THURSDAY 21 MARCH 2019 SPORT 07 I think we all saw over the last few weeks just how skilful Usman GYMNASTICS FOOTBALL Khawaja is... and I think when you Former Australian captain FIG ART Individual European Championship Qualifiers see him play like that it just makes Ricky Ponting Apparatus World Cup Doha Netherlands vs Belarus you wonder why he doesn’t do it a ACTION At Aspire Dome Belgium vs Russia bit more regularly. TODAY’S New F1 GP can tap into Vietnam’s passion for racing: Todt AFP an explosion of in interest in of motorsport,” he said. The 5.6 FIA President Jean chairman Nguyen Viet Quang HANOI racing of all kinds in football- kilometre (3.5 mile) street track Todt poses for a said at the ceremony. mad Vietnam. will incorporate existing and photograph during He added that the track will Formula One chief Jean Todt “It’s... fantastic for the devel- yet-to-be-built roads in the My the ground-breaking bring “racers the opportunity to yesterday hailed next year’s opment of the motorsport in Dinh area of Hanoi near the ceremony for the 2020 show off their speed as on pro- inaugural Vietnamese Grand Vietnam and in the region,” national sports stadium, about Vietnam Grand Prix in fessional routes together with Prix in Hanoi as a great oppor- Todt, who president of motor- 13 kilometres from the city Hanoi, yesterday. their super skills in difficult tunity to open doors for people sport’s world governing body centre. turns of the street circuit”. with “a passion” for motorsport the FIA, told reporters yesterday Organisers said they decided Vietnam is hoping to in south-east Asia. at a groundbreaking ceremony against holding the race in emulate the popularity of Sin- The communist Vietnamese for the new street circuit in Hanoi’s historical Old Quarter gapore’s glittering street track capital will get its first taste of Hanoi. because of logistical challenges night race and fill the void in the high-octane glitz and “I really hope that soon here and steep costs. the region left after Malaysia glamour of Formula One when will also be facilities to host cart Hanoi has bet big on the pulled the plug on its long- it hosts its first grand prix from racing, drifting racing,” he event’s popularity, signing a standing race in 2017 for cost April 2020 next year as the sport added. 10-year multi-million-dollar reasons. bids to tap into new markets in Todt hopes the event will deal with Formula One last year Hanoi will also hope avoid Southeast Asia. breed a new generation of Viet- reported in state media to be the problems that dogged Todt said he hoped Viet- namese drivers. costing Vietnam $60m per year. Formula One’s ventures into namese fans seeing the likes of “You have young people, tal- Vietnam said it will not dip South Korea in 2010 and India five-time world champion Lewis ented with a passion of motor- into government coffers to pay private conglomerate designed a challenging street in 2011 that saw the races in Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel sports, that’s why I think it’s very for the event but instead has VinGroup. circuit imprinted with Viet- both countries axed after four battling wheel-to-wheel on the important to involve very secured full financial backing “F1 is always considered the namese identity and archi- and three editions streets of Hanoi would lead to quickly a new category from the country’s largest king of all races... we have tecture,” VinGroup deputy respectively. ‘Cherry blossom’ Olympic torch unveiled AFP The passing of the flame is returning north and arriving in the TOKYO scheduled to start on March 26, Japanese capital on July 10. 2020, and the torch will head The designer added the torch Organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics south to the sub-tropical island of is designed to ensure the flame will yesterday unveiled a cherry-blossom Okinawa - the starting point for the not go out even during the typhoon shaped torch for the Games as the city 1964 Tokyo Games relay - before season. prepares for the famed flower season to The March 2011 tsunami, trig- begin in coming days. returning north and arriving in the gered by a massive undersea The top part of the torch is shaped Japanese capital on July 10. quake, killed around 18,000 in the traditional emblem of the sakura, people and swamped the Fuku- or cherry blossom using the same the disaster-hit area (in Fukushima)... shima nuclear plant, sending its cutting-edge technology as in production inspired me,” designer Tokujin Yoshioka, reactors into meltdown and leading to of Japan’s bullet trains, the organisers whose works are known internationally, the world’s worst nuclear disaster since said. told reporters. Fukushima was chosen Chernobyl. The shiny rose-gold torch, which is as the starting point for the Olympic More than 50,000 people have not 71 