I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y NOVEMBER 25, 2019 SPORTS 15

Branko Ivankovic linked with Mitra Shabanian takes charge of Iran’s women’s volleyball team

Team Melli: report SPORTS TEHRAN — Mitra Shabanian has been named SPORTS TEHRAN — Branko deskas new head coach of Iran’s women’s national deskIvankovic has been re- volleyball team. portedly linked with a move to Iran na- Shabanian will lead Team Melli at the 2020 Women’s Asian tional football team as a replacement for Olympic Qualification Tournament. Marc Wilmots, who is in danger of losing Iran are drawn in Pool B along with South Korea, Kazakhstan his job after a string of poor results with and Indonesia. Team Melli. Pool A consists of Thailand, Australia and Chinese Taipei. The 65-year-old Croat had recently said The competition will be held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand he would prefer to work as a club coach but from January 7 to 12. the Iranian football federation has reportedly The Women’s Asian Olympic Qualification is a volleyball agreed with Ivankovic. tournament for women’s national teams organized by Asian The Iranian delegation will travel to Za- Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and Fédération Internationale greb on Monday to hold meeting with the de Volleyball (FIVB). former Persepolis coach. The winners of the competition will qualify for the 2020 Under guidance of Wilmots, Iran have women’s Olympic volleyball tournament. suffered back-to-back defeats against Bahrain and Iraq in the 2022 World Cup qualification. Team Melli sit in third place in Group C with six points, five points adrift of lead- Iran’s Safi wins title at ITF ers Iraq. Iran will entertain Hong Kong on March Junior World Tennis Tour 26, 2020 and meet Cambodia in an away match five days later. IRNA — Meshkatolzahra Safi from Iran claimed a gold medal at Iran national football team will also the ITF Junior World Tennis Tour girls singles at Nairobi Club. have two tough matches against Bahrain Safi defeated Aisha Niyonkuru from Burundi in the finals of and Iraq in June. the girls singles 6-2 6-3. Team Melli must win all four matches to She had also won a silver medal in the doubles along with book a place in the 2022 World Cup quali- her Macedonian teammate Mialy Ranaivo. fication final stage. They lost to Aisha Niyonkuru and Angella Okutoyi from Kenya Likewise, the fact Wilmots has three years 6-4 6-4 in the final match. to run on his contract is a major factor given his condition to return to Iran is to receive FIFA World Cup, where the Persian failed A meeting with Iranian Ambassador to The ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors is a series of tournaments he will be entitled to a huge cash settlement his wages in full. to qualify for the next stage after losing to the Republic of Croatia Mohammad Reza for players aged 18 & Under, aimed at improving competitive if he is sacked and the Iranian federation The 65-year-old coach led Iran to gold Mexico and Portugal. Team Melli drew with Sadegh has fueled rumors of a possible opportunities and helping to develop a player’s skills. has a difficult task ahead. medal in the 2002 Asian Games and won a Angola in the competition. return to Iran. Ivankovic led Persepolis to the Iranian bronze medal with Team Melli in the 2004 In an interview with Tehran Times, Ivank- The spokesperson of football federation domestic treble last season but left the team AFC Asian Cup in China. ovic said that he doesn›t know anything has also neither confirmed nor denied the after they failed to pay him his salary and The Croat coached Iran at the 2006 about the ongoing situation. media reports. Iran still fourth at futsal world ranking

Sergio Aguero in doubt for Manchester derby after injury vs. Chelsea TASNIM — The Iranian national futsal team remained in the Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero is a doubt for the “He is going to be out some days during the toughest fourth place in the latest Futsal World Ranking. derby with United after limping off during the 2-1 win over part of our season.” Brazil and Spain are first and second with 1839 and 1785 Chelsea on Saturday. Guardiola has already lost Leroy Sane and Aymeric points, respectively. The Argentine, who has scored 13 goals this season, was Laporte to long-term knee injury and saw midfielders Rodri Russia are third with 1670 points, followed by Iran with 1644. forced off in the second half at the Etihad Stadium after a and David Silva also go off injured against Chelsea. Oleks Iran completed its AFC Futsal Championship Turkmenistan challenge from Reece James and is set to undergo a scan Zinchenko remains sidelined. 