CRICKET | Page 6 FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 7 Boult leads Barcelona hit strong New by injuries To Advertise here Zealand before Liga Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 bowling eff ort opener Saturday, August 20, 2016 Dhul-Qa’da 17, 1437 AH OLYMPICS Bitter Isinbayeva ends her pole vaulting career Page 3 BADMINTON Medals tally Country G S B T 1. United States 35 33 32 100 Marin fends off brave Sindhu to win gold 2. Great Britain 23 21 13 57 3. China 21 17 23 61 Reuters shriek with every winning point, the Games. 4. Russia 13 15 19 47 Rio de Janeiro Spaniard was jeered by spectators at It was also India’s second medal in the Riocentro in a nerve-shredding badminton, coming four years after 5. Germany 13 8 13 34 deciding game as she pushed the compatriot Saina Nehwal grabbed a 6. Japan 12 6 20 38 arolina Marin overhauled a bounds of good sportsmanship with bronze in the same event in London. 7. France 8 12 14 34 brave Pusarla Sindhu in the constant stalling tactics. Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara won the women’s singles fi nal yes- But the ruthless 23-year-old got Rio bronze in a walkover after her 8. Italy 8 10 6 24 terday to win Spain’s fi rst the job done, charging away to set Chinese opponent, the 2012 singles 9. Netherlands 8 4 4 16 Cbadminton title and crush India’s up six match points and sealing it on champion Li Xuerui, pulled out of 10. Australia 7 11 10 28 hopes of a maiden gold medal at the the second with an imperious smash their playoff with a serious knee in- Rio Olympics. down the line that her opponent did jury. 11. South Korea 7 3 8 18 The top seed, known as the ‘Ra- well to get a racquet to. Sindhu, coached by the same 12. Hungary 7 3 4 14 fael Nadal’ of badminton in Spain for Flag-waving Spanish fans jumped man who took Nehwal to her Lon- 13. Spain 6 2 3 11 her tenacity and fi erce left-handed up and down as twice world cham- don medal, was under huge pressure game, closed out a 19-21 21-12 21-15 pion Marin pumped her fi sts and bel- from the nation of a billion people to 14. Brazil 5 5 5 15 victory over the 21-year-old Sindhu lowed in triumph, having survived a end India’s agonising wait for a Rio 15. Croatia 5 2 1 8 who was majestic in her Olympic de- huge scare. champion. 16. Jamaica 5 0 2 7 but. The fl amenco-trained dancer from Despite bringing their biggest ever “I’m very excited, I don’t know Andalucia beamed dry-eyed as she delegation, about 50 percent strong- 17. New Zealand 4 8 3 15 how I’m feeling now but it is amazing accepted the medal on the podium er than London where they won six 18. Kenya 4 4 0 8 that my dream has come true. I just but wept freely as Spain’s fl ag rose in medals, India had only celebrated had to believe in myself,” Marin told the arena to the sound of the national a solitary bronze won by freestyle 19. Canada 4 3 14 21 reporters. anthem. wrestler Sakshi Malik on Wednesday. 20. Kazakhstan 3 5 7 15 “It is more than a medal because of Roared to the fi nish by Indian fans, “I thought it would be a gold but 21. Cuba 3 2 4 9 everything behind the medal. I have Sindhu will bow out with huge ac- never mind, I got a silver,” the Hy- the best team behind me, they helped claim as her nation’s fi rst woman derabadi shuttler said. 22. Argentina 3 1 0 4 me a lot and were amazing.” ever to win silver and having clinched “I never thought I would make it to Spain’s Carolina Marin (right) is congratulated by India’s PV Sindhu for her win in the wom- 64. Qatar 0 1 0 1 Letting out a blood-curdling the country’s second medal at these here.” en’s badminton final in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. (Reuters) FOCUS STAR OF THE DAY Bolt powers Carolina Marin of Spain Today’s Star of the Day is Spain’s Carolina Marin, who became the first non-Asian winner of the women’s singles badminton Olympic title. The 23-year-old beat India’s PV Sindhu in three games in the final. “I’m a little Span- iard that broke the Asian world. My dream has come true,” the world number one told to 200m gold reporters after grabbing a rare medal for a European country in the sport. Marin, who celebrated almost every victorious point ‘I’m getting older and my body is ageing. Personally I by