RRUGBYUGBY | Page 4 BADMINTON | Page 6 Wallabies India’s braced for Sindhu wins S. Africa Korean retribution Open title

Monday, September 18, 2017 BOXING Dhul-Hijja 27, 1438 AH Golovkin retains GULF TIMES titles after thrilling draw with Alvarez SPORT Page 3 SPOTLIGHT Dazzling extravaganza opens Ashgabat 2017

he 5th Asian Indoor Games pets to a song from legendary Turkmen was offi cially opened last night folk artist Jemal Saparova and a spec- in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. tacular fi reworks fi nale, the show did The atmosphere was electric exactly that. asT more than 7,500 artists including The grand spectacle, which included singers, dancers, musicians and acro- 75,000 costume pieces and 700 tonnes bats took centrestage at the Ashgabat of freight, revolved around a huge cyl- Olympic Stadium, showcasing ‘The inder in the middle of the stadium. Spirit of Turkmenistan’ as a capacity The structure, 30 metres in diameter crowd of 45,000 celebrated the Open- and suspended 30 metres above the ing Ceremony of the biggest multi- stadium fl oor, projected 25 metre-high sport event ever held in Central Asia. images and hid entire scene changes, A shot from the opening ceremony Athletes, offi cials and spectators sets and hundreds of members of the were invited to a captivating evocation cast. Book of World Records as the largest of the soul of a nation from ancient Members of the Qatar There was a roar of delight from the architectural portrayal of a horse on times through until the present day delegation wave flags as they crowd as fi re rose high into the sky the planet. through its spirit, symbols, history, march during the opening from the cauldron atop the stadium It was after the tolling of a bell and music and art. ceremony of the 5th Asian after the lighting of the Games fl ame. a blessing by Turkmenistan’s President From dazzling displays of acrobatics Indoor Games in Ashgabat The cauldron sits on the neck of a Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov early in on the country’s famous Akhal-Teke yesterday. (QOC photo) giant white horse monument that was the ceremony, that Ashgabat 2017 of- horses and images of its beautiful car- recently recognised by the Guinness fi cially got under way.

FORMULA ONE CRICKET Hamilton wins Pandya stars in rain-hit crucial, chaotic India victory AFP to the pavilion off Pandya. Chennai, India Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav also joined the party after getting star opener David Warner ll-rounder Hardik Pandya caught behind for 25 as Australia’s starred with the bat and innings fell apart. ball to help India defeat Glenn Maxwell tried to raise Aus- Singapore GP Australia by 26 runs in the tralia’s hopes with his 18-ball 39, rain-hitA opening one-day interna- including three fours and four sixes, tional in Chennai yesterday. but Yuzvendra Chahal cut short the ‘Guys what can I say — what a turnaround today! Fantastic job with the team strategy’ Chasing a revised target of 164 in batsman’s blitz. 21 overs, the visitors were frustrated Leg-spinner Chahal ended with AFP Raikkonen ploughed into Red Bull’s by wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal three wickets in his fi ve overs. Pan- Singapore RESULTS AND STANDINGS Verstappen on the fi rst corner, tak- and Kuldeep Yadav who shared fi ve dya and Yadav took two each. ing both cars out of the race and also wickets between them. They ended Earlier Australian fast bowler 1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes-AMG) Drivers’ standings heavily shunting Fernando Alonso’s on 137-9. Nathan Coulter-Nile had made an ewis Hamilton won a chaotic 294 km in 2hr 03min 23.543 (average 1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 263pts, 2. Sebas- McLaren. Pole-sitter Vettel, who had But it was Pandya’s 66-ball 83 and impact with three wickets includ- and rain-hit Singapore Grand speed: 143 km/h) tian Vettel (GER) 235, 3. Valtteri Bottas been looking to reclaim the world two wickets that proved decisive in ing the prized scalp of Virat Kohli for Prix yesterday to seize con- 2. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) at 4.507 (FIN) 212, 4. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 162, 5. championship lead from Hamilton, India taking a 1-0 lead in the fi ve- nought. Ltrol of the Formula One world 3. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes-AMG) at Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) 138, 6. Max Verstap- spun further ahead, lost his front wing match series. Coulter-Nile, who returned after championship as his title rival Sebas- 8.800 pen (NED) 68, 7. Sergio Perez (MEX) 68, and ended up reversing down the track, Pandya put on a gritty 118-run a string of injuries that kept him out tian Vettel crashed out on the fi rst lap. 4. Carlos Sainz (ESP/Toro Rosso) at 22.822 8. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 56, 9. Carlos Sainz before also retiring. sixth-wicket stand with Mahendra since June 2016, put India in early Ferrari’s Vettel and Kimi Raikko- 5. Sergio Perez (MEX/Force India) at (ESP) 48, 10. Nico Hulkenberg (GER) 34, “Obviously it sucks being on the Singh Dhoni, who made 79, to lift trouble at 11-3. nen, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen all 25.359 11. Felipe Massa (BRA) 31, 12. Lance Stroll wrong side of the track now, but that’s India from a precarious 87-5 after Rohit Sharma, who made 28, and went out just after the start of the fi rst 6. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) at 27.259 (CAN) 28, 13. Romain Grosjean (FRA) 26, 14. what it is,” Vettel shrugged after re- electing to bat fi rst. Kedar Jadhav, who scored 40, tried wet race in Singapore, which saw three 7. Stoff el Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren-Hon- Kevin Magnussen (DEN) 11, 15. Fernando turning to the paddock. In reply, the visitors had to wait to rebuild with their 53-run partner- safety cars and fi nished with only 12 da) at 30.388 Alonso (ESP) 10, 16. Jolyon Palmer (GBR) But Hamilton dodged the pile-up for two hours to start their shortened ship before Marcus Stoinis sent the drivers. 8. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) at 41.696 8, 17. Stoff el Vandoorne (BEL) 7, 18. Pascal and he progressed from fi fth on the chase as constant drizzle threatened two batsmen back in the pavilion. It all played perfectly into the hands 9. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) at 43.282 Wehrlein (GER) 5, 19. Daniil Kvyat (RUS) 4 grid to fi rst, ahead of Ricciardo, as the to spoil the contest. Dhoni, who has captained the of Mercedes driver Hamilton, who 10. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) at Constructors’ standings race fi nally restarted after a safety car. Pacemen Jasprit Bumrah and Pan- successful Chennai franchise in the went from fi fth on the grid to fi rst and 44.795 1. Mercedes-AMG 475pts, 2. Ferrari 373, 3. Alonso lasted just a few laps before dya combined to hurt Australia’s Indian Premier League Twenty20 held off Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo to 11. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) at 46.536 Red Bull 230, 4. Force India 124, 5. Williams the damage sustained at the fi rst cor- hopes of chasing a tricky target with tournament, then made his innings clinch his third win in a row. 12. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber) at 2 laps 59, 6. Toro Rosso 52, 7. Renault 42, 8. Haas ner forced him to retire, and Toro Ros- three early strikes including skipper count along with Pandya for com- With his 60th race victory and sev- The other competitors were not classified 37, 9. McLaren-Honda 17, 10. Sauber 5 so’s Daniil Kvyat became the fi fth man Steve Smith for one. pany. enth this season, Hamilton — who said out when he ploughed nose-fi rst into Bumrah bowled debutant opener The duo thwarted the Australian he needed a “miracle” after struggling a barrier — prompting a second safety Hilton Cartwright for one. He then bowling with some stubborn batting in qualifying — stands 28 points ahead car. took a stunning high catch at short before Pandya let loose to take the of Vettel with six Grands Prix left this Mercedes declined to pit Hamilton fi ne-leg to send Smith trudging back attack to the opposition. year. under the safety car but after the restart “Guys what can I say — what a turn- he reeled off a string of fastest laps on around today! Fantastic job with the the slowly drying track, extending his SCORECARD team strategy,” Hamilton said over the lead over Ricciardo. radio, before leaping out of his car and Ricciardo and then Hamilton pitted India S. Smith c Bumrah b Pandya ...... 1 hugging his engineers. for ultra-soft tyres after laps 28 and A. Rahane c Wade b Coulter-Nile...... 5 T. Head c Dhoni b Pandya ...... 5 “God blessed me today, for sure,” he 29 and the Briton emerged 8.7 seconds R. Sharma c Coulter-Nile b Stoinis ...... 28 G. Maxwell c Pandey b Chahal ...... 39 said later, dripping with champagne. ahead with 50 minutes left on an in- V. Kohli c Maxwell b Coulter-Nile ...... 0 M. Stoinis c Jadeja (sub) b Yadav ...... 3 “I capitalised on the incident — who creasingly quick track. M. Pandey c Wade b Coulter-Nile ...... 0 M. Wade st Dhoni b Chahal ...... 9 would have known that would happen? Hamilton had a healthy advantage K. Jadhav c Cartwright b Stoinis ...... 40 J. Faulkner not out ...... 32 “It was really unfortunate for the of 9.6 seconds when Sauber’s Marcus M.S. Dhoni c Warner b Faulkner ...... 79 P. Cummins c Bumrah b Chahal ...... 9 Ferraris but a great result for the (Mer- Ericsson spun and stopped on Ander- H. Pandya c Faulkner b Zampa ...... 83 N. Coulter-Nile c Jadhav b Kumar...... 2 cedes) team.” son Bridge, bringing out a third safety B. Kumar not out ...... 32 A. Zampa not out ...... 5 Ricciardo fi nished second for the car and wiping out the Briton’s lead. K. Yadav not out ...... 0 Extras (lb1, w5) ...... 6 third straight occasion in Singapore, “Why another safety car?” Hamilton Extras (b4, lb2, nb3, w5) ...... 14 Total (9 wickets; 21 overs) ...... 137 while Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri grumbled over the team radio. Total (7 wickets, 50 overs) ...... 281 Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Cartwright), 2-20 Bottas was third and Toro Rosso’s Car- But Hamilton shot off after the re- Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Rahane), 2-11 (Kohli), (Smith), 3-29 (Head), 4-35 (Warner), 5-76 los Sainz fi nished a career-best fourth. start to maintain the gap from Ricciardo 3-11 (Pandey), 4-64 (Sharma), 5-87 (Jadhav), (Maxwell), 6-76 (Stoinis), 7-91 (Wade), 8-109 Sergio Perez was fi fth and Jolyon and as he fi nally took the chequered 6-205 (Pandya), 7-277 (Dhoni) (Cummins), 9-127 (Coulter-Nile) Palmer, still digesting the news that he fl ag, the grandstand came to its feet and Did not bat: Y. Chahal, J. Bumrah Bowling: Kumar 4-0-25-1 (w2), Bumrah has been replaced by Sainz at Renault fi reworks lit up the night sky. Bowling: Cummins 10-1-44-0 (w2), 4-0-20-1 (w2), Pandya 4-0-28-2 (w1), Yadav next season, placed sixth — also his Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnus- Coulter-Nile 10-0-44-3 (w1, nb1), Faulkner 4-0-33-2, Chahal 5-0-30-3 (w1) best result in F1. sen both retired late in the race to bring 10-1-67-1 (nb2), Stoinis 10-0-54-2 (w2), Zampa Toss: India Some drivers had expressed con- the total number of casualties to eight. 10-0-66-1 Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (IND) and Marais cerns about visibility in the wet un- An investigation by race stewards Australia (revised target of 164 in 21 overs) Erasmus (RSA) der fl oodlights, but the night race had found nobody was to blame for the D. Warner c Dhoni b Yadav ...... 25 TV Umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG) hardly started when it lost three of the Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates winning the Singapore Grand Prix to take crash on the fi rst corner, meaning no H. Cartwright b Bumrah ...... 1 Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL) fi rst four cars on the grid. a commanding lead over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. punishments were handed out. Gulf Times 2 Monday, September 18, 2017 SPORT