2020 Qualifiers for the South & Central Zones as group win- on Sunday. “With Rodri and David they were problems with cramp ner after two wins over Turkmenistan and Kyrgyz Republic in City face Shakhtar Donetsk, Newcastle and Burnley and tiredness,” said Guardiola. “Rodri went a month and a Oroumiyeh in October. before United’s visit on Dec. 7. half without playing many games. Iran finished third at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia “We will see but it doesn’t look good,” said Guardiola. “This kind of game is so demanding because the physi- 2016 after a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Portugal following “I think it’s muscular. He thought it was a kick but i think cality is incredible. That’s why it happened.” a 2-2 draw. he stretched a little bit. (Source: ESPN)

Sitting volleyball joins growing list FIS president Kasper to step down Japan and Switzerland advance, of sports after 22 years Uruguay spring surprise Japan and Switzerland became the first teams to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Par- aguay 2019, after respectively defeating the USA and the host nation in two exciting clashes that effectively decided Group A. Uruguay, meanwhile, produced the first major surprise of the tournament, beating a formidable Italy side in another high-octane encounter. Consequently, Los Charrúas move into pole position in Group B with six points out of six, but they still have a little bit of work to do to ensure themselves of a place in the last eight. In the same section, Tahiti bounced back from their opening-day defeat and preserved their chances of advancing by overcoming Mexico, whose destiny is no longer in their own hands. Los Pynandi Stadium was a highly impressive sight during the Paraguay-Switzerland match: the home faithful encouraged their heroes from start to finish, and cheered them off the field, despite the result not going their way. The fans were also able to enjoy the Fan Zone, an ideal place to have fun, with a range World Para Volley has become the latest Both men’s and women’s competitions Gian-Franco Kasper has announced he May 2018. of activities scheduled every day. International Federation to give its seal will be on offer in Nakhon Ratchasima. will stand down as President of the In- In a statement confirming his de- (Source: FIFA) of approval to the 2020 International The 2020 edition of the World Games ternational Ski Federation in May 2020 parture, the FIS said Kasper would Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Feder- will take place less than six months ahead after 22 years at the helm of the worldwide “lead the organization with the same ation (IWAS) World Games being held in of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. The governing body. full commitment until and during the Lacazette won’t celebrate Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, from 22-27 Games have a growing reputation for The 75-year-old informed the FIS Council Congress in May 2020”. February 2020. being a springboard for the careers of of his intention to leave the organization “He stated that the communication of leveler in Arsenal draw Sitting volleyball, together with pow- many Paralympic medalists. during its autumn meeting in Constance, his decision has been made at this early erlifting - another of the latest additions For powerlifting, athletes will have Germany, today. stage to enable a timely process for the - will join 10 other sports on the Games the chance to gain ranking points which Kasper’s tenure in charge of the FIS National Ski Associations to prepare any Alexandre Lacazette earned Arsenal a last-gasp 2-2 draw at home programme which will enjoy a variety of go towards qualification for Tokyo 2020. will officially come to an end during its applications for candidacies,” the FIS added. to second bottom Southampton on Saturday. different levels of recognition from their Junior medals will also be up for grabs, Congress in Thailand on May 22. Under Kasper’s reign as FIS President, Unai Emery came into this match under huge pressure fol- governing bodies. highlighting the chances that the IWAS The Swiss official, an honorary member the global governing body has expanded lowing four successive Premier League matches without a win The sanctioning agreement for sitting vol- World Games provide for young athletes of the International Olympic Committee from 100 members to 133. but the visit of a team who lost 9-0 at home to Leicester less than leyball was signed during the 2019 Interna- just starting out on their careers. (IOC) and a former member of its Execu- He also saw an increase in the number of a month ago seemed like the