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Wednesday, April 19, 2017 FOOTBALL Rajab 22, 1438 AH Win every game GULF TIMES now, Wenger tells Arsenal SPORT Page 2 QATAR CROSS-COUNTRY RALLY Al-Attiyah, Meo and Ponce take Super Special Stage Al-Attiyah was 1.8 seconds quicker than Yazeed al-Rajhi in the cars, while Leeroy Poulter slotted into third

By Sports Reporter Sunderland is focused and determined Losail to continue his winning run. “We know how diffi cult this rally can be and in terms of the navigation but this one atar’s Nasser Saleh al-At- and Abu Dhabi are strategic rallies. tiyah, Frenchman Antoine That’s the nature of them. I guess the Meo and Peru’s Alexis Her- end of the stage is a bit like motocross Qnandez Ponce entertained with everyone jostling for position, but the crowds with the fastest times in we have to deal with that.” the car, motorcycle and quad catego- Honda’s Kevin Benavides blotted ries through the opening 4.85km Su- his copybook by falling and damag- per Special Stage of the Qatar Cross- ing his bike during a test session on Country Rally at Losail yesterday. Monday afternoon and defending FIM Run over a purpose-built track that World Champion Pablo Quintanilla featured jumps and water splashes and was forced to miss the pre-event press sections of Losail’s motocross course, conference to visit hospital for treat- the stage was also used to determine ment after sustaining a slight injury on the all-important starting order for the Monday afternoon in another test. fi rst of four desert selective sections on A fascinating battle is anticipated Wednesday. in the T2 car category. Qatar’s Adel Al-Attiyah was 1.8 seconds quicker Abdulla, driving a Nissan Patrol, than Yazeed al-Rajhi in the cars, while Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah snatched an early 5.6- second lead over Leeroy Poulter slotted into third place powers through the Super Special Saudi rival Yasir Saeidan. Abu Dhabi’s on his Qatar debut with a South Afri- Stage yesterday. At bottom, QMMF Mansour al-Helai was a further second can-built Toyota Hilux. “I had a test in chief Abdulrahman al-Mannai flags behind. the car yesterday and there was a little off the participants. “I thank the QMMF, Nissan Qatar pain from the crash in Abu Dhabi, but and Ooredoo for their support,” said nothing too serious,” said al-Attiyah. Qatar’s defending FIA T2 champion “I will see what develops. If I have to Adel Abdulla at the pre-event press push, then I will.” conference. “This is my home event The tactical game began in earnest in and it is special to me. I need to close the motorcycles and the stage win for the gap on the leader in the champion- Frenchman Antoine Meo enabled him ship. That is the goal this week.” to choose the most favourable starting Frenchman Claude Fournier topped position for the desert action. With the the T3 standings and fi rst blood event reduced from fi ve to four desert amongst the 10 competitors in the sections this year, a diff erent strat- Qatar National Baja went to a fl ying egy may pan out amongst the factory Ahmed Allouh in his Polaris. Khalid riders. Red Bull KTM teammate Mat- al-Mohannadi was second in a similar thias Walkner fi nished second and Sam car. Sunderland gave the Austrian manu- Today, is the fi rst of four desert se- facturer a 1-2-3 fi nish. lective sections at the Qatar Cross- Alexis Hernandez Ponce was the Country Rally. Competitors will tackle class of the quad fi eld on his Yamaha a 334.08km section that starts near the Raptor. Rafal Sonik switched from a tered for FIM Quad World Cup points. nine quads were fl agged away from a Earlier in the day, 11 competitors had and Rafal Sonik joined car drivers al- village of Rawdat Rashed in the munic- Honda to a Yamaha to fi nish second South Africa’s Martin Beyers dropped ceremonial start by QMMF President joined QMMF president al-Mannai Attiyah, Sheikh Khalid al-Qassimi, ipality of Al Rayyan and fi nishes south and Dutchman Kees Koolen third. seven minutes to the leaders. Before Abdulrahman al-Mannai, with the at the offi cial pre-event press confer- Martin Prokop and the Qatari duo of of the former Sealine bivouac, 93.72km Saudi riders Abdulmajeed al-Khulaifi they tackled the stage, 25 FIA cars honour of fi rst into the stage falling to ence at Losail. Riders Sam Sunder- Mohamed Abu Issa and Adel Abdulla from Losail, after taking in a westerly and Sultan al-Masood also entered and 10 more running in the National Abdulmajeed al-Khulaifi on his Yama- land, Pierre Alexandre Renet, Paulo at the media event. and southerly loop of the State of Qa- on their Yamahas, but were not regis- Baja, along with 13 motorcycles and ha YFZ 450R. Gonçalves, Mohammed al-Balooshi Defending motorcycle champion tar.

BOTTOMLINE Tough stages, tougher navigation challenge participants in Qatar Cross-Country Rally

By Joe Koraith more about navigation, about the ter- Jan Tomanek is a very worried man be- Doha rain and about the car. I would like to cause of the challenge that this round wish all the drivers a very successful off ers. “I have heard many stories about and safe event,” he added. this event and the tricky navigation and he Qatar Cross-Country Ral- Al-Attiyah, who was leading by more my co-driver Jan (Tomanek) is quite ly is one of the events of the than an hour in Abu Dhabi before that worried and knows he will need to work calendar held in high regard crash, is still on recovery path. “Both hard,” said Prokop yesterday. Tby all the participants. The me and Mathieu are lucky that we Honda rider Paulo Goncalves too en- tricky terrain and the demanding navi- didn’t break anything. But I have mus- forced the prevalent opinion that Qatar gation requirements have established cle and nerve injuries. I have been in is going to test the limits of the compet- this round as one of the toughest in the Apsetar Hospital for 10 days. I am get- itors. “We know here that we will have calendar. Four extremely desert sec- ting better and better,” said the Qatari a long, diffi cult rally with a lot of navi- tions will require the competitors to be yesterday. gation. The level of riders is higher. I at their very best if they are to emerge Qatar’s second representative in the expect an intense race,” said Goncalves. victorious. cars category, Mohamed Abu Issa, is All of this talk of Qatar being a tough Reigning motorcycle Dakar Rally looking to gain valuable experience for race leaves QMMF president Abdulrah- champion Sam Sunderland knows that next year’s Dakar. “Cross country is man al-Mannai a very happy man. He this will be a diff erent outing as com- a lot more diffi cult. You have to han- knows that it will translate into a com- pared to the Abu Dhabi Desert Chal- dle diff erent terrains. In Abu Dhabi, petitive race. “We’re very excited about lenge, which he had won. “I am happy you had to tackle the dunes. In Qatar this race. It’s going to be a diffi cult race. to be here in Qatar for another year. We navigation will be the most important And we are hoping that the weather will always know before we come that we Participants in the Qatar Cross-Country Rally pose with QMMF off icials prior to the start of the event. aspect. For me it’s super important to help us in this race. It has been an excit- will have a tough race here. It’s such a fi nish the world championship and get ing season so far. We are hoping that we diff erent race from Abu Dhabi. There between,” said the KTM rider during tar’s Nasser al-Attiyah, knows how dif- cross country is diff erent and it will be as much experience as I can for the next see a strong competition in this round.” it’s all dunes. We come here and there’s the press conference yesterday. fi cult this event can be. “This is known more diffi cult. The stages and the kilo- year in Dakar,” he said. Come Saturday and those present on a lot of navigation and diff erent terrain. Sheikh Khalid al-Qassimi, who won to be a very diffi cult rally. I have partici- metres are longer,” said al-Qassimi yes- Navigation is the biggest focus for the winner’s ramp will be very happy at It’s good to have that contrast. We have the car category in Abu Dhabi, after an pated in the Middle East Rally Champi- terday. participants in Qatar. Czech driver having conquered one of the most chal- to adapt so quick with only a week in unfortunate accident suff ered by Qa- onship. That was diffi cult in itself but “The purpose of this event is to learn Martin Prokop joked that his co-driver lenging rounds in this calendar. Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, April 19, 2017 FOOTBALL

SPOTLIGHT Qatar’s al-Mohannadi hits out at FIFA ban AFP last month successfully overturned the scandal-hit governing body and now “They didn’t have a case, they Doha sanctions against him. threatens to overshadow next month’s knew that it was political. I “I was condemned with the wrong FIFA Congress in Bahrain. wanted to clear my name aft er all decision and it just took the appeals Just three days before, the Asian these years in football, you know senior Qatari offi cial who re- committee of FIFA to see that,” al-Mo- Football Confederation (AFC) will hold you don’t want to end your career cently overturned a one-year hannadi told AFP. a meeting and vote in Bahrain to elect with suspicion, especially if you FIFA ban said yesterday the “They didn’t have a case, they knew members to the FIFA Council, which had no wrongdoing” case against him was “po- that it was political. the governing body says “sets the vi- litical”A and may stand again for the all- “I wanted to clear my name after all sion for FIFA and global football”. tember which brought al-Mohannadi’s powerful FIFA Council. these years in football, you know you This is the ballot which al-Mohan- case to wider attention. Saoud al-Mohannadi, the Qatar don’t want to end your career with sus- nadi, also vice-president of the AFC, is The Qatari, one of the favourites Football Association’s vice-president, picion, especially if you had no wrong- currently excluded from, having missed to win, was stopped at the very last was making his fi rst public comments doing.” a deadline to stand which passed during minute from standing for election. since winning his appeal against the Asked who was behind the politics, his ban. Asked if he still might put his Outraged AFC members, some be- ban, handed down by a FIFA ethics al-Mohannadi replied: “You can say name forward, al-Mohannadi said he lieving FIFA was using its ethics body committee last year. FIFA in general, and I don’t blame FIFA was “examining” the issue. to infl uence the result of the election, He was also fi ned 20,000 Swiss francs now because of all this what’s happen- He also said he would attend the cancelled the vote. ($20,000, 18,700 euros) for refusing to ing around FIFA and football.” meeting in Bahrain. Two months later al-Mohannadi was co-operate with a corruption inquiry. Al-Mohannadi’s long-running case It was the furore over the AFC’s banned for a year for refusing to help in But in a rare reversal, al-Mohannadi Qatar Football Association vice-president, Saoud al-Mohannadi. has proved controversial for football’s abandoned FIFA Council vote last Sep- an investigation, FIFA announced.

