FRANCESCO TOTTI P 28 | BASKETBALL QATAR RARING TO GO P

Transcription

P 11 | FOOTBALL
QATARI COLTS bOW OUT
P 28 | BASKETBALL
QATAR RARING TO GO
Qatar suffer a shock defeat at the hands of Tajikistan
in their crucial qualifier to bow out of reckoning
for the Asian Under-16 Championship finals.
Qatar look to make an impression at the FIBA
Asia Championship in China even though
things are unlikely to be easy for them.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEmbER 23, 2015 | Vol X | No.34 | QR 2.00
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LUCK &TOIL
DSP/Mohammed Dabboos
Lekhwiya start their Qatar
Stars League title defence
with a laboured and
somewhat lucky win over
Qatar Sports Club. PAGES 6-10
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P 16 | FOCUS ON ASPIRE
EXCLUSIVE
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Changing attitude
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P 20 | POSTER
FRANCESCO
TOTTI
EXCITEMENT NOW
JUST A TOUCH AWAY
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www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, SEptEmbEr 23, 2015
OPINION
» The writer can be contacted at:
Editor-in-Chief
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Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi
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Being role model certainly not
a privilege everyone can have
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rOLE model is someone who can influence a
person’s life in a positive light. that’s what it’s all
about.
And to be a role model isn’t a privilege everyone can
have. Least of all for Chelsea striker Diego Costa, who
set such a bad example in last week’s English premier
League match against Arsenal.
the brazil-born Spaniard first hit Arsenal defender
Laurent Koscielny on his face, not once but twice, and
then pushed him down before getting into a bust-up
with another defender Gabriel paulista, who retaliated
and ended up receiving the marching orders from
below-par referee mike Dean.
both Costa and Gabriel have been subsequently
charged by the Football Association. the former was
found guilty of violent conduct and slapped with a
three-match ban on tuesday.
their clubs too have been charged for failure to
control the players, but one moment of madness from
Costa, who went unpunished on the field, resulted in
the match being degenerated into a no-contest.
When it comes to Chelsea-Arsenal rivalry, there’s more
to it than meets the eye! the sight of Arsenal manager
Arsene Wenger pushing his Chelsea counterpart Jose
mourinho when the teams met last season is still fresh
in our memory. We also saw Wenger refusing to shake
hands with his opposite number after winning this
year’s Community Shield.
And last week, they shook hands, somewhat
reluctantly and barely looking at each other. the focus
in media and social media platforms was more on their
equation than the game itself.
the post-match comments from them also reflected
their antagonistic attitude towards each other which,
invariably, has a knock-on effect on the players. What’s
more saddening was mourinho’s justification of Costa’s
violent conduct and praise for his belligerent ways on
the pitch!
be that it may, referee Dean too failed to get his
decisions right, making things more complicated and
virtually killing the game in the first half itself. It’s indeed
a grave error on his part not to have noticed Costa’s
deliberate foul on Koscielny which ignited more trouble.
Football is a contact sport, but the rules are pretty
clear about fouls and it’s the responsibility of the referee
and his assistants to pull up those who indulge in
dangerous play or use excessive force.
Fair play, in a sense, means equal opportunity to
succeed. but at Stamford bridge, Costa and Chelsea got
away lightly while Arsenal were denied justice.
Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi
Editor-in-Chief
INSIDE
P 12 | FOOTBALL
P 18 | PARALYMPICS
P 26 | MOTORSPORT
Two close a gap!
Notable reflections!
Anthony martial shines as
manchester United beat
Southampton and cut the gap
with neighbours City to two
points in the premier League.
International paralympic Committee’s Athletics
chief ryan montgomery talks about the
sport and World Championships in Doha.
Change for
the better
P 22 | CUE SPORTS
P 24 | TABLE TENNIS
Pin-up player!
Platform to perform
Ko pin Yi of Chinese taipei
holds his nerve against
Shane Van boening of the
US to emerge as the
new World 9-ball pool
champion.
the upcoming IttF-Asian
Championships in thailand’s
pattaya offer a great
opportunity for Qatari
competitors to improve
their game.
the Qatar motor and
motorcycle Federation
introduces plenty of changes
with a view to make the new
season more
exciting.
4
WEDNESDAY, SEptEmbEr 23, 2015 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
PICK OF THE WEEK | FOOTBALL
JETTISO
JETTISO
JEROME
THE SUSPENSION OF SECRETARY GENERAL
JEROME VALCKE FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS OF FINANCIAL
FRAUD IS A FRESH BLOW TO FIFA AND ITS BELEAGUERED
CHIEF SEPP BLATTER, WRITES ANDREW WARSHAW.
I
t WAS never intended to be like
this. Jerome Valcke always said
he would step down after eight
years as FIFA’s No.2 when his boss,
Sepp blatter, called it a day next
February. What he never expected
or anticipated was to be jettisoned
five months prematurely.
Just when you thought the
corruption scandal enveloping FIFA
couldn’t get any deeper, blatter’s
right-hand man was dramatically
relieved of his duties last week
and placed on indefinite leave just
hours after he was the subject of
allegations over a scheme to sell
2014 World Cup tickets above face
value.
FIFA secretary general, who
led the organisation’s
day-to-day administration,
but who in recent months had
become increasingly vulnerable
as the crisis intensified, is
understood to have been en
route to russia on ’18 World
Cup duty when the game’s
governing body issued that
he had been released ‘with
immediate effect’ and that
the allegations against
him had been referred to
the Ethics Committee for
investigation.
Earlier, a ticketing
consultant whose company
had dealings with FIFA made
allegations about World Cup
tickets being sold at three times
their face value and claimed
sensationally that Valcke
profited personally from the
deal. As his plane to russia
turned round in full flight and
headed straight back to Zurich
to face the music, Valcke’s
lawyers issued denials,
calling the claims ‘outrageous
and fabricated’ as his name was
dragged through the mud like
never before.
the damage, of course, had
already been done in one way
because mud sticks. the question
is, why did FIFA react so fast?
Whatever happened to the concept
of innocent until proven guilty? the
answer, perhaps, lies in two words
beginning with the same letter —
perception and pressure.
Valcke’s suspension came at
the end of another tempestuous
week in which US Attorney General
Loretta Lynch, at a press conference
in Zurich, warned to expect more
arrests in the ongoing probe that
VALCKE’S SUSPENSION
CAME AT THE END
OF ANOTHER
TEMPESTUOUS WEEK.
has already snared a series of
high-profile powerbrokers.
America’s highest-ranking
prosecutor, whose recent
revelations about systematic
money-laundering and
rackeetering brought FIFA to its
knees and plunged a string of its
executives into disgrace, made it
clear that the net is closing. No
one, she implied, was now safe. to
have Lynch, in FIFA’s own backyard,
pouring more scorn on conduct
must’ve been an uncomfortable
sight, to say the least, for blatter.
timing is everything and the
venue couldn’t have been more
sensitive as Lynch, in front of
the world’s media, put FIFA and
the game under the microscope
publicly for the first time since her
bombshell announcement from
ONED
New York about $150m fraud
allegations. Her remarks would’ve
been no joke on anyone remotely
connected with FIFA who has so
far been outside the investigation
but who may now be quaking in
their non-playing boots.
Still shaken by the aftermath
of that may morning when seven
FIFA officials were arrested, the
serious allegations against Valcke
couldn’t be simply shrugged off in
the current atmosphere. Amidst
unprecedented pressure, FIFA’s top
brass knew they couldn’t afford to
make any more slip-ups. the first
sign of gross misconduct had to be
punished in order to show the US
authorities that FIFA was serious
about reforming itself and putting
its house in order.
Valcke, one could argue, was
the fall guy. the man who had
so often acted as trouble-shooter
whenever the scandal-tarnished
organisation found itself in hot
water suddenly had his own
fingers badly burned. Yet it one
way it was not so surprising.
Valcke had faced increasing
scrutiny in recent months over
his dealings with South Africa
concerning the ’10 World Cup.
According to the American
authorities, $10m was paid by
South Africa to the disgraced
former FIFA Vice-president Jack
Warner as a bribe in return for
his vote. the money is claimed to
have been transferred to Warner
in ’08 from a FIFA bank account
following a request to Valcke
from the South African Football
Association.
the 54-year-old has always
vehemently denied he did
anything wrong, saying he went
through normal protocol and
VALCKE AT
was acting on the request of the
South African authorities, who
themselves insist the money
was a generous donation to the
African diaspora in the Caribbean
as part of South Africa’s World Cup
legacy programme and was never
intended to end up in Warner’s
grubby hands.
Valcke isn’t mentioned by name
in the US indictment yet there’re
those who believe he has been
living on borrowed time ever
since the alleged South African
connection broke. the latest claims
over World Cup tickets, made by
an Israel-American named benny
Alon in a Zurich hotel, represented
THE MAN WHO HAD
SO OFTEN ACTED AS
TROUBLE-SHOOTER IS IN
HOT WATER SUDDENLY.
the straw that broke the camel’s
back.
Alon has been arranging
hospitality packages since 1990
through his company Jb Sports
marketing AG and accused Valcke
of using him as a conduit to sell
tickets at inflated prices for his
own gain. the company reportedly
signed a contract with FIFA in
April, ’10, that gave Alon the rights
to buy several thousand tickets.
Alon claims Valcke subsequently
agreed to provide more expensive
tickets on the agreement that any
profits were split 50-50. Valcke’s
lawyers wholeheartedly deny
there was any dodgy dealing.
Indeed, when it became apparent
that tickets were being offered
at above face value, Valcke is
reported to have warned Alon
Joined as
marketing
director in June.
2003
Warner’s
fate to be
known on
Friday
2006
Dismissed from
his job after being
at the heart of a
dispute between
two sponsors
— VISA and
masterCard.
A trinidad and tobago
magistrate will rule on Friday
whether to extradite former
FIFA Vice-president Jack Warner
to face charges linked to the
corruption scandal sweeping the
game’s governing body.
Warner, a 72-year-old a native of
the Caribbean island, was indicted
in may by a US grand jury on 12
charges of wire fraud, racketeering
and money laundering.
Attorney General Faris Al rawi
authorised the extradition case to
proceed and on Friday a
magistrate will issue a ruling
after studying arguments
presented by the
prosecution and
defence.
about
the need
to adhere to
the regulations
and the contract ended
up being terminated.
No one knows for sure which
version of events is correct. but
with Valcke no longer in charge,
FIFA’s Deputy Secretary General
markus Kattner has now taken
over on a temporary basis.
So far, of all the high-profile
FIFA figures to have either quit
or been forced out, none come
much bigger than Valcke —
the man who, to his credit, had
steered organisers of a number
of World Cups through a series
of logistically challenging times.
but he’s the same man who,
throughout his tenure as FIFA’s
No.2, had punctuated his troubleshooting skills with a series of
unfortunate gaffes. remember,
for instance, how he sparked
a diplomatic row in brazil by
saying that World Cup organisers
needed a ‘kick up the backside’
though he insists he remarks were
misinterpreted.
the latest claims ultimately
pushed Valcke over the edge.
With FIFA under unprecedented
scrutiny and the desperate need
for a fresh start, the decision
has been taken that, on balance,
he had to be cut loose despite
his undoubted talents as a
commercial and marketing fixer
and a canny day-to-day operator.
the irony is that his departure has
plunged FIFA into virtual paralysis,
leaving a massive void at the top
of the administration just when it
desperately needs stability.
returned
as secretary
general in June.
2007
2015
Suspended from
office on September
17, following
allegations of selling
2014 brazil World
Cup tickets in the
black market.
5
‘FIFA will survive
difficult situation’
F
ŢŢDignitaries at
the countdown
ceremony.
IFA president Sepp Blatter has told the
organisation’s members that they will “come
through this difficult situation together”.
blatter, who is standing down after the election
of a new president on February 26, 2016, wrote the
message to FIFA’s 209 member associations, a day after
Secretary General Jerome Valcke’s departure following
allegations he was involved in a plan to profit from
World Cup ticket sales.
the swift action against Valcke was another major
blow to blatter.
“I’m confident we’ll also be able to come through
this difficult situation together,” said blatter.
meanwhile, a US judge held a hearing regarding
two marketing executives named in the US indictment
— Alejandro burzaco and Aaron Davidson. Evan Norris,
a prosecutor, informed US District Judge raymond
Dearie Swiss authorities had approved the extradition
to the US of another defendant, Eugenio Figueredo.
The countdown begins!
M
OSCOW’S red Square was
transformed into a football
pitch as russia last week
launched its 1,000-day countdown
to the 2018 FIFA World Cup it will
host in 11 cities.
Attended by high-ranking officials
and football stars, the celebrations
came as the game’s governing
body was embroiled in a corruption
scandal, partly over the awarding of
the ’18 tournament to russia.
“preparations for the World Cup
in 11 cities of our country are in full
swing,” president Vladimir putin said
by video link from Sochi, the host
city of the ’14 Winter Olympics.
“Everything will be done to
suitably host the planet’s leading 32
national squads.
“We’re always happy to see guests
and promise to organise grand
celebrations in russia, which’ll make
history,” he said.
Kremlin has said that the country
honestly participated in the bidding
process and that its status as the
host country should not be called
into question.
the culmination of the ceremony
came when former World Cup
winners Lothar matthaus of
Germany and Italy’s Gianluca
Zambrotta along with Spain’s
legend Fernando Hierro and russia’s
international keeper Igor Akinfeyev
pressed the red button launching the
countdown.
6
FOOTBALL | QATAR
Luckw
COVER STORY
LEKHWIYA START THEIR QATAR STARS LEAGUE TITLE DEFENCE WITH
A LABOURED WIN OVER QATAR SPORTS CLUB, WRITES N GANESH.
Viera keen to give
Al Rayyan his best
A
L rAYYAN’S new foreign player Gonzalo
Viera said he wanted to perform to the
best of his abilities at the Qatari club.
“I’m quite happy with the reception I got
from rayyan fans. I feel good and want to
give my best to the club and help them win
trophies,” said the Uruguayan defender, who
was presented at a press conference at the club
premises last Sunday.
the 28-year-old, who began his senior
career in 2007, spent seven seasons with five
native clubs. He moved to rayyan from leading
montevideo side penarol, where he was playing
on loan from paraguay’s Cerro porteno.
Viera, who played under current rayyan coach
and compatriot Jorge Fossati at penarol, said he
was instrumental in his move to Qatar.
“Fossati is a great coach with a plenty of
success and we had a great time together at
penarol. His presence at rayyan influenced my
decision to come here.
“When I searched for more information,
mainly on social media, I found rayyan
enjoy the biggest fan base among all clubs in
Qatar. that too made me happy as I always
believe fans are important for any club,” said
Viera.
rayyan thus completed their foreign-player
quota, having signed striker Sergio Garcia (Spain)
and midfielders Koh myong-Jin (South Korea)
and Victor Caceres (paraguay).
the Lions, who were promoted this season
after spending a season in the Qatargas League,
were off to a great start this time, winning both
matches and topping the league standings.
DSP/Mohammed Dabboos
ŠŠLekhwiya’s
mohammed razzaq
tries to control the
ball during their
match against
Qatar SC.
A
LGErIAN coach Djamel
belmadi would be satisfied
with the result, but not
the performance after his side
Lekhwiya began their title defence
with a laboured and somewhat
lucky 3-1 victory over Qatar Sports
Club last week.
mohammed Omar put Qatar
SC ahead on the half-hour mark
only for Lekhwiya to equalise 10
minutes later through tunisian
forward Youssef msakni, who
converted from the spot.
Qatar SC could have upset them
had they not wasted
a handful of easy opportunities,
including three sitters messed
up by new moroccan forward
mouhcine Iajour.
but inspirational winger Vladimir
Weiss came off the bench to put
Lekhwiya in front in the 81st with a
stunning strike while msakni killed
the game following a solo effort
deep into stoppage time.
Qatar SC were first up for
Lekhwiya last season as well and
the cops had then emerged as
5-0 winners. but the champions
struggled this time to penetrate
the rival defence, which
looked organised despite
the absence of moroccan
Ismail benlamaalem
(knee ligament tear).
belmadi was without
many of his players
leading up to the start of
the season as they were
away on national team duties,
but that would not fully explain
the reason for the howlers his
defenders committed.
“there were many errors in
our game. I had noticed them
during the AFC Champions
League quarterfinal (against
Al Hilal) as well. We didn’t
get enough time to prepare
together as most of our
players returned from national
team duties only a few days
prior to the Hilal match. We
also suffered from fatigue,
but we want to fix our
problems quickly,” said
belmadi, who took over
from michael Laudrup this
season.
the exit from the Asian
competition together
with the mediocre
performance in their
league opener has put belmadi
further on the back foot and he
will have to get them ready in time
for Saturday’s tie against tricky
customers Al Kharaitiyat.