CRICKET SPOTLIGHT Hamilton trying to go vegan out of Brathwaite’s long concern for planet trip pays off as WI beat England The all-rounder travelled 8,000 miles to play the only Twenty20 match of the tour

Reuters said the Briton, who has won Singapore six of 13 races this season and claimed a record 69th pole po- sition. riple Formula One world “But I am at the race so I have champion Lewis Hamil- chefs here. I don’t know how ton says he is trying to go easy that’s going to be when I vegan out of concern for get home. That is going to be a Tthe planet, love of animals and real test.” his own health. Hamilton, who is a regular “It’s something I’ve kind of at celebrity haunts across the being going towards anyway. Atlantic with friends from the I stopped eating red meat two fashion and music industries as years ago,” the 32-year-old well as the world of sport, said Mercedes driver told reporters he knew many others who had ahead of the Singapore Grand made the same decision. Prix. The Briton, whose private jet “This year I stopped eating and luxury sportscars have fea- chicken and then kind of went tured prominently on his vari- back to it and now I’ve stopped ous social media feeds, spoke again. So I’ve generally been also of his concern about global pescatarian really for the major- warming and family history of ity of the year and then I’m cut- health issues. ting fi sh.” “I don’t want in 10 or 20 years Hamilton, who has 4.8mn to have diabetes or have heart is- followers on Twitter, told fans sues which has been in my fami- on Snapchat earlier in the week ly, cancer which has also been in that he was going to watch the my family. I don’t want to catch Netfl ix documentary ‘What the any of that stuff ,” he said. Health’ and was “on a mission” “By letting people that are to go vegan. following me know, maybe I can Vegetarians do not eat meat, encourage a couple of people to fi sh, or poultry and vegans also do the same thing.” do not eat animal products such The feedback on his instagram as eggs and dairy foods. page was divided, with plenty “I have actually eaten plant- off ering support and applauding based food for the last two days his move but others expressing and it has been amazing. So far I concern about how the diet could don’t feel like I’m missing out,” impact his athletic performance.

Perez stays with Ocon at West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite celebrates taking the final wicket, of England’s Liam Plunkett, during the only T20 International against England at The Emirates Force India in 2018 Riverside, Chester-le-Street in north east England on Saturday night. West Indies won the game by 21 runs. Singapore: Mexican driver Ser- fourth in the overall standings for gio Perez will stay at Force India the second successive year. AFP SCORECARD Narine was named man-of-the-match next season in an unchanged “Staying with Sahara Force India Chester-le-Street, United Kingdom, after taking two for 15, with none of the line-up with Frenchman Esteban was always my priority,” said A. Hales b Brathwaite ...... 43 West Indies side on show Saturday hav- Ocon, the Formula One team said Perez, who had been linked with West Indies J. Root c Brathwaite b Nurse ...... 17 ing featured in a preceding 2-1 Test series ahead of the Singapore Grand other teams including Renault est Indies captain Carlos C. Gayle run out (Roy/Plunkett) ...... 40 E. Morgan c Lewis b Narine ...... 2 defeat by England. Prix yesterday. who have now opted for Spaniard Brathwaite was rewarded E. Lewis c Root b Plunkett ...... 51 J. Buttler c Powell b Williams ...... 30 The hosts needed 26 off the last over The deal will take Perez, who Carlos Sainz. “It’s a team that has for making an 8,000-mile M. Samuels c Root b Plunkett ...... 10 J. Bairstow c sub (Mohammed) b Brathwaite .... and Brathwaite, fi ttingly, ended the joined the Silverstone-based outfit allowed me to show my talents round trip to Chester-le- C. Walton c Willey b Rashid ...... 13 ...... 27 match when he bowled Liam Plunkett. in 2014 after a single unhappy as a driver and I feel very happy WStreet as the tourists beat England by 21 K. Pollard c Curran b Plunkett ...... 6 A. Rashid c Walton b Williams ...... 1 Earlier, West Indies made 176 for nine. season at former champions here.” runs in a lone Twenty20 international on R. Powell c Jordan b Curran ...... 28 D. Willey st Walton b Narine ...... 1 Chris Gayle (40) and Lewis (51) got McLaren, into a fifth successive With Perez confirmed at Force Saturday. C. Brathwaite b Rashid ...... 2 L. Plunkett b Brathwaite ...... 18 West Indies off to a fl ying start, putting season with the team. India and Sainz at Renault, the England, set 177 for victory, were S. Narine lbw b Rashid ...... 2 C. Jordan c Powell b Williams ...... 6 on 77 for the fi rst wicket after Morgan “Alongside Esteban, retaining focus now shifts to Felipe Massa bowled out for 155 at a chilly and rain- A. Nurse not out ...... 13 T. Curran not out ...... 1 won the toss. Sergio gives us stability going into and his future at Williams. swept Riverside. J. Taylor lbw b Jordan ...... 1 Extras (lb5, w4) ...... 9 But fast bowler Plunkett (three for 27) next season and one of the most The Brazilian, who came back Barbados-born Brathwaite, 29, had K. Williams not out ...... 2 Total (all out, 19.3 overs) ...... 155 and leg-spinner Adil Rashid, whose fi g- exciting driver pairings in Formula from a brief retirement this sea- been West Indies’ star with the bat when Extras (lb1, w7) ...... 8 Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Roy), 2-64 (Hales), 3-66 ures of three for 25 were his best at this One,” said the team’s co-owner son, is out of contract at the end they beat England in last year’s World Total (9 wkts, 20 overs) ...... 176 (Root), 4-68 (Morgan), 5-118 (Buttler), 6-124 level, kept West Indies to under 200. and principal Vijay Mallya.The of the year. Twenty20 fi nal, hitting four successive Fall of wickets: 1-77 (Gayle), 2-106 (Lewis), (Rashid), 7-127 (Willey), 8-129 (Bairstow), 9-148 The third over saw Gayle smash left- Mercedes-backed 20-year-old There are several contenders for sixes in a dramatic last over. 3-115 (Samuels), 4-123 (Pollard), 5-127 (Walton), (Jordan), 10-155 (Plunkett) arm paceman Willey for two successive joined Perez at Force India at the his seat, including Robert Kubica, This time, paceman Brathwaite dam- 6-138 (Brathwaite), 7-142 (Narine), 8-165 (Pow- Bowling: Taylor 3-0-40-1; Williams 4-0-35-3 sixes — a pull followed by a straight drive. start of this season.The pair have who has brought retired cham- aged England with the ball when, in his ell), 9-167 (Taylor) (3w); Brathwaite 3.3-0-20-3; Narine 4-0-15-2; Lewis got into gear in the sixth over as clashed on track several times but pion and former Williams driver only match of the tour — — he was not Bowling: Willey 2-0-20-0 (1w); Root 2-0-11-0 Nurse 3-0-23-1 (1w); Pollard 2-0-17-0 he hit 16 runs in three balls off Tom Cur- have been instrumental in putting Nico Rosberg on to his manage- selected for the Test or one-day interna- (2w); Curran 4-0-46-1 (1w); Jordan 4-0-46-1 Result: West Indies won by 21 runs ran. the outfit on course to finish ment team.. tional legs — he took three for 20 runs in (2w); Plunkett 4-0-27-3 (1w); Rashid 4-0-25-3 Toss: England Gayle’s 21-ball innings, featuring three 3.3 overs. Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG), Tim Robin- fours and four sixes ended when, after “This was probably the more challeng- England son (ENG) guiding Plunkett to backward point, he PUNISHMENT ing of our recent wins,” Brathwaite told J. Roy c Lewis b Taylor ...... 0 TV umpire: Rob Bailey (ENG) was run out as he ambled for a single. Sky Sports. The 37-year-old Gayle, in common “Conditions were soft and slippery, with several senior West Indies players, the umpires were close to calling it off ac- day),” he explained. that saw England lose three wickets for had been involved in a bitter dispute with Two-year ban for tually. It was so bad and I asked the guys The fi rst ball of England’s reply saw four runs as 64 for one soon became 68 Caribbean cricket chiefs. if they want to trudge on or call it a day. Jason Roy caught at backward point by a for four. But July saw him return to West Indies “The umpires were in agreement with diving Evin Lewis after he sliced a drive Brathwaite caught England Test skip- duty in a Twenty20 international against ex-Sri Lanka player us but then we thought we will give it a off Jerome Taylor. per Joe Root (17) on the drive off Ashley India in Kingston. go and see if there are any slips, and there Alex Hales was almost out for a golden Nurse. That match saw fellow left-hander weren’t.” duck as well but Rovman Powell dropped And Nurse’s fellow spinner Sunil Nar- Lewis make a stunning 125 not out. Chamara Silva Brathwaite’s tour may be over but he a tough diving chance following a fi rm ine then had Twenty20 skipper Eoin Lewis threatened another big score on is not making an immediate return to the clip off the pads. Morgan out for just two when the dan- Saturday while making fi fty off 26 balls, AFP ers and managers were barred Caribbean. Brathwaite, however, bowled Hales for german reverse swept straight to Lewis at including six fours and three sixes Colombo for one year, SLC said in a state- “I am now heading off to Manchester 43 made off just 17 balls, including eight short third man. The Trinidadian, however, was out ment. to support the Red Devils (Manchester fours and a six. “Losing the game was losing three soon afterwards when he drove Plunkett There had been allegations United) against Everton tomorrow (Sun- Hales’s exit was the start of a slump wickets in that period,” said Morgan. to Root at mid-off . ormer Sri Lanka player of match-fi xing after Panadura Chamara Silva has been won following unusual scoring banned for two years on the third day of their match, for misconduct during a but SLC said there had been no Fdomestic fi rst-class match, Sri match-fi xing. Windies considered walk-off in rainswept win over England Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced “Please note that the two yesterday. teams have been found guilty of AFP, Chester-le-Street, United Kingdom: West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite game. Walton recovered, however, and he was behind the stumps as West Indies SLC said the match between misconduct and not playing to said his side were so concerned about the prospect of “career-threatening injuries” on completed a 21-run win — their 11th in 15 Twenty20 internationals against England, a Panadura Cricket Club and Ka- the spirit of the game, and not a sodden outfield they considered abandoning before beating England in a Twenty20 sequence including last year’s World Twenty20 final triumph in India. lutara Physical Culture Club in of match fi xing,” the statement international. But it almost did not happen after Walton’s injury, with Brathwaite telling a post-match January this year had not been said. None of the West Indies team at Chester-le-Street on Saturday had been involved in news conference: “I had a chat with a few of the boys in a huddle while Chadwick was played in keeping with the spirit The two clubs were also fi ned their side’s recent 2-1 three-Test series defeat in England. getting treatment and most of them said it was unsafe. of the game and that players and half a million rupees ($3,300) Instead Brathwaite and his men had arrived directly from the Caribbean Premier “I told the umpires the boys had some concerns — it could be a career-threatening offi cials on both sides had been each. The match was declared League Twenty20 tournament. injury (next). penalised. void and the points table has Conditions at the Riverside, the home of northeast county Durham, were always likely He added: “We kind of gave it an ultimatum... we got the outfield roped and we were The two captains, Chamara been adjusted. to prove challenging for a team used to the rather warmer climate back home in the in agreement that if it continued to be unsafe or if anything dramatic or drastic hap- Silva, who played in all formats The two sides had scored 587 West Indies. pened we’d call it quits. But cricket was the winner.” of international cricket for Sri runs on the fi nal day despite But jokes about the weather gave way to major concern when Windies wicket-keeper Durham later revealed that three spectators were injured after falling on unstable Lanka up to 2011, and Manoj only 180 being scored over the Chadwick Walton, changing direction to field a deflected ball, slipped and jarred his flooring in the North East Terrace, with stewards evacuating the area as a safety Deshapriya were banned for two fi rst two days, prompting an in- knee on an already wet outfield that had been exposed to yet more rain during the precaution. years from all cricket-related vestigation which continued for activities while the other play- seven months. Gulf Times Monday, September 18, 2017 3 SPORT

