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Sunday, March 20, 2016 FORMULA ONE Jumada II 11, 1437 AH Hamilton GULF TIMES powers to pole in SPORT Page 2

MOTORCYCLING Lorenzo leads Spanish charge to grab Qatar pole ‘I’m glad to be the man with the most pole positions in the history of the championship’

THE GRID

1st row: 10. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/Honda LCR)0.809, 11. Bradley Smith 1.Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 1:54.543, 2. Marc Marquez (GBR/Yamaha Tech3) 0.871, 12. Scott Redding (GBR/Ducati (ESP/Honda) at 0.091, 3. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Suzuki) Pramac)0.965 0.095 5th row: 2nd row: 13. Yonny Hernandez (COL/Ducati Aspar), 14. Eugene Lav- 4. Andrea Iannone (ITA/Ducati) 0.150, 5. Valentino Rossi erty (IRL/Ducati Aspar), 15. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Suzuki) (ITA/Yamaha) 0.272, 6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) 0.420 6th row: 3rd row: 16. Loris Baz (FRA/Ducati Avintia), 17. Alvaro Bautista (ESP/ 7. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 0.535, 8. Hector Barbera (ESP/ Aprilia), 18. Jack Miller (AUS/Honda Marc VDS) Ducati Avintia) 0.622, 9. Pol Espargaro (ESP/Yamaha Tech3) 7th row: 0.759 19. Tito Rabat (ESP/Honda Marc VDS), 20. Stefan Bradl (GER/ 4th row: Aprilia)

Pole-setter Jore Lorenzo (C), second-placed Marc Marquez (L) and third-placed Maverick Vinales pose after qualifying for today’s Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil and agencies.

By Joe Koraith front brakes which caused that inci- dent but we will try to resolve it before the race starts,” said Marquez. As for Vinales, this is his second front hat do you need for an row start in MotoGP and the Spaniard exciting race? You want is keen to deliver a good result during the main contenders to the race. “I am going to try to do well in be right up front, fi ghting the race. We know it’s going to be dif- eachW other for the win. And that’s ex- fi cult. I am feeling good on the bike and actly what we have in store for the Mo- I also believe that I can go down in the toGP season opener in Qatar! lap time. I will try my best to get a good Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo pro- Jorge Lorenzo in action during result in the race,” said Vinales after a duced a great lap fi ve minutes into the qualifying at Losail yesterday. great qualifying run yesterday. fi nal qualifying session at the Losail Earlier in the fi rst qualifying ses- Circuit, which gave him the pole po- sition. I’m glad to be the man with the sion, Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith sition. The defending champion is in most pole positions in the history of topped the charts to earn progress to prime position to start the season with the championship. The competition the fi nal qualifying session. Crutchlow a win. But it won’t be an easy task be- has been running for so many years so gained two places during Q2 and will cause right behind him is Honda’s Marc it’s a great feeling,” said Lorenzo after start the race in 10th. Marquez. In third place, and ensuring a qualifying yesterday. Vinales will have to produce a front row full of Spaniards, is Suzuki’s 2014 MotoGP champion, Marquez strong race to be able to hold off the Maverick Vinales, who produced a doesn’t believe that Losail Circuit is likes of Iannone, Rossi, Dovizioso and great fi nal lap to claim that spot. suited for his Honda but his starting also Pedrosa lining up behind him. Andrea Iannone, who topped two of position on the grid gives him a great The Ducati of Iannone has the fastest the four practice sessions, was pushed chance for a win today. In fact, Mar- straight-line speed and Vinales could down to fourth as a result of Vinales’ quez set the fastest time during the fi - be losing his spot by the end of the fi rst last lap eff ort. And the eternal crowd nal qualifying session but it came after lap if he’s not careful. favourite, Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi, the chequered fl ag. “The funny thing is Rossi, who has recently signed a also gave it the full beans in the fi nal lap that I didn’t see the fl ag in the last lap. two-year extension with Yamaha, will to jump up from 10th to fourth. Com- I did one more lap at 100 percent and be keen to show that he still can fi ght pleting the second row is Ducati’s An- I thought I got the pole position. But for the title. And his fourth place start drea Dovizioso. After a Spaniard front that lap wasn’t within the time. I am puts him in a good position to follow row, you have three Italians in the sec- happy with the result and the bike,” the leaders and then make his move to- ond! said Marquez yesterday. wards the end of the race. Today’s battle promises to be tanta- The 23-year-old had a big mo- With this being the fi rst race for the lising and Lorenzo will be hoping that ment when he was doing a practice Michelin tyres, all riders will be anx- he gets a good start. This is the Span- start when his bike suddenly veered to ious to see how they last the distance. iard’s record 36th MotoGP pole and the the left as his front wheel touched the With all the usual suspects lined up Yamaha rider was happy to start the track. But he was able to wrestle back at the front, the 2016 Qatar MotoGP season on the front foot. “I am happy control after a brief run through the race promises to deliver an exciting to start the championship in pole po- gravel. “We have some issues with the start to the season. Game on!

Valentino Rossi steps on the gas at Losail. Gulf Times 2 Sunday, March 20, 2016 MOTOR SPORT

FORMULA ONE Blame it on Rio? Rookie Hamilton takes pole suff ers pit-lane crash in Mercedes 1-2 as new qualifying fl ops

Reuters His sole lap was the second 'We all knew what was going to happen. I didn’t think it was very exciting. And Melbourne slowest out of the 22-driver field and he was among the in the end for the people in the grandstands, I don’t feel it’s the right way to go' seven knocked out from the ndonesian rookie Rio Har- first of the three sessions in yanto’s Formula One debut the revamped qualifying. Iturned sour yesterday when He will at least have familiar Photographers chase he was punished for a pit-lane company on the back row, Mercedes driver crash during the final practice with German team mate Pas- Lewis Hamilton as at the Australian Grand Prix cal Wehrlein alongside him. he catches a ride in and condemned to start the Haryanto felt it “pretty the medical car after race from back of the grid. strange” to have had such a qualifying for pole at The 23-year-old from central short run in the new qualifying the season-opening Java, his nation’s first F1 driver, format which was widely criti- Australian Grand rolled out of the Manor Racing cised as a flop by drivers and Prix in Melbourne garage at the start of the ses- pundits on its Melbourne debut. yesterday. (Reuters) sion and straight into the side In the previous qualifying re- of Romain Grosjean’s Haas. gime, Haryanto would have had Frenchman Grosjean had 18 minutes to improve lap times entered the pit-lane first and in Q1 but in the new system, in stewards came down hard on which drivers are progressively Haryanto, slapping him with eliminated, he was knocked out a three-grid position penalty within 10 minutes. and two penalty points. McLaren’s twice world cham- “The driver ... did not pay pion Fernando Alonso said he attention to the approaching was concerned that the new car which was in the fast lane,” format was unfair on weaker stewards said in a statement. teams and Manor Racing’s two Both Haryanto and Gros- rookie drivers certainly had lit- jean had to head straight tle chance to improve on their back to their garage, with the initial eff orts in qualifying. Frenchman second-best in the “Today we only had time clash and condemned to wait for one lap,” Haryanto said. “It for technicians to fit a new wasn’t a bad lap either, but it and front wing to his car also wasn’t perfect. I could have before he was able to resume. been quicker and that’s what Haryanto posted the slow- we’ll have to work on. Tomor- est lap in practice and then row is my first F1 race and I’m his first qualifying was over very excited for that. I’m sure almost as soon as it began. we can have a better day.”

Qualifying can be changed for Bahrain, says Ecclestone ormula One needs to change its new qualifying format af- ter it fell flat at yesterday’s Australian season-opener and Ftweaks can be made before the next race in Bahrain, ac- cording to the sport’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone. The new format, based on racers being progressively eliminated during the sessions rather than at the end of each, was intended to add excitement but instead took away any suspense with no cars on track in the final minutes. Asked whether the format should and could be changed be- Reuters of one minute 25.351 seconds, with sec- eighth on the grid as the fi rst eliminated fore the second round of the championship in Bahrain on April Melbourne ond-placed team mate Nico Rosberg no- STARTING GRID from Q3. His team mate Daniil Kvyat was 3, Ecclestone replied “Yes”. where near his time. among the fi rst seven knocked out of Q1, “This idea was the (governing) FIA’s,” added the 85-year-old, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) however, along with both drivers from who is not in Australia for the race. orld champion Lewis Ham- Raikkonen are third and fourth on the grid, 2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) Manor Racing, Haas and Sauber. “If we can get them to agree to change and we agree to ilton took pole for Mercedes having confi ned themselves to the garage 3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) Renault rookie Jolyon Palmer will start change, we can change it. Or if we get all the teams to agree at Formula One’s season- after one fl ying lap apiece, not bothering 4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 14th behind McLaren drivers Fernando with us, we can change it.” opening Australian Grand to even attempt to catch Hamilton’s time. 5. Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) Alonso and Jenson Button, the Briton Ecclestone caused a furore before the season started by WPrix yesterday but condemnation for the The top three qualifi ers wasted lit- sneaking into Q2 after the clock had 6. Felipe Massa (Williams) saying Formula One was the worst it had ever been, comments revamped qualifying format was almost as tle time in condemning the format as a 7. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Toro Rosso) run down on the initial session with a last that earned him a rebuke from Daimler chief executive Dieter quick as the Briton’s fastest lap. “wrong” decision and bad for fans. “We 8. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) fl ying lap that tipped Sauber’s Marcus Zetsche, whose Mercedes team are favourites to dominate for a The new system, based on progressive said at the beginning it wasn’t the right 9. Sergio Perez (Force India) Ericsson out. third successive season. elimination during the three sessions rath- way,” three-time world champion Hamil- Recriminations for the qualifying format, 10. Nico Huelkenberg (Force India) The new qualifying format was agreed unanimously by the 11 er than at the end of them, was intended to ton told reporters. which was approved only two weeks before teams and approved by the International Automobile Federa- 11. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) instil more excitement but instead proved Four-times world champion Vettel said: the season opener, continued to fl y around tion but Ecclestone stressed it was not what he had proposed 12. Fernando Alonso (McLaren) a monumental fl op at Melbourne’s Albert “We all knew what was going to happen. I the paddock well after the last chequered or wanted. Park circuit. didn’t think it was very exciting. “And in 13. Jenson Button (McLaren) fl ag waved with no drivers on track. “I had another idea. My idea was to leave the old qualifying Rather than battle to the fi nish of each the end for the people in the grandstands, I 14. Jolyon Palmer (Renault) “That qualifying didn’t really work for alone and whoever won the previous race, or finished second session, drivers posted early laps and then don’t feel it’s the right way to go.” 15. Kevin Magnussen (Renault) me and we should apologise to the fans or third down to 10th, would have time added to their qualify- were content to return to their garages. Ironically, the new format saw lit- 16. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) here,” Red Bull team principal Christian ing time,” he said. The last few minutes of both the second tle change in Formula One’s status quo, 17. Felipe Nasr (Sauber) Horner told the BBC. “You just add the times on. Qualifying would stay as it was in and fi nal qualifying periods petered out with no major surprises in the top eight 18. Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) “We didn’t put on a great show. We need the old days, which is what I’d like...and it would have changed with no drivers on track, sapping the entire positions. Max Verstappen will line up 19. Romain Grosjean (Haas) to learn from it. The important things is the grid completely so at least for two thirds of the race you’d process of suspense. fi fth for Toro Rosso, with his team mate 20. Esteban Gutierrez (Haas) not to stick our heads in the sand, address get a lot of racing.” Ecclestone further said the first phase of the Hamilton, however, will be delighted by Carlos Sainz seventh behind Williams’s 21. Pascal Wehrlein (Manor) it properly fi rst. I would prefer to go back new qualifying had worked, with plenty of activity unlike in the the work he did put in that allowed him to Felipe Massa. 22. Rio Haryanto (Manor) to the qualifying sessions we had but that past, but the last part had not. celebrate his 50th pole after posting a lap Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo will line up is my personal opinion.” Folger, Fenati top Moto2, Moto3 qualifying By Sports Reporter In Moto3, a lap in the dying Rossi to race on with Doha seconds rocketed Romano Yamaha until 2018 Fenati (Sky Racing Team VR46) to pole position, just the second Italian MotoGP great Valentino n pole for just the pole of his long career in the Rossi plans to keep on racing second time in his in- lightweight class. His first came until he is nearly 40 after sign- Otermediate class career, at the Japanese GP in 2015. The ing a new contract for the 2017 Jonas Folger’s early lap proved young Italian set a 2:06.131 to and 2018 seasons with Yamaha unbeatable as the German end 0.047s ahead of Livio Loi. that should see out his career set a new pole record with a at the Japanese manufacturer.

