WWE Releases Former Announcer Tony Chimel, Staff Employees

WWE released another group of employees on Friday, according to a new report from PWInsider's Mike Johnson. The biggest name among those to be let go was former ring announcer Tony Chimel, best known for his work as Friday Night SmackDown from 1999 through the mid-2000s and the WWE version of ECW. He had made the occasional appearance over the last decade, mostly in segments involving Edge and his signature delivery of the "The Rated-R Superstar" nickname. Chimel has not commented on his release via social media, and hasn't posted a tweet since 2016.

Among the other releases, Johnson specifically named Director of Venue Merchandise and Remote Operations Derek Casselman, who had been with the promotion for nearly 30 years.

Bask on April 15 WWE released more than 30 active wrestlers while furloughing a number of backstage and headquarters-based employees. The biggest names o that list included Risev, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Lio Rush, EC3 and Eric Young. The company explained the releases were apart of a cost-cutting measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our first quarter financial performance was strong and largely unimpacted by the COVID-19 outbreak," Vince McMahon wrote in a statement days after the releases. "Now we are in the midst of unprecedented times, which require us to be especially nimble, creative and efficient in order to ensure the ling-term value of WWE. We are taking precautions to protect the health and safety of our performers and staff as we produce content in new ways, engage fans with a much-needed diversion and operate effectively in this evolving environment."

"Given the uncertainty of the situation, the Company also identified headcount reductions and made the decision to furlough a portion of its workforce effective immediately," WWE wrote in a press release on April 15 hours before the releases were announced. "The decision to furlough versus permanently reduce headcount reflects the fact that the Company currently believes the furlough will be temporary in nature. The Company's reductions of employee compensation and headcount result in an estimated monthly savings of $4 million along with cash flow improvement of $140 million primarily from the deferral in spending on the Company's new headquarters."

Since the wave of releases, a good portion of those wrestlers have found new homes in promotions like AEW, Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor.

Hall of Fame announcement could be a ray of light in a dark time for basketball

A UNIQUE Hall of Fame class will be announced Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) in a unique way.

Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett are all expected to be officially announced as part of the 2020 class of enshrinees by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which typically reveals its annual selections at college basketball's Final Four. This year, with sports shut down because of the global coronavirus pandemic, the announcement will be televised from ESPN's studios in Bristol, Connecticut with some elements of the show taped ahead of time.

Bryant, Duncan and Garnett, with a combined 11 championships and 48 All-Star seasons between them, are all first-time finalists and locks to be in this class. Only six players in NBA history have been selected to 15 or more All-Star Games — and Bryant, Duncan and Garnett are three of them.

"We all have criteria we look at in terms of the nominees: All-Star appearances, All-League, first team, second team, third team, the various awards, the championships," Hall of Fame Chairman Jerry Colangelo said. "There's a whole list of things we look at. And each year there's usually one person who stands out with an array of all those honors. But this time, with those three, the accumulative is unbelievable." The announcement could be a ray of light in a dark time for basketball. The NBA was already grieving the deaths earlier this year of Bryant, the longtime Los Angeles Lakers star who was killed with his daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash, and Commissioner Emeritus David Stern. Then came the coronavirus, which shut down the league on March 11 and has stopped so much across the world since. College sports, including the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, were called off for the remainder of the academic year. Most states didn't get around to crowning high school state champions. The WNBA season will be delayed, and even games at the playground on weekends are no more because of the need for social distancing.

Saturday will, at least for a moment, bring something to celebrate.

"I think we're all looking forward to it," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The other first-time finalist for Hall consideration is 10-time WNBA All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings. The other four finalists have all made it this far before, falling short of enshrinement previously: Baylor women's coach Kim Mulkey, five-time Division II coach of the year and 1,000-game winner Barbara Stevens of Bentley University, two-time AP college coach of the year Eddie Sutton and Rudy Tomjanovich, who won two NBA titles as coach of the Houston Rockets.

All of them have Hall-worthy resumes. What remains to be seen is how many of the 24 voters who will decide the class — it takes 18 votes for a finalist to become a Hall of Famer — agree.

"To be included on such a list and be considered for the Basketball Hall of Fame is an incredible honor," Stevens said.

It's also expected that the Hall is going to pay tribute in some way to former FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann, a huge figure in the international sporting world who died of a heart attack in October 2018. The induction ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts is still set to take place on Aug. 29. If the pandemic forces that to be delayed, there is an alternate plan for a ceremony to happen in October.