GOLF Leishman in command at BMW Championship

AFP Day and Fowler both carded bogeys in his fi rst seven holes, up for me a little better than it 65, Scott Brown 69-66-67, Chicago one-under par 70s for 199. Leishman birdied the eighth to did at Dell. “Hopefully I can just Ryan Moore 69-66-67, Charley England’s Justin Rose signed make the turn at one-under for play well, do the right things and Hoff man 64-71-67, Chez Reavie for a 66 that put him in solo the day, and picked up two more not worry about the result too 68-67-67, Matt Kuchar 67-68-67, arc Leishman fi red fourth on 201. Spain’s Jon Rahm birdies coming in as the fi eld much, as hard as that will be.” Patrick Cantlay 67-65-70 fi ve birdies in a carded a 65 to head a group of failed to mount a challenge. Fowler opened with a 24-foot 203 - Lucas Glover 68-70-65, three-under par seven players on 202. “Putting four good rounds to- eagle, but had just one birdie and Cameron Smith (AUS) 66-68-69, 68 on Saturday to Leishman capped his round gether (is the biggest challenge)” two bogeys the rest of the way. Stewart Cink 67-66-70 Mstretch his lead to fi ve strokes with a birdie at the par-fi ve 18th Leishman said. “A lot of tourna- Day had two birdies on the front 204 - Webb Simpson 66-73- over fellow Aussie Jason Day to put himself in prime position ments you put three rounds to- nine but one bogey with no bird- 65, Pat Perez 70-67-67, Sergio and Rickie Fowler in the BMW to seize a third US PGA Tour ti- gether. May not be in a row. Very ies coming in. Garcia (ESP) 68-68-68, Phil Championship. tle. The most recent of those easy to throw a mediocre round Mickelson 66-69-69, Mackenzie Leishman started the day with came at the Arnold Palmer Invi- in there. Tomorrow I’ve got to Leading third-round scores Hughes (CAN) 67-68-69 a three-shot lead. His solid per- tational this year. But he came up try not to do that. 194 - Marc Leishman (AUS) 62- 205 - Sean O’Hair 70-69-66, formance at Conway Farms put short at TPC Boston two weeks “After what happened at the 64-68 Luke List 68-70-67, Keegan Bra- him on 19-under 194 going into ago – when he went into the fi nal Dell (in Boston), I’ve got extra 199 - Rickie Fowler 65-64-70, dley 65-72-68, James Hahn 68- the fi nal round of the penulti- round sharing the lead with Jus- determination to fi nish this one Jason Day (AUS) 64-65-70 68-69, D Berger 68-68-69, Jamie mate tournament in the US PGA tin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. off and my game is in a better 201 - Justin Rose (ENG) 67-68-66 Lovemark 64-70-71, Francesco Marc Leishman (right) with Jason Day during the third round of the Tour’s FedEx Cup playoff series. After two birdies and two spot. I feel like this course sets 202 - Jon Rahm (ESP) 69-68- Molinari (ITA) 68-65-72. BMW Championship. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

BOXING SPOTLIGHT Nordqvist wins Evian play-off for Golovkin retains second major title

AFP chances of a fi rst win on Tour Evian, France were blighted by a drive out of bounds at the 13th. She came to the tough 18th needing a weden’s Anna Nor- par to make the play-off . But titles in thrilling dqvist claimed her she had to lay up with her sec- second major title with ond shot, hit it way left, and a play-off win over ended up making bogey for a SAmerican Brittany Altomare round of 72. Lydia Ko, the 2015 at the Evian Championship champion, was also one shy yesterday. after a fi nal hole lay-up for a Both players shot 66 to tie 69, while Australian Katherine on nine under par, and a bogey Kirk birdied the last for a 70 draw with Alvarez fi ve at the fi rst play-off hole – and fi nished in the three-way the 18th – was good enough tie for third place. ‘We used the ring. We used the ropes and we fought in the centre of ring’ for the 30-year-old to add an- Chun In-Gee, the defend- other major to the 2009 LPGA ing champion, closed with a 72 AFP Championship. With rain and for one under par, while fellow Las Vegas then hail lashing the course, South Korean and world No.1, the play-off was staged in hor- Ryu So-Yeon, had a 71 for two rendous conditions and the over. Ryu only tied for 40th, ennady Golovkin re- 18th green had to be squeegeed but that was still good enough tained his three world before the players could putt. to secure the Rolex Annika titles on Saturday, Both women laid up short Major Award for 2017. fi ghting to a draw with of the water in two and then It is given to the player who GMexican star Canelo Alvarez in a Altomare took three from the has the best results in a major, showdown for middleweight su- edge of the green for a six. including at least one victory. premacy that lived up the hype. Nordqvist got up and down She won the ANA Inspiration The 35-year-old Golovkin, from left off the green for a at the start of the season. making his Las Vegas debut, kept winning fi ve. hold of the World Boxing Coun- It was a play-off reprieve for Third and final round scores cil, World Boxing Association Nordqvist. Last year, she lost 204 - Anna Nordqvist (SWE) and International Boxing Fed- in extra-time at the US Wom- 66 72 66, Brittany Altomare eration belts in front of a crowd en’s Open when she was pe- (USA) 70 68 66 of 22,358 at the T-Mobile Arena. nalised two shots for brushing (Nordqvist won play-off at first Judge Dave Moretti scored the sand in a bunker with her club. extra hole) tense battle 114-114. Dan Trella It was also a remarkable win 205 - Lydia Ko (NZL) 68 68 69, saw it 115-113 for Golovkin but for a player who has suff ered Moriya Jutanugarn (THA) 65 Adalaide Byrd had it one-sided, from glandular fever this year. 68 72, Katherine Kirk (AUS) 118-110, for Alvarez. Byrd’s lop- The Championship was re- 66 69 70 sided score didn’t refl ect the ex- duced to 54 holes after Thurs- 206 - Kim Sei-Young (KOR) 70 plosive drama of a bout in which day’s play was wiped out by 68 68, Feng Shanshan CHN) Golovkin moved forward ag- severe storms and the last day 69 68 69 gressively while challenger Al- was a real ding dong aff air. 207 - Jennifer Song (USA) 72 varez was the counter-puncher Thailand’s Moriya Jutanu- 65 70 with sometimes faster hands. gran, the overnight leader, was 208 - Lee Mi-Hyang (KOR) 69 “This was a real drama show,” two ahead at the turn, but her 72 67. Golovkin said. “I want to thank all my fans for supporting me. “Of course I want the re- match. This was a real fi ght.” Asked if he thought he won, Golovkin said, “Look I still have Gennady Golovkin (green trunks) celebrates after his middleweight championship bout against Canelo Alvarez (not pictured) at T-Mobile the belts and I am still the cham- Arena. The bout ended in a draw. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports pion.” The baby-faced champ from Kazakhstan with the steel jaw Saunders ‘ready’ for Canelo-GGG showdown is considered one of the fi ttest athletes in boxing, but Alvarez Billy Joe Saunders said he was him. “That name alone would (WBC) and International Boxing was also well-prepared for the ready to face either Gennady bring (an extra) 25 per cent Federation (IBF) middleweight 160-pound fi ght which both “GGG” Golovkin or Saul “Canelo” out of me. I knew that natural world title belts on the line needed to validate their places in Alvarez after outpointing Willie ability in me would see me beat against Alvarez while Saunders history. Monroe Jr on Saturday. Monroe but there’s loads more holds the WBO version. “This is one of the best fi ghts The English boxer made a improvement to come,” said “There’s no excuses now. we have seen in recent years,” second defence of his World Saunders, who improved his (Golovkin and Alvarez) both told said promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Boxing Organization (WBO) undefeated record to a perfect me to get in shape. I’m in shape Asked if he wanted a rematch middleweight title 117-111, 115-114 25-0, with 12 knockouts. now and who ever wants it next, Anna Nordqvist from Sweden poses with trophy after winning Alvarez said, “Absolutely. If the and 117-112 on the judges cards “I want Golovkin to win because I’m game. If they want to be uni- the Evian Championship yesterday. (AFP) fans want to see it again, why over American Monroe at the he’s the invincible man and (my fied champion of all four titles not?” Copper Box Arena in London. Billy Joe Saunders celebrates trainer) Dominic Ingle’s fought they have to win my title. Despite the draw this was Al- Saunders, 28, then turned his after winning the fight against him with Kell Brook. “My dream is to fight for all the FOCUS varez’s coming out party in the attention to the world mid- Willie Monroe Jr. (Reuters) “He’s nearly 36 and if I’m not go- titles in Las Vegas.” higher weight class as he deliv- dleweight showdown between ing to beat him now I will never Saunders admitted he was ered a performance that estab- triple belt holder Golovkin and Canelo,” Saunders told a press beat him,” said Saunders. unhappy with his performance lished himself as a bona-fi de Alvarez taking place a few hours conference. “I’m not waiting around for any- against Monroe (21-3) in a fight Lee wins Shinhan middleweight. He had won sev- later in Las Vegas and said he “I believe he’s in talks with body though. I want to be out of that lacked excitement. en straight fi ghts since losing his would be happy to face the [Miguel] Cotto anyway but the game when I’m 31.” “I got a bit lazy because nothing only fi ght to Floyd Mayweather winner. But if that fight could maybe Golovkin would have it. Saunders challenged the was happening,” said Saunders. Donghae Open in 2013. not be arranged for December, If they aren’t ready I want to be winner of the Vegas fight to “It was a big improvement on then Saunders would look for out again in December.” get in the ring for a unifica- my last fight. There was stuff I AFP course “at least six times” ‘Not the monster’ an alternative. Saunders said he would prefer a tion bout. Golovkin is putting wanted to try but if someone Seoul adding, “I actually thought “He has a diff erent power “I don’t think they will be fight against Golovkin and that his World Boxing Association is running around on the back I was going to lose my Asian than others I have faced,” Al- ready for December, especially it would bring out the best in (WBA), World Boxing Council foot, it’s hard.” Tour card but after practising varez said of Golovkin. “But he anadian golfer Richard for three weeks in a row, I had is not the monster everybody is T Lee defeated Ma- a good feeling I was going to do talking about. I didn’t feel that.” the ring. There was no feeling- snapped their opponent’s head ers looked exhausted. Alvarez Boxing fans will be hoping the laysia’s Gavin Green well again.” Alvarez, who is eight years out process in this one as both back. The 27-year-old Alvarez’s charged out of his corner looking contest is the launching point by one stroke to win Green entered the fi nal younger than Golovkin, is enter- fi ghters came to fi ght from the best round was the 10th, when he for the knockout and Golovkin of a boxing trilogy like those theC Shinhan Donghae Open in round with a one-stroke lead ing his prime and will certainly opening bell and tried to land big stunned Golovkin with a vicious fi nished the round with a wild of Manny Pacquiao and Juan South Korea yesterday. but fi nished 10 under after move up on the pound-for- punches early. right hand to the head about 30 fl urry of lefts and rights. Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales Lee fi nished on 11 under par failed to make a birdie on the pound list. “We used the ring. We Golovkin said he expected seconds in. Alvarez tried to fi n- Alvarez moved to 49-1-2 with and Marco Antonio Barrera and to secure the $180,000 win- fi nal hole that would have tak- used the ropes and we fought in Alvarez’s game plan to include ish him off but Golovkin sur- 34 knockouts and Golovkin re- Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti. ner’s cheque in the Asian Tour en Lee to a playoff . the centre of ring. We did exactly a few surprises and the former vived and once he shook off the mained undefeated at 37-0-1 Byrd’s one-sided score was event co-sanctioned by the “Richard played well and what we prepared for,” he said. two-time champion Alvarez cobwebs the two continued their with 33 knockouts after a fi ght heavily criticized by Golovkin Korean PGA. you cannot do anything about Golovkin won most of the didn’t disappoint. brawl on the ropes and in the that was two years in the making. who called it “unbelievable”. “I’m going to remember this that,” said Green. “I admit early rounds but then got ham- In the fourth round, Alva- centre of the ring. De La Hoya though insisted win for a very long time espe- there was a little bit of pres- mered a few times with Alvarez’s rez tried to press the attack, but “I wanted to fi nish him off but ‘Be a war’ there was nothing shady going cially after coming off injuries, sure especially coming down uppercuts and right hands and he paid for it as Golovkin got he was a stong opponent with a Golokin’s trainer Abel Sanchez on. “I can assure you there was working on my game from the stretch.” seemed to be the more tired of the better of those exchanges. lot of experience. It didn’t unfold said Alvarez fought the way they no infl uence,” he said. scratch again,” the 26-year- It was the third time this the two near the end. There were very few clinches in the way I wanted it too,” Alvarez expected him to. “I don’t understand 118-110. I old said after the win at the season that the Malaysian had Golovkin established himself the fi ght as both did damage in said of the round. “No surprises. We knew going can understand 115-113. But I can Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf been pipped to victory. He also early with his stinging jab, all close. In the eighth round they By the time they reached into this would be a war. Canelo assure you there is no infl uence Club in Incheon. fi nished second in events in the while eff ectively cutting off each landed sharp uppercuts that the fi nal 12th round, both box- was very resilient,” Sanchez said. whatsoever.” Lee said he had played the India and Taiwan. Gulf Times 4 Monday, September 18, 2017 SPORT

