THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 SPORTS Qatar quits basketball over headscarf ban

INCHEON: Qatar yesterday withdrew their head of Qatar’s women’s sports committee. quickly,” Al Mana said. Meanwhile, Asia’s Olympics boss said newspaper that the World Cup would not be women’s basketball team from the Asian “What happened today is against “Of course the OCA encouraged us to par- Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup was a held in Qatar because of its sizzling summer Games just before their first match over a rule International Olympic Committee goals which ticipate but this is a technical decision from “foregone conclusion”-and also backed the weather. banning Muslim headscarves. are meant to include countries from different FIBA. I hope in the near future they will allow Gulf state to hold the Olympic Games. FIFA’s ethic committee will in coming Qatar and the cultures, and also it’s against the slogan of the us.” FIBA did not comment on the case, but the Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, head of months announce the results of its investiga- (OCA) hit out at the International Basketball in Incheon which is ‘Diversity OCA director general Husain Al-Musallam hit the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), defended tion into the bid process for the 2022 World Federation (FIBA) rule which bans all head- Shines here.’” out over the hijab ruling. “The right of the ath- Qatar after a FIFA executive committee mem- Cup and the 2018 edition which went to wear on safety grounds. Al Mana said Qatar knew about the ban in letes must be the highest priority,” he said in a ber said Qatar would lose its World Cup host- Russia. Sheikh Ahmad also said Doha, which The Gulf state, whoses team were due to advance, but hoped to persuade FIBA to statement. ing rights. failed in its bids to host both the 2016 and the open their campaign against Mongolia in the change its mind. The headwear ban has “Every athlete has the right to represent “Qatar has completed the process and the 2020 Olympics, would be a strong candidate qualifying round at Incheon yesterd, said the already been relaxed at national level. their country’s flag without discrimination or 2022 World Cup in Qatar is a foregone conclu- to host the Games in future. rule ran contrary to Olympic principles on She added that teams from other countries without the threat of a financial penalty.” sion,” the Kuwaiti told a Qatar Olympic com- “I’m sure Doha can win the Olympics in diversity. “FIBA didn’t let our players play with affected by the ban had not travelled to the Football is among the sports which allow reli- mittee reception at the Asian Games in future with determination and the will of its the headscarves and so we had to withdraw Games in South Korea. “I’m pretty sure that gious head coverings following a change of Incheon. The comment comes after FIFA exec- leadership that strongly supports sports from the tournament,” said Ahlam Al Mana, what happened today can change FIBA rules heart from world body FIFA earlier this year. utive member Theo Zwanziger told a German development,” he said.—AFP

INCHEON: Japan’s Kosuke Hagino competes in the finals for the men’s 400m individual medley event during the 17th AsianGames at the Munhak Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Centre. —AFP

Medals Table

INCHEON: Yesterday’s Asian Games medals table (gold, silver, bronze, total): Hagino stars but 59 32 27 118 Kuwait 1 2 0 3 South Korea 26 23 25 74 India 1 1 10 12 Japan 20 29 27 76 Thailand 1 0 6 7 China rule the pool Kazakhstan 6 7 13 26 Uzbekistan 0 3 7 10 North Korea 4 5 8 17 Indonesia 0 3 2 5 Mongolia 4 3 6 13 Macau 0 3 0 3 Taiwan 4 2 6 12 INCHEON: Japan’s Kosuke Hagino won his combined for a 4x100m freestyle win over The 29-year-old from Ulaanbaatar finished Philippines 0 2 1 3 Iran 2 6 2 10 fourth swimming gold but China ruled the Japan. It left China on 57 gold medals near the final with 624.1 points, just four off the Hong Kong 2 3 11 16 Turkmenistan 0 1 2 3 pool as they shot out to a big lead on the the end of day five, well ahead of South world record of 628 set by German Beate Malaysia 2 3 3 8 Laos 0 1 1 2 medals table at the Asian Games yesterday. Korea on 26 and on their way to topping the Gauss at the recent world championships. Hagino, 20, put in a strong final freestyle table for the ninth straight Asian Games. “Our previous best was a team silver four Myanmar 2 0 0 2 Lebanon 0 1 0 1 Iraq 0 0 1 1 leg to add the 400 metres