NNBABA | Page 5 GGOLFOLF | Page 6 Pacers halt Sharma takes Cavs’ 13-game fi ve-shot lead streak, Durant at Joburg rises again Open Sunday, December 10, 2017 FOOTBALL Rabia I 22, 1439 AH PSG back on track GULF TIMES with 3-1 victory over Lille SPORT Page 4 WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP FOCUS Hamilton crowned Holder Ouschan Formula 1 champ at royal palace Reuters watching others succeed. advances, Qatar’s Mercedes won both championships Versailles, France for the fourth year in a row but team boss Toto Wolff said 2017 had been par- ritain’s Lewis Hamilton was ticularly diffi cult. handed the Formula One world “We keep it now,” he said after be- championship trophy for the ing handed the constructors’ trophy by fourth time on Friday at a gala Carey. Bprizegiving ceremony in the sumptuous Red Bull’s 20-year-old Dutch driver Muzammil wins palace of France’s former monarchy. Max Verstappen beat a fi eld that in- With Formula One chairman Chase cluded Hamilton and his own Austral- Former champions Hohmann, Immonen and Pagulayan suff er losses Carey looking on, newly re-elected ian team mate Daniel Ricciardo to the International Automobile Federation ‘Personality of the Year” award for the By Mikhil Bhat Ouschan told Gulf Times yesterday. (FIA) president Jean Todt handed the third successive year. Doha Talking about his opponent, 32-year-old Mercedes driver the sil- The award is selected by permanent- Ouschan said, “He breaks a little bit verware he won in Mexico with two ly accredited media from all FIA cham- too soft. If he breaks like fi ve percent races to spare. pionships. n a day when former cham- harder, he will get much more preci- “This has been an amazing year,” “I always try to be honest and pions Mika Immonen, sion on the one ball. That’s maybe one Hamilton told the audience of cham- straightforward so I guess that gave me Thorsten Hohmann and thing. But overall he played more than pions and FIA members gathered in the the personality again this year,” said the Alex Pagulayan suff ered de- okay.” palace’s 18th century opera. winner of two races in 2017. Ofeats, Austria’s Albin Ouschan opened Alfawal too rued his performance on “I hope that next year’s an even bet- “It was a hard season but I learnt a lot his title defence with a victory in the the break. “I played with a top player ter year for all of you. I know for me from it.” World 9-Ball Championship at Al in the world. That gives me confi - that I’m going to try to do better.” Monaco’s Formula Two winner and Arabi Sports Club here yesterday. dence. But I had a problem with my Hamilton won nine of 20 races in 2018 Sauber F1 driver Charles Leclerc Qatar’s Muzammil Hussain, who break; did not get the one ball. I did 2017 and set an all-time record of 72 won the Rookie of the Year award while made it to the main draw through well in the rest of the game, and while career pole positions as well as scoring Finnish rally driver Esapekka Lappi qualifying, registered a 9-7 win over I practiced a lot on the break ahead of points in every grand prix. won the ‘Action of the Year’ for a jump South Korea’s Junho Lee in the fi rst the tournament, the breaks just didn’t Asked earlier for his highlight of the in the Rally of Portugal. session yesterday. work,” the 36-year-old said. season, Hamilton singled out his home British teenager Billy Monger, who Hussain, after having made through “I had to use safety quite often. But British Grand Prix at Silverstone be- had his lower legs amputated after an three gruelling rounds of qualifying, I think if my break works like it does cause of the support he received after horrifi c smash in a Formula Four race at rallied back from a 1-3 defi cit against during practice, the score will be much the ‘negativity’ surrounding his failure Donington Park in April, was presented Lee. better.” to take part in an earlier London event. with an FIA president’s special award. The 41-year-old then swept four Alfawal’s teammate from the Arab He had also told reporters that while Monger, who has already returned to straight frames for a 6-4 lead, before Billiards Championship, Majid, lost he did not like going to award cer- driving, walked out onto the stage on going 8-5 up. Lee, however, still had 1-9 to Germany’s Sebastian Ludwig. emonies, or being on stage, he enjoyed prosthetic legs to a resounding ovation. fi ght left, winning two straight frames Another Qatar player in the line- to bring it threateningly close at 7-8, up, Bashar