Qatar SC, who were eager to win
following their opening week’s
7
wiya!
QSL WEEK 2 | SHORT TAKES
AL SADD 2 UMM SALAL 2
AL GHARAFA 1 MESAIMEER 0
Xavi Hernandez scored his maiden goal for Al Sadd
and produced a vital assist in his first home game,
but it proved inadequate as Umm Salal held them in
a keenly-contested encounter. Ivorian Yannick Sagbo
put Umm Salal ahead against the run of play in the
14th minute while Xavi equalised in the 63rd. the
Spaniard then set up musab Kamal for Sadd’s second
in the 63rd. Nasser Khalfan drew parity in the 84th.
Gharafa began their campaign with a victory over
promoted mesaimeer. moayad Hassan struck the
all-important goal in the 47th. Gharafa, rebuilt by
new brazilian coach pericles Chamusca, are rated as
one of the favourites to win the title this season, but
they did not impress against mesaimeer, who had
slumped to a 0-4 defeat against Sadd in the previous
week.
EL JAISH 4 AL SAILIYA 0
AL WAKRAH 1 AL AHLI 2
Seasoned performer meshaal Abdullah netted a
brace as Ahli came from behind to defeat Wakrah.
Argentinian striker Sebastian Saez put Wakrah
ahead in the 26th minute while meshaal struck in
the 41st and 56th minute to give Ahli their first win
and increase their tally to three points.
1-2 loss to Kharaitiyat, seemed
determined at the start and
attacked on the break, with Iajour
and tunisian Hamdi Harbaoui
making their intentions clear.
mohammed razzaq saw his
header scrape past the crossbar at
the other end before Omar gave
Qatar SC the lead, much against
the run of play, when he finished
off a fine move on the left.
Lekhwiya continued to enjoy
possession and Harbaoui had to be
at his acrobatic best to clear a Nam
tae-Hee free-kick off the goalline
after goalkeeper mohammed
RAYYAN REMAINED ON
TOP OF THE STANDINGS
AFTER THEY SAW OFF
KHARAITIYAT.
mubarak messed up with his save.
Lekhwiya found the
breakthrough in the 40th when
Ali Awad brought down Khaled
muftah inside the area and msakni
converted the resultant penalty.
razzaq continued to be a threat.
He narrowly missed an overhead
kick and his sharp attempt from
the right was saved by mubarak.
Qatar SC created more chances
in the second half, but could not
convert them. belmadi, who grew
frustrated on the touchline, turned
to Weiss just before the hour mark
and the Slovak made the difference
KICK-OFF
Saturday,
September 26
Sunday,
September 27
Al Gharafa vs Al Ahli
Qatar SC Stadium, 6pm.
El Jaish vs Al Khor
Lekhwiya Stadium, 6pm.
Lekhwiya vs Al Kharaitiyat
Lekhwiya Stadium, 8.15pm.
Qatar SC vs Al Arabi
Qatar SC Stadium, 8.15pm.
Al mesaimeer vs Al Sailiya
Al Arabi Stadium, 6pm.
Al Sadd vs Al Wakrah
Al Sadd Stadium, 6pm.
Al rayyan vs Umm Salal
Al Sadd Stadium, 8.15pm.
with his skilful runs. He volleyed
home from an Ismail mohammed
cross in the 81st before msakni
netted the third goal in injury time.
Al rayyan remained on top of
the standings after they saw off
Kharaitiyat’s challenge, winning
2-1 while 13-time champions Al
Sadd looked lethargic in their 2-2
draw with Umm Salal.
Al Arabi climbed to second
position, Gianfranco Zola’s men
seeing off Al Khor 1-0 for their
second win.
Al Gharafa, considered one of
the title favourites, got off to a
timid start, defeating mesaimeer
1-0 while Al Ahli proved they are
worthy challengers for a top-four
finish by scripting a 2-1 comefrom-behind win over Al Wakrah.
Elsewhere, El Jaish announced
their title credentials with a 4-0
rout of Al Sailiya, who had
suffered an identical defeat at
the hands of rayyan the previous
week.
ššLekhwiya’s
Youssef msakni,
left, and Qatar SC’s
Hamdi Harbaoui
engaged in a tussle.
moroccan forward Abderrazzak Hamdalla netted a
brace (37th and 51st minutes) as Jaish blanked Al
Sailiya. Uzbek forward Sardor rashidov had put the
Armymen ahead in the 11th while his brazilian strike
partner raomarinho completed the rout in the 81st.
AL ARABI 1 AL KHOR
0
Al Arabi defeated Al Khor, thanks to a 24th-minute
Yousef Ahmed goal. It was the second win in as
many matches for Gianfranco Zola’s men, who are
second in the standings, behind Al rayyan on goal
difference. Khor, who had lost their first match to
Umm Salal, are yet to open their account.
AL KHARAITIYAT 1 AL RAYYAN 2
rayyan scored a come-from-behind victory over
gritty Kharaitiyat to emerge on top of the standings.
Former rayyan forward Jarallah Al marri put
Kharaitiyat ahead in the 47th while defender Nathan
ribeiro headed home the equaliser in the 62nd. Five
minutes later, paraguayan midfielder Victor Caceres
found the back of the net, his second goal in as
many matches, to give the Lions their second victory.
LEKHWIYA 3 QATAR SC
1
Lekhwiya began their title defence with a laboured
3-1 victory over Qatar Sports Club. Qatar SC went
in front in the 30th, thanks to a mohammed Omar
strike, while the cops equalised in the 40th through a
Youssef msakni penalty. Substitute Vladimir Weiss put
Lekhwiya in front in the 81st while msakni added a
third in the 95th.
8
DSP/Mohan
FOOTBALL | QATAR
Al Gharafa need
to improve a lot
I
t WAS not the kind of start Al
Gharafa coach pericles Chamusca
was looking for as his team
looked uninspiring in their 1-0
victory over debutants mesaimeer
last week.
the win was a big relief in the
end, but Gharafa need to pull up
their socks against tougher and
tricky opponents. their next rivals
Al Ahli are sure to pose a bigger
threat.
Success-starved Gharafa
changed coaches too often in
the last two-three seasons, but
without any desired results. they
finished seventh last season,
which prompted the management
to entrust the coaching job to
brazilian Chamusca, who had
previously guided Al Arabi to third
in 2010-11 and helped El Jaish
finish fourth the very next season.
Chamusca replaced caretaker
bertrand marchand, who was
in charge after Gharafa fired
comeback coach marcos paqueta
towards the end of the season.
“It was our first match in the
league and we faced great difficulty
because of the humidity. but I don’t
want to put forward any excuses as
my team didn’t play well. I wasn’t
satisfied with the performance and
we’re still far from achieving our
target,” said Chamusca.
mesaimeer, who qualified for
GHARAFA NEED TO PULL
UP THEIR SOCKS AGAINST
TOUGHER AND TRICKY
OPPONENTS.
the top flight as Qatargas League
runners-up, packed their defence
while goalkeeper basel Zaidan was
confidence personified, effecting a
couple of sharp saves to deny Alain
Dioko.
they were largely successful in
their effort and could hold their
fancied rivals goalless till the
first-half added time when
moayad Fodhayli slotted home a
pass from tunisian international
Yassine Chikhaoui.
both teams struggled in humid
conditions and the short drinks
breaks in both halves provided
some relief to the players.
the conditions took a toll
on the players as mesaimeer’s
rafael Amorin left the field
complaining of a muscle strain in
the 31st minute while Dioko was
substituted in the 73rd for the
same reason.
“I hope we play well against
Al Ahli in our next match on
Saturday. We’ll try to improve
our technique and will try to
look better,” said Chamusca. “Our
target is to finish in the top four.
I’ve great confidence in the team’s
capability, but we still need to
coordinate better.”
Gharafa boast a decent squad
with some proven overseas recruits
including last two seasons’ top
scorer Dioko. All Chamusca needs
to do is inculcate a sense of
responsibility and fighting
mentality in the players.
If that is done, with a
bit of luck, the team can
dream of a top-four
finish.
ššAl Gharafa’s
Abdulaziz
Hatem, left, and
mesaimeer’s
Hermann Kakou vie
for possession.
Dioko fails to find
his feet on debut
A
Alain
Dioko
LAIN Dioko’s first match for Al Gharafa
turned out to be disappointing as the
Congolese international was substituted in
the 73rd minute after a muscle strain.
Dioko was the top scorer in
the Qatar Stars League’s last
two seasons, racking up 22
and 25 goals respectively for
Al Ahli, and has established
himself as one of the most
lethal strikers in recent
years.
He looked sharp and
agile as usual and even
knocked the ball home
in the third minute,
but it was turned
down for offside.
Whenever he
had the ball, the
mesaimeer defenders
were kept busy.
In the 33rd, his header hit the
side-netting much to the relief of
mesaimeer.
Dioko was used to the style of
play under milan macala at Ahli,
but he would need some time to
settle down at Gharafa.
Chamusca would want him to go
full throttle in their next match against
his former team, who have one
win and a draw and look to be in good
shape.
If Dioko, whose perfect positional play
makes him all the more difficult to mark, can
find his rhythm, Ahli will have their hands full.
9
Xavi shines, but Sadd held
A
L SADD’S tie against Umm
Salal gave their marquee
signing Xavi Hernandez
something to remember, on a
personal note.
the Spanish ace scored a goal and
produced a vital assist in his first
home match, but Umm Salal, with
their resilient approach, snatched
a 2-2 draw, reminding him of the
tough road ahead as he looks to help
Sadd regain the Qatar Stars League
shield.
Ivorian striker Yannick Sagbo put
Umm Salal ahead against the run of
play in the 16th minute. Sadd had
to wait till the 63rd for the equaliser,
which came through Xavi, who
soon set up young defender musab
Kamal for their second. but midfielder
Nasser Khalfan drew parity for Umm
Salal in the 84th.
Sadd had breezed past Al
mesaimeer 4-0 in Xavi’s debut fixture
and all eyes were once again on
the former barcelona captain. He
soon took control of the midfield
proceedings with precise passing.
Sadd dominated possession for
the first 15 minutes, but they could
hardly create a chance. the Umm
Salal defence, particularly brazilian
centre-back Welinton, stood firm. the
men in Orange took the lead off their
very first move.
Former Napoli player Fabio Cesar,
who captained Umm Salal, played
rami Fayez from a short corner and
the left-back picked out Sagbo inside
the box with a perfect cross. the
former Hull City player outjumped his
marker and headed the ball home.
Defence has been Umm Salal’s
strength in the last few seasons and
they put all their players behind the
ball.
AL SADD HAD BREEZED
PAST AL MESAIMEER 4-0
IN XAVI’S DEBUT FIXTURE
IN THE PREVIOUS WEEK.
Xavi still impressed with his
through passes, but Nadir belhadj
was too often dispossessed by rival
defenders. brazilian striker muriqui,
the hat-trick hero against mesaimeer,
was also tightly marked.
Sadd looked more determined in
the second half and wrested back the
advantage with two quick goals.
Al Haidous, who kept going
despite some heavy marking, did the
spadework for the first. the Qatar
international got into the box after
exchanging passes with Abdulkarim
Hassan and belhadj, and squared
the ball for an unmarked Xavi, who
placed it home.
musab brought further cheers to
the Sadd camp three minutes later
when he chested down a trademark
pass from Xavi and drilled in a low
right-footer past goalkeeper baba
malik. replays, however, showed that
the right-back was marginally offside.
two goals in three minutes made
Umm Salal a bit nervy, but coach
bulent Uygun changed his two
foreign players — Andranik
teymourian and Jeremie
Aliadiere — as well as
captain Fabio Cesar and
brought on Ismail
mohammed,
tamer Jamal and
Dheyab Alinabi.
the introduction
of fresh legs made a big difference as
Umm Salal fought their way back into
the game, with Sagbo proving his
worth again. the burly player worked
his way up on the right and pulled
the ball back for a waiting Nasser
Khalfan, who tapped it home in the
84th.
Sadd coach Housseine Amouta
said, “We had a lot of possession, but
we weren’t aggressive in the final
third to convert them into goals. It
wasn’t going to work against Umm
Salal, who were defensive.”
DSP/Mohan
N Ganesh
“the game maintained a high tempo, with both teams
fighting all the way. We were disciplined and committed,
and that enabled us to fight back after falling behind.
Bulent Uygun, Umm Salal coach.
ššUmm Salal’s Yannick Sagbo, right, challenges Al Sadd’s Xavi Hernandez.
THINGS LEARNT DURING THE SECOND WEEK
SAILIYA MUST IMPROVE
COOL CUSTOMER
THE OTHER KHALFAN
After completing the signing of their
three overseas recruits quite early
in the pre-season, Sailiya coach
Sami trabelsi said they would try to
impress this time. but quite contrary
to the tunisian’s claims, they have
made a terrible start and conceded
eight goals in the first two games to
find themselves at the bottom of the
table. they hardly look motivated and
trabelsi, who guided them to a
fourth-place finish in the season before
last, should again inject confidence and
winning mentality into the team.
‘play it simple’ has
been El Jaish coach
Sabri Lamouchi’s
advice to his players
and his new recruit
Sardor rashidov
seems to have
comprehended it
in quick time. the
Uzbek forward
was arguably the
most impressive
among
Lamouchi’s
wards against
Al Sailiya as
he scored the
opener — a
cool finish into
the right corner
of the net — and
set up Abderrazzak
Hamdallah for the
second. rashidov,
who has been
presented with the
No.10 jersey, proved
he has it in him to be
a thorn in the rival
teams’ flesh in the
coming matches.
Sadd brought on a half-fit
Khalfan Ibrahim in the 83rd
with an aim to kill the game
against Umm Salal. but it was
the other Khalfan, Nasser, who
hogged the limelight, netting an
84th-minute equaliser to help
the men in Orange salvage a
draw against the 13-time
league champions.
Nasser’s contribution
was not limited to the
goal alone. He started
on the left wing,
attacked steadily and
defended with purpose.
the Lekhwiya player, who
is on loan at Umm Salal, has the
potential to deliver more.
UNDER PRESSURE
the league has completed only two weeks, but there is already a lot of talk
about refereeing. Fahad Jaber had shown a direct red card to Al Arabi’s Iranian
winger Ashkan Dejagah for a tackle on Al Wakrah captain Ali reheima in the
opening match, but the QFA referees Committee overruled the decision and
allowed him to play last week against Al Khor. Sultan Salem and his team, who
officiated the match between Sadd and Umm Salal, were criticised heavily by
Umm Salal coach bulent Uygun while Salman Falahi, the referee in charge of
the Lekhwiya-Qatar SC match seemed not up to the mark either.
GREEN WAVE
Al rayyan have taken plenty of plaudits
after their fine start to the season, with
their followers rating them as strong title
contenders, but several neutral fans rate Al
Ahli as the best so far. Ahli played out a 1-1
draw with El Jaish in the opening fixture
and registered a come-from-behind win
over Al Wakrah last week, with their sturdy
and spirited performance prompting fans to
believe that they are capable of a top-four
finish this season.
10
FOOTBALL | QATAR/ASIA
Baggio’s boots, Messi’s
shirt and much more
N Ganesh
the Qatar Stars League (QSL)
has come up with a noble
gesture as it gets ready to
celebrate Eid Al Adha.
Accordingly, gates for all
seven third-round matches
in the QSL, to be played on
Saturday and Sunday, will be
free.
the QSL will give Qr10
each to Qatar Charity for each
spectator at the venues. the
total amount raised will
be donated to aid Syrian
refugees.
meanwhile, the QSL’s
competitions department made
a few changes to
first-phase fixtures taking into
consideration the engagements
of Olympic and national teams.
Addressing a press
conference, QSL Executive
Director of Competitions
and Football Development
Ahmed Al Harmi said, “We’ve
rescheduled some games so
as to help our Olympic and
national teams as much as
possible.”
ššAl mesaimeer’s Osam moun, right, tries to dispossess Al Gharafa’s
masoud Shojaei.
W
HAt images do roberto
baggio’s pair of boots
bring to your mind? they
could be any of the plethora of goals
scored by the Italian master dribbler
or, ironically, his infamous penalty
miss in the 1994 World Cup final
against brazil.
the football exhibition at the
Lagoona mall, which is on till October
3 where official jerseys of more
than 50 great players and other
memorabilia including baggio’s
autographed boots are on display,
takes you down memory lane.
the jerseys of Uruguayan Alcides
Ghiggia, scorer of the winning
goal in the 1950 World Cup final
against hosts brazil and who died
last July aged 88 on the anniversary
of the triumph, and Samba legend
Garrincha, regarded as the best
dribbler in the history of the game,
offer tributes to heroes of the past.
