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P 4 | FOOTBALL P 37 | BOXING QAtAr KEEp WINNING COUNtDOWN bEGINS Qatar continue their winning spree by defeating The Qatar Boxing Federation marks Hong Kong and top Group C in the second the 30-day countdown to the round of World Cup Asian Zone qualification. Amateur World Championships. WEDNESDAY, SEptEmbEr 9, 2015 | Vol X | No.32 | QR 2.00 www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com Follow us on tArt HEAD S pAGES 8-25 Holders Lekhwiya enjoy a slight advantage even as Sadd, Jaish, Gharafa and Rayyan all look capable of upsetting their applecart. Q SL EW 2015-16 PREVI UK ...................................... £1 UAE ...............................Dh 5 Europe ............................. €2 Yemen..................75 Riyals P 32 | SWIMMING Oman ...............200 Baisas Sudan ...................1 Pound Bahrain ..................200 Fils KSA .......................... 2 Riyals P 24 | POSTER Egypt .............................LE 2 Jordan ....................500 Fils Trying hard to Lebanon ..........3,000 Livre Iraq .................................... $1 EXCLUSIVE Kuwait ....................250 Fils Palestine ......................... $1 XAVI & ZOLA Morocco ......................Dh 6 Syria .............................LS 20 INTERVIEW bridge the gulf! www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, SEptEmbEr 9, 2015 3 OPINION » The writer can be contacted at: Editor-in-Chief Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi [email protected] Managing Editor Kumar Ravi Senior Editor/Writer Aswin Abraham Senior Sports Writer N Ganesh Sports Writers Sajith B Warrier Aju George Chris Mohammad Amin-ul Islam Sarath Pookkat Only top quality football can Photographers Mohan Vinod Divakaran Fadi Al Assaad Mohammed Dabboos attract fans to QSL matches A K BijuRaj Graphic Designers Abhilash Chacko ItH the Qatar Stars League (QSL) kicking important factor that draws crowd, will be missing yet Gopakumar K off this week, the most important question again. Joice Michael Wthat comes to my mind is ‘What’s new?’ One can’t blame Lekhwiya for being too strong. Technical support Shaheen Mohammed Searching for an answer, I couldn’t see anything beyond they’ve about a dozen Qatar internationals and a few Abdul Naser M the return of Al rayyan and the presence of a couple of proven foreign stars in their ranks. they’ve topped the big players who’re past their prime. league four times out of five since their debut. However, the other notable change is the minor amendment for all practical purposes, they’re an institutional side made to the 3+1 rule. the QSL has reverted to the old and don’t have a strong fan base. the same is the case p.O. box: 24598, Doha, Qatar tel: +974 44138065, Fax: +974 44138597 norm of allowing teams to field four foreign players, with El Jaish too. www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com including one Asian. It may be recalled that last season, Al Sadd, Al rayyan and Al Arabi boast of reasonable Editorial: tel: +974 44138522, Fax: +974 44138593 they had restricted the on-field presence of foreigners fan following. but barring Sadd, others have fallen by e-mail: [email protected] to three. the wayside in recent times and obviously fans deserted Marketing & advertising: tel: +974 44138566 the single most concern for the QSL management them. perhaps, rayyan’s return to the top tier may e-mail: [email protected] Distribution: tel: +974 44138535/36, Fax: +974 44138597 remains the fans’ apathy. A top official said he hoped the rekindle a fresh interest among their supporters. e-mail: [email protected] new season would be one of the best and reiterated that the only way to draw more spectators is to make one of its main agendas would be to attract spectators. the matches more exciting. the onus is on the QSL but there was no hint about how this could be management to ensure that all teams get equal www.twitter.com/dohastadiumplus achieved. the new season, in fact, clearly projects a resources and opportunities to build strong squads. www.facebook.com/dohastadiumplusqatar champion even before the kick-off, making it very mere words won’t attract fans, only top quality predictable. football will. www.flickr.com/photos/dohastadiumplusqatar Looking at the comparative merits and demerits of the 14 teams, I can easily say Lekhwiya are most likely to win the shield. there’s a five to 10 per cent chance Publishers: ASpIrE printing, publishing and Distribution of Al Sadd upsetting them. It’s said that as soon as Printed at ASpIrE printing press things become predictable, they become boring. the Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi field is very lopsided and, as such, excitement, the most Editor-in-Chief © Stories and photographs appearing in this publication may not be reproduced without the permission of ASpIrE printing, publishing and Distribution. WE WON’T LET INSIDE P 28 | FOOTBALL P 34 | CRICKET P 38 | TENNIS YOU GET AWAY Tryst with destiny Paking a T20 punch! Down, but not out! Iceland create history by making the pakistan Super League t20 rafael Nadal, who crashed