15 MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2019 sports

BOC conducts symposium on recovery and Barca race towards title restoring sports activity Jordi Alba’s gave Barcelona a 2-1 win over TDT | Manama

AFP | course on recovery Aand restoring sports arcelona are closing in on activity, organized by the their eighth title Bahrain Olympic Commit- Bin 11 years after Clement We have to get it tee’s Olympic Academy, got Lenglet and Jordi Alba both out of our heads underway yesterday with a scored in a 2-1 win over Real that we are nine group of coaches represent- Sociedad on Saturday. points clear. We ing sports clubs and federa- Victory means Barca only now have three tions, taking part. have to beat Alaves on Tuesday days until we play This programme is part of and then Levante next Satur- the annual plan of the Olym- day to be crowned champions again and it will be pic Academy in an attempt at , while three points difficult to develop and qualifying against Alaves will be enough on ERNESTO VALVERDE national technical staff. its own if Atletico Madrid then It is being run by Dr. lose to Valencia on Wednesday. Nicolas Berryman, assistant Whether in three days or sev- were ahead again as Messi professor of sports studies en, it is now surely only a matter weaved one way and then the at Sherbrooke University, of when rather than if Ernesto other before finding Alba to his lecturer at Physical Activity Valverde’s side successfully de- left. The defender jinked inside and Research Faculty at the fend their trophy, despite Atleti- and drove a shot into the far University Studies Centre at co keeping the gap to nine points corner. the University of Montreal. after they edged past Eibar ear- Earlier, Atletico Madrid The Olympic Academy lier on Saturday. had needed Thomas Lemar to aims to enhance the capac- “We have to get it out of our come off the bench and find ity of national technical heads that we are nine points Barcelona’s Spanish defender Jordi Alba shoots to score his team’s second goal an 85th-minute winner against competencies in the field clear,” Valverde said. “We now Eibar as they stretched their of recovery and restoring have three days until we play anmi’s equaliser, even if parity game without defeat while Real Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Wil- lead over Real Madrid to seven sports activities due to their again and it will be difficult.” lasted less than two minutes. Madrid sit 16 points behind lian Jose spurned the rebound. points. great contributions in im- Wrapping it up early though might not have them ahead of their game at There was nothing complicat- Without proving the players’ abilities would allow Barcelona the lux- scored but it was his cute pass home to Athletic Bilbao. ed about Lenglet’s opener, the and , who were both and avoid injuries. ury of focusing completely on that teed up the excellent Alba “You always look at the match- Frenchman rising high above suspended, Diego Simeone’s Dr. Berryman himself the Champions League, which to score the winner after Lenglet es of Real Madrid because you two defenders and heading into side looked set for a stalemate gave a lecture on Saturday, could give them an advantage had earlier powered in a header always consider them a rival,” the corner for his first league that would have given Real at April 20, entitled “Integrat- over their semi-final opponents from Ousmane Dembele’s cross. Valverde said. “In their case, goal in a Barcelona shirt. least a sniff of second place. ing Muscle Strength and Liverpool, who seem to be em- they may be thinking about next Ter Stegen and Alba were for- Instead Lemar, on as a substi- Fitness Training”, which broiled in a Premier League race Barcelona racing towards title season.” tunate not to be punished for tute, tucked in Koke’s cross to was held at the Olympic to the finish with Manchester Barcelona stumbled out of It was a surprise when Messi a mix-up and then La Real did deliver another timely boost to Academy in Manama, Juf- City. the blocks this season but they failed to score with two free- score, in the 62nd minute, as Ju- Atleti’s morale, in the same week fair with the participation But this was no stroll, with are now tearing down the home kicks in the first half while anmi slid to connect with Mikel their star goalkeeper Jan Oblak of men and women national Real Sociedad pulling level in straight. Sociedad could have been in Merino’s brilliant through ball. extended his contract with the teams’ coaches. the second half thanks to Ju - This was their 21st league front but Juanmi was denied by But in the 64th minute, Barca club until 2023.

