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Monday, January 8, 2018 FOOTBALL Rabia II 21, 1439 AH Messi on target GULF TIMES in routine Barca win over Levante SPORT Page 3

Qatar ExxonMobil Open we had to look hard for the last one.” Despres takes a timing error, now sitting third and 5min 44sec “We want to make it out of Peru in good shape,” recognised for being the off the pace. he said. “That was a great day,” said Despres, a five-time Two-time winner Nasser al-Attiyah steered his Dakar lead as winner at Dakar in the motorbike section. best 250 Series event in 2017 Toyota to victory on the opening stage of the “It’s the first time our car has been in these condi- 9,000km Rally on Saturday, but he had a bad day al-Attiyah’s tions. Big, easy to climb dunes as well as very soft plateaus. We saw others stuck in the sand (nota- yesterday after his co-driver fell sick. co-driver falls sick bly Carlos Sainz) but we avoided that.” “It was not easy. We opened all day. The reason Run around Pisco, which is known for its local we lose a lot of time is because Matthieu got sick from the beginning and I had to take care about AFP, Pisco, Peru liquor of the same name, Sebastien Loeb also enjoyed the dunes and recovered from a horror him. But we finished the stage. We know we lose a show on Saturday, which saw him suffer a brake lot of time. Tomorrow, we know, will be better. We renchman Cyril Despres steered his Peu- failure, to climb to fourth overall. will see,” al-Attiyah, who is now in fifth position, geot to victory on the second day of the “It went better than yesterday,” said the nine-time said. Dakar Rally yesterday, speeding across world rally championship winner who is bidding Another driver who had a poor day was Argen- F 267km in 2hrs 56min 51sec on the dunes for his first Dakar win. tine Lucio Alvarez, who barrelled his Toyota down of Ica along the coastal roads around Pisco in Peru. Loeb, who was third on the day to complete a a dune, eventually emerging unscathed from his His win puts him top of the overall standings, Peugeot sweep, said it had been confusing in the upturned vehicle. 27sec ahead of his teammate and defending dunes to find the best path. Monday’s third stage runs from Pisco to San Juan champion Stephane Peterhansel, with South “We always follow the tracks because we don’t de Marcona with a 502km run along the Pacific Tournament Director Karim Alami (L) receives the award from Africa’s Giniel De Villiers, who was originally an- want to lose them. We’ve got much to lose if we ATP umpire Lars Graff . coast with 295km of specials. nounced as Sunday’s winner in his Toyota through can’t find a waypoint. For example, near the end, atar ExxonMobil Open win the honour for another year. Tournament Director He added that it was a result Karim Alami received of the big eff orts made by the Qa trophy from the organising committee pre- ATP on Saturday after the 2017 sided over by Nasser Ghanem edition of the tournament was al-Khelaifi, saying that it will be adjudged the best 250 series a boost to all who work for the event last year. tournament. He said players It is the second time that the voted for Qatar’s competition competition won the award, because they get a good experi- which is based on the votes by ence when they participate as players. The previous occasion the organisation provides the was in 2015. Chair umpire Lars players with everything facility Graff , representing the ATP, required for them to excel in the Toyota’s Qatari driver Nasser handed the award to Alami dur- event. al-Attiyah and French co-driver ing the final day of the competi- He added that it was no surprise Mathieu Baumel compete during tion. that the tournament received the 2018 Dakar Rally Stage 2 in and The tournament director the accolade, given that each around the Peruvian town of Pisco expressed his delight that Qatar year sees a host of the top- yesterday. ExxonMobil Open managed to ranked players take part.

CRICKET England lurching to defeat aft er Marsh brothers’ tons The Australians amassed a massive 303-run innings and then reduced the battle-weary tourists to 93 for four

AFP SYDNEY SCORECARD Sydney Australia’s Mitchell Marsh (R) celebrates scoring his century against England with his teammate athan Lyon was spin- and brother Shaun Marsh (L) on the ning Australia toward fourth day of the fifth Ashes Test in an emphatic victory in Sydney yesterday. Nthe fi nal Ashes Test as beleaguered England unravelled on a torrid day in Sydney yester- day. The Australians amassed a massive 303-run innings lead in blistering heat and then reduced the battle-weary tourists to 93 for four at the close with a day to play. Compounding England’s woes was a fi nger injury for skipper Joe Root, his team’s last major hope of staving off a 4-0 series rout on England first innings: 346 (J. ran 25-3-82-1 (1w), Crane 48-3-193-1 Monday’s fi nal day of the Test. Root 83, D. Malan 62; P. Cummins (2nb), Root 8-3-21-0 Root was unbeaten on 42 at the 4-80) close with Jonny Bairstow not out England second innings 17. Australia called a halt to their Australia first innings (over- A. Cook b Lyon ...... 10 epic fi rst innings at 649 for seven, night 479-4) M. Stoneman lbw b Starc ...... 0 and soon had England in trouble C. Bancroft b Broad...... 0 J. Vince c Smith b Cummins ...... 18 after the tourists had been cooked D. Warner c Bairstow b Anderson 56 J. Root not out ...... 42 in the fi eld for more than two U. Khawaja st Bairstow b Crane ...171 D. Malan lbw b Lyon ...... 5 draining days. Mark Stoneman S. Smith c and b Ali ...... 83 J. Bairstow not out ...... 17 was leg before wicket to Mitch- James Vince survived a caught pened in Test cricket. off 141 balls with 15 fours and two next ball fi nding Vince at long S. Marsh run out (Stoneman) ...... 156 Extras (lb1) ...... 1 ell Starc for a duck and lost a re- behind off Lyon on review on 15, The Chappells were the fi rst sixes. The century came after his on for 11. Tim Paine (38) and Pat M. Marsh b Curran ...... 101 Total (4 wickets; 46 overs) ...... 93 view in the process, and next ball but three runs later edged Pat Australian brothers to notch cen- 181 in the third Test in Perth. Cummins (24) were at the crease T. Paine not out ...... 38 Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Stoneman), Alastair Cook was put down at Cummins to Steve Smith at slip. turies in the same innings at The He was the third centurion of when Steve Smith called them in M. Starc c Vince b Ali ...... 11 2-15 (Cook), 3-43 (Vince), 4-68 fi rst slip by Shaun Marsh off Josh Dawid Malan followed when Oval in 1972 with the Waughs the the massive Australian fi rst in- about an hour before tea. P. Cummins not out ...... 24 (Malan) Hazlewood for fi ve. Lyon trapped him leg before last to do it against England, also nings total, following Usman Big-hearted paceman James Extras (b2, lb4, w1, nb2)...... 9 Bowling: Starc 9-2-17-1, Hazlewood But Cook’s reprieve did not wicket for fi ve. Shaun and Mitch- at The Oval, in 2001. Khawaja’s 171 on Saturday. Anderson bowled with great Total (7 wickets dec; 193 overs) ....649 9-1-26-0, Lyon 19-6-31-2, Cummins last long and he was bowled for ell Marsh earlier became the third Mitchell Marsh almost spoiled Shaun Marsh was eventually economy in the stifl ing conditions Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Bancroft), 7-1-12-1, Smith 2-0-6-0 10 when a sharp Lyon turner hit set of brothers to score centuries his century in all the excitement dismissed after lunch, run out for as temperatures hit 42 Celsius 2-86 (Warner), 3-274 (Smith), 4-375 Crowd: 33,285 the top of off -stump in the off - in the same innings for Australia. as he embraced his brother mid- 156 by Stoneman’s direct throw (108 Farenheit), taking one for 56 (Khawaja), 5-544 (M. Marsh), 6-596 Toss: England spinner’s fi rst over. Cook, who The Marsh boys joined Greg and pitch before he had completed the from the covers. He batted for 403 off 34 overs. (S. Marsh), 7-613 (Starc) Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena became during his innings only Ian Chappell and Steve and Mark second run scrambling back to his minutes and faced 291 balls for his Spinners Ali and debutant Ma- To bat: J. Hazlewood, N. Lyon (SRI) Joel Wilson (WIS) the sixth batsman to score 12,000 Waugh to score brotherly centu- crease to avoid being run out. second century of the series and son Crane conceded a combined Bowling: Anderson 34-14-56-1, TV umpire: Sundaram Ravi (IND) Test runs, fi nished the series with ries for Australia, while it was the Mitchell Marsh was bowled his sixth in 28 Tests. Starc slogged 363 runs in taking three wickets Broad 30-2-121-1, Ali 48-10-170-2, Cur- Match referee: Ranjan Madug 376 runs at 47. eighth time overall it had hap- next ball by Tom Curran for 101 Moeen Ali for six and was out the between them. Gulf Times 2 Monday, January 8, 2018 SPORT

CRICKET POSITIVE Wozniacki senses ‘great’ Aussie Open Marshes almost despite Auckland loss pay for century celebrations Mitchell Marsh embraced his elder brother mid-pitch before sensing danger and scrambling back to his crease to avoid being run out