medley to his China scooped up five out of seven golds years ago, so this is really, really special,” Vietnam 1 4 13 18 200m medley, 200m freestyle and 4x200m in their home-grown martial art of wushu Chuluunbadrakh told AFP. “More so, since this Singapore 1 2 5 8 Pakistan 0 0 1 1 freestyle titles in Incheon. and another five from seven as the rowing is also my best score.” “That was hard work, I felt like I could be in competition got underway. Japanese cyclists Seiichiro Nakagawa and a bit of bother,” Hagino told reporters. “I Weightlifters Xiang Yanmei and Tian Tao Tomoyuki Kawabata took gold and silver in Palestine rising in didn’t expect to feel that tired but I kept it both grabbed gold, and Olympic superstar the men’s individual sprint. together somehow. Obviously the freestyle Zou Kai ended China’s wait for a men’s gym- And there was a rare success for Singapore (leg) did bail me out.” nastics gold with a world-class floor routine. when Joseph Schooling won its first men’s world soccer But the night belonged as much to China, The five-time Olympic gold medallist sur- swimming gold since 1982 with a Games who rounded off another dominant day of vived a couple of slight early stumbles to record 51.76sec in the 100m butterfly. INCHEON: Palestine go into the knockout world how much our people are suffering at competition with four swimming golds score 15.533 with the most difficult routine “I’ve just enrolled as a freshman at the stage of the Asian Games men’s football on the hands of Israel,” Rajoub told AFP, high- including the women’s 200m freestyle and attempted on the night. University of Texas,” he said. “I’m just happy the back of a spectacular rise in the world lighting how sports facilities had been butterfly. Meanwhile Narantuya Chuluunbadrakh to be sitting here. I’ve only been training one rankings, but the team is not celebrating. destroyed and 37 athletes and coaches were Shen Duo won the freestyle race, Jiao became the first Mongolian to win an Asian day, for the last four weeks. I’ve not really Despite a siege of Gaza and the recent killed. “Football is a game we all love in Liuyang topped the butterfly and Games shooting gold medal when she been doing much to be honest. It’s a huge Israel-Hamas war, Palestine have reached the Palestine,” said Rajoub. “If we lived in peace, took the 100m backstroke before China’s men clinched the women’s 50m rifle prone title. step.” —AFP Asian Cup finals in Australia in January and we could go far in sport.” Now the team is today they play Japan in the Asian Games focused on the game against Asian champi- second round. ons Japan, who will also be their opening The Palestinians topped their qualifying opponents in the Asian Cup in January. Maldives trailblazers say medals don’t matter group with wins over Oman and Tajikistan, The Asian Games is for under-23 teams who have just had a player kicked out of the plus three senior players, meaning some INCHEON: Their swimmers train in the Indian tournament for failing a drug test. Asian Cup-bound players are in Incheon. Ocean and the women soccer and handball Despite their troubles, the Palestinians, “I know it is not going to be easy for us, players haven’t managed a goal between them who only joined FIFA in 1998, have invested but we will do our best,” said Barakat. “We pre- at the Asian Games, but the Maldives says it in football in recent years and it is starting to pared well for the Asian Games despite the does not care about success-yet. show. In March, 2011, Palestine were ranked difficult situation at home. We organised trips Getting 142 athletes from the poor islands, 178th in the world by FIFA. In July this year to Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.” No matter how best known as a honeymoon paradise, to the they reached an all-time high of 85th, though far they get at the Asiad, the Palestinians have Games in Incheon, South Korea, has already they have since slipped back to 102. arranged an intensive follow-up. They will been an achievement, according to team lead- They have players like striker Imad Khalili play matches in India, China, Vietnam, ers. And a Muslim nation insisting that at least a who was the top scorer in the Swedish league Pakistan and Saudi Arabia before going to third of the team should be women has also last season and is now with Dongya Australia in January. The first day of second raised eyebrows among fellow Islamic states. in China. round matches will also see South Korea take South Korean fans have taken