Colangelo said the Hall is going to take measures to ensure that all enshrinees get their deserved moment, and that the news of the year so far — such as Bryant's passing and the virus pandemic — do not overshadow anyone's accomplishments.

"We are going to do this the right way and in a very sensitive way," Colangelo said. "We want everyone to get their due respect."

Canada shatter single-game record for three-pointers made

Kyle Wiltjer hit the most threes, making 7-of-9 from beyond the arc, while Cory Joseph and Phil Scrubb each nailed three triples. Kevin Pangos and Conor Morgan sank two three-pointers each, while Melvin Ejim, Kaza Kajami-Keane, Andrew Nembhard and Thomas Scrubb all notched the target from deep once. Canada were so efficient from long range, shooting at a 54.5% clip (24-of-44) for the game, that they had already made 19 triples - tying the previous mark - in just three quarters. The Canadians also hit a milestone in terms of playmaking as their 37 assists tied the World Cup all-time single-game record set by Serbia earlier in the tournament in their meeting with the Philippines.

Canada may be out of title contention at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, but setting a new standard for three-point shooting is a distinction Team Canada can certainly be proud of as they close their World Cup campaign.Canada sank 24 three-pointers in their convincing win over Jordan to shatter the FIBA Basketball World Cup single-game three-point shooting record, previously held by Team USA. The Americans had set the record for the highest number of threes made in a single game in the 1994 World Cup , hitting 19 shots from deep on two occasions - against Puerto Rico in a 134-83 win and once more against Russia in a 111-94 victory. That was also the year FIBA started tracking all statistical categories per game. In today's 126-71 win over Jordan, coach Nick Nurse's wards made a conscious effort to locate the shooters, and his snipers did not disappoint.

USA rise above Greece to book fourth win

Team USA would not be denied their fourth straight win at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 after beating Greece, 69-53, in a low-scoring Second Round encounter at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center. Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo put up big numbers in this game, but it was the stifling defense of coach Gregg Popovich's squad that ultimately proved to be the difference. The Greeks were held to their lowest scoring output of the World Cup so far, and their prospects of advancing to the Quarter-Finals suffered because of it. Team USA had six players score 8 points or more, led by Kemba Walker's 15 points, while Antetokounmpo paced Hellas with a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double and Kostas Sloukas added 13 points.

 It was a tight game to start, with Team USA leading by just 2 points after the first 10 minutes, but the Americans outscored the Greeks 35-19 in the middle two periods to break the game open. Coach Thanasis Skourtopoulos's team would be able to trim the deficit to as low as 11 in the final quarter, but they were never able to mount a big enough run to seriously threaten the still unbeaten Americans. "It was a tough game. We congratulate the US team. They have too much intensity for 40 minutes. We tried to stop them with zone and matchup defense, but they are just too much. We missed a lot even with free-throws, too, so it's very difficult to beat a team like the US when we play like this." - Greece head coach Thanasis Skourtopoulos. "I think we tried to play our game, but we let them play their playing style. We let them have easy shots, and we lost offensive rebounds to them."

FIBA World Cup 2019:Spain and Serbia reach quarter-finals

Spain and Serbia booked their spots in the quarter-finals of the FIBA World Cup on Friday. Spain overcame Italy 67-60 and Serbia thrashed Puerto Rico 90-47 as they both guaranteed qualification from Group J. The two nations will battle it out for top spot when they meet in a mouth-watering clash in Wuhan on Sunday. Poland and Argentina also advanced with victories over Russia and Venezuela respectively. Hosts China scored a 77-73 win over South Korea in the classification round, while there were also triumphs for Nigeria, Iran and Tunisia. Spain were trailing 56-52 with four minutes to play against Italy, but Ricky Rubio helped lead a 10-0 run as Italy were put to the sword. The Phoenix Suns guard finished with 15 points, two assists and two steals, though he recorded seven turnovers – a joint-high for him in a World Cup game. Juancho Hernangomez had a game-high 16 points as Italy came up short and saw their hopes of reaching the last eight go up in smoke. Marc Gasol had just two points and four rebounds in his 27 minutes on the floor. A fourth win on the trot always looked likely for Serbia, who opened the scoring and never trailed against Puerto Rico. Five Serbia players reached double figures in points, while the towering Boban Marjanovic went seven-of-eight from the field for 16 points.