1:59.052 to take the Moto2 pole Moto2 Rossi, whose Spanish at the Commercial Bank Qatar 1. Jonas Folger (GER) 1:59.052; teammate Jorge Lorenzo is Grand Prix at the floodlit Losail 2. Sam Lowes (GBR) at 0.072; 3. the reigning world champion, International Circuit yesterday. Alex Rins (ESP) 0.302; 4. Johann starts the season in Qatar aim- Folger’s previous pole came at Zarco (FRA) 0.367; 5. Franco ing to repeat last year’s victory the French GP in 2014, starting Morbidelli (ITA) 0.457; 6. Sandro under the Losail floodlights. on the front row a further three Cortese (GER) 0.575; 7. Lorenzo The Italian boasts the longest times in 2015. Baldassarri (ITA) 0.664; 8. Marcel winning career in grand prix Just 0.072s behind the Ger- Schrotter (GER) 0.707 history with a span of 19 years man was Sam Lowes, the Brit between his first triumph in unable to repeat his 2015 pole Moto3 1996 in the 125cc category and but still improving his best 1. Romano Fenati (ITA/KTM) his most recent MotoGP victory time to a 1:59.124. Completing 2:06.131, 2. Livio Loi (BEL/Honda) in Britain in August of last year. the front row was Alex Rins, at 0.047, 3. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/ The most popular rider on A minute’s silence was observed ahead of yesterday’s qualifying for the season-opening MotoGP race at the Losail International setting a 1:59.354 on his third KTM) 0.268, 4. Jorge Navarro the grid, rated by many as the Circuit, to pay homage to a Tunisian rider who crashed in a support series race and died later in the hospital. MotoGP organisers said lap. The Spaniard was unable (ESP/Honda)0.317, 5. Aaron Canet greatest of all time, Rossi has 49-year-old Taoufik Gattouchi had died in Doha’s Hamad hospital of injuries sustained in a “multi-rider incident” during the Losail 600 to improve after he suff ered a (ESP/Honda) 0.331, 6. Brad Binder won seven titles in the top cat- race. The race was stopped after the crash on the 10th of 15 scheduled laps and Gattouchi received medical attention at the side of the bike crunching crash at Turn 2, (RSA/KTM) 0.114, 7. Niccolo An- egory and finished runner-up track before being flown by air ambulance to the hospital. The Losail 600 Cup is a locally-organised club competition made up of four his Kalex tumbling through the tonelli (ITA/Honda) 0.405, 8. Enea last year with four wins and 15 two-race events at the Losail International circuit, where the MotoGP race takes place under floodlights, for riders on 600cc bikes. gravel after losing the front. Bastianini (ITA/Honda) 0.526 podium appearances. Gulf Times Sunday, March 20, 2016 3 GREATS OF THE GAME GRACE BATTLE OF EDEN Pak women edge India by two runs via D/L method

IANS New Delhi

akistan women defeated India by two runs via Duckworth-Lewis Pmethod to register their first victory in the World Twenty20 at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in New Delhi yesterday. Choosing to field first on a two-paced , put up a superb show to restrict India to 96 for seven in 20 overs. In reply, the visitors were 70 for three in 14 overs but the Indians raised hopes of a fightback by picking three quick in the next two overs. Pakistan were 77 for six after 16 overs. But the match was stopped due to rain, forcing D/L method to come into the picture, which gave the visitors the two-run victory. Pakistan, who lost their previous match to the West Indies, were over- joyed with the win, while the Indians looked disappointed as they failed to make it two wins out of two matches. However, Pakistan deserve full credit for the way they bowled at the start against the Indians. Pacer (1/13) and spinner Anam Amin (1/9) were right on the dot against Mithali Raj (16) and V Vanitha (2). By the end of the sixth over, India were seven for two— Anam removed Vanitha, while Asmavia accounted for Smriti Mandhana (1). The pressure was telling on Mithali, as she was the third wicket to fall having scored 16 off 35 deliveries. India were 34 for three when their skipper departed. Harmanpreet Kaur (16) and Veda Krishnamurthy (24) tried their best but failed to accelerate as India were restricted to 96-7. (From left) Former Pakistan cricket greats Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Imran Khan and their Indian counterparts Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag with West Bengal In pursuit of the low total, Pakistan Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (in white saree), during a felicitation ceremony before the start of the match between the arch-rivals, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata yesterday. (Reuters) were helped by (26) and (14). No. 3 batswoman (5) was removed by PREVIEWS Harmanpreet. India then removed Iram Javed (10), Asmavia (5) and captain (0) to trigger a stunning comeback. Pakistan required 20 runs in four overs with bowlers to come in but the sky opened up at that time, intervening in the match that could have seen an exhilarating finish. Gayle threat for Lanka; “We have won games by one run, and lost games by a couple of runs so as a unit, we take a lot of pride in our fielding and bowling and this is the way for- ward,” said a delighted Pakistan captain Sana Mir. “It’s really good for us to get these pressure games early in the tour- Afghan test beckons SA nament. Very important win for us.” Brief scores India women 96-7 in 20 overs (V ‘We can’t take Afghanistan for granted. They played well against Sri Lanka. They are a Krishnamurthy 24, H Kaur 16, M Raj 16, J Goswami 14) lost to Pakistan women good and exciting team. We have to keep up with our good performance to beat them’ 77-6 in 16 overs (Sidra Ameen 26, Nahida Khan 14, Muneeba Ali 12*) by 2 runs

AFP Bangalore ILLEGAL ACTION roubled champions Sri Lan- ka will need to tame a ram- pant as they face Double blow for the West Indies in the fi rst Tmajor test of their defence of crick- et’s Twenty20 trophy today. Bangladesh as The Jamaican, who lit up the fi rst World T20 in 2007, showed his powers remain undimmed when he Sunny, Ahmed smashed a 47-ball to lead the West Indies to victory over Eng- land on Wednesday. are suspended Sri Lanka, on the other hand, win- ners of the last World T20 in Bangla- Reuters desh two years ago, have been badly New Delhi weakened since the retirements of star batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. angladesh’s World Twenty20 campaign Slumping to eighth in the T20 suff ered a body blow yesterday when rankings, Sri Lanka are also in turmoil paceman and left-arm after changing their coach and cap- spinner were suspended tain in recent weeks and following a Bfrom bowling in international cricket with im- disastrous showing at the Asia Cup. mediate eff ect because of illegal actions. Sri Lanka were given a morale Both the bowlers were reported after their booster with victory over lowly side’s opening match in the ongoing World Afghanistan in their fi rst Super Twenty20 against the Netherlands in Dhar- 10 outing on Thursday, when vet- amsala last Wednesday. “As a consequence of eran opener Tillakaratne Dilshan these suspensions, the Bangladesh cricket team smashed 83 off 56 balls. is permitted to apply ... for approval to replace But they face a much tougher test the two bowlers in the squad for the remainder in Gayle who unleashed a succes- of the event,” the International Cricket Council sion of sixes during the West In- (ICC) said in a statement. dies’ stunning six-wicket win over Both bowlers were assessed at the ICC-ac- England. Captain Angelo Mathews, credited testing centre in Chennai this week, who replaced injured veteran bowler the governing body said. Arafat’s elbow exten- Lasith Malinga as skipper on tourna- sion for the majority of his deliveries exceeded ment eve, was upbeat, saying his side the 15 degrees limit and not all of Taskin’s deliv- was capable of “doing anything” if eries were found to be legal. they worked together. Left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib will replace “No matter who you play, you Sunny in Bangladesh’s World T20 squad, while have to be positive. We aren’t look- Sri Lanka opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (left) starred with an unbeaten 83 in their six-wicket win over Afghanistan in their opening game of the World Twenty20 on Taskin will be replaced by off spin-bowling all- ing too far ahead, if we click we can Thursday, but face a much tougher task against an unpredictable West Indies side, which has the destructive Chris Gayle at the top of their order, today. (AFP) rounder Shuvagata Hom. do anything,” he said. These two are not the fi rst Bangladesh bowl- West Indies coach Phil Simmons The West Indies are one of the Lankan team defending their title in land in their opening game, face a bowling department ahead of the ers to be suspended for an illegal action. has sounded a warning to oppo- weakest teams in but India. With spinners playing decisive spirited Afghanistan. crucial game. Off spinner Sohag Gazi was suspended from nents, saying he expected Gayle they remain a force in the shortest roles in the early matches of the tour- “We can’t take Afghanistan for “Our batting line-up has been the bowling in October 2014, and he was cleared af- to bat in 15 of the 20 overs of every format, winning the T20 in 2012 and nament so far, Sri Lanka have decided granted. They played well against best. But I think 229 was a good score ter a second test in February 2015. match at this World T20, to set the ranked second in the world. to bolster a slow bowling department Sri Lanka. They will aim to play well for us to defend. As we all know that Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak was the fi rst side up for victory. “Once you bat Meanwhile, leg-spinner Jeff rey which already includes left-arm against us. They are a good and ex- Wankhede is a high-scoring venue, Bangladesh bowler to be suspended, in Novem- 15 overs we are someway near to the Vandersay, who was dropped from spinner Rangana Herath and off - citing team. We have to keep up with England played very well to chase ber 2008, before the ban was lifted in March target (either) we are setting or chas- Sri Lanka’s World Twenty20 squad spinner Sachithra Senanayake. our good performance to beat them,” down the target,” Amla added. 2009. Al-Amin Hossain was also reported for a ing,” Simmons said. barely 24 hours before they left for Vandersay, 26, has played three said South African opener Hashim “We lacked in basics against Eng- suspect action in 2014, but was cleared after an He said the 36-year-old, who hit the India, was called up as Malinga’s re- one-dayers and four Twenty20 In- Amla yesterday. land. We gave away too many extras assessment in Chennai. format’s fi rst international century in placement yesterday. ternationals. The Faf du Plessis-led South Afri- (26, including 20 wides). Hopefully Bangladesh qualifi ed for the main draw in 2007, should be placed alongside great Pace spearhead Malinga, who is In the second match of the day, a can side have been consistent when we can rectify the mistakes and put style but went down to Pakistan in their fi rst Viv Richards on the list of destructive nursing a knee injury, returned home jolted South African side, fresh from it comes to batting, but they must up a good performance (against Af- Super 10 match and face Australia in their next batsmen from the Caribbean. without bowling a ball for the Sri losing a high-scoring thriller to Eng- get their homework done in their ghanistan),” the right-hander said. match tomorrow. Gulf Times 4 Sunday, March 20, 2016 FOOTBALL

TRAINING SESSION

Qatar’s youth football team players in action during their training camp in Malaga yesterday. The nine-day camp is part of their preparations for defending their Asian Cup title in Bahrain. The team will play Cote d’Ivoire tomorrow and Costa Rica on Thursday before returning to Doha on Sunday.

SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP FOCUS Warner says FIFA owes him money Aussie Rogic fi res AFP indicted in the United States Zurich are accused of embezzling over decades. Newly elected FIFA presi- isgraced former FIFA dent Gianni Infantino said in vice-president Jack a statement: “The defendants Warner scoff ed Fri- diverted this money not just day at reports that from FIFA but from players, sensational last-gasp Dthe new leaders of the global coaches and fans worldwide football governing body are who benefi t from the pro- seeking to sue him, insisting grammes that FIFA runs to FIFA owes him money. develop and promote football.” “I don’t owe FIFA one nickel The new FIFA executive says and I know that FIFA owes me, a $10 million payment from but we will deal with that in South Africa to CONCACAF— the fullness of time,” Warner football’s governing body for winner for Celtic said, addressing reporters on North and Central America the steps of the Hall of Justice and the Caribbean which was in Port-of-Spain. led by Warner at the time— ‘We didn’t play well at all but sometimes that’s the best way to win’ Warner said that since his was a bribe in exchange for resignation in 2011, he has votes in the 2010 World Cup not been paid a pension of US bid process. AFP $100,000 a year. Warner was in court on Fri- Kilmarnock “I don’t even think the day for a hearing in his legal FIFA you’re talking about is challenge to extradition pro- the FIFA I know,” Warner said ceedings fi led against him by ustralian international when asked for his reaction to the United States. Tom Rogic scored a the suit. He is challenging the legal- brilliant last-minute On Wednesday FIFA fi led ity of the extradition treaty winner to seal a 1-0 vic- requests for restitution with that exists between the United toryA over relegation-threatened US authorities to reclaim an States and Trinidad and To- Kilmarnock at Rugby Park that estimated $190 million which bago. keeps Celtic’s title bid on track. 39 former FIFA executive Several procedural matters The Hoops looked to be head- members, regional football remain to be dealt with. An- ing to a third consecutive draw offi cials, sports marketing other hearing was set for June against Kilmarnock this sea- moguls and two companies 3. son when substitute Rogic fi red a sensational 30-yard strike into the top corner that sparked scenes of wild celebration on the Celtic bench. The win re-establishes Celtic’s four-point lead at the top of the over Aber- deen, who face Motherwell at Fir Park later on Saturday, and en- sures they will head into the inter- national break on top of the table. “We didn’t play well at all but sometimes that’s the best way to win,” Celtic manager Ronny Deila said. “We fought hard and the fans were unbelievable today and we gave them something to cheer about in the end.” Kilmarnock, meanwhile, re- main in the relegation play-off place, fi ve points from safety and eight points clear of bottom side Dundee United, but having played two games more. PSG’s Van der Wiel fi ned aft er Ibra clash Both sides had made changes with striker Kris Boyd restored Dutch international defender Gregory van der Wiel has been to the Killie line-up for the first fined by French champions Paris Saint-Germain following a time in seven matches and it verbal bust-up with Zlatan Ibrahimovic last weekend, coach was the former Rangers man Laurent Blanc said yesterday. who tested Craig Gordon first “Gregory van der Wiel has been punished by the club, finan- with a fierce volley that the cially. There is no sporting sanction, so he will be in the squad,” ‘keeper did well to stop. Nir for Sunday’s home game with Monaco, said Blanc. Bitton saw a deflected strike go Sports daily L’Equipe reported that Van der Wiel was the just wide before Kallum Hig- subject of harsh criticism from Ibrahimovic at half-time in last ginbotham wasted a chance for weekend’s 9-0 victory at Troyes that clinched the title the home side with a wayward for the capital side. shot on goal. L’Equipe reported that the Swedish striker, unhappy at not Celtic’s top scorer Leigh Grif- having scored in the first half, told former Ajax right-back Van fi ths headed a corner tamely der Wiel: “Listen, play the way I tell you and it will go well.” straight to Jamie MacDonald Van der Wiel then demanded to be replaced and did not reap- before Erik Sviatchenko was off - pear for the second half, when Ibrahimovic scored four times. target with another headed ef- The Dutchman immediately left the ground and was not there fort moments later. to join in their title celebrations. Sviatchenko then beat Boyd to Celtic’s Tom Rogic celebrates aft er scoring a goal Meanwhile, Blanc admitted Javier Pastore is a doubt for the a through ball but his attempted against Kilmarnock yesterday. (Reuters) game with Monaco because of a nagging calf problem. clearance only went as far as The Paris coach also insisted no date has been fixed for the Higginbotham who lobbed an return of Italian playmaker Marco Verratti, who is struggling eff ort over the head of Gordon with a hernia. but bounced just wide. “We are doing everything to treat Verratti. I know that fi red weakly ond half brighter when Lee Hod- goal. Former Real Madrid player over the bar. With time running sending a stunning strike into everyone at PSG and in the set-up is impatient and that at MacDonald before setting up son curled a superb shot a frac- Julien Faubert then came to the out Kilmarnock appeared to the top corner leaving MacDon- everyone wants to hurry him back, but I will not give a date for Callum McGregor for a chance tion wide of Gordon’s far post rescue for Killie as he headed have weathered the storm but a ald with no chance. his return,” said Blanc. inside the box but the midfi elder with the ‘keeper beaten. Sviatchenko’s nodded eff ort off moment of magic from Rogic, an RESULTS “It is not very serious, just a bit of inflammation that needs to saw his shot blocked by the goal- Celtic settled into the half the line as it looked to be sneak- 80th-minute substitute for Bit- Hamilton 1 Partick 2 be treated.” keeper. Commons made way for and only a last-gasp sliding ing in. ton, changed the outcome of the Hearts 0 St Johnstone 3 Reports have indicated Verratti may not return until mid-April, on-loan Manchester City winger challenge from defender Mark Griffi ths came close to his match. The Socceroo star turned Kilmarnock 0 Celtic 1 meaning he could miss PSG’s Champions League quarter-final Patrick Roberts at the break but O’Hara stopped Griffi ths getting 36th goal of the season with a away from Faubert and moved Motherwell 2 Aberdeen 1 against Manchester City at the beginning of next month. it was Killie who started the sec- away his shot when through on fabulous drive that arrowed just the ball on to his left foot before Ross County 0 Inverness CT 3 Gulf Times Sunday, March 20, 2016 5 FOOTBALL