Germany great Franz beckenbauer,
who played 13 years for native
club bayern munich, is represented
through his New York Cosmos jersey
while French legend michel platini’s
shirt reminds you of his greatest
credential to take charge of the
DSP/Mohan
QSL to help
Syrian refugees
game’s world governing body FIFA.
the shirts of real madrid’s Cristiano
ronaldo and barcelona’s Lionel
messi from the last two Champions
League finals are drawing youngsters’
interest while that of ronaldinho and
Zinedine Zidane too are seemingly
priceless.
the exhibition also boasts replicas
of the Jules rimet trophy as well as
FIFA World Cup and a ceramic statue
dedicated to russia’s Lev Yashin,
considered by many as the greatest
goalkeeper.
ššAl rayyan’s mohammed Ala’aedin and Al Kharaitiyat’s mahmoud
Saad vie for possession.
Ššmushtaq Al
Waeli, front row,
third right, with
other delegates.
MENA sports industry in focus
R
DSP/Mohan, Fadi Al Assaad, Mohammed Dabboos
ššUmm Salal’s Andranik teymourian, background, and Juad Ahnach
challenge Al Sadd’s Hassan Al Haidous, left, as muriqui looks on.
ššAl Wakrah’s mouhcine moutouali shoots past Al Ahli’s Younis Ali.
EprESENtAtIVES from
the Josoor Institute spoke
about the business and
management of sport in the mENA
region at the European Association
for Sport management’s 23rd
conference in Dublin, Ireland,
recently.
Delegates from Josoor, a centre of
excellence in the sports and events
industries founded by the Supreme
Committee for Delivery and Legacy,
chaired a set of presentations
and panel discussions during a
workshop titled ‘business and
management of Sport in the
middle East and North Africa
region’. It was the first time that a
workshop focusing on sports in the
mENA region was held in Europe.
“the sports industry in the mENA
region has recently experienced
rapid growth in terms of both
infrastructure and human capital,
and is still expanding’, said Josoor
Institute’s Executive Director
(Acting) mushtaq Al Waeli, who
THE GLOBAL SPORTS
INDUSTRY IS CURRENTLY
WORTH BETWEEN $480BN
AND $620BN.
was also the chair at the panel
discussion.
“the conference was a great
opportunity for Josoor Institute
to position the mENA region as
one of the top destinations for
sports events in front of a large
international audience,” he added.
It is estimated that the global
sports industry is currently worth
between $480bn and $620bn, and
that revenues generated by the
industry will amount to more than
$145bn by the end of this year.
the mENA region is witnessing
rapid growth, with revenues
growing by seven per cent
per annum, according to
pricewaterhouseCoopers’ data.
Such growth is being driven by,
among other things, significant
investments in sports made by
countries within mENA, and by
events being staged and hosted
across the region.
11
Hilal to face Ahli in
battle of Gulf teams
Qatari colts bow
out, Iraq progress
H
OStS Qatar suffered a shock
0-1 defeat at the hands of
tajikistan at the Aspire Dome
last Sunday in their last Group C
qualifier and thus bowed out of
reckoning for the Asian Under-16
Championship finals.
though tajikistan finished second
on six points behind Iraq, they also
could not qualify after failing to find
a place among the four best
runners-up from all groups.
Iraq, who thumped turkmenistan
5-0 in their last encounter,
progressed as group champions
while Qatar managed just one win,
against turkmenistan (5-0), in their
opener. Qatar had earlier lost 0-1
to Iraq.
Needing a big win to have any
chance of progressing as one of the
top-four runners-up, Qatar could
not find their footing. tajikistan
scored in the 82nd minute through
midfielder Ziyovuddin Fuzaylov,
who found the target from a difficult
angle on the right.
“my boys couldn’t rise to
expectations in the tournament. We
started off well, but couldn’t sustain
the momentum. However, these
players have the potential
to make it big,” said Qatar coach
Arno buitenweg.
Qatar looked clueless in attack
and were forced to defend most
of the time against both Iraq and
tajikistan.
“It’s a result that leaves us sad,
but it’ll make us stronger. I’m proud
of the boys and the coaching staff,”
said ASpIrE Academy Football
Director roberto Olabe.
tajikistan, who finished third in
the 2006 edition, were disappointed
that they could not make it to the
final round, but their performance
QATAR LOOKED CLUELESS
IN ATTACK AND WERE
FORCED TO DEFEND MOST
OF THE TIME.
was encouraging.
“two wins from three matches
was a really good result considering
the boys didn’t have any exposure
trips before coming here. they
played friendlies at home against
local clubs. Qatar were a strong side
and a win against them will boost
the team’s morale,” said tajikistan
coach Zainidin rakhimov. “the boys
will return with loads of experience.”
meanwhile, it was a walk in the
park for Iraq against turkmenistan.
they were cruising 2-0 at half-time
and three goals in an incredible
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
J
ššQatar coach
Arno buitenweg
consoles players
after the defeat to
tajikistan.
three-minute spell at the start of
the second half made it a thrashing.
Alla Adnan Jabbar, who scored
the winner against Qatar, helped
himself with a hat-trick (19th, 51st
and 54th minutes) while Ahmed
Omar (32nd) and Saleh mahdi
(54th) also found the target.
Eleven group winners and four
best second-placed teams qualified
for next year’s finals in India
(September 15 to October 2), with
the hosts receiving an automatic
berth.
RESULTS
GROUP C
Qatar bt turkmenistan
Iraq bt tajikistan
Iraq bt Qatar
tajikistan bt turkmenistan
tajikistan bt Qatar
Iraq bt turkmenistan
5-0
3-1
1-0
5-1
1-0
5-0
QUALIFIERS
Uzbekistan
Oman
Iraq
Saudi Arabia
Iran
Kuwait
malaysia
North Korea
South Korea
Australia
Japan
Vietnam
thailand
UAE
Nepal
India
Group A winners
Group b winners
Group C winners
Group D winners
Group E winners
Group F winners
Group G winners
Group H winners
Group I winners
Group J winners
Group K winners
best runners-up
Second-best runners-up
third-best runners-up
Fourth-best runners-up
Hosts
ŠšNaft tehran’s
Alireza Ezati, right,
vies for the ball
with Al Ahli’s
Ahmed Khalil.
ApAN’S Gamba Osaka will face China’s
Guangzhou Evergrande while two-time
continental champions Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia
take on the UAE’s Al Ahli in the AFC Champions
League semifinals.
Ahli defeated Iran’s Naft tehran 2-1 in the
return leg in Dubai last week to advance on a 3-1
aggregate.
Hilal will host Ahli in the first leg at the King Fahd
International Stadium in riyadh on September 29
ahead of the return fixture in Dubai on October 20.
Gamba edged out South Korea’s Jeonbuk motors
3-2 in Japan and the 2008 winners will travel to
Guangzhou for the first leg on September 30 before
hosting Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side in the return
fixture in Osaka on
SEMIFINAL FIXTURES October 21.
Gamba
Kick-off in Doha time
Tuesday,
Al Hilal vs Al Ahli
progressed from
September 29 King Fahd International
a rollercoaster
Stadium, riyadh, 8.15pm.
second leg against
Wednesday, Guangzhou Evergrande vs
’06 champions
September 30 Gamba Osaka
tianhe Sport Center,
Jeonbuk, courtesy
Guangzhou, 3pm.
of Koki Yonekura’s
Tuesday,
Al Ahli vs Al Hilal
October 20
rashid Stadium, Dubai,
dramatic
6.45pm.
stoppage-time
Wednesday, Gamba Osaka vs
winner, as the
October 21
Guangzhou Evergrande
Japanese treble
Expo ’70 Stadium, Osaka,
1pm.
winners secured
a first semifinal
appearance since clinching the title.
Ahli advanced after goals from rodrigo Lima and
Ahmed Khalil built on the UAE club’s 1-0 win in the
first leg in tehran. Although Vahid Amiri pulled one
back for Naft five minutes into the second half, there
was little Alireza mansourian’s
team could do to deny Ahli a
place in their first-ever AFC
Champions League semifinal.
“I said to the players they
represent the Emirates and
they went into the field with this
motivation. they’ve made all the people proud,”
said Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu, who has also
managed Qatar’s Al Sadd.
12
e
s
o
l
c
FOOTBALL | INTERNATIONAL
Two
a gap!
YOUNG STRIKER ANTHONY MARTIAL AGAIN SHINES FOR
MANCHESTER UNITED AS THEY BEAT SOUTHAMPTON
AND CUT THE GAP WITH NEIGHBOURS CITY TO TWO
POINTS IN THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, WRITES STEVE TONGUE.
at $56.39m.
Having scored as a substitute
on his premier League debut
against Liverpool, he added two
more goals at Southampton, both
expertly taken.
Graziano pelle put Southampton
ahead in the 13th minute. martial
equalised 10 minutes before
half-time with United’s first shot
ARSENAL HAD TWO
PLAYERS SENT OFF IN AN
ILL-TEMPERED 0-2 DERBY
LOSS TO CHELSEA.
on target, although Juan mata
should have been given offside,
and the 19 year-old Frenchman put
United in front following a dreadful
back pass by Southampton’s
Japanese defender maya Yoshida.
mata added United’s third
midway through the second half
before De Gea denied Jose Fonte
and pelle gave his team late hope
by heading in Sadio mane’s cross.
“I’ve to make a lot of
compliments to my players,” said
United manager Louis van Gaal.
“Anthony martial is already
special because we paid a lot of
money for him. A lot of people are
thinking he’s a great star, but he’s a
boy of 19,” he added.
Earlier, Arsenal had two players
sent off when they lost an
ill-tempered derby 2-0 to Chelsea
as the champions pulled out of
their early-season slump with their
first premier League win for almost
a month.
Chelsea’s 20-year-old French
defender Kurt Zouma headed
in the first after 53 minutes of a
fractious game before an Eden
Hazard shot deflected off Calum
Chambers in stoppage time to
make it 2-0.
Arsenal defender Gabriel was
red carded for kicking out at Diego
Costa just before half-time and
Santi Cazorla was dismissed with
a second booking for sliding in on
former Arsenal skipper Cesc
Fabregas after 79 minutes.
meanwhile, Liverpool’s
hopes of joining the title
chase look forlorn after
promoted Norwich
City held them 1-1 at
Anfield.
WAR
OF
WORDS
“I think it’s unacceptable what he
(Diego Costa) does to (Laurent)
Koscielny. He pushes him
down, he hits him in the
face. I don’t understand
referee mike Dean’s
decision at all. Why does
Costa stay on the pitch and
Gabriel is sent off? He’ll do
the same next week and it’s
always the same, he’s always
provoking. We weren’t surprised,
but I expect the referee to make the
right decision.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal manager.
“He (Diego Costa) played
like he has to play and that’s
why you’ve full stadiums and
you sell football to television
around the world for millions and
millions. man of the match, for
me. I’ve played against Arsenal
I don’t know 12, 15, maybe 18
times... And only once he (Arsene
Wenger) didn’t moan. And on
that day, we lost the game.
but we behaved in a fantastic
way, no excuses, no crying, no
moaning.
Jose Mourinho, Chelsea manager.
ŠŠmanchester
United’s Anthony
martial runs with
the ball during
their match against
Southampton.
Costa, Gabriel
charged by FA
Chelsea striker Diego
Costa and Arsenal’s
Gabriel have both
been charged by the
Football Association (FA)
after incidents in last
week’s bad-tempered
premier League derby at
Stamford bridge.
the FA said that
Costa had been charged
with an alleged “act
of violent conduct”
after television replays
EPL HIGHLIGHTS
M
ANCHEStEr City
supporters ended a bad
week by finding old
enemy manchester United closing
to within two points of them at
the top of the premier League after
a 3-2 victory at Southampton last
week.
Just a little earlier, City were five
points clear of their neighbours,
having not even conceded a goal in
five matches, and the bookmakers
were slashing their title odds.
but after a hugely disappointing
home defeat by Juventus in the
Champions League, they were
shocked by West Ham United 2-1
at the Etihad that ended a 100 per
cent league record.
United rubbed salt into City’s
wounds when they resisted
Southampton’s late rally, thanks to
some fine saves from goalkeeper
David de Gea, who had seemed
certain to leave in the recent
transfer window.
Instead, a deal with real madrid
broke down on the last day of
the window, when United also
brought in Anthony martial
from AS monaco as the world’s
most expensive teenage signing
showed him catching
Arsenal defender
Laurent Koscielny with
his arm in an incident
not spotted at the time
by the referee.
brazilian defender
Gabriel, who was sent
off after tangling with
Costa shortly after
that incident, was
charged with “improper
conduct” following his
red card.
HEADLINES
QUOTE
• Leaders man City
beaten 1-2 at home
by West Ham
• martial scores twice
as manchester United
beat Southampton to
go second
• Gabriel, Santi Cazorla
sent off in Arsenal
defeat at Chelsea
“I was late for the game
as I made it back home
for the birth of my son.
then I shot back up
on the plane with the
directors.
Norwich City captain
russell martin, who
scored the equaliser in
a 1-1 draw at Liverpool
hours after the birth of
his son.
13
WEEKLY ROUND-UP
Messi double keeps Barca on top
B
ArCELONA’S Lionel messi
scored a penalty and missed
another as his double helped
the team sweep Levante aside in a
4-1 victory to maintain their perfect
La Liga start.
Last season’s treble winners braca,
having won all of their four games
so far, lead the standings with 12
points while three teams, including
arch-rivals real madrid, are on 10.
Defender marc bartra showed
composure to open the scoring by
converting a messi cross after 50
minutes with barca having been
frustrated in the first half by a well
organised Levante side.
With the game having opened
up, Neymar finished clinically after
55 minutes and later won a penalty
on the hour which was converted
by messi.
At the other end, barca
goalkeeper marc-Andre ter Stegen
flapped at a cross that allowed
Victor to slot the ball home after 65
minutes.
messi blazed a second penalty
over the bar after he himself was
fouled, but the Argentinian did score
again with a drive from the edge of
the area a minute from time.
Youth players Sandro ramirez and
munir El Haddadi were both given
their chance in the barca attack,
with coach Luis Enrique resting Luis
Suarez and Andres Iniesta while in
a tactical change messi began in a
deeper role behind the front three.
Elsewhere, a second-half Karim
benzema header gave a belowpar real madrid a 1-0 victory over
Granada, who squandered several
good chances.
the Frenchman, who appeared
marginally offside, nodded home an
Isco cross after 55 minutes against
a well organised Granada side that
attacked with pace.
Cristiano ronaldo had eight
goals from his previous two games,
but he and his real team-mates
struggled to beat keeper Andres
Fernandez.
their perfect Serie A record when
mauro Icardi gave them a 1-0 win
at unbeaten Chievo to leave them as
the only team with 12 points from
their opening four games.
torino are second, two points
behind, after a Fabio Quagliarella
double earned a 2-0 win over
Walter Zenga’s Sampdoria.
FRANCESCO TOTTI, 39
THIS MONTH, SCORED HIS
300TH COMPETITIVE GOAL
FOR AS ROMA.
Francesco totti, 39 this month,
scored his 300th competitive goal
for AS roma in their 2-2 draw at
home to Sassuolo.
titleholders Juventus claimed
their first league win of the season
when they beat Genoa 2-0 away
with an own goal by goalkeeper
Eugenio Lamanna and a paul pogba
penalty.
Dortmund on top
In Germany, borussia Dortmund
cruised past bayer Leverkusen 3-0
to reclaim top spot in the bundesliga
and stretch their perfect start to five
wins out of five league matches.
Champions bayern munich
beat Darmstadt 98 3-0 to move
to 15 points with a fifth win, but
Dortmund’s victory, their 11th
consecutive in all competitions, put
them ahead on goal difference.
Vfl Wolfsburg beat Hertha
berlin 2-0 to cling on to third spot,
while Schalke 04 needed talented
teenager Leroy Sane to beat
struggling Vfb Stuttgart 1-0 and
move up to fourth place.
borussia moenchengladbach
coach Lucien Favre resigned as a
result of their poor run of results,
with his side having lost their
opening five league matches.
PSG held again
In France, paris Saint-Germain
retained their Ligue 1 lead despite
being held for the second time in a
row in a 1-1 stalemate at Stade de
reims.
With 14 points from six games,
the champions lead Stade rennais
and St Etienne by one point.
meanwhile, 10-man Olympique
marseille and Olympique Lyon
shared points in a 1-1 draw with the
game interrupted for 23 minutes by
crowd trouble.
