Kent lose badly in sporting event (8)
I believe the answer is:
skeleton
'sporting event' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.
'kent lose badly' is the wordplay.
'badly' is an anagram indicator (letters in the wrong order).
'kent'+'lose'='kentlose'
'kentlose' anagrammed gives 'SKELETON'.
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for skeleton that I've seen before include "Not sleek (anag.)" , "gaunt person" , "- key; - staff" , "person in no danger of looking fat!" , "Internal structure of the body" .)