WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2016 VOLUME XI ISSUE NO.15 QR2.00 www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com P 10 | FOOTBALL P 24 | VOLLEYBALL ALL SET FOR FINAL PUSH ARABI WIN EMIR’S CUP QATAR’S FIRST Qatar are set to undergo a camp in Al Arabi defeat El Jaish in straight ENGLISH SPORTS Austria as they prepare for the final sets in the Emir’s Cup title clash WEEKLY round of World Cup qualification. to seal a domestic treble. FOLLOW US CLASHCLASH OFOF TITANSTITANS PAGES 8-9 DSP EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW P 22 | HOCKEY P 20 | POSTER P 28 | TENNIS FC BARCELONA Going through Djoker & ace! turf times! DSP Graphics/ Joice Michael Joice DSP Graphics/ UK £1, Europe €2 | Oman 200 Baisas | Bahrain 200 Fils | Egypt LE 2 | Lebanon 3,000 Livre | Kuwait 250 Fils | Morocco Dh 6 | UAEDh 5 | Yemen 75 Riyals | Sudan 1 Pound | KSA 2 Riyals | Jordan 500 Fils | Iraq $1 | Palestine $1 | Syria LS 20 Wednesday, May 18, 2016 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com 3 EXCITEMENT NOW JUST A TOUCH AWAY OutlookThe writer can be contacted at [email protected] Unhealthy criticism will only spread a shroud of gloom ĈĈASPIRE Academy’s talent scouting they were given opportunities to play. the fact that the academy’s talent scouting and and assessment strategies are one I think Caixinha’s comments were unfair and assessment strategies are one of the best in the of the best in the world unwarranted. He hasn’t taken enough pains to study world. It has also succeeded in creating its own the history of football development in Qatar. It may platform to give enough exposure to budding tal- T A TIME when all stakeholders, includ- be recalled that in the mid-1970s, we were relying on ents by taking over a couple of clubs in Europe. ing the Qatar Football Association (QFA), British coaches like Frank Wignal and John Cardone All these experiments have helped us reap rich AASPIRE Academy and various clubs, should to nurture our talents. But soon, we realised that our dividends in recent times. join hands and work in unison to shape a strong players’ physical attributes didn’t suit the English Unhealthy criticism and pessimism will only national team in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, style and we opted for Latin American expertise. undermine the relevance of even the best of insti- it’s quite disturbing to note that some individuals And it was under the tutelage of legendary Brazilian tutions and spread a shroud of gloom. Caixinha are singing different tunes. Evaristo de Macedo (four spells from 1979 to 1994) should’ve refrained from pointing a finger at the I’m referring to the interview given to an Arabic that we managed to make a mark, first in the region ASPIRE Academy, that too at a time when things daily by Al Gharafa coach Pedro Caixinha, who and then at the continental level. are looking rosy for Qatar football. was critical of the ASPIRE Academy’s football pro- Still, it took another decade for us to realise that ject. The Portuguese said the Aspire model wasn’t if we’re to make any impact on the world stage, the ideal one for Qatar, adding the academy boys then we need to bring together all our young tal- lacked competitive exposure and that they were ents under one roof and develop them. It’s against only continuously training. He observed that the this backdrop that the ASPIRE Academy was estab- academy products looked like fish out of water lished. Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi and failed to integrate with club teams whenever And the model has clicked and no one can deny Editor-in-Chief Aspiring athletes need absence didn’t affect them in the support of society final against Al Gharafa. It shows INBOX that they’ve a strong bench. Your cover story headlined ‘Aspire, Mohammed Hassan, Doha. perspire, inspire’ (Doha Stadium Plus, Editor-in-Chief Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi P.O. Box: 24598, Doha, Qatar May 11) made an interesting read. Grand comeback Tel: +974 44138065, Fax: +974 44138597 ASPIRE Academy Director General Managing Editor Kumar Ravi WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2016 VOLUME XI ISSUE NO.14 QR2.00 www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com P 8 | FOOTBALL P 26 | MOTORSPORT ROARING LIONS NASSER HAS IT EASY QATAR’S FIRST Qatar Stars League champions Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah easily Ivan Bravo was right in pointing out What a grand comeback it has been Senior Editor/Writer ENGLISH SPORTS Rayyan blank Kharaitiyat to reach wins the third round of Middle East Aswin Abraham the Emir’s Cup semifinal in style. Rally Championship in Jordan. WEEKLY Editorial: Tel: +974 44138522, Fax: +974 44138593 FOLLOW US Senior Sports Writer that producing champions is a long by Aries Merritt (Doha Stadium Plus, N Ganesh e-mail: [email protected] Sports Writers and difficult process. May 11). Sajith B Warrier Marketing & advertising: Tel: +974 44138566 ASPIRE, The society should not only be It looked at one stage that the kid- Mohammad Amin-ul Islam e-mail: [email protected] PERSPIRE, Sarath Pookkat Distribution: Tel: +974 44138535/36, Fax: +974 44138597 patient, but also support the ath- ney transplant surgery would bring e-mail: [email protected] INSPIRE!PAGES 16-19 Photographers Mohan lete. It should make him comfortable the career of the London Olympics Vinod Divakaran and confident, and hail his success. 