EPL Mahrez stretches Leicester lead, Arsenal hit back ‘We have to stay calm because the is the same as every match. You don’t know what will happen’

AFP Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez celebrates with teammates aft er scoring against Crystal Palace yesterday. (Reuters)

iyad Mahrez’s 17th goal of the season sent Leicester City eight points clear at the Pre- mierR League summit as Claudio Ranieri’s men won 1-0 at Crystal Palace yesterday. The Algerian winger tucked away a cross from Jamie Vardy in the 34th minute to earn Leices- ter a third successive 1-0 victory and bring a staggering title tri- umph a step closer. Second-place Tottenham Hotspur can trim Leicester’s lead back to fi ve points if they beat Bournemouth today, while third-place Arsenal remain 11 points off the pace despite win- ning 2-0 at Everton. “It sounds good (being eight points clear). Our fans are sing- ing a very good song about that,” said Leicester manager Ranieri, whose side were serenaded with chants of “We’re gonna win the league!” by their fans. “But we have to stay calm be- cause the Premier League is the same as every match. You don’t know what will happen. “We have to continue to push a lot because the Champions League is very close to us. Maybe in the next two matches I can say something more.” Elsewhere, Cesc Fabregas scored two equalisers, the sec- ond an 89th-minute penalty, as West Ham United were prevent- ed from climbing to fourth place in a 2-2 draw at outgoing cham- pions Chelsea. The result left Slaven Bilic’s side in fi fth place, a point below Norwich escape bottom Ham have claimed on the road Manchester City, who entertain three RESULTS & STANDINGS this season. Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck celebrates with sixth-place Manchester United Knocked out of the FA Cup Chelsea...... 2 West Ham Utd 2 Manuel Lanzini curled in a teammate Hector Bellerin aft er scoring a in today’s derby. by Watford and the Champions Crystal Palace 0 Leicester...... 1 glorious shot from outside the goal against Everton yesterday. (Reuters) After losing out to Palace League by Barcelona earlier this Everton ...... 0 Arsenal ...... 2 box to put West Ham ahead in goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey week, Arsenal bounced back Watford...... 1 Stoke City ...... 2 the 17th minute, only for Fabre- in an earlier one-on-one at Sel- with a one-sided victory over W Bromwich 0 Norwich ...... 1 gas to equalise with an equally hurst Park, Mahrez put Leices- Everton at Goodison Park. Standings P W D L F A Pts picturesque free-kick in fi rst- ter ahead by steering in Vardy’s Danny Welbeck put Arse- Leicester City 31 19 9 3 54 31 66 half injury time. drilled cross from the left. nal ahead early on, rounding Tott. Hotspur 30 16 10 4 53 24 58 Substitute Andy Car- Palace had threatened to ig- Joel Robles to score after a neat Arsenal 30 16 7 7 48 30 55 roll restored the visitors’ lead nore the script prior to that, Wil- build-up, and 19-year-old Alex Manch. City 29 15 6 8 52 31 51 from Dimitri Payet’s perfectly fried Zaha volleying wide from Iwobi scored his fi rst goal for West Ham Utd 30 13 11 6 47 35 50 weighted through-ball, but Fa- Yannick Bolasie’s cross, and it the club in the 42nd minute af- Manch. Utd 29 13 8 8 37 27 47 bregas had the fi nal say from 12 Stoke City 31 13 7 11 34 37 46 took a smart save from Kasper ter racing onto Hector Bellerin’s Southampton 30 12 8 10 38 30 44 yards after Michail Antonio was Schmeichel to prevent Bola- pass. Liverpool 28 12 8 8 43 37 44 deemed to have fouled Ruben sie equalising with a defl ected Victory tightened Arsenal’s Chelsea 30 10 11 9 45 41 41 Loftus-Cheek. shot. grip on third place, moving them West Albion 30 10 9 11 30 37 39 Bilic fumed: “To concede that Leicester nonetheless looked to within three points of Tot- Everton 29 9 11 9 51 41 38 late is gutting, but to concede it tenham, and manager Arsene AFC Bournemouth30 10 8 12 38 47 38 from a penalty that is not a pen- the more threatening team, with Watford 30 10 7 13 30 32 37 Hennessey parrying Marc Al- Wenger hailed his players for Crystal Palace 30 9 6 15 32 40 33 alty is unacceptable.” brighton’s low drive and Shinji putting their recent disappoint- Swansea City 30 8 9 13 30 40 33 Robbie Brady scored as Nor- Okazaki twice going close either ments behind them. Norwich City 31 7 7 17 32 54 28 wich City climbed out of the side of half-time. “It was a very signifi cant win Sunderland 29 6 7 16 35 54 25 bottom three with a 1-0 win at But the introduction of Bakary for us and a mental test,” he Newcastle Utd 29 6 6 17 28 54 24 West Bromwich Albion, mean- Aston Villa 30 3 7 20 22 57 16 Sako enlivened Palace and Alan said. ing Newcastle United and Sun- Pardew’s men came within a “We continued the level of derland will both be in the rele- whisker of equalising in the sec- performance against Barcelona. cally, yes, and we want everyone gation zone at kick-off in today’s ond minute of stoppage time, I like this group, I like the mental to be behind the team to give us derby. only for Damien Delaney’s volley attitude. It has been questioned a chance. We are ready for a bat- Meanwhile, Jon Walters to hit the bar. and it hurts me. When you work tle.” scored one goal and created an- Pardew admitted that he was every day with them, you see Chelsea narrowly avoided other for Joselu as Stoke City “frustrated” by the result, but how much eff ort they put in. joining Arsenal, Liverpool and won 2-1 at Watford, who replied said that Leicester would make “We are still in (the title race) Manchester City on the list of through captain Troy Deeney’s “worthy champions”. in our minds and mathemati- major scalps that Bilic’s West late header.

PREVIEW Alli tells Spurs to focus on title aft er Euro exit

AFP knowing a victory is essential if they namic displays have played such a sig- Cherries boss Eddie Howe has been United, City face ‘do-or-die’ derby London want to keep the pressure on leaders nifi cant role in Tottenham’s progress keen to keep his players motivated by Leicester City, who are eight points this term, is doing his best not to think insisting their survival is not guaran- Following Thursday’s Europa League “Otherwise the gap is bigger and bigger clear after their victory over Crystal about the magnitude of the prize his teed but, with a 13-point gap between elimination by arch foes Liverpool, and the matches that you have to play ele Alli has told his Totten- Palace yesterday. team are chasing. them and the bottom three, it is un- Manchester United’s supporters are not so big (many). ham Hotspur teammates to “We know we are a great team. We “We are second in the league, fi ve thinkable that they will go down now. find themselves in the grip of an unfold- “I think then it is seven points and we forget their chastening Eu- can’t let this dishearten us,” Alli said. points behind Leicester. It’s important That means Bournemouth, who ing nightmare as today’s derby trip to have to play then eight matches. Then ropa League exit and focus “We’ve got to keep the form we’ve we don’t think about that too much have won their last three matches, will Manchester City approaches. it’s very sharp to recover from that gap. onD making a fi nal push to win the Pre- had in the Premier League and carry and don’t get carried away too much make their fi rst ever trip to White Hart The 3-1 aggregate loss to Liverpool left “It is still possible, but I think it’s diff icult mier League title. on until the end of the season. If we with ourselves,” Alli said. Lane in relaxed mood as they look to the FA Cup as the only trophy United then. Because West Ham United is also Mauricio Pochettino’s side were win the league this will be forgotten. “It’s just about taking each game as avenge a 5-1 thrashing against Pochet- can win this season and if they lose to in front, so it is not only City but West given a reality check by Borussia Dort- “It’s a bit of a blow for the confi - it comes and hopefully being up there tino’s men in October. local rivals City at the Etihad Stadium, Ham United also.” mund as the German club cruised to dence but it’s important that we keep at the end of the season.” Denting Tottenham’s title bid would they will be seven points below the Blackening United’s mood yet further is a 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane on our heads up and in the next game get Pochettino will welcome back Har- be the perfect way to sign off before Champions League places with the knowledge that City’s fans are rub- Thursday to complete a 5-1 aggregate the three points and get back on track.” ry Kane, Mousa Dembele and Chris- Howe takes his players for a warm- only eight games of the season remain- bing their hands together in anticipa- success. After decades of underachievement, tian Eriksen after resting the key trio weather training camp during next ing. tion of a Champions League quarter- Pochettino admitted the one-sided Tottenham fi nd themselves in the against Dortmund. week’s international break. Failure to qualify for the Champions final against Paris Saint-Germain after last-16 tie showed his team remain thick of the title race for the fi rst time The Argentine coach must also “Tottenham is the only thing that League would complete an abject reaching the tournament’s last eight for way short of the standards set by Eu- in decades and the pressure appeared assess the fi tness of Eric Dier after matters, but afterwards we are going season for United, prompting their the first time in their history. rope’s elite clubs. to get to them recently when they lost the England midfi elder was injured to take the lads away for a few days under-fire manager Louis van Gaal to No longer the “noisy neighbours” But Tottenham’s teenage midfi elder to West Ham United and threw away against Dortmund, while defender away to Dubai,” he said. admit that the derby is a game that his contemptuously dismissed by former Alli insists the humbling defeat will the lead in a draw against 10-man Ar- Ben Davies is unlikely to feature due to “We are looking forward to it, we side simply have to win. United manager , City be completely forgotten if the season senal. a head injury. did it last year and it was a really good Asked if the match was ‘do-or-die’ in have emerged as a genuine force in ends with the north Londoners lifting Last weekend’s victory over Swan- break. “It was a chance to regroup, terms of United’s Champions League the Sheikh Mansour era and victory for the English title for the fi rst time since Anxiety sea City eff ectively guaranteed have some really good intense training qualification hopes, Van Gaal replied: them would strengthen the percep- 1961. A 2-0 win at Aston Villa last week- Bournemouth’s fi rst season in the top session with the lads in a lovely cli- “I think so, yes. We are now four points tion that they have usurped United as Tottenham return to domestic ac- end eased the growing anxiety a little fl ight will end with the immense satis- mate, so hopefully it will be the same behind, so you have to win. Manchester’s biggest team. tion against Bournemouth today and Alli, the 19-year-old whose dy- faction of avoiding relegation. again.” Gulf Times 6 Sunday, March 20, 2016 FOOTBALL