The European side out-rebounded their opponents 48-26 and used all 12 of their players in a routine victory. Nikola Jokic claimed a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Spain, ranked 2nd in the world behind world and Olympic champions the United States, was a different proposition for most of the 3rd quarter, but saw its initial decent advantage narrowed to just two points going into the 4th. The Italians, ranked 13th, were the underdogs but they refused to lie down and tied the game at 50-50 with a lay-up by Marco Belinelli of NBA team San Antonio Spurs. Italy streaked into a four-point lead with 4 minutes left, as the pressure cranked up another notch. But Spain and Ricky Rubio were not done, the Phoenix Suns guard getting the freedom of the court to edge ahead by two points once more. The 28-year-old was increasingly influential when he was needed most. He made two unerring free throws for a precious 60-56 lead, part of a game-winning 10-0 run for the Spaniards in the closing stages. Spain coach Scariolo pointedly refused to answer any questions about the match with Serbia. Jokic had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and made a sublime laser pass to cut open the Puerto Rico defense, as Serbia began the second-round group phase much as they finished the first. Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica also impressed once more, drilling a leading 18 points. World and Olympic silver medalists Serbia has been in devastating form, comfortably winning all 4 matches in China and claiming the unofficial title of favorites from holders the United States. Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic pulled the strings as formidable Serbia demolished Puerto Rico, 90-47, to likewise advance. Spain's low-scoring victory later in the day was enough to send the impressive Serbs through but the two countries will still play on Sunday in a mouthwatering match-up for supremacy of the group.

Emboldened Australia closes on another first at Fiba World Cup

Now the Boomers are eyeing another first, having never gone beyond the quarter-finals in 11 previous World Cup appearances. A historic win over the United States, then three victories in a row at the World Cup in China to top the “Group of Death” — Australian basketball is setting new landmarks for itself. “We speak about it a lot: in international basketball, you need the size, you need the beef, there’s big men playing this game,” said coach Andrej Lemanis after his team beat European heavyweights Lithuania 87-82 in a gritty encounter in Dongguan. Australia not only survived the “Group of Death” also including Canada and Senegal, but they also topped it. The hard-earned victory on Thursday — the game was tied with just under two minutes left — made it three wins in a row to start their World Cup, a first for the Boomers.

Putting the gloss on the evening, defeat for neighbors New Zealand against a Giannis Antetokounmpo-inspired Greece propelled Australia into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as the best team in Oceania. They will be favorites to triumph over the Dominicans, who have the joint-shortest roster at the 32-team World Cup and were well-beaten 90-56 by France on Thursday. On Monday, with the quarter-finals in sight, Australia will face their toughest task yet in the form of France, who finished third at the 2014 World Cup. Next, San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills and the rest of the Boomers play surprise-package the Dominican Republic on Saturday in the second round. They are missing a couple of big players in Philadelphia 76er Jonah Bolden and his teammate Ben Simmons. But their roster still has a slew of NBA standouts and in the lead-up to the competition they ended the USA’s run of 78 consecutive wins in major competitions and exhibition games. But rather than being cowed by increasing expectations, the likes of Mills, the Utah Jazz’s Joe Ingles and seasoned veteran Andrew Bogut have flourished. The 98-94 victory in Melbourne was the Boomers’ first victory against the world and Olympic champions.

Hannah Green cards 63 to take 5-stroke lead over Kim Sei-young and Park Sung-hyun at Portland Classic

Australian Hannah Green eagled the par-five fifth hole to shoot a nine-under 63 on Friday (Aug 30) and take a five-stroke lead at 17 under after the second round of the LPGA Portland Classic. The winner of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June was at 127 after 36 holes at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Kim Sei-young was joint second after a record-setting 61 in the long-running tournament. She had 11 birdies to put her at 12 under. Fellow South Korean and world No. 2 Park Sung-hyun was also at 132, a stroke up on a group that included Monday qualifier Yealimi Noh. Green's 63 was a career-low round, and it came after she opened the tournament with a first-round 64. "I just don't want to get too ahead of myself.

