FOOTBALL | Page 3 GGOLFOLF | Page 5 Huth sends McIlroy makes To Advertise here Leicester late charge Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 clear, Spurs as Willet go second takes lead Sunday, February 7, 2016 CRICKET Rabia II 28, 1437 AH Warner, Marsh GULF TIMES ensure revenge for Australia SPORT Page 8 RALLYING Nasser sets new MERC mark Al-Attiyah overtakes cided with the Asian Shooting Cham- have put in to make the event a grand bin Sulayem’s record pionships, which was meant to be a success.” qualifying event for 2016 Rio Olympics. Yesterday, al-Attiyah took the fi - of 60 MERC leg wins However, with the Asian event being nal 112km stage in a time of one hour, with victory in Qatar stripped of its Olympic status, Nasser 2 minutes and 50.2 seconds, 34.50 made a last-minute dash to Oman leg, seconds ahead of compatriot Khalid which was making its return to the al-Suwaidi in his Ford Fiesta. Both in- By Sports Reporter MERC calendar for the fi rst time since curred zero penalty points. Rashid al- Doha 2007, and proved his mettle once again. Naimi fi nished third to make it a Qatari The 45-year-old, who said he will be podium sweep. cutting down on his rallying to focus on The Qatar International Rally is the ecords are meant to be broken, shooting in order to qualify for the Rio fi rst leg of the MERC, and yesterday’s they say, but yesterday Qa- de Janeiro Olympics later this year, was achievement by al-Attiyah puts him in tar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah understandably thrilled with his suc- pole position to dominate the regional achieved a milestone that cess in Qatar. event this year and go on to win his 12th Rwould perhaps be etched in the record “I am so happy to have achieved the title. books till eternity. record of winning 61 MERC legs and “That’s certainly my target,” said The twice Dakar Rally winner and overtaking Mohamed bin Sulayem’s al-Attiyah. “Anything can happen in Olympic shooting medallist powered record,” al-Attiyah said. “I am par- a major event but this victory has cer- his Skoda R5 to victory in the Qatar In- Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah (R) and co-driver Mathieu Baumel celebrate winning the Qatar International Rally yesterday. ticularly delighted to have achieved the tainly boosted my confi dence.” ternational Rally to overtake the tally of milestone in my own country because The president of QMMF Nasser 60 fi rst-place fi nishes in the FIA Mid- Al-Attiyah, who has virtually no home turf that his streak of wins since layem’s record of 60 leg wins in No- the Qatar International Rally holds a Khalifa al-Attiyah was all praise for dle East Rally Championship by UAE competition in the region, yesterday 2003 was interrupted only once – in vember last year when he won in Oman. special place in my heart. I thank the the champion. “What he achieved was great Mohamed bin Sulayem who did won the Qatar leg of the regional event 2012 by compatriot Abdulaziz al-Ku- He clinched his 11th MERC crown in Qatar Motor and Motorcyle Federa- incredible and there is surely more it between 1986 and 2002 when he was for the 13th time beginning 2003. In wari. the previous round in Jordan and had tion (QMMF) chief Nasser Khalifa al- to come from him. He is capable of the overall champion 14 times. fact, such has been his domination on Al-Attiyah had equalled bin Su- decided to skip the Oman leg as it coin- Attiyah for the eff orts he and his team achieving more glory for Qatar.” Gulf Times 2 Sunday, February 7, 2016 FOOTBALL FOCUS OPENER VIPs, fans show support on day one Roman the of Al Kass 2016 By Sports Reporter As the tournament kicks off its Doha fi fth year we could not be proud- er of how far it has progressed.” Adding praise, al-Thawadi Gladiator puts ocal football fans de- said, “It is tournaments such as scended upon the Aspire this that will produce the stars of Zone on Friday for an the future, which makes it a great exciting opening day of opportunity for the development Levents at the 2016 Al Kass Inter- of our Qatari players since they national Cup. get to compete against some of With the fi rst of three games the best clubs in the world.” kicking off at 4.30pm, supporters He added: “Qatar is ready for PSG to the sword in the stands were treated to an the FIFA World Cup 2022 and has evening of competitive drama that the world-class facilities, such as underscored precisely why this Aspire, to prove it, and it is com- Madrid were carving PSG open at will, cancelling out the French side’s attempts competition is a growing success. petitions such as Al Kass that Amongst