centimetres (28 inches) long and torch relay. returned to their home towns. weighs 1.2 kilograms (2 pounds 10 The passing of the flame is scheduled Japan has dubbed the 2020 ounces), uses aluminium construction to start on March 26, 2020, and the torch Games the “Reconstruction waste from temporary housing built for will head south to the sub-tropical island Olympics” and wants to showcase victims of the 2011 quake and tsunami. of Okinawa -- the starting point for the recovery in regions devastated by Torch Relay Ambassador Tadahiro Nomura “Cherry blossoms drawn by kids in 1964 Tokyo Games relay -- before the disaster. presenting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games torch. Lee out of Malaysian Open Russell’s 44 help Nets rally past in blow to Olympic hopes AFP Kings in last-second thriller KUALA LUMPUR AP SACRAMENTO Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Badminton great Lee Chong Wei (pictured) has pulled out of next (third, right) of the month’s Malaysian Open, despite being given the all-clear after Brooklyn Nets makes cancer, throwing his Tokyo 2020 Olympics dream into jeopardy. Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson the game-winning shot Lee was advised by doctors against putting “undue stress” on tried just about everything to kick with two seconds left his recovering body, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) the Nets into gear. There were quick in the game against said in a statement late Tuesday, after the 36-year-old travelled to time-outs, angry, animated discus- the Sacramento Kings Taiwan at the weekend for a post-treatment check-up. sions with his players and even at Golden 1 Center in “In order not to put his body under undue stress, Chong Wei has switching from man to zone defense. Sacramento, California, been advised to withdraw from the upcoming Malaysia Open,” the When nothing else worked, on Tuesday. BAM said. D’Angelo Russell and a handful of “We also urge everyone to give him the space and time required Brooklyn reserves took over and for his recovery.” carried the Nets to an improbable The triple Olympic silver medallist has been out since July last win on their longest road trip of the year when he was diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer. season. The former world number one endured a tough treatment pro- Russell scored 27 of his career- grammegramme in Taiwan but optedopted not to retire and resumedresume training high 44 points in the fourth quarter, iinn JanuarJanuary.y. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made a Lee originallyoriginally plannedplanned to come layup with eight-tenths of a second backback at thethe AllAll EngEnglandland OpenOp earlier remaining, and the Nets rallied from thisthis month but then delayedde his 28 points down in the second half return to ApriApril’sl’s MaMalaysialay Open, to beat the Sacramento Kings whwhereere hhee is thethe ddefending 123-121 on Tuesday night and snap championchampion and has won 12 times. a four-game losing streak. Lee,Lee, silversilver medallistmedallist at each of Brooklyn was sluggish and out the last of sync for three quarters before three Russell sparked the Nets’ biggest Olympic comeback of the season. Games, After scoring 17 points in the has first half and going without a point dropped in the third quarter, Russell shot 10 to 41st in of 15 in the fourth quarter, the repeatedly burning Sacramento’s world defense with quick drives to the sisince his basket. He scored 16 straight points during Marvin Bagley III stepped out of bounds with It was a much-needed boost for Brooklyn, iillnessllness with two one stretch while getting plenty of help from 5.5 seconds left. which had lost the first three games of a ootherther MMalaysiansa his team-mates. Hollis-Jefferson took the inbound pass seven-game trip. The Nets were also strug- rankedranked aboaboveve him. Russell’s 27 points are the most in a fourth from Joe Harris and looked for Russell, who gling to hold onto seventh place in the East He will neednee to begin quarter in the NBA this season. Russell also was being double-teamed. With the clock before Russell led the comeback. climbingclimbing up thethe rrankings to had four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, winding down, Hollis-Jefferson drove from Two days after beating woeful Chicago getget a shot at elusiveelusiv gold as breaking Allen Crabbe’s single-season record near the 3-point arc and went around a Kings 129-102, Sacramento was well on its way to countriescountries are ableable to send a of 201, set last season. Russell has 202. defender near the hoop to score. a lopsided win over a contending team in the maximummaximum ofof two singlessing players Hollis-Jefferson had 14 points off the Jarrett Allen added 13 points and seven East before things slipped away.