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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 SPORTS

Yepes set for Kuwaiti shooters to take part Brook vows to fight on Argentina return in double trap competition after stabbing incident

BUENOS AIRES: Colombia’s 2014 World Cup captain Mario Yepes is set to GRANADA: Kuwaiti shooters will take part in the men’s double trap com- LONDON: Britain’s IBF world welterweight champion Kell Brook has told a return to Argentina to sign for San Lorenzo, the South American champions petitions of the World Championship currently held here and proceeding British newspaper he is determined to resurrect his career after being said. “Welcome Mario! Yepes has become a new San Lorenzo player. Welcome till September 20th. stabbed in the leg while on holiday. to the champions of (South) America,” the Saints said on their Twitter account The head of the team, Obaid Al-Osaimi, told KUNA the shooters are (@SanLorenzo) late on Friday. The 38-year-old central defender, who led The 28-year-old was attacked on the Spanish island of Tenerife in what looking forward to “rank among the first” winners, however he cautions he called “an unprovoked attack”, less than a month after his majority-deci- Colombia to the World Cup quarter-finals where they lost to Brazil, played for that the national championships will face strong competition. sion IBF title win over America’s Shawn Porter in California. River Plate from 1999-2002 before embarking on an European Elite shooters are taking part in the championship and very close The unbeaten Sheffield fighter said the attack took place in career. Media reports said Yepes, who in August turned down scores have been recorded, reflecting significant development of the an offer from Argentine rivals Independiente, was enticed to game worldwide, he said. his assailant’s apartment in the early hours of September 4 join Libertadores Cup winners San Lorenzo to play in the The Kuwaiti shooters will play in the double trap individuals and after a night of drinking went wrong. Club World Cup in Morocco in December. groups. This competition will be held for a single day and will involve “Without warning or caution, one swipe,” Brook told Former Paris St Germain and AC Milan defender Yepes, a 200 disks, in four rounds, each with 50 ones. Saturday’s edition of the Daily Mail. “I was a victim of an unpro- free agent after ending his contract with Atalanta, is wind- Six are to be qualified, after the four rounds, for the finals. Only the voked attack. Without warning, I was getting (hit with a) ing down his career. Yepes, won the Copa first and second winners in the individuals’ category will be entitled to machete by this guy to my leg. America with Colombia in 2001, has quit play in the 2016 Olympiad. “This guy was stood over me, shouting and swearing. international football as the country’s sec- All shooters will take part in the official training, to be held at King I am trying to scramble away. I was thinking about my ond-most capped player with 102 appearances.— Reuters Juan Calos’ ranges later today. —KUNA daughter, that I need to get away.—AFP Pressure on Head to get Arc bid back on track

PARIS: Trainer Criquette Head-Maarek will leading up to the race. Jarnet, 47, has never Criquette, seeing how well Jarnet gets on with and extract the best from her.” the Arc.” The other two Arc trials are Group hope her bold decision to replace Italian leg- lost on her. He had the ride when she won the Treve, particularly in the mornings (training Her principal challenges may well come Two affairs and sees Dettori partnering last end Frankie Dettori on Treve will be vindicated French Oaks last year before she was bought gallops), feels it is an advantage which should from the English duo, both trained by John year’s Epsom Derby winner Ruler of the World, this Sunday and revive her bid of becoming by Qatari Sheikh Joaan Al-Thani for whom be taken,” said Herbert. Gosden, of Pomology and Sultanina. seventh behind Treve in the Arc last year, in the first horse since Alleged in 1977/78 to win Dettori is the retained rider, and Head-Maarek “We are all big Frankie fans but the Sheikh Pomology beat her stablemate in the Group the . His main rival should be Spiritjim, successive Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe’s. Treve felt it was time for a change. felt that if Criquette felt that strongly it was her Two Lancashire Oaks but since then Sultanina who will bid to bounce back from being failed to win on her two starts under Dettori “It was my decision, nobody else’s. I think it decision.” Jarnet and Treve will face nine rivals went on to win the Group One Nassau Stakes. stripped by French racing’s governing body this season and Head-Maarek felt veteran is the best decision for the filly and when I told today and the Frenchman believes that he can They could benefit from Treve being a little France Galop on Friday of the Grand Prix de St French jockey Thierry Jarnet had a better Frankie he was very good about it and under- get her back to her best. “I don’t know if she rusty as she has not raced since injuring her Cloud for testing positive for a banned prod- understanding with the filly and will be reunit- stood my point of view,” said Head-Maarek. (Treve) is especially difficult, but I know her by back in June. “Criquette has warned everyone uct. The Arc trial for three-year-old colts the ed with her in Sunday’s Group One Prix “Thierry did very well on the filly last year and heart and have been around her since her that the Vermeille is not the Arc, so she may be should be fought out between Andre Vermeille at Longchamp. there is nothing more to say.” Dettori may in debut,” he told The Guardian. “Maybe there is a slightly short of fitness on Sunday. Whatever Fabre’s surprise Group One It is a race Treve won last year, when ridden her words have been ‘very good about it’ but bit more feeling that passes between horse she does, she will come on for that run,” said winner Gallante and the Aidan O’Brien-trained by Dettori, on her way to winning the Arc nevertheless he was ‘upset’, according to and rider. “There are a lot of different things Herbert. “She’s in very good shape. She is a Adelaide, who is coming off an impressive win where Jarnet took the ride because the Italian Sheikh Joaan’s racing manager Harry Herbert. that can happen in a race. But she remains a very brilliant filly. I have no doubt she has in another Group One race the Secretariat was injured in an innocuous fall in the week “It is all tiny percentages at this level and filly with a lot of quality and you have to try trained on and can be a serious contender in Stakes in the United States.—AFP I’m getting closer to number one: Nishikori