CHALLENGE ANALYSIS John Terry — Five Win every game highs and lows from now: Wenger ‘We have to win every game to have a chance to get in the top four. The end of the season will come very quickly and it is up to us to finish strongly’ File photo of Chelsea’s John Terry being thrown in the air by teammates.

AFP Terry also came up with goals London at the other end — 66 in his 713 appearances to make him unsur- prisingly their highest ever scor- ive highs and lows of ing defender. former England captain For Terry, the one that stood John Terry’s 19-year ca- out was his volley in the 2015 Freer at his beloved Chel- League Cup fi nal win over Lon- sea after it was announced Mon- don rivals Tottenham.”It’s just day he would be leaving at the the occasion and it was my fi rst end of the season: goal in a major fi nal as well. Obviously it was against our HIGHS big rivals so it meant a little bit Captain Fantastic more,” said Terry. Chelsea’s most successful skipper after being appointed in LOWS 2004 captained them a record Ferdinand scandal 578 times and to four Premier Among many controversies League titles, four FA Cups, in his career this attracted the three League Cups and the 2012 most coverage and destroyed his Champions League. friendship with fellow England He was however suspended for central defender Rio Ferdinand. the Munich fi nal after being sent He faced allegations he racially off in the second leg of the semi- abused Anton Ferdinand, Rio’s fi nal against Barcelona. younger brother, while playing He had a good understanding for Chelsea against Queens Park with the prickly “Special One” Rangers in 2011. Jose Mourinho in particular. After being stripped of the “When you say that John Terry England captaincy, Terry was was a fantastic captain for me cleared of racially abusing Anton you are right,” opined Mourinho Ferdinand in a London court in about Terry’s impact during his July 2012. fi rst term in charge. However, the matter did not Even this season after Terry end there and was to prove costly Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger during his team’s Premier League game against Middlesbrough at the The Riverside Stadium on Monday. played a peripheral role under for the England national side as Antonio Conte, his successor on two weeks later he was charged AFP to — had we not won against Middles- two occasions but I thought we were de- There was some irony over the fact that the pitch Gary Cahill didn’t dare by the Football Association – Middlesbrough brough I would have conceded that the fensively stronger than previous games.” Arsenal’s goal-scoring heroes were both suggest he could replace him who had stripped him of the top four was beyond us.” players who have been linked with moves in the fans’ aff ections.”I never captaincy in February leading to Wenger switched personnel and for- ‘BIT OF NERVOUSNESS’ away from the Emirates this summer. thought for one minute, or will then head coach Fabio Capello eleaguered Arsenal manager mation as he looked to put an end to one Wenger’s tactics helped keep a deter- But after refusing to talk about his own ever think, that I’m replacing resigning in protest. Arsene Wenger challenged his of the worst runs in his managerial career mined Boro at bay and the Gunners won future at the club, Wenger dismissed him. He subsequently retired from players to win every game be- — making six changes and playing three the game through goals from Alexis speculation about his two attackers. He is right at the top and who- England duty before the start of tween now and the end of the at the back for the fi rst time since 1997. Sanchez in the fi rst half and Mesut Ozil “There has been speculation over ever comes in after him is never an FA hearing that rejected his seasonB to keep alive faint hopes of a top- “Yes, I did something I had not done in the second — though Alvaro Negredo both players but that does not enter into going to achieve what he’s done claims, declaring there was “no four Premier League fi nish. in 20 years — but that just goes to show equalised for Boro fi ve minutes after the things when match-day comes because at the club,” said Cahill. credible basis for his defence” Seven league wins is the only way the that even at my age I can still change,” he break. it is all about the game then and they will that he was repeating words Frenchman reckons that Arsenal can smiled. Wenger sensed uncharacteristic anxi- always give their all.” Sweet and sour Ferdiand uttered to him. secure a Champions League place after “I went with three at the back to give ety in his out-of-form players before the For Boro boss Steve Agnew, there was Champions League They banned him for four ending a run of four away league defeats more reassurance to the team especially game, which he hopes will now have been the pain of another defeat but pride in For Terry, Europe’s most pres- games and fi ned him £220,000 with a 2-1 victory over struggling Mid- as we were up against a team which we overcome. the way his relegation-threatened play- tigious competition represented ($276,000, 260,000 euros). dlesbrough on Monday. thought might have played a direct game. “We were a bit over-cautious against ers performed. his sweetest and sourest moment. “We have to win every game to have “It was a committed game that we Middlesbrough but hopefully the win “The players were amazing, I couldn’t He missed the penalty in the Post 9/11 abuse a chance to get in the top four,” said needed to win. over them will now give us more confi - ask any more of them,” he said. shootout which would have given Terry and three of his Chel- Wenger, who has yet to fi nish outside the “I think because of their pride they dence,” he said. “I felt that when we scored we had Ar- them the trophy over Manchester sea teammates were accused of top four in his 21-year reign. made it a diffi cult fi rst half and then when “There was a bit of nervousness in our senal on the back foot and at that point United in the 2008 fi nal, instead drunkenly abusing Americans at “And that run starts with this win over they came back at us and equalised, it dressing room before kick-off because we just needed the ball to fall to us. seeing their rivals win their second a Heathrow Airport hotel hours Middlesbrough. was a test for us. we had not had a good run and that can “We all realise the task ahead now, we under Alex Ferguson. after the 9/11 terror attacks in the “The end of the season will come very “It was tough for us because they are happen — confi dence in life goes away are six points off safety but we have a However, he told The Daily United States which had left the quickly and it is up to us to fi nish strongly. fi ghting hard to stay in the division and quickly and comes back slowly — but this game in hand and a terrifi c goal diff er- Mail in 2015 somewhat surpris- passengers grounded. “We had a “We can do that, but also we will have we might have ridden our luck on one or result helps.” ence.” ingly his greatest memory was lot of Americans here and were “the 2012 Champions League simply trying to comfort them fi nal even though I didn’t play in in their hour of need. Meanwhile GAME PLAN it”. He still dressed in full Chelsea these men were laughing and kit and once Didier Drogba slot- joking, taking off their clothes ted away the winning penalty in and abusing our guests,” a hotel the shootout with Bayern Mu- manager told the Daily Telegraph Arsenal went back to basics: Oxlade-Chamberlain nich he joined in the celebrations at the time. and lifted the trophy. The players were fi ned two rsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Cham- Manager Arsene Wenger indicated the weeks’ wages (around £130,000) berlain said his team had gone new system had given the players fresh Terry the marksman and the money went to the rela- back to basics in their 2-1 Pre- belief but said it was not necessarily go- Renowned for his defending tives of the victims. mier League win at Middles- ing to be a model for the future. broughA on Monday after recent perform- “It was something new for us, we ances that were not good enough. worked on it this week. I think we adapt- Birmingham appoint Redknapp as manager While Gunners manager Arsene ed really well to it tonight and I think it Wenger switched the formation to 3-4-3, worked really well for us, especially in the Championship side Birming- charge of the Jordan national with Oxlade-Chamberlain at right wing- fi rst half,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said. ham City appointed former team in March last year. back, the England international focused “I think Middlesbrough came out sec- Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry “I got fed up sitting around on the attitude of the players who were ond half and made it a lot more diffi cult Redknapp as manager until the doing nothing. I will come and heavily criticised after last week’s 3-0 and they went very direct at the end but end of the season, as a replace- live up here until the end of defeat by Crystal Palace. all in all it was a new system and we have ment for Gianfranco Zola. the season,” Redknapp told “What we have done over the last few got the three points with it and that is all Redknapp, who at 70 becomes TalkSPORT yesterday. games has not been good enough, we need- that matters,” the 23-year-old said. the oldest manager in English “If I can keep them up then we ed to take responsibility for that and I think “In recent weeks it’s not gone well for football, guided Tottenham to can sit down and talk about we have done that this week between our- commitment levels are right to play for team like Arsenal, you have got to give 100 us and to see our fans travel all the way Champions League qualifica- going forward.” selves,” said Oxlade-Chamlerlain. this football club,” he said after a win that percent, week in, week out and maybe up here on a Monday night, it means eve- tion in the 2009-10 season. They are in 20th position and “We knew it didn’t matter how we won, kept sixth-placed Arsenal in touch with that had been slipping the last few weeks rything for us, for them to stand by us. It His last foray into manage- play Aston Villa on Sunday. we had to go out there and get back to ba- the top four. and that was the fi rst thing we needed to was only right we could get them three ment was a two-match spell in Now to see what happens. sics and that is about making sure our “It is a massive honour to play for a get right and we did that,” he said. points and I would like to thank them.” Gulf Times Wednesday, April 19, 2017 3 FOOTBALL

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LIGUE 1 Matuidi sinks Metz as Bus attack leaves PSG catch Monaco Dortmund fi ghting

