Sports Digest, January 19, 2013

Woods, McIlroy miss cut in Abu Dhabi

Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi Championship yesterday after being penalised two shots for wrongly thinking he had a free drop after his golf ball became entangled in weeds. Woods thought he had just made the cut by finishing his second round at one-over 73. But he was advised by the European Tour chief referee of the penalty, giving him a 75 and three-over total of 147. The cut for the top 65 plus ties was two over. Also missing the cut with a 75 was Rory McIlroy, who struggled for a second day with his new Nike clubs and posted a six-over total of 150. Even a switch to his old putter in the round didn't help McIlroy. Justin Rose was the halfway leader by one shot from Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Dane Thorbjorn Olesen after a 69 put the Englishman at eight under par. AP

HK's Hu fails to match Lee's firepower

Hong Kong's Hu Yun was no match for top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia as he crashed out of the men's singles quarter-finals in badminton's Malaysia Super Series Open in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Hu, who overcame teammate Wong Wing-ki in the previous round, could do little against the world number one and lost 21-12, 21-9 in a quick-fire encounter. The defending champ will now meet sixth seed Jan Jorgensen of Denmark for a place in the final. In the women's singles, top seed Saina Nehwal of India also made it to the semis after opponent Nozomi Okuhara retired hurt. The Indian will take on Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan today. Chan Kin-wa

Saints sack manager despite revival

Southampton sacked manager Nigel Adkins yesterday and replaced him with Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, who formerly coached Espanyol in Spain, in a move that came just as their Premier League results were starting to improve. The dismissal comes two days after Southampton fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Chelsea as part of a turnaround in fortunes wherein they have lost just twice in their last 12 Premier League games. Adkins joined the south-coast club in 2010 and oversaw back-to-back promotions from League One and then the Championship. They sit 15th in the Premiership table. AFP

Caroliners make light work of Tai Po

Leaders South China tightened their grip on the RedMR First Division with a 5-1 victory over Wofoo Tai Po at Hong Kong Stadium last night. A crowd of 1,200 witnessed South China's eighth win of the soccer season as goals from Hong Kong international Lee Hong-lim and Manoel Santos (penalty) gave them a 2-0 lead at the break. Flanker Au Yeung Yiu-chung found the net twice in the second half, while Carlos Bertoldi also scored. Alexander Akande scored a late consolation for Tai Po. The Caroliners lead the standings, four ahead of rivals Kitchee, who have a game in hand and play Yokohama FC (HK) tomorrow. Chan Kin-wa