SPOTLIGHT QBF, HBKU sign MoU for basketball development

By Sports Reporter dents, where QBF and HBKU will ever, if they have acquired skills Doha share resources to promote and such as photography or video facilitate the sport by coaching, recording-editing they may be hosting and offi ciating basket- permitted to use these skills at he Qatar Basketball Fed- ball activities. the Qatar Universities Basketball eration (QBF) and Hamad Speaking about the part- Cup and or other major basket- bin Khalifa University nership, Al-Malki said, “This ball events,” al-Malki concluded. (HBKU) signed a MoU agreement is an integral part of Ms. Maryam al-Mannai com- Tyesterday to collaborate on the QBF’s new strategic plan and mented on the occasion of the sport’s development and enhance demonstrates both parties’ MoU by saying: “At HBKU, we participation of the students. commitment to further develop believe that learning goes be- The MoU was signed by QBF and enhance our sport.” yond the classroom and research secretary general Ali al-Malki He added, “our co-operation labs. Our new collaboration with and HBKU vice-president of is an important step forward the Qatar Basketball Federation student aff airs Maryam al-Man- because we now have a struc- embodies our values of reaching nai at the HBKU Student Centre tured plan with HBKU and Ms. out to the larger community and in Education City. al-Mannai has been great in her fostering holistic development The MoU is the fi rst of its approach to further promote and leadership. kind collaboration between the our interaction and achieve our “By taking the initiative and two parties. It forms an agree- common goals through joint by playing an important role ment that will extend over the competitions, workshops, and in hosting the inaugural Qatar years to come and will provide activities.” Universities Basketball Cup, we a pathway for the development In addition to sharing basket- continue to showcase our com- of basketball participation and ball management responsibilities mitment to serving the commu- competitions for university stu- and technical expertise, the QBF nity with diligent fervour. dents in Qatar, through mutual will work closely with HBKU on “Along with the QBF, and to- eff orts. planning, promoting, organising gether with our partners in Qatar The agreement also marks the and hosting competitions. Foundation, as well as universi- beginning of Qatar Universities The co-operation also in- ties across Qatar, we are looking Basketball Cup (QUBC) from cludes professional basketball forward to promoting and advo- October 1. The tournament will training, technical workshops, Qatar Basketball Federation’s secretary general Ali al-Malki (third from right) and Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s vice-president of student aff airs cating sportsmanship,” she said. be co-organised by Qatar Bas- work experience and the dis- Ms. Maryam al-Mannai (third from left) pose with other off icials after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) yesterday. “As Qatar Foundation’s home- ketball Federation and HBKU, a semination of these activities grown university, we are proud member of Qatar Foundation. through media publications, from university teams can pro- tend across many educational such opportunities for partici- placement of university students to take the lead on a national The milestone agreement will workshops and conferences. ceed and develop skills that can institutions covering both codes pants to our game are encouraged to provide them an insight into competition like this, and play see the federation and the uni- “The agreement is open to all lead to elite level participation.” of basketball the 5x5 and the new and strongly supported,” he said. the basketball industry. Students our part in promoting a deeper versity supporting greater in- levels of entry and ensures that Al-Malki said. Olympic sport of 3x3. With more “In addition, the federation are placed with QBF staff prima- sense of community across the volvement from university stu- a player, coach, offi cial or referee “QBF’s collaboration will ex- Doha basketball competitions has also agreed to short-term rily to observe and learn. How- society,” al-Mannai said.

RUGBY SQUASH World No. 1 Gaultier leads star cast Wallabies braced for for Qatar Classic

By Sports Reporter The Squash and Badmin- Doha ton Federation (QTSBF) is the event organiser. “This is the fi rst event since orld number one the merger of three sports S. Africa ‘retribution’ Gregory Gault- bodies – tennis, squash and ier of France will badminton. We are looking ‘What I do know is that when we get to the Highveld, it’s going to be on’ lead a star cast at forward to the event and I can Wthis year’s Qatar Classic. assure you this event will be Gaultier, a former champion one to remember,” Zainal said. in Doha, will head the men’s The winner will take home competition at the October $24, 225 while the runners-up 29-November 3 event at the get richer by $14,820. Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex, Qatar Tennis. ENTRY LIST With the event off ering a whopping $165,000 in prize 1 Gregory Gaultier money, players like Egyptian 2 Karim Abdel Gawad duo Karim Abdel Gawad, Mo- 3 Mohamed ElShorbagy hamed El Shorbagy, Britain’s 4 Nick Matthew Nick Mathew and Ali Farag of 5 Ali Farag Egypt complete the world’s 6 Marwan ElShorbagy top fi ve set to appear in Doha. 7 James Willstrop Gawad is the defending 8 Tarek Momen champion after he beat compa- 9 Fares Dessouky triot El Shorbagy in the 2016 fi - 10 Paul Coll nal. Marwan El Shorbagy (world 11 Simon Rösner number 6), James Willstrop (7), 12 Daryl Selby Tarek Momen (8), Fares Des- 13 Mohamed Abouelghar souky (9) and New Zealand’s 14 Ramy Ashour Paul Coll (10) are also certain to 15 Ryan Cuskelly take part in the championship. 16 Borja Golan Qatar’s Abdulla Mohamed 17 Diego Elias al-Tamimi, ranked 42 in the 18 Cameron Pilley world, is also part of the main 19 Zahed Mohamed draw. “This will be a great 20 Cesar Salazar event as the top players are 21 Gregoire Marche headed to Doha. We have a 22 Miguel Angel Rodriguez long history of hosting this top 23 Omar Mosaad tier squash event,” tournament 24 Abdulla al-Tamimi (WC) director Tareq Zainal said.

Australian players celebrate a try as Argentina’s players react during their Rugby Championship Test on Saturday. (Reuters)

AFP for some retribution on someone ple of team changes in mind. “I Moyano to miss rest of Rugby Championship Canberra and that’s most likely going to be think that’s been a good balance us and we’ve got to be ready for but it’s the competition for the Argentina head back home for their final two matches of the Rugby that.” spots,” he said. “There’s a cou- Championship still seeking their first win and if they are to beat he Wallabies are pre- The Springboks are vowing to ple of other chaps brewing in the Australia or New Zealand they will have to do it without winger paring for a Springbok take it out on Australia after the background that we are looking Ramiro Moyano. backlash in their next humiliation of conceding 57 un- to get a game in the back row.” Moyano, who has played six of Argentina’s seven tests this year, Rugby Championship answered points to New Zealand Those in line include Queens- will need an operation and at least six weeks on the sidelines after Japan told to speed up WC preparations TTest after breaking through for - a South Africa record losing land Reds duo Adam Korczyk sustaining a fracture in his right hand during Saturday’s 45-20 loss their fi rst win in the tournament margin, eclipsing the 53-3 defeat and Lukhan Tui, while NSW to Australia at Canberra Stadium. While that will definitely rule Japanese organisers were warned yesterday to accelerate against Argentina. to England in 2002. Waratahs fl anker Jack Dempsey Moyano out of the rest of the championship there is some hope for their preparations for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with training Australia fought back from South Africa had previously was impressive coming off the Matias Moroni, who also injured his right hand in the match and had venues a key area of concern. 13-10 down at half-time to score held the Wallabies to a 23-23 bench against the Pumas. it immobilised pending an examination back in Buenos Aires. Following the conclusion of evaluation meetings in Tokyo, fi ve second-half tries in a re- draw the week before in Perth on The Wallabies fi nish their Winger Moroni’s 78th minute chip-and-chase for a brilliant indi- Rugby World Cup Tournament Director Alan Gilpin was under- sounding 45-20 victory over the their way to New Zealand, and Rugby Championship campaign vidual try was a rare highlight of the second half in Canberra for whelmed by the progress made with two years to go before Pumas in Canberra on Saturday. lie second in the Rugby Cham- with two Tests on the road: the Pumas, who gave up a lead for the second week in a row to lose the sport’s showpiece competition comes to Asia for the first They next face a daunting pionship standings three points South Africa in Bloemfontein on their fourth match of the competition. time. “There are some areas where the organising commit- challenge against the chastened ahead of Australia. September 30 followed by Ar- “We had a good first half and a bad second,” said coach Daniel tee has not progressed as much as we would expect by this South Africans in Bloemfontein. “I thought South Africa would gentina in Mendoza on October Hourcade. “We failed to score tries and they did not miss anything. stage,” he said in a press release. “The Japan Rugby 2019 South Africa were hammered go there and perform but no 7. Cheika was annoyed by the Australia ended up being a clearly dominant. When they scored organising committee recognise that they need to accelerate 57-0 in a record loss to the All one knows better than us how Wallabies’ fl at fi rst half against against us, we lost our heads and that was the diff erence. the selection of training venues,” added Gilpin. Blacks in Auckland, and Wal- the game can get away from you Argentina and they had trailed at “To have opportunities, you must maintain your level for the whole “These venues must be of a world-class standard that provide labies coach Michael Cheika is against New Zealand,” Cheika half-time. game. The Australians took every opportunity. We did not.” the platform for the players to perform at their best.” expecting the Springboks to hit added. Australia trailed 54-6 “There was a lack of intent, The twice World Cup semi-finalists, who have won just one test in England, expected to be one of the favourites under former back hard against his team on against New Zealand before los- lack of urgency in the fi rst half. seven this year, and that against Georgia, will now need to beat Japan coach Eddie Jones, were one of the earliest teams to se- September 30. ing 54-34 in Sydney last month. I’m not sure why. You’re playing New Zealand on Oct. 1 in Buenos Aires and Australia a week later lect a training camp venue, choosing Miyazaki, on the south- “What I do know is that when The Wallabies have won twice in a Test match for Australia,” in Mendoza to meet Hourcade’s goal. They will also have to be bet- ern island of Kyushu. Other items on the agenda included an we get to the Highveld, it’s going in four Tests against South Af- Cheika said. “But they sorted ter defensively than they were in the last 10 minutes in Canberra, evaluation of match venues, ticketing, budgeting and host city to be on,” Cheika told reporters rica at Bloemfontein, including a themselves out in the second when the Wallabies ran in three tries after replacement Pumas prop operations for the tournament which kicks off on September Sunday. 41-39 thriller in 2010. half and that was better rugby Enrique Pieretto had been yellow carded. 20, 2019. “They’re going to be looking Cheika said he had a cou- from us.” Gulf Times Monday, September 18, 2017 5 SPORT

