SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2016 OLYMPICS Bucket list ticked, Drysdale back to defend title in Rio WELLINGTON: Olympic rowing champion Mahe Drysdale’s year off after his London campaign has not only refreshed him for his tilt at defending his single sculls title in Rio later this year, but also given him pause for thought about continuing until Tokyo. Drysdale, a five time world champion and bronze medalist at the Beijing Olympics, took 2013 off to “refresh his mind and body” and tick off some things on the bucket list. He competed in Ironman triathlons, did the Coast-to-Coast mul- tisport event where competitors, run, cycle and kayak the breadth of New Zealand’s South Island, and climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Drysdale knew the year off was a risk-fellow London gold medalist Joseph Sullivan also took time off after the Games and when he returned in 2013 was essentially dropped from the high performance program-but he felt it was worth it in the end. “Having that break was fantastic,” Drysdale told Reuters in a recent telephone interview. “I had been rowing for 12 years in the squad and there were a lot of things I wanted to achieve outside of the sport. “Without that break I’d be a bit stale now and I’m feeling very refreshed and excited and it gave me that love and passion for the sport again.” Drysdale returned to the team in 2014 and got back into the swing of things in a hurry, winning both of his World Cup events, though he finished second in the world championships behind the Czech Republic’s Ondrej Synek by 0.73 seconds. DUBAI: Nour El Sherbini (left) of Egypt plays a backhand to Laura Massaro of Great Britain during their semi-final match He again won both World Cup events in 2015 only for Synek to of the Dubai PSA World Series Finals squash tournament in Dubai yesterday. — AFP pip him for the world title by 0.34 seconds. The New Zealander, SQUASH however, knew he was on the right path for Rio and keen to demonstrate that at a World Cup event in Lucerne this weekend. “I was a bit annoyed with myself last year because I didn’t feel like I had raced to my best,” he said. “Knowing that I was only 0.3 sec- David books last 4 ond behind has a silver lining, because I knew that I could have been a couple of seconds faster. “I very much know that I’m on DUBAI: Nicol David, the most successful to the customary five-game encounters. authoritative 11-4, 11-6 success against track, but obviously Ondrej is a great competitor and he’s never female squash player of the professional era, “Nouran is a feisty player and definitely one Camille Serme, last year’s British Open going to give it to you easily. It just re-affirmed to me that I need to kept alive her hopes of winning yet another for the future, and I am so pleased to come champion from France. This second victory be on my game in Rio.” major title by beating Nouran Gohar, the out with a win.” David will complete a hat- kept alive her chances of a climactic finish to world junior champion, 11-7, 11-9 to qualify trick of World Series finals titles after the by far the finest season of her career. The Caught in a row for the last four of the PSA World Series women’s event’s three-year hiatus if she tri- other world champion, Greg Gaultier, was Drysdale said his training times over the New Zealand summer finals. The eight-time world champion from umphs in Saturday’s final, something which rewarded for his three wins with a semi-final had been “very good”. So good in fact he clocked a time just four Malaysia made light of any difficulties she may feel especially welcome to her after an against Miguel Angel Rodriguez, the dynam- seconds outside the world best of six minutes, 33.350 he set in may experience with the two-inch lower tin almost barren 17 months. ic fifth-seeded Colombian. The Frenchman Poznan in 2009. He did, however, unwittingly get caught in the which has altered the tactical emphases of First though she must cope with Raneem had already been sure of qualifying worked middle of very public dispute between coach Dick Tonks and the women’s game, moving the ball around El Welily, the former world number one from hard and pulled out some extra tricks to pre- Rowing New Zealand late last year over a dispute about whether well, usually picking good moments to play Egypt against whom she saved a match vail 7-11, 11-8, 11-1 against Omar Mosaad, Tonks could do freelance coaching with foreign crews. The row the ball in short, and coping with the hectic point to win the memorable 2014 world yet another high level Egyptian. escalated to an extent there were fears both Drysdale and the helter-skelter into which the rallies some- final in Cairo. Welily finished top of group B, What was effectively a dead match con- world champion women’s double scull of Zoe Stevenson and Eve times developed. David also resisted a dan- unbeaten with three wins, after beating her tained surprising drive and tension, emanat- Macfarlane would need to change coach or step outside the cen- gerous-looking fight-back which took the friend Omneya Abdel Kawy 15-13, 11-9. The ing from its being a repeat of the World tralized program altogether. “It was tough,” Drysdale said. “I guess it hard-hitting Egyptian to a 9-8 lead in the other semi-final is between Laura Massaro, Open final six months ago in Seattle. was more the fact of not knowing what was going to come out of it. second game, and won the match with a the top-seeded former world champion Gaultier could go on to a final with the “As soon as the solution was reached it was a huge relief to the penalty point after a Gohar drive lurched from England and Nour El Sherbini, the 20- favourite Mohamed Elshorbagy, whose double and myself because we knew where we were going.” into the middle allowing David no room in year-old current world champion from semi-final is against Cameron Pilley, the first Where they are going, he hopes, is back to the top of the Olympic which to play the ball. Egypt. Massaro notched her third win by Australian since Anthony Ricketts a decade podium in Rio. Then who knows? Perhaps Tokyo as a 41-year-old? “This format really makes you stay in the overcoming Amanda Sobhy, the first ago to reach the semi-finals. Pilley beat “Tokyo was never something that I thought could be on the hori- moment,” David said of the best-of-three- American ever to make the world’s top Simon Rosner, the sixth-seeded German, 11- zon but after that break I have just loved the rowing so much and game group matches, in which her two wins eight,13-11, 11-9 in a tense, tight, and occa- 2, 11-7 and finished second in his group it’s so exciting to still be improving,” he said. “I have been pulling and one loss carried her to second place in sionally contentious match with a trickle of with two wins, attributing his improvement out my best results ever in training. I guess that has made me 50-50 group A. “It means you have to make every- difficult refereeing decisions. to “a couple of changes with technical as to whether I continue. “The biggest issue in that is could my thing count,” she said, with what sounded Sherbini, by contrast, rescued herself things and training methods,” which have body take another four years because ...you don’t recover as quick- like a hint of relief that matches now revert from a first day defeat with a calm and “freshened” him. — AFP ly. “It does get harder.” — Reuters Hinchcliffe seeks Indy 500 win after near-fatal crash INDIANAPOLIS: Canadian driver James happened. But the 29-year-old from at 2.5-mile (4km) Indianapolis Motor Hinchcliffe eager, ‘wiser’ Hinchcliffe, who watched last year’s Oakville, Ontario, says he never doubted Speedway to claim the inside from row But the popular fan choice will be Indianapolis 500 from a hospital bed after he would return to racing and one year spot in the 33-car field for the 200-lap Hinchcliffe, whose comeback bid is like a near-fatal practice crash, starts on the later, he finds himself the man to beat feature event at the famed “Brickyard.” few others ever attempted in a century pole for tomorrow’s 100th running of the with the first pole of his IndyCar career. Americans Josef Newgarden and Ryan at Indy. “As an entire team, to have American oval classic. Hinchcliffe’s third- “The accident didn’t change me. I’m just Hunter-Reay join Hinchcliffe on the front come back from where we were a year turn crash into the outer wall last May as hungry, just as driven,” Hinchcliffe row for the 100th Indy race with ago, to now be sitting here, I would shoved a steel rod from the car’s suspen- said. “There was never doubt in my mind American Townsend Bell, Colombia’s strongly argue anybody that would sion through his right thigh and into his or the team’s mind that we would be Carlos Munoz and 2015 Indy 500 runner- have tried to say that this pole would left leg, causing massive bleeding that back.