AFP Sydney Australia’s Mitchell Marsh hugs his brother and team- AFP couple of weeks. haun and Mitchell Marsh’s mate Shaun Marsh after Shaun Auckland “Everyone wants to be number one, overfl owing emotions on scor- reached his century during the but it’s something I’ve done before ing centuries batting together fourth day of the fifth Ashes and obviously it would be nice to do Salmost ended in disaster yes- test in Sydney yesterday. aroline Wozniacki de- it again, but honestly I think i’m just terday, as Australia seized control of clared she was preparing for thinking about being in the fi nals, the fi nal Ashes Test against England. a “great” Australian Open holding trophies, lifting trophies.” The Marsh boys became only the Cas she closed in on regain- Wozniacki started last year ranked third set of brothers to score centuries ing the world top ranking despite a number 19 and by the end of the year, in the same innings for Australia. surprise defeat in the WTA Auckland after winning the WTA Finals, she had Shaun Marsh was subsequently run Classic fi nal yesterday. risen to number three. out for 156, while brother Mitchell hit The 27-year-old Dane is projected Meanwhile, Goerges is expected to 101 for both their second centuries of to rise to number two in the world rise from 14 to 12 when the next rank- the series. They joined Greg and Ian when the new rankings are released ings come out as she enjoys a rich vein Chappell and Steve and Mark Waugh today and if results go her way in Aus- of form having won three consecutive to score fraternal centuries for Aus- tralia she could make a record-setting tournaments. She is on a 14-match tralia, but it could have ended very dif- return to number one, a position she winning streak with her success in ferently. last held six years ago. Auckland following victories in Mos- Mitchell Marsh embraced his elder The current record for the longest cow and Zhuhai WTA tournaments late brother mid-pitch before sensing dan- gap between being ranked number one last year. ger and scrambling back to his crease to is held by Serena Williams who spent The 29-year-old German troubled avoid being run out. fi ve years and 29 days off the top spot Wozniacki with a big forehand that “That was my fault,” admitted between August 10, 2003, and Sep- produced service breaks at the start of Shaun. “I think emotions sort of got tember 8, 2008. each set and a booming serve that de- the better of me and I just wanted to Although beaten 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) by livered 11 aces. give him a hug. world number 14 Julia Goerges in the Goerges dropped her serve once, at “I saw him starting to celebrate and Auckland fi nal, Wozniacki said her 4-3 in the second set, but never felt her I lost all concept of where the ball was preparation for Melbourne was on form was dropping. and what was happening with the ball. track. “I’ve got a lot of matches under “It means you have to be there right “He pushed me off him and said ‘you my belt this week, it was the prepara- away in the next game. I didn’t break better get down the other end.’ tion I hoped for,” she said. her but I showed her I was still there “Thankfully, it all worked out and I “Now I can take a day off tomorrow and I was very happy that I could serve was just really happy for him.” and fl y to Melbourne and get used to well at the end,” she said. Mitchell added: “My take was I courts over there, and the conditions, Head-to-head, Goerges now leads pretty much went for the high fi ve and and hopefully it’s going to be a great Wozniacki 6-4. Shaun went for the hug and we were somewhere parked in the middle and had a quick split-second level of panic and hugged again after that.” The Marsh brothers’ hundreds plus Boris Becker calls for fi ght against Usman Khawaja’s 171 largely contrib- racism aft er online abuse of son uted to Australia’s burgeoning 303-run innings lead and put them in pole posi- DPA, Berlin: Former German tennis son” of a famous father and claimed tion with England at 93 for four to go star Boris Becker has called for he had been attacked in Berlin on and wrap up a 4-0 series victory on a fight against racism after a far- because of his skin colour. Monday’s fi nal day. right member of the nation’s “It seems the little half-negro simply Shaun was left on 98 overnight, but parliament described his son Noah got too little attention — cracked a cover boundary off the day’s as a “little half-negro” on that’s the only explanation for his opening over to bring up his sixth Test Twitter. behaviour,” said the tweet posted century. “It is time to rise up, raise your hand by Maier on Tuesday. “To be out there to watch Shaun hit and take to the streets. The tweet was later deleted and that cover drive and embrace in the Here and throughout the entire Maier claimed middle for his hundred and then have world,” Becker wrote in a guest that a member of his staff had sent him out there for mine is something his place in the Australian side with for the family, with his father, Geoff each other’s emotions when we got to column out the message. that we’ll look back on in a few years 445 runs at 74.16, while all-rounder playing 50 Tests as opener from 1985- our hundreds, was an extremely happy for the Sunday newspaper Welt am However, in his column Boris Becker and really cherish,” Mitchell said. Mitchell, who came in for the third 1992. “To be out there with Mitch, to moment,” he said. Sonntag. said Maier “knew exactly what he Shaun, whose selection for the series Test, has scored 320 runs at 106.66. both score our Test century today for “And it’ll certainly be a day that we Racism should no longer be toler- was doing.” was criticised, has more than justifi ed Shaun said it was a proud moment Australia, being out there and sharing won’t forget.” ated, Becker said, adding that “This is what the AfD always do, it’s currently nobody was punished, their trick. Putting something nobody was forced to make amends out into the world and then distanc- TENNIS WASHOUT and ing themselves from it,” Becker in the end the issue was silenced. said. Jens Maier, a Bundestag member of Noah Becker’s mother Barbara has the right-wing populist Alternative an African-American father and a No play for Germany (AfD) party, had at- German mother. tacked Noah Becker (23) after a Noah Becker is reportedly planning magazine interview in which he to take legal action against Aussie Kyrgios easily in SA vs complained about being the “eternal Maier. India Test wins Brisbane title SPOTLIGHT AFP AFP Cape Town Brisbane Bangladesh drop ain prevented any play on ick Kyrgios was at his bril- the third day of the fi rst liant best as he downed Test between South Africa Soumya and Taskin American Ryan Harrison to Rand India at Newlands claim the Brisbane Interna- yesterday, but with fi ne weather AFP Fast bowler Taskin also fared poor- Ntional in straight sets yesterday. expected for the remaining two ly in South Africa, picking up two Dhaka The 6-4, 6-2 win was the third- days there is still a good chance of wickets in three ODIs. seeded Australian’s fourth title on the a result. Left-arm fast bowler Mustafi- ATP tour and his fi rst on home soil. South Africa were on 65 for two angladesh yesterday dropped zur Rahman returns to the side af- “I didn’t know what kind of per- in their second innings — an overall opening batsman Soumya ter missing out on Bangladesh’s last formance I was going to put in this lead of 142 — at the close of play on Sarkar and paceman Taskin one-day series in South Africa with a week, whether I was going to do well,” Saturday. Ahmed from their 16-man twisted ankle. he said. With a potential 98 overs on both Bsquad for the opening two matches of Mustafizur was joined by batsmen “But as the week went on, I felt that today and tomorrow, the bowl- the forthcoming tri-nation one-day Anamul Haque and Mohamed Mith- I was serving a lot better, hitting the ers of both sides will be hoping for international tournament. un, paceman Abul Hasan and spinner ball better. And I knew today was ob- more success on a pitch which has Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka will also Sunzamul Islam in the squad, which viously a great opportunity.” helped the fast bowlers. take part in the tournament, Bangla- features several changes from the Kyrgios is a polarising fi gure in Aus- South Africa will be without fast desh’s first ODI competition at home South Africa series in October. tralian sport — his superb tennis skills bowler Dale Steyn, who suff ered a in more than a year. It will begin in Bangladesh failed to win a single are often marred by poor behaviour on next week, going into next week,” he sets while Harrison’s normally strong left heel injury on Saturday. He was Dhaka on January 15. game in South Africa in any format. court. said. serve began to falter. consulting a specialist yesterday “Taskin and Soumya both were Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha But the packed crowd at the Pat “But obviously, just playing a lot Kyrgios broke Harrison in the sev- and was not at the ground but ini- dropped for their poor form. They will resigned in the middle of the series, Rafter Arena saw only his brilliant of matches, that’s confi dence for any enth game of the fi rst set to take the tial estimates were that he would play in the BCL (a franchise-based though his decision was only made side, with Harrison having no answer player. opener in 36 minutes, at which point be out of action for between four fi rst-class competition) to improve public in December. to the mercurial Australian’s huge “Right now it’s all about recovering the American left the court to change and six weeks. their skills,” chief selector Minhajul serve and stunning all-court play. and feeling the ball for the Oz Open. his clothes. Brief scores: Abedin told a press conference. Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Kyrgios beat top seed and world Because obviously I’m playing well Kyrgios complained to the umpire South Africa, first innings, 286 Soumya has been a regular face in Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul number three Grigor Dimitrov in the under pressure and in pressure situa- about the length of time Harrison was India, first innings, 209 the Bangladesh squad for all three Kayes, Anamul Haque, Mohammad semi-fi nals and if he maintains form tions.” taking. South Africa, second innings, formats since making his interna- Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, and motivation, he will be a major After struggling with his fi rst three But the delay did nothing to upset 65-2 in 20 overs (A. Markram 34; H. tional debut in 2014 but paid the price Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, threat at the Australian Open this service games when he had to defend Kyrgios’s rhythm and he broke Harri- Pandya 2-17) for a prolonged spell of poor form. Mohamed Mithun, Mehedi Hasan, month. fi ve break points, Kyrgios lost only one son twice more to take the title in one Match situation: South Africa The left-hander played just one Mustafizur Rahman, Abul Hasan, “Even if I had lost the fi rst round point on serve after that. hour and 13 minutes, fi ttingly winning lead by 142 runs with eight wickets ODI in the South Africa tour last Oc- Rubel Hossain, Mohamed Saifuddin, here, I would probably still feel good He fi red down 17 aces in the two the title with an ace. remaining in the second innings. tober and scored only eight runs. Sunzamul Islam. Gulf Times Monday, January 8, 2018 3 FOOTBALL