BUNDESLIGA LIGUE 1 Lewandowski Rennes run riot against strikes as Bayern crisis club Marseille AFP Gourcuff opened the scoring Paris when he fi red home from a Sio edge out Cologne cutback for his fi rst goal since returning for a second spell at ennes moved provi- Rennes, the club where he began Defending champions are now eight points ahead of Borussia Dortmund sionally into third place his career—his last goal for the in Ligue 1 with a stun- Brittany side had come exactly a ning 5-2 win at Mar- decade ago, on March 18, 2006. seilleR on Friday that plunged Defender Diagne escaped his Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski their hosts into full-blown crisis marker to head home a Kamil celebrates aft er scoring against Cologne. mode. Grosicki free-kick before teen- (Reuters) The visitors were 3-0 up in- age sensation Dembele, one of side 14 minutes at the Stade the hottest properties in Euro- Velodrome thanks to goals from pean football, saw his shot de- Yoann Gourcuff , Fallou Diagne fl ected in to make it 3-0. and Ousmane Dembele. At that point, tensions were Florian Thauvin and Jorge Ro- rising in the stands and Mar- lando scored to bring Marseille seille’s Florian Thauvin was back into the match but Gour- struck by a plastic bottle thrown cuff struck again and Giovanni from the crowd as riot police in- Sio rounded off a remarkable tervened to keep the calm. Rennes victory in a tense atmos- The threat of a terrace revolt phere. was eased as Thauvin curled one The win takes Rennes, who in to reduce the defi cit in the have lost just once in seven 20th minute, and defender Ro- matches, into the fi nal Champi- lando poked home a second goal ons League qualifying berth in for OM early in the second half Ligue 1, a point clear of Nice and after Rennes goalkeeper Benoit two ahead of Lyon before they Costil dropped a corner. play later this weekend. Remy Cabella then hit the Meanwhile, Marseille contin- post from a Javier Manquillo ue to stagnate in mid-table and a cutback but a rare mistake by run of seven league games with- Marseille goalkeeper Steve Man- out a win increases the pressure danda—one of the few impres- on Spanish coach Michel. sive performers in Michel’s side However, Michel insisted he this season—allowed Rennes to was not even considering quit- score again just before the hour ting. mark. “No. My players tried every- Mandanda let a Gourcuff shot thing. They are sad but I will not slip under his grasp for Rennes’ go,” he said. fourth goal and Sio rubbed salt Marseille ultras had decided to into Marseille’s wounds when he use the fi rst quarter of an hour of converted the visitors’ fi fth after the game to protest against the being superbly set up by Dem- way the club is being run and bele. their team’s miserable record Lyon are at home to Nantes on of not having won in 12 home Saturday while Nice face strug- league games since September, gling Gazelec Ajaccio on Sunday the worst such run in their his- before champions Paris Saint- AFP only for David Alaba to make a crucial utes, crossing from the right for Salomon utes from time but Schuerrle denied the tory. However, by the time 15 Germain, who secured the title Munich block. Neuer also intervened to deny Kalou to net his 13th Bundesliga goal of visitors as Wolfsburg remain eighth. minutes were up, their team’s last weekend, entertain second- Leonardo Bittencourt with the last the campaign at the back post. In the battle to avoid relegation, Hof- chances of ending that sequence placed Monaco at the Parc des kick of the game at the RheinEnergi- Substitute Lukas Hinterseer pulled fenheim claimed a precious 3-1 win at were dead and buried. Princes. obert Lewandowski’s 25th goal eStadion. one back for Ingolstadt, but Hertha held Hamburg to make it four victories from of the season gave Bayern Mu- Second-placed Dortmund will get on and are once again four points clear of just seven games under 28-year-old nich a 1-0 win at Cologne yes- the chance to reduce the gap back to fi ve Schalke 04 in third, the fi nal automatic coach Julian Nagelsmann. terday as the Bundesliga lead- points when they go to Augsburg on Sun- qualifying berth for next season’s Cham- Andrej Kramaric, on loan from Leices- ersR moved eight points clear of Borussia day, but coach Thomas Tuchel is waiting pions League. ter City, put Hoff enheim ahead from the Dortmund once again at the top of the to see whether Pierre-Emerick Aubam- Schalke beat Borussia Moencheng- penalty spot and Kevin Volland dou- table. eyang will be available for the game. ladbach 2-1 on Friday thanks to a late bled their lead midway through the fi rst The Poland star, the Bundesliga’s lead- Aubameyang, who has scored 35 goals Leon Goretzka winner, while Mainz half. ing scorer, fi red home in the 10th minute this season including 22 in the Bundes- lost ground after drawing 1-1 at Werder Aaron Hunt pulled one back for Ham- after Dominique Heintz blocked a Thiago liga, is a doubt following the death of his Bremen on Saturday. burg with a penalty but Eduardo Var- Alcantara pass and the ball fell into his grandfather. Julian Baumgartlinger gave Mainz the gas came off the bench to make sure of path. lead at the Weserstadion but then con- the win for the visitors in the second That was enough for a Bayern side Hero Haraguchi ceded a penalty in fi rst-half stoppage half. showing numerous changes from their Meanwhile, Hertha Berlin remain on time when he brought down Zlatko Junu- Hoff enheim move out of the two au- dramatic midweek Champions League course to qualify for the Champions zovic. tomatic relegation places and trail Augs- victory over Juventus, with coach Pep League for the fi rst time since 1999/2000 Veteran Peruvian striker Claudio Piz- burg only on goal diff erence before the Guardiola leaving the likes of Thomas after a 2-1 victory over Ingolstadt in the arro stepped up to score his 12th league Bavarians take on Dortmund today. Mueller, Franck Ribery and Philipp Lahm capital. goal of the campaign from the spot and The bottom two meet later as Eintra- on the bench. All the goals came in the second half at ensure a share of the spoils. cht Frankfurt host Hanover 96 in Niko While it was not a vintage display by the Olympiastadion, with Japanese inter- Wolfsburg, who will face Real Madrid Kovac’s fi rst home game in charge since the Bavarian giants, they were rarely national winger Genki Haraguchi scor- in the Champions League quarter-fi nals replacing the sacked Armin Veh. troubled by mid-table Cologne, although ing one goal and making another for Pal next month, continue to struggle for con- Anthony Modeste came close to equalis- Dardai’s side. sistency and needed a last-minute Andre RESULTS ing for the hosts a quarter of an hour from Haraguchi arrived at the near post to Schuerrle equaliser to grab a 1-1 draw at VfL Wolfsburg ...... 1 Darmstadt ...... 1 the end. turn in a left-wing cross by Marvin Plat- home to Darmstadt. Hamburg ...... 1 Hoff enheim ...... 3 Manuel Neuer came out to deny the tenhardt and give Hertha the lead in the Looking for a fi rst win in seven games, Werder Bremen ...... 1 Mainz ...... 1 Rennes’ Ivorian forward Giovanni Sio celebrates after scoring during French forward but could not hold the 54th minute. Darmstadt went ahead through Sandro Cologne ...... 0 Bayern Munich 1 the Ligue 1 match against Marseille at the Velodrome stadium in ball and Modeste got a second bite, He then turned provider on 69 min- Wagner’s 11th of the season seven min- Hertha Berlin ...... 2 Ingolstadt ...... 1 Marseille. (AFP)

LA LIGA Sporting collapse leaves Atletico title bid in tatters

AFP fi ve changes from the team that Sanabria fi red a warning shot Madrid started against PSV on Tuesday. when he struck the post from a However, Griezmann retained free-kick 12 minutes from time. his place up front and was once But presented with a similar porting Gijon scored again Atletico’s only serious goal opportunity a minute later, the twice in the fi nal 11 min- threat as he opened the scoring Paraguayan rifl ed a free-kick utes to land a huge blow just before the half hour mark. through the Atletico wall to to Atletico Madrid’s La Sporting had reason to feel leave Jan Oblak unsighted. Cas- LigaS title challenge with a 2-1 hard done by as Pablo Perez tro missed a glorious chance to win yesterday. looked to have taken the ball be- make it 2-1 four minutes from Antoine Griezmann’s sunning fore making contact with Saul time when he smashed Sanab- frist-half free-kick put Atletico Niguez on the edge of the area. ria’s unselfi sh square ball off the in front. bar in front of an open goal. However, Atletico felt the Barcelona can now move 11 Of further concern for Atleti- after eff ects of their eff orts in points clear at the top when co was that opportunity came seeing off PSV Eindhoven after they travel to Villarreal today about as Jose Maria Gimenez extra-time and penalties in the pulled up with a hamstring in- Champions League in midweek And there was no stopping jury making him a doubt for the as Antonio Sanabria and Carlos Griezmann’s eff ort from the re- fi rst-leg of their Champions Castro turned the game around sulting free-kick as he curled the League quarter-fi nal away to in the fi nal stages. ball over the wall and into the top Barcelona on April 5. Barcelona can now move 11 corner. With Simeone having made all points clear at the top when they Simeone looked to hold out for three substitutions, the visitors travel to Villarreal today. the three points as he withdrew had to see out the fi nal few min- Third-placed Real Madrid can his three most attacking players utes with 10 men. also close the gap on Atletico to a in Griezmann, Angel Correa and And they couldn’t do it as point when they host Sevilla. Luciano Vietto after the break. Sanabria again burst down the Atletico boss Diego Sime- However, for once Atletico’s left and this time his low cross one named a youthful side with defensive resilience let them was converted at the far post by Sporting Gijon’s forward Carlos Castro (R) kicks the ball next to Atletico Madrid’s Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak to score a goal during their an average age of 23 as he made down. the relieved Castro. match at El Molinon stadium in Gijon yesterday. (AFP) Gulf Times Sunday, March 20, 2016 7 SPORT

NBA ‘Splash Brothers’ shoot past Mavs in Spurs tune-up ‘You know shooters love a zone and it was just a fun night. I’m look forward to tomorrow’s matchup’

ing a great team which had an excep- tional shooting night,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “We didn’t have enough in the tank to get over the hump.” •Oklahoma City Thunder 111, Philadelphia 76ers 97: Kevin Durant scored 26 points, Russell Westbrook had league-leading 13th triple-double of the season with 20 points, 15 re- bounds and 10 assists, and the visit- ing Thunder (47-22) clinched a playoff berth after rolling the league-worst Sixers (9-60) for the 14th consecutive time. •Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Orlan- do Magic 103: Victor Oladipo lit had a career-high 45 points but it wasn’t enough. Kyrie Irving scored 26 points, LeBron James had 18, and the visiting Cavs (49- 19) beat the Magic (29-39) for the 14th straight time to clinch a playoff spot. •Toronto Raptors 105, Boston Celtics 91: Kyle Lowry 32 points Ar- gentine Luis Scola had all 17 of his in the opening quarter, and the Raptors (47- 21) sent the Celtics (39-30) to a fourth straight loss. •Houston Rockets 116, Minneso- ta Timberwolves 111: James Harden had 29 points with 14 assists, and the Rockets (35-34) trimmed the visiting Timberwolves for the 10th time in the last 11 meetings. Karl-Anthony Towns topped Min- nesota (22-47) with 32 points and 11 rebounds. •Portland Trail Blazers 117, New Orleans Pelicans 112: Damian Lillard dropped in 33 points, C.J. McCollum had 30, and the visiting Trail Blaz- ers (36-34) held off the Pelicans after blowing a 20-point lead. Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday netted 30 points apiece for New Orle- ans (25-43), which lost All-Star for- ward Anthony Davis in the second half to a left knee injury. Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea drives around Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and forward Dirk Nowitzki during their NBA game on Friday. Picture: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports •Detroit Pistons 115, Sacramento Kings 108: Marcus Morris scored 24 DPA Steve Kerr said. “It’s one of those nights “It’s going to be tough task,” Curry resse Speights contributed 13 for the points and Curry followed with a layup, poin ts, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had Los Angeles where they both had it going early and said. “They’re playing really well but Warriors, who hit 22-of-38 from be- to open up a 111-101 cushion with 4:20 23, and the Pistons (35-34) beat the vis- they carried it through.” we’ll be ready for a 48-minute battle.” hind the arc en route to their seventh remaining. iting Kings after blowing an 18-point “I just got in a good rhythm and got The Warriors won fi rst meeting on straight win. Dallas made one fi nal push, pulling to fi rst-half cushion. The Splash Brothers” tuned up in a zone,” said Thompson, who buried their home fl oor, 120-90 on January The Warriors lost to the Mavericks, 113-108 but Thompson and Curry bur- DeMarcus Cousins had 31 points for a showdown against the San 10-of-15 3-pointers. “You know shoot- 25, but they’ll be without injured start- 114-91 on December 30, as league top ied triples around a Barnes three-point with 10 rebounds for the Kings (26-42), Antonio Spurs by shooting down ers love a zone and it was just a fun ing centre Andrew Bogut and reigning scorer Curry sat out with an injury. play to wrap up the win. who have lost 11 of their last 13. the Dallas Mavericks. night. I’m look forward to tomorrow’s NBA Finals MVP Andre Igoudala in the But the reigning league MVP came “You never expect to blow out a team •Phoenix Suns 95, LA Lakers 90: “Klay Thompson fi red in 39 points, matchup.” rematch. out locked and loaded in this one. He on the road,” Curry said. “They put up a Brandon Knight scored 22 points, rook- Stephen Curry had 31 with 10 assists The Warriors (62-6) head to San “We got them good last time and I’m had 22 points while Thompson add- fi ght all night and tested our off ence but ie Devin Booker had 21 and the visiting and nine rebounds, and the duo com- Antonio for Saturday’s highly antici- sure they’re going to be pumped and ed 20 and combined to hit 11-of-17 we found a way to win.” Suns (19-50) held off the Lakers (14-55), bined for 16 triples, leading the War- pated meeting between the NBA’s best, ready,” Kerr said. “Hopefully, we can 3-pointers, helping the Warriors to a German start Dirk Nowitzki had 24 after nearly blowing 19-point lead in a riors to a 130-112 road victory over the looking to snap a 32-game slide since fi nd the energy and bodies to compete 73-67 halftime advantage. points to pace the Mavericks (34-35) matchup of the West worst. Mavericks on Friday. February 14, 1997 at the AT&T Center, and pull it out.” Trailing by nine after three, the Mav- while David Lee had 16 with as many Reserve Lou Williams scored 30 “They’re the best shooting back- where the Spurs (58-10) are on a 43- Harrison Barnes had 20 points, ericks drew to within 98-97 before rebounds against his former club . points for the Lakers, who again played court I’ve ever seen,” Warriors coach game winning streak. Draymond Green 15 and reserve Mar- Thompson ran off 11 straight Warriors “The eff ort was good, we were play- without sore-shouldered Kobe Bryant.