MLB NBA Nike’s ‘connected jersey’ aims to put Kyle in command as fans front and centre

AFP not been offi cially announced Los Angeles industry experts put its value in the region of $1 billion.

porting a favourite ‘Expand to other sports’ Cubs top Cardinals player’s number can The deal puts the Nike now be more than a swoosh on the jersey of the declaration of faith, reigning champion Golden thanksS to smart jerseys un- State Warriors, the Cleveland veiled this weekend by Nike Cavaliers of LeBron James, and as part of its new partnership such iconic teams as the Los with the NBA. Angeles Lakers and New York A tap of a smartphone to a Knicks. Nike also has access for fi ft h straight win label on the jersey allows the to exclusive content produced wearer a real-time look at by the NBA and its partners, ‘I just came up in a couple crucial spots, I thought, and wanted to help the team’ Kevin Durant’s statistics, Blake including videos, match se- Griffi n’s post-match press quences and locker room video By Paul Skrbina conference, or even the music – which fans will now be able Chicago Tribune playlist an NBA star uses to get to access through their “con- motivated before a game. nected jerseys”. The high-tech kit was un- “We use NFC technology, ngine 78 roared out of veiled on Friday night in a show the same that allows remote the fi re station on Wave- featuring rapper Travis Scott, payment in store with Apple land Avenue during the Golden State Warriors super- Pay or that serves for metro bottom of the seventh star Durant and Los Angeles cards. inningE Saturday, just as Albert Clippers standout Griffi n. “Each shirt has its chip that Almora Jr. settled into second Frank Ntilikina, the French allows the experience of each base after his second double of sensation who is poised to buyer to be fully customised” the day. launch his fi rst NBA campaign said Michael Hailey of Nike In- The sirens from the fi re engine with the New York Knicks, was novation. Information won’t provided a proper – and timely also on hand to tout the tech- just fl ow one way through the -backdrop considering the high nology that will be available smart jerseys and their associ- temperature of Almora’s bat of worldwide on September 29. ated apps. Nike will know who late. That double was his third Stefan Olander, Nike vice bought specifi c players’ jerseys hit of the game and seventh in president in charge of digital and where they are when they his last nine at-bats. innovation, says the jerseys, scan in. The sudden ballyhoo also was embedded with a NFC (near Players can use them to send appropriate for Kyle Hendricks, fi eld communication) chip will social media-style messages who exited not long after Almo- bring customers closer to the specifi cally to those fans who ra’s double, having pitched 7 2/3 game than ever. bought their jerseys. innings befi tting such pomp and “We have access to con- The connected jersey will be circumstance during the Cubs’ tent that cannot be found available in two editions, one 4-1 victory against the Cardinals. elsewhere, and we bring this priced at $110 and one at $200 Hendricks’ seventh straight unique added value to our cus- – part of Nike’s package of four quality start concluded with his tomers with this jersey,” Olan- jerseys for each team. 107th pitch – an 89 mph fastball der said. US sports apparel gi- And there’s no reason to that Matt Carpenter hit into the ant Nike becomes the offi cial think the technology will be left-fi eld bleachers for the Cardi- supplier to the NBA and its 30 limited to basketball. nals’ lone run – that also happened teams in the 2017-18 season, “There is no reason to think to be his fastest of the afternoon. which starts on October 20, re- that we can’t extend this expe- “It was up, but I still had plen- placing Adidas. rience to other sports, because ty left in the tank,” said Hen- Signed in June 2015, the in the end, what we do is bring dricks, who is 3-2 with a 2.42 mega-contract covers eight more value to the experience of ERA in 11 starts since returning years and while the terms have our customers,” Olander said. from the disabled list. Almora seems to be heating up too. His single in the fourth in- ning drove in Anthony Rizzo to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Almora was at it again the next inning, when his double yielded the same result with the same run- ner, putting the Cubs ahead 3-0. “I just came up in a couple crucial spots, I thought, and wanted to help the team,” Al- mora said. “Just trying not to do too much.” And doing just fi ne as a result. He has 10 RBIs in his last nine at- bats, which have included three doubles, a triple and a home run. “Almora had a hell of a game,” Hendricks said. “He really picked us up.” And the Cubs picked up an- other game on the third-place Cardinals, who slipped fi ve Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks throws out St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez (not pictured) during the second games behind the National inning at Wrigley Field. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports League Central leaders, with the Brewers sandwiched between. grounder to shortstop, which pinch-hit home run in the eighth But there’s still time. Indians 8 Royals 4 It also put the Cubs, who have Javier Baez, Ian Happ and Rizzo inning, his fi rst game since Aug. “If we’re able to go on a good Reds 2 Pirates 1 won fi ve in a row, a season-best turned into an inning-ending 2 after a long stint on the disa- run and fi nish the division like Yankees 9 Orioles 3 16 games above .500 and assured double play. bled list with a foot injury. we’re capable of, and make a Cubs 4 Cardinals 1 them of three consecutive win- “I knew that was a big spot,” A year ago Saturday, the party great postseason run again, that Astros 8 Mariners 6 ning seasons for only the fourth Hendricks said. “I just said, ‘I that took place at Wrigley Field is even more fantastic than what Red Sox 3 Rays 1 time since 1940. gotta be down, try to keep the was preplanned because the we did last year,” Ben Zobrist White Sox 10 Tigers 4 Hendricks, who allowed ball in the infi eld.’ Luckily it was team, which lost the day before, said. If that happens, Engine 78 Mets 7 Braves 3 six hits and a walk with fi ve hit right at Javy and they made a had clinched the division by vir- might be roaring again, this time Blue Jays 7 Twins 2 strikeouts, found himself in a really big turn, between him and tue of another team’s loss. carrying Cubs players on a pa- Marlins 7 Brewers 4 bit of trouble in the third in- Happ.” This year’s version of last rade route. Angels 2 Rangers 0 ning when the Cardinals loaded Some of the loudest cheers of year’s World Series champion Phillies 5 Athletics 3 Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors in the new jersey the bases with one out. But he the day were reserved for short- doesn’t have the luxury of mak- RESULTS Diamondbacks 2 Giants 0 during the unveiling of the new NBA partnership with Nike in Los coaxed Tommy Pham into a stop Addison Russell, who hit a ing such arrangements. Dodgers 3 Nationals 2 Rockies 16 Padres 0 Angeles, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

SPOTLIGHT Indians bounce back aft er win-streak snapped

AFP surpassed the 21-game streak bottom of the frame to take con- Washington put together by the National trol. League’s Chicago Cubs in 1935, The Indians led 7-4 when En- but came up short of the Major carnacion led off the seventh in- leveland’s historic win- League record 26-game winning ning with a homer against Royals ning streak may have streak of the 1916 New York Gi- relief pitcher Kevin McCarthy. ended at 22 games, but ants. With the victory, and the shortstop Francisco “We had good energy. I was Minnesota Twins’ loss to the Lindor’sC streak was still going happy about that. It’s nice to see Toronto Blue Jays later Saturday, strong after the Indians bounced them go right back out there and the Indians clinched their sec- back Saturday with an 8-4 win try to be as good a team as we ond straight American League over the Kansas City Royals. can be,” Indians manager Terry Central division title. Lindor hit a run-scoring dou- Francona said. Meanwhile Rich Hill allowed ble in the sixth inning, his 10th “They outplayed us yesterday, just one hit and one run in fi ve straight game with an extra-base but that’s in the past. Today was innings and combined with fi ve hit. That’s a club record, and left another day,” Lindor added. relievers on a four-hitter and him four shy of the major league The Indians got back to work rookie Cody Bellinger was 2-for- record of 14. without a hitch, taking a 1-0 lead 3 with a home run and two RBIs Lindor had three hits on the in the second inning before Kan- as Los Angeles defeated Wash- night and Edwin Encarna- sas City’s Alex Gordon homered ington. cion homered as the Indians in the top of the third to make it After losing 11 games in a row, rebounded briskly from their 1-1. the Dodgers have now won four 4-3 loss to the Royals on Friday Cleveland sent seven batters straight. The Nationals have lost night. to the plate in the bottom of the four of fi ve since clinching the That was the Indians’ fi rst third, and two of them scored. National League East title Sept. defeat since August 23. Their After the Royals pulled back a 10. Closer Kenley Jansen pitched 22 straight wins established an run in the top of the fourth, the the ninth for his 38th save as he Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor hits a two-run RBI double against the Kansas City Royals during the sixth inning at Progressive American League record and Indians piled on four runs in the retired all three batters he faced. Field. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports Gulf Times 6 Monday, September 18, 2017 SPORT