LA LIGA Juventus stay on Napoli’s Messi marks milestone heels Milan: Fernando Bernardeschi scored the only goal as cham- pions Juventus kept Serie A leaders Napoli in their sights with a 1-0 win over Cagliari in in Barcelona victory Sardinia on Saturday night. Napoli had cemented their position in top spot before Italy’s two-week winter break Catalans stretch their lead at the top of the table back to nine points over Atletico Madrid with 51 points from 20 games after seeing off Verona 2-0. AFP They are one point clear of Madrid Juventus with Inter Milan a distant third, nine points be- hind the leaders, after being ionel Messi marked his 400th held 1-1 at Fiorentina on Friday. appearance in La Liga with the Italian winger Bernardeschi opening goal as Barcelona eased nudged home on 74 minutes to a 3-0 win over struggling Le- following a solo break by Lvante at the Camp Nou yesterday. Douglas Costa down the right Messi’s 365th goal in Spain’s top flank, but there were worries fl ight came inside 12 minutes, with Luis for Massimiliano Allegri’s side Suarez adding the second before the in- with Argentina star Paulo Dy- terval and Paulinho completing the vic- bala limping off in tears with tory late on as Barcelona stretched their a suspected hamstring strain, lead at the top of the table back to nine and Sami Khedira receiving a points over Atletico Madrid. head knock. The Catalans are still unbeaten in “We’re doing well so far this La Liga this season and have Philippe season, just just behind Napo- Coutinho to come in, with the Brazil- li, through to the Champions ian expected to be offi cially unveiled as League round of 16 and into a Barcelona player today following the the Italian Cup semifinals,” announcement of his 160 million-euro said Allegri. “Fortunately we’re ($192mn) move from Liverpool. go into a two-week break now With all the talk ahead of this game and he’ll (Dybala) obviously on Coutinho, coach Ernesto Valverde need to rest more than the was eager for his side to keep their fo- others during that time.” cus on winning their fi rst league outing Roma missed the chance since beating Real Madrid 3-0 in the to join Inter on 42 points, Clasico on December 23. slipping to fifth after a shock “Levante had not lost away since 2-1 defeat to ten-man Atalanta September. We were very good in the in Rome. Atalanta — fresh fi rst half, but the rhythm was not the from their Italian Cup defeat same in the second half,” said Valverde. of Napoli — were two goals up Coutinho, whose transfer is the by half-time through Andreas third-biggest in football history, was Cornelius and Marten de not in attendance at the Camp Nou as Roon. the club’s previous record recruit Ous- Edin Dzeko reduced the mane Dembele started. The Frenchman, deficit on 56 minutes but signed for 105mn euros from Borussia Roma failed to take advantage Dortmund at the start of the campaign, of playing the entire second was included in the line-up here for the half with an extra man on the fi rst time since tearing his hamstring pitch after de Roon was sent nearly four months ago. off for a second yellow card. He came close to scoring on a couple Lazio — like Roma with a of occasions, including from one 20- Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (right) shoots as Levante’s Shaq Moore (centre) and Roberto Suarez Pier (left) look on at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona yesterday. (AFP) game in hand — moved just yard strike that was beaten away by Le- two points behind Inter into vante goalkeeper Oier Olazabal. from a Jordi Alba assist, a combination It was the Uruguayan’s 400th profes- Chelsea. Valencia are 11 points behind Paulinho 90+3) Levante 0; Athletic Bilbao 2 fourth after Ciro Immobile hit “I think he has to bring something to that has proved fruitful on so many oc- sional goal, his 131st for Barca putting Barcelona in third after coming from (Etxeita 8, Aduriz 65-pen) Alaves 0; four goals in a 5-2 goal blitz in the team, and he also has to face up to casions this season. The Argentine’s him seventh on the club’s all-time list behind to beat Girona 2-1 at Mestalla Villarreal 1 (Unal 30) Deportivo La Coruna 1 against SPAL. the competition for places and for the fl ighted pass found Alba, and the left- of leading scorers. on Saturday. Real Madrid are a massive (Andone 84) Earlier former Watford tackles he will face on the pitch, from back headed the ball down for Messi, Barca rounded out the victory in the 17 points adrift of the leaders in fourth Played Saturday boss Walter Mazzarri made opponents who don’t want to let him arriving in the area, to fi nish fi rst-time third minute of added time as Messi’s spot, although they do have two games Atletico Madrid 2 (Correa 18, Costa 67) a winning start as Torino past,” said Valverde, who took Dembele in off the far post for his 16th league goal low ball across goal at the end of a jink- in hand, as were facing Celta Vigo in a Getafe 0; Valencia 2 (Ramalho 27-og, coach with a 3-0 home win off midway through the second half. of the campaign. ing run was turned in by Paulinho. late game last night Parejo 48-pen) Girona 1 (Portu 8); Las Pal- over Bologna, just two days “It is a process, but I thought he The second goal arrived seven min- Atletico beat Getafe 2-0 on Saturday, mas 1 (Viera 32) Eibar 2 (Orellana 73, Enrich after taking over from Sinisa looked good and we still hope he can utes before the interval, as Suarez con- with Diego Costa scoring and then be- RESULTS 77); Sevilla 3 (Ben Yedder 13, Kjaer 40, Mihajlovic. Torino are tenth, improve,” he added. trolled Sergi Roberto’s fi ne ball into the ing sent off in his fi rst league appear- Leganes 1 (Gabriel 75) Real Sociedad 0; Lenglet 67) Real Betis 5 (Fabian 1, Feddal 21, level on points with Milan. It was Messi who broke the deadlock box before fi ring home. ance since returning to the club from Barcelona 3 (Messi 12, Luis Suarez 38, Durmisi 63, Sergio Leon 65, Tello 90+5)

SPOTLIGHT FOCUS Barcelona coach Valverde Cagliari apologise to Matuidi hails Coutinho signing over racist fan abuse

AFP family is with you”. The abuse Matuidi re- Rome ceived at Cagliari came after similar racist chants directed at him during Juve’s 3-1 win at Hellas Verona late last month, for which erie A club Cagliari apologised Verona were fi ned 20,000 euros ($24,000) yesterday to Blaise Matuidi for by the Italian league. the racist abuse fans directed at the Serie A’s disciplinary tribunal said that Juventus winger during the Italian Verona’s Curva Sud (South Curve) would be championsS 1-0 win in Sardinia on Saturday, closed for one match if there was a repeat in- the second time he has received such abuse cident within a year. in as many weeks. Writing in French on their Matuidi, who has 62 caps for France, Twitter account, Cagliari apologised for the joined Juventus before the start of the cur- abuse, which took place late in the fi rst half rent season and has scored twice, both in the of a tense encounter at the Sardegna Arena league, for the Italian champions. following a clash between Matuidi and a Cagliari were also involved in an incident Cagliari defender. last season when Ghanaian midfi elder Sul- “You are a fantastic player and an exam- ley Muntari walked off in protest during a ple to young people. We want to apologise match for Pescara away to the Sardinian to you if you were insulted for the colour of side. Muntari said the referee had booked your skin at the Sardegna Arena,” said the him for dissent when he complained about club. “The Sardinian people want nothing to racist abuse from some fans. do with racism. Only ignorance can explain match. Weak people try to intimidate with He was given a second yellow card for certain behaviour. Respect.” hate, I am not a hater and can only be sorry leaving the pitch without permission, trig- After hearing the abuse from the stands for those who set bad examples,” Matuidi gering an automatic one-match ban which Matuidi rushed to referee Giampaolo Cal- said in a statement. “Football is a way to was later overturned by the Italian football varese but the offi cial ignored the French spread equality, passion and inspiration and federation (FIGC). Barcelona’s new signing Philippe Coutinho poses for a picture at the Camp Nou yesterday. (AFP) international’s pleas to intervene and Medhi this is what I am here for. Peace.” Serie A’s disciplinary tribunal took no Benatia and Paulo Dybala had to calm their Yesterday, Matuidi’s old club expressed action against Cagliari, saying that only AFP losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in a world- teammate down. their support for their former player, saying around 10 supporters were involved in abus- Barcelona record 222 million-euro deal. And having previous- “Today I experienced racism during the on Twitter that “The Paris Saint-Germain ing Muntari. ly tried to avoid talking about Coutinho, Valverde can now look forward to welcoming him into his arcelona coach Ernesto Valverde is looking squad for a busy second half of the season. ROUND-UP forward to working with Philippe Coutinho “It is a signing that has been talked about for a after the club announced his arrival in a long time, although it was not something I was keen record-breaking deal on Saturday. Coutin- to discuss,” said Valverde, whose team are still un- ho,B 25, will move from Liverpool in a deal worth beaten in La Liga and sit nine points clear of Atletico Juventus lose injured Dybala for a month 160mn euros, the third-biggest transfer in football Madrid at the top of the table. “He is here now, and history and a club record deal for Barcelona. good luck to him, because if he has luck then it will uventus attacker Paulo Dybala could EVERTON’S MIRALLAS the Greek Super League during the 2011- The Brazilian has agreed a contract through to be good for us.” be out for over a month after picking HEADS FOR OLYMPIAKOS 2012 season with 20 goals. 2023 at the Camp Nou, with Barcelona fans seeing Capable of playing on the wing and in a more up a thigh injury in his side’s 1-0 win Greek champions Olympiakos announced him as the long-term successor to Andres Iniesta, withdrawn midfi eld role, Coutinho’s arrival pro- at Cagliari on Saturday, putting his on Saturday that they have come to an LIVERPOOL OFFER COMPENSATION and Valverde is aiming to make the most of the Bra- vides a wealth of new options to Valverde, although chancesJ of facing Tottenham in the Cham- agreement with English side Everton for ON COUTINHO SHIRTS zilian’s adaptability and ability to play in a range of he will not be able to play in the Champions League pions League at risk. the return of Belgium international winger Liverpool will off er supporters who positions. knockout phase having already featured in the com- The Italian champions said that how long Kevin Mirallas. No details of the deal were bought shirts bearing the name of Philippe “I think he can bring a lot to the team. He scores petition for Liverpool. “We will wait until I have he would have to spend on the sidelines announced by the club but Greek media Coutinho a £50 (56.4 euro) voucher to help and sets up goals, and going forward he can help us seen him train for a day at least until we talk about would become clear in the coming days. reported that Everton will loan the 30-year- off set the impact on fans of the Brazilian’s a lot as he can play both inside and out wide,” re- that,” added Valverde when pressed on where the He could be out for between 30 to 40 days, old player for six months at a cost of 3mn move to Barcelona. marked Valverde after Barcelona’s comfortable 3-0 ex-Inter Milan man would fi t into his team. “I have while Dybala was hoping for a layoff of “no euros. The 25-year-old star, who had agitated La Liga win over Levante yesterday. “He is versatile seen videos of him playing in diff erent positions, more than a month”. Mirallas played two seasons for Olympia- for a move away from Anfi eld since last and we can take advantage of his versatility.” for Liverpool and for his country. But let’s wait and Juve host Tottenham for the fi rst leg of kos (2010-2012) appearing in 52 matches, summer, fi nally got his wish on Saturday The deal had been in the pipeline for months, see. I hope he adapts quickly, although good players their last 16 Champions League tie at the scoring 34 goals and leading the club to two when the two clubs agreed a deal worth with Barca failing with several bids in August after adapt quickly to any circumstances.” Allianz Stadium on February 13. league titles. He was the leading scorer in 160mn euros. Gulf Times 4 Monday, January 8, 2018 FOOTBALL