PSG French midfielder Blaise Matuidi (2nd-L) and his teammates blood and tears celebrate after scoring a goal against Metz yesterday. ‘I wake up every night. Without any reason, I am jolted awake in terror. Then I can’t AFP But Cavani was far more Paris clinical as the full-back fl ighted another ball into the box, the get back to sleep and I am just relieved I am at home in my own bed’ Uruguayan burying a powerful laise Matuidi scored a header past a helpless Eiji Ka- 93rd-minute winner as washima on 33 minutes. Paris Saint-Germain re- Cavani became the fi rst player covered from throwing in Europe’s top leagues to reach awayB a two-goal lead to beat Metz the 30-goal mark this term, al- 3-2 yesterday and move level with though he remains eight behind Ligue 1 leaders Monaco. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s single-sea- Edinson Cavani netted his son club record with fi ve games 30th league goal of the season remaining. and Matuidi quickly added a sec- Maxwell was also at the ori- ond at the Stade Saint-Sympho- gin of PSG’s second just three rien as PSG sought to crank up minutes later as the Brazilian the pressure on Monaco. released Matuidi in behind the But Yann Jouff re pulled a goal defence and the Frenchman back with 12 minutes to play smashed beyond Kawashima at before fellow substitute Cheick his near post. Diabate prodded home an 88th- With Metz hovering fi ve minute equaliser, with Jouff re points above the drop zone coach then crashing another free-kick Philippe Hinschberger rotated against the crossbar. his side ahead of this weekend’s However France midfi elder clash against third-from-bot- Matuidi grabbed his second of tom Lorient and the absence of the game deep into stoppage time Jouff re, Diabate and Ismaila Sarr to keep the defending champions was telling. right on the heels of Monaco, The trio were thrust into ac- who have a game in hand on Unai tion inside the fi nal half hour and Emery’s team. immediately made an impact, as PSG could provisionally go Jouff re curled a set-piece won top of the table when they host by Diabate past a stranded Kevin Montpellier on Saturday, with Trapp to give Metz a lifeline. Monaco facing Borussia Dort- And it looked as if PSG’s title mund in the second leg of their hopes were in grave danger when Champions League quarter-fi nal the towering Diabate stretched today before Sunday’s trip to out his boot to stab Sarr’s right- fourth-placed Lyon. wing cross just inside the far The capital club are hunting a post. third successive sweep of the do- But after Jouff re rattled the bar mestic trophies and should have in a frenetic fi nale, Matuidi rose gone ahead against Metz on 24 unmarked to head in a Javier Pas- Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas minutes when Lucas somehow tore cross and keep PSG fi rmly in Tuchel during training yesterday. failed to convert Maxwell’s low the running for a fi fth successive cross. league title.

AFP Swiss goalkeeper Roman Burki said. Quarterfi nal fi xtures “For me, it was even harder than Dortmund “Without any reason, I am jolted awake Wednesday, because we had more time IN SUPPORT in terror. Then I can’t get back to sleep Today (9:45pm Qatar Time) to think about the terrible things which and I am just relieved I am at home in my Monaco (France) v Borussia Dort- have happened,” he said. arc Bartra gave blood, other own bed.” mund (Germany) Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel be- Borussia Dortmund play- Burki recalled the horror of the “huge Barcelona (Spain) v Juventus (Italy) lieves the fi rst game against Monaco Rising star Dybala is ers have nightmares about bang” in an interview with Swiss news- should not have gone ahead so soon. the bomb attack on their bus paper Der Bund. But he has had to concentrate on to- Mand now the German team may need the “The pressure made all our heads turn less about what has happened.” day’s return. Messi’s mirror image sweat of Marco Reus to pull off a fairy tale to one side. Then there was a long silence The team gathered to hold up a Bartra Some specialists say the players’ shock place in the Champions League last four. and then a cry — it was Bartra.” jersey after Saturday’s win. should start to “stabilise” after two or The scars left by three bombs that Burki says he cannot understand why Many of them were in tears. three days, according to Tuchel. scorched the side of the bus and fi red a football team would be the target of “a “During the 90 minutes of the game it “For the players, its easier when they metal shards inside before the quarter- terror attack.” was easier. But at the end, everything you play, than after the whistle when they feel fi nal against Monaco have gone much Dortmund are getting help from psy- have kept inside under pressure comes they have to talk” about their ordeal. The further than Bartra’s fractured wrist. chologists. “We have very good counsellors out,” said captain Marcel Schmelzer. problem is “how to focus” on the Monaco The game was postponed but Dort- we can ask for help,” said the goalkeeper. “Against Frankfurt we showed a lot of game, said the German coach. mund were forced to play 24 hours later. And the team bounced back with a 3-1 joy playing because we are happy to be But Saturday’s display indicated Dort- The shock was apparent in the 3-2 de- Bundesliga win over Eintracht Frankfurt here. We talk a lot about it to each other. mund could be in the mood for an upset feat that has left the German side facing a on Saturday. I think it will weld us together as a team,” in Monaco. stiff challenge in today’s return leg. But getting over the attack will be a the skipper added. “We believe in ourselves,” said defend- So far nobody has been caught — one slow process. German international Sven Bender er Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Islamist suspect was discounted — and For Bürki, football is a key part of the said the whole team deserved praise for The Greece international scored from a no claim of responsibility has proved therapy. “I’m happy to have something playing against Frankfurt so soon after screaming 23 metre shot that he labelled convincing. I can focus on. It is very important to be the near miss that experts said could have “the most beautiful goal of my career” “I wake up every night,” Dortmund’s able to take your mind off things, think been deadly. and dedicated it to Bartra.

Juventus’ forward Paulo Dybala (C) during a training session. BOTTOMLINE AFP ing 3-0 lead. However to win Barcelona the war, the Italian champions must resist for 90 minutes at the Camp Nou to prevent another iminutive, dynamic and famous Barcelona comeback. armed with a deadly The Catalans overcame a ‘Barca need fi ve to beat Juve’ left foot, Paulo Dybala record 4-0 fi rst-leg defi cit by AFP was more cautious in his opti- enced the game against PSG could be a prototype of beating Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 mism, recognising the fi rst leg in have another chance to experi- Da Lionel Messi clone. in the second leg at home in the Barcelona Turin had been “a terrible result.” ence a historic night. The similarities between the last 16. However, he believes Barca “We have seen that Barca can two Argentines, who face off in to- “It’s one of my greatest nights arcelona will need to hit have the potential to at least cre- score three goals in three min- day’s Champions League quarter- in football,” said Dybala after the at least fi ve goals past ate some doubt in Juventus minds. utes so we will stay together un- fi nal second leg between Juventus fi rst leg. “Let’s not ruin it now.” Juventus to produce an- “Nowadays teams respect us til the 95th minute.” and Barcelona, have been noted Last week in Turin was only other miracle Champi- a lot. I am convinced they know Juventus defender Giorgio by Dybala’s strike partner Gonzalo the second time Dybala and Mes- onsB League comeback, but have we can cause them problems,” Chiellini won his latest battle Higuain among others. si have graced the same pitch. nothing to lose according to out- said Iniesta. with Luis Suarez in the fi rst leg The fact that Argentina now The fi rst time was a far unhap- going coach Luis Enrique. “We have the potential, the after the Uruguayan famously looks for the next Messi rather pier experience for Dybala as he The Catalans made Cham- players and reason to believe we bit the Italian at the 2014 World than the next Diego Maradona is was sent off on his fi rst start for pions League history by over- can turn this tie around or at Cup. as good a testament to the fi ve- Argentina. coming a 4-0 fi rst leg defi cit to least get close to it. Chiellini scored his side’s time world player of the year’s A tearful Dybala was consoled beat Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 in “We need to create doubts so third goal a week ago after Paulo achievements as any. and bailed out by his captain that the last round, but have another at some point they see the tie is Dybala’s early double and insists Hundreds of talented number night as Messi scored the only goal mountain to climb at the Camp in danger. Juventus will need all their ex- 10s were christened as Mara- in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win Nou today as they trail their “Everything depends on perience to stand up to Barca’s dona’s heir before Messi turned over Uruguay last September. quarter-fi nal tie 3-0. playing a perfect game in every “sharks”. even the “Hand of God” into dis- “Messi told me to be calm, that “We need to score fewer sense.” “We will have to play without tant memory. these things happen and that it goals,” said an upbeat Enrique Barca scored three times fear because they are like sharks “Messi is the best, he shows was the referee’s fault,” Dybala facing what could be his last in the fi nal two minutes plus - they smell blood and they fi nish it every day,” said Higuain, who said afterwards. European game in charge. “But stoppage time as PSG froze in a you off ,” he told Sky Sports Italia. joined Juventus in a fractious “My dream was to play a one- bearing in mind the opponent grandstand fi nish six weeks ago. The visitors were handed a big transfer from Napoli for 90 mil- two with him and I managed to could have chances and the goal And Enrique insisted Barca injury boost as Dybala has been lion euros ($96 million) at the do that,” he said. “It is incredible can come at any moment, our Barcelona’s coach Luis Enrique during a training session. can’t lose belief even if the goals passed fi t to play despite picking start of the season and has played to play by his side.” objective is to score fi ve.” don’t come early against a Ju- up an ankle injury in Saturday’s alongside Messi for most of his Higuain recognises a common Enrique foresaw Barca’s re- part as they did against PSG. which is to attack, attack and at- ventus defence that has conced- 2-0 win at Pescara. 68 Argentina caps. talent and points to Messi’s con- covery in the last 16, claiming an “We don’t have anything to tack again. ed just two in nine Champions Barca will welcome back Ini- “Paulo is still young. He is 23 sistency as the goal for his team- attack laced with the potential lose. We are free from pressure. “I am sure that if we score the League games this season. esta and Neymar from the side and has the world at his feet,” he mate to reach. of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Juventus have the semi-fi nals fi rst goal, the Camp Nou will “Don’t leave in the 80th that beat Real Sociedad 3-2 at told Premium Sport. “He has the characteristics Neymar was capable of scoring in their pocket and will have to score the second and the third minute,” he said in a message to the weekend with Messi’s dou- The younger man won the bat- to become one of the best play- six against the French champions. decide whether to sit back or at- will come of its own accord.” the fans. ble in that match taking him tle in the fi rst leg last week with ers in the world. After getting to And he called for an expected tack,” he added. “Perfect game” “We are going to try until the within two of 500 goals for the a quickfi re fi rst-half double as the top so quickly, it is not easy to near 100,000 crowd to play their “We only have one option Barca captain Andres Iniesta end. Those of us who experi- club. Game on then. Juventus claimed a command- stay there for many years.” Gulf Times 4 Wednesday, April 19, 2017 SPORT

EMIR CUP SHOOTING

Bidniak Ivan (C) won the 25m men’s standard pistol gold in the Emir Cup Shooting Championships ahead of Gold winner Aisha al-Suwaidi (C), silver winner Mehbubeh Akhlaghi (L) and bronze winner Aisha al-Mutawa celebrate on Ahmad al-Shamari (L) and Morshed Ali Hassan at the Lusail Shooting Range yesterday. the podium after the 10m air rifle event in the Emir Cup Shooting Championships..

