Defending champions China had to dig deep to avoid a surprise defeat to Indonesia, winning 3-2 on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the Sudirman Cup. Two days after whipping their arch rivals 5-0 in a group match, China, who have not lost a tie since falling 2-3 to South Korea in the 2003 final, were stunned by a determined and gallant Indonesian outfit. But Chinese supremo Li Yongbo was unperturbed. China are eyeing their fifth consecutive win in the biennial event. "We have won it for so many times -- eight times," the coach said.

Former All Blacks coach Graham Henry was slapped with a misconduct charge Thursday after blasting officials during the Auckland Blues' loss to the Canterbury Crusaders last weekend. Henry, the Blues defensive coach, singled out television match official Keith Brown. "Frank Halai (scored) a try in the corner -- it would have been nice (if) you had those given to you," Henry, filling in for Blues coach John Kirwan, told reporters. "It was obvious to me. He is probably a blind TMO (television match official), is he?"

MLB Team Report - Seattle Mariners - INSIDE PITCH The recent series sweep in Cleveland told a lot about the 2013 Mariners, and the biggest statement overheard in Monday's dramatic loss was that the team's pitchers could use a little more PFP.

The 2013 French Open gets underway at Roland Garros on Sunday with Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova defending their titles. AFP Sports is about to file the following stories: Tennis-FRA-Open-men,PREVIEW PARIS Rafael Nadal can become the first man to win the same Grand Slam title eight times at the French Open with few willing to risk talking down the rejuvenated Spaniard's chances. 700 words by Dave James Tennis-FRA-Open-women,PREVIEW PARIS