SPOTLIGHT FOCUS Bayern conclude Arsenal dumped out winter training camp at Aspire C Bayern Munich ern won 6-0, Dutch midfi elder of FA Cup by Forest wrapped up their eighth Arjen Robben praised the train- annual winter train- ing camp at Aspire Zone Founda- ing camp at Aspire Zone tion saying that the facilities and Newport seal a 2-1 victory against 1972 Cup winners Leeds yesterday.F The winter camp has the atmosphere helped the team become a key part of the Bundes- to focus. “It’s going to be inter- AFP liga champion’s training prepa- esting. We are looking forward London rations ahead of restarting the to our upcoming matches, as we football season. The team con- have some big games coming,” he cluded their fi nal training session said. A Cup holders Arsenal were sen- in the morning and fl ew back to Defender Juan Bernat said: sationally dumped out of the com- Germany on the same day. “We are totally satisfi ed with our petition by Nottingham Forest To mark the success of the winter training camp in Doha. yesterday, joining Leeds United as training camp with Aspire Zone The camp has become a key event big-nameF casualties on a day of shocks. Foundation, Mohammed bin Fa- in our annual calendar and AZF’s Elsewhere, West Ham stayed alive with a had al-Thani, AZF’s external af- facilities are really impressive.” goalless draw at Shrewsbury and Totten- fairs representative, presented a He added: “Our goal is to ham scored three goals in eight second- commemorative shield to Hasan clinch as many titles as possible half minutes to see off the challenge of Salihamidzic, FC Bayern Mu- this season with our new coach League One side AFC Wimbledon. nich’s Sporting Director. Jupp Heynckes. He’s brought real Championship side Forest revived Salihamidzic said: “Our focus to the team.” memories of their glory years under Brian training camp at Aspire Zone Young midfi elder Kingsley Clough, putting 13-times winners Arse- Foundation clearly achieved its Coman said: “I have had several nal to the sword in an incident-packed objectives, and the players are training camps at Aspire with 4-2 win at the City Ground. “It was good. refreshed and ready to resume both FC Bayern Munich and Paris My wife told me that if I score a hat-trick playing in the Bundesliga and the St Germain. My fi rst visit to As- at any point this year then I get a dog, so Champions League. pire was several years ago when I I was trying to get the penalty,” said two- He added: “We held morn- played for Paris Saint-Germain goal hero Eric Lichaj. “Vaughany (David ing and evening training ses- in the U-17 Al Kass International Vaughan) told me politely — I won’t say sions which has prepared us well Cup tournament. And I’ve been what he said to me — to go away.” to face Bayer 04 Leverkusen on back since with Bayern several US international Lichaj opened the Friday in the Bundesliga, and times. I’m getting used to the at- scoring for the home side with a header SG Sonnenhof Grobaspach next mosphere here, and AZF’s facili- midway through the fi rst half but Per Tuesday in a friendly. We’re also ties are really fantastic”. Mertesacker equalised for the much- looking forward to our match In addition to Bayern Munich, changed away team just three minutes against Turkish side Besiktas in Aspire Zone’s world-class facili- later. However, Forest continued to probe the Champions League in Febru- ties and pitches have attracted a an inexperienced Arsenal line-up and got ary.” number of other leading teams their reward just before half-time when Salihamidzic summed up the for training camps including Lichaj volleyed in spectacularly from the team’s experience at AZF say- Paris Saint-Germain, Manches- edge of the box. ing: “The weather was ideal here, ter United, FC Schalke 04 in ad- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, serv- with temperatures around 25°c. dition to Aspire-owned Cultural ing a touchline ban, was forced to watch Aspire Zone has great facilities y Deportiva Leonesa and KAS powerless from the stands as Rob Hold- and the pitches are world-class.” Eupen, and the Tunisian team, ing conceded a penalty that teenager Ben Following a match against Qa- who are currently training in Brereton converted in the 64th minute to tari Club Al-Ahli SC, which Bay- AZF. stretch the home side’s lead to 3-1. Danny Welbeck gave Arsenal hope with just over 10 minutes to go but Ki- eran Dowell netted from the penalty spot Nottingham Forest’s Ben Brereton (right) celebrates with teammates after scoring against Arsenal during the English FA Cup third again to seal a 4-2 win for the second-tier round match at The City Ground in Nottingham, central England, yesterday. (AFP) side over the Premier League visitors. In a breathless fi nal few minutes Forest’s Joe sliced into his own net. climbing the table.” put the game beyond the reach of the vis- Worrall was sent off but it was too late for Infused with fresh belief in front of West Ham had goalkeeper Joe Hart to itors. On Saturday, League Two Coventry Arsenal. a passionate Welsh crowd, Newport thank for keeping them in the Cup with City sent Premier League side Stoke City In the early kick-off , on-loan forward pressed for a winner, and with a minute a 0-0 draw after an uninspired perform- crashing out, prompting the sacking of Shawn McCoulsky headed in a dramat- to go on-loan substitute McCoulsky rose ance against Shrewsbury Town of the Mark Hughes. ic 89th-minute winner for Welsh club highest at a corner to head in the decisive third tier. The England goalkeeper, re- Newport to seal a 2-1 victory against 1972 goal and send the stadium into raptures. turning to the club where he started his ENGLISH FA CUP RESULTS Cup winners Leeds. Leeds had taken an Much-changed Leeds were then reduced career, made a fi ne save from Mat Sadler Newport 2 (Shaughnessy-og 76, McCoulsky early lead at Rodney Parade when Ga- to 10 men when substitute Samuel Saiz with about 10 minutes to go until the in- 89) Leeds 1 (Berardi 9) etano Berardi’s defl ected long-range shot was immediately sent off over an off - terval and repeated the trick against Alex Nottingham Forest 4 (Lichaj 20, 44, Brereton found the net. the-ball incident. “This is much better Rodman to keep the score at 0-0. 64-pen, Dowell 85-pen) Arsenal 2 (Merte- But Newport, currently 11th in League beating Championship teams like Leeds,” At Wembley, Harry Kane broke the sacker 23, Welbeck 79) Two — the fourth tier of the English game said Newport manager Michael Flynn. “I deadlock against AFC Wimbledon with Shrewsbury 0 West Ham 0 — levelled 14 minutes from time when don’t want to be winning relegation bat- just under half an hour to go before Kane Tottenham 3 (Kane 63, 65, Vertonghen 71) Leeds defender Conor Shaughnessy tles, I want to be winning FA Cup ties and again and Jan Vertonghen made it 3-0 to AFC Wimbledon 0 Bayern Munich players at Aspire Zone yesterday.