Obviously this is quite new to me, shooting such low scores back-to-back," she said. "I want to make sure I continue to do the same things and don't get too disappointed if I don't back it up with another solid round. Going to keep the same game plan." Top-ranked Ko Jin-young, who won the CP Women's Open by five shots last week, had a second-round 69 and was well back of the leaders at seven under. Defending champion Marina Alex was at nine under after the first two rounds in the 72-hole tournament that started in 1972 and is the tour's longest running non-Major event. She was asked if she has been thinking back to what she did last year. "I think I did a little bit yesterday, probably more so than I should have," the 29-year-old American said. "Now just going to try and go out and put as many birdies together as I can. I mean, I think that Hannah is playing exceptionally well right now, so there's still a lot of chase to do." Dana Finkelstein, ranked 240th, made a hole-in-one on the par-three eighth and was also at nine under.

Medvedev embraces boos to reach last 16 at US Open, pain-free Djokovic joins him

Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev overcame a hostile crowd to secure a 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 win over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in a tension-filled clash on Friday (Aug 30) and book a spot in the last 16 of the US Open. Medvedev, who was heartily booed by the crowd inside Louis Armstrong Stadium at every opportunity after giving them the middle finger, relied on his powerful serve to put away Lopez and keep alive his hopes for a maiden Grand Slam tennis title. In another late match, reigning champion Novak Djokovic said he felt "almost pain free" as he strolled into the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Denis Kudla. The Serb struggled with a left shoulder injury in Wednesday's second-round win, but the top seed looked far more at ease against the 111th-ranked American as he advanced to a showdown with 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka. "I managed to play almost pain free. That's a big improvement from last match," the world No. 1 said. "Obviously I didn't know how my body would react and I'm glad to just finish the match tonight. I'm not going to go into medical details, but it was definitely bothering me the last couple weeks." He added: "I didn't practise yesterday. I just wanted to give myself time and do everything possible to recover." Meanwhile, Medvedev, playing for the second consecutive day after rain wiped out a slew of Wednesday matches, later told the crowd that their negative energy is what carried him to victory. "The energy you are giving me right now I think it will be enough for my next (four) matches. The more you do this the more I will win for you. Thank you," he said in his on-court interview through a chorus of boos. "I want all of you to know when you are asleep tonight I won because of you." The crowd turned on Medvedev in the first set when he angrily snatched a towel from a ballman's hands. Medvedev got an unsportsmanlike conduct code violation for the incident and when it was announced, the 23-year-old tossed his racquet towards the centre of the court before telling the umpire he did not belong in the chair.

The crowd resumed their booing of Medvedev and as he walked back to his chair, he decided to hold up his middle finger close to the side of his head. When Medvedev's gesture was shown on the replay screen, the crowd showered him with boos and the umpire also gave him a talking-to. "I cannot give you a code because of what I saw on the screen. I have to see it myself," chair umpire Damien Dumusois told Medvedev. From there, the crowd were firmly behind Lopez and used every opportunity they could to boo Medvedev, including every time he double faulted or missed a routine shot. "I paid for it the whole match but the crowd was electric," he told a small group of reporters when asked about the inspiration he drew from the crowd. "Even the bad energy I needed to turn it into good energy and that's why I won." The Russian said he talked to Lopez at the net and to the Spaniard's coach, Jose Clavet, in the locker room after that match to assure them his actions were not against them and, according to him, both understood. Medvedev also said he was not sure whether the New York crowds would continue their booing for his next match but did say he does not expect to behave the same when he takes the court on Saturday. "I am working on myself and hopefully I will be better next time," he said. Medvedev arrived at the year's final Grand Slam with more confidence than ever after reaching the final in US Open tune-up events in Washington and Montreal before securing the biggest title of his career in Cincinnati 12 days ago. The Russian is also considered one of the favourites to keep one of the Big Three of Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, who have combined to win each of the last 11 Grand Slams, from winning in New York. Medvedev, who is still four wins away from a maiden Grand Slam title, welcomed the post-match boos and waved for more before addressing the crowd in what was certainly the most bizarre moment of the US Open. "First of all I can say thank you to all you guys because your energy tonight gave me the win," Medvedev, who will face German qualifier Dominik Koepfer in the next round, said on court. "If you were not here I would probably lose the match because I was so tired, I was cramping yesterday and it was hard for me to play." Djokovic is attempting to become the first back-to-back men's champion at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer won five titles in a row from 2004 to 2008. He will meet Wawrinka, the man who beat him in the US Open final three years ago, for a place in the last eight. "We've had some great battles over the years, all over the world and especially here," Djokovic said of his upcoming clash with the Swiss three-time Grand Slam champion.