Liverpool drew Norwich City
Southampton lost to man United
tottenham bt Crystal palace
bournemouth bt Sunderland
Aston Villa lost to West bromwich
Chelsea bt Arsenal
man City lost to West Ham
Newcastle Utd lost to Watford
Stoke City drew Leicester City
Swansea City drew Everton
1-1
2-3
1-0
2-0
0-1
2-0
1-2
1-2
2-2
0-0
SPFL
Celtic bt Dundee
Hearts lost to Aberdeen
Dundee Utd drew Inverness
Hamilton bt motherwell
Kilmarnock bt St Johnstone
ross County bt partick thistle
6-0
1-3
1-1
1-0
2-1
1-0
LA LIGA
Deportivo lost to Sporting Gijon
barcelona bt Levante
Las palmas lost to rayo Vallecano
Sevilla lost to Celta Vigo
Villarreal bt Athletic Club
Eibar lost to Atl madrid
real madrid bt Granada
real Sociedad lost to Espanyol
Valencia drew real betis
Getafe bt malaga
2-3
4-1
0-1
1-2
3-1
0-2
1-0
2-3
0-0
1-0
SERIE A
AS roma drew Sassuolo
Atlanta drew Verona
bologna bt Frosinone
Carpi lost to Fiorentina
Chievo lost to Inter milan
Genoa lost to Juventus
Napoli bt Lazio
torino bt Sampdoria
AC milan bt palermo
Udinese lost to Empoli
2-2
1-1
1-0
0-1
0-1
0-2
5-0
2-0
3-2
1-2
BUNDESLIGA
borussia bt bayer Leverkusen
FC Augsburg bt Hanover
Vfb Stuttgart lost to Schalke
Cologne bt borussia m’bach
Hamburg SV drew E Frankfurt
Darmstadt lost to bayern munich
VfL Wolfsburg bt Hertha berlin
Werder bremen lost to Ingolstadt
mainz bt Hoffenheim
3-0
2-0
0-1
1-0
0-0
0-3
2-0
0-1
3-1
LIGUE 1
monaco lost to FC Lorient
bordeaux drew toulouse
Oly marseille drew Oly Lyon
St Etienne bt Nantes
Angers bt ES troyes
Caen bt montpellier
Avant bt GFC Ajaccio
bastia lost to Nice
Stade de reims drew pSG
Stade rennes drew Lille
2-3
1-1
1-1
2-0
1-0
2-1
2-1
1-3
1-1
1-1
BRAZILIAN C’SHIP
Inter Milan maintain record
In Italy, Inter milan maintained
TWEET
STAT
GOAL
MOMENT
PLAYER
“#NUFC awful AGAIN.
Charlie Austin looks cheap
at £15 million now!”
West Ham have won
away from home
against manchester City,
Liverpool and Arsenal for
the first time in a topflight season.
matt ritchie (for
bournemouth against
Sunderland)
Scotland midfielder
ritchie scored a goal of
the season contender,
chesting down a headed
clearance and crashing
a left-foot volley into
the top-left corner from
outside the box.
Cunning Costa (for
Chelsea against Arsenal)
Diego Costa avoided a
red card despite striking
Laurent Koscielny twice
and then got Gabriel
sent off, paving the way
for Chelsea’s first home
win of the season.
Anthony martial
(manchester United)
the French teenager
followed up his debut
goal against Liverpool
with a nerveless double
as United came from
behind to win 3-2 at
Southampton and close
to within two points of
leaders manchester City.
Ex-Newcastle United
striker Alan Shearer rues
his old club’s failure
to sign Queens park
rangers’ striker Austin
after 2-1 loss at home
to Watford leaves them
second-bottom.
RESULTS
EPL
ššbarcelona’s
Lionel messi, left,
fights for the ball
with Levante’s
Jefferson Lerma.
Atl mineiro bt Flamengo
Avai bt Sao paulo
Chapecoense lost to Cruzeiro
Corinthians bt Santos
Coritiba bt Atl paranaense
Goias bt Joinville
Vasco da Gama bt Sport
ponte preta bt Fluminense
Internacional drew Figueirense
palmeiras bt Gremio
4-1
2-1
0-2
2-0
2-0
3-0
2-1
3-1
1-1
3-2
ARGENTINIAN C’SHIP
San Lorenzo bt racing Club
Arsenal bt Olimpo
banfield bt Crucero
river plate drew Lanus
Union bt temperley
Newell’s Ob bt San martin
Velez Sarsfield lost to Estudiantes
Aldosivi drew Huracan
Argentinos Jrs lost to boca Jrs
Gimnasia drew tigre
Godoy Cruz lost to rosario Central
Independiente bt Nueva Chicago
Sarmiento bt Defensa y Justicia
2-1
2-1
2-1
1-1
2-1
1-0
0-1
0-0
1-3
1-1
1-3
2-1
2-1
14
FOOTBALL | INTERNATIONAL
Market study&
transfer policy!
Brian Homewood
F
IFprO’S plans to dismantle the
transfer system may sound
far-fetched and possibly
eccentric to the average fan, but the
world players’ union says there is
no other way to fix a sport which is
losing its competitive edge.
Alarmed at the gap between the
world’s richest clubs and players in
less glamorous leagues who scrape
a living in what FIFpro president
philippe piat describes as modern
slavery, the union believes the
transfer system needs a radical
overhaul.
the transfer system, where
players are traded between clubs for
fees running into tens of millions of
euros, is so deeply ingrained that it is
hard to imagine the sport without it.
English premier League clubs
spent £870m on players in the
July-August transfer window,
according to business advisory firm
Deloitte.
but getting rid of transfers is
exactly what FIFpro aims to achieve
after lodging a complaint at the
European Commission last week,
arguing the system infringes
European competition law.
FIFpro, which represents 65,000
players around the world, has
several grievances against the
system, but the main one is that it
has reduced the level of competition
between clubs, effectively making
the sport too predictable.
On a European level, only
a small number of clubs
from the biggest
leagues, such as
barcelona, real
madrid and
bayern
munich,
can
afford the
astronomical fees
for the world’s top
players. As a result, an
elite bunch dominates the
Champions League.
It has also led to nearly all
the world’s top players becoming
concentrated in a handful of leagues
— in England, Germany, France, Italy
and Spain.
Clubs such as Ajax Amsterdam
and benfica, once considered major
forces in European football, have
been reduced to the role of feeder
clubs for the bigger leagues.
FIFpro says this needs to change.
“We believe that it’s possible
in smaller countries to have an
attractive national competition
and that balance has to be there,
otherwise in a couple of years we’ll
only have 30 clubs in the world,
and nobody wants that,” said
FIFpro Secretary General theo van
Seggelen.
FIFpro says the dominant clubs
entrench their position in the
market by inflating transfer fees and
therefore creating barriers against
other clubs to compete with them.
“transfer fees are effectively a
tax on employment because they
represent deterrents for possible
FIFPRO DESCRIBES THE
CURRENT TRANSFER
SYSTEM AS MODERN
SLAVERY.
employers to acquire employees’
services,” said FIFpro Director Jonas
baer-Hoffmann.
Van Seggelen said that, because
agents received a commission on
transfer fees, there was an incentive
for them to move players around as
often as possible.
this leads to some players
representing more than one dozen
clubs, often in several different
countries, in their careers.
“Why bring a 16-year-old South
American to Europe? because you
want to exploit the player and you
can make money out of him,” said
Van Seggelen. “I can’t imagine that a
16-year-old in brazil really wants to
leave his parents and go to a strange
country where it’s always raining.”
FIFpro officials believe that
without transfer fees, football would
turn into a normal labour market.
players would have a better
chance of finding clubs that suit their
language, culture and level of ability
because the transfer fee would no
longer be the determining factor in
whether a move went ahead, one
FIFpro official said.
If agents’ fees were based on
a player’s salary, rather than the
transfer fee, they would have an
incentive to find him the right club
and keep him there.
the game’s world governing body
FIFA, which runs the transfer system
through its regulations on the Status
and transfers of players (rStp), did
not return a request for comment.
European football’s ruling
body UEFA, which organises the
showpiece Champions League
competition, hoped the matter could
be settled outside the courts.
“Football and the solutions
needed in it should be found by
football people, and not the courts
who’ve more important things to
deal with than the game-related
matters,” UEFA General Secretary
Gianni Infantino said after a meeting
in malta.
However, Simon Chadwick, a
professor of sports business strategy
and marketing at britain’s Coventry
University, said it could have the
opposite effect to what FIFpro
intended.
“If the EU prompts such a change,
then we’ll effectively be heading
towards a free market for labour in
the European Union,” he said.
ššphilippe piat,
left, and theo van
Seggelen address a
press conference in
brussels.
15
COLLATED RESULTS
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
COMPLAINT BOX!
Fact file on the legal complaint which
was lodged by the world players’ union
FIFpro at the European Commission (EC)
last week against the transfer system.
BACKGROUND
FIFpro is the world players’ union,
based in the Netherlands, which
represents about 65,000 professional
players worldwide through its national
affiliates.
It is represented on some standing
committees at football’s world
governing body FIFA and the European
ruling body UEFA, although it does
not have a place on the Executive
Committee of either organisation. Its
president is Frenchman philippe piat.
the complaint is against FIFA, which
governs the transfer regulations
worldwide through its regulations
on the Status and transfer of players
(rStp). the system has existed
since 2001 and follows an informal
agreement between FIFA, UEFA and
the EC.
WHY IS FIFPRO
GOING TO COURT?
FIFpro argues that the current system
creates a competitive imbalance as only
the biggest clubs can afford the transfer
fees for the top players.
It says it leads to commercial
exploitation of the trade by agents,
impedes the free movement of players,
causes speculative management of
clubs and creates conditions for the
trafficking of minors.
Another grievance is that even when
players are not paid by their clubs, they
have to wait 90 days before they can
claim just cause. they could also face
a lengthy procedure through FIFA’s
dispute resolution chamber.
FIFpro wants unpaid players to be
allowed to leave after 30 days and
change club without waiting for a new
transfer window.
FIFpro says it wants to encourage
respect of contract and it wants
penalties for early termination to be
the same for players and clubs. It also
wants to create quality jobs for players.
FIFpro argues it is unfair that a player’s
compensation is calculated on the basis
of his “market value” as this itself is set
by the clubs.
In some cases, such as that of the
brazilian player matuzalem, this can
lead to a player being ordered to pay
compensation equivalent to several
years’ salary.
ššJuventus players
celebrate their win
even as manchester
City’s Sergio Aguero
wears a dejected
look.
English failure
not surprising
W
ESt Ham United
manager Slaven bilic has
said the disappointing
results by English premier League
teams in European competition last
week should not be viewed as a
major surprise.
manchester United, manchester
City and Arsenal all slumped to
defeats in their opening Champions
League fixtures while Liverpool
were held to a 1-1 draw at
bordeaux in the Europa League.
Chelsea were the only English
side to win their first Champions
League fixture this season, beating
maccabi tel Aviv 4-0 while
tottenham Hotspur came from
behind to beat Qarabag 3-1 in their
Europa League opener at White
Hart Lane.
“Why’re people so surprised
when manchester United
lose a game (1-2) against pSV
(Eindhoven)?” bilic was quoted as
saying by Sky Sports.
“man United is a bigger club —
and they deserved more than a
defeat in that game — but many
big clubs have lost at pSV,” he
added. “It isn’t a shock.”
Arsenal lost 1-2 away to Dinamo
Zagreb and the Croatian side’s
coach, Zoran mamic, thanked bilic
after the game for providing key
information that helped his team
win.
“You can lose in Zagreb. It was a
major surprise, the whole of Croatia
is surprised, but it can happen,” bilic
said.
“they play football there as well.
they’re a decent team, unbeaten in
41 games or whatever.
“they (English teams) aren’t
naive, but you’ve to know that the
other teams are also good,” he said.
the manager also said City did
not deserve to lose 1-2 against
Juventus, but pointed out the
MAN UNITED IS A BIGGER
CLUB — AND THEY
DESERVED MORE THAN A
DEFEAT IN THAT GAME.
pedigree of the Italian club.
“man City didn’t deserve to lose
that game, minimum they deserved
a point, but Juventus scored two
great goals,” he said.
“You’ve to take (into account) that
it was Juventus, a team that played
in the Champions League final (last
season).”
bilic, who led besiktas to victory
over Liverpool in the Europa League
last season, said that result was
down to good planning and did not
surprise him.
“For you, it was probably a
shock when besiktas knocked out
Liverpool last year. For us it wasn’t.
“A little surprise, but we were
hoping for that and planning for
that, to be fair,” he said.
Moreno visits
injured Shaw
paris Saint-Germain
(Di maria 4, Cavani 61) bt malmo
real madrid (benzema 30,
ronaldo 55-pen, 63-pen, 81)
bt Shakhtar Donetsk
Vfl Wolfsburg (Draxler 40) bt
CSKA moscow
pSV Eindhoven (moreno 45+2,
Narsingh 57) bt manchester United
(Depay 41)
Galatasaray lost to Atletico madrid
(Griezmann 18, 25)
benfica (Gaitan 51, mitroglou 62)
bt Astana
manchester City (Chiellini 57-og) lost to
Juventus (mandzukic 70, morata 81)
Sevilla (Gameiro 47-pen, banega
66-pen, Konoplyanka 84) bt borussia
moenchengladbach
bayer Leverkusen (mehmedi 4,
Calhanoglu 47, 75-pen, Hernandez 58)
bt bAtE borisov (milunovic 13)
roma (Florenzi 31) drew barcelona
(Suarez 21)
Dinamo Zagreb (Oxlade-Chamberlain
24-og, Fernandes 58) bt Arsenal
(Walcott 79)
Olympiakos lost to bayern munich
(mueller 52, 90+2-pen, Goetze 89)
Chelsea (Willian 15, Oscar 45+4-pen,
Diego Costa 58, Fabregas 78)
bt maccabi tel-Aviv
Dynamo Kiev (Gusev 20, buyalskiy 89)
drew porto (Aboubakar 23, 81)
Gent (milicevic 68) drew Lyon (Jallet 58)
Valencia (Cancelo 54, Gomes 73) lost to
Zenit St petersburg (Hulk 9, 44,
Witsel 76)
EUROPA LEAGUE
Fenerbahce (Nani 42) lost to molde
(Hoiland 36-pen, Elyounoussi 53,
Linnes 65)
Ajax (Fischer 25, Schone 84) drew Celtic
(biton 8, Lustig 42)
bordeaux (Jussie 81) drew Liverpool
(Lallana 65)
Sion (moussa Konate 11, 82)
bt rubin Kazan (Kanunnikov 65)
Qabala FK drew pAOK
Dortmund (Ginter 45+1, park Joo-ho
90+2) bt FC Krasnodar (mamaev 12)
midtjylland (Kucharczyk 60-o.g.) bt
Legia Warsaw
Napoli (Callejon 5, 77, mertens 19, 25,
Hamsik 53) bt Club brugge
rapid Vienna (Schwab 50,
Hofmann 53-pen) bt Villarreal (Carrilho
baptistao 45)
Viktoria plzen (Horava 36, petrzela 75)
bt Dinamo minsk
Slovan Liberec lost to Sporting braga
(rafa 60)
FC Groningen lost to marseille (FrA)
(Nkoudou 25, Ocampos 39,
Alessandrini 61)
Dnipro (Seleznyov 90+4) drew Lazio
(milinkovic-Savic 34)
Saint-Etienne (beric 4, roux 87-pen)
drew rosenborg (mikkelsen 16,
Svensson 79)
Skenderbeu lost to besiktas (Sosa 28)
Fiorentina (Kalinic 4) lost to basel (b
bjarnason 71, El Neney 79)
Lech poznan drew belenenses
Anderlecht (Gillet 11) drew monaco
(traore 85)
tottenham Hotspur (Son Heung-min
28, 30, Lamela 86) bt Qarabag (richard
Almeida 7-pen)
ApOEL lost to Schalke (matip 28,
Huntelaar 35, 71)
Asteras (mazza 2) drew Sparta prague
(Lafata 56)
partizan belgrade (Oumarou 11, 39,
Zivkovic 89) bt AZ Alkmaar (Jop van der
Linden 34, Henriksen 90+3)
Athletic bilbao (Aduriz 55, 66,
Susaeta 90) bt Augsburg (Altintop 15)
2-0
4-0
1-0
2-1
0-2
2-0
1-2
3-0
4-1
1-1
2-1
0-3
4-0
2-2
1-1
2-3
1-3
2-2
1-1
2-1
0-0
2-1
1-0
5-0
2-1
2-0
0-1
0-3
1-1
2-2
0-1
1-2
0-0
1-1
3-1
0-3
1-1
3-2
3-1
manchester United full-back Luke Shaw received a visit
from pSV Eindhoven defender Hector Moreno, whose
challenge in last week’s Champions League tie broke his leg
in two places.
moreno was accompanied last week by pSV coach phillip
Cocu at the hospital in Geldorp, where Shaw underwent
surgery directly after being admitted.
meanwhile, barcelona midfielder rafinha will undergo
surgery after damaging the anterior cruciate ligament in his
right knee in last week’s 1-1 Champions League Group E
draw at AS roma.
