BASEBALL | Page 5 BOXING | Page 6 Red Sox Joshua adds beat Yanks weight for title for third straight fi ght against AL East title Povetkin Saturday, September 22, 2018 FOOTBALL Moharram 12, 1440 AH Arsenal, Chelsea GULF TIMES win as Rangers hold Villarreal SPORT Page 4 ASIAN TEAM SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP Babar shines as Pakistan beat India in fi nal By Sports Reporter Doha India 1’s Malkeet Singh Pakistan 1’s Babar Masih lines up a shot in the final. n in-form Babar Masih in action during the led Pakistan 1 to a Asian Team Snooker thrilling Asian Team Championship final Snooker Champion- against India 1 at the Aship victory in the fi nal against QBSF Hall yesterday. India 1, comprising Pankaj Ad- PICTURE: Ram Chand vani and Malkeet Singh, at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Fed- eration Hall yesterday. Pakistan 1 — Masih and Mo- hamed Asif — had earlier halted the unbeaten run of the Chinese teenaged duo — Wu Yize and Pang Junxu — in the semi-fi nals, with a 3-1 win. In the fi nal, 32-year-old Masih, powered by an 81-point break in the opening frame against Advani, gave his team a 1-0 lead. Singh, with a 51-point break restored parity, taking the frame from Asif 81-47. In a thriller of a doubles frame, the Indians gave away a healthy lead as Asif-Masih eked out a 72- 70 win for a 2-1 lead. However, Advani found the and up to Masih and Singh. again, Masih got going for a game with authority with black dia vs Pakistan encounter of the into the evening yesterday. Chandra-Advani combine right time to power back into Singh had taken a slight 17-8 43-point break taking a 63-18 in the pocket, a smile on his face, day with Advani-Singh going India 1 comprised Manan had won the inaugural IBSF- the game with a 68-point lead when he missed the four- lead. a clenched fi st and a celebratory past Pakistan 2’s Mohamed Ma- Chandra, besides Advani and ACBS World Team Snooker Cup, break. A 107-5 win over Asif ball. A bit later in the frame, A few trades later, Masih was yell. jid Ali and Mohamed Bilal 3-2 in Singh, with the latter two play- beating the Asif-Masih team in sent the game into the decider, when Singh missed the brown at it again, this time ending the The game was the second In- the semi-fi nal that lasted well ing yesterday’s games. March this year. FOOTBALL/QNB STARS LEAGUE Al Sadd and Rayyan set to thrill fans in ‘Qatar Clasico’ With both clubs boasting some of the most passionate fans in the country, sparks are expected to fly at Al Sadd Stadium By Sports Reporter Doha l Rayyan and Al Sadd will add another chapter to their famed rivalry when they Aclash in the fi rst of their two ‘Qatar Clasico’ matches in the QNB Stars League today. The match begins at 5.55pm. With both clubs boasting some of the most passionate fans in the coun- try, sparks are expected to fl y at Al Sadd Stadium where the Xavi-led hosts will be without Hassan al-Haydos because of injury. National captain al-Haydos had been a key player in Al Sadd’s con- quests for several years, but coach Jesualdo Ferreira was adamant that his absence won’t be felt that much be- cause of the team’s ‘balance’. “Hassan al-Haydos has been injured since the beginning of the season and we played a lot of games without him. The most important thing now is the Clash of tactics: Al Rayyan coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena (L) and his Al Sadd balance in the team despite the ab- On a high: Al Sadd sealed their semi-final spot in the AFC Champions League earlier this week. opposite number Jesualdo Ferreira. sences and that is what we are trying to achieve,” said Ferreira at his pre-match ternational commitments. We need to game. We will face one of the best and weaknesses, but we will primarily the players because,” said Maaloul. succeeded in the fi rst half when we press conference. fi eld players in such a way that they teams in the QNB Stars League, which focus on our ability.” “Now we are in the QNB Stars pushed Almoez Ali against the Iranian The veteran Portuguese tactician is don’t pick up injuries.” is a strong competition in Asia. We Al Rayyan also have injury problems League and we are still missing Luis team’s defence. enjoying his stint in Qatar, even going Ferreira also appealed to Al Sadd respect Al Sadd, but we will play the with new Brazilian striker Luca and Martin