Sports briefs

BADMINTON

Top-ranked duo takes bronze at BWF Worlds

World top-ranked badminton pair Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong settled for bronze at the BWF World Championships on Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Pressured with a home crowd, Lee and Yoo failed to beat third-seeded Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia, losing by 21-17 and 21-19 in men’s double.

Lee and Yoo won silver in men’s double last year after falling to compatriots Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-choel.

Meanwhile in women’s single, world No. 8 Sung Ji-hyun also collected a bronze medal, losing to defending champion and top-ranked Carolina Marin of Spain. The 24-year-old Korean lost 21-17, 15-21 and 21-16.

Sung was having her first-ever semi-final appearance in the Worlds.

TENNIS

Williams bested by 18-year-old Bencic

TORONTO - Top-ranked Serena Williams stumbled in the Rogers Cup semifinals Saturday night, falling 6-3, 5-7, 4-6 to Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic.

The 18-year-old Bencic became the youngest player to beat Williams in a completed match since Maria Sharapova at 17 in the 2004 WTA Finals.

“I can’t describe the feeling right now,” said Bencic, the winner this year at Eastbourne for her first career title. “I was very overwhelmed from the situation on the court, but I’m just so happy the [winning] forehand landed in and she couldn’t reach it anymore. It was an incredible feeling. I have no words.”

The 33-year-old Williams lost for only the second time in 45 matches this season. She won titles in Toronto titles in 2001, 2011 and 2013. AP