TENNIS GOLF/RICOH WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN Jutanugarn confi rms title defence against Djokovic through world’s best

Agencies Group Tour Championship, St Andrews, Scotland will lead the British charge at Kingsbarns as she looks to join the group of talented young orld No.3 Ariya Ju- 20-somethings with Major sil- in Monte Carlo tanugarn has con- verware to their name. fi rmed her attend- After taking a sneak preview ance at Kingsbarns of the Kingsbarns course today, Wto defend her title, as the Ricoh Hull said: “Kingsbarns is spec- Women’s British Open heads tacular, and I’m already excited to Kingsbarns Golf Links, St about playing the Champi- Andrews, Scotland for the fi rst onship here in the summer. time from August 3 to 6. From what I have seen so far, I aft er Simon scare Jutanugarn will be com- think it is going be a great chal- peting against a stellar fi eld lenge and a very exciting Major ‘It was very tiring for me, the first clay of the season. But this is start of Roland Garros build-up’ with all of the world’s top fi ve Championship venue. Win- ranked players in the fi eld; ning at the end of last year was AFP World No.1, Lydia Ko, 2017 such a confi dence boost for me Monte Carlo ANA Inspiration winner and that I hope I will now be able World No.2 So Jeon Ryu, World to go on to win more titles this No.4 Ingee Chun and No.5 Lexi year.” ovak Djokovic’s clay Thompson. A member at last year’s season got off to a As winner of the 2016 Rolex Championship venue, sluggish start yester- Player of the Year and Race to Woburn, 21-year-old Hull is day at the Monte Car- CME Globe, Jutanugarn broke eager to build on her recent Nlo Masters as the world number through last May, winning the success. She said: “I loved two struggled past Gilles Simon Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic playing in front of my home 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. for her fi rst win on Tour fol- fans last year at Woburn and The Serb, who has suff ered a lowed by the Kingsmill Cham- was a bit disappointed not to disjointed 2017 with poor form pionship and LPGA Volvik fi nish a little higher up the and injury, spent around two Championship to sweep the leaderboard as they gave me and a half hours toiling to get entire month of May on the such amazing support. I think through. LPGA Tour. that the experience I’ve gained He was broken at 4-4 in the Winning the Ricoh Women’s since in winning the CME will fi nal set but then reeled off three British Open at Woburn at only really help me this year and es- straight games to snatch victory 20-years-old not only marked pecially at the Ricoh Women’s in the second-round encounter. Jutanuguarn’s fi rst Major win, British Open.” “It was a very diffi cult match, but also Thailand’s fi rst Major Kingsbarns has hosted the with many changes of momen- golf title. Alfred Dunhill Links Champi- tum,” the second seed, who won Jutanugarn commented, onship since 2001, Final Quali- the Monte Carlo event in 2013 “Winning my fi rst Major last fying for The Open in 2010 and 2015, said. year at Woburn was amaz- and the 2013 Ricoh Women’s “It was very tiring for me, the ing and I am going to feel very British Open Final Qualifying. fi rst clay of the season. proud to be arriving at Kings- The course has been widely ac- “But this is the start of the barns as the defending Cham- claimed by players and media Roland Garros build-up.” pion. I haven’t defended a title alike since opening 14 years Djokovic, who has won only yet on the LPGA as I only won ago and has fi tted seamlessly one tournament so far this sea- my fi rst tournament last May into the famous golfi ng area of son - the Qatar Open at the start so I am hoping I do a good job St Andrews. of January - twice recovered in and will try to learn a lot before The Ricoh Women’s British the third set from breaks down. I get to Scotland. This year my Open was founded by the LGU He fi nally prevailed against goal is to try to have fun and in 1976 and has been staged in Simon, ranked 32 in the world, keep the momentum going so conjunction with IMG, a global when the Frenchman fi red long that I’ll be in a good position leader in sports, events, media on a return. to defend the Ricoh Women’s and fashion, since 1984. The Djokovic last played on the British Open title.” event has been co-sanctioned ATP more than a month ago - England’s Charley Hull, who by the LPGA and LET since though he did emerge to lead won her fi rst LPGA title at the 1994, and gained Major status a Serbian Davis Cup win this season fi nale last year, the CME in 2001. month - and sat out the Miami Masters last month with an el- bow injury. Qualifi er Adrian Mannarino stunned fellow Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga, eliminating the seventh seed 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-3 as new father Tsonga played for the fi rst time in more than a month. Though he was knocked out, Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a shot against Gilles Simon of France during their Monte Carlo Masters second round match yesterday. (Reuters) the loser goes away with posi- tive thoughts: “You can always time. Who did I lose to? Geez, I do things a bit better. But I think forgot. Kvitova targets French Open comeback it was a good match, generally “When you go out there and Petra Kvitova is planning a “My name will appear on the give myself the chance and keep speaking,” Tsonga said. compete, you hope for the best surprise return at the French entry list for Roland Garros a positive mindset. “Now I’m going to practise - to try to play well and try to Open, six months after her left tomorrow,” Kvitova said of the “There remains a long road again. I’ll try to come back and win. hand was badly injured in a knife May 28-June 11 tournament in a ahead but I wanted to share this be better next time. “Any time that happens obvi- attack, she said on Monday. post on her Instagram account. update with you. Thanks for “I needed to win more points ously in this stage for me, it’s a The two-time Wimbledon cham- “As the entry deadline ap- your continued support and I and be better with my serve, very nice feeling.” pion suff ered severe injuries to proached, I had made good hope to see you soon.” I got broken often today. I’m In other fi rst-round matches, her playing hand as she fought progress in my recovery process not used to being broken that French 11th seed Lucas Pouille off a knife-wielding intruder at and I want to give myself every much.” beat Ryan Harrison 6-2, 6-4 her home in the eastern Czech last opportunity to be able to Tommy Haas ignored his 39 while Gilles Muller stopped town of Prostejov in December. compete at one of my favourite years to post a 6-3, 6-2 defeat Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-2, Doctors had estimated that events. of Benoit Paire as the German’s 6-2. the Czech star, ranked 14 in the “This unfortunately does not 2017 goodbye tour continues. German Jan-Lennard Struff world, would not be able to mean necessarily that I will be Haas last played in Monte eliminated promising Norwe- return to competition before the ready to play in Paris, but that Carlo well over a decade ago: gian wildcard Christian Ruud second half of the year. I’m doing everything possible to “I think 2004 was the last 6-4, 6-4. Ariya Jutanugarn with Ricoh Womens British Open 2016 trophy. Gulf Times Wednesday, April 19, 2017 5 SPORT