SNEIJDER IN DOHA AFC U-23 CHAMPIONSHIP TO JOIN GHARAFA Qatar gear up for Uzbekistan in opener he AFC U-23 Championship in China begins tomorrow, with Qatar taking on Uzbekistan in a Group A match tomorrow. Here is a look at the Tfour teams from Group A. QATAR Best fi nish: Fourth (2016) How they qualifi ed: Winners – Group C It is testament to the quality in Qatar’s youth set up that a fourth-place fi nish at the 2016 AFC U23 Cham- pionship on home soil was deemed a disappointment as defeat in the third-place play-off to Iraq meant they failed to qualify for the Olympics. The core of Felix Sanchez’s squad for the 2018 edition is formed by play- ers who were part of the 2016 campaign and have been coached by Sanchez since the U-19 category. Led by the likes of Akram Afi f and Ahmed Moein, this group of players fi rst shone at the 2014 AFC U-19 Cham- Doha: Dutch star Wesley 2009 before moving to Inter pionship, where substitute Afi f headed the winner in a Sneijder reached Doha late Milan (2009 to 2013). He then 1-0 victory against DPR Korea in the fi nal and skipper on Saturday night to sign had a stint with Turkish club Moein was named the tournament’s MVP. for QNB Stars League side Galatasaray till early 2017 and The strong performance at the 2016 AFC U23 Cham- Al Gharafa. The attacking moved to Nice before joining pionship was proof of the gradual progress of a genera- midfielder was received at the the Al Gharafa ranks. tion that is key to Qatar’s plans of developing a strong Hamad International Airport He played 133 times for the squad for 2022, when they will host the FIFA World Cup. by Al Gharafa’s Football Head Netherlands, making him the In addition to Afi f and Moein, the squad features Al- Mahmoud al-Ghazal, Deputy country’s most capped player. moez Ali, who has scored for Al Duhail in the AFC Cham- Head and former player Saad The 33-year-old’s first appear- pions League, and Assim Madibo, who currently plays al-Shammari, Team Manager ance may be on 12th January alongside Afi f for Belgian fi rst division side KAS Eupen. Fahad Ali and Media Off icer when Al Gharafa, seventh in Placed in Group C of the qualifi ers, Qatar defeated Turk- Taha al-Muhaza. the standings with 11 points, menistan and India, before drawing with Syria to secure Sneijder passed his medical travel to Al Ahli in the QNB top spot and automatic qualifi cation for the fi nals. at Qatar’s orthopaedic and Stars League’s Week 12. sports medicine hospital As- CHINA PR Qatar under-23 players train in Changzhou, China yesterday. petar yesterday. After signing AL SADD QUARTET Best fi nish: Group stage (2014, 2016) the deal, he will be presented RETURNS TO TRAINING How they qualifi ed: As hosts UZBEKISTAN OMAN by the club at a press confer- Al Sadd players Saad al-Dossa- Having exited at the group stage of the past two edi- Best fi nish: Group stage (2014, 2016) Best fi nish: Group stage (2014) ence today. Sneijder, a three- ri, Hassan al-Haydous, Musab tions of the competition without picking up a point, How they qualifi ed: Winners – Group D How they qualifi ed: Winners – Group A time World Cupper and UEFA Kheder and Pedro Miguel, who China will be seeking an improvement this time out on Uzbekistan qualifi ed for the AFC U23 Championship Hosts of the inaugural edition of the competition, Champions League winner did duty for Qatar at the recent home soil. After a disappointing campaign in Oman in by topping Group D with a 100 percent record after beat- Oman could be among the surprise contenders in China with Inter Milan in 2010, will Gulf Cup in Kuwait, joined the 2014, the East Asians were intent on a better perform- ing hosts UAE 2-0 in Al Ain. Despite having progressed as they aim to build on their impressive qualifying cam- be the biggest star to descend team’s training on Saturday. ance at the second edition in Qatar in 2016. But had a to the two previous editions, the Uzbeks have yet to paign where they topped Group A, ahead of powerhouse on Doha in the current winter Al Sadd, second in the QNB tough time, losing all their league matches. reach the knockout stages, but will hope with former Iran. Four years ago on home soil, the Sultanate defeated transfer window. His arrival has Stars League standings with Despite qualifying as hosts for the 2018 edition, China Uzbekistan head coach Ravshan Khaydarov in charge, Myanmar 4-0 in the opening game but exited after de- delighted the Al Gharafa fans 27 points, host promoted also took part in Group J of the qualifi cation campaign in things can be diff erent this time. feats to Jordan and Korea Republic, before missing out on and their joy knows no bounds. and bottom-placed side Al Phnom Penh. A 0-0 draw against hosts Cambodia was Two years ago in Doha, the young White Wolves were the 2016 AFC U23 Championship. Al Gharafa had recently Markhiya in Week 12 on 13th followed by a 2-0 win over the Philippines before China knocked out in the group stages. This time round in the In the qualifying tournament for this edition, in the handed the coaching reins to January. The players trained impressively saw off defending champions Japan 2-1 Group D qualifying matches in the UAE, Uzbekistan won Kyrgyz Republic, Hamad al-Azani’s team were led by Turk Bulent Uygun, replacing under Portuguese coach Jesu- to top the standings. The goalscorers were two players their opening game 3-1 against Lebanon and then beat promising forwards Muhsin al-Ghassani and Jameel ak- Frenchman Jean Fernandez. aldo Ferreira without Algerian who could well be leading lights at China 2018, Shang- Nepal 2-0 to set up a winner-takes-all clash with the Yahmadi. In their opening game against the hosts, Oman Sneijder represented Ajax striker Baghdad Bounedjah, hai SIPG winger Wei Shihao and Beijing Renhe defender hosts. Uzbek defender Islomjon Kobilov headed in Jasur- won 5-1 victory. Against Iran, it was the double act of al- Amsterdam from 2002 to 2007 who is still recuperating from Deng Hanwen, who have both been capped for the senior bek Yakhshiboev’s corner on 67 minutes as Uzbeks made Yahmadi and al-Ghassani who came up with the goals to and Real Madrid from 2007 to an injury. team. Leading the line ahead of them is likely to be Wer- sure of their qualifi cation for the AFC U23 Champion- clinch a 2-0 win and seal Oman’s return to the fi nals for der Bremen loanee Zhang Yuning. ship with a second from Javokir Sidikov. the fi rst time since hosting the inaugural edition. Gulf Times Monday, January 8, 2018 5 SPORT

NBA NFL Falcons topple Curry leads Warriors Rams, Titans edge Chiefs in playoff s to win over Clippers yard fi eld goal early in the fourth AFP Los Angeles quarter to narrow the gap to 19- 13 before the Falcons closed out their methodical victory. Cavaliers snap their five-game road losing streak with a 131-127 win over Orlando he Atlanta Falcons kept There was drama in Kansas their bid for Super Bowl City, where Tennessee quarter- redemption on track back Marcus Mariota’s exploits Saturday with a 26-13 included catching a touchdown Tvictory over the upstart Los An- pass from himself. The remark- geles Rams in the fi rst round of able play came as the Titans the NFL playoff s. Matt Bryant opened the third quarter trail- booted four fi eld goals and the ing 21-3. Mariota marched them Falcons defense kept the explo- 91 yards and had rolled left and sive Rams off ense in check as the thrown toward Corey Davis in Falcons booked a second-round the end zone. clash with the National Football Chiefs cornerback Darrelle Conference top seeds Philadel- Revis defl ected the pass back to- phia in the second round. ward him and Mariota reeled in In American Football Con- the ball and plunged into the end ference action, the Tennessee zone credited with a six-yard TD Titans rallied from an 18 point pass to himself. defi cit to beat the Chiefs 22-21 in The Titans scored again early Kansas City. The Chiefs haven’t in the fourth when running back won a home playoff game since Derrick Henry raced 35 yards for January of 1994 — and have now a touchdown. The two-point gone 0-6 since then at Arrow- conversion attempt failed, leav- head Stadium in the post-sea- ing Tennessee down 21-16. son. With the Rams in their sec- They edged ahead on Mari- ond season back in Los Angeles, ota’s 22-yard touchdown pass the Southern California city was to Eric Decker with 6:06 left to hosting a playoff game for the play. The two-point conver- fi rst time since the Raiders made sion attempt failed — and nearly it to the post-season in 1994. The brought disaster for the Titans Falcons, devastated by the New when Mariota was sacked, but England Patriots comeback vic- offi cials ruled he was down be- tory in last season’s Super Bowl, fore the ball came loose. squeaked into the playoff s after Similar drama unfolded on the an erratic season. Titans’ fi nal drive, when Henry But their experience paid off was hit by Chiefs cornerback against a young Rams team that Marcus Peters and the ball came had earned the third seed in the loose. Kansas City linebacker NFC. Devonta Freeman rushed Derrick Johnson raced to the end for a touchdown for the Falcons zone with the apparent fumble and quarterback Matt Ryan add- for a touchdown, but it was over- ed a scoring pass to Julio Jones — turned as offi cials deemed Henry an eight-yarder that gave Atlanta was down and the play complete a 26-13 lead with 5:48 remaining. before Johnson scooped up the The vaunted Rams off ense, ball. meanwhile, produced just one The Chiefs had built a quick touchdown. Quarterback Jared 14-0 lead with a one-yard touch- Goff completed 24 of 45 passes down run by Kareem Hunt and a for 259 yards, including a 14-yard 13-yard TD pass from Alex Smith touchdown pass to rookie Coop- to tight end Travis Kelce. The Ti- er Kupp that pulled the Rams tans got on the board with a 49- within 13-7 with 2:34 left in the yard fi eld goal by Ryan Succop, Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (right) drives the ball past Tyrone Wallace of Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night in Los Angeles. (USA TODAY Sports) fi rst half. but Kansas City made it 21-3 in A Sam Ficken fi eld goal pulled the fi nal seconds of the fi rst half AFP “Maybe the break was good for him. road losing streak with a 131-127 vic- Harris scored on a put-back and Brook- the Rams within 13-10 at half- on a 14-yard scoring pass from Los Angeles He’s been amazing.” tory over the Magic in Orlando. LeBron lyn thwarted a drive by Kyrie Irving be- time, and Ficken booted a 32- Smith to Demarcus Robinson. Curry’s performance meant the reign- James scored 33 points, pulled down 10 fore fi nding themselves unable to come ing NBA champion Warriors hardly rebounds and handed out nine assists. up with a game-tying basket despite four tephen Curry erupted for 45 missed forward Kevin Durant, who was The Cavs star made 12 of 23 shots from chances in the waning seconds. Irving points to propel the Golden State again sidelined with a right calf strain. the fi eld, including four of seven from fi nished with 21 points to lead the Celtics, Warriors to a 121-105 NBA victory Leading by nine at halftime, the Warriors three-point range. He also had six steals who notched their sixth straight win. over the Clippers in Los Ange- out-scored the Clippers 39-21 in the third and a blocked shot. The Magic trailed by In Detroit, the Pistons shook off the in- lesS on Saturday. Curry, who has dazzled quarter, expanding the lead to as many as three at halftime, but the Cavaliers pulled jury absences of Andre Drummond, Reg- since returning from an 11-game injury 30 points. “That third quarter was im- away in the third, when they out-scored gie Jackson and Stanley Johnson to beat absence, connected on eight of his 16 portant for us,” Kerr said. “But this was Orlando 40-23. the Houston Rockets 108-101. three-point attempts and made a career- mainly about Steph tonight.” Isaiah Thomas, making his fi rst start Tobias Harris scored 27 points, one high 15 of his 16 free-throws. For the Clippers, it was more than a de- for Cleveland after injury sidelined him of six Detroit players to score in double He sat out the entire fourth quarter, but moralizing defeat as Blake Griffi n suff ered until this month, took a little time to ad- fi gures in the win over a Rockets team his 45 points in 29 minutes on the fl oor a concussion less than three minutes left just, going scoreless in the fi rst quarter that in the absence of injured star James marked the fi fth time in NBA history that in the fi rst quarter. Griffi n was driving to before fi nishing with 19 points and four Harden slumped to a seventh defeat in a player scored 45 or more in 30 minutes the basket and seemed to slip before War- assists in 21 minutes. The Cavaliers im- nine games. or less. “I knew right away, when I got free riors reserve center JaVale McGee inad- proved to 26-13, third in the Eastern Con- In Indianapolis, Victor Oladipo re- for a couple of threes in the fi rst quarter vertently caught him in the forehead with ference led by the Boston Celtics — who turned from injury to score 23 points with and they went down, I got in a rhythm,” an elbow. Griffi n collapsed to the court, held on for an 87-85 victory over the Nets nine assists and fi ve steals in the Indiana Curry said. “Beyond that, you just keep shaking as he held his head in his hands. in Brooklyn. Jayson Tatum’s dunk with Pacers’ 125-86 victory over the sluggish your head down and keep shooting and He remained down for several minutes 1:16 remaining gave Boston the lead for Chicago Bulls. Chicago came into the stay aggressive.” before he was able to make his way to the good in a game that saw the lead change contest having scored at least 110 points In the four games since his return, Cur- locker room. hands eight times in the fourth quarter. in fi ve straight games but struggled of- ry has averaged 36 points while shooting The Cleveland Cavaliers, who have du- Tatum’s three-pointer pushed Bos- fensively, committing 16 turnovers and Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (left) rushes for a 65.6% from the fi eld. “He’s on fi re,” said elled with the Warriors in the past three ton’s lead to 87-83 with 45.7 seconds left. shooting just 37.5% from the fl oor to trail touchdown against Los Angeles Rams free safety Lamarcus Joyner Warriors coach Steve Kerr. NBA Finals, snapped their fi ve-game But the Nets wouldn’t go away. Joe by as many as 41 points. during the NFC Wild Card playoff in Los Angeles. (USA TODAY Sports)

