FOOTBALL | Page 4 NNHLHL | Page 6 Chelsea Capitals shelve edge Knights plans for to level Stanley new stadium Cup fi nal Friday, June 1, 2018 TENNIS Ramadan 16, 1439 AH Serena shows GULF TIMES plenty of fi ght to oust Barty SPORT Page 2 FOOTBALL ATHLETICS Real shock aft er Qatar’s Samba sets Diamond Zidane quits as League record, Madrid coach Haroun 2nd ‘After three years the club needs another discourse, another method of working’ Qatar’s Abderrahaman Samba celebrates winning the men’s 400m hurdles at the Diamond League in Rome yesterday. By Sports Reporter “I say thank you to my rivals for Rome pushing me – I told Karsten thank you especially. We are now giving the 400m hurdles the attention it de- atar’s Abderrahman Samba serves.” Karsten Warholm of Norway lived up to his billing as one clocked 47.82 seconds to fi nish sec- of the world’s most prom- ond, while Yasmani Copeland of Tur- Qising athletes by storming key was third in a time of 48.63. to victory in the 400m hurdles at the Samba, who also won the title at Rome Diamond League meeting yes- the Doha Diamond League meeting in terday. early May, will head to Oslo next. The 22-year-old clocked a season’s “Next, I will race in Oslo. I take eve- best time of 47.48 seconds to set a new ry race very seriously and the big goal Diamond League record and also broke is always to run fast. I don’t know how the Asian and Arab records on the way. fast I can run but we will see in the near The previous Diamond League future,” he added. record of 47.73 stood in the name of Fe- Qatar won another medal yesterday lix Sanchez of the Dominican Repub- when with 400m fl at specialist Abdal- lic. “It’s a big feeling for me to break leleh Haroun narrowly fi nishing sec- not only my personal best but also the ond to the USA’s Fred Kerly. In this file photo taken on May 29, 2016, Real Madrid’s French coach Zinedine Zidane is lifted by his players after Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League final Asian record, the national record and Kerley clocked 44.33 seconds, just against Atletico Madrid at San Siro Stadium in Milan. Zidane said yesterday he is leaving the Spanish giants, just days after winning the Champions League for the the Diamond League record. I now beating Haroun who timed 44.37. The third year in a row. Picture below shows Zidane at his press conference in Madrid yesterday. hope every race will feel like this,” said USA’s Paul Dedewo completed the Samba, who celebrated in style after podium, clocking 44.58 seconds for AFP drid,” he added in a Twitter message. his victory. third. Madrid Zidane said his decision had noth- ing to do with Real icon Cristiano Ro- naldo hinting that he will also leave SPOTLIGHT eal Madrid coach Zinedine the club following the Champions Zidane dropped a bomb- League triumph on Saturday. shell yesterday, quitting the It had perhaps more to do with the Spanish giants just days after side’s mixed performance in La Liga, Mohamed Saadon Rwinning the Champions League for a where they fi nished a disappointing record third year in a row. third, and were left for dead by cham- The 45-year-old former interna- pions and bitter rivals Barcelona. al-Kuwari unveiled as tional decided to quit at the top saying “We say it, it was complicated this that it was time for a change for him- year in the league, these are moments self and the club and admitting he was that I don’t forget,” he said. offi cial SC ambassador unsure of his ability to maintain his The bombshell decision came 12 winning record at Real. years after another stunning blow But he said that no other club was from Zidane brought a controversial he Supreme Committee for De- involved in his decision to part ways close to the midfi elder’s international livery & Legacy (SC) – the body with Real and although experts have career. responsible for delivering the linked him to the French national He earned a red card in the 2006 Tinfrastructure required to host team coaching job, Zidane insisted World Cup fi nal, probably costing the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar – has un- he is eyeing no other position at this France the title, for his full-blooded veiled renowned sports broadcaster Mo- time. headbutt against Italian Marco Mat- hamed Saadon al-Kuwari as an offi cial “I have taken the decision to not erazzi. ambassador. continue next year as Real Madrid in Kyiv on Saturday, making Zidane Your legacy will never be erased, one Considered one of the all-time Saadon – a former professional tennis coach,” the Frenchman