Sports round-up

Yachting: New Zealand’s Camper took second place to Spanish yacht Telefonica in the opening stage of the Volvo Ocean Race yesterday. Camper crossed the finish line in Cape Town 16 hours behind Telefonica, who completed the leg on Saturday after 21 days, five hours and 14 minutes at sea since leaving Alicante. The second leg from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi starts on December 10. The race finishes in Galway, Ireland, next July.

Cricket: Cricket star Yuvraj Singh has been battling a golf-ball sized non-malignant lung tumour which first affected him during India’s triumphant World Cup campaign, his family revealed yesterday. Yuvraj, 29, who was declared the man of the tournament after the World Cup win at home in April, had opted out of the upcoming one-day series against the West Indies for health reasons.

Badminton: Lin Dan made it four wins out of five for his country at the China Open but he needed seven match points before beating team-mate Chen Long in a see-saw match in the final. Lin was full of confidence after his victory in the semis over tournament first seed and his arch rival, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, but he had to work hard to wrap up the title in two games, 21-17, 26-24.

Golf: Putting machines Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland yesterday claimed the United States’ first golf World Cup since Tiger Woods and David Duval lifted the trophy 11 years ago. The Americans took advantage of an Irish tailspin as tournament favourites Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell endured a sloppy final day at Mission Hills in southern China. Germany claimed joint second with a resurgent England on 22 under overall.