out FROM THE GAME it to the finals of a major event tournament, to be held in Qatar next in the US Open third round, still for the first time as they qualify February, is equally important for both believes he could regain his Catch every pulse of action... Stay tuned for the Euro 2016. countries, albeit for different reasons. superiority on the court. www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com P 36 | MOTORSPORT P 37 | CUE SPORTS Publishers: ASPIRE Printing, Publishing and Distribution P O Box: 24598, Doha, Qatar. Back in action Tough challenge Marketing & advertising: Tel: +974 44138566 Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al Kuwari will Dutchman Niels Feijen is back to e-mail: [email protected] be seen behind the wheel of his defend his crown at the World Distribution: Tel: +974 44138535/36, Fax: +974 44138597 Ford Fiesta at the World rally 9-ball pool Championship at the e-mail: [email protected] Championship’s support category Al Arabi Sports Club. www.twitter.com/dohastadiumplus www.facebook.com/dohastadiumplusqatar www.flickr.com/photos/dohastadiumplusqatar leg in Australia. www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, SEptEmbEr 9, 2015 3 OPINION » The writer can be contacted at: Editor-in-Chief Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi [email protected] Managing Editor Kumar Ravi Senior Editor/Writer Aswin Abraham Senior Sports Writer N Ganesh Sports Writers Sajith B Warrier Aju George Chris Mohammad Amin-ul Islam Sarath Pookkat Only top quality football can Photographers Mohan Vinod Divakaran Fadi Al Assaad Mohammed Dabboos attract fans to QSL matches A K BijuRaj Graphic Designers Abhilash Chacko ItH the Qatar Stars League (QSL) kicking important factor that draws crowd, will be missing yet Gopakumar K off this week, the most important question again. Joice Michael Wthat comes to my mind is ‘What’s new?’ One can’t blame Lekhwiya for being too strong. Technical support Shaheen Mohammed Searching for an answer, I couldn’t see anything beyond they’ve about a dozen Qatar internationals and a few Abdul Naser M the return of Al rayyan and the presence of a couple of proven foreign stars in their ranks. they’ve topped the big players who’re past their prime. league four times out of five since their debut. However, the other notable change is the minor amendment for all practical purposes, they’re an institutional side made to the 3+1 rule. the QSL has reverted to the old and don’t have a strong fan base. the same is the case p.O. box: 24598, Doha, Qatar tel: +974 44138065, Fax: +974 44138597 norm of allowing teams to field four foreign players, with El Jaish too. www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com including one Asian. It may be recalled that last season, Al Sadd, Al rayyan and Al Arabi boast of reasonable Editorial: tel: +974 44138522, Fax: +974 44138593 they had restricted the on-field presence of foreigners fan following. but barring Sadd, others have fallen by e-mail: [email protected] to three. the wayside in recent times and obviously fans deserted Marketing & advertising: tel: +974 44138566 the single most concern for the QSL management them. perhaps, rayyan’s return to the top tier may e-mail: [email protected] Distribution: tel: +974 44138535/36, Fax: +974 44138597 remains the fans’ apathy. A top official said he hoped the rekindle a fresh interest among their supporters. e-mail: [email protected] new season would be one of the best and reiterated that the only way to draw more spectators is to make one of its main agendas would be to attract spectators. the matches more exciting. the onus is on the QSL but there was no hint about how this could be management to ensure that all teams get equal www.twitter.com/dohastadiumplus achieved. the new season, in fact, clearly projects a resources and opportunities to build strong squads. www.facebook.com/dohastadiumplusqatar champion even before the kick-off, making it very mere words won’t attract fans, only top quality predictable. football will. www.flickr.com/photos/dohastadiumplusqatar Looking at the comparative merits and demerits of the 14 teams, I can easily say Lekhwiya are most likely to win the shield. there’s a five to 10 per cent chance Publishers: ASpIrE printing, publishing and Distribution of Al Sadd upsetting them. It’s said that as soon as Printed at ASpIrE printing press things become predictable, they become boring. the Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi field is very lopsided and, as such, excitement, the most Editor-in-Chief © Stories and photographs appearing in this publication may not be reproduced without the permission of ASpIrE printing, publishing and Distribution. INSIDE P 28 | FOOTBALL P 34 | CRICKET P 38 | TENNIS Tryst with destiny Paking a T20 punch! Down, but not out! Iceland create history by making the pakistan Super League t20 rafael Nadal, who crashed out it to the finals of a major event tournament, to be held in Qatar next in the US Open third round, still for the first time as they qualify February, is equally important for both believes he could regain his for the Euro 2016.