CCRICKETRICKET | Page 4 HHOCKEYOCKEY | Page 6 Du Plessis India beat injury spoils Malaysia South Africa 2-1 in fi nal to victory win

Monday, October 23, 2017 FOOTBALL Safar 3, 1439 AH Tottenham’s Kane GULF TIMES rips Liverpool to shreds SPORT Page 2 FORMULA 1 Hamilton powers Latham inspires ‘greatest chase’ to Austin victory; as New Zealand stun India

AFP Taylor was dismissed in the penul- Mercedes win title timate , caught by Chahal off Bhu- Mumbai vneshwar Kumar, with New Zealand needing just one run to win. Vettel second even as Briton extends championship lead to 66 points ane Williamson hailed cen- Henry Nicholls then came in and tury-maker Tom Latham and smashed a four to secure the tourists’ Ross Taylor for inspiring “one victory with Latham fi nishing the game of the greatest chases ever” unbeaten. afterK New Zealand stunned India by six “I’ll take the win anytime. I think in the fi rst ODI yesterday. that was one of his (Latham’s) best in- Latham scored 103 and Taylor made nings ever,” Taylor enthused. 95 as the batsmen put on a massive Earlier, Kohli scored his 31st ODI 200-run partnership to win a thrilling century in his 200th match as India set contest at Mumbai’s Wankhede Sta- New Zealand a target of 281 after win- dium with six balls to spare. ning the toss and opting to bat fi rst. The fourth- partnership, The Indian captain fi red 121 off 125 which lasted 187 balls, propelled the balls including nine fours and two sixes. Kiwis to 284-4 after home captain Vi- “We thought (we had) a good total. rat Kohli’s delightful century saw India But Ross and Tom were fantastic. And record an opening innings total of 280- when you get a 200 partnership, you 8. deserve to win,” said Kohli. “It was a brilliant performance from The win sees New Zealand take a Virat, happening every time he walks 1-0 lead in the three-match series. out to the crease. But we stuck at it and The second ODI takes place in Pune on it was one of the greatest chases I’ve Wednesday, with the third in Kanpur seen, certainly in my time as a Black on October 29. Cap,” New Zealand captain Williamson said afterwards. SCORECARD Left-hander Latham’s 102-ball INDIA knock included eight fours and two six- R. Sharma b Boult 20 es. veteran Taylor’s 95 came off S. Dhawan c Latham b Boult 9 99 deliveries and included eight fours. V. Kohli c Boult b Southee 121 The visitors’ run chase got off to a K.M Jadhav c & b Santner 12 poor start with opener Colin Munro D. Karthik c Munro b Southee 37 falling for 28 before Williamson walked M.S. Dhoni c Guptill b Boult 25 shortly afterwards on a paltry six. H. Pandya c Williamson b Boult 16 When Martin Guptill was sent pack- B. Kumar c Nicholls b Southee 26 ing by Hardik Pandya in the 18th over K. Yadav not out 0 for 32 New Zealand were at 80-3 and Extras (lb4, w10) 14 looking like they were heading for a Total (8 wickets; 50 overs) 280 heavy defeat. Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Dhawan), 2-29 But 25-year-old Latham and Taylor, (Sharma), 3-71 (Jadhav), 4-144 (Karthik), 33, had other ideas and easily batted 5-201 (Dhoni), 6-238 (Pandya), 7-270 away everything that India’s newest (Kohli), 8-280 (Kumar) spin attack of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuz- : Southee 10-0-73-3, Boult 10-1- Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes celebrates on the podium with sprint legend Usain Bolt after the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas in vendra Chahal could throw at them. 35-4 (w2), Milne 9-0-62-0 (w3), Santner Austin, Texas, yesterday. (AFP) “I have to go back to that partnership 10-0-41-1 (w3), de Grandhomme 4-0-27- — Tom and Ross controlled the innings 0 (w1), Munro 7-0-38-0 (w1) DPA “Why did you guys let him go so perfectly through the middle overs,” Austin, Texas close,” Hamilton queried over team beamed Williamson. NEW ZEALAND radio. Latham, who was named man of the M. Guptill c Karthik b Pandya 32 The pit stops enabled Red Bull’s match, said it had been diffi cult to keep C. Munro c Karthik b Bumrah 28 ercedes driver Lewis Verstappen to take the lead briefl y be- wicket for 50 overs and then bat for so K. Williamson c Jadhav b Yadav 6 Hamilton moved closer fore Hamilton got past the Dutchman, long in Mumbai’s humidity of 70 % R. Taylor c Chahal b Kumar 95 to a fourth Formula One who then made his fi rst tyre change. plus. T. Latham not out 103 world title by winning the Verstappen pitted again, and Vettel “It was tough. The conditions are H. Nicholls not out 4 MUS Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari rival reacted with his own pit stop to come completely diff erent to back home,” he Extras (lb11, w5) 16 Sebastian Vettel yesterday. out fourth ahead of the Red Bull with explained, lavishing praise on Taylor Total (4 wickets; 49 overs) 284 The result means the title battle 16 laps remaining. for helping him get to his century. Fall of wickets: 1-48 (Munro), 2-62 (Wil- now moves to Mexico next Sunday Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen managed “The biggest thing in a partnership is liamson), 3-80 (Guptill), 4-280 (Taylor) when Hamilton will need to fi nish to get past Valtteri Bottas in a Mer- communication. We were talking every Bowling: Kumar 10-0-56-1 (wd2), fi fth or higher to secure the 2017 title. cedes to go second, while Vettel over- over. Hats off to him for playing such a Bumrah 9-0-56-1 (wd1), Kuldeep 10-0- Hamilton took the chequered fl ag took Bottas with fi ve laps left. great innings. He was a calming infl u- 64-1, Pandya 10-0-46-1 (wd2), Chahal at the Circuit of the Americas com- Raikkonen promptly allowed Vettel ence on me,” said Latham. 10-0-51-0 fortably ahead of Vettel for his fourth to swap places for second, and Ver- straight win at the Austin circuit, stappen also squeezed past Bottas be- while Mercedes secured a fourth fore the Finn made a late tyre change. straight constructors’ title. Late drama came with Verstappen “That was so much fun today, ap- closing in on Raikkonen to get past preciate it. You guys have worked the Finn right at the end, only to have so hard, so proud to be a part of it,” the stewards slap him with a time Hamilton told his team over radio. penalty for cutting the track — to The 32-year-old Briton has now the anger of Red Bull team principal won fi ve of the last six races in Aus- Christian Horner. tin and fi ve of the last six races of the “They have been driving off track season, taking his wins this season to all weekend, Max made a fair move,” nine and his career win tally to 62. Horner said. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen over- “It is an appalling decision. They took Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen right at have robbed all of the fans here.” the end after starting 16th on the grid Bottas was fi fth ahead of Esteban but was given a fi ve-second penalty Ocon in a Force India, Carlos Sainz for cutting the corner, to move him in a Renault, Sergio Perez in a Force off the podium to fourth. India, Felipe Massa in a Williams and Vettel got past pole-sitter Ham- Daniil Kvyat in a Toro Rosso. ilton with a brilliant start, but the Renault’s Nico Huelkenberg and Briton regained the lead on lap six and Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein retired ear- always had the pace to keep his rival ly, while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, at bay. who had earlier been involved in a The closest Hamilton came to re- thrilling duel for third place with Bot- linquishing the lead was when Vet- tas, went off in lap 16 with an engine tel pitted on lap 17 of the 56 laps for failure. soft tyres and almost undercut the McLaren’s Fernando Alonso also Mercedes after Hamilton came in for retired just before the half-way mark Lewis Hamilton lifts the trophy after winning the United States Grand Prix at New Zealand’s Tom Latham celebrates after winning the first one-day international fresh tyres three laps later. while lying seventh. Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, yesterday. (AFP) match against India in Mumbai yesterday. (AFP) Gulf Times 2 Monday, October 23, 2017 FOOTBALL

EPL SPOTLIGHT Rooney goal in vain as Arsenal Tottenham’s Kane send Everton rips Reds to shreds into drop zone Spurs move level on points with second-place Manchester United, while Liverpool’s sorry display left them 12 points off the pace in ninth place

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil celebrates with his teammates after scoring their second goal against Everton yesterday.

