Neymar in Line for GULF TIMES Debut As PSG Go to Guingamp SPORT Page 7 2017 IAAF WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS Qatar’S Barshim Ready To
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CCRICKETRICKET | Page 3 TENNIS | Page 5 Sri Lanka eye Nadal’s pursuit win over India of No. 1 derailed in Jadeja’s by Canadian absence teen Saturday, August 12, 2017 FOOTBALL Dhul-Qa’da 20, 1438 AH Neymar in line for GULF TIMES debut as PSG go to Guingamp SPORT Page 7 2017 IAAF WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS Qatar’s Barshim ready to In-form Qatari breezes through qualification with hit new heights 2.31m eff ort for shot at world title tomorrow Agencies by Germany’s Eike Onnen, Edgar Rivera London of Mexico and China’s Wang Yu. Notable among the non-qualifi ers is Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi whose utaz Barshim leapt into to- comeback eff ort from injury and a pair morrow’s high jump fi nal at of surgeries ran out of time. None- the World Athletics Cham- theless, he jumped a season’s best of pionships in the manner of 2.29m. Ma man ready to fi nally ascend to the very Erik Kynard of the United States, who summit of his sport. won the Olympic silver in this arena fi ve The wiry Qatari, who has jumped years ago, had to pull out injured after higher than anyone in history ex- one unsuccessful attempt at his open- cept Cuban world record holder Javier ing height of 2.17m. Sotomayor, breezed through yester- “Obviously, the main goal this season day’s qualifi cation, clearing the auto- is the World championships in London, matic qualifying height of 2.31 metres but it’s not the only goal. This season with the greatest of ease. I want to have a diff erent and specifi c Barshim, whose only global title approach for every single competi- came at the world indoor champion- tion. Each time I want to be success- ships in 2014, demonstrated why he is ful, I want to be excellent,” Barshim had a warm favourite to win his fi rst major said after winning his fourth Diamond outdoor crown following silver and League event in Paris with an eff ort of bronze at the last two Olympics. 2.35m earlier this year. The 26-year-old, who has an Asian “So far, I feel really comfortable with record best of 2.43m, is one of six ath- my running and that’s very important. letes who cleared 2.31 but the only one I can jump at full approach with eight to go through the morning without fail- steps. I haven’t really changed a lot ing on a single jump. of things in my training this year, just His main danger again looks set to some small touch,” he added. come from Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondar- The win in Paris gave Barshim a clean enko, who beat him to the 2013 title, sweep of all the Diamond League high while Danil Lysenko, competing under jump events that have been held this a neutral fl ag following the Russian year. Federation’s ban, also qualifi ed easily The Qatari opened the season with after just one failure. a win in Doha where he jumped 2.36m. There was delight for the home Barshim then headed to Shanghai and crowd as Robbie Grabarz confi rmed his here a 2.33-metre jump was enough to place in the fi nal amid plenty of cheer- hand him the gold. ing by going over 2.31m at the last at- After this the 28-year-old produced tempt. what has been his best show this year Countback determined the rest to in Oslo. Barshim cleared an impressive advance. Majd Eddin Ghazal of Syria, 2.38 metres to win gold and also regis- neutral athlete Ilya Ivanyuk and Bryan ter a meet record. In that event too he McBride of the US didn’t miss until had defeated Ukrainian Bondarenko, Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim celebrates after clearing the automatic qualifying height of 2.31m during the men’s high jump qualification round at the 2017 IAAF World topping out at 2.31m. They’ll be joined like in Paris. Championships in London yesterday. (AFP) FOCUS SPOTLIGHT IOC snubs Shock? Not to me says new 200m Infantino and world champion Guliyev Coe in new members list Reuters mer Universiade and the Islamic London Solidarity Games did not mark him Reuters down for glory and even his silver Berlin at last year’s European Champion- mong the eight sprint- ships came when most of the con- ers lined up at the start of tinent’s top talent had skipped the he presidents of world football body FIFA and the world 200 metres fi nal event to concentrate on the Rio Ol- the international athletics federation (IAAF) and the 56,000 people in ympics. have not been proposed for appointment to Athe crowd watching, only one man However, he reached last year’s the International