TOKYO: Japan’s Kei Nishikori was given a added: “This is the most amazing welcome hero’s welcome by over 200 fans when he I’ve ever had.” arrived in Tokyo yesterday after becoming Already a superstar in Japan, Nishikori the first Asian man to reach a grand slam stopped to sign autographs and pose for final at the US Open. The 24-year-old’s photographs after arriving back in Asia for dream of claiming the holy grail of a first appearances at the Malasyia Open and the major title came to a shuddering halt in a 6- Japan Open.“To have so many well-wishers 3, 6-3, 6-3 thrashing by Serbian giant Marin come out like this is really gratifying and Cilic in last Monday’s final in New York. really underlines the scale of what I did. It But a defiant Nishikori, who has risen to doesn’t guarantee I will win a grand slam- eighth in the world after his swashbuckling and it’s too late this year now of course-but run at the year’s last slam, insisted he could I’ll train hard to get there.” push on and threaten the top of the men’s Nishikori, whose career has been blight- rankings. “It was obviously hugely frustrat- ed by injuries, almost pulled out of the US ing to lose the final,” Nishikori told a news Open after developing a cyst on his toe and conference at Narita airport after being with little time to get ready managed to mobbed by fans and being presented with overcome three top-10 players in New York, a bouquet of flowers. “But in terms of my two of them in five-setters. career I’ve taken a very important “Getting through those tough matches step. It feels like I’ve moved a little bit closer and beat three players in the top 10 is the to realising my dream of becoming the stuff I can draw confidence from,” he said. world number one.” “Important I gained the confidence that I Nishikori, who stunned current world could deal with the physical demands and number one Novak Djokovic in the US still play my style of tennis. “The goal now Open semi-finals and sparked tennis fever will be for me to win a major next year for across Japan despite the time difference sure.” — AFP Top seed Lisicki to face Pliskova in HK final PERTH: Australia’s (R) and Chris Guccione (L) speak with each other in their match against Uzbekistan’s Farrukh Dustov and Denis Istomin during the Davis Cup tennis World Group play-off tie in Perth yesterday. — AFP HONG KONG: Top seed Sabine Lisicki will In another three-set match, Pliskova dis- face-off against Czech Republic’s Karolina patched Belgium’s Van Uytvanck, who put Pliskova in the finals of the WTA Hong up a hardy performance, in around two Kong Open after both players ploughed hours of play in the scorching heat. Hewitt, Guccione clinch through toughly contested semi-final Third-seed Pliskova had beaten China’s matches yesterday. Zheng Jie easily on Friday, but Van Germany’s Lisicki defeated former Uytvanck, who defeated the second seed champion Francesca Daniela Hantuchova in the second round, World Group playoff Schiavone 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the semi-finals had put up a strong fight. for the $250,000 WTA tournament at the Ranked 36 in the world, Pliskova set the southern Chinese city’s Victoria Park. tempo early in the match against Van PERTH: Lleyton Hewitt steered Australia back to the tie ahead of Sunday’s dead reverse singles. “We are complete opposite game styles, per- Lisicki, who defeated China’s Zheng Uytvanck, world number 91, but lost the Davis Cup World Group with a dominating Hewitt, who took his 15-year career Davis Cup sonalities, everything, in a lot of ways, but we Saisai 6-4, 6-3 on Friday, stumbled in the momentum in the second set. The Czech performance in the doubles win over Uzbekistan winning tally to 56 matches with 41 singles and team up really well though and we know what second set following a feisty performance ultimately won the match 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. in Perth yesterday. 15 doubles, has faced a barrage of enquiries as we’re going to get from one another on the by the unseeded Schiavone, but bounced “Now I’m in the finals, I would like to The 33-year-old warhorse, continually fend- to what his future holds, but he refuses to say. court,” Hewitt said of his doubles partner back to win the match in a decisive third win the title this year,” Pliskova, who lost ing off retirement questions, partnered Chris The grizzled veteran, who has undergone five Guccione. “We don’t play a lot of doubles set. her two finals appearances this year, told Guccione to a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victory over the painful surgeries in five years in an effort to pro- together, but I feel in these one-off matches we “It was a great semifinals, not only for reporters after the match. Uzbek pair, Denis Istomin and Farrukh Dustov, to long his career including a knitting of the bone gel pretty well.” the crowd, but for us as well with long, fun Pliskova, who beat former world num- clinch the tie. The 28-time Davis Cup champions in his troublesome left foot, was his usual fero- Australia captain Pat Rafter said big-serving rallies. It’s always fun to play those kinds of ber one Ana Ivanovic at the US Open in were in an impregnable position after Hewitt cious competitive self in today’s doubles. Sam Groth would make his Davis Cup debut in matches and come out on top,” Lisicki told August, reached the finals for the February and youngster Nick Kyrgios won Friday’s open- The Aussie pair took just 100 minutes to roll one of Sunday’s reverse singles matches. reporters in a post-match press confer- PTT Pattaya Open and Nuremberg Cup in ing singles in straight sets. out their straight sets win in the doubles, shut- Australia were forced in a play-off to retain their ence. May of this year. She won the Malaysian The Australians, playing on their favoured ting the door on Uzbekistan, who were bidding status in the elite 16-nation World Group after a “I just got fired up, I really wanted to Open in 2013. grass surface, have not dropped a set so far in to reach the World Group for the first time. first-round loss to France in February. —AFP win, I really wanted to get to the finals “It’s going to be tough, but I’m really badly,” Lisicki said, adding that Schiavone looking forward to it,” Lisicki said of playing was a “great fighter”. Pliskova in the finals today. — AFP Khalifa Al Attiyah to take part in Cyprus rally 2014

