Expectations Rise As Rayyan Shiftfocus to QNB Stars League
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MLB | Page 5 BADMINTON | Page 6 Grandal’s Lin Dan vows homer in to plough on Dodgers win aft er crushing over Brewers defeat Friday, August 3, 2018 MOTOGP Dhul-Qa’da 21, 1439 AH Marquez rides into GULF TIMES Brno with fans and rivals in vain pursuit SPORT Page 4 FOOTBALL Expectations rise as Rayyan shift focus to QNB Stars League Rayyan started the season with Sheikh Jassim Cup win but will go up against heavyweights Sadd and Duhail in the league By Sports Reporter son,” new coach Rodolfo Arrua- nation and fl air as the team did Doha barrena told journalists at a press against Belmadi,” he added. conference yesterday. Al Duhail have been handed an But the Argentinian also has- easy fi rst match against minnows l Rayyan have raised tened to add that, victory in the Shahania on Sunday but it would their fans’ expectations Sheikh Jassim Cup, which is just be interesting to see how they go by winning the season- a one-match event, should be about their business as the tour- opening Sheikh Jassim forgotten as soon as possible. nament picks up pace. ACup but the big question remains “I would say the Sheikh Jas- They will be surely missing the whether they have the calibre to sim Cup is a closed chapter now talismanic Youssef Msakni who outlast favourites Al Duhail and and we have to focus on the QNB suff ered a knee ligament injury Al Sadd when the gruelling nine- Stars League which is much more towards the end of the last season month long QNB Stars League gruelling. Nine months can take and will not be back by at least kicks off tomorrow. their toll on any team and we late November as he recovers af- For a team that boasts a storied need to be at our best to cope ter surgery in the United States. history, not to mention the larg- with that,” Arruabarrena added. But they still have infl uential est following in Qatar, The Lions “It’s going to be a diffi cult players like Moroccan Youssef El have under-achieved in the past game against Al Ahli. They had Arabi, who was the top scorer last fi ve years – their 2015-16 league played some tough games last season, South Korea’s dreaded triumph under Uruguayan coach season, I understand. striker Nam Tae-hee along with Jorge Fossati coming as an accom- “However, I have confi dence in the ever reliable Brazilian Lucas plishment of astonishing propor- my players. I do not want to make Mendez. tions considering the fact that they tall claims at the start of a fresh By winning three trophies last had been demoted to the second league season. We only had 20 season, Al Duhail have raised the tier in the previous season. to 25 days together to prepare for bar in Qatar and in Asia with their Although they have stayed the the tournament. indomitable performances on a course and earned their right to “You have to work and work, football pitch. be bracketed in the “Top Four” correct the mistakes and improve Al Duhail will also feature in that accorded them the privilege the game. At the moment, we the 2018 AFC Champions League of playing the Asian Champions are not worried about victory or quarter-fi nals in August, having League during the past two sea- defeat. We are in the process of reached the knockout phase of sons, the overwhelming superior- building a formidable side. Asia’s biggest club competition ity of Al Duhail under Djamel Bel- unbeaten from February until madi has proved an obstacle they May this year. Al Duhail won the QNB Stars League title last season with considerable ease. have been unable to surmount. Winners of the Qatar league It’s not that they just allowed title six times in the last few Al Duhail and second-placed Al years, Al Duhail will be a massive Sadd to simply ride roughshod force in the new season as well. over them, though. It’s just that But they are expected to have they tend to lose their focus to- fi erce battles with Al Sadd be- wards the middle of the season, sides former champions Al Rayy- losing and drawing games at cru- an and Al Gharafa. cial times—sometimes to lesser No new player has been con- teams — to hand over the advan- tracted for the 2018-19 season tage to their rivals. “The fi rst priority goes to the but there are some who have re- Last season Al Rayyan fi n- players. Coach comes only after turned to the club such as Mo- ished third with 43 points from 22 that. I want our results to speak hamed Muntari, Mohamed