Ding Ning wins table tennis gold

China's Ding Ning beat teammate and defending champion Li Xiaoxia 4-3 in a high-speed battle of spins and smashes to win Olympic gold in the women's singles table tennis on Wednesday. The world No. 2, who left the London Games with a silver medal four years ago amid tears after a spat with the referee, fell to her knees and sobbed into her hands upon clinching gold. “I feel that I am more mature than I was four years ago, and I feel that both parties showcased very high standards in today's final,” said Ding. The two were matched set for set throughout, winning points by returning hard-of-reach shots, using trickery and sharp smashes before Li slid behind in the final set, eventually losing 11-7. The Olympic win gives the 26-year-old Ding a grand slam of titles after her brace of World Cup wins and two world championships.

Croatian brothers win double sculls gold

Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic secured a gold medal in the men's double sculls final in the rowing regatta on Thursday, in a tough duel that saw them battling Lithuania's boat neck-and-neck for much of the race. After taking an early lead and holding Lithuania's Mindaugas Griskonis and Saulius Ritter to the second-place spot through the 1000-meter mark, Croatia slipped back into second place in the third-quarter. Lithuanian fans in the stands at Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon cheered wildly as the two boats battled for gold through the final half of the race. Ultimately, Croatia won in a time of 6:50.28, Lithuania claimed silver in 6:51.39 and Norway took bronze.”

Lifter’s elbow gives way

Armenian weightlifter suffered a shocking injury while trying to lift two and a half times his bodyweight at the Rio Games, with his left elbow giving way and bending backwards in an attempt to clear 195 kg in the clean and jerk. Andranik Karapetyan, competing in the men's 77 kg class on Wednesday night, was in with a strong medal chance as he bent over the bar in a second attempt at the weight. He hoisted the bar to his chest but his elbow collapsed in the final thrust above his head, leaving him screaming in pain and clutching his arm. He was immediately escorted off the stage. — Agencies

Argentina, Mexico crash out, Germany score 10

Holders Mexico and twice winners Argentina were knocked out of the men’s soccer tournament on Wednesday while Nils Petersen scored five as Germany progressed to the next round by hammering hapless Fiji 10-0.  Argentina, Olympic champions in 2004 and 2008 but who failed to qualify for London, went out after a 1-1 draw with Honduras while Portugal drew 1-1 with Algeria.

All-around good guy Uchimura seals repeat win

Veteran Kohei Uchimura left it late — very, very late — before a heart-stopping final horizontal bar routine lifted him into the pantheon of greats as he became the first gymnast in 44 years to win back-to-back Olympics all around titles on Wednesday. In the end, all it took was a razor-thin 0.099 of a point to separate triumph and disaster. A day after the American women romped to the team title by more than eight points, Uchimura, Oleg Verniaiev and Britain's Max Whitlock provided the kind of edge-of-the-seat drama that tore everyone's nerves to shreds.