16
FOCUS ON ASPIRE
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
ASPETAR’S SENIOR PHYSICAL COACH BARRY WHITE TELLS AJU GEORGE CHRIS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF
PROMOTING SPORTS AT THE GRASS-ROOTS LEVEL AND CHANGING ATTITUDE TOWARDS FITNESS IN QATAR.
F
rENCHmAN barry White has
witnessed the evolution of
Qatar’s orthopaedic and sports
medicine hospital Aspetar from
very close quarters.
the 68-year-old, who had
already made a name for
himself as the first America-born
basketball player to have featured
in the French national team, is
currently a Senior physical Coach
at Aspetar.
the soft-spoken giant, a former
NbA player with baltimore bullets
(now Washington Wizards), has
worked with several superstars
and teams in different disciplines,
and is a respected voice in the
‘organised fitness’ community.
In an exclusive interview with
Doha Stadium Plus, White spoke
about his playing days, switch
to fitness training, experiences
in Qatar and the importance of
promoting sports at the grass-roots
levels.
ЂЂHow different was the game
in France?
ЃЂthe game was much slower
than what I had experienced in
the US. the number of matches
was also a lot less. It meant you
could take better care of your body,
and learn the local language and
customs as well.
I WAS THE FIRST FRENCHAMERICAN PLAYER TO
FEATURE IN THE FRANCE
NATIONAL TEAM.
ЂЂWhen and how did you switch
to fitness training?
but things are way different now.
the game in France has started to
catch up with that in the US. the
teams are stronger, the matches
more intense and popular.
ЂЂYou’re a player from a different
generation, but still follow the
game closely. How much has
ЂЂHow did your stint with the
French national team happen?
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
ЃЂI played with NbA side
baltimore bullets for a few years
before moving to France. I featured
in four French First Division clubs
— Vichy (1970-71, 72-73), Challans
(1973-78), mulhouse (1978-80)
and tours (1980-81).
While I was there, I met my wife
and we had our first son. When the
French national team management
approached me with an offer to
play for them, I accepted. I was the
first French-American to do so and
I featured in 48 games for them. It
was a great honour.
it changed?
ЃЂthe games are picking up speed
and, as a result, injuries are more
common. the players now have to
travel much more than we did. In
addition, they play more matches
and hardly have time to rest.
things weren’t so hectic before.
the NbA has now seriously
started looking at preventing player
injuries. We should provide players
with systems and methods to
ensure they’re healthy in the long
run, even after retirement.
ЃЂWhile I was still a French
international, mcDonald’s offered
me a chance to open their first shop
in the country. I owned it for a few
years. by that time, I had earned
a masters degree in physical
education and that helped
me start off in strength
and fitness training.
being an
ex-professional
player helped
me open new
doors. I started
organising
stress relief
and
Barry
White
swimmers, such athletes are held
in high esteem only until they’re
caught. then they’re finished. they
become an international shame. It’s
tough to return from a fall like that.
We’ve to teach our kids it’s simply
not worth it. plus, you badly hurt
yourself. One can’t inject drugs and
expect it not to come back at you
when you’re older.
šЂbarry White oversees a session at Qatar’s orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital Aspetar.
ЂЂMost Qatar Stars League football
ЂЂHave you noticed any positive
change in the perception of fitness
programmes in the country over
the years?
ЃЂWhen I first came to Doha with
the concept of specialised fitness
training, I was looked upon as an
alien. the prevalent notion was
that players just needed to play.
I tried to make them understand
that as
high-performance athletes, they’ve
a gift that only a few have. they’ve
to work hard to keep that gift or risk
losing it.
Initially, many athletes used
to play hard, but ignore fitness
regimens, thus risking injuries.
the arrival of ace rally driver and
shooter Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah,
among others, helped change the
perceptions.
ЂЂQatar has been promoting a
healthy lifestyle at the grass-roots
level. How successful has it been?
ЃЂthe ASpIrE Academy’s ‘Step Into
Health’ initiative helped popularise
a mass fitness movement for the
first time. It was a great start, but
we must keep building on it.
the middle East will
undoubtedly face many
health issues in future.
It’s up to people like
us to prevent that
from happening.
Although my
work is largely
limited to
professional
athletes, we
also try to
educate
the public
about
their
bodies
and
how to
We should also convince
children that education is equally
important. being able to run up
and down a court is one thing. but
being a player who’s able to think
on his feet is far better. Education
completes an athlete.
clubs prepared for the new season
by camping in colder European
countries. How effective could
they’ve been, considering Doha is
hot and humid...
ЃЂIt doesn’t matter where you
camp as long as you’re working
on strengthening the players’
foundations. It’s the same in any
sport — cardiovascular strength,
recovery rate, flexibility, eating and
sleeping patterns. If one used a part
of the training camp to build and
protect these, it doesn’t really matter
where they train.
When I was a player, we used
to compete around the world. We
had to face all kinds of climatic
conditions. but we always worked
on strengthening our foundations.
As a result, I remained injury-free
throughout my professional playing
life (15 years).
Now, much more importance
is given to being healthy. Athletes
have better access to physiologists,
psychologists and nutritionists.
they understand that while their
professional career may last for 15
or 20 years, life goes on. You’ve to
ensure a healthy body even after
you retire.
ЂЂBut there’re also athletes like
maintain it.
ЂЂHow can one convince children
to actively take up sport?
ЃЂOne way is to organise as
many age-group competitions
as possible at the lowest levels.
It should be promoted like major
events, with banners being put up
around the country.
When I was growing up, I
tried my hand at different sports.
I competed in track and field,
baseball, football and ice hockey
before ending up on a basketball
court. Children should’ve the option
to choose their sport.
ONE CAN’T INJECT DRUGS
AND EXPECT IT NOT TO
COME BACK AT YOU WHEN
YOU’RE OLDER.
high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim,
who gave up his studies to focus on
his sports career...
ЃЂI didn’t mean education as
something that’s attainable
only inside a classroom. You get
education from the environment
as well as the people you interact
with. mutaz is a top athlete who
constantly travels around the
world. He meets new people and
understands new cultures. You
don’t strictly need a university
degree to show you’re educated.
[email protected]
ЂЂHow do you see the recent
increase in the number of doping
cases in world sports?
ЃЂthe root cause of the problem
here is ambition and money. We
throw everything at a player and tell
him we want him to be the best. So
sometimes, he or she takes the easy
way out — doping. It’s a shortcut to
money, fame and recognition.
but looking at recent examples,
from American cyclist Lance
Armstrong to track and field stars to
DSP/Mohan
fitness classes for multinational
companies before moving on to
football and basketball clubs in
France.
It was in early 2006 that I
met Aspetar’s rehabilitation
and National Sports medicine
programme Director riadh miladi.
He convinced me to move to Doha.
And I’m still here.
17
Striving to be the world’s best
Qatar’s orthopaedic and sports
medicine hospital Aspetar hosted
a meeting with representatives
of national sports clubs and
federations last week.
the gathering, held as part
of the hospital’s National Sports
medicine programme (NSmp),
activated communication among
all stakeholders. the attendees
discussed various topics pertaining
to health and physical fitness
among national and club-level
players.
through the NSmp, Aspetar
provides medical care and support
for clubs as well as national teams
during local and international
competitions as well as training.
šЂAspetar officials
with representatives
of national
sports clubs and
federations.
“Our qualified sports medicine
experts are always seeking to
develop and improve our services
in order to help it become the
world’s leading hospital in sports
medicine. We’ve made a number
of qualitative leaps in the last few
years and the NSmp is the latest
example of it,” said Aspetar’s
Acting Director General Dr
mohamed Ghaith Al Kuwari.
the meeting also included
presentations about the latest
developments within the NSmp.
Aspetar’s rehabilitation and
NSmp Director riadh miladi
and Deputy Executive Director
Abdulrahman Al Qahtani were
also present.
IOC must embrace
Qatar’s facilities
D
OHA, which bid for the 2016 and ’20 Olympic
Games, was conspicuous by its absence when
International Olympic Committee chief thomas
bach announced the list of candidates for the ’24
Games last week.
While some, like Olympic Council of Asia president
Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, said it was a wise
move, several pundits expressed surprise at the city’s
disinterest.
American Christine Stoffel, the founder and CEO of
the Sports and Entertainment Alliance in technology
(SEAt) Consortium, was confident the Qatari capital
would eventually host the competition.
“In sport, every country has an opportunity to put a
stake in the ground and create its own brand identity,
and Qatar has been doing that admirably well. It has
been investing heavily in building sports infrastructure
in the country,” Stoffel told Doha Stadium Plus.
“taking into account all that the country is doing
for sport, and the world-class stadia they’re building,
there’s a strong possibility that they get to host the
quadrennial Games. the IOC should be embracing
what they’re doing here,” she said.
With Qatar being a hotbed of sports initiatives,
the official said she was keen to bring the SEAt
conference here.
“I’ve travelled all around the world and it’s
fascinating to know that wherever you go,
people face similar challenges, like improving
fan engagement for example. my goal is
to build a potent sports community that
can collaborate on projects and share their
experiences. that’s the idea behind the SEAt
Consortium.
“It’ll be a great opportunity for the SEAt
community to come
to Qatar. the world
will then get to see
things from a different
perspective,” added the
Arizona native.
18
PARALYMPICS
Notable reflecti
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE’S ATHLETICS CHIEF RYAN MONTGOMERY TELLS AJU GEORGE CHRIS
ABOUT THE SPORT AND UPCOMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN DOHA.
P
rEpArAtIONS for the seventh
edition of the International
paralympic Committee’s (IpC)
Athletics World Championships, to
be held in Doha from October 21 to
31, are in the final stage.
Last week, the Qatar paralympic
Committee organised a test
event — the GCC para-Athletics
Championships — to assess its level
of preparedness and identify areas
for improvement, if any. IpC Athletics
chief ryan montgomery oversaw the
competition.
the official, whose first visit
to Doha was during the 2011
Arab Games, was happy with
the preparations. In an exclusive
interview with Doha Stadium Plus,
montgomery spoke about the
lessons learnt from the GCC event
and the sport’s future.
ЂЂWhat were your observations
about the GCC Para-Athletics
Championships?
ЃЂConsidering it was put together at
such short notice, the organisers did
pretty well. It confirmed our belief
that the venue (Qatar Sports Club),
accommodation and transportation
are ready for bigger challenges.
We came here with a number of
questions in mind and those were
satisfactorily answered. Doha can
now welcome the world’s best. Since
the organisers have been working on
the IpC event since ’12, I expect it to
be of the highest standard.
On another front, the event
helped put the region’s para athletes
in the spotlight. that several world
records were broken in Doha also
helped. Despite having so many
strong athletes, they hardly get the
attention they deserve in their own
countries. I’m hopeful all that will
change now. the GCC event was a
perfect build-up to the Worlds.
ЂЂDo you see scope for further
improvement?
ЃЂI would say there’s definitely
room for better understanding. by
organising test events, you try to
identify shortcomings and solve
them. there were a few flaws
in Doha, but nothing that can’t
be made right. What I felt was
there needs to be a better flow of
communication between various
officials and departments. that’ll
help us deliver an unforgettable
World Championship experience.
ЂЂThe Doha IPC Worlds is the first
ever in the Middle East. Have you
observed any far-reaching changes
in the country?
ЃЂthe IpC Worlds is the
sport’s showpiece
event, with around 1,300 athletes
from 100 countries taking part. It’ll
add to Doha’s legacy as a promoter of
sports events.
I’m pleased to say the event
has helped the city become
more aware of the requirements
of people with disabilities. For
example, the Hamad International
Airport’s ability to handle the flow
of passengers with disability has
improved tremendously. While
hotels increased the number of
rooms for use by people with
IPC ATHLETICS WORLDS
WILL PROVE TOP-LEVEL
SPORT ISN’T JUST FOR
THE ABLE BODIED.
disabilities by five per cent, all public
buses have been made accessible
for people on wheelchairs. the IpC
event brought the problems faced
by disabled people to the forefront
and companies reacted to them
admirably.
the IpC Athletics Worlds will also
drive home the point that top-level
sport isn’t just for the able bodied.
It’ll motivate more people with
disabilities to step up and make a
mark.
ЂЂPara-athletics has a lot more
categories and is more complex
than regular track and field events.
How much has it affected its
popularity?
ЃЂI totally agree that our sport
isn’t as simple as the IAAF World
Championships. but it needn’t
necessarily be the reason why more
people aren’t watching it. If you look
at world sports, except for five or
six dominant disciplines, all others
struggle for attention and funding.
Ever since the ’12 London
paralympics, we’ve worked on a
comprehensive promotional and
broadcasting strategy. If we had said
we were going to have an annual
event watched by more than 20,000
people over two hours five years ago,
we would’ve been laughed at. but
that’s exactly what we achieved with
the Grand prix Final.
Our events are now broadcast
live to millions of homes and
we’ve a very strong social media
presence. All these have helped us
improve consistently. We’re on a
strong growth curve. the good thing
about para-athletics is that it’s still
a young sport. We can learn from
the examples of older, established
sports. We needn’t repeat the same
mistakes they made.
ЂЂCan you elaborate?
ЃЂmany older sports had been
reluctant to accept the popularity
of social media at first and hence
suffered. We learnt from their
mistakes and embraced it early. We
knew we had to be ahead of the pack
when it comes to analysing the latest
trends on social media and cash in
on it.
the audience is getting younger
every day and its ideas are also more
dynamic. We’ve a very vibrant team
who cater to their needs. We’ve
made use of the latest technologies,
like twitter periscope for example, as
that’s where the youngsters are.
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
ЂЂHow much has the Grand Prix
Ryan
Montgomery
series evolved? Will it eventually be
held in Doha?
ЃЂWhen the IpC Athletics Grand prix
series was launched in ’13, just about
1,000 participants competed in it
the entire year. but this season, the
19
ions!
numbers have shot up to 1,700. It’s
fast becoming a global movement.
It also helped us structure the sport
into a calendar year and build upon
its popularity.
the Gp’s opening leg is held in
Dubai in February. After the ’16 rio
Olympic and paralympic Games,
we’ll review the competition and
its stops. At that point, we’ll assess
what all venues should be added
and taken off. Like any other city,
Doha too stands a chance of being
added to the programme.
ЂЂDo you see Olympics eventually
coming to Doha?
ЃЂmy personal opinion is that
organising the biggest paraathletics event in the world will
only help potential bidders add
strength to their attempt for
the quadrennial
Games. but whether
Doha will bid for
it or whether it’ll be
successful, isn’t for me to say.
International paralympic
Committee’s Athletics
head ryan montgomery
sympathised with South
African blade runner Oscar
pistorius, but said the sport
had moved on.
“First and foremost, the
entire pistorius episode has
been very unfortunate. Our
thoughts are with him. but
if you ask me whether it
has affected the growth of
para-athletics in any way,
then my answer would be
no,” montgomery told Doha
Stadium Plus.
“the South African was a
focal point and poster boy for
our sport for so many years.
but now, we’ve moved on.
thanks to the ’12 London
paralympic Games, new
superstars have come into the
spotlight. things have changed
a lot,” montgomery added.
pistorius, who was
sentenced to five years in
prison last October after being
convicted of culpable homicide
for shooting his girlfriend
reeva Steenkamp, suffered a
setback last week after South
Africa’s parole review board
postponed his plea for
an early release by
two weeks.
DSP/Mohan
‘The sport has
moved on’
šЂQatar’s Shareefa Al Haddad races to victory in the women’s 100m for the deaf.
Qatar fourth at GCC event
Q
AtArI athletes won 20
medals, including seven
gold, nine silver and four
bronze, to finish fourth in the GCC
para-Athletics Championships at
the Qatar Sports Club Stadium last
week.
Saudi Arabia won 50 medals
(25, 14, 11) to win the overall title,
followed by the UAE (17, eight,
nine) and Kuwait (eight, 19, 10).
bahrain came fifth with four gold,
nine silver and a bronze medal and
Oman (four, one, one) finished last.
Qatari athlete Abdelrahman
Abdelqader, who won three
medals including a world record
gold in shot put, said he was ready
for the International paralympic
Committee’s (IpC) Athletics World
Championships in Doha.
“I couldn’t be more happier with
my performances in Doha. I tried
I DID WELL AND I’M MORE
CONFIDENT NOW. I CAN
WIN A FEW MEDALS AT
THE WORLDS AT HOME.
really hard as it was my last major
competition before the Worlds.
I did well and I’m much more
confident now. I’m sure I can win
a few medals at the Worlds at
home,” said Abdelqader.
“my ultimate aim is to win a
paralympic gold medal for Qatar
at the ’16 rio Games. It’ll be my
greatest achievement and I’m
working towards that,” he added.
Shareefa Al Haddad, who won
three gold for Qatar in women’s
races, was also happy.