DOHA: Qatari champion Khalifa bin the third stage-second day in spite championship for rallies 2014 will rally is considered also the ninth Nasser Al Attiyah resumes his inter- of the special performance he dis- start on 18th of the current month round of the European Rally national participations throughout played, “we learned the lesson well up to 21st of the same month, this Championship-ERC. the international Cyprus rally - fifth and we will try to make use of all round of Middle East championship mistakes at Cyprus rally to achieve for rallies - group N with his experi- the best results in the name of enced co-driver Adel Hussain-Avio Qatar throughout group N. ‚Ä®It’s 9. “About the nature of the partici- worth saying that the Qatari cham- pation, Al Attiyah first thanked the pion started his career in 2002 in head of QMMF Nasser bin Khalifa Al Formula 4 in UK, the same year he Attiyah for his special role in sup- competed in class T2 Qatar local porting motor sport either locally championship for rallies and man- or internationally, then he con- aged to achieve the first position, firmed his full readiness for the ral- then stopped up to the year 2005, ly, since it’s the most favourite rally after that he competed in Qatar to me, Al Attiyah said, because its local championship for rallies 2008 style is quite similar to my style, in with his Avio 6, the third position addition to my experienced co-dri- was his best result, then he stopped ver Adel Hussain, all these ele- again, in 2013, he resumed his ments would help us to occupy an career throughout QMMF with his advanced position.” experienced co-driver the Qatari Regarding his sudden withdraw- Adel Hussain, the most experienced HONG KONG: Germany’s Sabine Lisicki hits a return against Italy’s Francesca al from International Lebanon Rally one in the rallies world. “It’s worth Schiavone during their women’s singles semi-final match at the Hong Kong Open - fourth round, Al Attiyah justified saying that the international Cyprus tennis tournament yesterday. — AFP this by the fire accident occurred in rally 2014 - fifth round - Middle East