Snooker: China’s Ding Junhui won his fifth career ranking title last night when he beat England’s Mark Selby 9-6 in the final of the Welsh Open. Asked if the victory gives him hope ahead of the world cham-pionship, Ding told reporters: “I’ll practice very hard. I got to the semi-finals last year and hope to do better this year.”
Rugby Union: English fly-half Jonny Wilkinson was ruled out for up to three weeks yesterday after a double injury in Toulon’s 19-19 French Top 14 draw with Stade Francais. The 32-year-old limped off after 24 minutes of Saturday’s match at the Stade de France after hurting his right ankle and knee.
Weightlifting: Ukraine’s Olga Korobka, who won the silver medal at the 2008 Games, was handed a four-year ban after testing positive for a banned substance. The samples, which the 26-year-old gave for testing at last November’s World Championships in Paris where she won the bronze medal, contained a banned substance.
Cycling: Slovak rider Peter Velits, of the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team, won the Tour of Oman after yesterday’s sixth and final stage. Germany’s Marcel Kittel won a sprint finish to take the honours in the final stage ahead of Slovak Peter Sagan and American Tyler Farrar. Velits won the title ahead of Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali and France’s Tony Gallopin.
Tennis: Roger Federer won his second title at the Rotterdam Open seven years after his first as he defeated Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 6-4 yesterday. Federer now owns 71 career trophies after lifting his first of this season. He finished 2011 with three straight indoor titles at Basel, Paris Bercy and the London year-end championships. The victory took Federer’s record against Del Potro to 9-2.
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Golf: Jbe Kruger (picture), of South Africa, clinched his maiden European Tour title when he held his nerve in a tight finish to win the $2.4 million Avantha Masters in India yesterday. On a dramatic last day when hot contender Peter Whiteford was disqualified for a moved ball in the third round, Kruger carded four birdies and a bogey in a final-round three-under par 69.
Qatar Open: Victoria Azarenka extended her tennis domination over Samantha Stosur to win her third successive title of the year at the WTA Qatar Open yesterday, taking her 2012 record to 17 straight wins. The Belarusian beat a listless Stosur, the US Open champion, 6-1, 6-2 in a one-sided final.