BOTTOMLINE Rockets make early lead stand against Wolves

By Jonathan Feigen a really good start and ride that wave Houston Chronicle out the rest of the game,” Harden said. “They made a run. Our job is to contin- Donatas Motiejunas (R) of ue to do the right things and get a win.” he Rockets had their meeting the Houston Rockets defends The Rockets began the game mov- and talked through all that had against Karl-Anthony Towns of ing the ball and shared it throughout. apparently been unsaid in the the Minnesota Timberwolves Their 31 assists were one shy of the previous gatherings, but Pat during their NBA game in season high. Harden and Beverley were BeverleyT had a point to make when the the fi rst Rockets teammates to be in Houston on Friday. doors were opened. double fi gures for assists in the same He said he felt sorry for the Minne- game since Harden and Jeremy Lin sota Timberwolves, the Rockets’ next in November 2012. Every starter and opponent, and when he dared them to Michael Beasley scored in double fi g- do something about it, he seemed to be ures. challenging not the team of young tal- The Rockets covered nearly every ent heading to Toyota Center, but the line of their team meeting checklist, Rockets and himself. until the defense could not put the Beverley had off ered trash talk his game away in the fourth quarter when idol, Wolves legend Kevin Garnett, the Wolves made 66.7 percent of their could appreciate. Though the Rockets shots. did not work out all of their issues, they When the Timberwolves were backed up their point guard’s promise, hanging around within six with 2 1/2 holding off the Timberwolves 116-111 minutes left, the Rockets went back to at least end the pain from Wednes- to doing what they had throughout day’s loss to the Clippers. the game. They shared the ball and Beverley was not all talk, getting a got good shots. And they did it with season-high 18 points with a career- their power forwards, as Bickerstaff high 10 assists. He had plenty of help, sat Dwight Howard for the fi nal seven from James Harden matching his career minutes to avoid intentional fouls and high with 14 assists to Donatas Motieju- rely on his big man reinforcements. nas scoring 17 points in 26 minutes as the Motiejunas put in a Beasley miss Rockets rolled through their best shoot- and then stripped Andrew Wiggins to ing game (56.5 percent) of the season. start a break Beasley fi nished. When But the tone was set a day before. Harden set up Beasley inside and put “He’s a spark plug,” Rockets interim in a step-back jumper, the Rockets led coach JB Bickerstaff said of Beverley. by eight in the last minute, enough to “He’s the fi re starter. He makes those withstand a fl urry of 3s. plays that kind of make the hair on Follow their leader your neck stand up a little bit, make They also lived up to their point you pucker a little bit and get into it a guard’s promise enough to look for- little bit more. Guys feed off that. They Rare occurrence “We felt the heat from the coach- They left plenty of work to be done. and did not spend the game playing ward to the next team meeting and the feed off his energy. The Rockets started fast, led by ing staff, we felt the heat from our- Even with the slow start, the Tim- from behind. proclamations that come out of it. “They feed off his fi ght. He’s starting 13 and for just the second time in 19 selves,” Beverley said. “We wanted to berwolves made 50.6 percent of their Ride the fast start “He doesn’t do a lot of talking that a little mess, they feed off that. They all games, took a lead into the second come out and have a good start and shots with Karl-Anthony Towns scor- “That was important, that was one he’s not willing to back up,” Bickerstaff fi ght a little more.” quarter. we did.” ing 32 points. But the Rockets set a tone of the keys to the game, come out with said. “He doesn’t do it all the time. Gulf Times 8 Sunday, March 20, 2016 SPORT

NHL CYCLING Demare stuns favourites to win Bruins trip and Milan-SanRemo fall again, blanked by Anaheim Ducks ‘They got a couple of bounces. We didn’t. But I still think we need to be a little better’

French rider Arnaud Demare celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the Milan - San Remo cycling race in San Remo yesterday.

AFP the peloton steadily increased San Remo the pace in anticipation of the main hostilities on the decisive climbs of the Cipressa and the rnaud Demare became Poggio. the fi rst French winner It was early on the Cipressa, of a major cycling clas- with 24km remaining, that sic since 1997 when he former champion Mark Cav- sprintedA to victory in the 107th endish was left hanging off the edition of a crash-marred Mi- back, just as fellow Briton Ge- lan-SanRemo yesterday. raint Thomas (Sky) began to see Demare crossed the fi nish line his hopes fade. of the fi rst of the season’s fi ve The fi rst attack came from ‘monuments’ in 6hr 54min 45sec Giovanni Visconti, the Movis- after surviving a late crash that tar teammate of race hopeful upset the plans of a number of Alejandro Valverde, who pulled well-placed favourites. away to lure Ian Stannard on his He is the fi rst Frenchman to wheel. win one of cycling’s ‘monu- They built a 14-second lead ments’ since Laurent Jalabert on the peloton but, after being won the 1997 Tour of Lombardy. joined by three Italians, were Only months earlier Frederic kept on a tight rein as they raced Guesdon, Demare’s sporting the fl at, 8km stretch leading to director on Saturday, had won the foot of the Poggio. Paris-Roubaix. Their hopes of starting the “There are some days when fi nal, 3.7km ascent with an ad- everything works out for you,” vantage evaporated quickly as said the 24-year-old, who had the peloton upped the pace. to perform a late chase with 30 A number of leading teams Colorado Avalanche right wing Jarome Iginla (12) and Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton (27) battle for the puck during the first period of their NHL game at Scotiabank km to race after being split from and riders appeared at the front Saddledome. PICTURE: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports the bunch by a crash. in a bid to secure the best posi- Demare, the 2001 under-21 tions ahead of the frantic drop world champion, added: “Eve- into the principality. By Stephen Harris Tyler Randell got a rare game as Jim- off Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid rything went to perfection. I’m Poland’s former world cham- Boston Herald my Hayes, dropped to the fourth line Results a few feet out from the crease, where surprised at what I’ve achieved.” pion Michal Kwiatkowski raced in practice Thursday, was a healthy Anaheim winger Jamie McGinn fi nished Britain’s Ben Swift, of Team off the front for Team Sky and scratch. BUFFALO ...... 3 Ottawa ...... 1 at 2:51. Sky, fi nished a close second opened up a small lead as he he Bruins travelled to the Golden It was the fi rst DNP since Dec. 7 WASHINGTON ...... 4 Nashville ...... 1 The next goal exposed a flaw in with Belgian Jurgen Roelandts, crested the summit, but a series State with high hopes. They’d re- for Hayes, who is mired in a 10-game Chicago ...... 4 WINNIPEG...... 0 Gustavsson’s play: Giving up danger- who started the fi nal dash for of hairpin bends on the descent cently beaten several top teams scoreless slump. Randell didn’t play a Colorado ...... 4 CALGARY ....3 (SO) ous rebounds. The scoring play began the line, completing the po- meant a select chase group were and saw no reason the trend lot, but was noticeable for some raucous EDMONTON ...... 2 Vancouver ...... 0 with Bruins forward Lee Stempniak dium. never far behind. Tcouldn’t continue against heavyweight forechecking shifts. turning over the puck at the Ana- BMC’s Greg Van Averma- In the closing three kilome- ANAHEIM ...... 4 Boston ...... 0 trio of West Coast teams. Watch the Ducks play and it’s easy to heim line. Winger Andrew Cagliano et, the Belgian winner of last tres a series of counter-attacks It hasn’t quite worked out too well. understand just what the term “heavy took off down left wing and let go a week’s Tirreno-Adriatico, fi n- came thick and fast, Vincenzo After losing a winnable game in San Jose team” means. This is not the most pure- ing Anaheim center Ryan Getzlaf was on shot from the circle. Gustavsson was ished in fi fth place just ahead of Nibali, Cancellara then French- Tuesday, the Bruins were outplayed early ly talented team in the NHL — although the forecheck when he followed Bruins out and square to the shot, and tried Norway’s 2014 winner Alexan- man Tony Gallopin all having a last night by the Ducks and were never a it obviously has a slew of very skilled defenseman John-Michael Liles. Liles to cradle the puck to his chest. But he der Kristoff , while 2008 cham- go before being reeled in. threat in dropping a 4-0 decision. players — but it is a team of big, fast, attempted to pass the puck, but Get- dropped it into his crease behind him pion Fabian Cancellara slipped When Norwegian Edvald The B’s hoped to hang on to their spot aggressive and hard-working players. zlaf deftly reached out and intercepted. and Ducks center Ryan Kessler raced to outside the top ten on his fi - Boasson Hagen (Dimension atop the Atlantic Division during this They compete like crazy on every puck. Getzlaf quickly made a feed in front to in — Bruins back-checking centre Pa- nal participation before retire- Data) accelerated with 1km to trip, but that’s gone. And, unless they Everything is done at high speed and defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who trice Bergeron chasing a few strides ment. race, Van Avermaet, Fernando can salvage a point or two tonight in with a purpose. snapped a one-timer past goalie Jonas behind — to tap in the three-inch putt A breakaway group of around Gaviria and Sagan were quickly Los Angeles against the powerful Kings, Yet the Bruins, despite the quick defi - Gustavsson for a 3-0 lead. for a 2-0 lead. a dozen riders formed early in on his wheel. they’ll go 0-for-California. cit, gave a respectable eff ort. Later in the third, Bruins defenseman Thereafter, the B’s hung in gamely, the race, and they were among Sagan’s hopes, however, were “We’ve got to move on,” said Bruins “We dig ourselves a hole there, 2-0,” Zdeno Chara had a rare fi ght, taking on continuing to play their get-it-deep and the fi rst to be informed as or- dashed when Gaviria crashed in forward Matt Beleskey. “We need to take said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “We 6-foot-4, 216-pound Clayton Stoner. forecheck game. They actually outshot ganisers were forced into some front of him in the closing 500 some points home from this road trip.” had as many chances and as many op- Before any punches landed, Chara lost their hosts in the fi rst period, 11-10, but impromptu reorganisation. metres. The incident rocked mo- “This was a tough loss. When it was portunities as they did. They cashed in his balance and took an ignominious went to the room down 2-0. A landslide near Arenzano, mentum and caused late panic, 2-0, we were right there. We had some theirs. We didn’t. We didn’t come out fall. Beleskey, excited about his fi rst return roughly 130km into the race, but failed to shake Demare. good chances. (Goalie Frederik An- here to go home empty-handed. We’ve The Bruins may have had three days to the rink where he played the previous left huge boulders on the road After waiting until Roelandts dersen) played good. We couldn’t quite got a way to get some points here. We to prepare for this, but they still got six years with the Ducks, had to be helped and forced organisers to send made his fi nal bid for the line, the get that one to break the ice,” added Be- played well enough that we should have blitzed early. The Ducks put two of their off the ice with 3:44 left in the fi rst, the the peloton along an adjacent Frenchman kept his composure leskey. “They got a couple of bounces. had a chance. (Tonight) we’ve got to fi rst four shots behind Gustavsson, tak- apparent victim of an unintentional high motorway, adding an extra four to launch his sprint in timely We didn’t. But I still think we need to be make it happen.” ing a 2-0 lead just 4:07 in. stick. Beleskey got whatever repairs were kilometres to the scheduled dis- fashion and overtake Swift in the a little better.” The speed and skill were apparent There was no fault on the fi rst as required and was back to start the second tance of 291km. closing 20 metres to become the After a bad start, the Ducks are 27-7-3 when the Ducks put away the game 58 a slapper from atop the left circle by period, blocking shots and hitting every- The frontrunners were reeled fi rst French winner since Jalabert since Christmas. seconds into the third period. Tower- Anaheim forward Corey Perry bounced one he could catch. in with 25km remaining as in 1995.

BOTTOMLINE MLB hopes to create pathway for Cubans

By Clark Spencer we think the only way to deal with the players have encountered in their har- Adeiny Hechavarria got out on boats. a boat and hopefully not drown, and time soon,” Kehoskie said. “First of all, Miami Herald potential problem associated with that rowing journeys to the United States. Others defected while playing abroad hopefully not get killed because some the changes announced by President is a free and open system.” The league has submitted a proposal to for Cuban national teams. gang is looking to kidnap them, or be- Obama don’t allow Cuba to receive any- In that quest, Manfred is traveling to the US Treasury Department designed Some made their way out with the cause rival smugglers are fi ghting out thing. So it would be a massive change s he watched Marlins pitcher Cuba, where the Tampa Bay Rays will to open a straight path for Cuban play- assistance of profi t-gouging smug- who owns this individual.” on the part of the Cuban government Jose Fernandez strike out New face a Cuban national team in an ex- ers. glers, who commanded steep prices _ Major League Baseball is trying to to just say, OK, we’re done, we quit, we York Mets outfi elder Yoenis hibition game on Tuesday. President That’s only the fi rst step. Any agree- upwards of 30 to 40 percent of future bring an end to the subterfuge. surrender. We’re going to allow players Cespedes in a spring training Obama is also making the trip, making ment also would require the approval salaries - for their freedom. (The typi- Because the Cuban-embargo re- to leave just like any player from around Agame, it reminded Major League Base- him the fi rst sitting US President to visit of other interests, such as the Baseball cal agent fee for a US-based player is 5 mains in place, the league has crafted the world.” ball commissioner Rob Manfred of the the country in 88 years. Federation of Cuba, the Cuban govern- percent). a plan that would circumvent money Kehoskie added that even if an challenge that is facing him. All of it is coming about as the re- ment and the Major League Baseball Texas Rangers outfi elder Leonys fl owing directly to the Cuban govern- agreement is worked out, so few major Fernandez and Cespedes went sult of the Obama administration’s Players’ Association. Martin was among a number of Cubans ment. Instead, the proposal calls for the league-caliber players remain in Cuba _ through great hardship to defect from decision in 2014 to re-establish diplo- “Any time you add parties to a proc- who were smuggled into Mexico and establishment of an entity in Cuba - most of the top players have managed to Cuba, risking their lives to fl ee the matic relations with Cuba. And Major ess, it get more complicated,” Manfred held hostage for ransom as part of a hu- something akin to a non-profi t group - make it out already by whatever means country in order to play baseball in the League Baseball is looking at is a chance said. While foreign players from coun- man-traffi cking ring. The mastermind that would receive a percentage of a Cu- - that it wouldn’t create a sudden infl ux United States. Still other Cuban players to smooth the path for Cuban players tries such as the Dominican Republic, of the ring, Elizer Lazo, pleaded guilty ban ballplayers’ major league salary and of talent to big-league rosters. desperate to exit allowed themselves to wanting to play in the United States. Venezuela and Mexico have found their last year to extortion. funnel it into youth baseball programs. Despite the restrictions, the number become black-market pawns in which Manfred is hoping to work out a his- way to the majors through a process “There really are tremendous risks Joe Kehoskie, a former player agent of Cuban players in the majors has in- human traffi ckers extracted a heavy toric agreement that would enable Cu- that is not nearly as restrictive, players and dangers involved,” said Paul Minoff , and US based expert on baseball in creased steadily. According to base- price for their goals and freedom. bans to play professionally in the United from baseball-infatuated Cuba have Martin’s Fort Lauderdale-based attor- Cuba, is doubtful that such a plan ballreference.com, only three Cubans “Those are exactly the burdens we’re States without endangering their lives had to resort to elaborate escape plans ney. “It’s sad, in order for these indi- would work. played in the majors in 1985. By 2005, interested in alleviating,” Manfred said and those of their families. - often at their own peril - to reach the viduals to be able to take advantage of “I’m guessing that we’re not going to that number had increased to 10. Last Thursday. “We’re all aware of the sto- But he faces almost as many hurdles big leagues. opportunity [in the US], that they have be seeing any direct pipeline between season, 28 Cuban-born athletes played ries that have been written and told, and in reaching such an accord as Cuban Fernandez and Marlins shortstop to escape in the middle of the night on Cuba and major league baseball any- in the majors. Gulf Times Sunday, March 20, 2016 9 SPORT