al- matches, but in the process they for us,” said former Boca Juniors Bakri, who ended his loan with Al lost fi ve matches and drew four to player Arruabarrena. Markhiya, and Madibo, who re- fi nish 17 points off the pace against Meanwhile, defending cham- turned to Al Duhail after his loan Al Duhail’s 60. Al Sadd ended up pions Al Duhail will be also keen spell with Al Gharafa. with 49, the 13-times champions to put behind them the defeat also stumbling at critical moments in the Sheikh Jassim Cup. New FIXTURES by losing fi ve matches. coach Nabil Maaloul was disap- Saturday, August 4 But that said, having won the pointed having lost the match Al Gharafa vs Qatar SC, Al fi rst tournament of the season on Wednesday in the tie-breaker Sadd Stadium, 5:35pm would have infused them with after Mohamed Muntari’s jink- Al Arabi vs Al Khor, 5:35pm, some much-needed confi dence, ing penalty shot failed to beat Al Khalifa International Stadium and they would like to make a Rayyan goalkeeper Oumar Barry. Al Sailiya vs Umm Salal, good impression when they take “Of course winning the fi rst 7:45pm Khalifa International on Al Ahli in their fi rst QNB Stars trophy of the tournament would Stadium league match on Sunday. have been a huge confi dence- Sunday, August 5 “We could not have sought a boost. But we cannot keep wor- Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Sadd, better start to the new season than rying about that as we get set to 5:35pm, Khalifa International we had with the Sheikh Jassim Cup defend our league title,” the Tu- Stadium triumph. That has tremendously nisian, who took over from Alge- Al Shahania vs Al Duhail, boosted our players’ confi dence. rian Djamel Belmadi, said. 7:45pm, Khalifa International More importantly, beating Al Du- “Now we have to focus on Stadium hail I hope will stand us in good what is ahead and look to defend Al Rayyan vs Al Ahli, 7:45pm, stead for the remainder of the sea- our title with the same determi- Al Sadd Stadium Al Rayyan beat Al Duhail to lift the Sheikh Jassim Cup on Wednesday. SQUASH Aspire Academy graduate Abdulla al-Tamimi breaches top 30 in world rankings for fi rst time By Sports Reporter “I’m delighted to reach the top-30 this in the World Squash Federation’s junior number of diff erent tournaments. These Doha month. It’s a great way to kick off the new circuit rankings (Under-19). He has also included the Guilfoyle Financial PSA squash season and I am looking forward to won several other prestigious titles, in- Classic, the NASH Cup, the AnyPresence the rest of the year,” al-Tamimi said after cluding the Under-19 Qatar Youth Open Open, the Qatar Classic Squash Champi- spire Academy’s graduate Ab- reaching his career-best ranking so far. Championship, again in 2012, and the onship, amongst others. dulla al-Tamimi has added an- Age seems to be on al-Tamimi’s side, Under-19 Dutch Junior Open in July 2013. In 2017, his progress continued as he other achievement to his record with most top squash players in their 30s. He also fi nished fourth in the World Youth achieved a career-best world ranking of by breaking into the top 30 for This has led players and experts to believe Championship, held in Poland in July 2013. 37 after reaching the second round of the theA fi rst time. The 23-year-old squash that the huge improvements in his per- Throughout 2014 and 2015, al-Tamimi World Squash Championships in Man- player, who recently won the Malaysia formance over the last 12 months will con- continued to shine at international squash chester. Heading into the 2018 season, al- Open, climbed to 28th in the PSA World tinue over the next few years. championships in Qatar and around the Tamimi is now hoping to improve on his Ranking. In 2012, al-Tamimi became world No.1 world, reaching the fi nal rounds of a ranking further. Gulf Times 2 Friday, August 3, 2018 FOOTBALL PREMIER LEAGUE He’s back: Neymar rejoins PSG on China tour Dozens of screaming fans welcomed Brazil star Neymar yesterday as he flew in to China to rejoin Paris Saint- Germain after his disap- Liverpool upbeat aft er pointing World Cup. The world’s most expensive player, wearing a canary-yellow hoodie, posed for pictures with airport staff before his noisy welcome in the arrivals hall. Neymar’s arrival, ahead of tomor- row’s French Super Cup game against Monaco in Shenzhen, comes more than transfer coups as five months after his last appearance for PSG following a foot injury in late February.