those in the crowd to will enable our national team’s show their support for the com- performance to develop their to press, and then breaking at speed to wreak havoc in the opposition defence petition were Supreme Commit- world-class footballing skills in By Sports Reporter tee for Delivery & Legacy secre- time for 2022.” Doha Real Madrid’s Roman celebrates tary general Hassan al-Thawadi, Launching the games on the scoring against PSG in the Al Qatar Football Association gen- fi rst day of the competition was kass International Cup yesterday. eral secretary Mansoor al-Ansa- Spanish football legend Xavi eal Madrid thrashed PSG 4-0 in ri, Aspire Logistics director gen- Hernández, who performed the the Al Kass International Cup eral Abdulla Nasser al-Naimi and ceremonial kick-off . yesterday, with Adrian Roman Al Kass Organising Committee Clearly impressed by the fi rst scoring a fi ne hat-trick. chairman Essa Abdulla al-Hitmi. day’s games, al-Hitmi said, “It is R When the draw for the group stages Commenting on the launch truly a delight to watch such ex- was made, this was the match that cap- of the tournament, al-Ansari citing football on the fi rst day of tured the imagination. Two of world said, “We are very proud of this the fi fth edition of the Al Kass In- football’s biggest names going head-to- competition and its successes, ternational Cup 2016. This year head, with the winners taking a giant step one of which was the recent par- we are also proud to welcome six towards the knockout phase. And, from ticipation of the Under 23 Olym- new teams to the tournament, the fi rst whistle, both sides seemed to pic team in the Asian Cup, who and are happy to see GCC teams register what was at stake, with no quar- played in the fi rst edition of Al represented once again through ter given as the contest got underway. Kass International Cup. Al Ahli Saudi.” After surviving a few early scares Ma- “This competition is quickly The games are being shown drid quickly made PSG pay for their becoming an integral part of the on Al Kass TV with English and profl igacy as, on 10 minutes, they took development for sporting youth Arabic commentary, while also a deserved lead. The impressive Alberto in Qatar, and it certainly plays a being streamed live on the tour- Garcia cut in from the left and supplied big role for the national team and nament’s website http://inter- Adrian Roman on the edge of the area, the Qatar Football Association. nationalcup.alkass.net. who controlled before hammering home into the top left corner. The French youngsters were almost back on even terms within minutes, as Theo Epailly’s dangerous low corner from the right was touched on by Metehan Gu- clu at the near post, almost eluding Pu- jante, who only just managed to prevent the ball from squirming through his grasp and over the line. keeper saving smartly from Lohoba after testing Madrid’s backline. Inter forward Loca Kerin chased a With 20 minutes gone, the contrast- the forward was set free by Lopez. However, the Spaniards held fi rm and chipped ball through the middle, clipping ing styles of the two sides were becom- Respite would be brief however, as Real extended their lead on 54 minutes, after over the advancing keeper Kai Luan Lin ing apparent, with Los Blancos relying on doubled their lead four minutes later. Full Lopez won the ball on the right before and allowing Zate Gnoukouri to apply the guile and technique to retain possession back Gorka Cudola produced a wonder- feeding Roman with an impudent back fi nishing touch from less than a yard out. and push forward, while Les Parisians ful chipped pass from the halfway line heel, who completed his hat-trick with a Kerin nearly doubled the advantage favoured a more direct, high-energy ap- wide on the right, allowing Lohoba to run minimum of fuss. fi ve minutes later, intercepting a weak proach. clear and fi re home. To their credit, PSG refused to lie pass before shooting narrowly over from This approach almost paid off when Within minutes Los Blancos were down, and almost found an instant re- outside the area. But the Italians would Boubakary Soumare smashed a low drive three goals to the good, with Roman’s sponse, with Epailly fi ring home from not have to wait long for a second goal. from 25 yards out, forcing Pujante to dive fi rst time, side-footed eff ort fi nding the right of the area after latching on to a On 19 minutes a spectacular fi rst-time low to his left to divert the ball for a cor- the bottom right corner after a neat run through ball from Adli, only for the eff ort strike on the half-volley from wide on ner.