WORLD INDOOR ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS QATAR’S BALLA, HAROUN CRUISE Bromell strikes gold INTO FINAL Doha: Qatar’s Musaeb Abdul- down to a head-to-head duel rahman Balla will start as a between reigning champion favourite for the men’s 800m Pavel Maslak of Czech Republic title at the World Indoor Athlet- and Haroun, and that’s exactly ics Championships in Portland, what happened as the pair United States, after he cruised tussled for the lead approach- on day of drama to the final setting the fastest ing the bell. As so often is the time during the qualifying case indoors, it was Maslak who heats on Friday afternoon. utilised his speed best and got In the women’s pentathlon, Canada’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton snatched gold Balla coasted to victory in to the break in front. 1:47.61 seconds. In the men’s Haroun attacked again off 800m, Balla is the only one of the final bend, but Maslak the competitors to have broken pulled out more on the final run 1:46.00 this year – having to the line and edged the Qatari run 1:45.93 in Stockholm last in what may prove a crucial month – and he ran with the photo finish, given the impor- confidence of an athlete vastly tance of lane draws indoors, superior to his rivals. with both recording 45.71 and The 27-year-old shot to the only being separated by 0.002. front on the first of four laps, “It was very, very hard,” said passed 400m in a steady 53.22, Maslak. “Haroun is a very good and looked well within himself athlete. Tomorrow will be a as he maintained the lead very hard fight.” The final was throughout the rest of the race scheduled for late last night in and came home in 1:47.61. Portland. Meanwhile, Qatar’s 19-year- Mutaz Essa Barshim was also old sprinter Abdalelah Haroun in action in High Jump final late also qualified for the 400M last night. The Qatari Olympic final on Friday. The second bronze medallist is one of the semi-final was expected to boil favourites for the gold medal.

USA’s Trayvon Bromell (right) sprints to victory in the 60 metres race at the IAAF World Indoor athletic championships in Portland, Oregon. (AFP)

AFP It was an agonising loss for Jamai- Eaton—roared support from inside the Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic, who had seemed Portland, Oregon can veteran Powell, who had looked to track as she came down the home straight poised to win gold after leading with a be in ominous form after twice clock- to claim a memorable win before embrac- jump of 7.07m. ing 6.44sec in the early rounds on Fri- ing her at the fi nish line. “If you’re going to win you have to put ising American sprint star Tray- day. “I’m happy with a medal but I’m not “To have someone that you share so it all on the line,” Reese said. “I took eve- von Bromell swept to victory overly excited because if I’d run a 6.44 in much with right there being able to ex- rything I had left in me and just jumped.” in the men’s 60 metres to cap a the fi nal I would have won the gold med- perience it with me is so special,” Theis- Britain’s Lorraine Ugen took bronze day of high drama at the World al,” Powell told reporters. en-Eaton said. “Seeing him on the side- with a best jump of 6.93. IndoorR Athletics Championships here Bromell’s victory was the fi nal act of a line running toward me to help me with In the 60m hurdles, Nia Ali successful- Friday. Bromell, who won a bronze medal thrilling fi rst full day of competition at something helps calm me down a little bit ly defended her 2014 Indoor crown with in the 100m at last year’s World Cham- the Oregon Convention Center. Earlier and being able to celebrate this with him victory in 7.81secs, just ahead of compa- pionships in , gave another dem- the home crowd had witnessed a nerve- is really awesome and the cherry on top.” triot Brianna Rollins in 7.82sec. Amer- onstration of his talent to come home jangling fi nish to the women’s pentath- Eaton meanwhile remained well- ican-born British runner Tiff any Porter in 6.47sec, stunning pre-race favourite lon, where Canada’s Brianne Theisen- placed to secure an unprecedented hat- won bronze. Asafa Powell of Jamaica. Eaton snatched gold with victory in the trick of indoor gold medals when the New Zealand’s Tom Walsh won the The 20-year-old, who made world- fi nal event, the 800m. heptathlon concludes late last night. The shot put gold medal after producing a wide headlines in June last year when he Theisen-Eaton’s hopes of winning a reigning world and Olympic champion season best throw of 21.78m to easily de- clocked an astonishing 9.84sec at the US fi rst gold medal in a major championship leads the heptathlon after four events feat his rivals, none of whom were able to trials, just edged out Powell with Ramon had looked to be over after she trailed by with 3,564 points, ahead of Germany’s break the 21-metre barrier. Walsh regis- Gittens of Barbados third in a photo fi n- more than 100 points to ’s Anas- Kurt Felix (3,501) and Oleksiy Kasyanov of tered four throws longer than 21m, and ish. “It was a great race. I know those tasiya Mokhnyuk heading into the race. Ukraine with 3,420. saved his best for last. guys are great competitors so I said to But Theisen-Eaton blasted clear of Elsewhere on Friday, American athletes “I’d been holding back all day and I myself ‘When I hear the gun go off , you the fi eld in a duel with American Barbara dominated with gold medals in the wom- just decided to let it go,” said Walsh, the got to go, you got to power out,” said Bro- Nwaba before powering home to win in en’s long jump and women’s 60m hur- bronze medallist at the 2014 World In- Qatar’s Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla runs in the men’s 800 metres mell. “I’m just here to have fun, run my 2min 9.03sec as Mokhnyuk faded badly. dles. Olympic champion Brittney Reese doors. Andrei Gag of took silver heat during the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships in race, run my event as best I can as long as The Canadian’s husband—Olympic won the long jump at the death, produc- while Filip Mihaljevic of Croatia grabbed Portland, Oregon on Friday. (Reuters) I can and have fun with the sport.” and world decathlon champion Ashton ing a last-gasp leap of 7.22m to overhaul bronze.

RUGBY SPOTLIGHT Ruthless Ireland Gymnasts arrive for World Challenge Cup

By Sports Reporter before the event as the Federation is keen Doha A gymnast trains at the on maintaining the level of success, the defeat Scotland Aspire Academy ahead of event used to reach.” the FIG Artistic “Hosting the World Challenge Cup for AFP utes, but the home side were he preparations for the 2016 FIG World Challenge Cup. the 9th year in a row refl ects the trust of Dublin dominant for the majority of the World Chal- International Gymnastics Federation in fi rst half with Sexton looking lenge Cup is on full swing. The the abilities of the Qatari organizational back to his inspiring best. three-day event will be held at abilities. The event will help us achieve uthless Ireland pun- Somehow, Scotland were the TAspire Academy of Sports Excellence in the vision of the Qatar Olympic Commit- ished an indisciplined fi rst to touch down with a piece Doha from March 24th to 26th. Gymnasts tee which is bringing in the world togeth- Scotland to round off a of magic from the in-form Glas- from Kazakhstan and Armenia have ar- er through sports,” al-Hitmi added. disappointing Six Na- gow full back Stuart Hogg. rived in Doha to participate in the event The list of participating gymnasts in- tionsR championship on a high Hogg gathered Conor Mur- and began their training sessions at As- cludes ’s Zou Kai who claimed three with a 35-25 win yesterday. ray’s box-kick just on the half pire Academy of Sports Excellence. gold medals at the 2008 Joe Schmidt’s men had hoped way line, and once he spotted the Organised by the Qatar Gymnastics in Beijing. He also won two more gold to make history this season by front row pairing of Mike Ross Federation (QGF), the event will feature medals and one bronze at the 2012 Olym- winning a third title back-to- and Rory Best in his way he dum- the participation of 33 countries includ- pic Games. back but will have to make do mied, cut through the middle ing; China, Cuba, Argentina, Armenia, Brazil’s Diego Hypolito will also be seen with back-to-back wins, follow- and sprinted home. Sweden, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Costa Rica, in Doha during the event. The Brazilian ing last week’s victory over Scot- Wales secured second spot be- Croatia, Finland, Great Britain, Germany, star gymnast won two bronze medals in land. Scotland, who defeated hind England thanks to a record- Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, World Cups in Japan 2011 and China 2014. last weekend, were look- breaking 67-14 demolition of Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Malaysia, On the other hand, the Women’s com- ing for a third successive cham- hapless Italy. Tries from Rhys Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Roma- petitions will feature the participation pionship win for the fi rst time Webb, Dan Biggar and Jonathan nia, Slovenia, , Syria, Turkey, of Romania’s Catalina Ponor, Larisa Ior- in 20 years, but a poor start and Davies helped Wales to a 27-0 Vietnam and hosts Qatar. dache and Diana Bulimar. Switzerland’s indiscipline let them down, with lead at the break with further QGF signed the sponsorship contracts , Ilaria Käslin, and Ste- two sin-bins costing them dear- tries from Jamie Roberts, Liam with the sponsors and partners recently. fanie Siegenthaler will also compete in ly. Scotland’s indiscipline began Williams, a late double from Ross Ali al-Hitmi, President of the QGF inked the three-day event. to hurt them early on, with John- Moriarty and a further score the sponsorship contracts with Aspire The State of Qatar will be represented ny Sexton slotting home three from Gareth Davies completing Academy, Dana Water Company, Best by three players including Farah Tariq, penalties inside the opening 20 the rout. Western Hotel and Look Advertising Mahmoud al-Saadi and Ahmad al-Day- minutes, as the visitors found Scores from Guglielmo Pal- Company. ani. Al-Hitmi wished the Qatari players themselves on the wrong side of azzini and Gonzalo Garcia were The offi cials of sponsoring companies can qualify to the fi nals of their disci- referee Pascal Gauzere, particu- the only highlights for Italy in said that they are keen on participating the Qatari sports. On his part, Ali al-Hit- Al-Hitmi lauded the contribution of plines as he stressed that those gymnasts larly at the breakdown. what was Wales’ highest ever in such an event as it features word’s top mi, Chairman of Organizing Committee the sponsors in the success of world chal- have acquired the necessary experience Greig Laidlaw responded with winning margin over the Azzurri gymnasts. The also stressed that hosting extended his appreciation to sponsors lenge cup and said: “Signing the contracts to do so after sparkling at regional and in- a penalty for Scotland on 15 min- in the Six Nations. the world challenge cup will help develop and partners for the support to event. with the sponsors and partners came days ternational levels. Gulf Times 10 Sunday, March 20, 2016 GOLF

ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL SPOTLIGHT Chawrasia jumps Jason Day shoots 65, into sole lead at Indian Open takes two-shot edge IANS know how to play here. Honestly, New Delhi the Hero Indian Open is a very important tournament for me and for sure I want to win it be- England’s Justin Rose also signed for a 66 that left him three shots back on 134 ome golfer SSP cause I have fi nished second over Chawrasia produced a here four times,” he added. short game masterclass Pilkadaris, a three-time win- Jason Day of Australia hits his tee shot as he returned with a ner on the Asian Tour, rolled Hthird round four-under 68 to in a clutch par putt on the 17th on the ninth hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay hold a two-shot lead at the Hero hole to stay in the title hunt. He Hill in Orlando, Florida. (AFP) Indian Open yesterday. praised playing partner Chawra- Chawrasia, a three-time win- sia for his impressive short game ner on the Asian Tour, carded performance. four birdies but it was a par save World No.52 Lahiri will be after fi nding thick bushes on the aiming to repeat last year’s he- 12th hole which earned him the roics where he fought back from biggest applause as he led the seven shots down to defeat chasing pack on 14-under 202. Chawrasia on the fi rst play-off Overnight leader Terry Pilka- hole. daris of Australia, searching for “I have a chance. This is Del- a fi rst win since 2005, posted a hi Golf Club and pressure does disappointing one-over 73 to lie funny things to people out here. I in second place at $1.66 million can’t control the weather or how event sanctioned by the Asian anybody is playing. I’m happy Tour and European Tour. with how I played today so hope- Reigning Asian Tour number fully I can back it up with a better one and title holder Anirban La- fi nal round,” said Lahiri, a seven- hiri of India charged into conten- time winner on the Asian Tour. tion with a fl awless 67 to tie in Rahil Gangjee of India shot a third place alongside country- 66 to share the fi fth place with man Rashid Khan (69) on 206 to South Korean rising star Jeung- trail by four shots. Chawrasia, a hun Wang, Brazilian Adilson Da four-time runner-up at the Hero Silva and Frenchman Sebastien Indian Open, turned in 32 before Gros, who will head into the fi nal holding his nerve to sink a clutch round fi ve shots off the pace. 14-foot par putt on the 10th hole. Veteran Arjun Atwal scored 67 With Pilkadaris trailing close- to move into the ninth spot on ly, the 38-year-old Chawrasia eight-under 208, while Shiv Ka- found trouble on the 12th hole pur was one shot behind him as when his tee shot landed in thick he carded 70. and thorny bushes. Standing in an awkward position, he calmly 3rd round leading scores chipped out to safety and holed 202 - S S P Chawrasia (IND) 67-67-68 out to save par from the edge of 204 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 67-64-73 the green. 206 - Anirban Lahiri (IND) 68-71-67, “On the 10th and 12th holes I Rashid Khan (IND) 69-68-69 had to make saves. I think on the 207 - Rahil Gangjee (IND) 69-72-66, 12th I was very lucky to make a Jeunghun Wang (KOR) 67-74-66, chip to make a par. It felt great to Sebastien Gros (FRA) 69-70-68, see the ball going into the hole. Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 72-66-69 It helped me to hold the score. 208 - Arjun Atwal (IND) 70-71-67, N. Those two holes made a lot of Thangaraja (SRI) 69-71-68, Julien diff erence,” Chawrasia said. Quesne (FRA) 70-68-70, Alejandro “I have played here at the Delhi Canizares (ESP) 68-69-71, Jorge Golf Club quite a few times. So, I Campillo (ESP) 66-71-71

