SPORT Tuesday 27 March 2018 PAGE | 32-33 PAGE | 34 PAGE | 36 Australia’s Smith Astle mops up tail as Veteran Venus braced for Black Caps claim historic outlasts Bertens to make-or-break week pink ball Test win seal Konta clash Qatar’s Abdulla grabs T2 stage glory in Desert Challenge THE PENINSULA the top of a sand dune. It was my mistake. I did not take the right gear and we spent QASR AL SARAB, UAE: Qatar’s Adel Abdulla maybe 10 or 15 minutes getting the car out. claimed the fastest time in the T2 category The leader then came and passed us. on the 287.92km second selective section “We got going again and he stopped of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge through again and we pushed and passed him again. the deserts of Liwa yesterday. We managed to take one minute from him The Qatari driver began the day 30min and we will now be in front of him in the 33sec behind Saudi rival Ahmed Shegawi in stage for tomorrow. This is a good thing. his rented Nissan Safari Y61 and he and nav- There are still three days to go and I am sure igator Nasser Al Kuwari reduced that gap the next one will be very hard. I hope to to 29min 24.9sec after crossing the dunes close the gap soon,” Abdulla said. of the Rub Al Khali in a time of 5hrs 35min Abdulla is running his T2 programme 43sec, despite losing over 10 minutes stuck with the crucial support of the Qatar gov- at the top of a sand dune near the finish. ernment, the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Following yesterday’s stage win, Abdulla Federation (QMMF) and Ooredoo Qatar. said: “Today we decided to push more than Both Russia’s Yuliya Khegay-Migunova yesterday. This car is completely different and Romania’s Claudia Laurentiu Barbu lost to my car. I learned a lot about this car yes- considerable time in the sand dunes and terday. We caught the leader (Ahmed slipped behind further behind their T2 rivals, Shegawi) and we passed him and we pushed with the latter stopping close to the stage more and more. But this stage is unbe- start and the Russian incurring time pen- lievably difficult for our cars, as a T2. We alties after the previous stage. passed many difficult places, you cannot Competitors will tackle the third desert believe. special and the second of three loops stages “We were, perhaps, leading by 15 through the UAE deserts today. minutes but, in the last 30km, I got stuck in The timed section will run for 281.27km. Qatar’s Adel Abdulla and his navigator Nasser Al 2018 ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE – T2 POSITIONS AFTER SS2: Kuwari in action in their 1. Ahmed Al Shegawi (SAU)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Toyota Land Cruiser 10hrs 00min 23.7sec Nissan Patrol during the 2. Adel Abdulla (QAT)/Nasser Al Kuwari (QAT) Nissan Patrol 10hrs 29min 48.6sec second selective section 3. Yuliya Khegay-Migunova (RUS)/Aldis Vilcans (LVA) Toyota LC 200 20hrs 21min 44.5sec of the Abu Dhabi Desert 4. Laurentiu-Claudiu Barbu (ROU)/Paul-Nicusor Spirodon (ROU) Nissan Navara 239hrs 01min 34.0sec Challenge through the deserts of Liwa yesterday. Golf: Cockburn wins Rising star Tala eyes Asian Games Qatar Senior Open medal after historic gold in Kuwait QNA THE PENINSULA DOHA: Scotland’s Fraser Cockburn claimed the third edition of Qatar Senior Open Golf Championship 2018, held at the Doha DOHA: Fresh from winning a gold Golf Club. at the Arab Indoor Rowing Cham- While Cockburn scored plus four, former Indian cricket captain pionship in Kuwait, Qatar’s rising Kapil Dev finished second with a total score of plus five. Swe- star Tala Abu Jabara has now set den’s Claes Byberg was third with a total of plus six. The tour- her sights on winning a medal at nament, which is the first in the region for the senior golfers, saw the Asian Games to be held this 143 players from around the world compete. summer in Indonesia. Qatar Golf Association General Secretary Fahad bin Nasser Abdullah Al Sulaiti, President of Al Naimi, who awarded the winners, said the championship was Qatar Sailing and Kayaking Feder- unique and have a very good reputation among golf champion- ation (QSKF), yesterday welcomed ships in the region. the young athlete and applauded for her ‘brilliant achievement’ in Kuwait saying the Qatari rower Olympic team to meet would be aiming for more medals at the international level. Oman in friendly Tala said she is ‘aiming to win a medal at the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta’. QNA In a statement released yes- terday, Tala said it was easy to aim DOHA: Qatari Olympic