DAVIS CUP BADMINTON Sindhu, Ginting Belgium shatter win Korea Open

Agencies as she equalised 20-all. Sindhu Seoul then stamped her authority with two shots which Okuhara failed to defend as the Indian clinched Aussie dream, face ndian star shuttler PV Sind- the fi rst game 22-20. hu overcame reigning world In the second game, Okuhara champion Nozomi Okuhara stepped up her game and went of Japan 22-20, 11-21, 21-18 for the attack straightaway. She Iin the women’s singles fi nal of opened up an 11-6 handsome the Korea Open Superseries yes- lead. Okuhara likes to move the terday. shuttle quicker than Sindhu and France in fi nal The Rio Olympic silver medal- the Japanese’s sharp game forced list Sindhu won in an hour and the Indian on the backfoot. Oku- 24 minutes at the SK Handball hara won the second game in a Darcis, the 33-year-old World No. 77, held his nerve in the deciding rubber in Brussels Stadium. It was the 22-year- fl ash, with a scoreline of 21-11. old’s third Superseries title of her In the decider, Sindhu started AFP career. Okuhara had conquered on a strong note, holding an 8-4 Paris the Hyderabadi in the World lead early. She mixed aggressive Championships fi nal in August smashes with cunning net-game in Glasgow. which rattled the Japanese, who ustralia’s hopes of reaching a After the August 27th win, the was forced to trail throughout fi rst Davis Cup fi nal in 14 years Olympic bronze medallist Oku- the match. A six-point advan- were shattered yesterday when hara, 22, had taken a 4-3 lead in tage for Sindhu at the mid-game Belgium fought back from an career meetings against Sindhu. break meant Okuhara was left overnightA defi cit to win their semi-fi nal But in Seoul yesterday, Sindhu with a mountain to climb. 3-2 and set-up a title showdown with was presented a chance to avenge Okuhara tried her best but neighbours France. the Glasgow loss, and the Indian Sindhu continued to pick points Steve Darcis, the 33-year-old world came out on top. to keep the Japanse at bay. number 77, held his nerve in the decid- Sindhu started the game An 18-14 lead seemed to be ing rubber in Brussels, coasting to a 6-4, brightly, holding a 5-2 lead early healthy for Sindhu but a feisty 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jordan Thompson, a in the fi rst game. Okuhara fought Okuhara didn’t allow the In- last-minute call-up by Australia skipper back and equalized at the seven- dian to roll to the title. Okuhara Lleyton Hewitt to replace John Millman. point mark, fi ring some delecta- then managed to save two match David Goffi n had levelled the semi- ble drop shots. Sindhu, however, points. But eventually Sindhu fi nal earlier yesterday by coming back to held a two-point lead at the mid- remained calm and composed to defeat Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, game break. seal a 21-18 win to bag the title. 6-4, claiming his 15th win in 16 Davis Cup Later, Okuhara grabbed four Meanwhile, Indonesia’s An- singles rubbers. consecutive points to take a 13-12 thony Sinisuka Ginting claimed Nine-time champions France made the lead. But Sindhu ended the mo- his fi rst international title, beat- fi nal by seeing off Serbia 3-1 in Lille and mentum with a crisp winner. She ing fellow countryman Jonathan will host the Belgians in the November then matched Okuhara shots for Christie in a neck-and-neck 24-26 championship match. shots and didn’t allow the Japa- men’s singles fi nal. Ginting, France won their most recent Davis nese to dictate the pace of the ranked 24th in the world, won Cup in 2001 before losing the 2002, 2010 game. the fi rst game 21-13 but dropped and 2014 fi nals. Belgium made the fi nal Even though Okuhara tried the second 19-21 to compatriot in 2015, losing to Britain. Darcis won his to play long rallies, Sindhu was and 22nd-ranked Christie. 22nd Davis Cup tie but Goffi n laid the smart enough to not give her Ginting — who upset world foundation by winning both of his singles much space to go for aggressive number one and local favour- matches against Australia who claimed strokes. Sindhu held a 19-17 lead ite Son Wan-Ho a day earlier — the last of their 28 titles back in 2003. and it became 20-18. Okuhara fought back to take the third 22- “When David Goffi n plays like that, managed to save two game points 20 and clinch the title. he’s one of the best in the world,” said Kyrgios, whose own record in the tourna- ment now stands at seven wins and two losses. “I can always do better, but he was simply too good today.” Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fought back from a set down against Dusan Lajovic to lead Belgium’s Davis Cup team celebrate after winning the Davis Cup semi-final against Australia in Brussels yesterday. (AFP) France into the fi nal. Yannick Noah’s hosts went into the day needing just one embarrassment of being relegated to the ka was washed out for the second succes- Belgium 3 Australia 2 victory from the fi nal two singles rubbers zonal groups after a 3-2 defeat to Kaza- sive day and will be fi nished today. David Goff in (BEL) bt Nick Kyrgios (AUS) 6-7 to take an unassailable 3-1 lead against an khstan in Astana. Switzerland, the 2014 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 understrength Serbia, who were missing winners, edged Belarus 3-2 in Biel despite DAVIS CUP RESULTS Steve Darcis (BEL) bt Jordan Thompson Novak Djokovic, Janko Tipsarevic and the absence of Roger Federer and injured Semi-finals: At Lille (clay court, outdoor) (AUS) 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 Viktor Troicki. Stan Wawrinka. France 3 Serbia 1 Saturday Lajovic had stunned Lucas Pouille in Boris Becker’s fi rst outing as head of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) bt Dusan Lajovic Jordan Thompson/John Peers (AUS) bt the opening match of the last-four clash tennis with Germany ended with a 3-2 (SRB) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 Arthur De Greef/Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) on Friday and he eased to the opening set, win over Portugal in Lisbon while the Lucas Pouille (FRA) v Laslo Djere (SRB) — not 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 only for Tsonga to fi nd his rhythm and Netherlands overturned an overnight 1-2 played Friday eventually cruise to a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), defi cit to beat 2012 and 2013 champions Saturday David Goff in (BEL) bt John Millman (AUS) 6-7 6-2 win. “I am very happy for the squad. Czech Republic to win 3-2 in The Hague. Nicolas Mahut/Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) (4/7), 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 It was a joy to fi nish it on the third singles, It is the fi rst time in 11 years that the bt Nenad Zimonjic/Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 6-1, Nick Kyrgios (AUS) bt Steve Darcis (BEL) 6-3, for me, for the team and for all the peo- Czechs have lost their World Group sta- 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) 3-6, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-2 ple who came to support us,” said Tsonga. tus. Hungary stunned Russia 3-1 in Bu- Friday “There were more than 18,000 people dapest while 2005 champions Croatia, Dusan Lajovic (SRB) bt Lucas Pouille (FRA) World Group play-off s here, it shows us that there is a craze for who were runners-up last year, also stay 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/5) Kazakhstan 3 Argentina 2; Colombia 1 tennis in France.” in the World Group with a 3-1 win against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) bt Laslo Djere (SRB) Croatia 3; Switzerland 3 Belarus 2; Nether- In the play-off s, where the winners will Colombia in Bogota. Other ties to fi nish 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 6-3 lands 3 Czech Republic 2; Portugal 2 Ger- feature in the World Group next season, see Canada 2-1 up on India in Edmonton many 3; Japan 2 Brazil 0 (to finish Monday) India’s PV Sindhu poses with her winners medal after clinching the 2016 champions Argentina suff ered the while Japan’s tie at home to Brazil in Osa- At Brussels (clay court, indoor) Hungary 3 Russia 1; Canada 2 India 1 women’s singles title at the Korea Open in Seoul yesterday. (AFP)

FOCUS CYCLING Diyas storms to fi rst title in Japan Sunweb shine with team time trial AFP Tokyo double at world championships azakhstan’s Zarina Di- yas overpowered local Reuters favourite Miyu Kato Bergen, Norway 6-2, 7-5 in the Japan KWomen’s Open fi nal yesterday to capture her fi rst WTA tour title. eam Sunweb achieved the double Diyas, ranked 100th in the world at the road cycling world cham- coming into the tournament, pionships when their men’s and overpowered her fellow qualifi er women’s teams won the team time and let out a squeal of delight af- trialT events yesterday. Giro d’Italia cham- ter completing her fairytale To- pion Tom Dumoulin, Lennard Kamna, Sam kyo run with a sliced serve after Oomen, Soren Kragh Andersen, Michael 78 minutes. Matthews and Wilco Kelderman clocked “It was a really tough match,” 47 minutes 50.42 seconds on the 42.5-km said Diyas, who reached her only course to beat 2014 and 2015 champions previous fi nal in Osaka three Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan celebrates her win over Japan’s Miyu BMC by 8.29 seconds. years ago. “I had to work for eve- Kato in the final of the Japan Open tennis tournament in Tokyo. (AFP) Team Sky, who were down from six to ry point.” Diyas, who had wrist four men 11 km from the fi nish when Ge- surgery last year, added: “It was VAN UYTVANCK CLAIMS games later and that was enough raint Thomas and Owain Doull could not really tough to come back so I’m FIRST WTA TITLE IN QUEBEC to enable her to level the match, follow the pace of their teammates, took really happy to be playing again Alison van Uytvanck came from a and in the decider there was only bronze, 22.35 off the pace. Sky had eldedfi an and to win a title.” set down to claim her fi rst WTA going to be one winner. Babos’ awe-inspiring line-up with Thomas, Doull, Kato’s own improbable run to title at the expense of Timea Ba- composure deserted her as the Michal Kwiatkowski, Vasil Kiryienka, Gi- the fi nal was a boost for organis- bos at the Coupe Banque Nation- world number 98 charged into a anni Moscon and Tour de France champion ers after the loss of all eight seeds ale on Sunday. 4-0 lead, it could have been fi ve Chris Froome, but they were not all in the and the early exit of local favour- Seventh seed Van Uytvanck but Van Uytvanck had to set- same form. ite Kimiko Date in her fi nal tour- had not dropped a set since the tle for a 6-1 victory to claim her The fi nish time is taken on the fourth rider nament at the age of 46. opening round in Canada but was maiden piece of silverware. to cross the line. “It’s crazy. First the women “I left everything out there,” forced to battle back on her way On Saturday, third-seeded and now the men. The team was so homog- said Kato after contesting her to a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory. Babos edged top-seeded Czech enous,” said Dutchman Dumoulin. “We may fi rst WTA fi nal. “I didn’t sleep There was little between the Lucie Safarova 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 not be the best time trial team on paper but Sunweb team riders (from left) Lucinda Brand, Leah Kirchmann, Coryn Rivera, Ellen van until 2am and woke up feeling two fi nalists in the opening nine to reach the fi nal. Babos reached with this team anything is possible.” Dijk, Floortje Mackaij and Sabrina Stultiens celebrate after winning the women’s team time heavy. But I gave everything I had games in Quebec City but Babos her second WTA fi nal of the year, The women’s team clinched the title trial during the UCI Road World Championships in Bergen, Norway, yesterday. (AFP) so there’s no regrets.” The Japan found another gear late in the set having captured her hometown earlier yesterday when Coryn Rivera, Leah Women’s Open serves as the to move ahead – the Hungar- title in Budapest with a win over Kirchmann, Ellen van Dijk, Lucinda Brand, “I won’t start in Bergen,” Degenkolb said. cobbled sections. The Trek-Segafredo team amuse-bouche for next week’s ian fi nally converting her fi fth Safarova in the fi nal. Floortje Mackaij and Sabrina Stultiens The 28-year-old pulled out of both the doctor Jens Hinder told Degenkolb that rac- Pan Pacifi c Open tournament at set point. Babos applied further Seventh-seeded Van Uytvanck clocked 55:41.63. Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana this ing in Bergen was inadvisable after he had the same venue, featuring Wim- pressure in Van Uytvanck’s fi rst was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Ger- year, the latter because of bronchitis. “Be- struggled at the Vuelta because of an “air- bledon champion Garbine Mu- service game of the second set, many’s Tatjana Maria in the POORLY DEGENKOLB OUT OF WORLDS lieve me, it was not an easy decision,” added way problem” that had not gone away. “This guruza and several other top 10 but she wasted six break chances other semi-fi nal. Van Uytvanck German team leader John Degenkolb has Degenkolb who won classics as diverse as is a big blow to us because John Degenkolb players including Karolina Plisk- and that proved costly. reached the fi rst WTA fi nal with pulled out of the world championships in the pancake fl at Milan-SanRemo and the was a good captain,” the German cycling ova and Johanna Konta. Van Uytvanck broke three a dominant performance. Bergen, Norway with a respiratory problem. rough and tumble Paris-Roubaix with its federation said. Gulf Times Monday, September 18, 2017 7 FOOTBALL