AFP in the 12th minute but the tech- Liverpool nique employed by the veteran forward — who turns 32 on Tues- ayne Rooney recre- day — was no less impressive for ated his famous fi rst that fact. league goal for Ever- Gueye won the ball from Xha- ton against Arsenal ka some 30 yards out and slipped Won Sunday but it was not enough the ball to Rooney, who leant to prevent his struggling team back and guided a perfect fi nish falling to a 5-2 defeat and into the into the top left-hand corner of Premier League bottom three. the net. Goals from Mesut Ozil and Al- It was the same end and the exandre Lacazette proved pivotal same top corner as the goal which as Everton continued their worst announced Rooney’s spectacu- start to a season in nine years, lar arrival in the Premier League with this latest reverse adding to against the same opponents, 15 the mounting pressure on Ever- years and three days earlier. ton manager Ronald Koeman. But while the Rooney goal that German international Ozil day had won three points for struck with a superb header in Everton, a repeat of that outcome the 53rd minute at Goodison looked doubtful from early in Park, slipping between two de- Sunday’s proceedings. fenders to meet a magnifi cent Aaron Ramsey was denied by Tottenham Hotspur’s English left-wing cross from team mate goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after striker Harry Kane celebrates Alexis Sanchez and put Arsenal just three minutes and a Ramsey after scoring their fourth goal ahead. cross soon found Lacazette, who against Liverpool at Wembley Nacho Monreal had cancelled showed breathtaking skill to turn Stadium in London yesterday. out Rooney’s opener and hopes his defender and force Pickford of a home comeback were dam- into another fi ne save. aged when Everton were reduced Even after going behind, Ar- to 10 men in the 69th minute senal were soon back in the as- AFP Klopp slams Liverpool defending aft er Spurs rout Jordan Henderson’s pass from deep re- after midfi elder Idrissa Gueye cendancy with Pickford failing to London leased Salah to trundle a right-foot shot caught Granit Xhaka and was gather a fi ercely-struck Sanchez London: Liverpool manager Jurgen Meanwhile delighted Spurs manager past Lloris and in off the left-hand post. shown a second yellow card. free-kick but making up for Klopp was left lamenting his side’s “bad, Mauricio Pochettino said: “It was fantas- But Spurs continued to fi nd space be- Lacazette killed off any hope of that error by blocking Ramsey’s arry Kane scored twice for Tot- bad, bad defending” after a 4-1 loss tic, a fantastic performance, the players hind Lovren — Son’s toe-poke blocked that recovery in the 74th minute, follow-up attempt from the re- tenham Hotspur in a 4-1 victo- away to Tottenham Hotspur yesterday were fantastic and we started very well. by Mignolet after he was cleverly freed after neat passing between bound. ry over an abject Liverpool team all but ended the Merseyside club’s title “I am so happy for our fans, in front of by Alli — and in the 31st minute Klopp Sanchez and Ozil allowed the But there was no similar re- yesterday that left the Mersey- hopes just nine games into the Premier Diego Maradona, Kobe Bryant.” brought the Croatian’s torment to an Frenchman to convert clinically prieve in the 40th minute when Hside club’s Premier League title hopes in end. from 15 yards. Pickford dived to keep out a drive League season. As for England star Kane’s contribution, tatters. “The first goal was a little throw in and Pochettino added: “Harry Kane is a fan- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on The rout continued in the last from Xhaka, which took a defl ec- Kane struck early in each half, book- we are not really there. It was just really tastic player, one of the best strikers, it’s and the ensuing reshuffl e meant Emre minute of normal time as sub- tion off Gyfl i Sigurdsson. ending goals from Son Heung-Min and bad, bad, bad defending,” added the diff icult to find words to describe him Can dropped to right-back, where he was stitute Jack Wilshere produced The Everton keeper could Dele Alli, with Mohamed Salah netting in German boss, whose side thrashed — he’s unbelievable, so professional, quickly found wanting. a defence-splitting pass which only push the ball as far as the reply in front of a record Premier League Maribor 7-0 in the Champions League the eff ort when we don’t have the ball, His untidy foul from behind on Alli found Aaron Ramsey who fi n- sprinting Monreal who struck a crowd of 80,827 at Wembley that includ- in midweek. everything is fantastic.” gave Spurs a free-kick in fi rst-half stop- ished unerringly to make it 4-1. sweet fi nish past Pickford for the ed the great Diego Maradona. page time and when Eriksen’s But in a bizarre conclusion, equaliser. Spurs move level on points with was headed away by Matip, Alli thumped there were two goals in stoppage Everton started the second second-place Manchester United, fi ve conceded over 1,000 goals since the Pre- Matip slow to react, Kane stole in, hooked a volley into the bottom-left corner. time, fi rst from Everton substi- half brightly but, after Nikola points below leaders Manchester City, mier League was launched in 1992. the ball inside the advancing Simon Mig- It was game over 11 minutes into the tute Oumar Niasse who charged Vlasic ended a promising attack while Liverpool’s sorry defensive display With Liverpool out of the League Cup nolet and rolled it into the net. second period after yet more scenes of down a Petr Cech clearance to by having a shot blocked, instead left them a yawning 12 points off the pace and their hopes of reaching the Champi- Lovren’s nightmare continued eight calamity in the Liverpool penalty area. force the ball into the net. of playing in Rooney, Arsenal in ninth place. ons League last 16 in the balance, it leaves minutes later as he woefully mistimed an Mignolet fl apped at Trippier’s free- Arsenal were still not fi nished broke directly upfi eld for Ozil’s It was a second galling defeat against a manager Jurgen Klopp facing some un- attempt to head away a long throw from kick and although Roberto Firmino got and Sanchez became their fi fth goal. supposed title rival for Liverpool, follow- comfortable questions two years into his Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, allowing back to block Jan Vertonghen’s goal- diff erent scorer from the last at- Lacazette’s goal killed off the ing their 5-0 capitulation at City in early Anfi eld tenure. Kane to canter into the space behind him. bound shot, Kane reacted swiftly to crash tack as he was allowed to carry contest and, even before the late September, and they have now won just His opposite number, Mauricio Po- The England striker found Son with the rebound home. the ball across the face of the area fl urry, there should have been one of their last six league games. chettino, redeployed the 3-5-2 system he a brilliant cross from the right and the With eight goals, the 24-year-old is and score with an excellent an- more for the visitors as Sanchez They were unrecognisable from the had used in the 1-1 draw at Real Madrid Spurs number seven used the inside of now the outright top scorer in the divi- gled shot. missed with a diving header and team that had crushed Maribor 7-0 in in mid-week, but with illness restricting his left foot to plant a fi rst-time shot past sion. Rooney’s goal had come com- Xhaka struck the crossbar with a the Champions League on Tuesday, their Eric Dier and Ben Davies to the bench, the exposed Mignolet. A second goal eluded Liverpool, Lloris pletely against the run of play 20-yard shot. travails summed up by a catastrophic de- Serge Aurier started at left wing-back. It was almost 3-0 moments later as acrobatically tipping a Philippe Coutinho fensive display from Dejan Lovren, who Kieran Trippier came into the team on Son chested down Christian Eriksen’s curler onto the post and saving with his was taken off in the 31st minute. the other fl ank and within four minutes through ball and slammed a shot against feet from both James Milner and Salah. REACTION Liverpool’s defeat — their fi rst in 10 he had an assist to his name. the Liverpool bar. Kane went off holding the back of his league games against Spurs — also saw The former Burnley man’s lofted pass Liverpool reduced the arrears against left leg late on, but Pochettino said he them become only the sixth team to have was misjudged by Lovren and with Joel the run of play in the 24th minute when was merely “tired”. Wenger delighted BOTTOMLINE with Ozil, Sanchez

Reuters Mourinho tears into Man Utd Liverpool AFP a poor attitude. said. “We come here to play a Pre- fter a week in which Ar- Huddersfield, United Kingdom “I don’t even remember a mier League match, to play for senal’s alleged softness friendly match where our attitude three points. and lack of fortitude was so poor,” he said. “I feel really disappointed and were the focus of many ose Mourinho launched “Of course it concerns me, yes, if I was a Manchester United sup- debates,A the Gunners off ered a a withering verbal attack because if it happened today, why porter — not a manager, but a tra- reminder that when fi t and func- on his Manchester United can’t it happen tomorrow? ditional supporter — I would be tioning as planned they remain a players following their sur- “It was a surprise, but it is re- really disappointed. team which can produce genuine Jprise Premier League defeat at ality. It was a surprise, yes, but it “Because I think you can play quality. Huddersfi eld Town and confessed happened. For me it is quite easy and lose a football match because Despite going a goal down, he was shocked by their lacklustre and simple to say the team that the opponent had more quality Arsenal ran out 5-2 winners performance. deserved to win won. than you, but you cannot lose be- against Everton at Goodison Park we were 1-0 down. United were beaten for the fi rst “They played like I like. They cause the opponent had a better in the Premier League, helped by “It was a mental test but we time this season, while promoted played with everything they have, attitude than you.” the dismissal of the home side’s kept going, we kept our focus and Huddersfi eld’s 2-1 win marked like I like and like it has to be. They Huddersfi eld manager David only defensive midfi elder, Idrissa slowly the quality of our move- their fi rst top-fl ight victory over played with everything: aggres- Wagner, who lifted the club back Gueye, but also inspired by an ment, the quality of our passing their illustrious visitors since sion, desire, motivation, sacrifi ce. into the top fl ight for the fi rst time impressive attacking trio. gave Everton problems. After 1952. “They played with everything in nearly half a century, ranked For the fi rst time, Arsene that, with the off ensive strength Huddersfi eld’s goals, scored by and we didn’t. So the team that the victory among his “top three” Wenger was able to fi eld Ger- we have, of course that made the Aaron Mooy and Laurent Depoi- deserved to win won. Simple.” days in charge. man international Mesut Ozil, diff erence,” he said. tre, were a direct result of disas- Furious: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho United visit Swansea City in the “I live in Huddersfi eld, so I Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez Wenger did not shy away from trous mistakes by United’s Juan League Cup on Wednesday before know a little bit — maybe not 100 and French striker Alexan- praising the individuals who had Mata and Victor Lindelof. better, had more quality. When cause I cannot explain that.” hosting Tottenham Hotspur and % — how huge this result is,” said dre Lacazette together and the been key, with some high praise “In the fi rst half I was waiting you lose because of attitude, that Mourinho’s team had only con- visiting Chelsea in their next two the bespectacled German. manager must hope he gets the for Sanchez. for it,” said Mourinho, whose side is really bad. ceded two league goals, in a 2-2 Premier League games. “For the town, for the Hud- chance to repeat that selection. “He was on fi re. I believe that replied through substitute Mar- “I heard Ander Herrera in an draw at Stoke City in early Sep- Having seen their 12-game un- dersfi eld Town supporters, for the “I wish — but I feel the whole he comes back from injury and cus Rashford. interview saying the attitude and tember, before Saturday’s visit to beaten run come to an end, Mour- chairman, for the board, for eve- team played well,” said Wenger. has worked very hard, Ozil as “It was Mata and Victor, but it desire was poor. Oh my God. the John Smith’s Stadium. inho said he did not know how his rybody who supports the football “We were tested mentally well. The two of them were sharp could have been another because “When a player says that and But the United manager was team would react. club. when we were 1-0 down after a physically, very mobile and if you the attitude was really poor. a player feels that, I think they more concerned by the fact it was “I don’t like to anticipate the “I’m totally aware that this is a very good start in the game. We have their individual quality, that “When I lose matches, I like to should then all go to the press the fi rst time in his 15 months in reactions because I don’t know very special moment and a huge couldn’t fi nish, their keeper kept makes them dangerous against lose because the opponent was conference and explain why, be- charge that he had detected such how to say in this moment,” he result.” them in the game and suddenly any defender.” Gulf Times Monday, October 23, 2017 3 FOOTBALL

SERIE A BUNDESLIGA Champs Juve Kalou penalty battle with 10 saves Hertha men to 6-2 win Sami Khedira nets hat-trick in pulsating action against Udinese