football team will play a friendly match for the medal but to realise the against Oman today at No. 5 stadium in Aspire. dream will require a lot of effort in The match is part of the Qatari team’s preparations for the the coming weeks and months. upcoming entitlements, which include the Asian Games in Jakarta The 25-year old said: “It would and the U-22 Asian Cup. The Olympic team coach Unai Melgosa Gold medallist at the Arab Indoor Rowing Championship, Qatar’s rising star Tala Abu Jabara (centre) poses be amazing to win a gold at the has called a list of 27 players for the current camp. for a photograph with the President of Qatar Sailing and Kayaking Federation (QSKF), Abdullah Al Sulaiti Asian Games. It was a great honour to do well in Kuwait. The federation (right) during a welcoming ceremony at the QSKF Headquarters yesterday. has given me great support. I will Al Rayyan play continue to bid for more glory.” to improve her fitness levels. talent. She possesses great set of Al Sulaiti said Tala’s memorable “I had put in a great deal of “I have great ambitions to skills that allow her to dominate the achievement was the result of effort in the event held in Kuwait. achieve more glory for my country,” field of play. She needs more careful planning of the Qatar Al Wakrah today The hard work I put in helped me she said. “I want to supplement my support and encouragement. We Olympic Committee (WOC) to back QNA to win the medal despite tough medal by aiming for more in the are confident that she will continue home-grown sporting talent in the competition from other contestants. future,” she said. to improve and do well at the top country. DOHA: Al Rayyan are scheduled to play a friendly against Al Some leading athletes from the Tala also won the gold medal level.” A total of eight countries fea- Wakrah today, as part of preparations for their AFC Champions region were present in Kuwait,” at the 2016 GCC Rowing Champi- The QSKF chief expressed his tured in the 2000 paddling event League match against Iran’s Esteghlal to be played in Tehran on Tala said. onship and at the 12th Arab Rowing happiness at the ‘outstanding in which Tala produced her per- April 2. “I will continue to work hard,” Championship held in Tunisia last achievement of Tala’, the first since sonal record of 7.02.7 minutes to The friendly with Second Division runners-up Al Wakrah will she added. year. the silver medal won by Qatar’s clinch gold medal. UAE’s Amana kick off at the Al Rayyan Stadium at 6.30pm. Tala said she is set to con- Al Sulaiti, President of QSKF, Walid Alsharashani at the 2006 Khalfan took silver medal in the The match will help the technical staff led by Michael Laudrup assess tinue her training in France said: “Tala is a unique sporting Asian Games. contest. the readiness of players ahead of the crucial game against Esteghlal. 30 SPORT TUESDAY 27 MARCH 2018 Motor racing: Haas shows class, then farce in Australia REUTERS MELBOURNE: A weekend that began with back-slapping and high-fives for Haas after their best ever Formula One qualifying finished with ‘heartbreak’ and fines after both the team’s cars retired before the halfway mark of the Australian Grand Prix. Danish driver Kevin Mag- nussen started Sunday’s race at Albert Park in fifth place with French team mate Romain Grosjean lining up in sixth after Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo took a three place drop. They were running fourth and fifth prior to their first pitstops Ferrari’s German driver Sebastian where it all went wrong. Vettel gets his tyres changed There was obvious alarm from during the Australian Grand Prix the mechanics as the cars were in Melbourne on Sunday. released, and they each rolled to a halt before completing another lap. The team revealed later that it had committed the same mistake twice, failing to properly fasten wheels on each car after changing their tyres. “It was just a bad pit stop,” said team principal Guenther Steiner. “The wheelnut was on but it was cross-threaded. That doesn’t tighten the wheel up but for the mechanic, it feels like it is Stung Mercedes vow to bounce tightened and it wasn’t.” The stewards imposed fines of €4,000 ($6000 approx) for each incident, adding another sting to back after ‘one that got away’ the drivers’ huge disappointment at the season-opening race won by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. AFP “It’s a very tough one to Ferrari’s German driver Sebastian swallow for the whole team,” said MELBOURNE: Mercedes have Vettel (centre), second-placed Magnussen.