told a hastily the fi rst coach in history to win three of the most successful chapters in the greats as a player, his career included player on the ATP Tour and Qatar Davis convened press conference. successive Champions League titles. history of our beloved realmadrid,” winning the 1998 World Cup with Cup representative – is a widely respect- Tower, in the presence of SC Secretary- “This club deserves to continue Zidane has now won nine trophies Ramos wrote. France and scoring the winning goal in ed senior sports presenter with Qatari General, Hassan al-Thawadi, Assistant to win and needs a change” he said, since replacing Rafael Benitez in the At the press conference Zidane the 2002 Champions League fi nal for network beIN SPORTS, known to mil- Secretary-General for Tournament Af- adding that he believed the “moment Santiago Bernabeu dugout in January was fl anked by Real Madrid president Real against Beyer Leverkusen. lions across the Mena region. In addition fairs, Nasser al-Khater, and Communica- has come.” 2016. Florentino Perez who said Zidane’s The next step for the former Real to his extensive journalism experience, tions Director, Fatma al-Nuaimi, Saadon “After three years the club needs When Benitez was sacked in Janu- announcement was “totally unex- Madrid star player is unclear but he he has been a long-standing supporter was presented with an SC shirt to offi - another discourse, another method ary 2016, Barcelona daily Mundo De- pected”. has time on his side. of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the SC – cially welcome him into the ambassador of working,” he added. portivo dismissed Zidane as merely a “This is a sad day,” Perez said. Guy Lacombe, Zidane’s fi rst coach and has supported numerous initiatives programme. Zidane said he was unsure of his “sticking plaster”, who would be re- “This house will be his family for- when he joined AS Cannes, his fi rst in the past. As an offi cial ambassador, Saadon will ability to inspire the team to more placed quickly by a permanent coach. ever, he triumphed and won every- professional club, in 1988, said that He has been an ambassador for the represent the SC’s legacy programmes victories. But Zidane won the confi dence of thing, as you know. I thank him for there was little left to challenge the SC’s fl agship innovation award, Chal- – including but not limited to Genera- “I don’t see myself continuing players and the rest is history. his commitment, his passion. I have coach who had already won virtually lenge 22, volunteered for the internation- tion Amazing, Challenge 22, Community to win this year and I am a winner, I Real’s captain Sergio Ramos tweet- no doubt that he will return.” everything. al football for development programme Engagement and the Josoor Institute – in don’t like to lose,” added Zidane, who ed his reaction, in English and Span- Real captain Sergio Ramos thanked “But there is one thing...,” Lacombe Generation Amazing, and volunteered Qatar and across the region. In addition was under contract with Real until ish, above a photo of the two men Zidane for “two and a half incredible told AFP. “He would like one day to at the Accessibility Forum – the SC’s to his regional appearances, he will also 2020. with the Champions League trophy. years”. coach the French national team. He ground-breaking initiative to ensure the represent the SC at two global initiatives, “I have thought a lot about this de- “As a player and coach you decided “Your legacy will never be erased, has made no secret of that ambition. 2022 FIFA World Cup is the most acces- including the Generation Amazing acti- cision and I can’t go back on it.” to say goodbye at the top. Thank you one of the most successful chapters “It will happen at the right time. In sible in the tournament’s history. vation at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Rus- Real beat Liverpool 3-1 in the fi nal for two and a half incredible years. in the history of our beloved Real Ma- the right conditions. There is no rush.” Following a ceremony at Al Bidda sia. Gulf Times 2 Friday, June 1, 2018 TENNIS ROUND-UP SPOTLIGHT Shapovalov keeps it in perspective as Williams fi ghts Paris run cut short back as Nadal, Sharapova cruise The three-time champion, dressed again in a black catsuit, is playing her first Grand Slam since winning the 2017 Australian Open while two months pregnant Canada’s Denis Shapovalov plays a backhand return to Germany’s Maximilian Marterer during their second round match at the French Open in Paris yesterday.