to their hearts the “We have qualified for next year’s Asian on Hong Kong, China play Thailand and athletes from a nation of less than 350,000 who Cup so obviously we are making good Jordan play Kyrgyzstan. have yet to win a medal at the Asian Games or progress,” said coach Abdalnasser Barakat. The Games hosts won all three of their Olympics. “Our football ranking has gone up... the opening group matches without conceding a The swimmers are often still battling in the leadership is satisfied,” said Jibril Rajoub, head goal. Japan lost to Iraq and looked frail. pool long after rivals have finished. The women’s of the Palestinian Football Association, and a China also lost a game to unbeaten North footballers conceded 38 goals in three matches leading member of the Fatah political organi- Korea and only squeaked through to the sec- without scoring and Japan beat their handball sation. ond round, while Thailand hammered team by a huge 79-0. But Maldives Olympic But the conflict is never far from the minds Indonesia 6-0 on the way to top place in their Committee secretary general Ahmed Marzooq of the players and coaches. “The Palestine group with three wins, 11 goals scored and said the results do not matter. “Just before we sports family believes we can expose to the zero let in.—AFP came I told the athletes that there would be crit- icism and comments. But I told them, ‘We don’t care about any result that comes, just perform, just enjoy the Games.’” INCHEON: Xiang Yanmei of China lifts 153kg as she competes in the women’s 69kg weightlift- In an indication of the difficulties their ath- ing final event of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. —AFP letes face, swimmers Nishwan Ibrahim and Aishath Sajina have to train in the Indian Ocean- “Back home we don’t have any facilities to ers to Incheon. Some of that is being used to at night-off the capital Male. practice turns,” he said. “The swimmers have to press a minimum 33 percent quota for women in “We swim in the sea and there’s a current and focus on the currents and they don’t know when all Maldives teams going to international con- lots of rubbish, and it’s dark,” Ibrahim told AFP. they’re going to touch the pads because it’s tests. There are more than 50 in this team, while “We don’t have any swimming pools. It’s really dark. Most of the time they crash into them.” Saudi Arabia has none and just 20 percent of different from the pool here. It’s difficult in the “The first time I went to the deep end I felt Iran’s squad is women. pool, the sea is more buoyant.” really scared,” said Sajina. “I didn’t like the fish “There is some opposition,” Marzooq said. Ibrahim got a standing ovation after clocking and stuff. I wanted to get out as soon as possi- Other Olympic Council of Asia representatives two minutes, 45.23 seconds in the men’s 200 ble.” But now she is a leader in the biggest con- confirmed that the Maldives had made some metres medley heats, in his first ever attempt at tingent the Maldives has ever taken to an inter- other Muslim nations nervous. the event. national sporting event. Sajina swam almost two But Maldives has no regrets, despite all the But after completing the last lap in complete lengths of the pool alone in the women’s slow swims and the conceded goals. “It has solitude to finish over 45 seconds behind the 4x100m freestyle relay and triggered an enor- changed a lot how women do sport,” said quickest qualifier, Ibrahim discovered he had mous cheer when she stopped the clock almost Marzooq. “The girls now know that there is a been disqualified for an illegal turn. a minute and a half behind heat winners Japan. chance for them to go out of the country to per- “It kind of sucks because I was last!” he said “It felt motivated when I heard them,” she said form. “It gives them life skills. I can see their con- with a smile. Coach Ismail Faruhaan said swim- with a giggle. “I think I swam even faster. It felt fidence building. I am not thinking about medals mers train in a 25-metre ocean pool fashioned good.” Olympic committee chief Marzooq has at these Games, what I want is to take these INCHEON: Nakagawa Seiichiro (top) of Japan and Bao Saifei of China compete during from floating blocks for sides and touchpads. motivated funding from foreign governments women out of the kitchen and empower them,” men’s sprint at the Incheon International Velodrome during the 17th Asian Games. —AFP They share it with fish and coral. and sports bodies to get the swimmers and oth- he said. —AFP