due to his injury. But we have “Our plan surprised the rivals, but on to say that the ongoing season has fans to turn up at the stadium in large game in our style and we hope to suc- defender Gonzalo Vieira doubtful. a strong pool of young players who individual mistakes in the second half been the best for him. numbers. ceed,” said Arruabarrena. In today’s other important match, can satisfy our fans by helping win the deprived us of success. I have a strong “This season is the best for me with “It is going to be a great encounter “I also hope the game will be played Al Duhail will be aiming to bring some league championship. squad at my disposal and it will come Al Sadd for many reasons. There is and I urge all our fans to be at the sta- in a good atmosphere, true to the spirit cheer to their fans after their heart- “The most important thing we are good,” said Maaloul. great harmony between the players, dium to cheer us on. Both teams are of Qatar Clasico, and fans will enjoy breaking exit from the AFC Champions thinking about now is the result of the Al Gharafa, who lost to Umm Salal for one. Also, the new additions to the looking to win in order to take the lead the action when both teams will fi ght it League when they meet Al Gharafa. game against Al Gharafa although we last week and are placed six in the squad have been excellent and to top it in the standings and the game will be out on the fi eld. Duhail were beaten by Iran’s Perse- have to be at our best. We talked a lot standings, are desperate for a turna- all we are in the semi-fi nals of the AFC open.” “We are at the top of standings now, polis 3-2 on aggregate earlier this week to the players in order to help them get round. Coach Christian Gourcuff said Champions League,” said Ferreira Al Rayyan coach Rodolfo Arruabar- which means we have to win the games in Tehran, the top Qatari side also out of the psychological blow.” the team were still hurting from the However he stressed that he needed rena is also looking for a win as it will to stay there. The leaders at this stage missing out on the AFC Champions Maaloul was asked to explain his defeat. to keep the players safe from injury as help them overtake Al Arabi and lead need not fi nish the tournament in the League record of 10 successive victo- decision not to start with star striker “We did not deserve to lose to Umm they are playing too many matches. the standings. same position. ries in the process. Youssef El Arabi in the match against Salal in the last round in terms of per- “I hope none of our players gets Al Arabi have 12 points from six “I do not have anything to worry “It is a tough game, especially psy- Persepolis. formance. I have tried my best to pre- injured due to the fatigue that they matches while Al Rayyan are second about before the game, but I know chologically, after our AFC Champions “Against Persepolis, we put our pare the team in a better way. We had suff ered of late. Our players are over- with 11, one more than Al Sadd. we’re also going to face one of the best League exit in the quarter-fi nal stage. spearhead Yousef El Arabi on the bench better avoid the mistakes we commit- worked as they also have a lot of in- “We are going to play an important teams in Asia. We know their strengths We are trying to boost the morale of because we had a plan in place and that ted against Umm Salal,” he said. Gulf Times 2 Saturday, September 22, 2018 FOOTBALL QNB STARS LEAGUE SPOTLIGHT Euro 2024 bidders Germany, Turkey Sailiya rally twice praised by UEFA AFP and this tournament can create Lausanne an enduring legacy for European football.” “All political and football struc- ermany and Turkey, tures are in place in Germany with to beat Al Ahli the two candidates to a long and stable history of suc- host Euro 2024, were cessful events,” the report said. both praised in a UEFA Germany off ered “ten existing Sagbo nets brace as Umm Salal edge past Al Kharaitiyat Greport published yesterday a and operational stadiums” the week ahead of the vote on where report said, though it added that the 24-team tournament will be all would have to “undergo spe- staged. cifi c upgrades”. Germany’s bid was of “the For its part, Turkey “not only highest quality” while Turkey’s off ers teams and spectators the was “in line with the long-term best conditions, but brings peo- objectives of UEFA”.