DPA Rome

talian champions Juventus won 6-2 at Udinese yesterday with a Sami Khedira hat-trick and de- Ispite Mario Mandzukic’s dis- missal to close within three points of Serie A leaders Napoli. Napoli, who are on 25 points from AFP tin Tolisso scored their winner while nine outings, drew 0-0 at home Berlin Hamburg’s Gideon Jung was sent off against Inter Milan Saturday to re- on 40 minutes for fouling Kingsley main two points clear of the second- Coman. placed Milanese side. Fourth-place vory Coast veteran Salomon Ka- Dortmund threw away a two-goal Lazio trail on 19 ahead of a late game lou rescued Hertha Berlin with a lead in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Eintrac- against Cagliari. penalty at the second attempt in ht Frankfurt as goals by Nuri Sahin and In pulsating action at Udine, Man- yesterday’s 1-1 draw at Freiburg in Maximilian Philipp were cancelled out dzukic was sent off for insulting the Ithe Bundesliga. by Sebastien Haller and Marius Wolf. referee, who had just booked him in Hosts Freiburg took the lead on 52 Later on Sunday, 20-year-old de- the 26th. minutes when the video assistant refe- fender Felix Uduokhai struck with a An own goal from Brazilian Samir ree (VAR) confi rmed Christian Guenter 91st-minute header to seal Wolfs- in the 14th had levelled the hosts’ had been fouled in the penalty area and burg’s dramatic 1-1 draw at home to opener from Stipe Perica, and Janik Haberer drilled home from the fourth-placed Hoff enheim. spot. It was the centre-back’s fi rst Bun- At the other end, Kalou fi red his fi rst desliga goal for Wolfsburg in nine Results penalty eff ort over the bar on 77 min- games since joining in July. utes after Berlin midfi elder Arne Maier The late goal cancelled out a penalty Chievo 3 (Inglese 23, 30-pen, Pellissier was brought down in the area. by Germany midfi elder Kerem Demir- 73) Verona 2 (Verde 6, Pazzini 55-pen) However just four minutes later, Ka- bay which had put Hoff enheim ahead. Torino 0 AS Roma 1 (Kolarov 69) Juventus’ Sami Khedira celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal against Udinese yesterday. lou took his chance to make amends by Hoff enheim’s goalkeeper Oliver Atalanta 1 (Cornelius 71) Bologna 0 converting a spot kick after a second Baumann saved an early penalty from SPAL 0 Sassuolo 1 (Politano 1) Khedira headed home for Juve’s 2-1 on 90 minutes. Roma snatched a 1-0 home to Genoa, having international penalty was awarded to Berlin. Maximilian Arnold after the VAR spot- AC Milan 0 Genoa 0 lead on 21 minutes. win at Torino from an Aleksandar defender Leonardo Bonucci red- The VAR spotted Hertha’s Davie ted Divock Origi was brought down in Benevento 0 Fiorentina 3 (Benassi Udinese came close again when Gi- Kolarov free-kick and went fi fth past carded in the 25th for elbowing Ale- Selke had been fouled in the area and the area. 18, Babacar 47, Thereau 66-pen) anluigi Buff on saved two Jakub Jankto Sampdoria. The Serb set-piece spe- andro Rosi in the face during a scram- ex-Chelsea striker Kalou made no The result means Swiss coach Mar- Udinese 2 (Perica 8, Danilo 47) drives before the interval and levelled cialist fi red into the top left corner ble in the box. mistake this time. tin Schmidt has now drawn all fi ve Juventus 6 (Samir 14-og, Khedira 20, from a Danilo header in the 48th. to stun Salvatore Sirigu in the 69th The Milanese Rossoneri are 11th “I said to our manager, ‘I think we’re games in charge since replacing An- 59, 87, Rugani 52, Pjanic 90) Two minutes later home coach minute after his team-mates Edin on 13 points. They lost the previous jinxed’ after Salomon missed the fi rst dries Jonker in September to leave the Luigi Delneri was sent off for protest- Dzeko and Kevin Strootman came three games and trail on goal diff er- penalty, but then he had the balls to club 14th. Played Saturday ing and Juve defender Daniele Rugani close in the fi rst half. ence Fiorentina, who won 3-0 at bot- take the second one and convert it,” Earlier, Cologne and Werder Bremen Napoli 0 Inter Milan 0 nodded in a free-kick before Khedira The Giallorossi have 18 points from tom side newcomers Benevento. said Hertha coach Pal Dardai. fought to a goalless draw which kept Sampdoria 5 (Ferrari 3, Quagliarella slammed home a loose ball and drilled eight games, with one in hand over Atalanta edged 1-0 Bologna, who With time almost up, both teams both clubs in the relegation places. 11-pen, Caprari 38, Linetty 71, a late shot into the far post. Sampdoria, who hammered Crotone had Giancarlo Gonzalez dismissed had clear chances. Cologne’s Claudio Pizarro, the high- Kownacki 76) Crotone 0 Miralem Pjanic netted the Bian- 5-0 Saturday and are sixth on 17. in the 80th. Sassuolo also won 1-0 at Hertha’s Austria international Val- est scoring foreign striker in the Bun- coneri’s sixth with a defl ected drive Elsewhere, AC Milan drew 0-0 at promoted Spal. entino Lazaro forced Freiburg goal- desliga’s history, picked up an injury keeper Alexander Schwolow into a re- before kick-off so the 39-year-old had fl ex save with ten minutes left. to sit out the home clash against his LA LIGA Then a free-kick by Freiburg’s Julian former club. Schuster was palmed onto the crossbar Both sides had several chances — by Berlin goalkeeper Rune Jarstein just Cologne shaded the shots on goal with before the fi nal whistle. 18 compared to Bremen’s 13. Gameiro fi res goal-shy Atletico into third The point was Hertha’s second in “It’s diffi cult, that was something for their last four games to go 11th while vegetarians — it wasn’t meat or fi sh, so AFP Freiburg climbed out of the bottom it’s hard to know where to start,” said Madrid three to 15th at the expense of Ham- Cologne coach Peter Stoeger. burg, who lost 1-0 at home to Bayern “The guys have everything, there Munich on Saturday. was passion. evin Gameiro ended Atletico Bayern are level with leaders Borus- “We can moan as much as we want, Madrid’s goal drought on sia Dortmund on 20 points, but stay but there were enough chances.” the road as Diego Simeone’s second on goal diff erence after Coren- men ground out a 1-0 win at CeltaK Vigo yesterday to leapfrog Real RESULTS CHECK Madrid into third in La Liga. Atletico’s attacking options while 59, Brandt 61, Volland 69, Pohjanpalo 81) they wait for Diego Costa’s return in Cologne 0 Werder Bremen 0 Eintracht Frankfurt 2 (Haller 64-pen, January have been much criticised in Freiburg 1 (Haberer 52-pen) Hertha Berlin Wolf 68) Borussia Dortmund 2 (Sahin 19, recent weeks, particularly after a 0-0 1 (Kalou 81-pen) Philipp 57) draw at Azerbaijani champions Qara- Wolfsburg 1 (Uduokhai 90+1) Hoffenheim Augsburg 1 (Gregoritsch 33) Hanover 96 bag on Wednesday left their chances 1 (Demirbay 73-pen) 2 (Fuellkrug 77, 89) of reaching the Champions League Hamburg 0 Bayern Munich 1 (Tolisso 52) last 16 in peril. Played Saturday However, on his fi rst league start RB Leipzig 1 (Sabitzer 23) VfB Stuttgart 0 Played Friday of the season, Gameiro fi red home a Borussia Moenchengladbach 1 (Johnson Schalke 04 2 (Goretzka 13, Burgstaller 74) loose ball from a corner from close 7) Bayer Leverkusen 5 (Bender 48, Bailey Mainz 05 0 range on 28 minutes. It was only the second away game in Atletico’s last six in which Los Ro- SPOTLIGHT jiblancos have found the net and they set about to defend their lead. Despite the sparse crowd at Balaid- os caused by the closure of a stand on Scolari’s Guangzhou security grounds, Celta swarmed for- ward after the break. Jan Oblak produced fi ne saves to retain China league title deny Iago Aspas and in stoppage time from John Guidetti, while Aspas also Atletico Madrid’s French forward Kevin Gameiro (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring against Celta de Vigo in AFP when Brazilian international Paulinho clipped the bar with a free-kick. Vigo yesterday. Guangzhou left for Barcelona in August, but Andre And Celta were also left furious at Villas-Boas’s Shanghai — the near- the referee after Atletico captain Gabi est challengers in the CSL — failed to appeared to handle inside the area on Barcelona and Valencia move clear at the top of La Liga uiz Felipe Scolari’s rampant capitalise. The home fans came to see a the hour mark. Guangzhou Evergrande won the coronation yesterday and Gao Lin head- However, Atletico held on to main- Chinese Super League (CSL) for ed home unmarked at a packed Tianhe tain their unbeaten start to La Liga Madrid: A controversial Gerard Deulofeu strike sent However things were much quieter on the pitch after Lthe seventh time in a row yester- Stadium to start the party on 15 minutes. and move back to within six points of Barcelona on their way to a comfortable 2-0 victory Deulofeu’s opener, with Barcelona struggling to break day and with two games to spare. Two minutes later Guangzhou were 2-0 leaders Barcelona. over Malaga on Saturday as they stretched their lead at down Malaga and even Lionel Messi finding it tough In what is expected to be the deco- up as Guizhou made a mess of things in Earlier, Villarreal’s revival under the top of La Liga. until he fed Iniesta for the second. rated Brazilian coach’s last season in defence and another Brazilian, the for- new coach Javier Calleja continued In the second minute at the Nou Camp, the ball clearly Suarez should have increased the lead when Sergi Rob- charge, Guangzhou scored twice in three ward Alan, waltzed through the non- with a 4-0 thrashing of Las Palmas. ran out of play before Lucas Digne crossed for Deulo- erto played him in but fired wide with the goal gaping, minutes in the fi rst half as they thrashed existent backline. feu, who flicked it in with a superb backheel, leaving continuing a personal run of poor form with only three Guizhou Zhicheng 5-1 at home. The visitors pulled a goal back midway Results Malaga irate. goals this season in all competitions. Deulofeu backed Scolari, whose contract is up at the through the fi rst half but Guangzhou’s Villarreal 4 (Bakambu 48, Gaspar 65, Barcelona struggled to break the visitors down as they his team mate to recover quickly. end of the season after two successful prolifi c Brazilian striker Ricardo Gou- Navarro 67-og, Sansone 90+2) Las searched for a second, which came in the 56th minute “(His goal) will come, it’s the same as Leo (Messi). They years in southern China, was banned lart put the game out of sight with a deft Palmas 0 when captain Andres Iniesta fired a deflected strike are players who get a lot of chances, in the next game from the bench as his side romped to the header in the 52nd minute that bounced Celta Vigo 0 Atletico Madrid 1 (Ga- home. they will score,” said the former Everton winger. victory they needed to wrap up the CSL off a Guizhou player and into the net. meiro 28) Luis Suarez missed a golden opportunity as the Cata- Ernesto Valverde also defended Suarez, saying the title once more. Substitute Yu Hanchao made it 4-1 to Played Saturday lans failed to score a third but still moved four points Uruguayan is a crucial component in the side, whether Under the 68-year-old Scolari, who the champions after another defensive Levante 1 (Morales 62) Getafe 1 (Fajr clear of second-placed Valencia, who beat Sevilla 4-0. he scores or not. took over from the Italian Fabio Canna- mistake and another Brazilian, Muriqui, 58) “For me it’s legal. I believed it (stayed on), that’s why “The aggression that he has always gives him chances. varo in 2015, Guangzhou have cemented poked in number fi ve. Real Betis 2 (Sanabria 13, Alexis 75-og) I continued,” Deulofeu said on Spanish television The more he misses the better, it means that he’s there. their place as the best team in China. Shanghai were beaten 2-1 at home Alaves 0 afterwards. He’s priceless for us,” explained the coach. They went out of the Asian Champi- by Guangzhou R&F to leave them nine Valencia 4 (Guedes 43, 90+1, Zaza 51, In the wake of protests in the city following the Spanish Unlike Suarez, unbeaten Barcelona are in excellent ons League in the quarter-fi nals to do- points behind Evergrande with just two Mina 85) Sevilla 0 government’s move to reduce the autonomy of Catalo- shape and this was their eighth victory in nine league mestic rivals Shanghai SIPG, but they games left and only the FA Cup now to Barcelona 2 (Deulofeu 2, Iniesta 56) nia, the atmosphere was charged. games, keeping them four points clear of Valencia. have once more dominated the CSL. play for, having exited the Champions Malaga 0 Guangzhou suff ered a minor wobble League in the semi-fi nals. Gulf Times 4 Monday, October 23, 2017 SPORT

CRICKET / ZIM VS WI, 1ST TEST, DAY 2 MOTOGP Five-wicket Bishoo puts WI in control Marquez extends