perfect opportunity to end that run. tional Paralympic Committee (IPC) General As well as sitting volleyball and pow- tive Board, has been involved with the FIS skiing medal events on the Winter Olympic And following the match, Emery admitted it hadn’t been good Assembly in Bonn, Germany. Attending as erlifting, Nakhon Ratchasima 2020 will for nearly half a century after he became Games program to over 50. enough: “We are frustrated and we understand the supporters IPC members, IWAS President Rudi van den feature a wide range of sports all sanctioned secretary-general in 1975. But his tenure has also been dogged by as well. We lost an opportunity to connect with our supporters Abbeele met with World Para Volley President by the relevant International Federations. He was elected unopposed to serve several controversial incidents. because they helped us. Barry Couzner to seal the arrangement. (Source: Paralympic) a fresh four-year term as President in (Source: Insidethegames) “We want, and we know, that here is the key. Here is the key to feel comfortable, to feel strong and take confidence. We didn’t do that.” However, Arsenal were behind after eight minutes when their Al Hilal clinch record-equaling Asian title defense was caught out by Ryan Bertrand’s quick free kick and Danny Ings hit an effort in off the post. Salem Al-Dawsari and Bafetimbi Gomis were the heroes his volley straight at the Urawa goalkeeper. The visitors were by far the better team but Arsenal drew as Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal beat Urawa Red Diamonds 2-0 However, they were ominous signs for the hosts and Al level with their first attack when Lacazette finished off on 18 on Sunday and 3-0 on aggregate to claim a record-equaling Hilal finally prised open the Urawa defence with a sweeping minutes after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s initial shot had third Asian club title in the AFC Champions League. move on 74 minutes. been blocked following good work from Mesut Ozil. Al-Dawsari scored with 16 minutes left and top-scorer Man-of-the-match Giovinco provided the final ball for Salem But the hosts failed to build on their goal and Southampton Gomis grabbed his 11th of the competition in injury time who gratefully prodded home the winner after a sequence of had the chance to take the lead when Kieran Tierney was adjudged as the Saudi giants ended a 19-year wait for their third passes that caught out the backpedalling Urawa defenders. to have pulled Ings’ shirt and, following a consultation with the continental trophy, joining South Korea’s Pohang Steelers Gomis came within inches of connecting with a diving VAR, referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot. as the only three-time Asian champions. header in the dying moments, but the towering forward was James Ward-Prowse saw his initial effort saved by Bernd Al Hilal, beaten by Japan’s Urawa in the 2017 final, also not to be denied later as he smashed in Al Hilal’s second in Leno, but put in the rebound. However, with Arsenal heading became the competition’s first West Asian winners since the third minute of injury time. for a potentially season-defining defeat, Lacazette popped up Qatar’s Al Sadd in 2011, torpedoing a run of victories by The Saudi giants have endured a continental trophy to earn his side a point in the 96th minute. clubs from Japan, South Korea, China and Australia. by Hilal custodian Abdullah Al-Mayoof. drought since 2000 when they won the tournament for Despite the late goal, Arsenal’s players left the pitch to a chorus Al Hilal had the better of the opening half as they looked After the break tournament top-scorer Gomis, with 10 the second time, the first being in 1991 when it was called of boos from the home supporters and Emery said he understood to build on their 1-0 win in the first leg, when Andre Carrillo goals en route to the final, drew a reaction save from Shu- the Asian Club Championship. why Lacazette did not celebrate the equaliser. scored the only goal. zaku Nishikawa when he connected with a menacing cross They came close in 2014 and 2017 when they reached He said: “Yes that’s an example of how they felt. They felt Both goalkeepers were forced into action early on, but at the near post. the final, only to be beaten by Western Sydney Wanderers the point was not enough. Our performance, individually and it was Urawa’s Takahiro Sekine who had the best chance of Gomis found Nishikawa in his path once again when he and Urawa respectively. collectively, was about achieving the victory.” the half when his point-blank volley was scrambled away chested down Sebastian Giovinco’s cross and side-footed (Source: AFP) (Source: ESPN)