SNOOKER

Ding rattles Ronnie to reach UK quarterfinals

China's Ding Junhui ousted defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-4 to book a quarterfinal berth at the UK Championship in York on Thursday.

England's world No 2 O'Sullivan failed to pot a single ball as the 32-year-old Ding raced into a 3-0 lead with breaks of 81, 52 and 110.

O'Sullivan, who turned 44 on Thursday, fought back to level at 4-4 but could not halt a reinvigorated Ding closing out victory in the next two frames.

Ding, who entered the tournament in terrible form, will next face compatriot Liang Wenbo, while China's 19-year-old Yan Bingtao was due to take to on Scottish veteran John Higgins after stunning two-time champion Neil Robertson of Australia 6-1 on Wednesday.

FIGURE SKATING

Sui, Han take early lead at Grand Prix Final

World champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong took the lead in the pairs competition after Thursday's short program at the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Final in Turin.

The Chinese duo scored 77.50 points despite an error on their throw triple flip when Sui put her hand down on the landing.

They are seeking to end their wait for a pairs gold at the Final, having won silver two seasons ago in Nagoya, Japan.

Sui and Han were being chased by three Russian pairs, with Alexandra Boikova and Dmitry Kozlovsky second on 76.65, Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin third, and Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Galliamov fourth.

BASKETBALL

Aviators ascend with backcourt buzzer beater

He Xining's backcourt buzzer beater earned the Shenzhen Aviators a 98-95 victory over the Sichuan Blue Whales on Thursday.

With the game tied at 95-all with seven seconds on the clock, Courtney Fortson missed a layup for the Whales before He gathered the rebound and launched his amazing long-range winner for the host with one second left.

He Xining finished with 17 points, with Shen Zijie contributing 23 points and 17 rebounds for Shenzhen. Fortson had a game-high 26 points while Mo Mengchen added 17 from the bench for Sichuan.

The Aviators led 27-14 after the first quarter and, despite eight straight points from Mo in the second, were 46-34 up at halftime.

SOCCER

Brighton piles misery on abysmal Arsenal

Free-falling Arsenal slumped to a 2-1 home loss to Brighton in the Premier League on Thursday, extending the Gunners' winless streak to nine games in all competitions－their worst run since 1977.

Interim coach Freddie Ljungberg clearly hasn't found a quick fix to all the problems that plagued the team under Unai Emery－who was fired last week－and the Gunners looked completely shorn of confidence against the Seagulls, who dominated large parts of the game.

"I don't know what to say. I have the feeling that whatever we do it doesn't come out right," Arsenal rightback Hector Bellerin said. "I am lost for words a little bit."

The loss leaves Arsenal in 10th place after 15 games, 10 points outside the top four and just five points above the relegation places.

OLYMPICS

Infantino nominated to IOC, but Coe must wait

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been proposed as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe will have to wait, IOC chief Thomas Bach announced on Thursday.

Bach said Infantino will be officially put forward as a candidate in January, when he will face a vote from IOC members.

Bach added that Coe has not been proposed for the next session after worries over "the risk of conflict of interest", adding the "door is still open" for the Englishman at the IOC session before next year's Tokyo Olympics.

Infantino's FIFA predecessor Sepp Blatter, who resigned from the governing body amid a major corruption scandal, was an IOC member, but since succeeding the Swiss in 2015, Infantino has yet to follow suit.