AFP out there.” Mire’s replacement, Craig Ervine, S. Williams c Dowrich b Roach 7 Bulawayo, Zimbabwe With Zimbabwe bowled out in just dug in alongside Masakadza as the pair S. Raza c Gabriel b Bishoo 6 61.3 overs, the West Indies began their put on 47 for the second wicket to put M. Waller b Holder 11 lead with Phillip second innings after tea and reached Zimbabwe back in control. R. Chakabva c Chase b Bishoo 12 eg-spinner Devendra Bishoo stumps on 88 for one, giving them an But from 91 for one Zimbabwe G. Cremer b Holder 0 burst Zimbabwe’s bubble of overall lead of 148. slipped to 139 for seven as Masakadza K. Jarvis not out 2 optimism yesterday as his led the way with felt for a Bishoo delivery and edged C. Mpofu c Dowrich b Gabriel 10 Island win fi ve-wicket haul put the West an unbeaten 38, while Kyle Hope reg- behind, Brendan Taylor reverse-swept Extras (2lb) 2 LIndies in charge of the fi rst Test at istered a career-best 32 not out in his the legspinner to slip and Sikandar Total (all out, 61.3 overs) 159 Queens Sports Club. fourth Test. Raza holed out to long-off . Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Mire), 2-91 Zimbabwe came into the two- The partnership left Zimbabwe fac- Meanwhile, Sean Williams chased (Masakadza), 3-93 (Taylor), 4-110 match series in a buoyant mood fol- ing a long road back into the game, and a wide delivery from Roach and was (Williams), 5-123 (Raza), 6-133 (Ervine), lowing the return of Brendan Taylor with a lingering regret over their bat- caught behind, before Bishoo com- 7-139 (Waller), 8-147 (Chakabva), 9-147 and Kyle Jarvis to their ranks, and car- ting eff orts. pleted his fi ve-wicket haul when Regis (Cremer), 10-159 (Mpofu) ried it through the opening day when While the turning pitch has pro- Chakabva off ered a tame catch to Bowling: Gabriel 11.3-4-24-1, Holder 14- they dismissed the West Indies for 219. vided assistance to the spinners on the backward point. 5-25-2, Bishoo 24-4-79-5, Chase 1-0-6-0, But Bishoo’s 5 for 79 on the second opening two days, Zimbabwe’s bats- Shannon Gabriel fi nished off the in- Roach 11-5-23-2. day was like a bucket of cold water men were largely culpable for their nings with the wicket of Chris Mpofu on Zimbabwe’s spirits as they were own downfall. on the stroke of tea, leaving the tour- WEST INDIES 2nd inns bowled out for 159, with Hamilton The hosts made a positive start in ists with a sense of satisfaction. K. Brathwaite not out 38 Masakadza’s 42 the top score. reply to West Indies’ 219 all out, with K. Powell b Cremer 17 “There were way too many soft openers Masakadza and Solomon Mire SCORECARD K. Hope not out 32 dismissals, and the boys are upset moving their overnight total from 19 WEST INDIES 1st inns 219 all out Extras (1b) 1 with themselves. That wasn’t how we to 44 without loss. ZIMBABWE 1st inns Total (1 wkt, 33 overs) 88 wanted to play,” said Zimbabwe’s bat- But an overly adventurous stroke H. Masakadza c Dowrich b Bishoo 42 Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Powell) ting coach Lance Klusener. from Mire allowed Kemar Roach to S. Mire c Brathwaite b Roach 27 Bowling: Jarvis 5-1-6-0, Mpofu 3-1-12-0, “We’ve got a second bite at strike, as the debutant was caught on C. Ervine lbw b Bishoo 39 Williams 10-2-19-0, Cremer 9-1-36-1, the cherry, but it won’t be easy to bat the midwicket boundary for 27. B. Taylor c Blackwood b Bishoo 1 Raza 6-1-14-0

CRICKET / SA VS BANGLADESH, 3RD ODI

AFP “Today’s race was a big disappoint- Du Plessis injury ment and we really lost a lot of points in Phillip Island, Australia the championship,” he said. “For sure my mistake in the early arc Marquez extended his stages of the race complicated things world championship lead and maybe even the choice of rear tyre to 33 points with a com- was not the best one, but on this track manding victory in a feisty our bike is still struggling a lot. MAustralian MotoGP at Phillip Island Dovizioso added: “This year we’ve spoils SA victory yesterday. managed to improve many aspects and Marquez fought off the leading group be competitive throughout the season of eight riders to clear out and win the but when you come to tracks like this, Hosts complete a series clean sweep, winning third ODI by 200 runs race by 1.799 seconds from Yamaha duo where you don’t brake very much and Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales. where there are lots of long fast cor- AFP The victory extended Marquez’s lead ners, some of our limits are magnifi ed.” East London, South Africa on the world standings by a further 22 Marquez took charge of the race points over Andrea Dovizioso with two seven laps from the chequered fl ag and races remaining in Malaysia and Spain. steadily pulled away from the pack, n injury to captain Faf du It was the 24-year-old Spaniard’s leaving Rossi, Vinales and Zarco to Plessis took some of the gloss 35th MotoGP win from 88 starts after fi ght for the other podium places. off a comprehensive South he claimed his 44th premier class pole Vinales dived past Frenchman Zarco African win in the third and on Saturday. in the home straight to snatch third fiA nal one-day international against Italian Ducati racer Dovizioso paid place. Bangladesh at Buff alo Park yesterday. for an early run off and was only able to His team-mate Rossi, who has six Du Plessis retired hurt on 91 and had claw back some lost ground from 20th wins in the premier class at Phillip Is- to be helped off the fi eld with an acute to 13th to hand the world championship land, used all of his guile and experi- lower back strain and took no fur- ascendancy fi rmly to Marquez. ence to take the runner-up spot. ther part in the match as South Africa “I went out quietly and tried to warm The legendary Italian only resumed completed a series clean sweep, win- the tyres and to be calm, but by the sec- racing last month just three weeks after ning by 200 runs. ond or third lap I got my fi rst contact double leg fracture surgery. He was withdrawn from the two- from Johann Zarco,” Marquez said. “The level of aggression and contact match Twenty20 international series “I could see that this was going to be during the race raised a lot, either you which will complete what has been a tough, it was a big group and I started get angry but that changes nothing so dismal tour by Bangladesh. to realise in the middle of the race that I this is the game if you want to play,” Du Plessis was the top scorer in needed to attack or they will overtake me. 38-year-old Rossi said. South Africa’s 369 for six, their high- “So it was a little bit dangerous at “It’s a bit more dangerous, but this is est one-day total against Bangladesh times but with eight or nine laps to go way you have to stay on top. I enjoyed it and the highest total at the ground. I decided it was time to attack, time to very much. It was a great race.” Bangladesh were bowled out for 169. open up a small gap that made my life a Last year’s race winner Cal It was another humiliating defeat little bit easier.” Crutchlow was fi fth with Italian Suzuki for Bangladesh, who suff ered defeats It was Marquez’s sixth win of the racer Andrea Iannone sixth and Aus- by ten wickets and 104 runs in the fi rst season and he was starting off the pole tralian Honda rider Jack Miller in the two matches after similarly lop-sided for the fourth successive year in Aus- points in seventh place after leading for losses in two Test matches. tralia. the opening three laps. Bangladesh were hit by injuries, South Africa’s captain Faf du Plessis is treated for injury during their third one-day international match against Zimbabwe notably to leading bowler Mustafi zur at the Buff alo Park Cricket Grounds in East London, South Africa, yesterday. (AFP) ‘A GREAT RACE’ RESULTS (top 10) Rahman, who missed all three match- It was one of the most aggressive and 1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 40:49.772 es, and opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, Temba Bavuma, one of three chang- Cricket South Africa announced Shakib 10-0-56-0 (2w), Ahmed 7-0- hard-fought scraps of the season with 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +1.799 who only played in one game. es in South Africa’s top seven in the that JP Duminy will take over as cap- 66-2 (1w), Mahmudullah 3-0-33-0 (1w), continual passes as the lead chopped 3. Maverick Vinales (Yamaha) +1.826 “It was a big blow but we can’t make batting order, made 48 and helped tain for the Twenty20 internation- Rahman 1-0-8-0 and changed in a nerve-tingling fi ve- 4. Johann Zarco (Yamaha) +1.842 any excuses,” said captain Mashrafe Quinton de Kock (73) put on 119 for als, to be played in Bloemfontein on way jostle. 5. Cal Crutchlow (Honda) +3.845 Mortaza. “The rest of the guys have the fi rst wicket, while new cap Aiden Thursday and Potchefstroom next BANGLADESH It was the second MotoGP win for 6. Andrea Iannone (Suzuki) +3.871 been playing brilliantly in the last Markram hit 66 as he and Du Ples- Sunday. I. Kayes c Behardien b Paterson 1 Marquez at Phillip Island after his vic- 7. Jack Miller (Honda) +5.619 three or four years.” sis added 151 off 116 balls for the third S. Sarkar c Markram b Rabada 8 tory in 2015, while he has crashed out 8. Alex Rins (Suzuki) +12.208 Mortaza said the failure of his bowl- wicket before Du Plessis retired hurt. SCORECARD L. Das lbw b Paterson 6 twice when leading the race. 9. Pol Espargaro (KTM) +16.251 ers to take wickets in South African As in his Test debut, when he made SOUTH AFRICA M. Rahim c Rabada b Phehlukwayo 8 “With a 33-point lead I am feeling 10. Bradley Smith (KTM) +16.262 conditions had been a major problem, 97 against the same opponents last T. Bavuma c Das b M. Hasan 48 Shakib c sub (Duminy) b Markram 63 really good with the bike, I even have while the batsmen had also failed, par- month, Markram’s innings was ended Q. de Kock c and b M. Hasan 73 Mahmudullah lbw b Mulder 2 extra confi dence, but now is not the OVERALL STANDINGS (TOP FIVE) ticularly on Sunday. “It was a brilliant by a run-out. Markram hit four fours F. du Plessis retired hurt 91 S. Rahman c De Kock b Markram 39 time to do something stupid and plan 1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 244 points wicket for batting,” he said. and two sixes in an impressive 60-ball A. Markram run out (Kayes) 66 M. Hasan c De Villiers b Tahir 15 with my team to organise myself for the 2. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 233 Du Plessis was named man of the innings. A. de Villiers c Mortaza b Hossain 20 M. Mortaza c De Kock b Paterson 17 last two races,” Marquez said. 3. Maverick Vinales (Yamaha) 203 match but could not collect his award. The match was soon over as a con- F. Behardien not out 33 T. Ahmed c sub (Duminy) b Tahir 2 Dovizioso was disconsolate over his 4. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 170 AB de Villiers, who took over the cap- test as Bangladesh lost their fi rst fi ve W. Mulder lbw b Ahmed 2 R. Hossain not out 0 weekend at Phillip Island. 5. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 168 taincy, said: “We have had a really good wickets for 61. There was a brief fi ght- A. Phehlukwayo c Rahim b Ahmed 5 Extras (b1, lb1, nb1, w5) 8 series. Today was probably our best per- back as (63) and Sab- K. Rabada not out 23 Total (all out, 40.4 overs) 169 formance because this wicket probably bir Rahman (39) put on 67 for the sixth Extras (lb3, w5) 8 Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Kayes), 2-15 (Das), suited them (Bangladesh) the most.” wicket before both fell to part-time Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 369 3-20 (Sarkar), 4-51 (Rahim), 5-61 (Mah- SL vows to go ahead with Pakistan tour Du Plessis looked set for a ninth off -spinner Markram. Fall of wickets: 1-119 (Bavuma), 2-132 mudullah), 6-128 (Shakib), 7-135 (Rah- one-day international century before Fast bowler Dane Paterson took (De Kock), 3-289 (Markram), 4-325 (De man), 8-163 (Mortaza), 9-169 (Ahmed) Sri Lanka’s cricket board yesterday vowed to press ahead with a controversial he pulled up as he turned for a second three for 44. Villiers), 5-329 (Mulder), 6-335 (Pheh- Bowling: Rabada 8-1-33-1 (2w), Pater- tour of Pakistan next week despite top players pulling out and speculation the run. He had to be helped off the field. De Kock was named man of the se- lukwayo) son 9-0-44-3 (1w), Mulder 8-0-32-1 (1nb, coach may not join the squad. The Twenty20 final in Lahore will be the first time He hit ten fours and a six and only ries. He scored 287 runs and was only Bowling: Mortaza 9-0-69-0 (1w), M. 1w), Phehlukwayo 4-1-13-1, Tahir 8.4-1- a Sri Lanka squad has played in Pakistan since gunmen staged a deadly assault faced 67 balls. dismissed twice. Hasan 10-0-59-2, Hossain 10-0-75-1, 27-2, Markram 3-0-18-2 on their team bus in March 2009. The board has played down speculation in local media that coach Nic Pothas and team physiotherapist Nirmalan Dhana- balasingham will also not travel to Pakistan. “Nic has not told me he is not going,” BOTTOMLINE Sri Lanka cricket boss Thilanga Sumathipala. “We are going to be in Pakistan for just over a day, but it is very important for us to go there and revive international cricket in South Asia.” Sumathipala will join the squad for the match. Several players who had said they would not travel to Pakistan have been dropped from Arthur praises Pakistan player over spot fi xing case the series, which opens in the UAE on Thursday and concludes with the final in Lahore. Skipper Upul Tharanga, fast bowler Lasith Malinga, bowler Suranga Lakmal, batsmen Niroshan Dickwella and Chamara Kapugedara were left out of AFP “To be honest the player reacted players, they are outstanding and they (two and a half years of which were the squad. Lakmal and Kapugedara survived the 2009 attack. unbelievably well,” Arthur told me- are intelligent young men and individ- suspended) while Khalid was banned dia at Sharjah stadium. “He did eve- uals and I have no doubt that if anyone for fi ve years and fi ned one million ru- Afghanistan to play Ireland in Sharjah rything required of him and we had a is approached they will do the same pees ($10,000). akistan head coach Mickey chat straight afterwards. It was han- way as the individual did,” said Arthur. The two played for Islamabad Unit- Afghanistan will play three one-day internationals with Ireland in Sharjah in Arthur yesterday praised an dled brilliantly and I think that is a real As per the anti-corruption rules a ed in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) December and they are also eyeing their inaugural Test against Zimbabwe, unnamed player for reporting example to our team and to the cricket player is required to instantly report a and were accused of arranging two dot an off icial said yesterday. “We are hosting a three-match ODI series between a spot fi xing approach as “a world that a really important player fi xing off er, failing to which will result balls in return for money in the open- Afghanistan and Ireland in December and there are also discussions on Preal example to our team”. was approached and acted to the letter in a minimum of six months to a maxi- ing match of the league. Afghanistan playing their inaugural Test at our ground after the ODI series,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Sat- of the law and did exceptionally well as mum life ban. Pacer Mohamed Irfan was banned Mazhar Khan, GM , told AFP. The three ODIs will be urday confi rmed a player was ap- a true ambassador of the game.” Pakistan cricket received a jolt in for one year, six months of which were played on December 5, 7 and 10. Both Ireland and Afghanistan were accorded proached with a fi xing off er during PCB said the matter was also referred February when two of their players — suspended, and fi ned one million ru- with Test status earlier this year to become the 11th and 12th Test nations. the ongoing one-day series with Sri to the International Cricket Council. Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif — were pees while spinning all-rounder Mo- While Ireland have scheduled their inaugural Test with Pakistan at home in Lanka but he reported the matter to Arthur was confi dent any of his caught in a spot-fi xing scandal which hamed Nawaz was banned for two May, Afghanistan are hoping to play their first Test against Zimbabwe. “We are the Board’s anti-corruption unit. players would act in the same manner rocked their Twenty20 league held in months (one suspended) and fi ned ready to host Afghanistan’s first Test and for that dates will be finalised soon,” Pakistani media named the player as in future. . 200,000 rupees ($2,000) for failing to said Khan. Sharjah has hosted the most one-day internationals with 228. skipper Sarfraz Ahmed. “I am very comfortable with our Sharjeel was banned for fi ve years report fi xing off ers at various stages. Gulf Times Monday, October 23, 2017 5 SPORT