NHL Bergeron nets four goals as Bruins rout Hurricanes

Reuters crossbar after a Tampa Bay turnover with 9:16 Jonathan Bernier made 34 saves as Colorado Boston left in the game. That gave the Senators the lead earned its fi fth win in a row. for good at 4-3. Eric Staal scored both goals for the Wild, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Min- fter the city of Boston was pounded by MAPLE LEAFS 3, CANUCKS 2 (SO) nesota goalie Devan Dubnyk saved 26 of the 32 a major snowstorm two days earlier, Tyler Bozek scored the game-tying goal in the shots he faced before being pulled in the third the Bruins were ready when the Hurri- third period and then netted the winner in a period. canes blew through on Saturday night. shootout as Toronto erased a two-goal defi cit PatriceA Bergeron lit the lamp four times and and beat visiting Vancouver. Bozek, the third FLAMES 3, DUCKS 2 added an assist for a career-high-tying fi ve- and fi nal shooter for the Maple Leafs, notched Dougie Hamilton scored the game-winning goal point night, Anton Khudobin made 27 saves and the game-winning tally by wristing a shot past with 16 seconds left as Calgary recovered from Boston routed Carolina 7-1 for its third straight the glove of Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom. blowing a third-period lead to beat visiting victory at TD Garden. Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen subsequently Anaheim. After blowing a 2-0 edge, the Flames Bergeron, who recorded his 700th career closed the door on Thomas Vanek’s eff ort, end- pulled themselves together to regain all the mo- point in the contest, tied a franchise record for ing the shootout. mentum. They were rewarded for it when Ham- goals in a game and became the fi rst Bruins play- ilton drove to the net and converted a pretty pass er to score four goals in a game since Dave An- RANGERS 2, COYOTES 1 (SO) from Micheal Ferland. dreychuk on Oct. 28, 1999, versus Tampa Bay. Mika Zibanejad scored the lone goal in a shoot- The Flames, who were backstopped by a 27- Riley Nash, David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk out and goalie Henrik Lundqvist was perfect save performance by goalie Mike Smith, have also scored one goal apiece for the hosts — each against all three Arizona shooters he faced as recorded three consecutive wins for the fi rst in the fi rst period — as the red-hot Bruins won New York claimed a shootout win in Glendale, time since early November. Ferland and Mark for the eighth time in nine games (8-0-1). Jordan Ariz. Lundqvist denied off erings from Anthony Giordano scored in the fi rst period for Calgary, Staal scored the lone goal for the Hurricanes. Duclair, Clayton Keller and Derek Stepan in the and Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Getzlaf netted shootout and also made 38 saves through regu- goals for Anaheim in the third. FLYERS 6, BLUES 3 lation and overtime to earn the 424th victory in Philadelphia scored two goals in the fi rst period, his career. Lundqvist moved ahead of Tony Es- PREDATORS 4, KINGS 3 two in the second and held on for a victory over posito for sole possession of eighth place on the Austin Watson scored two goals as Nashville visiting St. Louis. Sean Couturier scored two Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (left) celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period NHL’s all-time list for wins by a goalie. salvaged a 1-1-1 record from its western road trip goals, Scott Laughton, Claude Giroux, Jordan against the Carolina Hurricanes in Boston on Saturday night. (USA TODAY Sports) with a win at Los Angeles. Roman Josi and Scott Weal and Wayne Simmonds each scored one AVALANCHE 7, WILD 2 Hartnell also scored for the Predators, who goal and the Flyers won their second straight goal lead in the fi rst period and never looked SENATORS 6, LIGHTNING 3 Carl Soderberg scored twice for Colorado, bounced back from a Thursday overtime loss to game. Giroux added a pair of assists. back, easily defeating visiting Edmonton. The Mark Stone scored the tiebreaking goal just past which remained red hot with a win over Minne- the NHL-worst Coyotes. Nashville goalie Pekka Stars have won six of their past eight games and the midway point of the third period and host sota in Denver. Gabriel Bourque, Patrik Nemeth, Rinne made 26 saves, and PK Subban collected STARS 5, OILERS 1 were playing their last game before returning to Ottawa added two more later to beat Tampa Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Ty- two assists. Adrian Kempe, Trevor Lewis and Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin each had a the ice next Saturday for the fi nale of a six-game Bay. Stone scored from the right circle, grabbing son Jost scored a goal apiece for the Avalanche, Tyler Toff oli collected the goals for the Kings, goal and two assists as Dallas jumped to a three- homestand. a loose puck and putting a shot just under the who matched their season-high scoring total. who got 16 saves from Jonathan Quick. Gulf Times 6 Monday, January 8, 2018 SPORT

GOLF ALPINE SKIING Unstoppable Shiff rin wins fourth Top-ranked Johnson race in a row

AFP she said. Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, “I’m not focusing on that, I’m really happy with my ski- ing right now and that’s what verall World Cup I’m focusing on.” grabs Tournament of leader Mikaela Shif- The 22-year-old produced frin won her fourth an astonishing fi rst run as race in a row yester- she charged down the course day,O storming to victory in the in 51.44 seconds, with Frida slalom at Kranjska Gora by a Hansdotter of Sweden the sec- huge 1.64 seconds. ond-best on 52.91. It was her seventh win in Even though Shiff rin eased the last eight races in all dis- off slightly on the second run, Champions lead ciplines, her form peaking when her time was bettered by with the Winter Olympics in two other skiers, nobody else ‘I’m not going to change anything - just stick to the game plan and try to execute my shots’ Pyeongchang just one month could get near her total time of away, and the 40th World Cup one minute 43.50. win of her career. Hansdotter was second and Shiff rin is widely expected to Switzerland’s Wendy Hold- retain the Olympic slalom title ener third. she won at the 2014 Games in Shiff rin, who won her maid- Sochi, Russia, as well as having en overall World Cup title last a shot at gold medals in the gi- season, tops the overall stand- ant slalom and Super G. ings with 1,281 points, an over- “I was really aggressive, es- whelming lead of 721 points pecially the fi rst run,” she told over second-placed Holdener. Swiss television, adding that This season she has won four she did not take an interest in slalom races, two giant sla- passing the 40-win milestone. loms, one parallel slalom, the “It doesn’t mean so much,” Oslo city event and a downhill.