BASEBALL NHL Blackhawks facing Yankees beat exit as Predators take 3-0 lead

AFP Thursday in Game 4, aiming to avoid a Los Angeles series sweep. White Sox for Elsewhere Monday, the Ottawa Senators edged into a 2-1 series lead he Chicago Blackhawks were against the Boston Bruins after claim- left staring down the barrel of ing a pulsating 4-3 overtime win. a shock early playoff exit after Ottawa had squandered a three-goal Kevin Fiala’s overtime winner lead as Boston battled back to 3-3. Thanded the Nashville Predators a 3-0 However a crucial power play against series lead on Monday. the Bruins in overtime was to be deci- eighth win in row Fiala slipped a backhander past Co- sive, with Bobby Ryan taking advantage rey Crawford as Nashville fought back to score the game-winner. from 2-0 down to seal a dramatic 3-2 Bruins interim coach Bruce Cassidy Girardi’s men win 7-4 to stay unbeaten at Yankees Stadium this year victory in Nashville. lashed out at the decision, which had The win means the Predators are just seen Riley Nash sent to the penalty box By Laura Albanese one victory away from sending Chica- following a clash with Ryan. Newsday (TNS) go crashing out of the playoff s in what “Demoralizing and disappointing... would be a stunning end to the posts- there’s probably a lot more words, but eason for the Western Conference top they called it,” Cassidy said of referee oe Girardi made a few predic- seeds. Tim Peel’s call. tions before the game, but they Fiala’s winner came after he had Bruins fans later registered their dis- really sounded like his most op- missed two golden chances in over- gust with the offi ciating, littering the timistic hopes. time. ice with debris after the match. JRookie left-hander Jordan Mont- Crawford had seemed determined to “I think it’s the type of penalty — gomery would be even more comfort- keep Chicago alive, making 46 stops in that stuff was kind of let go all game,” able than he was in his fi rst major- the defeat. Pekka Rinne made 34 saves said Bruins left wing Brad Marchand. league start, he said. Maybe he’d even for Nashville. “It’s tough, but we gotta bounce back muster better command of his fastball, Chicago now face the Predators on and be better next game.” or have his best slider. As for the Yan- kees’ diffi culties hitting with runners in scoring position, Girardi busted out his best fortune cookie impression: “Good things are going to come.” Given how things worked out Mon- day night, it looks like Girardi was actually thinking small. He should’ve guaranteed a World Series. Maybe even world peace. Montgomery and a third-inning of- fensive explosion made a prophet out of the manager, as the Yankees pow- ered through the White Sox, 7-4, for their eighth straight win. They’re still perfect (7-0) at Yankee Stadium this year, paced by consistently excellent starting pitching and a strong bullpen. Matt Holliday’s three-run homer keyed a fi ve-run third, and Aaron Judge hit a two-run shot in the fi fth. Montgomery, 24, showed the poise of a veteran before showing signs of fa- New York Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of tigue in the seventh, when he allowed their game at the Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, on Monday. (USA TODAY Sports) a three-run home run. The Yankees, who had four hits with the right foot before ricocheting into spring training, escaping a one-out, fortable with his surroundings,” Gi- runners in scoring position, came into foul territory for a hit. Jacoby Ellsbury two-on jam in the fi rst, but otherwise rardi said of Montgomery, who had a the game hitting .200 in those situa- followed with an infi eld hit of his own, cruising until the seventh. He turned no-decision in his fi rst start. “He went tions. They survived a late onslaught a slow dribbler that fi rst baseman to his sinker to help get out of lesser through what every little boy who’s by the White Sox, who scored three in Jose Abreu dropped. After a fi elder’s jams in the second and fourth. He a baseball player dreams about: that the seventh and one in the ninth. choice, Matt Holliday blasted a 2-and- got Kevan Smith to ground out into a fi rst time you’re in the big leagues. He “The thing is, you can look at it two 2 fastball into the left-fi eld bleachers 6-4-3 double play in the second, and got through it and he was fairly suc- diff erent ways,” Girardi said. “You can for his second homer. It travelled an worked around Melky Cabrera’s lead- cessful. He should be a little more re- look at it that we’re not hitting well estimated 459 feet, with a 114-mph off single in the fourth, thanks to Avi- laxed tonight.” Nashville Predators’ Kevin Fiala (left) scores the game-winning goal past Chicago with runners in scoring position or you exit velocity. sail Garcia’s double play. He allowed Right again, Joe. Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford in game three of the first round of the 2017 can look at it like we’ve been getting a Starlin Castro doubled to centre, back-to-back singles in the seventh Stanley Cup Playoff s in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday. (USA TODAY Sports) lot of runners on, and we’ve been pa- and Chase Headley brought him home before Yolmer Sanchez’s home run. RESULTS tient, and we’ve taken our walks and on a double to left that was misplayed Montgomery earned his fi rst big- Arizona 4 LA Dodgers 2 the guys have worked pitchers really by Tim Anderson to land Headley on league win, allowing seven hits, three Seattle 6 Miami 1 SPOTLIGHT hard. As long as our approach stays third. That cost the White Sox another in the seventh, with two walks and four Texas 7 Oakland 0 good and guys don’t start swinging run, as the next batter, Judge, legged strikeouts in six-plus innings. Adam Cleveland 3 Minnesota 1 wildly and remain patient, good things out an infi eld single to give the Yan- Warren, who hadn’t allowed a baserun- Houston 3 LA Angels 0 are going to come.” kees a 5-0 lead. Four runs were earned. ner this season, gave up a long RBI dou- Milwaukee 6 Chicago Cubs 3 LeBron pays tribute to It took two blips and a bang for Judge’s homer in the fi fth came with ble to Smith in the ninth. Aroldis Chap- Atlanta 5 San Diego 4 those good things to come in the third. two outs, making it 7-0. man gave up a single in two-thirds of an NY Yankees 7 Chicago White Sox 4 With one out, Pete Kozma hit a come- Montgomery showed all the traits inning and earned his fourth save. St. Louis 2 Pittsburgh 1 grieving Thomas backer that nailed Derek Holland on that earned him a spot on the roster in “He had a chance to get more com- Boston 4 Tampa Bay 3 AFP happened at a time like this. Obviously Los Angeles our world is kind of revolved around NBA basketball, but like I said, who cares about basketball when something like eBron James paid tribute to that happens?” Isaiah Thomas on Monday, of- James said Thomas’s performance fering his condolences to the under the circumstances was “unbe- grieving Boston Celtics star fol- lievable.” Cavs, Spurs march on in playoff s Llowing the death of his sister in a car “It’s a sick feeling. I don’t have any crash at the weekend. siblings, but I have some very, very AFP Conference showdown. Thomas fought through tears to close people in my life and I can only Los Angeles Kawhi Leonard fi nished with 37 score 33 points in Boston’s opening imagine how that would take your points as the Spurs took a 2-0 lead playoff defeat to Chicago on Sunday, heart away,” James said. “Especially at in the best-of-seven series at AT&T just a day after his sister Chyna’s death. a time like this. He was unbelievable in he Cleveland Cavaliers over- Center. Speaking during Cleveland’s shoot- the game, too, by the way.” came a bout of fourth quarter But Fizdale unleashed a spectacu- around ahead of their Game 2 against Meanwhile, Celtics coach Brad Ste- jitters to take a grip of their lar post-game tirade against the of- Indiana on Monday, James expressed vens said Monday he expects Thomas NBA playoff series against the fi ciating crew, which is almost certain sympathy for Thomas’s situation. to remain with the team for Tuesday’s TIndiana Pacers on Monday as San An- to bring disciplinary action from the “My deepest sympathy and prayers Game 2 in the series before returning tonio seized control of their duel with league. goes up to him and his mother, his fa- to be with his family in the Seattle area. Memphis. Fizdale complained bitterly that ther, whoever is in his life,” James told “His plan, as of right now — and, Cleveland appeared to be coasting offi cials had unfairly skewed the free reporters. “Had to be a tough situation again, subject to him changing if he to victory after opening up an 18-point throw count against his players. for him, just going out and playing a wants — is that he’ll be here (Tuesday) lead at the end of the third quarter at “It was a very poorly offi ciated bas- game and obviously who cares about night and then will go either after the the Quicken Loans Arena. ketball game,” Fizdale fumed. “First the game? That’s so silly to even think game (Tuesday) night or Wednesday But the Cavs put the home fans half we had 19 shots in the paint and about basketball when something like morning,” Stevens said. through the ringer in a nervy fi nale as had six free throws. They shot 11 times that tragic happens. “He’s trying his best to compart- the Pacers punished a litany of mis- in the paint and had 23 free throws. “He obviously is a strong-willed guy. mentalise when he’s here to work on takes to cut the gap to four points with “I’m not a numbers guy but that I got to know him the last couple years. what he needs to work on, but I’m sure 18 seconds remaining. doesn’t seem to add up. Overall we It’s unfortunate something like that has that’s diffi cult,” Stevens added. It mirrored a similar shaky fi nish shot ball in the paint 35 times and we in Game 1, when Indiana wiped out a had 15 free throws — for the game. 10-point fourth quarter lead before They shot 18 times and had 32 free Cleveland ground out a win. They also throws. Explain it to me.” blew a 26-point fourth quarter lead in Offi cials had shown “disrespect” to a defeat to Atlanta earlier this month. his team, Fizdale added. But the NBA Champions just about “I’m not going to let them treat us held their nerve on Monday, eventual- Kyrie Irving (left) of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives past CJ Miles of the Indiana that way. That’s unacceptable. That’s ly winning 117-111 thanks to a 37-point Pacers during Game Two of the Eastern Conference quarter-finals during the unprofessional. My guys dug in that haul from Kyrie Irving as well as 27 2017 NBA Playoff s in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday. (AFP) game and earned the right to be in that points from Kevin Love and 25 from game — and they did not even give us a LeBron James. fourth quarter. with fi ve points. chance,” Fizdale told journalists. James was unfazed by the Pacers’ “I just saw turnovers,” Lue said. “We have so many pieces on this The series now moves to Memphis fourth quarter fi ghtback after the Cavs “We’ve gotta take care of the bas- team, but everyone has to stay ready,” for Game 3 tomorrow. held on to take a 2-0 lead in the best- ketball. We turned the ball over and Irving said of Shumpert’s cameo. of-seven series. Game 3 takes place in it hurt us. Nineteen turnovers for 24 “He had that mindset, came in and RESULTS Indianapolis tomorrow. points. It’s hard to win playoff games executed, and it’s hard to come off the Eastern Conference “We’re right there,” said James, who like that.” bench right after halftime. We just At Cleveland: Cleveland Cavaliers also had 10 rebounds and seven assists. need Shump to stay focused and un- 117 Indiana Pacers 111 (Cleveland lead “We’re right there of what we know we EVERYONE READY derstand the task at hand and I think series 2-0) can become, and we’ll fi gure it out.” The victory came at a cost for Cleve- he did a good job of that tonight.” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue blamed land however, with guard J.R. Smith In San Antonio, Memphis coach Western Conference fatigue for the high turnover count limping off with a hamstring injury. David Fizdale was left fuming after At San Antonio: San Antonio Spurs that allowed San Antonio to claw However Smith’s replacement, Iman watching his team slide to a 96-82 96 Memphis Grizzlies 82 (San Antonio Isaiah Thomas fought through tears to score 33 points in Boston’s opening playoff their way back into the contest in the Shumpert, impressed from the bench loss against the Spurs in their Western lead series 2-0) defeat to Chicago on Sunday, just a day after his sister Chyna’s death. (AFP) Gulf Times 6 Wednesday, April 19, 2017 SPORT

RUGBY FOCUS Wallaby Fardy Gatland ready to rails at ‘faceless men’ running reveal Lions squad Super Rugby