BASEBALL NHL Three third-period goals send Wild Astros beat Yankees, past Flames 4-2

By Rachel Blount perience and poise to get the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) team on track. “We’re very close to be- ing a good team again,’’ said everal hours before Boudreau, who suggested his set World Series his team played Cal- players do some “soul-search- gary, Alex Stalock had ing” after Friday’s loss. “Right a pretty good idea of now, every time we make a whatS the Flames’ strategy mistake, it seems to cost us.’’ would be. As Stalock expected, the “The fi rst 10 minutes, Flames poured it on right from they’re going to try and win the start, overwhelming the the game,” the Wild goaltender Wild in the fi rst several min- clash with Dodgers predicted. “I’ll come out and utes. When Mikko Koivu was play as strong as I can.’’ penalised for tripping only 47 ‘These guys came out throwing strikes, quality strikes. They executed a great game plan’ Calgary might have suc- seconds in, Stalock immedi- ceeded if not for Stalock’s ately showed how prepared AFP stellar play in Saturday’s fi rst he was. Early in the Flames’ Los Angeles period. And when the Flames power play, he slipped, fell on rallied to seize the lead in the his back and lost his stick – third period, the Wild gave and then, the Wild got trapped he Houston Astros de- its goaltender the support he in its end. feated the New York needed, fi ghting back with a Stalock was battered by Yankees 4-0 on Sat- pair of goals to grab a 4-2 vic- six shots – most from point- urday to book a Major tory at the Saddledome. blank range – and used his TLeague Baseball World Series The Wild often appeared quickness and guile to snuff showdown with the Los Angeles sluggish in the second game out all of them. He faced plen- Dodgers. of its fi rst back-to-back set ty more during the period, as After fending off elimination this season, but Ryan Suter the Wild’s errant passes and in game six on Friday, the Astros and Jared Spurgeon scored carelessness with the puck won the best-of-seven Ameri- in a span of one minute, 35 prevented it from generating can League Championship Se- seconds midway through the much off ense. ries four-games-to-three to third period to end the team’s The Flames outshot the reach the World Series for the two-game winless streak. Sta- Wild 18-8 in the fi rst period. second time in club history. lock held off the Flames for the The Wild played with more Evan Gattis and Jose Altuve fi rst 39 minutes, and when the control in the second and got homered for the Astros, who had Wild gathered itself in the sec- the break it needed with two won the fi rst two games of the ond period, Chris Stewart gave Flames penalties. series at home before dropping it a 1-0 lead with a fi ve-on- With Michael Stone in the three straight in New York. three goal. box for holding and Brouwer Charlie Morton pitched fi ve Sean Monahan tied it with in for interference, the Wild strong innings for the Astros, 27.5 seconds left in the pe- had a two-man advantage for who were swept by the Chicago riod, as Troy Brouwer pulled 1:18. Stewart scored with one White Sox in their only prior a bouncing puck away from second remaining in the fi ve- World Series appearance, back Suter in the corner of the on-three, knocking in his own in 2005 when they played in the Wild’s zone and fed Monahan rebound near the left goalpost. National League. for the goal. The Wild hurt it- Brouwer got his revenge in “So far we have one more se- self further when coach Bruce the period’s fi nal minute. Sta- ries to get the ultimate prize,” Boudreau challenged the goal, lock sent the puck around the said Astros Manager A.J. Hinch, drawing an automatic pen- boards through the right cor- whose team opens the World Se- alty when it was ruled onside. ner, and when Suter couldn’t ries in Los Angeles on Tuesday. When Suter was called for corral it, Brouwer snared it. “But there’s two teams left slashing early in the third peri- Monahan – who knocked a standing, and I don’t care what od – giving Calgary a fi ve-on- shot off the goalpost earlier cities they’re from, one of them three advantage for 1:11 – Kris in the period – got behind the is from Houston.” Versteeg’s goal gave Calgary a defense to put Brouwer’s pass Gattis opened the scoring 2-1 lead before the Wild made behind Stalock. with a solo homer off Yankees its fi nal push. starter CC Sabathia in the fourth The game marked the sixth RESULTS inning. time in six games the Wild Knights 3 Blues 2 Altuve’s homer in the bottom had been tied or leading in the Kings 6 Blue Jackets 4 of the fi fth sparked a three-run third period this season, and Lightning 7 Penguins 1 frame against Yankees relief its second victory. Sabres 5 Bruins 4 (OT) pitcher Tommy Kahnle, who also A day after Boudreau said Rangers 4 Predators 2 surrendered a two-run double the Wild “seems like we’re Blackhawks 4 Coyotes 2 to Astros catcher – and former afraid to win,’’ he accentuated Senators 6 Maple Leafs 3 Yankee – Brian McCann. the positive. While his team Panthers 4 Capitals 1 Relief pitcher Lance McCull- was in a bit of a rut, he argued, Wild 4 Flames 2 ers pitched the fi nal four innings it wasn’t far from getting into Stars 4 Hurricanes 3 and kept the Yankees at bay to a groove, and he believed the Islanders 5 Sharks 3 seal the victory. Wild’s veterans had the ex- Flyers 2 Oilers 1 “These guys came out throw- ing strikes, quality strikes,” Hinch said. “They executed a great game plan.” Morton gave up only two Houston Astros catcher Evan Gattis (right) celebrates with Houston Astros left fielder Marwin Gonzalez after hitting a home run in the fourth hits with one walk and fi ve inning during game seven of the 2017 ALCS playoff baseball series against the New York Yankees. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports strikeouts. After taking the loss in game Bird led off with a double. ed to the Astros by the Detroit “We’ve got four more wins to jor league season, made another three in New York, Morton at- Bird reached third on a wild Tigers on August 31, was named win a World Series,” Verlander stellar outfi eld catch to deny the tacked the strike zone early, pitch walk to Aaron Hicks. He Most Valuable Player of the added, “and I do not regret my Astros an early run. But when he needing only 28 pitches over the tried to score on Todd Frazier’s ALCS after notching two wins – decision to come here.” came to the plate with a runner fi rst three innings. That included ground ball to third, but Astros including in Friday’s game six to Yankees starter Sabathia, who on in the top of the eighth Mc- 22 strikes. third baseman Alex Bregman fend off elimination. pitched six scoreless innings in Cullers struck him out. He retired the side in order in charged to collect the ball and “Although our off ense kind of the Yankees’ game-three tri- “There are things we need to the top of the fourth. delivered a spot-on throw to fl oundered a little bit early in the umph, stranded fi ve base run- get better on, and that will be a But after Gattis’ homer in the McCann, who made the tag to series, we still managed to win ners over the fi rst three innings focus,” Yankees manager Joe Gi- bottom of the fourth, Morton retire Bird. baseball games,” Verlander said. and didn’t make it out of the rardi said. “I’m extremely proud needed some help preserving the “And later in the series our bats fourth. Aaron Judge, the rookie of this group, what they’ve ac- Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon (right) and Calgary one-run margin in the top of the Four more to win came alive and we won games slugger who emerged as a star complished up to this point, but Flames left wing Matthew Tkachuk battle for the puck during the fi fth – when the Yankees’ Greg Pitcher Justin Verlander, trad- with our off ense and pitching.” for the Yankees in his fi rst ma- I think there’s more.” first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