Olympic Committee when probably thought Ramil Guliyev Olympic fi nal and has shown good Tthe IOC session votes in new members in September. would be the winner, and that was form this season, taking gold at the IAAF chief Sebastian Coe and Gianni Infantino, the Azerbaijani-born Turk himself. European Team Championships who heads FIFA, were passed over for a second year His faith was fully justifi ed as and beating a decent fi eld to win the running, as they battle doping and corruption scan- 20.09 seconds later he crossed the Paris Diamond League meeting. dals in their fi elds. Previous FIFA and IAAF presi- line ahead of a host of favoured ri- Perhaps people should have taken dents had seats at the IOC table for decades. vals to take the gold medal that had more notice of his impressive run to The IOC’s nine proposed new members include Luis been the property of Usain Bolt win his semi-fi nal heat on Wednes- Mejia Oviedo, head of the Dominican Republic’s Ol- since 2009. day, but instead the focus was on ympic committee, Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, Wayde van Niekerk, seeking a third-placed Van Niekerk and how Thai entrepreneur and head of her country’s badmin- 400/200m double had to settle for he had struggled because of his ton federation, International Equestrian Federation silver in 20.11, a thousandth of a 400m exertions, and on the re- chief Ingmar De Vos and world rowing president Jean- second ahead of Jereem Richards of markable exploits of Isaac Makwala. Christophe Rolland. Trinidad and Tobago. Those two were the centre of at- Infantino was elected head of FIFA in 2016 to suc- The result was universally ac- tention on Thursday, with the extra ceed scandal-plagued Sepp Blatter and lead the fed- claimed as a shock but Guliyev, who diversion for home fans of Netha- eration out of its biggest graft crisis. became a Turkish citizen in 2011 Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev celebrates his win in the men’s 200m final at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London neel Mitchell-Blake in land one. Former double Olympic champion Coe took over and was cleared to represent his on Thursday. (AFP) But with all eyes elsewhere, Guli- the IAAF in 2015 as a doping scandal unfolded, se- new country in 2013, was having yev ran his own race and earned the verely damaging the credibility of the organisation. none of it. the next competition everyone will ances as a teenager, particularly his LOST YEARS ultimate prize. Coe triggered the ire of the IOC when the IAAF “This is not a shock,” he said. “I look at me instead.” junior 200m world record of 19.93. Those lost years when he battled “I knew I came in the fi rst three blocked Russian track and fi eld athletes from com- have shown my best throughout this They certainly will and they It would have been a tough quiz with the sport’s offi cials to allow but wasn’t sure where,” he said, peting at the Rio Olympics over the doping aff air. competition. I delivered my best race probably should have been looking question before Thursday to name him to run for Turkey took him off which was no surprise when two Coe’s predecessor Lamine Diack faces a bribery and at the right time. I was competing a little closer this time. the second-fastest junior ever, but the scene but when he came back he hundredths of a second divided the embezzlement investigation in France. against some of the best athletes in Whenever people questioned it was Guliyev, who posted 20.04 was not exactly tearing up trees. medallists. Both Blatter and Diack were IOC members for years the world, so it didn’t bother me that Bolt’s amazing times his supporters as a 19-year-old when representing A collection of medals from the “It’s a dream for me and next it’s until 2015. Blatter’s predecessor at FIFA, Joao Have- the attention was on them. Maybe at pointed to his remarkable perform- Azerbaijan. Mediterranean Games, the Sum- the Olympics, I hope that’s possible.” lange, was an IOC member from 1963 to 2011. Gulf Times 2 Saturday, August 12, 2017 ATHLETICS 2017 IAAF WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS SPOTLIGHT Semenya strides Yet another world smoothly into fi nal Reuters matically. London Ajee Wilson, who set a US record of 1:55.61 last month and has been in hot form, looked superb in winning lympic champion Caster the fi rst heat in 1:59.21 from Melissa Semenya looked ominously Bishop, the 2015 silver medallist from title, but Taylor still comfortable in advancing to Canada who looked more like her the women’s 800 metres fi - normal self after labouring through nalO at the World Athletics Champion- the fi rst round.