Japan avoid Fed Australia beat Belarus to make Ronaldo ‘1,000 per Cup drop first Fed Cup final since 1993 AFP | Osaka, Japan cent’ committed isaki Doi thrashed AFP | Brisbane, Australia MBibiane Schoofs 6-3, AFP | Milan 6-2 yesterday as Japan com- ustralia powered into its pleted a 4-0 Dutch white- Afirst Fed Cup final since ristiano Ronaldo said he wash in a one-sided Fed 1993 yesterday with Ashleigh Cwas “1,000 per cent com- Cup world group two rele- Barty and Samantha Stosur mitted to staying” with Juven- gation playoff. clinching the deciding fifth tus next season as he claimed The Netherlands, who rubber in Brisbane against Be- his first Serie A title and Ju- just three years ago reached larusian pair Victoria Azarenka ventus their eighth in a row the Fed Cup semi-finals, and Aryna Sabalenka. on Saturday. slipped into the Europe/ Their battling 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 Massimiliano Allegri’s side Africa group one after an win set up a title match against had needed just one more abject display in Osaka. either France or Romania in point for a 35th Scudetto Doi and Nao Hibino had November. and their latest title triumph put Japan firmly in control The tie was sent into the cru- helped ease some of the pain of of the tie on Saturday, de- cial doubles match after Aza- their shock Champions League Juventus’ in action spite the absence of world renka crushed Stosur 6-1, 6-1 in exit at the Juventus Stadium to with Fiorentina’s Bryan Dabo number one Naomi Osaka. the reverse singles, following Ajax on Tuesday. World 104 Doi finished Barty sweeping past Sabalenka A come-from-behind 2-1 win achieve,” said Ronaldo. the job with a clinical per- 6-2, 6-2. over Fiorentina was enough to “It didn’t go well in the formance against Schoofs, Belarus, a losing finalist give them a 20-point lead on Champions League but next before Shuko Aoyama and in 2017, was scheduled to pit nearest rivals Napoli with five year is a new page, the fans all Eri Hozumi added insult to Lidziya Marozava and Vera Ashleigh Barty of Australia hits a return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus games to play. want it and so do we. injury for the Dutch by beat- Lapko against the Australian Serbian defender Nikola “I’m staying at Juve, 1,000 ing Lesley Kerkhove and duo, who were playing together Barty called making the final balenka serve in the opening Milenkovic put Fiorentina per cent.” Demi Schuurs 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 for the first time. But with so “unbelievable” while Stosur game. ahead after less than six min- in the dead doubles rubber. much on the line team captain said it was “super exciting”. Belarus evened it up in game utes. Ronaldo makes history The final singles match Tatiana Poutchek opted instead “We knew it was going to six and they exchanged breaks But Alex Sandro’s diving It was the 34-year-old’s was subsequently scratched. for the more accomplished be a tough one and we just so again before the Australians header on 37 minutes and an sixth domestic league title, “It took a while to find my pairing. happy with how we played,” attacked the Azarenka serve to own goal from Fiorentina de- having won three with Man- rhythm but the crowd got But they fell short to give sev- added Stosur. “All the girls have break and go 6-5 in front, with fender German Pezzella after chester United and two with behind me and gave me a en-time champions Australia a worked so hard throughout the Stosur securing the set with an a Ronaldo cross in the 53rd Real Madrid, as he becomes lift,” said Doi after overpow- crack at their first title since last year and we really stick togeth- overhead smash. minute sealed another title the first player to win the ering Schoofs with a bar- winning in 1974. er.” The second set went with to ease their European disap- Premier League, La Liga and rage of backhand winners. “I could not have picked two Watched on Pat Rafter Arena serve until a powerful Sabalen- pointment. Serie A. “To stay in the world more perfect athletes to com- by Evonne Goolagong, who led ka forehand off the Stosur serve “It was a great season and Juventus purchased the five- group gives us something pete. Ash and Sam are super- Australia to that last Fed Cup gave Belarus the edge and Sa- I adapted well. We won the time Ballon d’Or winner for to aim for. It’s a victory that stars,” said elated Australian win, the home team grabbed balenka served out the set to Scudetto and the Italian Su- 100 million euros ($112 mil- gives hope to women’s ten- captain Alicia Molik. an early break against the Sa- take the tie to the wire. per Cup, which is not easy to lion) last summer. nis in Japan.”