NBA Warriors come unglued, Cavs look fl at against Magic AFP fi cial after he thought he had been and 16 assists. “They were playing at slack and the 32-year-old American Los Angeles fouled on a drive to the basket. Durant a diff erent speed than we were. Way has delivered. Robin Lopez scored 16 tried to argue in Curry’s favor and was faster,” said Cleveland coach Tyronn points for the Bulls, who are without sent to the dressing room as well. Lue. “They got early confi dence and a handful of key players, including he defending champion Golden It was the fi rst time in his career when they got off to their hot start it Bobby Portis who is serving an eight- State Warriors and fi nals run- that Curry was ejected in a regular was hard to put them out. “ game suspension for a fi ght with ners-up Cleveland Cavaliers are season game. A much calmer Curry In Salt Lake City, the short-handed teammate Nikola Mirotic. still shaking off the cobwebs, said after the game that his ejection Utah Jazz used a dominant defensive The fi ght in practice this week left withT both NBA powerhouses suff ering was justifi ed. eff ort to upset the Oklahoma City Mirotic, of Montenegro, in hospital double-digit defeats on Saturday. “I thought I got fouled. My frustra- thunder 96-87. Joe Ingles scored 19 with broken bones in his face and a The Warriors fell 111-101 to the Griz- tion boiled over and I did something points to lead fi ve Jazz players in dou- concussion. He could be out up to six zlies in Memphis, while the Eastern stupid,” Curry said. ble fi gures. Rudy Gobert added 16 weeks. Portis publicly apologized to Conference champion Cavaliers were “I deserved to get kicked out.” points and 13 rebounds for Utah, who Mirotic on Saturday saying players are manhandled at home by the Orlando The Grizzlies led almost the entire held their Northwest Division rivals to battling for jobs and “things happen.” Magic 114-93. The Warriors dropped contest and by as many as 19 points in just 20 points in the paint. “I’m wrong for what I did,” he said. their second of three games to start the second half, showing off their re- Elsewhere, LaMarcus Aldridge “Me and Niko are competitors and the new season as center Marc Gasol vamped, up-tempo lineup. scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds, we’re in the same position (at forward) scored 34 points for the Grizzlies, who In Cleveland, Nikola Vucevic scored Rudy Gay had 12 points and Pau Gasol and so we compete. We compete and continued their strong play against 23 points and the Orlando Magic tallied 10 as the San Antonio Spurs things happen.” Golden State at the FedExForum. snapped a 17-game losing streak to the added to the Chicago Bulls’ early sea- Last season Memphis handed Gold- Cavaliers. Orlando led by as many as son misery with an 87-77 win. RESULTS en State two of their 15 regular-season 37 points and never trailed. The Spurs, who are playing with- Grizzlies 111 Warriors 101 losses, including a 110-89 rout in The skid was the longest in Magic out last season’s leading scorer Kawhi Magic 114 Cavaliers 93 December at the same venue. history to any one team, just as the Leonard and French star Tony Parker, Heat 112 Pacers 108 The Warriors got 37 points from winning streak was Cleveland’s best led by as many as 17 points in the Pistons 111 Knicks 107 guard Stephen Curry and 29 points against a single opponent. The Cava- fourth quarter. Leonard is out with Rockets 107 Mavericks 91 and 13 rebounds from forward Kevin liers hadn’t lost to the Magic since No- right quadriceps tendinopathy while Spurs 87 Bulls 77 Durant. But both were thrown out of vember 2012. veteran guard Parker is out until mid- Raptos 128 76ers 94 the game with 43 seconds left for ar- Jonathon Simmons came off the November after undergoing surgery Clippers 130 Suns 88 guing with the offi cials. bench to score 19 points for Orlando on his left quadriceps tendon. Nuggets 96 Kings 79 Curry was tossed after he threw his and Evan Fournier fi nished with 13 Leonard’s absence has put more Jazz 96 Thunder 87 Memphis Grizzlies centre Marc Gasol (No 33) is fouled by Golden State Warriors forward mouthpiece in the direction of an of- points. D.J. Augustin had 12 points pressure on Aldridge to pick up the Bucks 113 Trail Blazers 110 Andre Iguodala during the second half of their NBA game. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports) Gulf Times 6 Monday, October 23, 2017 SPORT

RUGBY QATAR’S BASSEM MOHAMED FINISHES THIRD IN MOROCCO Australia coach not getting carried way with All Blacks win Reuters Cheika’s long-stated ambi- Sydney tion is to be the number one team in the world, a goal that would require Australia to ustralia coach beat New Zealand frequently Michael Cheika is enough to knock the All Blacks determined the Wal- off the top of the rankings. labies will not get That would also result in the carriedA away with their 23-18 return to Australia after a dec- victory over New Zealand on ade-and-a-half of the Bledisloe Saturday and warned them Cup, the symbol of trans-Tas- plenty of work lies ahead if man Sea rugby supremacy that they are to catch up with the New Zealand retained for a 15th world champions. year courtesy of their wins in The victory in Brisbane Sydney and Dunedin this year. snapped a seven-game losing “I’m always got in the back streak against the All Blacks of my mind that our duty is to going back to the 2015 World bring home the trophy which Cup fi nal and could hardly we haven’t done,” Cheika said have come at a better time for on Saturday. the Australian game. “As happy as I am, and I am It was the fi rst win for any very happy for the players be- Qatar’s Bassem Mohamed, riding Argelith Squid, finished third in the His Majesty King professional Australian team cause they have been working Mohamed VI Grand Prix, a CSI3*event, of the Morocco Royal Tour yesterday. Belgium’s Cherif Moulay Abdallah Alaoui (left), President of the Moroccan Royal Equestrian over New Zealand opponents hard, the end game is to bring Thonon Virginie, riding High Tech Vy de Septon, won the title and Switzerland’s Schwizer Federation, presents a memento to Qatar Equestrian Federation president Hamad bin this year after the fi ve Su- home the Cup and we came up Pius on Balou Rubin R came second. Abdulrahman al-Attiyah. PICTURES: Garsi Lotfi per Rugby franchises failed to short there this year. achieve the feat in 26 attempts. “As enjoyable as that win The off -the-fi eld public re- was, the disappointment of not lations disaster of reducing winning the cup still resonates HOCKEY those fi ve franchises to four with me. It’s obviously some- for next year, a home defeat to thing we’ve got to try our best Scotland and two losses to New and our hardest to do next year, Zealand in the Rugby Champi- because you know New Zealand onship all also contributed to a are only going to get better. feeling of a game under siege. “We’ve got to keep improv- Cheika’s fi rst thoughts af- ing as well.” ter the game on Saturday and Star fullback Israel Folau will again yesterday were with the miss Australia’s end-of-season India beat Malaysia Wallabies fans, who often have tour to Japan and Britain fol- to defend their code against lowing a long, demanding sea- the barbs of the supporters of son, coach Michael Cheika said the more popular rugby league yesterday. Folau will play for the and Australian rules football. Wallabies against the Barbarians “I’m really pleased in par- on Saturday but that will be his ticular for the fans. I’m not just fi nal match for the year, Cheika saying that,” he told reporters said in a bid to freshen him up 2-1 to win Asia Cup in Brisbane yesterday. for the 2018 season. “The ups and downs of the Folau, 28, scored his 12th India won the tournament twice before in 2003 and 2007 editions game, that’s what rugby’s about international try of the season and to give them that type of in the Wallabies’ 23-18 win enjoyment afterwards... as the over the All Blacks in Brisbane national team, we’re trying Saturday, having started every to unite everyone in the code Test match this year. when we turn up to play. “With Israel, I’ve decided to “(But) I’m very realistic, it’s play him (against the Barbar- one win, it was hard-earned. ians) because I’ve decided that We’ll enjoy it for what it is, and he won’t be going on the tour then continue on with what at the end of the year,” Cheika we’ve got to do.” told reporters.

Loss to Wallabies puts added signifi cance on New Zealand’s European tour

The All Blacks’ end-of-season tour has taken on added signifi- cance for coach Steve Hansen’s planning ahead of the 2019 World Cup in Japan after the world champions were beaten 23-18 by Australia on Saturday. Hansen will name an extended 37-man squad on Monday for the five-match tour, which includes tests against France, Scotland and Wales and games against the invitational Barbarians and a French Selection. While Hansen had arguably his strongest possible side available he was missing six first-choice players on Saturday and the two extra games on tour will allow him to look at fringe players as he builds depth for the World Cup. “We will be taking a decent sized squad and be looking to be smart about how we prepare,” Hansen told reporters in Brisbane. “It will require quite a bit of work from the staff and some good planning a lot of which we have done already. As long as we are Indian players celebrate with the Asia Cup after beating Malaysia in the final at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. PICTURE: IANS flexible in our thinking we should be fine.” The tour should also allow Hansen to evaluate how the team is IANS ments of the game. India’s previ- the 13th minute but Indian goal- like in an earlier game. A defensive lapse from Sardar going to dominate games in two years time, given the loss to the Dhaka ous two titles came in 2003 and keeper Suraj Kerkera was alert. India, Asia’s top-ranked side, Singh let Shahril drive past In- Wallabies highlighted some of their weaknesses. Their attack did 2007. The fi ve-time runners-up India pressed high and earned controlled the game in the third dian keeper Suraj in the 50th not flow with flyhalf Lima Sopoaga struggling to take control of seemed determined against Ma- two penalty corners in the and penultimate quarter, creat- minute to reduce the margin – the match, while the Wallabies’ desperate defence harried the All ndia underlined their con- laysia, who reached the Asia Cup 19th and 26th minutes but the ing many chances to extend their and to open up the contest. Blacks into making errors. tinental supremacy as they fi nal for the fi rst time. fl icks from Harmanpreet Singh domination. In the 34th minute, A desperate Malaysia em- That has been characteristic of the season, with opposition de- overcame a fi ghting Malay- India got off to a dream start couldn’t trouble Malaysian cus- India could have made it 3-0 ployed long balls to Indian box fences, starting with the British and Irish Lions, able to shut down sia 2-1 in the fi nal yester- when S.K. Uthappa made a long todian Kumar Subramaniam and but Gurjant, fed by a pacy Ram- and suddenly the Indians came time and space and put their backs under pressure. dayI to win the Asia Cup hockey pass from the left. At the left post, the defenders. andeep, was denied by a diving under pressure. They conceded The Wallabies also stopped the All Blacks forward momentum by championship for the third time. an unmarked Ramandeep tapped However, the intense play Subramaniam. two penalty corners but Razie smashing into tackles and at the breakdown. Ramandeep Singh (3rd the ball on to the bar. When it re- helped India win a second goal India got further chances to Rahim’s fl icks were not good The defeat also ended what has been an enigmatic and frustrat- minute) and Lalit Upadhyay bounded, he didn’t miss to give as a Gurjant Singh cross from the extend the scoreline. Lalit hit enough. ing international programme for the team. (29th) scored for the 2014 Asian India an early advantage. left was defl ected home by Lalit. wide in the 40th minute while India survived some anxious On three occasions – the 30-15 first test win over the Lions, the Games gold medallists India. The pace of Indian forwards A handsome 2-0 lead at Ramandeep failed to connect moments towards the close but first 50 minutes of their opening Rugby Championship clash with Shahril Saabah (50th minute) created troubles for the Malay- half-time triggered social me- a cross from the right the next they held on to the 2-1 scoreline the Wallabies when they raced to a 54-6 lead and a 57-0 demoli- scored the reducer for Malaysia, sians, who were pegged back in dia speculation that the Indian minute. A stunned Malaysia be- before celebrations erupted in tion of South Africa last month – they showed when they get it forcing India to defend their ter- their half. Malaysia responded team, coached by Sjoerd Mari- gan foraying into the Indian de- their camp at the Maulana Bhas- right, no team can stay with them. ritory for the nervous late mo- by winning a penalty corner in jne, would again thrash Malaysia fence in the fourth quarter. ani Hockey Stadium.

