus run of divisional domi- two, but his big night could have been part of a holding on. nance is showing signs of decay. The Patriots blowout win if not for Seattle’s penalty issues. Colts passer Andrew Luck threw for 370 yards were blown out 41-14 at Kansas City two weeks The New York Giants are at Philadelphia in the and three touchdowns, with TY Hilton making ago before rebounding with a 43-17 win over primetime matchup late today. After dropping nine receptions for 223 yards with one touch- Cincinnati. Which are the real Patriots? their first two games, the Giants stopped being down. That was enough to beat Houston, even “We’re really past that now,” coach Bill so generous turning over the ball, and began though defensive end JJ Watt scored his third Belichick said. “I don’t think that has anything to grasping the offense new coordinator Ben touchdown of the season, returning a fumble 45 do with this week.” What the Dallas Cowboys McAdoo brought from Green Bay. This is the first yards.—AP Federer halts Djokovic to reach Shanghai final SHANGHAI: Roger Federer brought world num- ber 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 champi- on. 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-serv- ing 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 back- SHANGHAI: Roger Federer of Switzerland returns a shot against Julien Benneteau of France hand volley to hand Simon the first break of the during their men’s singles quarterfinal match of Shanghai Masters Tennis Tournament. —AP match in the third game and the tall Spaniard swerved teasingly away from the left hander. the third game to avoid another break while only had himself to blame as a double fault gift- Lopez mixed up his tactics in the second set, Simon only dropped four points on his serve in ed a second break. opting to attack the net more to hustle his the set.