ST Run 2019: All women's races sold out, men's 18.45km slots selling fast

All slots for women at this year's The Straits Times Run are sold out, organisers announced on Friday (Aug 30). This covers all three categories - 3.5km fun run, 10km and 18.45km. Slots for the men's 18.45km distance are expected to sell out over the weekend too. However, there are still places in the men's 10km and 3.5km fun run available and the deadline to register for these two categories has been extended till Sept 15. This is the first time in six years that a category for the seven-year-old run has sold out. The only other edition that was completely sold out was the first ST Run in 2013. This year's ST Run will begin and end at the Singapore Sports Hub.

It is one of only two mass runs whose finish line is inside the National Stadium. Register for the Sept 29 ST Run at www.straitstimesrun.com. Normal registration fees are $70 (18.45km), $60 (10km) and $50 (3.5km). Participants of any past edition enjoy a Loyal Runner rate and need pay only $58, $48 and $38, respectively. OCBC card holders and participants of the OCBC Cycle 2019, a partner of the ST Run, will enjoy 15 per cent off the normal rates. All ST Run participants will receive goodie bags that include a New Balance NB Dry running top and NB Dry finisher's T-shirt. Both are limited edition and worth $49. Unlock all Premium articles and discover exclusive stories, in-depth analysis, award-winning multimedia content and more. Cancel anytime.

FAS instructs SPL club Warriors to remove GM Paul Poh from post

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said in a media statement on Friday morning (Aug 30) that it has directed Singapore Premier League (SPL) club Warriors FC to remove the club's general manager and honorary secretary, Paul Poh Por Chuan, from both appointments with immediate effect. It is believed this is the first time the FAS has issued such a directive to a professional club in Singapore, since the S-League was formed in 1996. It comes after a period of turmoil at the club, which has seen it struggle to pay its staff on time on a number of occasions over the past 14 months, leading to a Ministry of Manpower investigation, and two subsequent bans on foreign hires. However, Poh told The Straits Times he has not resigned from his roles at Warriors, and indicated he would not make any further comments on the FAS' directive until he had learnt more about it. He joined the Warriors in 2016 and ran the club's operations on a day-to-day basis. In July, ST had reported that the FAS was "gravely concerned" by the way funds, which it disburses to all six local SPL clubs, are being managed at the Warriors. Each SPL club receives a little over $1 million in subsidies a year from the FAS for salaries of staff like the general manager, coaches, and foreign players. About one fifth of this is not disbursed to the clubs as they comprise insurance and facilities subsidies which the FAS underwrites. In its statement on Friday, the FAS revealed that Warriors had been unable to pay staff and players' monthly Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions since January 2019. Said the FAS: "There is an obligation in law to do so, and this failure is presently being looked into. "This direction (to remove Poh) arises from the FAS' discovery of serious and repeated lapses which Warriors have failed to take steps to rectify, and also having regard to the best interests of the players and staff at (the club)."

The FAS also said it would assist Warriors in the interim, including the possibility of seconding an FAS staff member to manage the club's administration till the end of the ongoing season, which concludes on Sept 29. To ensure that the Warriors players are able to keep to their training regimen, the FAS will also assist with the club's field bookings so that the team are able to focus on preparing for their remaining five matches. ST's report in July uncovered a number of business ventures the club had undertaken since May 2018, which are understood to have not reaped dividends. This includes a five-year deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund to become the German club's official youth development partner in Singapore and a karaoke outlet at the club's Choa Chu Kang Stadium premises. Warriors chairman, Philip Lam Tin Sing, who is listed on finance resources online as the president commissioner of an Indonesian-based company, is said to have a hands-off approach to running the club. Created from the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association, the club was named SAFFC from the league's inception in 1996 and it came under the direct purview of the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) until 2017. As SAFFC, the club lifted eight titles in the first 14 seasons of the S-League. Since then, they have won just one championship - in 2014 - over nine seasons. A name change from SAFFC to Warriors FC in 2013 preceded the club's eventual move away from military control, which became official in January 2017. Mindef had ceded control of the team as an incoming private sponsor had sought more say in the running of the club, although the sponsor was not named.

