Motorcycling: Britain’s Tom Sykes has won the World Superbike Championship after finishing third in the first race of the final round at Jerez, yesterday. The Huddersfield-born 28-year-old Kawasaki rider, who missed out on the 2012 title by half a point, did enough to take the championship at the Spanish circuit as he finished behind Ireland’s Eugene Laverty (Aprilia) and the Gold Bet BMW of Italian Marco Melandri. Sykes, who lives in Coventry, became the fourth British winner of the title after Carl Forgarty, Neil Hodgson and James Toseland.
Tennis: Frenchman Richard Gasquet boosted his chances of playing in next month’s season-ending ATP World Tour Finals after capturing the Kremlin Cup with a 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory over Kazakh qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin yesterday. The win allowed world number 10 Gasquet to leapfrog fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the race to secure a place in the Tour Finals. Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer and Juan Martin Del Potro have already qualified for the tournament while Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has pulled out following back surgery.
Golf: Former world number one amateur Jin Jeong overcame a bout of nerves to beat England’s Ross Fisher in a play-off to win his maiden professional title at the Perth International yesterday. The 23-year-old South Korean tapped in from close range after Fisher missed a four-metre effort for par on the 18th, the first play-off hole, to win the $2 million event which was co-sanctioned by the European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia. “I was nervous, I was shaking but I controlled myself pretty well all day I thought,” Jin told reporters after carding a three-under 69 in the final round. “I don’t know what I’ve done to be honest.”
Baseball: Shane Victorino belted a seventh-inning grand slam to put Boston Red Sox into the World Series with a 5-2 victory over the visiting Detroit Tigers that clinched the American League Championship on Saturday. Victorino’s blast turned a 2-1 deficit into a three-run lead and sent the Fenway faithful into a frenzy as the Hawaiian thumped his chest and roared in delight while rounding the bases. The Red Sox, who won the best-of-seven series 4-2, will meet National League champions St Louis for Major League Baseball’s championship starting on Wednesday in Boston.
Rugby Union: Luke Whitelock’s versatility has helped him emulate older brothers Sam and George by becoming an All Black after the Canterbury loose forward was selected yesterday for New Zealand’s northern hemisphere tour in November. Whitelock was selected ahead of players like Brad Shields and World Cup winner Victor Vito for his ability to play blindside flanker as well as number eight. The All Blacks have already said they will split the squad for the first week to give younger players an opportunity to prove their worth in the build-up to their first non-World Cup test against Japan on Nov. 2.
Boxing: Northern Ireland boxer Carl Frampton is on the verge of a world title tilt after an impressive sixth-round knockout of France’s Jeremy Parodi in Belfast on Saturday night. The 26-year-old extended his unbeaten record to 17 wins from as many fights as he retained his European super-bantamweight title. There was a partisan atmosphere inside the Odyssey Arena and Frampton gave the home support plenty to shout about, dominating this bout which was billed as an IBF world title eliminator and then delivering a brutal body shot, with Parodi dropping to his knees before being counted out.
Golf: The Korea Open finished in bizarre circumstances yesterday with Kang Sung-hoon celebrating a one-shot victory after a controversial penalty for Kim Hyung-tae and poor putting by Rory McIlroy ended their title hopes. Overnight leader Kim was on course for victory standing on the 17th tee but was told by an official he had been penalised two strokes for grounding a club in an area deemed to be a hazard on the 13th hole. The South Korean then bogeyed the 17th and could only par the 18th to miss out on the OneAsia title.