Mikaela Shiff rin (centre) of the US celebrates with Frida Hansdotter of Sweden (left) and Wendy Holdener of Switzerland on the podium of women’s slalom at the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, yesterday. (Reuters)

Queen of the Luge, Geisenberger eyes more gold Four years on from her double Olympic gold medal success in Sochi and German luger Natalie Geisenberger shows no signs of slowing down. The 29-year-old, who won in singles and mixed-team gold in Russia four years ago, has dominated the sport since 2013 when she won her first FIL World Cup title - a crown she has won every year Dustin Johnson of the United States plays a shot on the 15th hole during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Getty Images/AFP) since. An Olympic bronze medallist in the singles at Vancouver 2010, AFP further stroke back to Americans “I hit a lot of great iron shots,” Australia’s Leishman, who Kevin Kisner 70-70-72, Patrick Geisenberger arrived at the Winter Games in Sochi in outstanding Los Angeles Rickie Fowler and Jason Dufner he said, “but the big key for me is led or shared the lead after each Cantlay 70-70-72, Hideki Mat- form and lived up to all expectations. The Bavarian police off icer was on 208. the driver.” of the fi rst two rounds, couldn’t suyama (JPN) 70-70-72, Marc fastest in all four legs of the singles competition, winning by a massive Johnson, who started the day Johnson holds the 54-hole lead maintain his momentum on Sat- Leishman (AUS) 67-69-76 1.139 seconds from her compatriot Tajana Huefner, the Vancouver ustin Johnson holed one stroke behind Harman and for the fi rst time since the HSBC urday. He had four bogeys be- 213-Cameron Smith (AUS) 75-70- champion in 2010. Fast forward to this year’s World Cup campaign out for an eagle to Australian Marc Leishman, had Champions in Shanghai in Octo- fore his only birdie of the day to 68, Patton Kizzire 72-72-69 and little has changed - Geisenberger leads in the standings from highlight a seven-un- three birdies on the front nine be- ber. There he led by six through fall nine off the pace in the elite 214-Ryan Armour 71-73-70, Huefner as Germany continue to leave their rivals trailing. der par 66 that gave fore his only bogey of the day at 11. three rounds, but stumbled to a 34-player tournament for last Kevin Chappell 74-70-70, Xander The nature of the circuit means that Geisenberger finds herself in himD a two-shot lead Saturday He responded with an eagle closing round 77 to fi nish tied for season’s tournament winners. Schauff ele 72-72-70 the company of the 34-year-old Huefner and her room-mate Dajana at the PGA Tour Tournament of at the par-four 12th, where he second behind Justin Rose. 215-Russell Henley 74-69-72 Eitberger but she says luge is no longer a topic of conversation. “We Champions in Hawaii. holed out from 72 yards out, his Johnson said he had moved Leading third-round scores 217-Grayson Murray 74-74-69, do not talk about sledding anymore. When the room door is closed, The world number one added second shot landing on the green on from that “fl uke day” when 203-Dustin Johnson 69-68-66 Bryson DeChambeau 73-73-71 we will talk about handbags or creams or anything else,” she told the six birdies, including a six-footer and rolling in. he was still getting comfortable 205-Brian Harman 68-68-69 218-Austin Cook 74-74-70, Kyle Westfalenpost newspaper. “You cannot spend the whole day with only at the 18th, to give himself a 54- “I drove it kind of the left side, with new irons. 207-Jon Rahm (ESP) 71-70-66 Stanley 70-75-73 racing in your head in the head”. hole total of 16-under 203 on the I thought I hit a pretty good drive Now he’s had more time to 208-Rickie Fowler 69-71-68, 219-Brendan Steele 71-74-74 Born in Munich, Geisenberger grew up some 50 kilometres away Plantation Course at Kapalua on and it was just in the left rough,” practice with them, and said he Jason Dufner 71-68-69 220-Hudson Swaff ord 72-72-76, in the Bavarian mountain town of Miesbach, which has a summer Maui. He was two strokes ahead Johnson said. was looking forward to doing 209-Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 68- Wesley Bryan 74-70-76 luge track. She joined the Miesbach luge club at the age of 10 and of fellow American Brian Har- “I had not very far to the hole. battle on Sunday. 70-71, Pat Perez 72-66-71 221-Justin Thomas 71-75-75 went on to win 14 Junior World Cup events and six Junior World man, the overnight co-leader who I just landed my shot perfect. “I’ve got a good game plan 210-Chris Stroud 72-66-72 222-Adam Hadwin (CAN) 73- Championships. It may have taken time to overtake Huefner as carded a four-under 69 for 205. It got on the green and it was around here,” he said. 211-Daniel Berger 73-70-68, Billy 75-74 the leading lady on the German team but Geisenberger showed Spain’s Jon Rahm was alone in tracking right towards the hole.” “I’m not going to change any- Horschel 70-71-70, Jordan Spieth 223-Jonas Blixt (SWE) 77-71-75 at Sochi that she knows exactly what it takes to win on the biggest third, matching the best round of It was part of a solid perform- thing - just stick to the game plan 75-66-70 226-D.A. Points 76-76-74 stage. the day with a 66 for 207. It was a ance off the tee for Johnson. and try to execute my shots.” 212-Kim Si-Woo (KOR) 69-71-72, 230-Brooks Koepka 78-74-78

SPOTLIGHT SC kicks off Russia WC observation induction he Supreme Commit- no diff erent. tee for Delivery & Leg- “We encourage all individuals acy (SC), in partnership who will end up getting selected with Josoor Institute, to be part of the 2018 FIFA World Thas delivered the fi rst in a series Cup Russia edition to grasp the of orientation seminars to begin opportunity with both hands, preparing staff and stakeholders enjoy every moment and return for potential observation and se- to Qatar ready to share your condment programmes to be or- newly acquired knowledge with ganised for the 2018 FIFA World colleagues and work together to Cup Russia. ensure we deliver an amazing Following the successful de- 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.” livery of the 2014 FIFA World Afraa al-Noami, Acting Exec- Cup Brazil observation pro- utive Director of Josoor Institute, grammes – in which 89 delegates added: “It is with great pride that from the SC and its stakeholders we work alongside our esteemed were stationed across fi ve of the colleagues at the SC to deliver 12 tournament host cities – this programmes of such magnitude workshop was jointly organised and importance to our long-term by the Tournament Operations success, in 2022 and beyond. and Planning (TOP) department Martin Kallen (let) and Neil Doncaster during the 2018 FIFA World Cup observation and secondment training. operations, stadium operations be in a position to identify criti- “Josoor Institute was founded and Josoor Institute to begin and security – as well as provid- cal challenges and support the with a clear vision: to produce preparing potential candidates organise a successful world- This refl ected his recommen- Ali, Deputy Executive Director ing key advice for those poten- Russian Local Organising Com- a generation of pioneers to un- for similar programmes in 2018. class mega-event. dation to ensure people of the of Security, Zach Joseph, Venue tially selected to travel to Russia. mittee in any way we can. We can leash the full potential of sports The purpose of the workshop With a focus on host country country hosting a prestigious Expert, and Khalid al-Naama, Following the panel, attend- then bring this knowledge back and events in Qatar, the Mid- was to provide a holistic over- operations Kallen, who oversaw event have to feel proud. Media Relations Senior Offi cer ees were encouraged to network to Qatar and apply it to our own dle East and North Africa – and view of all FIFA World Cup op- operations at the recent UEFA Eu- Following the presentation, a – took part in a panel session to among colleagues and continue tournament. there is no more clear example erations, and to introduce some ropean Championship 2016 com- workshop hosted by Josoor In- discuss what was expected of their preparation for their po- “Occasions such as this semi- of this than the work the SC is of the functional areas required petition in France, emphasised stitute speakers Neil Doncaster, people who were chosen to take tential attendance of the SC nar – and in the long-run the doing to prepare its staff for the to run a mega-event including that possessing a great product Chief Executive of the Scottish part in secondment and obser- programmes to be organised in opportunities provided by SC 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. specifi c information on security, in a great sport are two critical Professional Football League, vation programmes at the 2015 Russia. Dr Batsilas said: “Time observation and secondment “The success of the 2014 ob- venue management, media op- success factors. As well, hosting and Dr Sue Bridgewater, from the FIFA U20 World Cup in New is going so fast – the 2022 World programmes – provide a unique servation programme in Brazil, erations, transport and market- a major event helps promote the University of Liverpool, along Zealand, the 2016 UEFA Euro Cup will be in front of us before chance for staff to learn from as well of that of the upcoming ing among others. sport and the host country with SC speakers Rhali Amrani, Championship in France and the you know it. We need to be ready those with fi rst-hand, on-the- 2018 edition, will play a pivotal Following an introduction and He provided a vast number Observation Programmes Sen- 2017 UEFA Champions League to deliver amazing and exceed ground experience. role as we seek to ensure when welcome address by TOP Execu- of detailed examples including ior Specialist and Gary Moretti, fi nal in Cardiff . even our own expectations. “As a society we must always Qatar’s turn comes, we are ready tive Director Dr Sakis Batsilas, how proud the Portuguese were Football Events and Education The group discussed their “We must learn from diff erent learn from what has gone before – and Josoor Institute is com- UEFA Events SA CEO Martin to host the Euro 2004 European Senior Manager, took place. learnings with regards to venue tournaments, especially the fi nal us, taking elements from the past mitted to helping ensure the Kallen delivered an in-depth Championship, with an atmos- Following the workshop, three readiness, merchandising and version of the World Cup before to create our own unique futures most is made of every moment analysis of what is required to phere he qualifi ed to be electric. SC employees – Major Ali al- promotions, transport, media it is hosted in Qatar. We need to – and hosting a FIFA World Cup is between now and then.” sc.qa Gulf Times Monday, January 8, 2018 7 SPORT