shrieking at the top of her voice, lost the first game 21-19 but grabbed the second 21-12 think this is my last 200 but my coach may beg to diff er’ before clinching gold with a 21-15 win in the decider. Marin claimed it was part of her strat- egy to keep the shuttles new and quick. “She (Sindhu) didn’t want to change the shuttle because she wanted me to lose focus. It was a little bit slow and sometimes you have to control everything on court,” Marin said. Jamaica’s Usain Bolt takes selfies with fans after winning the men’s 200m final in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. (AFP) AFP colours of Jamaica. “number one”. Rio de Janeiro The sell-out Olympic Stadium There had been no easing up, but crowd, which has been criticised for its Bolt looked to be left disappointed with jeering of some athletes, were raucous his time, ripping the numbers off his sain Bolt won a third succes- in their welcome of the Jamaican star. shorts and throwing them to the fl oor. sive Olympic 200m gold on Bolt, in his favoured lane six, had Bolt admitted that he hadn’t felt Thursday to keep alive his Lashawn Merritt, the American 400m great down the back stretch, timing hopes of an unprecedented specialist and sole US medal hope after what was the slowest 200m of all his U“triple triple” in Rio. Justin Gatlin failed to make the eight- individual victories. The victory in his favoured event man fi nal, just inside him in Thursday’s “I wasn’t happy with the time,” was Bolt’s 13th individual world or Ol- fi nal. he acknowledged. “My body just ympic sprint title from a possible 14 Immediately out of the blocks, the wouldn’t respond in the straight. I’m since he took athletics by storm at the Jamaican was quickly up on Lemaitre, getting older and my body is ageing. 2008 Beijing Olympics. racing in seven. As the crowd roared, Personally I think this is my last 200 The 29-year Jamaican timed 19.78 Bolt responded by moving into his famed but my coach may beg to differ.” seconds for gold. Canadian Andre de “drive phase”, head coming slowly up as Any disappointment was quickly Grasse took silver with 20.02sec and part of the process that unleashes the full forgotten on the track as Guns N’Roses France’s Christophe Lemaitre winning power from his long legs. was switched for Bob Marley’s One bronze (20.12). Eyes glued on the stadium’s big Love. Bolt, draped in Brazilian and Ja- As Guns N’Roses’ Welcome to the screen at the end of the 100m track, maican fl ags, did a lap of honour to Jungle blasted out, huge cheers greeted Bolt blasted through the line with a chants of “Usain Bolt, Usain Bolt!” af- Bolt, wearing black lycra shorts and glance leftwards at the giant stop- ter another amazing victory and eighth a singlet in the green, gold and black watch, beating his chest and saying Olympic gold. Gulf Times 2 Saturday, August 20, 2016 FOCUS ACHIEVEMENT Mohamed scores Eaton retains fi rst for US with hurdles gold AFP women in what is one of the most Rio de Janeiro demanding events in track and decathlon crown fi eld. Since the event was intro- duced for women at the 1984 Los American only the third athlete to win back-to-back Olympic golds alilah Mohamed Angeles Games, US runners have powered to a brilliant taken silver on no fewer than fi ve AFP victory in the women’s occasions. Rio de Janeiro 400m hurdles Thurs- Despite Mohamed’s form this Dday to become the fi rst winner of season, a question mark re- the event from the United States mained over her inexperience. merican Ashton Eaton equalled in Olympic history. Heading into Rio she had only the Olympic record when re- The 26-year-old, the fastest ever represented the United taining his decathlon crown on woman in the world this year States at major championships Thursday, but he was pushed all over the distance, blasted out of once before, when she won silver Athe way by France’s Kevin Mayer. the blocks and held on to a com- at the 2013 worlds in Moscow. Eaton amassed 8,893 points in the gru- manding lead for a deserved gold But even with the Czech Re- elling 10-discipline event to tie the Czech in 53.13sec. public’s two-time world cham- Republic’s Roman Sebrle record set at the Sara Slott Petersen of Den- pion Zuzana Hejnova up against 2004 Athens Games.