‘To win the series would be the greatest Lions triumph of all’ Reuters “Obviously everyone looks at Melbourne the ARU at the moment but you Reuters wouldn’t know who the head London of SANZAAR is at any point — I ormer Australia loose wouldn’t know what he looks forward Scott Fardy has like,” Fardy said of SANZAAR arren Gatland will reveal his criticised Super Rugby’s CEO Andy Marinos. British and Irish Lions squad governing body SAN- “In other sports, especially in for the daunting tour of New FZAAR as an organisation of Australia, you have a head we can Zealand today, when talk in “faceless men in suits” far re- look at. In SANZAAR rugby we Wrugby clubs across the region will quickly moved from the players on the don’t know who is running it. switch from who will be on the plane to pitch who are worried about “It’s faceless men in suits in who is likely to be in the Test team. their livelihoods. board rooms.” Gatland, who oversaw the 2-1 series The ACT Brumbies fl anker In its statement announcing the victory over Australia four years ago, is will head overseas after the cur- competition’s contraction a week tipped to select Welsh fl anker Sam War- rent season to play in Ireland but ago, SANZAAR defended its han- burton as captain for the second time, fi red a parting shot early to the dling of the protracted process. an honour previously bestowed only on competition’s managers who “This has been a long and England’s Martin Johnson. have presided over a bungled ex- complex piece of work and we Warburton captained the team in the pansion that will end with one make no apology for that,” Mari- fi rst two Tests against Australia in 2013 Australian team and two South nos said in the statement. but missed the decisive third through African sides culled for next year. Along with Force and the injury, with fellow Welshman Alun Wyn One of either the Melbourne Rebels, the twice champions Jones stepping in. Rebels or Western Force will be Brumbies were the third team the Jones has taken on the captaincy duties cut from the Australian confer- ARU weighed cutting from the for Wales this season while Warburton ence but the fi nal decision may competition but the Canberra has played superbly, adding to the conun- be delayed further by legal action side’s future was confi rmed last drum for Gatland, who will return to his launched by the teams against week. day job as Wales coach after the tour. the Australian Rugby Union. Fardy sympathised with the There will no doubt be the usual sur- Local media and pundits have Rebels and Force players who prises — experienced Six Nations men slammed SANZAAR and the continue to compete with doubts missing out and the odd young “bolter” ARU for the protracted process over their futures. Contract talks being given their chance. Media specula- that has kept players in the dark for players at other clubs have tion over the weekend has already sug- about their futures two months also been held up. gested that Joe Launchbury, George Ford Gloucester Rugby’s Jonny May in action against Cardiff Blues’ Sam Warburton (left) during the European Rugby Challenge Cup into the season. “It’s guys’ livelihoods,” Fardy and Jamie Joseph can start preparing for quarter-final match at Kingsholm, Gloucester, England, earlier this month. British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland (below) is But Fardy was unsurprised. said. “It’s incredibly tough for England’s tour of Argentina instead. tipped to select Welsh flanker Warburton as captain for the second time. (Reuters) “It’s disappointing it’s taken players to have go through that. The heart of the squad oozes quality, this long but is anyone sur- “I’m hoping that with all that with fl yhalves Jonathan Sexton and Owen champion All Blacks, but because of the eff ort,” he said, factoring in the tough prised? This is the game we’re in, stuff we get change so we’re not Farrell, scrumhalf Conor Murray, winger strength too of the provincial teams and the tour games against the country’s domi- it’s been like this for a long time,” having these conversations in George North and key forwards Billy Vu- desperately limited preparation time. nant Super Rugby sides. the 39-Test loose forward told fi ve or 10 years’ time. nipola, Peter O’Mahony, Taulupe Faletau The Lions kick off with the only easy- The Lions have won only one series local media yesterday. “Hopefully we see changes and Sean O’Brien on just about every looking fi xture of the 10-match tour, in New Zealand, in 1971, and since they “The offi cialdom in this game for the benefi t of rugby and this pundit’s short list. against Provincial Barbarians on June 3. started touring there in 1904 have won six has always been like that. competition gets better from it.” Gatland also looks spoiled for choice at That is just one week after the English of the 38 Tests — with three draws. lock and in the back row, where some high- Premiership and Pro-12 fi nals, and with They were hammered 3-0 on their last class operators will have to miss out. Gatland having said previously that any- visit 12 years ago, when Dan Carter was SPOTLIGHT On the other hand, other areas will have one featuring in those matches will not in his pomp, but if Lions fans think the given him sleepless nights, with a group play in the tour opener, his opening op- retirement of the superstar fl yhalf will of similarly matched contenders of a good tions look squeezed. have weakened the All Blacks, they have standard but who are unlikely to strike fear Former England fl yhalf Stuart Barnes, not been watching Beauden Barrett, who Former All Black into New Zealand coach Steve Hansen. who toured New Zealand with the Lions is operating at arguably even higher levels Key among those is probably hooker, For all those who make the squad, and in 1993 without playing a Test, described this season. where the captains of the best two teams however well they bed down in their short this year’s tour as “attempting to conquer His, and possibly New Zealand’s only Evans to retire at the in Europe — England’s Dylan Hartley and time together, they face a monumentally rugby’s Mount Everest without oxygen, relative weakness is in goalkicking, where Ireland’s Rory Best — will probably travel diffi cult task. with a storm gathering on the horizon. the Lions have real strength in depth, but but with neither in the box seat — and Many observers are describing this year’s “To win the series would be the great- the tourists are almost certainly going to end of the season Wales’ impressive Ken Owens in with a tour as the Lions’ toughest, not just be- est Lions triumph of all. To win more than need to fi nd more than a few penalties to shout. cause of the supreme quality of the world 50 percent of their games will be a decent conquer that sporting Everest. Reuters “I thought leaving New Zea- Bengaluru land was hard, but leaving the game I’ve played since I was eight years old, and professionally for ormer All Blacks and 17 years, is tough,” Evans said in Former coach Henry warns of ‘suicidal’ Lions schedule Harlequins fl y-half Nick a statement yesterday. Evans has announced “I need to thank the clubs I AFP The tourists are set to face all five New when they lost the Test series 3-0. The Lions’ coach for the upcoming tour, that he will retire from have represented, the coaches Frugby at the end of the season. — who have helped shape the Wellington Zealand Super Rugby teams and the “(The Lions) are remembered by the Test Warren Gatland, labelled the schedule Maori All Blacks, as well as three Test match results, but sides gain confidence “crazy” in 2015, long before he was Evans, who began his career at player I am today — and the fans, matches which are mostly loaded to- and momentum through the games they appointed to lead the campaign in New Otago as a full-back, made his test both in New Zealand where it all orld Cup-winning coach Gra- wards the back-end of the trip. play leading into those Test matches,” Zealand. debut for New Zealand against started, and here in the UK, for ham Henry blasted the British “I just wonder if the itinerary is suicidal, he said. But New Zealand Rugby chief Steve Tew England in 2004 and won a total their support. Wand Irish Lions’ “suicidal” New that’s my concern,” Henry told ESPN. “If they don’t get success in those defended it this month, saying it was of 16 caps, scoring 103 points. He “I couldn’t think of a better Zealand tour schedule yesterday, saying He said the Lions’ Test build-up would games, confidence is not going to be what the Lions requested. last played for the All Blacks at the shirt and place to fi nish my ca- their confidence could be shot before be against highly-regarded opponents high and that is going to aff ect the way He said the Lions had asked for a 2007 Rugby World Cup. reer at than Harlequins.” they even face the All Blacks. playing without pressure as they seek they play in the Test matches.” tougher itinerary than they encountered The 36-year-old joined Eng- Evans scored 20 points against Henry, the only man to have ever one of international rugby’s most Henry was in charge during the Lions during the 2013 tour to Australia, which lish Premiership side Harlequins Leicester Tigers in the 2011-12 coached both the Lions and the All prized scalps. tour to Australia in 2001, when they lost was also led by Gatland and resulted in a in 2008 and went on to make 206 Premiership fi nal to secure Har- Blacks, said the itinerary risked prevent- The New Zealander pointed to Wales’ the Test series 2-1, and led the All Blacks 2-1 Test series win. appearances for the club, scoring lequins’ fi rst league title. He also ing the Lions building momentum in the morale-sapping 40-7 defeat against the to World Cup triumph on home soil in “They’ve actually got what they a club record 2,217 points with 30 kicked a touchline conversion to June-July tour. Waikato Chiefs during a tour last year, 2011. wanted,” Tew told reporters. tries, 309 conversions, 476 pen- win the Amlin Challenge Cup in alties and seven drop goals. 2011.

ATHLETICS Kenyans sweep to victories at Boston Marathon

Reuters “I had to put back something which was not Boston mine,” Kiplagat told reporters. “I was afraid, because you know, if you miss water it can af- fect you.” eoff rey Kirui and Edna Kiplagat pro- American Jordan Hasay set a record for an duced a Kenyan sweep at the Boston American women’s debut marathon, coming Marathon, winning the men’s and in third in 2:23:00. Japan’s Suguru Osako fi n- women’s races on Monday by con- ished third among the men. Gquering the race’s hilly fi nal miles to establish Security was high along the course, which their dominance. begins in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and Kirui fi nished in two hours nine minutes passes through Boston’s suburbs to the fi nish and 37 seconds after holding off a challenge by line, where a pair of ethnic Chechen brothers American Galen Rupp in the race’s fi nal stretch on April 15, 2013 set off two homemade bombs, down Boylston Street, the site of the deadly killing three people and injuring more than 2013 bombing attack. 200. Kirui repeatedly tested Rupp in the closing Meb Kefl ezighi, who in 2014 became the miles, with the American Olympic bronze me- fi rst American to win the race in over three dalist eventually unable to match the Kenyan’s decades, fi nished 13th in his fi nal Boston Mar- pace. athon. “He put in several surges and I was able to Kefl ezighi, who plans to retire from racing cover a few of them,” Rupp told reporters after after the New York City marathon in Novem- the race. ber, stopped after his victory to touch the hand Kiplagat, a 38-year-old mother of two of Bill Richard, whose 8-year-old son Martin whose resume includes marathon wins in Lon- was the youngest person to die in the bombing. don, Moscow, New York and Daegu, ran alone “In 2013, I was a spectator just like the three for the fi nal miles of the race and fi nished in victims and when I saw the 8-year-old... the Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat (left) 2:21:52, almost a minute ahead of Bahrain’s fi rst thing in my mind was that could have and compatriot Geoff rey Rose Chelimo. been my daughter,” said Kefl ezighi. Kirui lift the trophy after they The Kenyan maintained her comfortable Tens of thousands of people packed the won the women’s and men’s lead despite briefl y stopping in the fi nal miles streets for Boston’s largest sporting event, divisions of the Boston when she realised she had grabbed a rival’s wa- held on the Patriots Day holiday, which Marathon respectively on ter bottle from an aid station and went back to commemorates the start of the American Monday. (Reuters) return it. Revolution. Gulf Times Wednesday, April 19, 2017 7 CRICKET

