Serena fights 49ers bring back in China, down soaring Cilic through Eagles

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER16 30, 2014 17 New-look Barca ready for first big test in Paris Page 18

INCHEON: ’s Mohamad Al-Garni (left) and Bahrain’s Benson Kiplagat Seurei (right) compete in the final of the men’s 1,500m thleticsa event during the 17th . — AFP Gulf states strike athletics gold

INCHEON: Bahrain and Qatar struck more drugs ban. “I am looking forward to going to Tokyo Asian Games athletics gold yesterday as Wei Jizhong, an honorary life vice presi- next,” he said. Medals Table their policy of cherry-picking top African dent of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), talent continued to pay off, while North warned of the dangers of buying overnight KAZAKHSTAN’S BIG DAY INCHEON: Asian Games medals table after yesterday’s competition (gold, silver, bronze, total): Korea stunned the South with a late winner success rather than growing it at home. Kazakhstan had won an average of one China 112 72 54 238 Myanmar 2 1 0 3 in their women’s football semi-final. “If they buy the athletes, they stop train- gold per day through the first nine days of 44 50 52 146 Vietnam 1 9 20 30 Mohamad Al-Garni and Maryam Yusuf ing their own athletes,” he said at a news competition in Incheon, but the floodgates 35 47 51 133 Singapore 1 4 8 13 Jamal added their names to the growing conference. Qatar has obviously invested opened on Monday with five golds in Kazakhstan 15 16 22 53 Kuwait 1 3 2 6 list of African-born runners who have won much in home-grown high jumper Mutaz canoe/kayak and another in men’s beach 10 11 8 29 Saudi Arabia 1 1 0 2 gold for oli-rich Gulf states Qatar and Essa Barshim, who defended his Asiad title volleyball. North Korea 8 8 11 27 Tajikistan 1 1 0 2 Qatar 8 0 2 10 Pakistan 1 0 1 2 Bahrain. and cleared 2.35m, breaking a 32-year Inna Klinova, who won gold in the UAE 1 0 1 2 Taiwan 7 7 13 27 Their wins in the men’s and women’s Asian Games record. women’s canoe sprint kayak single 200m, 0 3 0 3 1,500 metres came a day after Nigerian- There is no telling how high Barshim said the secret of Kazakhstan’s success was India 6 7 29 42 Kyrgyzstan 0 2 2 4 born Femi Ogunode, running for Qatar, might go one day. “My goal? I don’t want to not hard to work out. Thailand 6 2 13 21 Philippines 0 2 2 4 became the first sprinter to run under 10 put a limit on myself,” he said. “I don’t know “It’s good training. Medals are results of Uzbekistan 5 5 13 23 Turkmenistan 0 1 2 3 seconds at the Asian Games. how high I can jump, but I want to push hard work,” she added. “I think in the future, Hong Kong 4 5 20 29 Laos 0 1 1 2 Al-Garni, who was born in Morocco, said myself.” Kazakhstan will take more medals.” The Mongolia 4 4 10 18 Bangladesh 0 1 0 1 his victory summed up everything an ath- China has no shortage of home-grown gold medal flurry saw the Kazakhs jump to Malaysia 3 9 9 21 Lebanon 0 1 0 1 lete needed to prosper. “If you have a badminton talent and two giants of the fourth place in the medals table with 15 Bahrain 3 5 1 9 Iraq 0 0 2 2 dream, a good coach, and good staff, you game, Lin Dan and Chen Long, squared off golds, while China, who will finish top of Indonesia 3 4 7 14 0 0 1 1 can achieve what you want,” he said. in the men’s singles final. the table for a ninth straight Games, have Rashid Ramzi, another Moroccan-born Double Olympic champion Lin, who 112. gle 100m to take their tally to 44. stitute Ho Un Byol’s winner moments from athlete, finished second to Al-Garni. Ramzi ousted world number one Lee Chong Wei The battle for second continues to rage Japan’s only gold of the day coming in the time. won the 2008 Olympic title for Bahrain but in the semi-finals, had to battle back from a but golds were in short supply for both kayak double 200m and falling nine golds South Korea coach Yoon Duk-yeo said he was disqualified for a failed doping test. set down against Chen to win his second South Korea and Japan yesterday. The behind their fierce rivals on 35. Japan will get had wished his North Korean counterpart Abubaker Ali Kamal won the men’s straight Asiad title. The 30-year-old shows Koreans, who are determined to finish sec- the chance to add to that tally in the final of Kim Kwang Min well for the final. “I encour- 3,000m for Qatar on Monday. no signs of slowing down and when asked ond to powerhouse China for a fifth con- the women’s football competition after easing aged him to win a gold medal and he also Like Ogunode and Ramzi, he has also what his next goal was, suggested he could secutive Games, picked up gold in the past Vietnam 3-0, while South Korea’s hopes gave kudos to our team,” he said. “I hope returned to competition after serving a still be around for the 2020 Olympic Games. men’s tennis doubles and men’s kayak sin- were snuffed out by the North thanks to sub- that they can win the gold.” — Reuters Golden girl Mirza does it for India once again INCHEON: A trail-blazer for women’s tennis in India, compete in South Korea. She returned to controversy has been hounded by controversy through- after a leader of the ruling BJP party called the Mumbai- out her career, accused of corrupting the country’s youth born star a “daughter-in-law of Pakistan” because of her and even faced a fatwa for wearing short skirts on court. marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. Mirza was Given how often the 27-year-old finds herself at the furious and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to sharp end of gossip and political debate, her dedication step in to defuse the situation, inviting her for tea in new to Indian tennis is all the more remarkable. Delhi. Mirza added the Asian Games mixed doubles gold “It’s not easy being me,” said Mirza, once famously medal to her collection of international titles on Monday, accused of corrupting India’s youth for advocating safe teaming up with Saketh Myneni to beat Taiwan’s Peng sex. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m used to it Hsien-yin and Chan Hao-chin 6-4, 6-3 in Incheon. “I don’t now. I grew up in the limelight, I’m a veteran now. If you do it for anyone else,” Mirza told AFP. take the pros you’ve got to take the cons too.” “I do it for myself, and for the country. I think there’s a Mirza, bags already packed for this week’s few silly people out there, but you can’t make everyone Open, took the decision to represent her country in happy all the time. I’ve done it time and again-and it’s my South Korea despite seeing compatriots eighth Asian Games medal.” Mirza, who has put Indian and pull out of the Games, giving up tennis on the map with a hat-trick of mixed valuable tour ranking points. Myneni was delighted she INCHEON: Gold medallist India’s Sania doubles victories, also took bronze in the women’s dou- had put India first, again. “It’s an absolutely awesome Mirza smiles at the medal ceremony after bles. Her eight medals stretch back to the 2002 feeling for me-first Asian Games, take back two medals,” her mixed doubles tennis final with compa- Games, when she was the baby of the team. he said after adding the mixed doubles gold to a silver in triot Saketh Sai Myneni against Taiwan’s “There were lots of emotions going on tonight,” the men’s doubles. “Playing with Sania is something I’ll Chan Hao Ching and Peng Hsien Yin at the added Mirza, who decided relatively late in the day to cherish for the rest of my life.” — AFP . — AFP