Lewis Hamilton crashes as Charles Leclerc tops final Belgian GP practice

Formula One world championship leader Lewis Hamilton smashed his Mercedes into a barrier in final practice for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday (Aug 31) in a session topped by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Leclerc posted a best 1 minute 44.206 seconds around the iconic 7.004 km of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit with teammate Sebastian Vettel around 45 hundredths of a second back. Ferrari led both sessions on Friday and will be in confident mood going into qualifying later Saturday despite not having won this season. Their last victory was from Vettel a year ago in Belgium. Mercedes have struggled so far in Spa and now face a battle just to repair Hamilton's car in time for qualifying. Hamilton ended the session seventh having caused a red flag by losing his car entering the Fagnes chicane and hitting the barriers at high speed.

"I'm in the wall, guys. Sorry," he told his garage over team radio. Lewis Hamilton ended the session seventh having caused a red flag by losing his car entering the Fagnes chicane and hitting the barriers at high speed. It was a rare mistake from the five-time world champion who left the car unaided and did not need to attend the medical centre for checks. Hamilton leads the drivers' championship by 62 points from teammate Valtteri Bottas going into Sunday's race, the first after the mid-season break. He has not made a smooth return having endured a difficult Friday when a throttle pedal problem hampered his early runs. Mercedes were well off the single lap pace set by Ferrari though they looked better in long run simulations. Bottas was third in final practice, just under half a second off Leclerc, while Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Renault and Red Bull's Max Verstappen fifth. Sergio Perez, a day after extending his Racing Point contract to 2022, was sixth. Unlock all Premium articles and discover exclusive stories, in-depth analysis, award-winning multimedia content and more. Cancel anytime.

'Tiger-looking' Yeo Jia Min wants more than just success on court

Yeo Jia Min watched the flying shuttlecocks at the OCBC Arena as she pondered the questions asked in this interview, as though looking to the court for answers. She is a woman of few words, but her achievements on the badminton court have so far done the talking for her and the court is where she has found confidence. This confidence led to her remarkable quarter-final run at last week's BWF World Championships, during which she upset world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi in the second round. It is in her trademark unassuming tone that Yeo says: "Even before I played or won, I already had confidence in myself, so I think (this result) gives me more motivation to train harder." A picture of Yeo's celebration after her victory over Yamaguchi shows the Singaporean kneeling on court and pumping both fists, her eyes shut as she exclaims in triumph. It is a picture that captures the ferocity with which the soft-spoken Yeo competes, one that surprises even her friends. Smiling as she described how some of her friends have made memes of her facial expressions, Yeo told The Straits Times: "(There's a photo) of my face looking 'chill', another with a focused expression, then there's one 'tiger-looking' face." The 20-year-old is the first Singapore woman to reach the singles quarter-final at the world championships but she is not revelling in her history-making accomplishment or her giant-killing feat. Instead, it is her 21-17, 21-11 quarter-final loss to 2013 world champion Ratchanok Intanon that has been on her mind. "I've been thinking of the match every day and how I can prepare and perform better. I think of that loss more than the wins," she said. Yeo, who was back in the gym the day after returning from Basel, Switzerland, believes she did not move as fast as she could against Ratchanok because she did not recover well from her previous match, a gruelling 72-minute battle with Vietnam's Vu Thi Trang. That is just one lesson among many others that she has learnt over the past year. A two-month professional stint with Danish badminton club Ab Aarhus from October to December last year has helped with her improvement on court, but her time in Denmark taught her more off the court. "I did everything on my own - go for training, cook, liaise with (the club) and with the Singapore Badminton Association, fly to and from competitions," said Yeo, who sought her mother's help in sending her recipes for Asian dishes. "I became more independent." Initial kitchen disasters did not faze her, though a sheepish expression crossed Yeo's face as she recounted: "There was once when I put noodles inside the pan without boiling them first, and they weren't cooking and I just left them there."

