THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2013 SPORTS World No. 3 Stenson opens season with high hopes ABU DHABI: World number three Henrik Stenson going to take a little bit of time and focus away from ber one Tiger Woods, mainly because he does not Asked what he needs to do to overtake Woods, starts his 2014 season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf playing and practicing.” Stenson said he is aware he have too many points to lose in the first half of the Stenson said: “Well, the simple answer would just to Championship from today, hoping to continue his has a good chance of closing the gap on world num- year. be keep on playing the way I have been playing and I blistering form from last year and make a major push should hopefully challenge for it. “But I can’t put my towards displacing Tiger Woods from the top of the focus on that. My focus has to be on my game and world rankings. doing the right things, and hopefully the result will The 37-year-old Swede, twice runner-up in the continue to keep coming our way. And if they do, I UAE capital and holder of the course record at the hope I’ll be in with a chance to firstly get to world Abu Dhabi Golf Club - a 10-under par 62 - is the top- number two and then to world number one. “I think ranked player in the quality field assembled for the it would be a lovely achievement and something to $2.7 million European Tour event. look back at the end of one’s career. Stenson was the talk of the golfing world last year “Whether it happens or not, that’s written in the for his double-double when he won the FedEx Cup future and I can only focus on what I can control, and and the Race to Dubai on either side of the Atlantic, then we don’t know. “I mean, even if I win three tour- and also triumphed in the Tour Championships on naments in the next four weeks, Tiger or Adam might both Tours. Speaking to the media on the eve of the do the same or even better. I can only do my bit and tournament, Stenson said: “I don’t know how I can then we’ll see.” Despite his recent run of form, better the last season. Maybe, I don’t need to. I am Stenson feels he has a lot to improve in his game. not greedy. I will be happy if I have a similar year. “There are areas that I can improve on, quite a lot in “No, I think for me, there are two big challenges. One some and a little bit less in others perhaps,” he added. is to try and keep the expectations in check. That “As we all know, golf is a game where you never kind of run that I had for the last six months there, get finished. You can always keep on getting better that’s not going to continue forever and ever. We and keep on working. “I think that’s key. The moment know that much. you sit down and you’re happy where you’re at, nor- “But the most important thing for me is to keep mally you start going backwards.” Welshman Jamie on focusing on my game which is having its chal- Donaldson is the defending champion in the tourna- lenges at this time. “The demand on my time is five ment that also features world number five Phil times higher now than it was six months ago, so it’s a Mickelson, number seven Rory McIlroy and number lot of things to look after outside the course, which is Henrik Stenson 10 Sergio Garcia. — AFP Laureus’s World Sports Awards cancelled in Rio RIO DE JANEIRO: Laureus says its World sports, were given to Rio for 2013 and Sports Awards will not be held in Rio de 2014. Last March, Usain Bolt and Jessica Janeiro this year, another setback for Ennis received the biggest individual Brazil as it attempts to organize the prizes. Laureus’ decision comes three World Cup and the Rio de Janeiro months after the Soccerex conference, a Olympics in 2016. Laureus announced trade show for football, was called off in a the decision in a brief statement yester- dispute with the Rio state government. day without elaborating, and said new The state government said that cancella- plans would be revealed “shortly.” tion involved a law that would give tax Brazilian media have reported the can- breaks to the event organizers. cellation centers around a money dispute The organizers said it was called off between organizers and the state of Rio because of security concerns, a charge de Janeiro. denied by the state government. Brazil is Reports say Laureus is owed money facing countless problems organizing the under the terms of the contract. “Laureus World Cup, which starts in five months. and the state of Rio de Janeiro have As many as three stadiums may not be agreed that the 2014 Laureus World ready until April, and travel and soaring Sports Awards will not be staged in Rio,” hotel prices promise headaches. Protests the brief statement said. are also expected. The International A spokesperson for the state govern- Olympic Committee has openly told Rio ment’s Secretariat of Sports and Leisure organizers to speed up, and IOC did not offer an immediate response to President Thomas Bach is to meet next an inquiry from The Associated Press. The week in Brasilia with President Dilma Laureus Awards, dubbed the Oscars of Rousseff. — AP Snooker world champion O’Sullivan masters Milkins AUSTRIA: Mikaela Shiffrin, of the United States, competes during the alpine ski, womenís World Cup slalom. — AP LONDON: World champion Ronnie competition since losing to Stuart O’Sullivan brushed aside tournament Bingham at the UK Championship in Shiffrin lands blow debutant Robert Milkins 6-1 to launch December.”I played too much snooker at his campaign for a fifth Masters title at the end of last year and got a bit sick of London’s Alexandra Palace on Tuesday. looking at a table,” O’Sullivan said. O’Sullivan, who thrashed Milkins 6-0 in “It’s better for me to play a couple of ahead of Olympics the UK Championship last month, will tournaments then have a month off now play either Barry Hawkins or Ricky because as you get older you struggle to Walden in the quarter-finals of the get up for every match. FLACHAU: US teenage ski star Mikaela Shiffrin won believe her win. “Nine tenths of a second is a lot of unbeatable today... but my skiing’s starting to be Masters. Afterwards, O’Sullivan said he “It’s all right when you’re younger the women’s night slalom in Flachau, Austria, on time, it seems like, but it goes away really fast. “It’s a where I want.” Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch, two- hoped the manner of his convincing win because everything is new and fresh and Tuesday in dominant fashion, beating her rivals by tough hill because it’s not steep and it’s not flat, time slalom World Cup trophy winner and current had provided his watching friends, exciting but when you’ve been around close to a second. sometimes you don’t know how to take it. But she overall leader, was second after the first run but including leading British artist Damien for 20 years, you tend to go through the The 18-year-old, who was winning in Flachau for was satisfied with her performance: “I felt like I did ended up just off the podium in fourth place. The Hirst, rather than watching ‘reality’ tele- motions a bit, and you can’t afford to do a second successive year, clocked a time of 1min my best skiing in the first run today. “It was really race, which took place in front of a boisterous vision. that at this level.” 45.83sec over two runs. Two Swedes completed the fun... every gate was coming fast I really liked it.” crowd of 14,300, had been widely expected to be a “Damien has been in my corner for a Earlier on Tuesday, 2005 world cham- podium with Frida Hansdotter second at 0.83sec, The youngster thus confirmed her dominance in duel between Austrian veteran Marlies Schild and long time. He gets me and understands pion Shaun Murphy came from 4-2 down and Maria Pietilae-Holmner third at 1.14sec. the slalom, with less than a month to go before the Shiffrin, 14 years her junior. Shiffrin, the reigning slalom world champion Olympics in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Going into Flachau, each had two slalom wins how challenging this game can be, and to beat China’s Ding Junhui 6-4. Murphy, and winner of last year’s World Cup crystal globe in She leads the World Cup rankings now with 402 this season. But with the joint third fastest time gives me a lot of support,” O’Sullivan told the Masters runner-up two years ago, will the discipline, already led after the first run, having points ahead of Hansdotter with 258 points. For the after the first run, Schild, who has won a record 35 worldsnooker.com. “We all had a good play 2011 runner-up Marco Fu in the put in a thundering performance to finish 0.90 sec 28-year-old Swede, last year’s world slalom bronze World Cup slaloms, made a costly mistake, eventu- night out-it gets a bit boring sitting in quarter-finals after the Hong Kong man ahead of Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch.