25 Sports Sunday, September 30, 2018 Emotional Casey revels in first Ryder Cup win for 12 years

‘Desperately wanted to be back on this team’

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES: An emotional Paul because I know how good it is,” said Casey after Casey fought to hold back tears after claiming his first regaining his composure. Ryder Cup win since 2006 yesterday, saying he had “I mean, all these guys are amazing, and you know, “desperately” wanted to return to the matchplay show- once you’re a Ryder Cupper, you’re always a Ryder down. After being persuaded to retake a European Cupper. I can’t tell you how proud I am. Tour card by captain Thomas Bjorn in order to be eligi- “But it wasn’t just sort of to get here and be part of ble for this year’s Ryder Cup in France, he sealed an the team, it was to try and win a Ryder Cup back.” impressive 3 and 2 victory over Dustin Johnson and Casey became one of only six men in Ryder Cup his- Rickie Fowler alongside Tyrrell Hatton. tory to make a hole-in-one at the Ryder Cup at the K “Ask him (Hatton) a question. Let me get my... hon- Club in 2006 and has now won six points from 11 estly, let me get my breath,” stammered Casey after matches. “Obviously playing alongside Paul, he’s a securing Europe’s seventh of eight straight wins at Le Ryder Cup legend,” added Hatton. “What a player he is. Golf National. It was the Casey Express train the front nine. I was just The 41-year-old was left out of the side by Colin trying to help out when I could.” Montgomerie in 2010 despite being the world number Casey admitted he had struggled to contain his emo- seven, slipping down the rankings after struggling with tions after the win, but the former world number three injuries and poor form. said it isn’t a rare occurence for him. But he has rediscovered his best over the last four “There was a tear. I was emotional earlier. I’ve years, and has been in fine fettle this week, having always been a bit that way. I cry in movies, as well,” he almost inspired a comeback against Jordan Spieth and said. “Hey, not embarrassed. I care about it. It means an SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES: Europe’s English golfer Paul Casey plays a tee shot during his fourball match on Justin Thomas on Friday before reeling off five birdies awful lot to me. I’m proud to be on this team and proud the second day of the 42nd Ryder Cup at Le Golf National Course at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, south-west of in the first six holes yesterday. to be standing next to those other 11 teammates and Paris, yesterday. — AFP “Desperately wanted to be back on this team proud to win a point.” — AFP KSSC honors Japan’s Ishikawa its shooters

wins Spartathlon By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Kuwait Shooting Sport Club SPARTI: Japanese runner Yoshihiko Ishikawa battled (KSSC) honored its shooters who partici- through cold and rain to win the 245.3km (152-mile) pated in the International Youth Spartathlon race yesterday, one of the world’s toughest Championship and the Clay Targets ultra-marathons. The 30-year-old, one of a record 60 Grand Prix that was held in Kazakhstan Japanese runners who took part, clocked 22 hours, 54 from September 17-27, in a ceremony minutes and 40 seconds for victory, for which he attended by President of Arab and received an olive wreath and a cup of water from the Kuwait Shooting Sport Federations, and Evrotas River. Ishikawa is no stranger to ultra-running, Secretary General Obaid Al-Osaimi as having finished fourth last year after clinching the men’s title at the World 24-Hour Championships in Belfast, well as Director of Information and where he ran 267.566km (166 miles). Finishing second Publication at the Public Authority for in the 36th edition of the Spartathlon for the second Sport Khalid Al-Subaie. year in a row was 44-year-old Radek Brunner of the The shooters won four medals, as Czech Republic in 23:36:43 while 41-year-old Joao shooter Ahmad Nasser Al-Awwad Oliveira of Portugal was third in 24:33:35. claimed second place and the silver The first woman to cross the finish line and 17th medal in the junior’s skeet, while the overall was Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Maraz, 38, in 27:04:28. team of Ahmad Al-Awwad, Saud Al- The race traces the classical route of Pheidippides, an Hamly, and Salman Al-Rashidi took third Athenian messenger sent to Sparta in 490 BC to seek place and the bronze medal in the juniors help against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. team skeet event. Meanwhile, shooter According to Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides Mansour Al-Rashidi won the bronze arrived in Sparta “on the next day of his departure”. medal in the Grand Prix event, and Saud The Spartathlon is one of the world’s most difficult Al-Hamly won the silver medal in the races run over rough tracks, crossing vineyards and juniors Grand Prix. olive groves, steep hillsides and, most challenging of all, Secretary General of Arab and Kuwait the 1,200m ascent and descent of Mount Parthenion in Shooting Federations said this achieve- Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister and having the Kuwait flag flying high in the shooting the dead of night. This year’s athletes also faced cold ment is not something new and came Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al- world arenas at all levels. Meanwhile’ HH season. He said temperatures, rain and high winds. through well thought off plans that were Sabah and Kuwaitis. the Crown Prince Shooting tournament the tournament The idea for the creation of the Spartathlon belongs adopted by the board of directors, as well Al-Osaimi lauded the support of the will start at the end of the week in the will see very to John Foden, a British RAF Wing Commander who as the efforts of the technical and admin- Honorary President of Kuwait Shooting shotgun, 10 meter pistol and rifle as well strong competi- first ran the course in 1982 in 36 hours. The first Sport Club Sheikh Salman Sabah Al- as Olympic archery and will be conclud- tion as the num- Spartathlon was organised in 1983 with the participa- istrative departments, and the training by Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah and ed on Saturday. Kuwait Shooting Sport ber of shooters tion of just 45 runners from 12 countries. The race start- the shooter, particularly the junior shoot- ed at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens on Friday ers and their achievements, who are the Information Minister, State Minister for Club Treasurer Essa Butaiban said the who will partici- morning with 381 runners from 51 countries with ages future of Kuwait shooting. Youth Affairs Mohammad Nasser Al- organizing committee completed all pate is over 300 ranging from 20 to 70 years, and ended in the southern Al-Osaimi dedicated this new achieve- Jabri and PAS and its Director General preparations for the tournament and of all levels. He Greek town of Sparta with many of the participants ment to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- Dr Humoud Fulaiteh. He said the contin- Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic said registration Essa Butaiban failing to reach the finish line. — AFP Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown ued support of Kuwait shooting had a Shooting Complex is ready to host this will close on Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber great effect in making the achievements important event that declares the start of Tuesday.