SPOTLIGHT FOCUS Redknapp accepts Juventus, Napoli maintain managerial career all but over AFP perfect Serie A records London

arry Redknapp be- lieves his sacking as Inter Milan beat Crotone 2-0 on Saturday for a maximum 12 points in the campaign manager of second- tier Birmingham City willH fi nally bring the curtain AFP Milan down on his long career. The 70-year-old Englishman — who numbers Tottenham Hotspur uventus and Napoli bounced and Portsmouth among the back from European disappoint- clubs he has managed — left his ment to keep their Serie A perfect post after just 13 games in charge records and join Inter Milan at following Saturday’s 3-1 home theJ top of the table yesterday. A Paulo defeat by Preston North End. Dybala hat-trick lifted Juventus to a 3-1 Although hailed as a saviour victory at Sassuolo making it four wins last season for maintaining their out of four for the champions, as Dries Championship status when he Mertens also scored three goals as Na- took over after a disastrous spell poli demolished Benevento 6-0 to re- in charge under Gianfranco Zola, main unblemished. Saturday’s defeat was the club’s Inter Milan beat Crotone 2-0 on Sat- sixth successive reverse in all urday for a maximum 12 points in the competitions and left them sec- campaign. Benevento were no match for ond from bottom of the table. “I Napoli, looking for a strong response doubt very much whether it will after their 2-1 Champions League de- happen again now,” Redknapp feat to Shakhtar Donetsk. “We were un- said, referring to getting another lucky in Ukraine,” said Belgian forward managerial job. Mertens. “Against Shakhtar we made “I’m a realist. If I could help mistakes and didn’t play our game, but someone somewhere, help a today we showed we can do damage.” young manager, I’d love that. I Brazilian Allan opened the scoring did it at Derby with Darren Was- on a rebound after three minutes and sall (2015/16 season) and had a Lorenzo Insigne added a second after great time.” quarter of an hour in Naples. Mertens Redknapp, who won the 2008 kicked off his hat-trick with a 27th- FA Cup with Portsmouth and minute volley, and then converted two was linked many times with the penalties, with Jose Callejon also get- England job, said he was sure if ting on the scoreboard in the fi rst half. he had been given the time he Napoli are the new leaders with the would have got them back on best goal diff erence, but Mertens played track. “I took over a team that down title talk. “It’s still a long journey, got out of trouble on the last day Inter and Juve are doing well but we’ll of last season, they’d had two see game after the game,” he added. wins out of 25, they weren’t good Dybala’s heroics helped Juve bounce enough,” he said. back after their 3-0 Champions League “It needed change. But unfor- fl op in Barcelona. The Argentina for- tunately I couldn’t get the play- ward left the pitch ten minutes from ers in that I was after and it went the end to a standing ovation from the down to deadline week before crowd at the Mapei Stadium follow- I got a big infl ux. It’s a shame I ing a masterclass performance by the didn’t have the chance to see it 23-year-old, who has now scored eight Juventus’ Paulo Dybala (centre) vies for the ball with Sassuolo’s Stefano Sensi (left) and Francesco Magnanelli during the Italian Serie A match yesterday. (AFP) through but time is something goals in four league games this season. you don’t get an awful lot of.” His fi rst was a left-footed volley goal in his 100th match for Juventus. is improving in all aspects of the game. “Overall, it was a step forward in var- ITALIAN SERIE A RESULTS from the edge of the box to beat And- “The team gives me confi dence and I He is very young and has much room for ious diff erent ways, including the atti- Sassuolo 1 (Politano 51) Juventus 3 (Dy- rea Consigli on 16 minutes, the second also compliment the coach who gives improvement. When he plays like that tude,” said Milan coach Vincenzo Mon- bala 16, 49, 63); AC Milan 2 (Kalinic 22, 31) a close-range eff ort again surprising the me the freedom to play where I want.” he is unstoppable.” tella. “We could’ve fi nished it off earlier Udinese 1 (Lasagna 28); Napoli 6 (Allan Sassuolo goalkeeper just after the break But despite Dybala’s heroics, Massi- Behind the leaders, AC Milan re- and must always remain concentrated.” 3, Insigne 15, Mertens 27, 65-pen, 90-pen, and the third a sublime free-kick on 63 miliano Allegri said improvement was covered from their 4-1 defeat by Lazio Cagliari won 2-0 at promoted SPAL Callejon 32) Benevento 0; Torino 2 (Ba- minutes. needed after Juve allowed Sassuolo to last week with a 2-1 win over Udinese and Torino were held 2-2 at home by selli 13, Belotti 15) Sampdoria 2 (Zapata 1, Sassuolo managed to get a consola- get back into the game. “Even when we thanks to a Nikola Kalinic double on his Sampdoria. Quagliarella 34); SPAL 0 Cagliari 2 (Barella tion through Matteo Politano after a were 2-0 up today, we lost a little con- fi rst Serie A start for the club. Kalinic Lazio and Torino can move into the 17, Joao Pedro 68). Played Saturday: Stephan Lichtsteiner error on 51 min- centration,” he said.”We shouldn’t have and Udinese’s Kevin Lasagna both saw upper reaches of the early table if they Fiorentina 2 (Chiesa 51, Pezzella 69) Bolo- utes. “I wanted to score one and three conceded.” goals disallowed for off side using video beat Genoa and Sampdoria respectively gna 1 (Palacio 52); Crotone 0 Inter Milan 2 came along,” said Dybala after his sec- And Allegri believes that Dybala has technology, before Lasagna did get one later Sunday. Roma eased past Verona (Skriniar 82, Perisic 90+3); Roma 3 (Naing- ond hat-trick of the season and his 52nd not yet reached his full potential. “He back for the visitors. 3-0 on Saturday. golan 22, Dzeko 33, 61) Verona 0

ROUND-UP LA LIGA Dembele out for four months Alaves sack Zubeldia aft er four games arcelona’s record 105 Dembele will also be absent for million-euro ($125mn) France’s fi nal two World Cup AFP signing Ousmane qualifi ers away to Bulgaria and at Madrid Dembele is set to be home to Belarus next month. sidelinedB for up to four months as the club confi rmed the extent CARVAJAL EXTENDS laves sacked Argentine coach Luis of the hamstring injury he suf- MADRID DEAL TO 2022 Zubeldia after just four games in fered at Getafe on Saturday. Spanish international right-back charge as they slipped to the bot- Dembele has made just three Dani Carvajal tied his future to tom of La Liga with a 3-0 defeat appearances for Barca since Real Madrid by extending his atA home to Villarreal yesterday. “Deportivo sealing his move from Borus- contract until 2022, the club Alaves has decided to sack the coach after sia Dortmund last month confi rmed yesterday. the results obtained at the beginning of the for a fee that could rise to as Carvajal, 25, becomes the 2017/18 season,” Alaves said in a statement. much as 145mn euros based on third Madrid player to sign on “We thank Luis Zubeldia for the work done performance-related bonuses. until 2022 this week after vice- during this period and wish him the best of He provided an assist on his captain Marcelo and Isco also luck in his future career.” debut as a substitute to round off penned contract extensions. Javier Cabello will take temporary charge a 5-0 thrashing of Espanyol last Carvajal came through and could oversee Wednesday’s trip to De- weekend and impressed as Barca force through his dream move Madrid’s academy and has won portivo la Coruna. Zubeldia failed to muster swept aside Juventus 3-0 in the to the Camp Nou. The 20-year- three Champions League titles a point or even a solitary goal in his brief Champions League on Tuesday old is now set to miss the rest with the Spanish giants in four stint in charge with defeats to Leganes, Bar- before pulling up just 29 minutes of Barca’s Champions League years since returning to Real celona and Celta Vigo also sealing his fate. into Saturday’s 2-1 win at Getafe. group campaign and faces a after one-year spell with Ger- Alaves fi nished ninth in an impressive fi rst However, he may have paid the race against time to take part in man side Bayer Leverkusen. He campaign back in the top fl ight and reached price for missing much of pre- the fi rst Clasico of the season has also established himself as the Copa del Rey fi nal last season under season as he went on strike from against Real Madrid on Decem- a regular for Spain under Julen Mauricio Pellegrino. However, Pellegrino training at Dortmund to try and ber 23. At international level, Lopetegui, winning 13 caps. departed for Southampton and a host of key players also returned to their parent clubs after successful loan spells, including Real Madrid duo Theo Hernandez and Marcos Llorente. Record MLS crowd sees Atlanta-Orlando draw So far a series of high-profi le recruits Los Angeles: Josef Martinez posted his second role in Cyle Larin’s goal that put Orlando City ahead such as former Barcelona pair Bojan Krkic straight hat trick, but hosts Atlanta settled for 3-2 in the 58th minute. and Munir El Haddadi and Enzo Zidane, son a 3-3 draw with Orlando on Saturday that drew Venezuelan international Martinez answered in of Real boss Zinedine Zidane, have failed to a Major League Soccer record crowd of 70,425. the 69th minute, getting his right foot on a precise fi re in the opening weeks of the season. A Atlanta, which made their debut in the league this pass from Hector Villalba to level the score at 3-3. comfortable win for Villarreal at Mendizor- season, were playing their third match in their new Dwyer, who joined Orlando from Sporting Kansas roza thanks to a double for Cedric Bakambu Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which they share with the City in a blockbuster midseason acquisition, got up either side of Carlos Bacca’s strike moved Antoine Griezmann (left) ensured Malaga didn’t spoil Atletico Madrid’s moving in party at NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. high in the box and headed home a long, bending the Yellow Submarine up to seventh. their new 68,000 Wanda Metropolitano stadium with the only goal in a 1-0 win. (AFP ) For the first two games, the upper decks were ball from Donny Toia to give the visitors a 1-0 lead Sevilla’s impressive start to the season closed, but tickets to those seats were sold for Sat- in the 10th minute. Martinez equalized in the 36th, also continued with victory on the road celona, though, as Paulinho scored his fi rst ragliders. Barca were also made to struggle urday’s contest and the announced attendance of only for Dwyer to head home a long cross from at Girona to move up to second. Luis Mu- Barca goal six minutes from time to continue as they had to come from behind at Getafe 70,425 was the largest ever for a stand-alone MLS Scott Sutter in the 39th. riel’s fi rst goal for the club since complet- their 100% record in a 2-1 win at Getafe. to open up a seven-point lead over Real Ma- game — surpassing the 21-year-old record of 69,255 Portland’s Argentine midfielder Diego Valeri’s ing a 20mn euro move from Sampdoria was “I’m delighted to score the fi rst goal in drid, who were playing Real Sociedad late fans who showed up at the Rose Bowl to watch LA record-setting performance in Salt Lake City was enough for a 1-0 win. this magnifi cent stadium and hopefully it is last night. Galaxy play their first MLS game in 1996. spoiled as the hosts triumphed 2-1. Valeri became On Saturday, Antoine Griezmann en- the fi rst of many,” Griezmann said. “For me In 2006, a crowd of 92,650 were at Los Angeles the first player in MLS history to score in eight sured Malaga didn’t spoil Atletico Madrid’s it is the best stadium I have played in, and I SPANISH LIGA RESULTS Memorial Coliseum when the now-defunct Chivas straight matches when he headed the ball in.off moving in party at their new 68,000 Wanda don’t just say that because it is my club.” Alaves 0 Villarreal 3 (Bakambu 32, 62, Bacca USA met the New England Revolution, but that a cross from Dairon Asprilla two minutes into the Metropolitano stadium with the only goal in Atletico boss Diego Simeone had called 52); Girona 0 Sevilla 1 (Muriel 69) game was part of a double-header that included second half. But Real Salt Lake’s Jeff erson Savarino a 1-0 win. on fans to recreate the intimidating atmos- Played Saturday: Levante 1 (Bardhi 41) Valencia a blockbuster friendly between Barcelona and put the hosts back in front in the 61st minute, firing The French international, restored to the phere of the Vicente Calderon by turning 1 (Rodrigo 31); Getafe 1 (Shibasaki 39) Barcelona Club America. Saturday’s big crowd were treated a left-footed shot from 17 yards out inside the far side after a two-game La Liga ban, swept their new home into a “pressure cooker.” 2 (Denis Suarez 62, Paulinho 84); Real Betis 2 to plenty of back-and-forth action. Dominic Dwyer post. Albert Rusnak had put Real Salt Lake ahead in home Angel Correa’s cross on the hour mark The noise matched the pre-match pomp as (Joaquin 14, 76) Deportivo la Coruna 1 (Cartabia scored off two headers in the first half and played a the 14th minute. to move Atletico up to third in the table. Spain’s royal air force took part in a fl yover, 23); Atletico Madrid 1 (Griezmann 61) Malaga 0; Atletico remain four points adrift of Bar- whilst the match ball was delivered by pa- Eibar 1 (Gálvez 53) Leganes 0

Monday, September 18, 2017 GULF TIMES FOOTBALL

PREMIER LEAGUE Lukaku wins battle of old boys, Chelsea held by Gunners Champions Chelsea are on 10 points, three adrift of the leading duo, after being held 0-0 at home to Arsenal

