Kohei Thrills Fans with Spectacular Display
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FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 3 TTENNISENNIS | Page 7 Barca await Debutantes Madrid as Bertens, Julen looks Stephens enter for lifeline semi-fi nals Saturday, October 27, 2018 CRICKET Safar 18, 1440 AH Pakistan upstage GULF TIMES Australia by 11 runs, clinch T20 series SPORT Page 4 48TH ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS DOHA 2018 SPOTLIGHT Al-Dayani, Kohei thrills fans with Mosa delight home crowd By Sports Reporter spectacular display Doha me like that but with the second-highest individual when I compete total behind Ruoteng. Mikulak ral- eam Qatar’s male gymnasts Ahmed al-Day- JapaneseJapanese men I feel it, I feel the lied his squad after, like Japan, three ani and Ahmed Nabil Mosa, who were in ac- pressure. I feel like of his teammates missed routines tion in men’s sub-division fi ve, competing mmanageanage seconsecondd I have to do well.” on pommel horse in the fi fth rota- in all the six apparatus, at the Doha World Meanwhile, Russian tion. Mikulak appeared calm as he TGymnastics on Thursday evening couldn’t progress afafterter ffinishinginishing men, who had stormed stepped up to the Pommel Horse ahead but were appreciated by a strong home sup- into the lead in the despite his teammates’ inability to port for their performance. ffiveive pointpointss team qualifi cations break 13.000 mark before him. While Mosa came up with his best in the Hori- on the opening “It defi nitely put a lot pressure zontal Bar returning a score of 12.500, to fi nish bbehindehind RRussiaussia (on me), but I think that moment I 48th, Dayani’s best came on Vault where he tallied realised I needed that, I wanted that, 13.066 to be placed 78th. because it’s going to be a lot of pres- Their overall scores aside, it was a step forward sure in the next couple of meets. To for both the gymnasts given the experience they really get out on this big stage and gained competing the world’s highest stage. prove I’m a big competitor out here, “We are pleased with the performances though we I think making the statement was have not qualifi ed for the fi nal stage,” said al-Dayani. what I wanted this day to be,” he “I think I performed well to some extent. There were said. some mistakes, but the last time I performed on all six By Sahan Bidappa apparatus was in Glasgow (2015 Worlds). Doha “This was my seventh time at a world champion- ship, and I think I did a good job. I still have the as- piration to be among the best,” he added. ven when he is not at his day, fi nished on Egged on by a vociferous home crowd, al-Dayani best Kohei Uchimura can top and look good to win their fi rst admitted that it made him nervous. woo you with his pyrotech- World Championship medal in 12 Meanwhile, defending rings “Many of my friends and family members were nics, like he did at the Aspire years, after posting a massive score champion Eleftherios Petrounias among the crowd tonight. That made me a little bit EDome yesterday. of 258.402. of Greece put his lack of prepara- nervous, but the experience that I gained from pre- The Japanese legend is not the Yesterday, Japan could only man- tion aside to top the qualifi cations. vious international events helped me,” he said. gymnast he used to be after tear- age a second after completing their Petrounias, who will undergo a The 25-year-old, who’s been in the sport for quite ing his ankle ligaments at the World routine, fi nishing fi ve points be- shoulder surgery in two weeks, long, said he can’t imagine his life being without Championships last year. His return hind Russia. The United States were scored 15.266 points. “It was a good gymnastics. “It has been 18 great years. I’m addicted has been slow and painful, but Uch- third, with Great Britain coming performance if you think that I to gymnastics now. If I take one week away from gym- imura is making steady progress as fourth. China were competing late haven’t done anything since Euro- nastics, I don’t feel well. It’s simply my life.” he makes a comeback with an eye on in the night, in the last of the ten peans,” said Petrounias, referring to On his teammate, the 18-year-old Mosa, al-Dayani the 2020 Olympics at home. sub-divisions. his gold medal-winning perform- saidsaid,, “ForFor himhim,, this was only ththe second appearance Yesterday at the Doha World ances at the European Champion- aatt a worworldld cchampionship.hampionship. I try tto keep him calm and Championships, the three-time ships in August, when he last per- mmakeake hhimim llessess nervous aaheadhead of bbig events like this. He Olympic gold medallist and six- formed a full rings routine. “I used is a very goodgood gymnast anandd hhasas a good