“For me, the Doha event has
been immensely successful.
Winning three gold was a dream
come true. I hope I can continue
my form into the Worlds and
do something significant for my
country,” said Al Haddad.
“I wouldn’t have been able to
achieve anything had it not been
for the constant support of my
family and coach. running
takes a lot of dedication and hard
work. I’m happy it’s all started to
pay off. I’ll soon give everyone
more reasons to cheer,” she
added.
Oscar
Pistorius
WHAT
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“the GCC para-Athletics
Championships were
very successful on the
organisational front.
We’re now more than
ready to host the IpC
para-Athletics World
Championships. We
hope the GCC event has
given regional athletes
a platform to prepare
for the Worlds. We wish
them luck.
Khalid Hamad Al Mohannadi,
GCC para-Athletics
Championships Organising
Committee president.
“the GCC para-Athletics
Championships helped
us carry out crucial
operational tests
ahead of the world
event. We’re now fully
geared up for the IpC
Worlds next month.
It’ll definitely have an
impact on Qatar and
the region that’ll go
way beyond just 10
days of world-class
action.
Amir Al Mulla,
para-Athletics Worlds Local
Organising Committee CEO.
“We’ve witnessed
great developments in
paralympic sports in the
region in recent times.
For me, it’s very exciting
that a number of world
records were broken at
the GCC event in Doha.
I hope it’ll provide our
athletes with extra
motivation to do the
same during the IpC
Worlds.
Jassim Hassan Mubarak,
GCC Organising Committee
for Disabled Sports Secretary
General.
FRANCESCO
TOTTI
22
CUE SPORTS
KO PIN YI OF CHINESE TAIPEI
HOLDS HIS NERVE WHEN IT
MATTERS THE MOST AGAINST
AMERICAN SHANE VAN
BOENING TO EMERGE AS
THE NEW WORLD 9-BALL
POOL CHAMPION, WRITES
SAJITH B WARRIER.
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
ŠŠKo pin Yi lines up
a shot during the
final .
player
K
O pIN YI is the new king of
blue baize. barely six months
after winning his maiden
10-ball pool world title in the
philippines, the Chinese taipei
cueist added another feather
to his cap by annexing the
9-ball crown in Doha.
Fighting against USA’s
Shane Van boening for a
gripping 2hr, 42min in the
final at the Al Arabi Sports
Club, Yi delivered when
it mattered the most to
win 13-11 and reassert his
supremacy.
In the process, he became
just the second 9-ball pool
world champion from
taipei, after Wu Chia
Ching accomplished
the feat as a
16-year-old in
2005.
Incidentally, Chia Ching, who
took Chinese citizenship later and
competes under his new name
Wu Jia Qing, was Yi’s semifinal
opponent in Doha.
“When I won the World 10-ball
title in the philippines, that was
great,” Yi gushed. “but winning the
World 9-ball Championship, this
is unbelievable. I’m really happy
WINNING THE
WORLD 9-BALL POOL
CHAMPIONSHIP IS
UNBELIEVABLE.
because before I came to Doha,
I wasn’t playing that good. but I
worked really hard on my game,
especially my break shot”.
If the win in manila in February
served to show Yi’s glimpses
of talent, the Doha triumph
underlined his supremacy.
With big names like defending
23
Mishel saves
Qatar’s blushes
champion Niels Feijen, former
winner Darren Appleton and
tournament favourite Dennis
Orcollo all falling by the wayside,
it was the turn of Yi to take centre
stage. And luck too was on his side,
which he acknowledged.
“In the previous matches I
was playing perfect, just like Van
boening, who is such a great
player. but it’s the final of a World
Championship and so many things
can happen. I think we both played
good and made some mistakes as
well.
“I got a few lucky rolls to help me
win the match. In the ninth rack, I
missed two chances, then had the
cue ball in line and yet missed. It
felt like I was going from heaven
to hell. but then, I just waited for
my chances and changed the line
of breaks. I slowed down to get the
line right and that paid off,” added
Yi as he collected the winner’s
cheque for $30,000 from Qatar
billiards and Snooker Federation
president mohammed mubarak Al
ramzani.
Yi credits his father, who worked
in a local pool, for his initiation into
the sport. His brother Ko pin Chung,
who lost to boening in the other
last-four encounter, has also
established himself firmly.
“It’s simply incredible being
a double champion,” Yi dwelled
further about his achievement.
“I didn’t play perfect in the
final. but I played really good in
the semifinal and that’s more
important because that got me to
the final. I’m happy I was able to
stay patient. You’ve to wait until
the last 9-ball drops in this format,”
he added.
Yi has no time to relax as he
headed for London for the 10th
annual World Cup of pool, where
he is teaming up with compatriot
Chang Yu Lung. the event starts on
Wednesday.
[email protected]
RESULTS
FINAL
RACE-TO-13
Ko pin Yi (tpE) bt Shane van
boening
SEMIFINALS
RACE-TO-11
Shane Van boening (USA) bt Ko pin
Chung (tpE)
Ko pin Yi (tpE) bt Wu Jia Qing (CHI)
QUARTERFINALS
Ko pin Yi (tpE) bt John morra (CAN)
Wu Jia Qing (CHN) bt Aloisius Yapp
(SIN)
Ko pin Chung (tpE) bt Wojciech
Szewczyk (pOL)
Shane Van boening (USA) bt Dennis
Orcollo (pHL)
ššKo pin Yi
receives the
trophy from
mohammed
mubarak Al
ramzani as
Qatar Olympic
Committee
Assistant
Secretary General
mishal bin Nasser
Al Khalifa looks
on.
Unheralded Mishel Turkey
was the saving grace for
Qatar as he was the only
player, out of eight, from
the host nation to reach
the round of 64.
mishel’s moment of
glory came when he beat
2007 champion Daryl
peach 9-4 en route to the
round of 64, where he fell
1-11 to the philippines’
Dennis Orcollo.
“Daryl peach is a big
name. I tried my best on
the table and I won so I’m
very happy. but Orcollo
was too tough for me,” said
mishel, who works with
the Qatari Armed Force
(QAF).
the 19-year-old dwelled
on the positives.
“this year, I really
improved and feel more
confident that I can do
well,” mishel said.
“Earlier, I was very
nervous. but after joining
the QAF, I lost a lot of
weight and I feel much
confident. I’m still an
unknown player and don’t
have a lot of experience. It’s
still an honour to represent
Qatar on the world stage,”
he added.
13-11
11-1
11 -10
11-6
11-7
11-5
11-1
I
Last 10 champions
2014
Ko Pin Yi
(TPE)
Niels Feijen
(NED)
2011
2010
Yukio
Akakariyama
(JPN)
2005
Wu Chia Ching
(TPE)
Francisco
Bustamante (PHI)
2004
Alex Pagulayan
(CAN)
So near, yet so far
for Van Boening
T
HE LASt American to have won the World 9-ball
Championship is Earl Strickland in 2002. that
triumph 13 years ago was Strickland’s third, a
record which he still holds.
Shane Van boening came close to breaking the
American jinx only to be felled by Chinese taipei’s Ko
pin Yi’s brilliance in the final.
Van boening played a near-perfect tournament,
trounced favourite Dennis Orcollo of the philippines
and teenage star Ko pin Chung by identical scores of
11-1 in the quarterfinal and semifinal respectively, and
looked to be the man to beat in the final.
With scores level at 11-11, Van boening missed an
easy shot, allowing Yi to take the crucial lead.
And, that miss proved very costly.
“I felt a little pressure. my opponent got a few
fortunate balls and I didn’t get some, but that’s how
the game goes. I didn’t pin him up,” rued Van boening.
the 32-year-old also admitted that the break shot,
which was his forte till the final, was not working well.
“my break shot wasn’t working for me. I really think
that was the difference. I was having trouble getting a
clear shot to run out,” he said.
Van boening, however, promised his fans that he
would end a world title drought soon.
“I’m not that disappointed. It’s an honour to play in
the World Championship final. I know I can’t win every
tournament. Either way, if I win or lose it was fun to
play in the final. I’ll be back,” he added.
It’s all in the family!
ROLL OF
HONOUR
2015
Shane Van Boening
2013
Thorsten
Hohmann (GER)
2007
Daryl Peach
(ENG)
2012
Darren Appleton
(ENG)
2006
Ronato Alcano
(PHI)
tournament was not held in 2008 and ’09
Ko Pin
Chung
t IS ALL in the family for the ‘Ko
pins’ as two of them made it to
the last four of the World 9-ball
pool Championship.
Ko pin Chung, the younger
brother of eventual champion Ko
pin Yi, made it to his second World
Championship semifinal this year.
In February, Chung lost to Yi in the
World 10-ball pool semifinal and
though there was no fight between
the brothers this time, the Ko pin
family’s popularity has increased.
At 26, Yi has already bagged two
world titles while Chung, who is just
20, has been making giant strides.
Just like the philippines, which
is a powerhouse in pool sports,
Chinese taipei is also unearthing
quality talent and the Ko pin family is
leading the way.
“there’re a many pool players in
Chinese taipei. We play against each
other often and that’s a good way to
improve our game,” said Chung.
the 20-year-old had defeated
USA’s Shane Van boening 11-7 in
the final of the CSI 8-ball Invitational
tournament in Las Vegas last year.
though Van boening proved
too good for Chung in the Doha
semifinal, the teenager admitted
that it was no grudge match.
“boening is a great player. He’s
never arrogant and I’ve always found
him as a gentleman across the table
even when he blocks my moves. I
think he’s among the best players in
the world and commands respect,”
pin Chung added.
24
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com
P
TABLE TENNIS
latformto
erform for
addlers
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
ŠŠQatar’s
Ahmed Khaleel Al
Mohannadi during
a training session.
THE FORTHCOMING ITTF-ASIAN
CHAMPIONSHIPS IN THAILAND’S PATTAYA
OFFER A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR QATARI
COMPETITORS TO IMPROVE THEIR GAME,
WRITES MOHAMMAD AMIN-UL ISLAM.
Q
ATARI paddlers may not
win any medals at the 22nd
ITTF-Asian Championships
in Pattaya, Thailand, from
September 26 to October 3, but the
tournament is definitely going to
be a learning experience for them.
Matches will be held in seven
categories — men’s singles,
women’s singles, men’s doubles,
women’s doubles, mixed doubles,
men’s team and women’s team.
China’s Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fan
Zhendong and Zhang Jike, the
world’s top four players, are
expected to fight for the title.
Qatari players, who will
play from the qualifiers, face a
mammoth task, but playing against
technically-superior opponents will
definitely help them improve their
game.
The game is relatively new in the
country, but the enthusiasm and
potential of some Qatari youngsters
give hope for the future.
The Qatar Table Tennis
Association (QTTA) and ASPIRE
Academy, which has produced a lot
of good players, are playing a crucial
role in developing the sport in the
country.
Qatari players have been
competing in a lot of tough
tournaments around the world
and that has reflected on their
performances in the Arab region.
Qatar’s national coach Boris
Vukelic felt playing against strong
QATAR ARE ONE OF THE
BEST TEAMS IN THE
REGION. WE’VE SOME
TALENTED PLAYERS.
players could bolster his wards’
confidence.
“It’s a tough tournament and
there’s no doubt about the Chinese
domination, but it’ll be a huge
learning experience for the players,”
Vukelic told Doha Stadium Plus.
The Serb, who took over Qatar in
January last year, said the sport was
on the rise in the country because
of the team’s regular participation in
various competitions.
“The QTTA is making every effort
to promote the sport. There’re some
youngsters who’ve done well in the
GCC and Arab competitions in recent
years and that’s something positive,”
he added.
Ahmed Khaleel Al Mohannadi,
Waleed Nasser and Fahad Al
Mughanne are the experienced
players in the squad, but Vukelic
picked youngsters like Jassim Al
Sanadi and Abdulrahman Al Najjar
as future stars.
“They’re talented and have a right
frame of mind to excel on the big
stage. Their recent performances
in the regional and ITTF junior
competitions say a lot about their
potential,” said Vukelic, who was
forced to quit the sport at a young
age due to a shoulder injury.
He felt Qatar could become a top
team in the Arab region.
“Qatar are one of the best teams
in the region. We’ve some talented
players, but we need to work hard
and devote more time to trainings
to improve,” said Vukelic, who first
coached the junior team in his
native country from 2009 to ’11. He
was promoted as head coach of the
senior side in ’11 and he stayed in
that post till ’13.
Like in any other sport in the
country, the thrust is on youth
development. The QTTA has an
“The sport is growing in Qatar,
but it’ll take some time for our
players to make a mark at the
international level.
Khaleel Ahmed Al Mohannadi,
Qatar Table Tennis Association
President.
25
www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
academy
and
sufficient
infrastructure,
but the results are
not forthcoming.
This is one area
where both the
governing body and
coaches need to find a
solution.
“The sport is growing in
Qatar, but it’ll take some time
for our players to make a mark
at the international level,” said
QTTA President Khaleel Ahmed Al
Mohannadi.
“Over the years, there’s a surge
of interest in table tennis and we
thank the ASPIRE Academy for
its support. We’re taking a lot of
efforts to promote the sport at
schools,” said Al Mohannadi.
The presence of technicallysound Chinese stars in the
Qatar Professional League gives
the national players a great
opportunity to test their wits
against the best in the business
and thereby improve their
technique. Training with them will
also boost their confidence.
One more
gold medal
at Tokyo?
International Table Tennis
Federation (ITTF) President
Thomas Weikert met Tokyo
2020 Olympic Games
Organising Committee
President Yoshiro Mori to
discuss the possibility of
introducing an additional
gold for the sport.
Weikert had
submitted a proposal
to the International
Olympic Committee
to add mixed doubles
competition to the
Tokyo Games to
complement the
existing four events.
“The ITTF’s
initiative to add
the mixed doubles
was well received
and Mori was very
positive about the
idea,” said Weikert.
Qatari duo set to impress
A
SPIRE Academy products
Jassim Al Sanadi and
Abdulrahman Al Najjar are
hailed as the future stars by most
foreign coaches plying their trade
in Qatar.
The pair, who represents Al Sadd
club, have also done well in Gulf
and Arab competitions.
“We’re good friends since the
age of seven when we started
playing together,” said Jassim who,
along with Abdulrahman and
other players, will represent Qatar
at the forthcoming senior Asian
Championships.
In 2013, the duo won the cadet
boys’ team title at the Bahrain
Junior and Cadet Open while
Jassim also took the cadet boys’
singles crown. They continued
their top form this year, winning
the junior boys’ team title at the
same event in Manama last
month.
Former Qatar Under-15 coach
Yan Hong Jun said Jassim and
Abdulrahman were among the
Abdulrahman
Al Najjar
Jassim
Al Sanadi
most dedicated juniors.
“During my decade-long stay
in the country, I haven’t seen such
dedicated youngsters. They’re very
punctual and never missed their
trainings,” said Yan, who is now
with El Jaish.
Sadd coach Ferenc Fischer
echoed the sentiments.
“Their recent achievements
show they’ve a bright future.
They’re getting great exposure by
playing in international events and
that’ll help them,” said Fischer.
ASPIRE Academy’s head coach
Zlato Novakovic was also all praise
for them.
“Jassim and Abdulrahman are
exceptional talents who always
worked hard to achieve success.
The results they’ve achieved
demonstrate the ongoing success
of our programme at the academy,”
said Novakovic.
[email protected]
China look ready
to dominate
It’s a tough tournament
and there’s no doubt about
the Chinese domination,
but playing at the
continental event will be a
huge learning experience
for the players.
C
HINA look set to dominate the ITTF-Asian
Championships which start in Pattaya, Thailand,
on Wednesday, with world champion Ma Long
starting as the favourite in the men’s competition.
Ma, who won the singles title in the last three
editions, is one of the all-time best players.
The 26-year-old won his maiden Asian crown
after beating Zhang Jike in 2009 at Lucknow, India,
and two years later at Macau, China, he repeated
the feat, with Zhang again forced to settle for the
second best.
At the last edition held in the South Korean city
of Busan, Ma, who claimed the Qatar Open in ’13,
beat Yan An in the final to emerge as champion.
Compatriot and ’12 Olympic champion Li Xiaoxia
also showed her class, finishing as runner-up thrice
in succession. She will be one of the top contenders
this time.
In ’07 at Yangzhou, China, she lost to Zhang Yining,
and in ’09 at Lucknow, India, Li was beaten by Ding
Ning, before going down to Guo Yan two years later
in Macau.
Li did not compete in Busan, where Liu Shiwen
and Ding Ning finished first and second respectively
to extend the Chinese domination.
Boris Vukelic, Qatar coach.
Ma
Long
Li
Xiaoxia
ROLL OF HONOUR Last 10 champions.