AFP closed out the round by banging in a 36- Orlando, Florida foot birdie putt at the ninth. “My goal was to be patient out there but still aggressive STENSON, FURYK TO with the lines I was taking,” Day said. ustralia’s Jason Day fi red a bo- “Today I hit some phenomenal drives MISS WGC MATCH PLAY gey-free seven-under par 65 on to set up some great irons into the greens. Friday to take a two-shot lead Played the par-5s great and his a couple Texas: Seventh-ranked Henrik Stenson as of bracket-deciding rankings. over Henrik Stenson after two huge bombs out there.” and 15th-ranked Jim Furyk will miss Added to the lineup were 65th- roundsA of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Stenson was eight adrift when he teed next week’s World Golf Championships ranked American Kizzire and Den- at Bay Hill. off later in the day, but climbed up the Match Play tournament, organisers mark’s 66th-rated Olesen, with Last year’s PGA Championship winner leaderboard with a 66. said on Friday, allowing Patton Kizzire England’s 67th-rated Ian Poulter just has his eyes fi rmly set on back-to-back “It’s motivating,” Stenson said of and Thorbjorn Olesen to make the missing out. Poulter won the 2010 major titles with the Masters looming in starting so far back. “You can’t let it be field. The field of 64 will meet starting edition of the event at Dove Mountain three weeks at Augusta National. frustrating that you’re eight shots back. Wednesday at Austin (Texas) Country in Arizona. World number three Day birdied three “He played great, and you’ve just got Club with Northern Ireland’s Rory Last year used an early group play par-5 holes and followed up his opening to go and do the same, and I managed to McIlroy defending his crown just two format instead of knockout-only 66, which put him one stroke ahead when do that,” added Stenson, who made fi ve of weeks before trying to claim his first matches. Players will be divided into 16 the round began, with another impressive his seven birdies on the back nine. green jacket, and complete a career four-player groups again this year with round at the Orlando layout leaving him England’s Justin Rose also signed for a Grand Slam, at the Masters. matches not going beyond 18 holes on 13-under 131 for 36 holes. 66 that left him three shots back on 134. Stenson is idle next week over until Friday even if halved. The player “It’s great to be there,” said Day, who After a rollercoaster fi rst round that scheduling issues while Furyk has a with the best record in each group led by fi ve strokes when he fi nished his included two eagles and a double-bogey, wrist injury, robbing the tournament of advances to the 16-player knockout round. “Defi nitely way above average. Rose was pleased to notch six birdies players who would be a second and a matches, two on Saturday and two on I had it on a string around here the past without a bogey. “Yesterday was a color- fourth seed if their ranking spots hold Sunday deciding the champion. two days. I’m very happy with the way ful scorecard,” Rose said. “Today, a little I’ve gotten around this course.” bit more solid.” 134 - Justin Rose (ENG) 68-66 Billy Horschel 72-67, Kiradech Aphibarnrat Day, who began his round off the 10th Day, Stenson and Rose will tee off to- 136 - Jamie Lovemark 68-68, Troy Merritt (THA) 70-69, Zac Blair 71-68, Chris Kirk 68-71, tee, sank a two-foot birdie putt at the gether in the third round as organisers 67-69, Kevin Chappell 68-68, Derek Fathauer Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 68-71, Billy Hurley par-5 12th, tapped in for birdie at the send the fi eld off in threesomes from both 70-66 69-70 par-5 16th after missing a 17-foot eagle the fi rst and 10th tees in an eff ort to beat 137 - Paul Casey (ENG) 68-69, Marc Leishman 140 - Patrick Rodgers 70-70, Zach Johnson bid and dropped a 37-foot birdie putt at expected inclement weather. 67-70, Brendan Steele 67-70 70-70, Brian Harman 69-71, Jonas Blixt (SWE) the par-3 17th. The Aussie dropped his 138 - K.J. Choi (KOR) 68-70, Jason Kokrak 72-68, a-Maverick McNealy 69-71, Francesco approach inches from the cup to set up a LEADING SCORES 70-68, David Hearn (CAN) 71-67, Chris Wood Molinari (ITA) 68-72, Andy Sullivan (ENG) 70- birdie at the fourth, sank a 12-foot birdie (USA unless noted, par 72, a- amateur): 69-69, Rob Oppenheim 70-68 70, Adam Scott (AUS) 67-73, Smylie Kaufman putt at the fi fth and added a three-footer 131 - Jason Day (AUS) 66-65 139 - Cameron Tringale 68-71, Hideki Mat- 69-71, Ryan Moore 71-69, Webb Simpson India’s SSP Chawrasia carded four birdies in the third round to take for birdie at the par-5 sixth. Then he 133 - Henrik Stenson (SWE) 67-66 suyama (JPN) 70-69, Keegan Bradley 69-70, 70-70 lead at the Hero Indian Open yesterday.

FOCUS Kim Sei-Young grabs LPGA lead in Phoenix

AFP pin. I pick up the fi ve-wood, try the shot be- ing 25th on 137 that also included world number Phoenix cause it’s downwind. I have to make it stay in one Lydia Ko of New Zealand and South Korean the bowl because the greens are very fi rm. So it great Pak Se-Ri—who said on Thursday that was good work,” she said. 2016 would be her last competitive season. outh Korean Kim Sei-Young had two Kim has held at least a share of the 36-hole With a cutline of three-under par, several eagles in a six-under par 66 on Friday lead fi ve times in her career, going on to win marquee names will be missing at the weekend, to grab a two-stroke lead over Ameri- three of those events in 2015. Lang teed off on 10 including world number two Park In-Bee—who can Brittany Lang at the LPGA Founders and took sole possession of the lead at 14-under missed her fi rst cut of 2016 -- and two-time CupS in Phoenix, Arizona. par with her fourth birdie of the day, at the par- Founders Cup winner Karrie Webb of Australia. Kim and Lang, who had dueled for the lead four third hole. early on Thursday, again found themselves bat- She gave a shot back with her only bogey of LEADING SCORES tling in the second round, trading the lead be- the day at the seventh, fi nishing with a 68 that (USA unless noted, a-amateur, par 72): fore Kim emerged in front with a 36-hole total left her on 131. “I hit a ton of good shots,” Lang 129 - Kim Sei-Young (KOR) 63-66 of 15-under 129. It was Kim’s second eagle of the said. “It was tough with the wind at times. The 131 - Brittany Lang 63-68 day, at the par-fi ve 15th, that put her in front for key was just patience, knocking a few in there 132 - Jacqui Concolino 68-64, Giulia Sergas (ITA) good. Her second shot with a fi ve-iron was on and getting some confi dence early.” 64-68 line all the way, leaving her with a seven-footer American Jacqui Concolino and Italy’s Giulia 133 - Ji Eun-Hee (KOR) 66-67, Gerina Piller 65-68 for the eagle. “I feel not bad because, before the Sergas shared third on 132. Concolino carded a 134 - Paula Creamer 69-65, Ryann O’Toole 68-66, fi rst round, I was like uncomfortable because I 64 and Sergas signed for a 68. They were one Karine Icher (FRA) 67-67, Paula Reto (RSA) 67-67, couldn’t trust myself,” said Kim, who also had stroke in front of South Korean Ji Eun-Hee (67) Minjee Lee (AUS) 65-69 three birdies and a bogey. “After this round, I and American Gerina Piller (68). 135 - Stacy Lewis 70-65, Cristie Kerr 69-66, Caroline got confi dence.” First round leader Lee Mi-Hyang who Masson (GER) 69-66, Kim Kaufman 67-68, Pernilla Kim had reason to feel good about her game scorched the Wildfi re Golf Club course with a Lindberg (SWE) 65-70 after opening with a birdie then rolling in a 25- 10-under par 62 on Thursday, couldn’t keep up 136 - a-Hannah O’Sullivan 72-64, Ryu So-Yeon (KOR) foot eagle at the second hole. the torrid pace and signed for a three-over par 70-66, Bertine Strauss (RSA) 69-67, Lee Mi-Rim “Hole two, I got the second shot 200 to the South Korea’s Kim Sei-Young 75. That left her in a group of 15 players shar- (KOR) 68-68, Sakura Yokomine (JPN) 68-68 Gulf Times Sunday, March 20, 2016 11 SPORT

BNP PARIBAS OPEN FOCUS Serena battles Nadal sets up dream past Radwanska, books title clash SF duel with Djoko with Azarenka

AFP Indian Wells ‘It is going to be a game of cat and mouse. I enjoy the rivalry against Rafa. It is probably the most exciting rivalry I have had in my career’ ovak Djokovic set up a mouth- watering Indian Wells semi- fi nal showdown with nine-time French Open champion Rafael Rafael Nadal of Spain returns NNadal, who the world number one Serb a forehand during his straight considers his biggest rival on the ATP Tour. sets win over Kei Nishikori Both Nadal and Djokovic eased through of Japan in their BNP Paribas their Indian Wells quarter-fi nal contests Open quarter-final clash. (AFP) in straight sets and will now square off in a match worthy of a title clash. “It is going to be a game of cat and Reuters play well against her tonight. mouse,” Djokovic said. “I enjoy the rivalry Indian Wells “I could have played three against Rafa. It is probably the most excit- sets but I fi gured I should at ing rivalry I have had in my career.” least do 1,000 percent right World number fi ve Nadal survived an erena Williams over- now. That’s what I tried to do.” early assault to defeat Japan’s Kei Nishiko- came a sluggish start Williams improved to 23-1 at ri 6-4, 6-3 in the joint ATP and WTA Tour to forge past Agnieszka Indian Wells, where she won in hardcourt tournament in the California Radwanska 6-4 7-6(1) 1999 and 2001, before taking desert. The Nadal-Nishikori match kicked andS move into the fi nal of the a self-imposed 14-year exile off a star-studded pair of Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open on Friday. from the event amidst allega- quarter-fi nals on Friday featuring four of The world number one, who tions of racial abuse from fans the world’s top 10 players. will play Victoria Azarenka for after sister Venus withdrew Djokovic defeated ninth-ranked Jo- the title, was 4-2 down in the minutes before their semi-fi nal Wilfried Tsonga, of France, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 opening set and not moving showdown. (7/2). “I beat a top 10 player and that is freely in the semi-fi nal at In- Some 15 years later, she is important for my confi dence,” said Nadal, dian Wells. feeling the love. “I had a lot of who is hoping to put to bed speculation However, after the American support, I heard a lot of ‘Go Ser- that his career is on a downward spiral. found her rhythm she claimed enas’ and that was kind of cool,” He has won 14 Grand Slam titles but four straight games to take Williams added. “This year has none in the past 18 months. “Tomorrow is control of the set, then con- been great. It feels so great to another opportunity for me to play against tinued her run in the second to be supported. It’s been a great another top player,” Nadal added. win the opening three games comeback here in Indian Wells, The swashbuckling Spaniard is looking before her Polish opponent so I’m excited about that.” for another stamp in his championship fought back. Williams will play 13th seed passport, having already won Indian Wells Radwanska displayed the and 2012 champion Victoria in 2007, 2009 and 2013, while Djokovic is kind of tennis that will see her Azarenka in the fi nal after she going for a record fi fth crown. rise to number two in the world beat Czech Republic’s Karolina “I feel I am strong mentally and I have rankings on Monday, rallying Pliskova 7-6(1) 1-6, 6-2 in the the right energy,” Nadal said. “I am able to win the next three games to other semi-fi nal. to fi ght for every ball and I now believe in get the set back on serve. Despite service troubles, in- myself the whole match.” The Pole even had a chance cluding fi ve double faults in the Nadal had just two aces but he took to win just her second career opening set, and a poor second care of his serve by winning 62 percent of set against Williams when she set, Azarenka found her way his fi rst-serve points. He broke Nishikori broke the American to lead 6-5, past the 18th seed to give her- four times. He closed out the 93-minute but could not close out on serve. self a chance at a second title match with a forehand down the line that Williams then snuff ed out of the year and a return to the Nishikori stumbled after but came no- any hopes Radwanska had of world’s top 10. where near to getting a racquet on. claiming a fi rst victory over “It defi nitely was a tough Nadal improved to 8-1 lifetime against the American, winning seven battle,” Azarenka said. “I’m Nishikori and avenged a loss in their most straight points to take the tie- glad I stayed strong and stayed recent meeting last year at Montreal. breaker 7-1 and improve to 10-0 cool and calm and tried to fi nd Nadal and Djokovic are nearly even in in their head-to-head battles. a way in the third set to take their 47 head-to-head meetings, with the “I think it was really good control. I worked so hard this Serb owning a 24-23 edge. ing the Australian Open. start against the Spaniard. “I won the last and had four double faults in the two hour, for me to have a match like that week to put myself in a posi- Nadal knows it is not wise to bet against He is hoping to use Indian Wells as a couple of times we played against each oth- six minute match on Friday. and I think that’s the reason tion to play the best player in Djokovic and if anyone else wins the In- stepping stone to winning his fi rst French er so maybe that can give me a slight mental Tsonga had seven double-faults and had ‘Aga’ is doing so well, because the world,” she added about dian Wells title it would be a big surprise. Open in two months and complete the ca- advantage,” Djokovic said. “When you step his serve broken twice as his magic run she never gave up,” Williams the fi nal. “That’s exactly where “He’s a clear favourite because he’s win- reer Grand Slam. on the court you feel the tension. That’s this week came to a grinding halt under told reporters. I want to be. I want to go out ning all the matches almost every time,” Djokovic has had a distinct advantage why it is important to use that strong emo- the 34 degrees Celsius (93F) heat in the “I was up so much in the there and try to play my best Nadal said of Djokovic. against Nadal, coming out victorious in tion and intensity and channel it in a posi- main stadium. No Frenchman has reached second and she just came back tennis, play high quality ten- Two-time defending champion Djoko- nine of their last 10 matches. tive way rather than a negative way.” the semis here since Guy Forget played Jim and was determined more than nis, do what I do in practice and vic has already won twice this year includ- Djokovic said he needs to get off to a fast Djokovic blasted two aces, 18 winners Courier in the fi nal four in 1991. ever, so it was really good to just have fun.” High technical skills, strong competition mark Aspire Academy Tri-Series