IPL SPOTLIGHT Powell, uncapped duo in WI squad All-round Bangalore AFP “We have a young Test squad, Kingston, Jamaica which was admirably led by Jason Holder during the last series and, though there are est Indies named some noticeable absentees, uncapped batting we believe that the players will pair Vishaul Singh give a good account of them- and Shimron selves especially in their own tame Gujarat Lions WHetmeyer and recalled Kieran backyard.” Powell to face Pakistan in the fi rst Test starting on Friday. West Indies squad The 13-man squad for the Jason Holder (capt), Devendra fi rst in the three-match series Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, at Sabina Park in Kingston is Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston captained by Jason Holder. Chase, Miguel Cummins, Three players missing were Shane Dowrich, Shannon in their own den Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, and Leon Johnson who toured Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, the United Arab Emirates last Kieran Powell, Vishaul Singh RCB’s Chris Gayle becomes first batsman in history to surpass 10,000 Twenty20 runs year for three Tests against Pa- Match schedule kistan. For Powell this marks a 1st Test: April 21-25 — West return to the Test stage for the Indies v Pakistan at Sabina IANS fi rst time since 2014. Park, Kingston Rajkot He fi gured in the West In- 2nd Test: April 30-May 4: West dies’ one day international se- Indies v Pakistan at Kensing- ries against England in March ton Oval, Bridgetown oyal Challengers Ban- and Pakistan this month. 3rd Test: May 10-14: West galore (RCB) ended West Indies chairman of se- Indies v Pakistan at Windsor their three-match los- lectors Courtney Browne said: Park, Roseau. ing run with a 21-run winR over Gujarat Lions in an In- dian Premier League (IPL) match Unique gift for retired Afridi from Indian players at the Saurashtra Cricket Asso- ciation Stadium yesterday. Despite the political tensions between India and Pakistan aff ect- Powered by a 38-ball 77 from ing bilateral cricket, there is no love lost among the players and West Indian Chris Gayle, who this time it is the Indian team which presented a Virat Kohli shirt, also became the fi rst T20 bats- signed by all the players, to former Pakistan captain man to score 10,000 runs, and Shahid Afridi on his retirement from international cricket. a sublime 50-ball 64 from skip- “To Shahid Bhai, best wishes, always a pleasure playing against per Virat Kohli, RCB’s young you,” India skipper Kohli wrote on the shirt. A Pakistani journalist leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal recently posted a picture of the jersey on Twitter. sealed the deal with fi gures of The jersey had the signatures of Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Ne- 3/31 to restrict the hosts to 192 hra, Jasprit Bumrah, Suresh Raina, Pawan Negi, Mohamed Shami, for 7 in their pursuit of 214. Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Gujarat faltered once again at Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya and former Team the start, losing the key wickets director Ravi Shastri. The 36-year-old Afridi, who bid adieu to his of West Indian Dwayne Smith (1) 21-year-old career in February, was recently announced as one and skipper Suresh Raina (23) to of eight Champion Ambassadors, along with India’s Harbhajan Chahal. Unperturbed by the twin Singh for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Tro- strikes, former New Zealand skip- phy, to be held in the United Kingdom from June 1 to 18. per Brendon McCullum almost single-handedly raised the hopes for the hosts with a destructive 72 from just 44 deliveries. The Kiwi right-hander fi rst chipped in for a 36-run second wicket stand with Raina, who struck two fours and as many sixes during his 8-ball knock, and then got good support from Australian Aaron Finch (19) to raise a 66-run third wicket partnership. Finch looked good in the middle during his 15-ball stay before being stumped off left-arm spinner Pawan Negi’s slower delivery. With Gujarat reduced to 103/3 Rename ‘Mankad’, fumes Gavaskar midway through the innings, Batting great Sunil Gavaskar wants the term “Mankad” the home crowd expected an in- Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Yuzvendra Chahal (R) is congratulated by teammates after the dismissal of Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina dropped from cricketing parlance, saying linking the famously form Dinesh Karthik (1) to sup- during their IPL match at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot yesterday. (AFP) controversial dismissal to Indian all-rounder Vinoo Mankad port McCullum, who at the other smears the legend’s name. end raced to his half century off Adam Milne at deep midwicket. in 13 overs as the Gujarat bowlers cial treatment to left-arm spin- Head showed no mercy on the The term — used when a bowler runs out a non-striker before 30 just balls. Thereafter, young Ishan Kis- failed to fi nd an answer to the ner Ravindra Jadeja, milking him bowlers, dispatching them out delivery — was coined 70 years ago when Mankad twice The Tamil Nadu stumper, han and Jadeja added 27 runs for onslaught. for 21 runs in his very fi rst over of the park at will as the visitors ran out Bill Brown at the bowler’s end during India’s tour of however succumbed to the pres- the sixth wicket before a mix-up Kedar Jadhav (38 not out of 16 before getting to his fi rst half milked 35 runs from the fi nal two Australia in 1947. Mankad was widely criticised for unsporting sure of the mounting asking rate landed both the batsmen at the balls) and Travis Head (30 not century of the season off a mam- overs. play, despite warning Brown several times that he was stray- to be caught by Kohli off medium non-striker’s end, ruling the lo- out of 16) then fi nished off the moth 104-metre six from china- “We thought we were 30 runs ing from his crease. pacer Sreenath Aravind. cal lad out for a 22-ball 23. proceedings in style with a 54- man Shivil Kaushik. above par. Negi was outstanding, Australian skipper Donald Bradman and Brown himself also All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja Needing 49 from 14, new man run unbeaten third wicket stand. Kohli, who till now was en- very brave, not getting scared. defended the Indian bowler but the term — loaded with then joined McCullum for a 31- Andrew Tye survived a dropped Coming into the match, just 3 joying Gayle’s power hitting Not many people believe in his negative connotations of bad sportsmanship — stuck for run fourth wicket stand before chance from Kohli, who also runs short of becoming the fi rst from the other end, got down to abilities. Chahal is not scared, generations. But 70 years down the track, former Indian Chahal struck once again with dropped Ishan the next over. batsman to get 10,000 T20 runs, business to get to his second half his biggest plus point is he al- captain Gavaskar wants the term amended, arguing it should the wicket of the dangerous New Ishan, however provided some Gayle reached the landmark slic- century of this year’s IPL. ways wants to take wickets,” Vi- be renamed “Browned” after the Australian player who was Zealander to seal the deal in fa- entertainment to the crowd with ing a good length delivery from The 28-year-old looked good, rat Kohali said. at fault. “I have grave objections to that because it’s putting vour of the visitors. a 16-ball 39, laced with four pacer Basil Thampi through striking seven boundaries and one of India’s cricketing legends in a bad light,” Gavaskar said McCullum, who by now had lusty hits over the fence but that point down to third man for a a six, to raise a 37-run second BRIEF SCORES on the Sony Max TV channel during an Indian Premier League faced 44 balls and struck seven was not enough to end the home single. There was no looking wicket stand with Head before Royal Challengers Bangalore 213 Twenty20 match. lusty sixes and two fours, failed team’s poor run. back from there on as the West pacer Dhawal Kulkarni’s slower for 2 (Gayle 77, Kohli 64, Jadhav “He has been one of India’s all-time great cricketers. Our to generate enough power to a Earlier, the visitors got off to a Indian turned on the heat, deal- delivery did the trick for the 38*) beat Gujarat Lions 192 for 7 legend’s name should not be spoiled. If you want to call it any- slower delivery, resulting in a thunderous start with Gayle and ing mostly in fours and sixes. home side. (McCullum 72, Kishan 39, Raina thing, just say the batsman was ‘Browned’, not ‘Mankaded’.” simple reverse-cupped catch by skipper Kohli putting on 122 runs The 37-year-old met out spe- Towards the end, Jadhav and 23, Chahal 3-31) by 21 runs.

FOCUS Australia’s pace attack could decide Ashes: Lee

Reuters that you’ve got. Australian bowl- ing over, and I think he’s building ‘Australia planning Bangladesh tour’ Mumbai ing stocks now are pretty healthy. his own team, which is a terrifi c “Hazlewood is more of hitting team,” said the 40-year-old. Australia’s cricket side is expected to tour Bangladesh later the good length, day in and day “It’s a team that are very close this year for their first Test matches there in more than a ustralia’s pace attack, out. With Starc you will be full, and a team that’s going to be decade, an off icial said yesterday. emboldened by the re- short, good length, yorkers, the around for a long time now. You The world’s number-two side is expected to play two Tests turn of ‘once in a genera- whole thing. have got some young guys coming. against the cricket minnows in August and September in tion’ bowler Pat Cum- “Two completely diff erent (Matt) Renshaw is just 21 years Dhaka, Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive off icer mins,A could prove the diff erence bowlers but complementing each old. (Peter) Handscomb has come Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. between the sides in this year’s other because they are building on and just taken to test cricket “We are now working on the schedule and other details Ashes series against England, pressure from each end. Then you like a duck to water. with CA (Cricket Australia),” he said. former paceman Brett Lee told throw in someone like a Pat Cum- “You throw in Pat Cummins, The cricketing heavyweights have not played a Test in Reuters. mins. It’s a pretty handy attack.” he’s back in the mix after fi ve and Bangladesh since Ricky Ponting’s team toured there in Steve Smith’s side already boast Less than six months ago, Aus- half years in absence of not play- 2006. tearaway paceman Mitchell Starc tralia were still reeling from their ing test cricket. Bangladesh were only granted Test status in 2000. along with the precision of Josh 3-0 whitewash in Sri Lanka when “You got some people that are Outside major international competitions, the two sides Hazlewood. they were beaten in the home se- injecting in some youth, some have only played two one-day series in the past 10 years, Cummins returned to test crick- ries by South Africa with a match experience. Australia is in a very with Australia maintaining a clean victory slate. et in India after more than fi ve to spare. good spot.” Australia were scheduled to play two Tests in Dhaka and years in the wilderness, replacing The axe fell on some players and Lee was also looking forward to Chittagong in October 2015 but the tour was cancelled injured spearhead Starc and taking a revamped side gained a consola- seeing how Joe Root, who replaced amid security fears after a spate of attacks by Islamist eight wickets from the fi nal two at a Mumbai hotel overlooking the dream pace quartet for the fi ve- tion win at Adelaide Oval before long-serving Alastair Cook as extremists in the Muslim-majority nation. matches in Ranchi and Dharam- Arabian Sea. match Ashes series starting in No- going on to blank Pakistan 3-0 in test captain, would lead England Australia also refused to send their junior team to last sala. The 23-year-old right-armer vember. the following series. Down Under. year’s Under-19 World Cup in Dhaka due to security con- His successful comeback has showed good control and gener- Lee, an ambassador for Bowling They impressed one and all “He’s a class act... His stats cerns. only bolstered Australia’s already ated enough pace even on the doc- Master, said he would struggle to in India, going down 2-1 after a back it up and proved that he is Cricket Australia’s head of security Sean Carroll visited formidable pace resources. ile surfaces in India to trouble the summon the courage to face such a closely-fought four-match series such an amazing talent,” Lee said. Bangladesh in October to monitor security arrangements “What Pat Cummins can bring hosts’ batsmen. pace battery. against the world’s top ranked test “He’s ranked among the top four- as England toured the country for a month-long series. is pace, aggression, control and James Pattinson has also been “I would be (scared), abso- side. Lee said Smith now had the fi ve batsmen in the world. And you Since then the cricket authorities of the two nations have anything between that. He is a in stellar form in domestic cricket lutely,” Lee said after launching players to build a team around for throw in the captaincy with that. I been negotiating a fresh chance for Australia to tour once in a generation bowler and since returning from a 12-month the cricket training kit which will the long-term. am actually looking forward to Bangladesh, and the possibility of limited over matches to you have got to harness that amaz- injury layoff in February and the be sold on Amazon’s India portal. “After (former captain) Michael seeing how he goes on the Aus- complement the Test series. ing talent,” Lee said in an interview 26-year-old could complete a “It’s a pretty serious pace barrage Clarke, you got Steve Smith tak- tralian wickets.”