She fell in love with badminton at age seven, saying: "I like that there are so many (elements) to the game - mental, physical, tactical, technical. There are always things to work on and new challenges, and I like seeing progress in my game and in training. That's one of my motivations." Yeo had been tipped as a rising star even before she started training full-time in 2016, the year she won the first of her three BWF titles at the Vietnam Open. She was the first Singaporean to win the girls' Under-15 title at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships when she triumphed in 2013, and two years later she won the Under-17 title. She was also the junior world No. 1 in 2017, becoming the first from the Republic to top any of badminton's world rankings. Her achievement at the world championships has led to a career-high world ranking of No. 28 and though this may mean greater scrutiny and expectation, Yeo is not bothered. "I don't feel pressure, I just feel very blessed and honoured to be the one to make history," she said. She has drawn strength from her Christian faith when encountering setbacks like the injury that denied her a SEA Games debut in 2015 and the bout of gastric flu that ruled her out of the junior world championships that same year. Her goal when she was 14 was to win an Olympic medal and while that has not changed today, she is also seeking something bigger. "A lot of other players definitely have the same dream, which is to reach the highest level of competition at the Olympics. But more than that, I (also) want to have an influence, not just on Singaporeans, but on anyone I may come across," she explained. "I'm blessed to be able to play well and I think I should use this gift to my fullest and hopefully through my hard work, I can be a positive influence on people. "Of course you strive for excellence, but it's not everything." Still, she knows the areas of her game to improve to get closer to her goal: bettering her footwork for more stable and efficient movement, and honing her mental strength for greater focus. Yeo will book her ticket to the Games if she is within the top 38 in the BWF's Olympic rankings by April 28 next year. Unlike the world rankings, which take into account points from the top 10 competitions in the last 52 weeks, the Olympic listing is calculated using a player's 10 best tournaments in the qualifying period. She has no superstitions but at last month's Hyderabad Open, she started telling herself before walking out on court: "God is with me." She won the tournament and continued that ritual at the world championships. Off the court, she is working on mastering another language - Japanese this time, after already learning Korean. "I have many Japanese friends, and I find Japanese quite a nice language," said Yeo, who admires men's world No. 1 Kento Momota for his composure. "When you learn a language, you learn its culture and other things about the country, and I find it quite satisfying when you improve and can converse in the language." It is only when this reporter suggests that perhaps being fluent in Japanese would help if she qualifies for the Tokyo Olympic Games next year that Yeo bursts into laughter. "Maybe." Yeo may say little, but her feats have spoken volumes of the potential that is to be unleashed. Unlock all Premium articles and discover exclusive stories, in-depth analysis, award-winning multimedia content and more. Cancel anytime.

Cherie Tan wins historic first World Bowling Women's Championship masters title

National kegler Cherie Tan became the first Singaporean to win gold in the Masters category of the World Bowling Women's Championships, after defeating Colombia's top-ranked bowler Maria Rodriguez in the final at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas on Friday night (Aug 30). Tan beat Rodriguez by two games to nil, holding her nerve to win the first game 203-201, and then the second 258-217, in the best-of-three series. Rodriguez, 30,had topped the standings in the All Events two days earlier, with a total pinfall of 5,488. Tan, 31, had placed fifth with 5,376. Tan said: "I'm really, really happy to finally win the gold! Especially since I've been coming so close (2015, 2017 and 2019) and never really attained it. "I felt that I bowled well the entire tournament though I fell short in the singles and all-events. "Coming up for this world championships, the main goal of the team was to win the team gold and we fell short of that as well.

"So this medal is not only for Singapore, it's for the team." An overjoyed Jessie Phua, president of SingaporeBowling, told The Straits Times: "(Tan's achievement was) totally deserving and long overdue. Cherie is one of our most hardworking, disciplined and focused athletes at SingaporeBowling. "Her win certainly helped reaffirm and stamp our premier standing in the bowling world - a truly world-class performance that Singapore can be proud of !" Only the top 24 bowlers with the highest pinfalls in the All Events standings qualified for the Masters finals. The only other Singaporean that qualified for the Masters was Bernice Lim, who placed 23rd with 5,132 pinfalls. But she lost 2-1 (227-163, 202-225, 224-246) to Rodriguez in the third round of the Masters finals. Some 180 bowlers from 34 nations competed in this year's championships. This is Tan's second individual medal at the biennial world championships, after winning a silver medal in the singles category in Abu Dhabi in 2015. She had also won a silver in the trios and a bronze in the doubles then. The previous best performance by Singaporean bowlers in the Masters category of at the world championships were silver medals, won by Daphne Tan in Hong Kong in 2011 and Jazreel Tan in Mexico in 2007. Unlock all Premium articles and discover exclusive stories, in-depth analysis, award-winning multimedia content and more. Cancel anytime.