By Sports Reporter Doha

he latest Aspire Academy Tri-Series football tournament of the 2015-2016 season, which concluded on Wednesday, saw Tcompetition between the Academy’s U-15, U-14 and U-13 and their counterparts from Thai football club Chonburi FC and Swed- ish football club Malmo FF. At the conclusion of the tournament, Aspire Academy’s U-13 team earned the title in their category, while Chonburi FC and Malmo FF both returned home with a title of their own, winning the U-14 and U-15 titles, respectively. “This is Malmo FF’s second Tri-Series participation, building on the participation of our U-19 teams in the previous season. The performance of the opponents has been of a very high level, and resulted in a series of closely-fought matches and well-deserved overall victories for all participating teams,” Mats Engqvist, Direc- tor of Youth Academy at Malmo FF, analysed the tournament. Witthaya Laohakul, Director of Chonburi FC, said: “This is our first participation in the Aspire Academy Tri-Series tournament, and our experience has been wonderful. The facilities here are world-class, and the tournament has been very well organised. The matches have been tough, and the opponents have presented a very good quality of technical gameplay. I am really proud of Chonburi FC’s performance.” The Tri-Series competitions play a major role in the develop- ment of Aspire Academy’s student-athletes. Giving teams from the Academy exposure to diff erent playing styles, management philosophies and tactics from around the globe and the oppor- tunity to play against opposition from some of the world’s most established footballing countries helps the Academy’s players develop their talent and fulfil their potential. It is a vital part of Aspire Academy’s commitment to enabling the sporting success of its student-athletes. During their stay in Qatar, the visiting teams stayed at the Torch and Grand Heritage Hotels. On the days when they were not com- peting in the tournament, the teams were given a tour of Doha and visited a number of the city’s best-known tourist attractions and important landmarks, learning about Qatari history and culture. Chonburi FC is a Thai football club based in the province of Chonburi, and competes in the Thai Premier League. Malmo FF is a Swedish football club based in the city of Malmo, and competes in the Allsvenskan (All-Swedish) League. It is considered the most successful football club in Sweden, and has won the highest number of trophies. In recent years, the Tri-Series tournament has brought some of the world’s finest youth teams together to compete against the student-athletes currently enrolled at Aspire Academy. Doing so provides unique opportunities to support the develop- ment of local players, aligning with Aspire Academy’s vision to be recognised as the world’s leading sports academy for the develop- ment of youth athletes by 2020. Sunday, March 20, 2016 GULF TIMES SPORT

WORLD T20 Classy Kohli anchors India to easy win over Pakistan Kohli (55 ) and Yuvraj combined caution and aggression to blunt the Pakistan bowling attack on a two-paced pitch

AFP Kolkata SCORECARD PAKISTAN ool-headed Virat Kohli scored an un- Sharjeel Khan c Pandya b Raina 17 beaten half century as India cruised to Ahmed Shehzad c Jadeja b Bumrah 25 a comfortable six-wicket victory over Shahid Afridi c Kohli b Pandya 8 arch rivals Pakistan at Kolkata’s Eden Umar Akmal c Dhoni b Jadeja 22 GardensC in the World Twenty20 yesterday. Shoaib Malik c Ashwin b Nehra 26 Pre-tournament favourites India put their Sarfraz Ahmed not out 8 campaign back on track after suff ering a shock Mohammad Hafeez not out 5 loss against New Zealand in the tournament Extras (b2, lb3, w1, nb1) 7 opener, extending their jinx in major tourna- Total (5 wickets, 18 overs) 118 ments against Pakistan. Did not bat: Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mo- Chasing 119 on a track that seemed dual- hammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan Fall of wickets: paced, India lost their top three batsmen early 1-38 (Khan), 2-46 (Shehzad), 3-60 (Afridi), 4-101 only to see Kohli and Yuvraj Singh put together (Akmal), 5-105 (Malik) a 61-run, fourth-wicket partnership to help the Bowling: Nehra 4-0-20-1, Ashwin 3-0-12-0, hosts canter home in 15.5 overs in a game re- Bumrah 4-0-32-1, Jadeja 4-0-20-1, Raina 1-0-4-1, duced to 18 overs a side because of rain. Kohli (55 Pandya 2-0-25-1 not out) and Yuvraj combined caution and ag- INDIA gression to blunt the Pakistan bowling attack, Rohit Sharma c Malik b Amir 10 which seemed to miss left-arm spinner Imad Shikhar Dhawan b Sami 6 Wasim, who made way for Mohammad Sami. Virat Kohli not out 55 “It was a challenging wicket out there. You Suresh Raina b Sami 0 need new challenges in every innings that you Yuvraj Singh c Sami b Riaz 24 play,” Kohli said as he picked up a well-deserved Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out 13 man-of-the-match award. “I was disappointed Extras (lb3, w7, nb1) 11 that I got out for about 25 (23) in the last game. I Total (4 wickets, 15.5 overs) 119 knew if I had scored 40-45 we could have won. Did not bat: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, That really hurt because we don’t bat like that at Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit home,” he added. Bumrah. “Today it was all about keeping calm and Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Sharma), 2-23 (Dhawan), luckily I got a great partnership with Yuvraj 3-23 (Raina), 4-84 (Singh) Singh. I scored 49 in Dhaka against Pakistan Bowling: Amir 3-1-11-1, Irfan 2.5-0-25-0, Sami and that was probably one of my better knocks. 2-0-17-2, Afridi 4-0-25-0, Malik 2-0 22-0, Riaz I think the seamers bowling cutters was a little 2-0-16-1 diffi cult. You need to watch the ball to play it late Result: India won by six wickets to dab it down to third man. Yuvraj came out, Toss: India weathered the storm and smacked a few. He’s feeling confi dent,” Kohli said. STANDINGS Sami did make an impression by sending back Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in his open- Read as: played, won, lost, tied, no result, ing over to be on hat-trick but Pakistan’s four- points, run rate pronged pace attack had no answers to Kohli’s GROUP 1 batting. Yuvraj (24) fell to Wahab Riaz, but Koh- West Indies 1 1 0 0 0 2 +0.973 li, who was joined by captain Mahendra Singh Sri Lanka 1 1 0 0 0 2 +0.580 Dhoni for the fi nale, was in cruise control as his England 2 1 1 0 0 2 -0.408 37-ball knock was laced by seven boundaries South Africa 1 0 1 0 0 0 -0.245 and a six. Dhoni joins party -Dhoni (13 not out) Afghanistan 1 0 1 0 0 0 -0.580 swiftly joined the party as he hit a six to level the scores and then hit the winning runs in front of GROUP 2 a raucous crowd. Earlier, Ahmed Shehzad and New Zealand 2 2 0 0 0 4 +1.375 Shoaib Malik played useful cameos to guide Pa- Pakistan 2 1 1 0 0 2 0.999 kistan to 118 for fi ve, a score which looked com- Star batsman Virat Kohli celebrates after taking India to victory against Pakistan during the World T20 cricket tournament at The Eden Gardens India 2 1 1 0 0 2 -0.895 petitive on a tricky surface. Cricket Stadium in Kolkata yesterday. Kohli made an unbeaten 55 as India won by six wickets. (AFP) Australia 1 0 1 0 0 0 -0.400 Put in to bat on a moisture-laden pitch that Bangladesh 1 0 1 0 0 0 -2.750 saw heavy rains through the day, Pakistan open- batsmen did well to show patience. he walked back amid loud cheers from the ca- off Ravindra Jadeja’s left-arm spin. ers Sharjeel Khan (17) and Shehzad (25) played Fresh from his match-winning exploits pacity crowd. Innings top-scorer Malik (26), who hit three cautiously at fi rst and then lost their wick- against Bangladesh, skipper Shahid Afridi (8) Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik then stitched boundaries and a six in his 26-run innings, soon over. But Pakistan’s eff orts were negated by ets as they tried to accelerate. Indian spinners promoted himself to number three but the boom together a crucial 41-run stand that helped Pa- joined Akmal in the dug-out after trying to force Kohli who deservedly got the man of the match Ravichandran Ashwin and Suresh Raina looked was missing from his shots this time around. kistan put up what seemed a respectable score. Ashish Nehra’s pace. Wicketkeeper-batsman award. India next play Bangladesh in Bangalore dangerous in their opening spells on a track that The hard-hitting batsman could only fi nd a Akmal (22), whose 16-ball knock was studded Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Hafeez fi nished on Wednesday, while Pakistan head to Mohali to provided turn and bounce, but the Pakistan single boundary in his scratchy 14-ball stay as with a boundary and a six, was caught behind off the innings as Pakistan got seven off the last meet New Zealand on Tuesday.

MATCH REPORT QSL PREVIEW Own-goal gift s Al Sadd coach Ferrieira relishing Al Khor victory By Sports Reporter to clear a long throw and the ‘big game’ against Lekhwiya Doha ball found its way to Madson at the back post. The Brazil- ian fl icked the ball across the By Sports Reporter performance against Rayyan after a disap- l Khor eased their goal-line and it ended up in the Doha pointing loss to Al Arabi last week, “Facing relegation fears with back of the net after Abdulaziz Al Rayyan means you’re facing the cham- a 1-0 win over bot- al-Sherif somehow hooked an pions. We played in the AFC Champions tom side Mesaimeer attempted clearance past Mo- ast season’s Qatar Stars League League and now we need to focus on the atA the Qatar Stars League yes- hammed Ghanem. champions Lekhwiya take on Al QSL. We play many games in a small pe- terday. Victory for the Knights Meanwhile, Al Kharaitiyat Sadd at the latter’s den today in a riod. We didn’t have luck in our last game sees them move on to 28 points earned what could prove to be battle for the Qatar Cup places. and we are working hard to make things go – six clear of second-bottom a vital point in their fi ght for LAl Sadd are currently in fourth place in our favor.” Qatar Sports Club with three survival after coming from a with 39 points, only two points behind “We like to give young players chances. games to go. goal down to earn a 1-1 draw rivals Lekhwiya. A win tonight could help Salah Al Yahri played in our last game and For already-relegated Me- against Al Gharafa. The Wolfs leap into the second spot in the yesterday we played well with 2 young saimeer it was a 20th defeat Yahia Kebe scored a 76th league. players,” added the Frenchman regarding of a miserable maiden season minute penalty for the Thun- Jesualdo Ferrieira, Al Sadd’s head coach the importance of youth talent at Jaish. in the QSL. Rodion Gacanin’s ders to ensure a share of the is looking forward to spectacle, which will El Jaish have played eight games in the men have taken just fi ve points spoils at Gharafa Stadium. The excite the fans. “We will face the champi- month and this makes Lamouchi change and scored only 14 goals this result keeps Kharaitiyat a point ons of the last season in a tough game. I his teams around so that the players re- campaign. The only goal of the ahead of Qatar Sports Club, hope the fans will come and join us. Both main fresh, “It will be a good game and an game came in added time at the who yesterday drew 1-1 with teams have the highest level of profession- open game. Al Rayyan are hungry for this end of the fi rst half at Al Khor Al Sailiya and currently occupy alism in the league,” Ferrieira said game and the reason I change my players Stadium. Mesaimeer failed the second relegation spot. He also highlighted the fact that big around is because I don’t want them to be games like these are vital for the league. tired,” added the 44-year-old. “When big teams play big matches the Al Rayyan, the champions with games level of the league will improve and I hope to spare will use this match as preparation this game will exceed expectation for all for the upcoming Emir Cup.The Lions had the fans,” added the Portuguese tactician. a stalemate in their last game against Qa- Preparations for Al Sadd are on a high Al Sadd’s head coach Jesualdo Ferrieira speaks during a press conference. tar Sports Club. Head Coach, Jorge Fossati as Ferreira wants his players to analyse claims that his team is not relaxing even Lekhwiya’s last AFC Champions League are looking to keep up form, and will both AL RAYYAN FACE EL JAISH after winning the title, “In the last game game against Al Nassr. “I saw the goals for be fi ghting for the points.” In another match, newly-crowned each player was covering more than ten Lekhwiya and I will talk to the players. We Belmadi also noted that he is person- champions Al Rayyan take on third-placed kilometers and one player even covered know that Lekhwiya players are tired after ally relishing the clash against the current El Jaish as part of a titanic double header thirteen. This is not a team that is relaxing. their Champions League game but they Emir Cup winners; “For me I love these between the QSL’s top 4 sides. This is a normal work rate for our players have a good bench,” said the 69-year-old. games, they are tough and full of excite- El Jaish are third in the table with forty and it rivals European leagues.” Speaking about Al Sadd’s last couple of ment.” points, only one point behind second- Fossati is full of praise for El Jaish’s AFC games Ferreira said, “In the last game we Belmadi vowed that fans will see a foot- placed Lekhwiya. The Soldiers have a champions league exploits, “El Jaish beat drew against Al Gharafa but we have im- balling spectacular. “Despite the fact the packed schedule this month as they just Al Ain who are one of the best teams in the proved. We had a good game against Al timing of this game is very tight for us after defeated Uzbekistan’s Nasf on Wednesday region. There is nothing easy in the QSL. Jazeera in the champions league and I be- our strong match in the AFC Champions and will strap on their boots once again Our league is on the same level as Saudi lieve the more our players play with each League last night against Al Nasr never- as they face Al Rayyan in the Qatar Stars and Emirates. It’s time for supporters in other, the better we will become.” theless we will put our best eff orts into the League. Qatar to see the value of this league and Victory for Al Khor sees them move on to 28 points – six clear of Lekhwiya head coach Djamel Belmadi game, the game will be an amazing specta- Sabri Lamouchi, the head coach of El come to the stadiums to watch the games,” second-bottom Qatar Sports Club with three games to go. said it will be a diffi cult clash. “Both sides cle for the fans to enjoy.” Jaish is counting on his team to put a good added the Uruguayan tactician