Wednesday, April 19, 2017 GULF TIMES SPORT

BASKETBALL SPOTLIGHT AZF and Ooredoo present technology Ayeni’s 40 points partnership to help Al Wakrah support Samla Race past Al Ahli Wakrah made a brisk start and had established a 29-11 advantage in 10 minutes

By Sports Reporter Doha Mohammed Khalifa al-Suwaidi (L), the CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation and Waleed al-Sayed, Chief Executive Off icer, Ooredoo Qatar. yeni Olatokunbo was in a zone all of his own as he powered Al amla race is an extreme relentless support. With the help Wakrah to an emphatic 97-73 sports event, meant for of the Samla Race App and the Awin over Al Ahli in the Emir cup those athletes with an ad- Command Center support solu- basketball tournament last evening. Sventurous spirit, willing to tions, the organising committee His match-high 40 points in the Group endure along the 200km trek that members in co-ordination with A match snuff ed the fight out of Al Ahli comprises running, swimming the emergency support team were as Al Wakrah completed a dominating kayaking, shooting. Around 200 able to ensure that any health risks performance as the tournament heads Qatari athletes joined the adven- to the participants were avoided towards the quarter-fi nals. ture, opting for the QR500,000 by closely monitoring their heart Al Wakrah made a brisk start and had fi rst prize awards. rate and location in real time and established a 29-11 advantage by the end The race was held in the desert appropriate response measures of the fi rst 10 minutes. They kept on pil- starting from Sealine region and taken in timely manner as re- ing on the misery for Al Ahli, leading 52- ending in Al Jamiliyah town and quired, as he also emphasised on 30 and 78-51 after the second and third had a time limit of 96 hours. Every the the security and safety of the periods before fi nishing off the match in 10 kilometres there was a check contestants as a top priority.” style. point that included referees, med- The App fully developed in- Olatokunbo found the basket from the ics and water supplies and every house by Aspire Zone Foundation three-point mark four times and had a 50 Kilometres m a main camp to IT Team showcased Qatar’s abil- 58.33 percent fi eld goal conversion rate. provide athletes with replace- ity to deploy world class technol- Shaher Matalkeh with 14 and Nick ments and rest areas. ogy solutions for Sports and was Diatta and Thomas Blair with 12 each For the fi rst time ever, all ath- an extension of the technical ca- played supporting roles for Al Wakrah, letes were monitored thanks to the pabilities being utilised in Aspire who scored 23 second chance points and joint eff ort of Aspire Foundation Academy, member organisation 16 from fast breaks. (AZF) and Ooredoo, by providing of AZF, for Athlete Performance At one point Al Wakrah enjoyed a an app that tracked automatically monitoring and analysis. 31-point lead (48-17) and enjoyed the all the runners, specifying their Mohammed Khalifa al-Suwai- lead throughout the game. exact position, their speed, their di, the CEO of Aspire Zone Foun- Omar Ahmad with21 and Aleksandr heart rate and other vitals. The dation said “We are excited to see Mitrovic with 20 did their bit for Al Ahli app also off ered the possibility to AZF’s technical capabilities being but that proved too little too late. send automatically an ambulance extended to support such sporting In Group B El Jaish stayed in the hunt in case the vitals of a runner were events in the country as our com- for their second title of the year with a detected to be reaching dangerous mitment to become the reference convincing 73-56 victory over Al Sadd. levels. for sports excellence world-wide Leon Macklin’s 21 points and James Athletes had also the possibil- and as a testimony to the emer- Davon’s 17 served El Jaish well but none ity to request for support of any gence of Qatar as a Sporting Na- of their other players scored in the double kind (medical assistance, water tion.” fi gures. etc). A fl eet of ambulances and Talking about the partnership El Jaish led throughout but for a brief water supply vehicles were con- Waleed al-Sayed, Chief Executive moment when Al Sadd were ahead at 8-7 stantly moving along the track Offi cer, Ooredoo Qatar: “Ooredoo and by the end of the third quarter they and, thanks to the GPS constantly worked hard to provide the most were comfortably poised with a com- updated of each athlete, they were reliable and strongest network manding 55-35 advantage from where able to get to the exact location of possible, to help keep participants there was no chance of them losing. the runner in no time to provide safe and connect them to the serv- For Al Sadd, Moustafa Fouda with 17 assistance. ices they need in real-time. Once and Nabil Abuissa with 13 were the main The organising committee again, we’ve demonstrated that scorers. CEO, Azzam Abdulaziz al-Mannai we have the best solutions and El Jaish scored 21 points from turno- said, “The technology support network to help connect Qatar’s vers and 26 from fast breaks, while Al extended by Aspire Zone Foun- sporting events and we hope to Sadd’s fi gures were considerably poorer. dation and Ooredoo has played work with Aspire Zone Founda- Today, Al Khor play Qatar Sports Club a signifi cant role in the success tion again to develop more inno- while Al Gharafa play Al Shamal. Al Wakrah’s Ayeni Olatokunbo goes for the ball against Al Ahli in the Emir Cup basketball tournament last night. of this year’s Samla Race and we vative technology to aid sports in thank both organizations for their Qatar.”

QSL PLAYOFF FOCUS Do-or-die match for Shahania Al Ahli football and Qatar Sports Club coach Adam resigns

By Sports Reporter Doha

l Shahania will take on Qatar SC at the Lekhwiya stadium today in a do-or-die match Awhich will see the winners keep their slot in the Qatar Stars League next season and the losers heading to the sec- ond division. Al Shahania fi nished the QSL season in 12th place with 22 points while Qatar SC ensured a play-off spot after finishing SL side Al Ahli have the Qatari coach and wished to second in the Qatar Gas League. confi rmed that Yusef thank him for his eff orts with the Igor Stimac, head coach of Al Shaha- Adam (c) has resigned side. Overall it’s been a disap- nia, is grateful for the opportunity given from his position as pointing season for Al Ahli who to his team to participate in the playoff . headQ coach of the club. The Brig- fi nished in tenth place in the “We are very happy for the chance to adiers revealed the announce- QSL standings with a tally of 27 play in the playoff . It’s another 90 min- ment via a statement on their points. utes to prove that we belong in the QSL, offi cial website. Al Ahli will now begin to turn to prove we are well organized and de- The statement also added their attentions to the Emir Cup serve to stay in the QSL,” Stimac said at that club management, headed competition, when they take on a press conference yesterday. by Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad newly promoted QSL side Al- Speaking about his opponents, Stimac has accepted the resignation of Markhiya on April 23. added: “I have seen them (Qatar SC) play a couple of times and their most recent matches. They are a great club with great Qatar to host Asian indoor hockey history; they have good quality players and have a lot of potential. They have QNA, Doha: Qatar Hockey men’s teams and six women’s to respected otherwise you will be pun- Federation will host the Asian teams. ished. We analysed their weaknesses and Nations Cup indoor hockey It is expected to be one of the strengths and we use this information to tournament for men and most successful champion- play the best match we can. women which will be held in ships because it includes the “Since I arrived in December I feel ball,” added the Croatian tactician. nia, was also present at the press confer- “We have to take care about every- Doha from April 24-29 Aspire. most important Asian sides like everybody in our club is like one Speaking about the availability of Ra- ence and echoed the points made by his thing in the game. We analysed the op- Abdullah al-Khater, Secretary such as Australia, India, the big family. I have trust in my players as him Zahivi, the head coach added, “We coach. ponent and we train accordingly. It’s General of the Qatar Hockey Philippines and South Korea. they have improved their game since had big expectations with Rahim but “It’s a chance to stay in the league. It’s a good game to play for us, it will have Federation told Qatar News The Qatari team are hoping to we started working together. We need with injury problems he wasn’t lucky. a fi nal and we know Qatar SC is a good good atmosphere and it’s nice to be part Agency (QNA) that the cham- achieve good results during to improve in some parts like scor- We are expecting him to take part in team. We believe in our team and the of it,” added the Spanish defender. pionship is to be held for the this tournament, which is ing but I am quite happy with what we some of the game tomorrow. We will be coach. We have a tough game ahead of us Qatar Sports Club representatives first time in the State of Qatar being held in partnership with have achieved and I hope Al Shahania very happy if he is involved in the game.” and we will give it our all in the 90 min- were unavailable for the press confer- with the participation of 11 Aspire Zone, he said. becomes an integral part of Qatari foot- Alvaro Mejia, the captain of Al Shaha- utes. ence.