BOXING Japan’s Murata stops N’Dam to win world title AFP “We were both pretty tired so it’s a bit gloves frequently found Murata’s chin in Tokyo lucky he stopped. But there was no way I the fi rst two rounds. was going to lose that fi ght.” But Murata wobbled the Cameroon- Gennady Golovkin remains the asso- born champion with a right hook in the apan’s Ryota Murata beat champion ciation’s “super” champion and also holds fourth, and another savage right in the Hassan N’Dam by technical knockout the WBC, IBF and IBO titles. sixth triggered sustained pressure which yesterday to capture the World Box- “Boxing lovers will know there’s a eventually took its toll on N’Dam. ing Association middleweight title. stronger middleweight champion than me Murata improved his professional JThe 2012 Olympic champion avenged a out there,” said Murata, referring to the record to 13 wins against one loss. controversial points loss to the Frenchman unbeaten Kazakh. “I’ll try my best to beat “After the fi rst couple of rounds, I had earlier this year with a convincing display him.” no more strength left,” said the 33-year- in Tokyo, infl icting heavy punishment on Their last meeting in May ended acri- old N’Dam, who asked his trainer to un- N’Dam who failed to come out for round moniously after N’Dam won a split de- tape his gloves after being caught with eight. cision, even though Murata had largely more stinging blows in the seventh round. “I’m not crying,” joked Murata after dominated the fi ght and knocked his op- “I had nothing left in my arms, nothing bursting into tears on seeing the referee ponent down. in my legs.” wave the fi ght over, making him only Ja- Two of the judges were suspended for N’Dam slipped to 36-3 with his defeat. pan’s second middleweight world cham- six months while WBA president Gilberto “I wanted to continue but my team de- pion – and fi rst in 22 years. Mendoza apologised to Murata, saying cided that it wasn’t worth taking more “I was surprised at the way the fi ght there were “no words to repair the dam- punches,” he added. fi nished but I knew he was feeling the pace age”. “Murata put me under more pressure and wanted to fi nish the job quickly,” add- N’Dam started the sharper of the two on than last time and threw more punches. I ed the 31-year-old, proudly cradling the Sunday as he looked to score early points. congratulate him and hope we can fi ght a Ryota Murata of Japan (centre) raises his arms after his victory by technical knock-out against Hassan N’Dam of WBA “regular” world belt. The former WBO champion’s gold third time.” France during the World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight title bout in Tokyo yesterday. (AFP) Gulf Times Monday, October 23, 2017 7 SPORT

GOLF BADMINTON Srikanth, Intanon Thomas puzzled by clinch Denmark Open titles

IANS ‘bizarre’ CJ Cup win Odense, Denmark

ndian shuttler Srikanth The exhausted 24-year-old beat Leishman on the second playoff hole Kidambi clinched his third Superseries title of the sea- AFP son as he crushed South IKorean Lee Hyun II to win the Jeju, South Korea men’s singles title of the Den- mark Open yesterday. ustin Thomas shot nine-under par Eighth seed Srikanth cantered in the opening round of the inau- to a 21-10, 21-5 win in just 25 gural CJ Cup and said yesterday it minutes as he added to the titles was “bizarre” he won three days of Australian Open and Indone- laterJ still on the same mark. Thomas sian Open in the season. Overall, Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand shot a 63 in benign conditions in the fi rst it was his fi fth Superseries title. poses with her trophy after round and made the Nine Bridges course Playing in his fourth Superser- winning the Denmark Open in look ridiculously easy. It could not have ies fi nal of the year, the 24-year- Odense. (Reuters) been more diff erent over the next three Justin Thomas of the US old was dominant from the be- days as the wind whipped ferociously poses with the trophy after ginning, determining the pace of 10-point lead at the mid-game around the slopes of South Korea’s tallest winning the CJ Cup at Nine the game. World No.15 Lee hardly break meant there was no stop- mountain Hallasan — the gorgeous set- Bridges in Jeju Island, South got a grip of Srikanth’s tenacity, ping Srikanth. He then contin- ting on Jeju Island for the US PGA Tour’s Korea, yesterday. (AFP) placements and the variety of his ued his impressive show to win fi rst-ever event in the country. strokes. the second game 21-5. Thomas was astounded that he fi n- In the fi rst game, Lee showed Meanwhile, Thailand’s former ished on nine-under par and that it was stomach to fi ght for points, world champion Ratchanok In- still good enough to get him into a playoff taking a 3-1 lead. But Srikanth tanon won the women’s singles against Marc Leishman. “It’s bizarre that equalised 3-3 before holding a title, beating Japanese fourth that happened,” he said. “I never would 4-3 lead. Lee fought back and seed Akane Yamaguchi 14-21, have guessed it, especially after the fi rst equalised in the very next action. 21-15, 21-19. Chinese players Liu round. But it really was so, so diffi cult out The Indian held an 11-6 lead in Cheng and Zhang Nan won the there, especially the last two days when it the fi rst game till the mid-game men’s doubles title, overcoming was cold and hitting into the wind: your break and then Srikanth kept fi r- Indonesian rivals Marcus Fer- ball just goes nowhere.” ing winners and forcing Lee to naldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Thomas’s third-round 70 in brutal make unforced errors. Sukamuljo 21-16, 22-24, 21-19, winds was the only time after the fi rst Lee many times was not even reports Xinhua news agency. round that he broke par again and he able to pick up Srikanth’s serves In the women’s doubles fi - reckoned after that round “for a fact, I – either he was slow to react or nal, South Koreans Lee So Hee played better than I did on Thursday”. wrongly anticipated the pace and and Shin Seung Chan beat Japa- He said people watching on TV might fl ight of the shuttle. nese sixth seeds Shiho Tanaka think players were hitting bad shots and With his smashes falling in and Koharu Yonemoto of Japan putting poorly. But without being there it place, Srikanth raced to a 21-10 21-13, 21-16. The mixed dou- was impossible to imagine the degree of win in the fi rst game. The second bles title went to the Hong Kong diffi culty. “I mean, I hit a seven-iron from game was a one-way traffi c, with pair of Tang Chun Man and Tse 128 yards on one hole today,” he said. a ruthless clinching of one point Ying Suet, who upset Chinese A big hitter like Thomas could normally after another. A demoralised Lee top seeds Zheng Siwei and Chen launch that around 180 yards. “The wind conceded the match too easily. A Qingchen 24-22, 19-21, 23-21. is just so strong and with all the trees and Championship before the CJ Cup. With after a thrilling duel. The Spaniard tri- shots despite a nerve-jangling double bo- it bounces around and swirls a lot,” he three wins in his last seven events and six umphed on home soil after shooting a gey on 16. said. “The hardest thing was putting. in the last 12 months Thomas has earned 67 on the fi nal day, fi nishing 12 under par The 29-year-old fi red rounds of 64, The gusts when it picks up or dies, you his break. for the week, with Dutch golfer Luiten 65, 74 and 68 for an aggregate score of just have to time it so perfectly. It was so Scott Brown (76), the overnight co- achieving 66 and 11 under. 13-under 271, lifting his fi rst Asian Tour diffi cult.” leader with Thomas, endured a fi nal Garcia recorded his third European trophy of the year. Bhullar’s fellow Indian The exhausted 24-year-old cracked a round to forget with back-to-back dou- Tour win of the season with victory in the Ajeetesh Sandhu and Filipino Angelo Que smile after beating Leishman on the sec- ble bogeys at the fourth and fi fth derail- tournament hosted by his own charitable shared second place at par-71 Macau Golf ond playoff hole in his fi nal event of the ing his title hopes, while India’s Anirban foundation at the Real Club Valderrama. and Country Club, while Taiwan’s Hung autumn swing. “I am so excited to not do lahiri (74) was leading after going two- This is the fi rst time Garcia has won three Chien-Yao was alone in fourth. anything from now on,” he said, looking under through 13 holes, but dropped four times in a single season, after his Masters Sandhu was gunning for his third title forward to a break after a schedule of nine shots over the closing fi ve holes. Tournament triumph in April and victory in a row after he claimed his maiden Asian events in the past 11 weeks — the past two Both players fi nished on fi ve-under in February’s Dubai Desert Classic. tour victory in Taiwan this month and in Asia. “I have offi cially nothing left in 283, tied for fi fth place with Jamie Love- triumphed on the Japan Challenge Tour a the tank.” mark (71), Brian Harman (71), Luke List INDIA’S BHULLAR CLINCHES week later. Thomas will rise to a career-high (72) and last week’s CIMB Classic cham- COMMANDING WIN IN MACAU Bhullar, the 2012 champion in Macau, number three in the world when the new pion Pat Perez (68). India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar held his nerve bogeyed his opening hole before he rankings are published today. to complete a wire-to-wire victory and stormed ahead with birdies on two, three, He had already joined Jack Nicklaus, TOURNAMENT HOST GARCIA lift his eighth Asian Tour title at the four, seven and nine to turn in 31. He also Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth as the TRIUMPHS AT VALDERRAMA Macau Open yesterday. Bhullar had seen birdied 13 but dropped a shot on the next only players to win fi ve times in a sea- Sergio Garcia won the Andalucia Valder- his four-shot lead reduced to one in and picked up his double on 16, before son, including a major, before the age of rama Masters to continue his excellent round three but yesterday, he drained fi ve fi nishing in style with his sixth birdie of India’s Srikanth Kidambi won his third Superseries title of the season 25 when he won the Dell Technologies year, pipping Joost Luiten by one stroke birdies on the front nine and won by three the day in front of the galleries on 18. at the Denmark Open yesterday. (Reuters)