AFP London

omelu Lukaku’s signing from Everton continues to pay off as he scored and created a goal in Manchester United’s 4-0 drubbing of his former club yes- terdayR with United joining Manchester City on top of the league. United — whose record goals- corer Wayne Rooney endured a miserable return with his Everton teammates — are only second in the table by virtue of C coming before U as both the Manchester clubs share exactly the same statistics after fi ve matches. Champions Chelsea are on 10 points, three adrift of the leading duo, after being held 0-0 at home to Arsenal — the fi rst scoreless draw at Stamford Bridge under Antonio Conte’s ten- ure. United were slightly fl attered by the fi nal scoreline — three goals coming in the fi nal 10 minutes after Everton had largely dominated the second-half — but manager Jose Mourinho was more than satisfi ed. “I think the perform- ance was very good, especially in the fi rst 30-35 minute, it was probably our best performance of the season,” Mourinho said. “We pressed them and they did not have a chance to get out, they did not have a shot, it was very impressive.” For Everton and manager Ronald Koeman — who spent £152 million in the close season — it is fast becoming a crisis as this was their fourth

POINTS TABLE

(played, won, drawn, lost, for, against, points): Manchester City 5 4 1 0 16 2 13 Manchester Utd 5 4 1 0 16 2 13 Chelsea 5 3 1 1 8 5 0 Newcastle 5 3 0 2 6 4 9 Tottenham 5 2 2 1 7 3 8 Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku scores during the Premier League game against Everton at Old Traff ord in Manchester, Britain, yesterday. (Reuters) Huddersfield 5 2 2 1 5 3 8 Burnley 5 2 2 1 6 5 8 successive defeat and in which they have failed Chelsea skipper John Terry — where Arsenal ran left Chelsea with even a point in their last six We were focused and determined.” Liverpool 5 2 2 1 9 9 8 to score to boot. the match for large portions of it. visits. Indeed Arsenal should have won it but Southampton 5 2 2 1 4 4 8 The Dutchman grasped at whatever straw he The hosts also ended the encounter like the their record signing Alexandre Lacazette missed ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS West Brom 5 2 2 1 4 4 8 could to see a positive side. “From what I saw previous two against the Gunners without a an open goal after man of the match Aaron Ram- Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0; Manchester United 4 (Valencia Watford 5 2 2 1 7 9 8 today from the team it made me happy,” he said. full complement of players as David Luiz was sey’s shot had come back off the post to him. 4, Mkhitaryan 83, Lukaku 89, Martial 90+1-pen) Arsenal 5 2 1 2 7 8 7 “More happy than Thursday (they lost to mod- red carded three minutes from the end. Conte, Wenger, though, took pleasure out of the Everton 0 Stoke 5 1 2 2 5 6 5 est Serie A side Atalanta in the Europa League). though, felt that the referee Mike Dean should character his players had shown following their Played Saturday: Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1 Swansea 5 1 2 2 2 5 5 We grew in the game and in confi dence and not have blown for a foul just before Luiz clattered last away day when they were whipped 4-0 by (Davis 6); Huddersfield 1 (Depoitre 46) Leicester 1 Leicester 5 1 1 3 7 9 4 many teams will get two big chances like we got Sead Kolasinac. “It’s very important to see what Liverpool. “It was about mentality and a re- (Vardy 50-pen); Liverpool 1 (Salah 30) Burnley 1 (Ar- Brighton 5 1 1 3 4 7 4 today. We didn’t score the goal and after a per- happened before the David Luiz tackle. For sure sponse from our last away game,” said Wenger, field 27); Newcastle 2 (Atsu 19, Lascelles 68) Stoke 1 West Ham 5 1 1 3 4 10 4 sonal mistake (Everton central defender Ashley there was a foul,” said Conte. “The referee has whose side are six points adrift of the top two. (Shaqiri 57); Watford 0 Manchester City 6 (Aguero Everton 5 1 1 3 2 10 4 Williams) it was 2-0.” to use the whistle. If he stops the play before I “We could have won it. It was an intense 27, 31, 81, Jesus 38, Otamendi 63, Sterling 89-pen); Bournemouth 5 1 0 4 3 9 3 There was little cheer for Chelsea’s Italian think it (wouldn’t) happen.” game. The battle was total. We are not in a West Brom 0 West Ham 0; Tottenham 0 Swansea 0 Crystal Palace 5 0 0 5 0 8 0 manager Antonio Conte — or indeed for watch- For Arsene Wenger and Arsenal there was transfer period and on the day we played Liver- Played Friday: Bournemouth 2 (Surman 67, Defoe ing Hollywood star Channing Tatum and former something rare as it was the fi rst time they have pool that aff ected us. We are all human beings. 73) Brighton 1 (March 55)

BUNDESLIGA LIGUE 1 Aubameyang in a hurry as Balotelli scores a screamer in Nice’s narrow win over Rennes Dortmund crush Cologne AFP Paris AFP Berlin sizzling Mario Balotelli strike ten minutes from orussia Dortmund were back atop time gave Nice a 1-0 of the Bundesliga yesterday thanks win at Rennes yester- to a 5-0 hammering of Cologne dayA as last season’s Ligue 1 pace- as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang setters appear to be overcoming scoredB twice in a minute. After losing at Tot- a poor start this term. Balotelli tenham Hotspur in midweek in the Cham- hammered a supreme shot into pions League, Dortmund needed just three the top corner for his fourth goal minutes to take the lead at home. in three games since missing the Winger Andrey Yarmolenko fi red in a start of the season as Lucien Fa- cross which was headed home by fellow vre’s side continue their climb up new-signing Maximilian Philipp. On the the table into eighth place. stroke of half-time, Cologne goalkeeper For the Italian international Timo Horn fumbled a cross and defender it was an 18th league goal in 26 Sokratis Papastathopoulos tapped home the matches for Nice, who beat Zulte loose ball to make it 2-0 at the break. Waregem 5-1 away in the Europa There were furious protests from Co- League on Thursday where the logne, who claimed the whistle went before giant former AC Milan and Man- the goal was scored, but it stood after the chester City striker with his mo- video assistant referee (VAR) checked. hican haircut scored twice. Aubameyang slotted home a penalty after Earlier yesterday, Marseille the VAR spotted a hand-ball on 59 minutes also pulled out of an early season and just 58 seconds later the Gabon striker slump when a Clinton Njie brace bagged his second from a Lukasz Piszczek’s gave the ambitious southern- pass. Aubameyang, last season’s top scorer Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring a goal against ers a 2-0 win at Amiens. Under in the Bundesliga, now has four goals in as Cologne during the Bundesliga in Dortmund, Germany, yesterday. (Reuters) new ownership with a bevvy of many league games, one behind Bayern Mu- new signings Rudi Garcia’s side nich’s Robert Lewandowski. exander Esswein’s second-half equaliser. the result left the club in the bottom three. were thrashed 6-1 at Monaco Philipp then grabbed his second of the The result leaves Hoff enheim fourth in The 25-year-old Volland looked to have two weeks ago followed by an game with a deft chip to cap three Dort- the table with Hertha down to 11th and wrapped up his hat-trick on 70 minutes, but embarrassing 3-1 home defeat to mund goals in 10 minutes. keeps Hanover, who won promotion back the video assistant referee disallowed the Rennes. But a lucky break up at In the dying stages, Dortmund coach Pe- to the Bundesliga last season, as unlikely goal due to a foul in the build-up before Ju- northern outfi t Amiens helped Nice’s Mario Balotelli vies for the ball with Rennes’ Ramy Bensebaini ter Bosz gave a Bundesliga debut to Swedish league leaders. lian Brandt scored Leverkusen’s fourth from get Marseille back on track during the French Ligue 1 match in Rennes, western France. (AFP) wonderkind Alexander Isak, who turns 18 Also yesterday, Germany striker Kevin a quickly taken free-kick. for their dream of Champions on Thursday. The win leaves Borussia top on Volland netted twice as Bayer Leverkusen League football when a defl ected the Champions League for the they beat Caen 1-0 to make it goal diff erence from second-placed Hano- left the relegation places to go 12th with GERMAN BUNDESLIGA RESULTS cross hit Njie in the midriff and fi rst time sine 2013. The win lift- four games unbeaten without ver 96 with defending champions Bayern a 4-0 rout of Freiburg. After taking just a Hoff enheim 1 (Wagner 6) Hertha Berlin 1 (Es- bounced into the goal with the ed Marseille to fi fth on 10 points conceding a goal while Bordeaux Munich third and just a point behind after point from their fi rst three league games, swein 55); Bayer Leverkusen 4 (Volland 21, 34, ‘keeper wrong-footed. from six games while table top- stayed unbeaten with a 1-0 vic- Saturday’s 4-0 win at home to Mainz when Leverkusen fl ew out of the traps at the Ba- Aranguiz 29, Brandt 86) Freiburg 0; Borussia The 24-year-old former Spurs pers Paris Saint-Germain have tory at Toulouse. Lewandowski scored twice. yArena as Volland netted either side of Dortmund 5 (Philipp 3, 69, Sokratis 45+2, Au- man then doubled the tally 15 points ahead of their late game FRENCH LIGUE 1 RESULTS Cologne are bottom with four straight a stunning strike from Chile midfi elder bameyang 59, 60) Cologne 0 two minutes later after round- with Lyon. Amiens 0 Marseille 2 (Njie 53, defeats while Dortmund have yet to concede Charles Aranguiz. Played Saturday: Bayern Munich 4 (Mueller ing ‘keeper Regis Gurtner on 55 On Saturday, a revitalised 55); Rennes 0 Nice 1 (Balotelli 79); a league goal. Hanover were top of the table Volland opened the scoring with a su- 11, Robben 23, Lewandowski 50, 77) Mainz 0; minutes. In a good sign of things Radamel Falcao grabbed a brace Angers 0 Metz 1 (Roux 55) for 48 hours — their fi rst time in fi rst place perb strike from outside the area, but not Werder Bremen 1 (Sane 20) Schalke 2 (Veljkovic to come Cameroon interna- as second-placed champions Played Saturday: Monaco 3 (Lopes since 1969 — after Friday’s 2-0 win at Ham- to be outdone, Aranguiz showed superb 22-og, Goretzka 83); Eintracht Frankfurt 1 tional Njie, winner of the 2017 Monaco beat Strasbourg 3-0. 44, Falcao 51, 67) Strasbourg 0; burg thanks to goals by Martin Harnik and technique by volleying home, then Volland (Jovic 79) Augsburg 2 (Max 21, Caiuby 77); VfB Africa Cup of Nations, took his Saint-Etienne moved up to third Dijon 0 Saint-Etienne 1 (Bamba Togo winger Ihlas Bebou. tapped home Lars Bender’s cross to make Stuttgart 1 (Akolo 42) Wolfsburg 0; RB Leipzig 2 Ligue 1 tally to fi ve. American as Jonathan Bamba’s third goal of 49-pen); Guingamp 1 (Didot 90+3) Earlier yesterday, Hoff enheim missed the it 3-0 at the break. Freiburg coach Chris- (Werner 17, Augustin 31) Borussia Moenchengla- businessman Frank McCourt, the season from the penalty spot Lille 0; Nantes 1 (Girotto 73) Caen 0; chance to go top when they were held to a tian Streich reacted for the second-half by dbach 2 (Hazard 25-pen, Stindl 61) former owner of the LA Dodgers saw them edge out lowly Dijon Troyes 0 Montpellier 1 (Mendes 32) 1-1 draw at home to Hertha Berlin as Sandro bringing on England Under-20 winger Ryan Played Friday: Hanover 2 (Harnik 50, Bebou and Marseille’s new owner, has 1-0. Nantes continued their good Played Friday: Toulouse 0 Bor- Wagner’s early goal was cancelled out by Al- Kent, who went close with a late shot, but 82) Hamburg 0 promised he’ll get them back into form under Claudio Ranieri, as deaux 1 (Malcom 69)