MEN’S
SINGLES
WOMEN’S
SINGLES
2013 2011
Ma Long
(CHN)
Ma Long
(CHN)
2009 2007 2005 2003 2000 1998 1996 1994
Ma Long
(CHN)
Wang Hao
(CHN)
Wang Liqin
(CHN)
Wang Hao
(CHN)
Chiang PengLung (TPE)
Wang Liqin
(CHN)
Kong Linghui
(CHN)
Kong Linghui
(CHN)
Liu Shiwen
(CHN)
Guo Yan
(CHN)
Ding Ning
(CHN)
Zhang Yining
(CHN)
Lin Ling
(HKG)
Niu Jianfeng
(CHN)
Lin Ling
(HKG)
Li Ju
(CHN)
Chire Koyama
(JPN)
Deng Yaping
(CHN)
26
MOTORSPORT
Change
for the better
THE QATAR MOTOR AND MOTORCYCLE
FEDERATION INTRODUCES PLENTY OF
CHANGES WITH A VIEW TO MAKE THE
NEW SEASON MORE EXCITING,
WRITES SAJITH B WARRIER.
T
HE Qatar motor and
motorcycle Federation’s
(QmmF) new domestic
season, which got under way at
the Losail International Circuit
last week, has brought in a lot of
changes.
the Qatar Superbike
Championship (QSbK) has been
split into two categories this time
— Superbike (for 1,000cc bikes) and
Supersport (600cc). A Challenge
Cup for women riders has been
introduced while there is also a new
championship for veterans.
With some of the rounds of QSbK
to be held along with international
events like World Superbike
Championship (WSbK) and motoGp,
the QmmF has a few surprises up
its sleeve if one goes by the word of
its president Nasser bin Khalifa Al
Attiyah.
“Change is the instrument of
progress. We’re happy to start the
season with a lot of changes. We’ve
a clear vision to create a new brand
of riders and felt the need to ring in
a few changes,” Al Attiyah told Doha
Stadium Plus on the sidelines of the
opening round of QSbK.
Al Attiyah justified the rationale
behind the move to have two
separate categories for bikes.
“In the past few years the grid
has been too much crowded as
the 1,000cc riders and 600cc riders
competed together. there were a
few accidents too. Hence we felt the
need to separate the two. those in
600cc ride at a slow pace compared
to 1,000cc.
“by bifurcating them, we’re sort
of creating a level-playing field.
the riders can challenge for top
positions in two different categories.
We’ve experimented this in the past
and had positive feedback,”
Al Attiyah said.
the opening round of QSbK saw
WE’VE A CLEAR VISION
TO CREATE A NEW BRAND
OF RIDERS AND FELT THE
NEED TO BRING CHANGES.
an increase in the number of riders
and Al Attiyah sees it as a harbinger
of things to come.
“the number just keeps
increasing on the grid and that’s a
positive sign. this time, I’m proud
to say that we’ve more Qatari riders
on the grid, especially youngsters.
Abdullah Al Qubaisi, who is just 15,
made his debut in the Supersport
category. He’s a product of our
Losail International Academy and is
definitely a future prospect.
“the presence of riders like
Abdullah shows there’s no dearth
of talent in the country. He may
be only 15, but he has the
necessary skills and talent to
compete at the top level. I hope
his presence on the grid will inspire
many youngsters in Qatar and
middle East in general to take up
the sport,” Al Attiyah added.
the second round of QSbK will
be held along with the final round
of WSbK on October 17 while the
penultimate leg on march 20, 2016,
is a support race for the opening
round of motoGp.
“We’ve a few surprises lined up
for the season. When we’ve the
QSbK along with international
events like WSbK and motoGp,
the riders will naturally raise the
bar. they know that they’re being
watched at the international level.
right now our riders — mishal
Al Naimi and Saeed Al Sulaiti —
are doing well in the Spanish CEV
Championship, which is considered
as a feeder school of motoGp. Our
riders are doing reasonably well
in the moto2 category of the FIm
World Championship as well,” he
concluded.
Nasser bin
Khalifa Al Attiyah
DSP/Vinod Divakaran
ŢŢAlexander
Cudlin, right, speeds
past mishal Al
Naimi in race 1 of
Qatar Superbike
Championship.
27
Cudlin starts title defence in style
F
IVE-tImE Qatar
Superbike champion
Alexander Cudlin began
his title defence in rollicking
style by winning both races
in the opening round at the
Losail International Circuit.
the Australian beat last
year’s runner-up mishal Al
Naimi by 0.88sec in race 1
while he finished 9.98sec
ahead of the same
opponent in race 2.
Nasser Al malki
finished third in race
Abdulla offers
beacon of hope
Michele
Mouton
SUPERBIKE (1,000CC)
RESULTS
As the Qatar motor and
motorcycle Federation (QmmF)
continues its quest to unearth
a local rider for its team in the
moto2 category of the FIm
World Championship, Abdulla Al
Qubaisi offers a beacon of hope.
the 15-year-old, who
trained at the QmmF’s Losail
International Academy,
made his debut in the Qatar
Supersport category’s opening
round. He finished 16th in race
1 and earned a 10th-place finish
in race 2 to show glimpses of
his potential.
“to earn a top-10 finish on
my debut is a good start. there
were many international riders
on the grid and giving them
a close fight helps my
confidence a lot. I want
to thank the QmmF
for giving me an
opportunity to ride in
Supersport at such a
young age. I hope
to do better
in the next
round,” said
Abdulla.
RACE 1
1. Alexander Cudlin
2. mishal Al Naimi
3. Nasser Al malki
RACE 2
31.10.1
1. Alexander Cudlin
31.02.7
at 0.88
2. mishal Al Naimi
at 9.98
5.12
3. Saeed Al Sulaiti
13.3
SUPERSPORT (600CC)
RACE 1
RACE 2
1. Abdulaziz bin Laden
32:23.8
1. Abdulaziz bin Laden 32:45.7
2. Fahed Al Suwaidi at 20.6
2. Fahed Al Suwaidi at 2.08
3. Ahmed Al muyini
47.2
3. Ahmed Al muyini
1:01.3
QATAR CHALLENGE (CARS)
1. mark Holroyd
38:09.2
2. peter de Vido
24.05
3. Adam Spence
5.1
1 while Saeed Al Sulaiti brought
up the last spot on the podium in
race 2.
Kawasaki ZX10r rider Cudlin, who
started on pole, was in a class of his
own at the illuminated 5.3km Losail
circuit and clocked his best time of
2:03.5 in the seventh lap.
IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT
TO GET OFF TO A GOOD
START IN THE
OPENING ROUND.
“both aces were fantastic. It’s good
to start the season with two wins
under my belt. It was a great battle
and it feels nice to come away with
the silverware,” said Cudlin, who
has dominated the scene since he
started competing in Qatar in 2011.
Cudlin, who took part in
the Australian Long track and
Oschersleben 8-hour Endurance
events in June, quickly made the
transition to sprint racing.
“I haven’t changed anything
much from the last season. All I
did was to change the oil to fit into
this temperature. I felt confident
right from the start. mishal gave
me a tough fight in both races.
but everything went well for me
according to the plan fortunately,”
Cudlin said.
the next races will be held on
October 17 along with the final
round of the World Superbike
Championship and Cudlin sounded
confident.
“I enjoyed the good break back
home in Australia. During the offseason, I had put in a massive effort
in my physical condition so that I’m
100 per cent ready.
“It’s a great feeling to return to
Qatar for my sixth straight title. It’s
going to be another long season. So
it was important to get off to a good
start in the opening round. I’m really
looking forward to the season with
full of confidence,” he said.
Developing champion
women rally drivers
T
HE Qatar motor and
motorcycle Federation
(QmmF) has shortlisted
18 women to participate in its
worldwide Women’s Cross-Country
rally training programme.
the women will take part in a
five-day training and assessment
programme in Qatar from
November 2 to 7, and the best
trainee driver and co-driver will be
offered an opportunity to compete
in the 2016 Sealine Cross-Country
rally.
the programme will be
monitored by two of the finest
competitors in the sport —
Germany’s Jutta Kleinschmidt, the
only woman to win the legendary
Dakar rally in 2001, and Italy’s
Fabrizia pons, Cross-Country rallies’
World Cup-winning co-driver.
both legends will guide the
candidates through an intense
programme encompassing all
essential techniques required for
rallying.
the QmmF had received 85
applications from 39 countries
for the programme held
under the aegis of FIA
Women in motorsport
before it pruned the
final list to 18.
the initiative
falls in line with
the QmmF’s policy
of encouraging women to take
up motor sports, especially in the
middle East.
two-wildcard candidates from
the middle East and North Africa
region are also included in the
18-member list.
“We were impressed by the
calibre of applicants, which made
this initial selection process very
THERE’RE A LOT OF
WOMEN OUT THERE
WHO WANT TO TRY A
DIFFERENT DISCIPLINE.
difficult,” said FIA Women in
motorsport Commission president
michele mouton.
“this has really proved that
there’re a lot of women out
there who want to try a different
discipline. We thank QmmF
president Nasser bin Khalifa Al
Attiyah for supporting this project
and giving women an opportunity.
For those applicants who weren’t
successful on this occasion, I urge
them to continue following their
dream and never give up. For the
others we’ll meet in Qatar, where
this adventure starts!” added
mouton, who was helped by
Kleinschmidt and pons in screening
the applications.
Nasser Saleh
Al Attiyah
Nasser, Abdulaziz to
fight for supremacy
Q
AtArI drivers Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and
Abdulaziz Al Kuwari are favourites at the
middle East rally Championship’s (mErC) fifth
round beginning in Cyprus on Friday.
Nasser, winner of the opening three
rounds in Qatar, Kuwait and Iran,
suffered a setback in Lebanon as he
had to retire through a mechanical
problem. He will be eyeing a
redemption in Cyprus, where he has
won a record 11 times.
However, his task is easier said than done as he
faces a stiff competition from Abdulaziz, who had won
in Cyprus last year.
Khalid Al Suwaidi and rashid Al Naimi are the other
Qatari drivers in the fray for the event, held alongside
the eighth round of the FIA European rally.
MERC
Nasser, with 75 points, sits at the top
STANDINGS
of mErC standings. With his closest rival
1. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah 75
Shaikh Khalid Al Qassimi of the UAE
2. Khalid Al Qassimi
51
pulling out of the rest of season, a good
3. Khalid Al Suwaidi
32
outing in Cyprus, will help Nasser a lot.
4. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari
30
5. Khalifa Al Attiyah
26
Fourth in standings with just 30 points,
Abdulaziz
has a lot of catching up to do. His
REMAINING
chances
were
hampered by his absence
ROUNDS
from Lebanon due to sponsorship woes
October 15-17
Jordan
November 5-7
Oman
and nothing less than an encore in Cyprus
November 27-29
Dubai
will put his campaign back on track.
28
MIXED ZONE | QATAR
Qatar raring to go
at FIBA Asia event
Aju George Chris
G
ULF champions Qatar will
be looking to make an
impression at the 28th FIbA
Asia Championship, which begins in
Changsha, China, on Wednesday.
but things are unlikely to be easy
for them.
Qatar, bronze medallists in 2003
and ’05, will open their Group D
campaign against Kazakhstan on
the opening day before taking on
Lebanon and Chinese taipei on
thursday and Friday respectively.
three-time winners Iran, Japan,
malaysia and India are in
Group A while fivetime champions
philippines are
clubbed with
palestine, Kuwait
and Hong Kong in
Group b.
Hosts
China, the most successful side with
15 titles, are the favourites in Group
C, which also has South Korea,
Jordan and Singapore.
Greek coach Vasilis Fragkias, who
took charge of Qatar in April, ’14, has
helped them do reasonably well. He
guided them to a sixth-place finish
YOU CAN’T DISMISS ANY
TEAM IN OUR GROUP AS
WEAK. WE’LL ALWAYS
HAVE TO BE AT OUR BEST.
at the ’14 Incheon Asian Games and
win the GCC title in Dammam last
October.
“We had preparatory camps in
Lithuania, the philippines and China.
We played many matches against
local sides. the players are fully fit,
sharp and raring to go. I feel they
can put up a good show,” said
Fragkias.
Qatar will once
again rely
heavily on
the experience of veterans Saad
Abdulrahman, Daoud mousa Daoud,
Khalid Sulaiman Abdi, Erfaan Ali
Saaeed and mohammed Yousuf
mohammed. Having played together
for almost two decades, they know
each other’s game very well and that
will surely help the team.
Qatar basketball Federation
president Sheikh Saoud bin
Abdulrahman Al thani was
optimistic.
“You can’t dismiss any team in our
group as weak. We’ll always have to
be at our best. the opening matches
will be very crucial. Our players are
ready and they’ll try to put their best
foot forward,” said Sheikh Saoud.
“Captain Yasseen moussa’s
retirement will affect the team
a lot. After all, he has been with
us for more than 20 years and is
irreplaceable,” he added.
Winners of the championship,
which concludes on October 3,
will directly qualify for the ’16 rio
Olympic Games. Second and thirdplaced teams will go into an intercontinental play-off next year.
TEAMS
GROUP A
Iran
Japan
malaysia
India
şşSaad
Abdulrahman...
Qatar’s key
player.
GROUP B
the philippines
palestine
Kuwait
Hong Kong
GROUP C
China
South Korea
Jordan
Singapore
֫ SPORTS
GROUP D
Qatar
Kazakhstan
Lebanon
Chinese taipei
SECURITY
DSP/Mohan
֫ BASKETBALL
֫ SHOOTING
Mahbubeh makes
cracking comeback
Sajith B Warrier
Q
AtAr’S Mahbubeh Akhlaghi made a winning
comeback in 50m rifle three positions at the
Association Cup.
mahbubeh, who had taken a long break from the
category due to health issues, shot 438.8 in the final
to edge Aisha Yousef Al Suwaidi by 3.8 points. Aisha
Ibrahim Al mutawa finished third on 424.1.
While Olympian bahya mansour Al Hamad failed to
even make it to the title clash, mahbubeh was in a class
of her own at the Losail Shooting range.
“Overall, I’m very happy with this competition
because it was part of my preparations for two
very important upcoming events in Kuwait —
GCC Championship and Asian Championship — in
November.
“I’m delighted with my results. I’m contesting in 50m
rifle three positions after four years due to some health
problems. I love this event as this has more action and
fun,” said mahbubeh, who has been in the field for
nearly 12 years.
Earlier, Nasra mahmoud beat Al Dana Saad Al
mubarak 8-2 in 25m pistol final. Soud Waleed Al Khater
clinched the bronze.
meanwhile, Oleg Engachev clinched the men’s
50m pistol gold with an aggregate score of 187.2. the
Incheon Asian Games gold medallist also won the 25m
rapid fire pistol event with a new national record.
War on manipulation of competitions
T
“We had preparatory
camps in Lithuania,
the philippines and
China. We played many
matches against local
sides. the players are
fully fit, sharp and
raring to go. I feel they
can put up a good show.
Vasilis Fragkias, Qatar coach.
HE United Nations
Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) is keen to strengthen
the ties between governments,
regulatory authorities and sports
federations which will help a long
way in fighting manipulation of
sports competitions.
more than 60 international experts
attended the meeting organised by
the UNESCO and International Centre
for Sport Security (ICSS) in Doha last
week to discuss the problem which
has become a global threat.
“the meeting hopes to bring
about concrete actions that could
be implemented in the short
and medium terms to effectively
fight manipulation of sports
competitions,” said Angela Melo,
Director for Division of Youth Ethics
and Sport, Sector for Social and
Human Sciences of UNESCO.
the meeting was the first
to follow-up on the berlin
recommendation to curb corruption
in sport, made at the fifth world
conference of sports ministers in
may, 2013.
“We’ve been involved in many
discussions and international
projects to tackle the issue, of
match-fixing,” said ICSS president
mohammed Hanzab.
“I thank the UNESCO for trusting
us and the co-operation initiated
two years ago within the framework
of our Joint Capacity building
programme,” he added.
ICSS Executive Director of
Sport Integrity Chris Eaton said,
“transnational organised crime
is now a very real issue and the
meeting was about bringing
together the highest calibre of
experts from around the world.”
Al Tamimi
second at
Nash Cup
Qatar’s Abdullah Al tamimi finished as
runner-up at the eighth annual Nash Cup at
the London Squash and Fitness Club. He lost
9-11, 11-13, 7-11 to England’s Declan James
in the final. It was James’s third victory in a
row in the amateur event organised by the
London Squash racquets Club.
֫ CRICKET
֫ VOLLEYBALL
Pakistan Super League
may be moved to UAE
T
HE inaugural pakistan Super
League (pSL) twenty20
tournament, scheduled to
be held in Qatar, may instead be
moved to the UAE.
the UAE was originally the first
choice, but as the Emirates Cricket
board (ECb) had already allotted
its venues in Abu Dhabi, Dubai
and Sharjah to the masters Cricket
League around the same period,
the pakistan Cricket board (pCb)
decided to move the event to
the Asia town Stadium in Doha’s
Industrial Area.