TENNIS ROUND-UP South Korea’s Ji takes LPGA Tour gold in Taiwan

Taipei: South Korea’s Ji Eun-Hee bagged It is the 31-year-old’s third career win on to close the gap on Ji. The blustery weather Del Potro beats Dimitrov her first victory in eight years after beating the LPGA Tour and her first gold since the over the first three days of the tournament former world number one Lydia Ko at the US Women’s Open in 2009. “I was waiting for took a toll on some players but it cleared up LPGA Taiwan Championship yesterday. Ji had this moment for so long, so I’m super happy for the final round. Five players tied for third maintained her lead throughout the tourna- right now,” said Ji. She finished 17-under par place, including current world number one to retain Stockholm title ment at the Miramar Golf Country Club in overall, six points ahead of runner-up Ko of Ryu So-Yeon, also of South Korea. Ryu strug- New Taipei city, clinching her win with a New Zealand. Ko also shot an impressive bo- gled in the previous rounds but secured her ourth seed Juan Martin del Potro put 7-under par 65 in Sunday’s final round. gey-free 7-under par, but it was not enough spot after carding a 7-under par 65 yesterday. himself in contention for the ATP World Tour Finals when he successfully defend- ed his Stockholm Open title yesterday defeatingF top seed and 2013 champion Grigor WTA FINALS Dimitrov 6-4 6-2. The Argentine, who secured his fi rst title since he lifted the trophy in Sweden last year, domi- nated the fi nal with his serve, notching up nine aces and saving all four break points he faced. Fittingly enough, Del Potro ended the champion- Muguruza blitzes Ostapenko ship with a big serve in the deuce court down the middle, eliciting an error from his opponent. AFP When the ball landed in the net, Del Potro’s Singapore arms rose in celebration. “I played the best match of the week against Grigor today. Unlucky for that, sorry Grigor,” Del Potro said. “It’s amazing imbledon champion Garbine to come back and hold this big trophy and hope- Muguruza served warning of fully I can come next year as well.” her intention to win both the Not only did Del Potro capture his 20th ATP WTA Finals and the year-end World Tour title but he launched himself into Wworld number one crown when she crushed contention for the season-ending fi nals in Lon- Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets yesterday. don next month. The 29-year-old will move up The freshly crowned WTA player of the year to 14th in the ATP’s Race to London with 2,135 was far too solid for an erratic Ostapenko, points, 470 behind Pablo Carreno Busta who winning 6-3, 6-4 in 85 minutes to open her currently occupies the fi nal qualifying spot. campaign at the eight-woman season fi nale in Singapore. TSONGA GETS DAVIS CUP FINAL Muguruza, who is playing her third con- BOOST WITH ANTWERP TITLE secutive WTA Finals and reached the last four World number 17 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga clinched in 2015, gained in strength to take control of Spain’s Garbine Muguruza reacts his third title of the season yesterday when her opening White Group round robin match. after winning her match against the Frenchman defeated Argentina’s Diego Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro celebrates The Spanish world number two stuttered at Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in Schwartzman 6-3, 7-5 in the Antwerp ATP fi nal. after winning the Stockholm Open. (AFP) the fi nishing line when she was broken when Singapore. (Reuters) Tsonga had already triumphed in Rotterdam serving for the match. But she regrouped to and Marseille this year and yesterday’s win was vailed in one hour 39 minutes to level his record eventually serve it out in the 10th game. Mu- a timely morale booster just a month away from with Berankis at two all. guruza, 24, said she was pleased to overcome France taking on Belgium in the Davis Cup fi nal. Dzumhur, ranked 38th, looked slightly more the late jitters.”I wanted to win so badly and shown by her 16 winners in the fi rst set. whelmed a sluggish Williams, who is back in focused from the start breaking his rival’s serve she was just not giving me anything,” she But 10 unforced errors sabotaged her the elite tournament for the fi rst time since DZUMHUR BEATS BERANKIS twice to take the opening set in 31 minutes. But in said. “I waited for my moment, where I served chances against a ruthless opponent and she 2009. Even though she did not make it out of FOR KREMLIN CUP TITLE the second set Dzumhur suddenly lost his nerve and tried to take control. It went well.” never recovered. Earlier in White Group, in the group stage a year ago, Pliskova said the Bosnian sixth seed Damir Dzumhur claimed his allowing Berankis, 169th in the world and in only Muguruza, who was number one for four the tournament’s opening match, Karolina experience helped enormously. The match second ATP title with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 defeat of his second ATP fi nal, to produce three breaks to weeks until she was replaced by Simona Ha- Pliskova made an explosive start when she was an anti-climax for Williams and an ear- Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis in the fi nal of the level at one set all after one hour fi ve minutes on lep earlier this month, is one of seven players beat 37-year-old Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2 in ly blow to her bid to be crowned the world’s Kremlin Cup. Dzumhur, 25, who won his maiden court. No big serves were produced in the decid- who can fi nish the year on top of the rankings 73 minutes. number one for the fi rst time in 15 years. Wil- trophy at Saint Petersburg last month to become ing set before the ninth game, when Dzumhur by winning in Singapore. Ostapenko’s high- The Czech world number three, playing in liams said she was confi dent of rebounding the fi rst Bosnian to win an ATP Tour title, pre- made the deciding break. voltage game was spectacular at times, as her second consecutive WTA Finals, over- from the defeat.

Monday, October 23, 2017 GULF TIMES SPORT

MODERN PENTATHLON Riccardo crowned men’s Champion of Champions The 31-year-old upset the 16-man strong field which included 2016 Olympic champion Alexander Lesun of Russia

Champion of Champions Riccardo de Luca celebrates his victory.

Riccardo de Luca (centre) of Italy poses after winning the Modern Pentathlon Champion of Champions men’s title, with silver medallist Patrick Dogue (left) of Germany and third-placed Valentin Belaud of France at the Al Shaqab arena yesterday.

By Sahan Bidappa “I had already competed twice in the Cham- Pavel Ilyashenko of Kazakhstan, Joseph Choong Doha pion of Champions here in Qatar and everything of Britain, and Taishu Sato of Japan completing works well – the food, the timings, the venue – the top eight. Athletes take aim during the Laser run event at Al Shaqab arena. it’s very well organised and I think it would be UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann was full iccardo de Luca was crowned as the great to see some more pentathlon competitions of praise of Qatar and called the event a success. International Modern Pentathlon Un- come here in future,” he said. “I congratulate all the athletes, the women yes- ion Champion of Champions, after the De Luca used his fencing prowess to take con- terday and today the men, and to everyone who Italian put in a dominating perform- trol of the competition. He took the lead after a has been involved in making this UIPM Cham- anceR to clinch men’s title. At the Qatar Foun- score of 22V/8D, with Lesun proving his closest pion of Champions such a big success. The or- dation Recreation Centre and Al Shaqab Arena challenger. Italy’s Daniele Colasanti, the 2017 ganizational level was top class as ever, as one yesterday, De Luca enjoyed one of the fi nest junior world champion and Dogue ensured they would expect in Qatar,” Schormann said. wins of his career. The 31-year-old upset the 16- would be in the mix with 18V/12D each. Qatar had no representation this year as Kha- man strong fi eld which included 2016 Olympic Each of the main contenders stayed on course lid al-Nuaimi, who had participated in the last champion Alexander Lesun of Russia. for the podium during the Riding, with Lesun edition, was out with a shoulder injury. De Luca was so strong that the 2016 Cham- incurring the most damage with 18 penalty Qatar hosted the event for the fourth con- pion of Champions, Patrick Dogue of Germany, points. Dogue and Colasanti enjoyed the only secutive year. This was the fi rst time the Qatar had to settle for silver despite a very impressive two clear rounds while De Luca dropped only Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon Federa- performance of his own. Frenchman Valentin six points to ensure he would start the combined tion organised the event after both the bodies Belaud, who was second last year, went down event (running and shooting) in fi rst place. merged earlier this year. Champion of Champi- one rung fi nishing third yesterday. Going into the fi nal event, De Luca enjoyed ons series brings together the best UIPM ranked The victory should be a source of great con- a 17 second advantage ahead of Colasanti, who athletes from around the globe for a spectacular fi dence for De Luca, who until yesterday had a was under pressure on the start line from Dogue, event to crown the best male and female Modern tough 2017. He also had missed a podium fi nish Lesun and Joseph Choong, and whose nerves on Pentathletes in the world. at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, fi nishing fi fth the shooting range ultimately cost him a medal. after a sprint fi nish. Belaud started sixth but made up lots of TOP 10 RESULTS The 2012 European champion and winner of ground and moved into third place after the sec- 1. Riccardo de Luca (Italy) 1403 points; 2. Patrick the World Cup Final in 2015, however, was de- ond shoot, where Lesun began to drift back. De Dogue (Germany) 1394; 3. Valentin Belaud (France) termined to make it count yesterday. After the Luca and Dogue moved unchallenged through 1369; 4. Daniele Colasanti (Italy) 1366; 5. Aleksander victory, De Luca said that it had been a ‘long their laps and the only suspense was reserved Lesun (Russia) 1348; 6. Pavel Ilyashenko (Kaza- day’ but a fruitful one and praised the facilities for the battle for bronze, as Colasanti fought te- khstan) 1343; 7. Joseph Choong (Great Britain) 1335; Event director Ali al-Rumaihi (left), Qatar Equestrian Federation secretary general Bader al-Darwish at Qatar Foundation Recreation Centre and Al naciously to catch Belaud but ultimately in vain. 8. Taishu Sato (Japan) 1328; 9. Sergio Villamayor (third left), UIPM president Dr Klaus Schormann (third right), Jenusz Gerad Peciak, UIPM Executive Shaqab and also the local organising committee. Olympic champion Lesun fi nished 5th with (Argentina) 1280; 10. Manuel Padilla (Mexico) 1278 Board member and other off icials pose with the podium winners.

FOCUS QATAR’S YOUNOUSSE AND AHMED TRIUMPH IN INDONESIA Qatar Racing Club unveils schedule for 2017-18 season QNA day and comprises fi ve rounds Doha as well that kick off in mid-No- vember, while the second takes place in December. The last three atar Racing Club has rounds will be held in February, announced its sched- March and April of 2018. ule for the 2017-18 sea- As for Qatar Mile, the champi- son, which are organ- onship will be staged at Al Khor isedQ annually and aim to create Airport runway and comprise a safe competitive environment four rounds; two rounds will to compete in line with the club’s be staged in December and the vision and slogan of ‘Together remaining two will be held in Taking Racing off the Streets.’ March 2018. The Round 1 of Qatar Na- The calendar also includes a tional Street Drag Champion- number of test days for the 4x4 ship will take place on October Freestyle Drift and Stunt Drive 26 and 27 to kick off the season. when the ring opens for contest- The tournament takes place over ants to practice their passion in fi ve rounds; three of which will freestyle drifting away from the be staged in October, November dangers in the streets. and December, while the last Meanwhile, the Arabian Drag two rounds will be held in 2018. Racing League kicks off in mid- Round 4 is slated for the end of January and will be the strongest February and the fi nal round is at the Arab arena, featuring fi ve Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan won the Sumatera Cup of AVC Beach Volleyball Tour at Jakabaring, Indonesia, yesterday. Younousse and Tijan defeated scheduled for early April. rounds, of which three will take Indonesia’s Ade Candra Rachmawan and Mohammad Asfiya 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) in the final. The champion pair, playing for the first time together, had defeated compatriots The events calendar features place in January before a one- Jeff erson Santos and Julio Cesar 2-0 (22-20, 21-15) in the semi-final. Santos and Cesar took bronze. Qatar Drift Championship, week break is followed by the fi - which has grown in popularity nal two rounds in mid-February.