SPOTLIGHT QTF chief thanks Emir for supporting sports QNA best tennis experience possible. Zainal said the exit of many Doha He also thanked the committees of the top eight before the semi- that worked on organising the fi nals did not aff ect the tour- tournament, led by secretary- nament as the large number of resident of the Qa- general of QTF Tariq al-Zaina- spectators enjoyed the fi nal. tar Tennis Federation land the rest of the team. He said He expressed his pleasure that (QTF) Nasser Ghanem that their work was evident and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open was al-Kheleifi expressed praised by everyone who attend- named ‘Best Tournament’ on the Phis appreciation for the great ed the competition this year. ATP Tour in the 250 points class support His Highness the Emir Meanwhile Qatar Tennis Fed- for 2017. He said the Khalifa In- Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al- eration secretary general Tariq ternational Tennis Complex will Thani provides to Qatar sports, Zainal said the great success of host the Qatar Total women’s which enables the success of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open has tennis tournament next month, events held in Qatar. been achieved thanks to the con- with the participation of all the Speaking after the conclusion certed eff orts, adding the real gain world’s top performers who have of Qatar ExxonMobil Open, al- achieved in the tournament is the confi rmed their participate in Khelaifi said it was an honor that full reliance on the Qatari cadres in the event. His Highness the Emir attended the organisation, which proved to He also said the tournament the event. He also thanked the be highly effi cient this year. might also send an invitation to Emir for the interest in the com- He said the Qatar Open suc- Russian Maria Sharapova to par- petition and for attending the cess has been praised by every- ticipate in the tournament. fi nal. one and it will give us the moti- On his part, QTF Executive The president of QTF said that vation to achieve more. Director Saad al-Mohannadi Qatar ExxonMobil managed to “For us it is not over with the said the Qatari cadres partici- become one of the most notable end of the tournament, the com- pating in the organising com- tennis events and has become ing days will see a comprehen- mittees of the tournament have successful in terms the scale of sive evaluation of all the pros acquired great experiences, add- media coverage of it, fan interest, and cons that have occurred and ing that this year’s champion- and performance levels as well. of course there will be lessons ship was characterised by the He said that the participation learned,” Zainal said. introduction of a number of new of a number of the world’s best He also said the fi nal between faces, perhaps the most promi- stars in the competition every Gael Monfi ls and Andrey Rublev nent was the Andrey Rublev not year was a refl ection of that. was ‘the cherry on the pie’ as the to mention the many surprises, He also thanked ExxonMobil Qatar Open got a new champion. which made the tournament for its continued support to the Zainal went on saying that Ru- more interesting and attracted competition and extended that blev’s advancement to the fi nal large masses of spectators. thanks to all sponsoring compa- was not a surprise. Al-Mohannadi said the tour- nies. He also thanked the previ- QTF president Nasser Ghanem al-Kheleifi (right) with secretary-general Tariq Zainal during the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. “I was the fi rst to expect this nament, throughout its history, ous presidents of tennis federa- player to be the black horse has been able to impose itself tion, saying it was thanks to their pleased also with the great suc- Andrey Rublev, adding that ex- praised the fans’ interest in added that such interest refl ect- of the tournament, which has heavily on the agenda of the eff orts that the competition now cess of the 26th edition of the perience helped the Frenchman watching the matches, saying ed the popularity of the sport in seen many surprises that have world championships through enjoys its current status. competition and the excellent seal the title. the attendance levels surpassed Qatar, saying that this adds to sparked a lot of enthusiasm,” Za- the participation of many top Al-Khelaifi was especially fi nal that saw Gael Monfi ls beat The president of QTF also expectations in the fi nal. He the responsibility of giving the inal said. ranked players every year.

ATHLETICS FOCUS Arabi and Wakrah register wins in Qatar World’s top athletes Basketball League

By Sports Reporter Al Arabi players were out- Doha scored in the second and third quarters but they had an im- pressive 33-18 edge in the last l Arabi and Al Wakrah 10 minutes play, which did the to join Mo Farah at registered victories in trick for them. the Qatar Basketball Byrd scored 24 points with League at the Gharafa 15 rebounds, while Seck posted SportsA Club yesterday. 15 points and 16 rebounds. Ni- Arabi overcame Qatar Sports cholas Stover chipped in 21 and Club (QSC) 80-78, while Wak- Khalid Suliman Abdi netted 11. rah defeated Al Shamal 100-84. For Qatar Sports Club, Bran- In the fi rst match of the day, dan Kearney was the top scorer Doha Marathon Arabi’s William Byrd pulled off with 22, while Daishon Knight a buzzer-beating shot to score a netted 17, Nicholas West col- World record holders, Olympians and European Champions head to Qatar for elite event pulsating victory over QSC. lected 14 points and 10 rebounds QSC looked all set to post and Yousif Mohamed managed their eighth win, going 13 points eight points and 12 rebounds. ahead in the fi nal quarter (62- In the second match of the 49), but Arabi staged a great re- day, Al Wakrah’s Earnest Ross covery in the fi nal quarter and was the top scorer with 29 tied the scores with Oumar Seck points, while Adamu Sakka shot with only 30 seconds left. scored 29.

Germnay’s Arne Gabius UK star Gemma Steel.

By Sports Reporter 2012 and 2016 Olympics. well as 3K and 1K events for chil- some quality competition and Doha The other prominent athletes dren. Over the past fi ve years, a fantastic location in which to are USA’s Ryan Vail, who has fi n- the Ooredoo Doha Marathon has train and race. The facilities are ished in the top ten in the Lon- steadily grown to become the top class and the people of Qa- stellar international don, Berlin and New York City largest mass participation event tar are very welcoming. The or- fi eld of athletes have marathons and Somali-Amer- in Qatar attracting runners from ganisation has been great too. I confi rmed their par- ican long-distance runner and over 50 nationalities. shall run my heart out for you!” ticipation in the Oore- one of the world’s top distance The elite athletes have ex- Acting chairman at QTA Has- dooA Doha Marathon to be held runners Abdi Abirahman. He is a pressed their excitement to be san al-Ibrahim said, “We are on January 12, Qatar Tourism four-time Olympian competing coming to Doha to run and expe- thrilled to be welcoming the Al Arabi (in white and red) and Qatar Sports Club players in action Authority (QTA) announced for the United States in 10,000m rience the destination’s unique top international champions during their Qatar Basketball League match yesterday. yesterday. and marathon categories. He off erings. They will be compet- to Qatar to participate in the As many as 20 international also fi nished third in the New ing for $50,000 in prize money, country’s largest mass partici- professional men and women York City Marathon in 2016. with equal prize funds for both pation event. Their involvement will be joining a record number The women’s fi eld includes the men’s and women’s events. helps us to spread Qatar’s mes- of more than 2,000 amateur UK’s Gemma Steel, who came Gabius said, “I’m excited to sage of welcome to the world, athletes already signed up for late to the professional ranks via competing at the Half Mara- and shines a spotlight on a the mega event. These top ath- an amateur running club back- thon in Doha;. The race is a fast-growing sports tourism letes will represent Qatar’s key ground rather than an elite jun- great fi t into my overall plans destination. We look forward tourism markets including the ior pathway. In 2017, she won the for 2018, since I’m preparing to hosting them with the tradi- USA, UK, Germany, Italy, Turkey Great Ireland Run, Great South Six-time world champion for a spring marathon. It will be tional Arabian hospitality Qatar as well as Spain and Portugal. Run, Virgin British 10K and came Mohamed Farah great to get a break from train- is renowned for, as well as host- The fi eld is lining up with sixth in the Great North Run. ing and test my fi tness against ing them on visits to some of our Mohamed Farah, six-time Italy’s Sara Dossena will also Allison Kieff er, a top Ameri- some of the best athletes in the world-class sports facilities.” world champion and four-time join the athletes for the event. can distance runner and world world. This will also be my fi rst QTA and Discover Qatar Olymic gold medallist, one of The reigning Italian 10,000m record holder for the indoor time visiting Qatar and my fam- are off ering participants from the greatest athletes of all time, champion, Sara came sixth in marathon will also be in action. ily is travelling with me, which abroad special hospitality pack- in the half-marathon event tak- the 2017 New York City Mara- In 2017, Kieff er placed fi fth at makes it even more exciting. No ages, which can be found at the ing place on January 12. thon. In addition to being a top (2:29:39) at the 2017 New York doubt we will enjoy the weather Discover Qatar website. Reg- The men’s fi eld also includes road runner she has also held City Marathon and she is a past and we hope to visit some of istration fees for the Ooredoo Germnay’s Arne Gabius, a national championships in winner of the Miami Marathon. the cultural landmarks, like the Doha Marathon range between former European 10,000m sil- Cross Country Running, tria- The invitational elite half is Museum of Islamic Art.” QR100 and QR250 depending ver medallist and Olympian, thlon and duathlon. Turkey’s part of the Ooredoo Doha Mara- Gemma Steele said, “I am on the participant’s selected leading Turkish middle and Esma Aydemir, a rising star of thon which includes a full mara- delighted to be competing in course and age. 100% of this long-distance runner Bekir Ka- the middle and long-distance thon, half marathon, 10K and 5K the Half Marathon in Doha. year’s fees will be donated to rayel, who have competed in the running and events for adults and youth as The event off ers a great course, charity. Action from Al Wakrah-Al Shamal match.