future.” time world all-around champion all my experience and everything MMosaosa bbetteredettered hhisis own sshowingh at the venue produced a magical display on the was good.” wwhwhereere hhee aalsolso trains on a reguregularl basis. “It was only Horizontal Bar to top the individual Women’s qualifi cations will be mmyy seconsecondd appearance at ttheh world champion- standings with a score of 14.600 and held today and tomorrow. Based shshipsips anandd ttherehere was a llittleittle bbitit more pressure, with help Japan qualify into the team fi - on their performances in qualifi ca- ththee hhomeome crowcrowdd anandd tthehe fact thatt I was competing nal. tions, competitors will advance to aatt tthehe same pplacelace I train. I hhadad expected to perform Uchimura has opted out of all- team, individual all-around and in- bbetteretter tthanhan tthis.his. I mademade somesome mistakes, but I still round competition here in Doha dividual apparatus fi nals. pperformederformed better than I did lalast year in Canada (at with his ankle still in recovery mode The competition will determine tthehe 2017 Worlds in MontrealMontreal),”),” he said. and is focusing himself to just three the winners of eight sets of medals ““It’sIt’t s ana hhonouronour to bebe in tthehe same team with the events. While he erred on Pommel for men (Team, All-around, Floor exexperiencedperienced AAhmedh (al-Dayani). I Horse, the 29-year-old posted the Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, lellearnearn many tthingshin from him. He is best score on the Horizontal Bar. Vault, Parallel Bars, and Horizontal mmy iidoldol anandd llikeike a big brother to me,” Uchimura said he is still way Bar) and six for women (Team, All- hhe aadded.dded. short of peak physical condition af- around, Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance ThThee two nanationalt gymnasts were ter slipping off the Pommel Horse Beam, and Floor Exercise). aapappreciatedpreciated bby offi cials of Qatar in the fi nal rotation. “If I could say The three medal-winning nations GyGymnasticsmnastics Federation, specta- I competed six events, I could say I in the Team fi nals for both men and ttotors,rs, frienfriendsds aandn family alike. was tired. But I didn’t. Even though women will earn team berths di- TTeameam QQatar’s other mem- I didn’t do six events, I felt kind of rectly to the 2020 Olympic Games bebber,r, JJanaan al-Kiki, will com- tired when I got to pommels. And Russia, China, Japan, USA, Britain, in Tokyo while the others will have peppetete iin the women’s qual- also, I didn’t have good training on Brazil, the Netherlands, and Switzer- further chances toqualify in 2019 ifi ccationsa today. the pommel horse,” he said. land wrapped up the team qualifi ca- and 2020. AAl-Kiki was cho- With less than 22 months to go tion on top 8 positions respectively ssesen by the Organising until the Tokyo 2020 Games, Uch- with France fi nishing 12th. China’s Xiao Routeng and Samuel CCoCommittee to take the imura knows the pressure will only Xiao Ruoteng was star of the day Mikulak (top left) of the US compete Qatar’s cceceremonial oath at the grow. “I come to the Worlds and replacing Russia’s Nagornyy Nikita in the qualification round for men’s Ahmed oopening ceremony, everybody is looking at me like I am (87.098) in Men’s All-Around Qual- horizontal bar at the 2018 Artistic al-Dayani ssasaida she felt honoured the king,” said Uchimura. “The oth- ifi cation after earning 87.332 points. Gymnastics World Championships (left) and Ahmed aand that it has been a er Japanese gymnasts don’t look at Sam Mikulak led the Americans at Aspire Dome yesterday. (AFP) Nabil Mosa. ggreat morale boost. FOOTBALL FIFA put plans for new Club World Cup, Nations League on hold AFP criticised by opponents who say uted to peace in the world today if a four-year format, 12 of them “no sovereign fund is involved”. Kigali, Rwanda the international calendar is al- some were seeing it so dramatic,” European. Currently the compe- The source added: “UEFA ready overcrowded and have ac- Infantino remarked. tition, which elicits little inter- are against these new competi- cused the FIFA president of using “Everyone agrees the Club est outside of Latin America, is tions, because the Club World IFA President Gianni the projects to help win votes for World Cup needs to be revamped, played every year in December. Cup would trim their share of Infantino has delayed re-election in June next year. everyone in the world. His other project is to launch a the market from the Champions any decision over his A source told AFP that Infan- “There are some who have biennial league tournament for na- League, and by creating a glo- plans for a lucrative new tino stepped back from adopting diff erent interests.