110M hurdles winner to an early end. Fadi Al Assaad Mohammed Riyaz, Doha. However, the American has taken DSP EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Mohammed Dabboos P 20 | POSTER P 28 | CHESS it in his stride and worked his way LEICESTER CITY P 22 | ATHLETICS Making the Pacing for Rio right move DSP Photos Publishers: ASPIRE Printing, Publishing and Distribution A K BijuRaj UK £1, Europe €2 | Oman 200 Baisas | Bahrain 200 Fils | Egypt LE 2 | Lebanon 3,000 Livre | Kuwait 250 Fils | Morocco Dh 6 | UAEDh 5 | Yemen 75 Riyals | Sudan 1 Pound | KSA 2 Riyals | Jordan 500 Fils | Iraq $1 | Palestine $1 | Syria LS 20 Cut above the rest back. Publishers: ASPIRE Printing, Graphic Designers Abhilash Chacko At the Doha Diamond League, P O Box: 24598, Doha, Qatar. Publishing and Distribution Marketing & advertising: Tel: +974 44138566 Gopakumar K Printed at ASPIRE Printing Press El Jaish won the Emir’s Cup, their Merritt finished sixth after getting Joice Michael third trophy at the domestic level, off to a terrible start, but his per- e-mail: [email protected] www.twitter.com/dohastadiumplus Technical support Shaheen Mohammed to prove that they’re a cut above formance, more significantly the Distribution: Tel: +974 44138535/36, Fax: +974 44138597 www.facebook.com/dohastadiumplusqatar e-mail: [email protected] Abdul Naser M www.flickr.com/photos/dohastadiumplusqatar the rest in Qatar handball (Doha confident words afterwards, proved Stadium Plus, May 11). that he has it in him to be back on www.facebook.com/dohastadium www.twitter.com/dohastadiumplus www.flickr.com/photos/dohastadiumplusqatar © Stories and photographs appearing in this publication may not be reproduced without the permission of A majority of the Jaish players are the podium soon. ASPIRE Printing, Publishing and Distribution. Qatar internationals, but even their Jacob Samuel, Doha. Wednesday, May 18, 2016 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com 3 OutlookThe writer can be contacted at [email protected] Unhealthy criticism will only spread a shroud of gloom ĈĈASPIRE Academy’s talent scouting they were given opportunities to play. the fact that the academy’s talent scouting and and assessment strategies are one I think Caixinha’s comments were unfair and assessment strategies are one of the best in the of the best in the world unwarranted. He hasn’t taken enough pains to study world. It has also succeeded in creating its own the history of football development in Qatar. It may platform to give enough exposure to budding tal- T A TIME when all stakeholders, includ- be recalled that in the mid-1970s, we were relying on ents by taking over a couple of clubs in Europe. ing the Qatar Football Association (QFA), British coaches like Frank Wignal and John Cardone All these experiments have helped us reap rich AASPIRE Academy and various clubs, should to nurture our talents. But soon, we realised that our dividends in recent times. join hands and work in unison to shape a strong players’ physical attributes didn’t suit the English Unhealthy criticism and pessimism will only national team in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, style and we opted for Latin American expertise. undermine the relevance of even the best of insti- it’s quite disturbing to note that some individuals And it was under the tutelage of legendary Brazilian tutions and spread a shroud of gloom. Caixinha are singing different tunes. Evaristo de Macedo (four spells from 1979 to 1994) should’ve refrained from pointing a finger at the I’m referring to the interview given to an Arabic that we managed to make a mark, first in the region ASPIRE Academy, that too at a time when things daily by Al Gharafa coach Pedro Caixinha, who and then at the continental level. are looking rosy for Qatar football. was critical of the ASPIRE Academy’s football pro- Still, it took another decade for us to realise that ject. The Portuguese said the Aspire model wasn’t if we’re to make any impact on the world stage, the ideal one for Qatar, adding the academy boys then we need to bring together all our young tal- lacked competitive exposure and that they were ents under one roof and develop them. It’s against only continuously training.