Stage Set for Manateq Rally of Qatar
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SPORT Wednesday 14 November 2018 PAGE | 28 PAGE | 29 England captain Ocon and Verstappen sides with Sri Lanka’s give glimpse of F1’s suspect spinner future Stage set for Manateq Rally of Qatar THE PENINSULA FIA Middle East Rally Championship and his Portuguese assistant Jaime Qatar and this resulted in flooding and rally still has five different stages and four of them (MERC). Santos have been out in the northern damage to the stages. We were have been modified,” he added. DOHA: Freak weather conditions and Twenty cars and 40 competitors deserts checking the condition of the obliged to modify the route in order “That has resulted in shorter stages, but safer heavy rain have inundated parts of from nine nations are making their tracks and making any necessary to avoid any difficult situations. We stages. We have made short cuts to avoid muddy northern Qatar and forced officials at final preparations for the three-day changes to enable the event to run did that to avoid any possible cancel- sections and areas where the cars would get the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle event, which gets under way with a cer- smoothly. lation of stages. stuck. Federation (QMMF) to make last emonial start at Souq Waqif tomorrow. Speaking from the QMMF’s new “If the rain continues, then we “There are lakes in the desert. Some tracks minute changes to the route for this They will carry out their reconnaissance offices at the Qatar Handball Sports may have to do more changes. In fact, disappeared into the water. It would have been weekend’s Manateq International of the revised route today. Arena, Almeida said: “We have had we have now done two rallies. We had impossible, even for a 4x4 vehicle, to cross them. Rally of Qatar, the final round of the Clerk of the course Pedro Almeida exceptional weather conditions in rally A and now we have rally B. The We have done a big job to prepare a second rally in one week. Competitors will receive a bulletin with the changes when they complete their reg- istration,” said Almeida. Rally officials had hoped to run 203.40 com- petitive kilometres in a total route of 832.75km before the late modifications. Friday’s action is scheduled to be fought out over two runs through the Eraida and Al Dhakira Nasser Saleh stages, while Saturday’s timetable included two Al Attiyah runs through a new northerly Al-Khor special, Manateq International Rally makes a Al Ghariyah and the Al Ruwais timed test. Rain and adverse weather have affected the of Qatar gets under way splash in Jordan in this event in the past and route modifications have with a ceremonial start at file photo, taken place on several occasions. The worst Souq Waqif tomorrow. The and faces the weather in the history of the event occurred back participants will carry out their possibility of in 1993 when the area was inundated when the event ran out of the former Ramada Renaissance reconnaissance of the revised a wet stage surface in Hotel in downtown Doha. route today. Qatar. That event was synonymous with large areas of standing water and small lakes on many stages Twenty cars and 40 competitors from nine and was eventually won by Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah and Mubarak Al Hajri in a Toyota Celica nations are making their final preparations GT4. for the three-day event. This year’s event will start and finish at Souq Waqif in downtown Doha with the ceremonial start planned for 7:05pm tomorrow. Anderson thrashes Nishikori in ATP Finals humiliation AFP for Wimbledon finalist Thiem. It has been a curious year Anderson, who has set a new for Nishikori as the former US LONDON: Kevin Anderson career-high of 47 victories in a Open finalist, troubled by a wrist handed Japan’s Kei Nishikori a calender year. injury, started 2018 losing to the humiliating 6-0, 6-1 thrashing He will rarely have had such world number 238 in a Chal- at the ATP Finals as the South an easy outing as this one lenger event in January and African moved to the brink of a throughout his memorable 2018. crashed to 39th in the ATP semi-final berth yesterday. Anderson won the Vienna rankings in April after a pro- Anderson won the first 11 final at Nishikori’s expense in longed slump. games and needed only 64 October before losing to the Jap- But the 28-year-old had minutes to demolish the woeful anese star in the Paris Masters climbed back to ninth in the Nishikori in a remarkably one- four days later. world thanks to a strong second sided group stage clash at Lon- But the close nature of those half of a campaign, featuring a don’s O2 Arena. matches was a distant memory semi-final appearance at the US Having also won his opening as Nishikori, who had beaten Open. match against Dominic Thiem Federer in straight sets on His renaissance peaked in his debut at the prestigious Sunday, put his hopes of a semi- when he handed former ATP season-ending event, Anderson final spot in jeopardy with this Finals champion Federer his first is close to becoming the first tame surrender. straight sets defeat in the group African to qualify for the last four Anderson’s final group stage of the tournament. at the ATP Finals. match is against Federer But Nishikori seemed to It was a landmark moment tomorrow, while Nishikori faces have nothing left after that effort. Anderson is back in London just four months after losing his Having also won first Wimbledon final against his opening match Novak Djokovic. And he didn’t take long to against Dominic seize the initiative as he broke Thiem in his debut Nishikori in the second game of at the prestigious the match. season-ending Unloading some searing event, Anderson is ground-strokes, Anderson, aided close to becoming by 14 unforced errors from Nishikori, cemented his the first African advantage with two more breaks to qualify for the in the fourth and six games. last four at the ATP It had taken Anderson just Finals. 31 minutes to complete his first set masterclass and he didn’t It was a landmark take his foot off the gas. moment for With Nishikori remaining out of sorts with another 10 Wimbledon finalist unforced errors in the second Anderson, who has set, Anderson powered ahead to set a new career- make it 11 games in a row. high of 47 victories Nishikori avoided a whitewash when he won the South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in a calender year. 12th game to ironic cheers from celebrates after beating Japan’s the crowd, but Anderson quickly Kei Nishikori in London yesterday. closed out the win. 28 SPORT WEDNESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2018 Bangladesh cricketers Taijul puts congratulate teammate Taijul Islam (second Bangladesh right) as they walk off the field after the on top despite third day of the second Test match Taylor’s ton against Zimbabwe at the Sher- AFP e-Bangla SCOREBOARD National DHAKA: Left-arm spinner Taijul BANGLADESH, first innings 522-7 decl Cricket Islam claimed his third consec- ZIMBABWE, first innings (overnight 25-1) Stadium H. Masakadza c Mehidy b Taijul ....................14 utive five-wicket haul yesterday B. Chari c Mominul b Mehidy .........................53 in Dhaka to put Bangladesh in command D. Tiripano c Mehidy b Taijul ............................8 yesterday. in the second Test against B. Taylor c Taijul b Mehidy ............................110 Zimbabwe despite a defiant S. Williams b Taijul ............................................. 11 century by Brendon Taylor in S. Raza b Taijul .....................................................0 Dhaka. P. Moor lbw b Ariful ........................................83 The home side bowled out R. Chakabva c Mominul b Taijul .....................10 Zimbabwe for 304 runs in the B. Mavuta c Ariful b Mehidy .............................0 K. Jarvis not out ..................................................9 first innings to take a 218-run T. Chatara retired out .........................................0 lead after they had declared Extras (b5, lb1) 6 their own innings for a Total ( all out; 105.3 overs) ...............304 mammoth 522-7 the previous Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-40, 3-96, 4-129, 5-131, afternoon. 6-270, 7-290, 8-290, 9-304 Zimbabwe need only a draw Bowling: Mustafizur 21-8-58-0, Khaled 18-7- to win their first Test series in 48-0, Taijull 40.3-10-107-5, Mehidy 20-3-61-3, seven years, with the visitors Mahmudullah 2-0-14-0, Ariful 4-2-10-1 Foakes keeps Bairstow out having won the opening match Toss: Bangladesh Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG), Kumar in Sylhet by 151 runs, their first Dharmasena (SRI) Test win away in almost two TV Umpire: Rod Tucker (AUS) decades. Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI) as England retain Galle XI Taijul dismissed Regis Chakabva for 10 to complete his REUTERS favour. tional,” Root added. haul and Zimbabwe’s innings ended immediately, 19 short of the His 107 in the first innings “He’s pretty much been follow-on mark as last man Tendai Chatara was unable to bat due COLOMBO: Ben Foakes was key to England’s compre- faultless, not really stood out at to injury. retained the wicketkeeper’s hensive victory, also earning him all, which is probably a good Zimbabwe edged towards avoiding the follow-on once Taylor position after his dream debut the man-of-the-match award. thing for a wicketkeeper, and hit 110 off 194 balls and Peter Moor added a career-best 83 to rescue in Galle as England named an “Ben is going to keep,” Root long-term I see him as a focal the side from a precarious 131-5 in the final session.