Raikkonen wound up fourth ahead of Kevin Bottas upstages Magnussen of Haas, job-hunting Frenchman Esteban Ocon of Force India and Ferrari-bound Charles LecLerc of Sauber. Sergio Perez, in the second Force Hamilton to take India, was eighth ahead of Romain Grosjean in the second Haas and Marcus Ericsson in the second Russian GP pole Sauber. The two Red Bulls did not qualify for the top-10 shootout, knowing they face engine penalties that will mean they start today’s race from the back SOCHI: Valtteri Bottas upstaged his championship- of the grid along with both Toro Rosso cars and leading Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton with a Fernando Alonso’s McLaren. dazzling lap in yesterday’s qualifying session to seize On a bright blue-skied day by the Black Sea, pole position for the Russian Grand Prix. The Finn, Bottas began by setting the early pace ahead of the who has struggled to keep pace with the defending Ferraris until Hamilton emerged to establish his four-time champion for much of the season, relished supremacy again, trimming his lap record, set in the the confines of one of his favourite tracks as he morning’s final practice session, to 1:32.410. clocked a record lap in one minute and 31.387 sec- To the dismay of home fans in the crowd at the onds. His late fastest lap lifted him ahead of Hamilton, Sochi Autodrom, Russia’s only representative, Serge who aborted his final lap after running wide at Turn Sirotkin, spun heavily and brushed the barriers in the Seven, and put a grin back on his face as the closing minutes in his Williams at Turn Nine. Mercedes pair delivered another front row lockout. It This wrecked his hopes and left him exiting along was his second pole this year and the sixth of his with Brendon Hartley of Toro Rosso, retirement- career. “Alright guys, good job that,” said Bottas, as bound two-time champion Fernando Alonso and his INNSBRUCK: Netherland’s poses with the gold medal during the winner ceremony of the he controlled his feelings after the session. McLaren team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, who sand- Women’s Elite road race of the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria yesterday. —AFP “I’m really happy, but it’s only the first step this wiched Sirotkin in 18th, and last man Lance Stroll in weekend. It’s a massively long run to Turn One from the second Williams. the start.” Bottas claimed his maiden Formula One It meant that, not for the first time, two of the Australia’s Amanda Spratt as Italy’s Tatiana Guderzo victory in Russia last year and showed a clear affinity sport’s biggest and most famous teams, multi-cham- Van der Breggen took bronze some 5min 26sec behind Van der Breggen. with the track as Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, who pions Williams and McLaren, had lost both cars in The Olympic and European champion from 2016 trails Hamilton by 40 points in the title race, took the opening session. Bottas and Hamilton continued broke down in tears briefly on crossing the line. third. “I messed up in the last sector,” said a down- to top the times early in Q2, both taking the more storms to world “Until the finish line I never believed it,” she said. cast Vettel. “It was at Turn 15 and I think there were durable ‘ultra-soft’ tyres, as did the two Ferraris, as “World championships are so hard to win.” one and half or two tenths lost, but not enough. “It part of a plan for Sunday’s race strategy. After their road race title “I had too many doubts after many near misses and was important to get as close as possible and it opening runs, the ‘scarlet scuderia’ trailed by nearly only let myself go right at the finish line,” said Van der should have been closer, but not enough to be a half a second each. Breggen. The winner made her move after the threat.” Vettel said he had reminded Bottas of the Hamilton switched to ‘hyper-softs’ and was signifi- INNSBRUCK: Hot favourite Anna van der Breggen Australian team had chased down an earlier attack to start of last year’s race when Bottas, from third, cantly quicker before he aborted the lap, under pulverised the opposition for a deserved gold medal in get Spratt into the lead group and timed her attack at passed both Ferraris to take the lead and win. “I just instructions, to avoid being required to start on those the women’s world championships road race yesterday the bottom of a climb on the first of three circuits of the spoke to him so maybe we can turn that around this tyres. The session, as a result, was relatively insipid as she soloed through huge crowds in central Innsbruck city-centre. time,” added Vettel. as the two Red Bull drivers, Pierre Gasly of Toro to wild applause. Van der Breggen sustained her tempo to drop Rosso who faces a penalty, Marcus Ericsson of The 28-year-old Dutch rider, who won silver in the everyone except Spratt, who relented within the final RAIKONNEN FOURTH Sauber and Nico Hulkenberg of Renault were elimi- time-trial on Tuesday, made her break from around kilometre to leave the Dutchwoman to go it alone for Vettel’s Sauber-bound Ferrari team-mate Kimi nated without much of a fight. — AFP 40km out and finished almost four minutes ahead of almost two full, 23km-long laps of Innsbruck. —AFP