Abdulmajeed was narrowly but Hussain closed it out in the next. edged out in a thriller by Iraq’s Ab- “I qualifi ed from stage 1 and that’s dulkhizar Hasanin 8-9. a lot of hard work with three sessions, Abdulmajeed will now face 2013 and then qualifying from the last champion Hohmann of Germany, who chance, the decider. I did really well,” lost to Lithuanian 20-year-old Pijus Hussain told Gulf Times yesterday. Labutis 3-9 yesterday. “So today it set me up well for In a clash between former cham- the match against him. He is a good pions, 2011 champion Yukio Akagari- player and I am very happy to have yama of Japan won a thriller over 2004 won against him. I hope to do well in champion Pagulayan of Canada. Aka- the next round, taking one match at a Qatar’s Muzammil Hussain in action against South Korea’s Junho Lee during gariyama won 9-8. time.” their World 9-Ball Championship match at Al Arabi Sports Club yesterday. In the fi rst session of the day, 2001 The grind of coming through quali- champion Immonen lost out against fying has not dented Hussain’s energy, against Qatar’s Abdulatif Alfawal, who However, the world number three Kwang Chan Keng of Singapore in a who said, “I am trying to win more. stayed neck and neck with the defend- didn’t leave it for long, wrapping up see-saw of a match. It’s a lot pressure to come through the ing champion early on at 2-2 before the win in the next frame, to set up a The 37-year-old Singaporean went qualifying but I am pushing myself the 27-year-old from Austria slowly match with Hsieh Chia Chen of Taipei 4-0 up before the 44-year-old Finn hard, putting in hours of practice. I pulled away. today. went level with four straight frames. will do my best in the coming rounds.” In the 13th frame, Ouschan miscued “It was a tough match. I didn’t play Kwang took the next four games for Hussain next faces Philippine world a straightforward three-ball and Al- that good. The only thing I did really a healthy 8-4 lead, before Immonen number nine Jeff rey Du Luna, who fawal, who along with Waleed Majid well was my defensive game. I played pulled back two. However, it was too made short work of Algeria’s Moham- won the Arab Billiards Championship good in the end; miscued on almost little too late, and Kwang took the next FIA president Jean Todt (left) presents the Formula 1 driver’s championship trophy ed El Raousti yesterday with a 9-1 win. in Beirut, Lebanon, recently, wrapped the last rack. Overall I played good frame to reach the next round, while Im- to Lewis Hamilton (centre) while Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff looks on Later yesterday, Ouschan was up up the frame to take the score to 5-8. but I can play much, much better,” monen moved to the losers’ bracket. during the FIA Prize Giving in Versailles, France, on Friday. (FIA) SPOTLIGHT Sanchez names 20-player squad for Gulf Cup By Sports Reporter the country earlier this week. tournament which also includes Iraq, Doha Qatar Football Association president Yemen and Bahrain, while Group A Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed comprises Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the al-Thani, who is also the head of the Arab UAE and Oman. atar coach Felix Sanchez has Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF), Kuwait have won the event a whop- named 20 players who will said while transferring the hosting rights ping 10 times ever since its inception in form the Qatar squad taking to Kuwait that the Gulf Cup should not be 1970 and this will be fourth time they part in the 23rd edition of the hostage to politics as it is a celebration of will play hosts after having hosted it QGulf Cup in Kuwait from December 22 football for fans in the region. earlier in 1974, 1990 and 2003. to January 5. The AGCFF will meet in Doha to- The squad trained yesterday in Doha morrow to discuss in detail the ar- SQUAD: Saad al-Dosari, Hassan Hay- and will play a friendly against Liech- rangements for the tournament follow- dous, Pedro Gomez, Musab al-Khader tenstein on December 14 before head- ing its transfer to Kuwait. and Salem al-Hajri (Al Sadd); Almoez ing to Kuwait a few days later. Qatar, who are the defending cham- Ali, Bassam al-Rawi, Karim Boudiaf and The squad is a mix of youth and ex- pions, have been preparing hard for the Ismail Mohamed (Al Duhail); Mohamed perience with Al Sadd contributing fi ve prestigious regional event, playing sev- Muntari (Al Ahli); Hamad al-Obaidi and players and Al Duhail four.