However, according to latest
media reports, an agreement has
been reached between the ECb and
pCb to hold the event in February,
THE QATAR CRICKET
ASSOCIATION DID NOT
CONFIRM THE REPORT
EITHER.
2016, in the UAE.
the pCb, which unveiled the pSL
logo at a glittering event in Lahore
29
Qatar get ready for
GCC Championship
A
FtEr a brief lull, the Qatar internationals are
back in action as they prepare in earnest for
the GCC Championship, to be held in riyadh
from October 12 to 20.
Qatar had finished fourth, their best-ever
performance, at the Asian Championship in tehran
last month and they continued their impressive
form to beat Kuwait 25-19, 20-25, 25-19, 25-17 in
a friendly at the Al Arabi Sports Club last Sunday.
It was the last match for the spikers before
they leave for poland for a fortnight-long
training camp on September 28.
“We were playing a competitive match
after a short break. Luckily, our players hit their
straps in no time. We managed to control the
game and won,” said Qatar’s Argentinian coach
Juan Manuel Cichello.
last Sunday, however,
has not made a formal
announcement on the
venue of the tournament
that will feature around
40 international stars
including the likes of
Chris Gayle and Kevin
pietersen.
the Qatar Cricket
Association did not confirm
the report either.
“there’re rumours, but no
official news,” said QCA’s head
of events Gul Khan.
֫ RUGBY
Doha in a class of their own
D
ššDoha rugby Football Club team members celebrate their triumph.
֫ SCHOOLS
OHA rugby Football Club
(DrFC) won the inaugural
Asia Western Clubs
Champions League title with an
unblemished record in Dubai last
week.
Doha opened their campaign
with a 19-14 win over Abu Dhabi
Saracens before steamrollering
Kazakhstan’s Olymp 59-12. they
then defeated Sri Lanka’s Kandy
29-17 to clinch the title.
Kandy finished as runners-up
while Saracens came third.
Qatar rugby Committee president
Yousef Al Kawari congratulated the
winners.
“I’m extremely pleased with our
performance. Our players tried
hard and their concentration never
wavered. Since rugby sevens has
become an Olympic sport, we’ll
now focus on developing a strong
national team. We can do really well
on the continent,” said Al Kawari.
trevor Gregory, who heads
OLYMPIC PROGRAMME
֫ HANDBALL
Ninth edition to start on October 4
T
HE ninth edition of the Qatar
Olympic Committee’s Schools
Olympic programme (SOp),
to be held under the theme ‘Sport
and media,’ will start on October 4.
SOp Executive Director
mohammed Essa Al Fadhala said
the event had continued to grow
over the last eight years.
“We’re immensely proud that
the SOp now covers 279 boys’ and
263 girls’ schools across Qatar. Our
programme has set a benchmark
for other nations to follow. We’ve
received queries from other Gulf
countries to share our expertise
with them. In fact, Oman,
SaudiArabia and the UAE
have already started similar
programmes,” Al Fadhala said at a
co-ordination committee meeting
last week.
the SOp is set to have
competitions in 12 disciplines
— athletics, basketball, fencing,
football, gymnastics, handball,
shooting, swimming, table tennis,
taekwondo, tennis and volleyball
‘ROAD TO RIO’
PROGRAMME WILL
PROVIDE A SPIRIT OF
COMPETITION.
— in addition to athletics and table
tennis for differently abled.
For the first time, the organising
committee’s ‘road to rio’
programme will provide a spirit of
competition among participants
through quiz programmes
designed around Olympic
sports. the winner will get
a chance to travel to brazil
Asia rugby which is the game’s
governing body on the continent,
was happy with the tournament’s
organisation.
“the tournament was an
experiment and I’m happy it worked
out so well. I thank the authorities
in Qatar, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and
the UAE for supporting this event,”
said Gregory.
“We’ll try to develop this into a
competition between the best sides
in the region,” he added.
for the 2016 rio Olympics.
A ‘Young reporters’ programme
has also been initiated, with the
winner getting an opportunity
to work with Qatar’s media
delegation to the rio Games.
the girls’ and boys’ finals will be
held at the Aspire Dome on march
17 and 18 respectively.
Mohammed
Essa Al Fadhala
Working towards
a common dream!
Q
AtArI clubs have expressed solidarity with the
national team’s aim of qualifying for the 2016
rio Olympics.
With Doha hosting the Asian Olympic Qualifying
tournament from November 14 to 23, clubs have
agreed to release national team players from the
Qatar League which starts three days earlier.
the decision was taken at a meeting between the
clubs’ representatives and Qatar Handball Association
(QHA) president Ahmed mohammed Abdulrab Al
Shaabi last week. QHA General Secretary mohammed
Jaber Al mulla and board member Khalifa tayseer Al
Jassim were also present.
“I thank the clubs for supporting the national
team and agreeing to release players for the Asian
event. It’s our dream to qualify for the rio Games. I’m
confident we’ll do well,” said Al Shaabi.
A decision to increase the contract period of
professional players from three to five years, provided
it followed all guidelines from the International
Handball Federation, was also taken.
30
MIXED ZONE | INTERNATIONAL
ššSebastian Vettel cruises to victory at the Singapore Grand prix.
֫ MOTORSPORT
Street-smart Seb!
F
ErrArI’S Sebastian Vettel
won an incident-packed
Singapore Formula One
Grand prix last Sunday after world
champion Lewis Hamilton retired
early for the first time this season.
Starting from pole position,
Vettel led all the way to take the
chequered flag for the fourth time
at the floodlit marina bay Street
Circuit.
“It must be one of my best races.
It was pretty intense. If we’ve
more races like this, we can catch
mercedes,” said Vettel.
“maybe we can make the
impossible possible and we’ll
definitely go for it,” he added.
Australia’s Daniel ricciardo
finished second for red bull, his
best result of a frustrating year,
while Vettel’s team-mate Kimi
raikkonen crossed the line third.
Hamilton was running fourth
approaching the halfway of the
61-lap race when he lost engine
power, dropping back through
the field before he was told to
return to the garage and call it a
night.
“I was waiting for that time
when I could push and see what
I could get from the car, but,
obviously I didn’t get that,” said
Hamilton.
Nico rosberg finished fourth
for mercedes to cut Hamilton’s
championship lead to 41 points.
Vettel trails Hamilton by 49 and
raikkonen is 145 adrift with a
maximum of 150 points available
from the remaining six races.
No other driver has a chance of
winning the championship.
Vettel’s win was the German’s
third this season and the 42nd of
his career, enabling the quadruple
world champion to overtake the
late Ayrton Senna into outright
third place for the most wins,
trailing only michael Schumacher
(91) and Alain prost (51).
A proven master on the slow
and twisty Singapore track, Vettel
gave his rivals no chance when he
planted his foot on the accelerator
and made a flying getaway from
the front of the grid.
the 28-year-old opened up
a commanding 3sec lead over
ricciardo on the opening lap and
was never seriously challenged.
RESULTS
1. Sebastian Vettel (GEr) Ferrari
2. Daniel ricciardo (AUS) red bull
3. Kimi raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari
4. Nico rosberg (GEr) mercedes
5. Valtteri bottas (FIN) Williams
STANDINGS
DRIVERS
1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)
2. Nico rosberg (GEr)
3. Sebastian Vettel (GEr)
4. Kimi raikkonen (FIN)
5. Valtteri bottas (FIN)
CONSTRUCTORS
1. mercedes
2. Ferrari
3. Williams
4. red bull
5. Force India
2:01:22
at 1.47
17.1
24.7
34.2
252
211
203
107
101
463
310
198
139
69
Intruder sets
pulses racing
A lone intruder set pulses racing
at the Singapore Grand prix
when he ambled across the
floodlit track midway through
the race and strolled by the
metal fences as cars sped past.
Ferrari winner Sebastian Vettel
got the fright of his life when
he spotted the man as he came
around a corner.
the German shouted over
the team radio that there was a
man on track as race stewards
instantly ordered the drivers to
slow down.
the safety car was deployed
while the man slipped back
through another hole in the
fence without crossing the track.
֫ RUGBY
Japan do giant-killing act!
J
ššJapan’s Karne Hesketh, right, scores winning try against South Africa.
ApAN recorded the biggest
upset in World Cup history
as substitute Karne Hesketh
scored on the last play of the game
to seal a 34-32 victory over
two-time winners South Africa.
It was only the second win in 25
World Cup matches for the Asian
nation, but they fully deserved to
take the spoils from the pulsating
pool b encounter at the brighton
Community Stadium in East Sussex,
England.
Japan’s bravery and tenacity was
in evidence throughout the contest,
but no more so than in the dying
stages. Eschewing the chance to
kick a penalty that would have tied
the scores, Japan went in for the kill
in a dramatic late onslaught that
ultimately carved the opening for
Hesketh to dive over in the corner.
“We always thought we could
beat them. It’s fantastic for the team
IT’S GOT TO GO DOWN AS
ONE OF THE GREATEST
GAMES IN WORLD CUP
HISTORY.
and for Japanese rugby. We worked
hard for this. It’s got to go down as
one of the greatest games in World
Cup history,” said Japan coach Eddie
Jones.
Japan players and fans shed
tears of joy at the end of a thrilling
encounter that ebbed and flowed
throughout, though few, if any,
would have predicted defeat for the
1995 and 2007 champions.
COLLATED RESULTS
POOL A
Wales bt Uruguay
54-9
England bt Fiji
35-11
POOL B
Samoa bt United States
25-16
Japan bt South Africa
34-32
POOL C
New Zealand bt Argentina
26-16
Georgia bt tonga
17-10
POOL D
Ireland bt Canada
50-7
France bt Italy
32-10
31
֫ GOLF
֫ TENNIS
Dazzling Day has
the world at his feet
Belgium and Britain
in final showdown
A
UStrALIA’S Jason Day claimed his fourth
victory in six starts and surged to the world
No.1 ranking after going wire-to-wire to win
the bmW Championship by six shots last Sunday.
the 27-year-old closed out his tournament with
a two-under-par 69 to finish at 22-under 262 at
Conway Farms, Illinois, US, six clear of American
rookie Daniel berger (69) in the third of the pGA
tour’s four FedExCup play-off events.
American Scott piercy (70) was third at 15-under
with rickie Fowler (69), rory mcIlroy of Northern
Ireland (70) and Jb Holmes (68) sharing fourth at
14-under.
Day began his final round with a six-shot lead
over a star-studded pack that included mcIlroy, who
he toppled from the No.1 spot, and US Open and
masters winner Jordan Spieth — who was ranked
second going into the event.
meanwhile, little-known Swede rikard Karlberg
beat twice major winner martin Kaymer on the
second hole of a play-off to win the Italian Open.
Karlberg (67) and German Kaymer (70) ended
the tournament with matching 19-under totals of
269 before the Swede took the title by birdying the
second play-off hole.
Seven players tied for third place on 270.
US stomp
on Europe!
S
Jason
Day
US captain Juli Inkster had urged her players to “stomp on”
Europe and they carried out the instructions to a tee, fighting
back to win a controversial Solheim Cup match in Germany.
the home team went into the last 12 singles holding a
10-6 lead, following unsavoury scenes over the
non-concession of a short American putt in the four balls carried
over from the previous day, but the US rallied to triumph by 14.5
to 13.5 points.
the Americans were enraged when Alison Lee and brittany
Lincicome lost to Charley Hull and Suzann pettersen by two holes.
ŢŢmembers
of the bmC
racing team
celebrate with
the medals.
tEVE Darcis completed a
thrilling comeback to send
belgium into their first Davis
Cup final for more than 100 years,
winning the deciding fifth rubber
against Argentina.
the hosts had trailed 1-2,
but David Goffin crushed Diego
Schwartzman 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 to level
things up and then Darcis, roared
on by home fans, fought past
Federico Delbonis 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6
(7-3).
Darcis had squandered two
match points at 5-4 in the fourth
set, but after forging ahead in
the tiebreak he powered away a
smash to end the contest and was
immediately mobbed by his teammates who rushed on to court to
celebrate.
belgium, who have never won
the team competition, will have
home advantage against Andy
murray’s britain who reached their
first final for 37 years by beating
Australia.
Victory had looked a big ask as
Argentina won the doubles to take
a 2-1 lead, but the failure of their
No.1 Leonardo mayer to take
to court against Goffin helped
belgium swing the tie around.
Goffin described his
performance as ‘perfect’ as he
left the stage for Darcis, perhaps
best known for beating rafael
Nadal at Wimbledon in 2013.
Darcis sailed through
the first set, but Delbonis
dominated the second with
his opponent growing
weary.
the crunch moment came at
5-5 in the third set when Delbonis
dropped serve and Darcis then
converted his first set point.
three consecutive breaks of
serve, two for Darcis, in the fourth
saw him serve at 5-4 but two
match points went begging and
Delbonis forced a tiebreak.
COLLATED RESULTS
WORLD GROUP SEMIFINALS
AT GLASGOW
Great Britain bt Australia
3-2
Andy murray (Gbr) bt thanasi 6-3, 6-0, 6-3
Kokkinakis (AUS)
bernard tomic (AUS) bt Dan 6-3, 7-6 (7-2),
Evans (Gbr)
6-7 (4-7), 6-4
Andy murray/Jamie murray
4-6, 6-3, 6-4,
(Gbr) bt Lleyton Hewitt/Sam 6-7 (6-8), 6-4
Groth (AUS)
Andy murray (Gbr) bt bernard 7-5, 6-3, 6-2
tomic (AUS)
thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) bt
7-5, 6-4
Dan Evans (Gbr)
AT BRUSSELS
Belgium bt Argentina
3-2
David Goffin (bEL) bt Federico 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
Delbonis (ArG)
6-3
Leonardo mayer (ArG) bt
7-6 (7-5), 7-6
Steve Darcis (bEL)
(7-1), 4-6, 6-3
Carlos berlocq/Leonardo
6-2, 7-6 (7-2),
mayer (ArG) bt ruben
5-7, 7-6 (7-5)
bemelmans/Steve Darcis (bEL)
David Goffin (bEL) bt Diego
6-3, 6-2, 6-1
Schwartzman (ArG)
Steve Darcis (bEL) bt Federico 6-4, 2-6, 7-5,
Delbonis (ArG)
7-6 (7-3)
Steve
Darcis
֫ CYCLING
BMC Racing win team time trial
A
mErICAN outfit bmC
racing retained their men’s
team time trial title at the
road World Championships in
richmond, the US, last Sunday.
Italians manuel Quinziato
and Daniel Oss, American taylor
phinney, Swiss Silvan Dillier
and Stefan Kung and Australian
rohan Dennis clocked 42min,
7sec on the 38.6km course.
they beat belgian team EtixxQuick Step, led by triple individual
time trial world champion tony
martin, by 11sec, according to
provisional timings.
Spanish side movistar took the
bronze.
“this was a huge goal for us,
I’m honoured to be part of that
team,” said phinney, who recently
returned to competition after
more than a year on the sidelines
following a crash.
the women’s team time trial
event was won by the VelocioSrAm team.
Wickmayer
breaks jinx
Yanina
Wickmayer
Former US Open semifinalist Yanina
Wickmayer produced a superb fightback to
beat poland’s magda Linette 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
and win the Japan Open.
Wickmayer, who reached the 2009 US
Open final, had not won a tournament since
’10. the belgian dug herself out of a hole in
tokyo as she claimed the fourth title of her
career.
meanwhile, Annika beck won her second
career title and avenged a loss at the US
Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jelena
Ostapenko in the Quebec City Open.
32
PEOPLE
Chinese world No.1 Chen Long
defeated India’s Ajay Jayaram
21-14, 21-13 in the men’s
singles final of the $600,000
Korea Open badminton
Super Series in Seoul last
week. Long, who clinched
the tie in a little over 40
minutes, thus won his
second successive title.
West bromwich’s Saido
Berahino had vowed never to
play for chairman Jeremy peace
again, but all was forgiven as
he scored the only goal in a
derby win over Aston Villa.
the baggies’ burundi-born
England Under-21 striker
had threatened to strike
over a thwarted move
to EpL rivals tottenham
Hotspur.
Slovenian mountain bike
rider Blaza Klemencic, a
two-time Olympian, has
received a provisional
suspension from the
International Cycling Union
(UCI) three years after giving
a doping sample for EpO.
the UCI said that the sample
given on march 27, 2012,
had tested positive when
reanalysed recently.
France’s Davis Cup captain
Arnaud Clement was sacked
last week after his team’s 1-3
loss to Great britain in the
quarterfinal stage in July.
the 37-year-old former
Wimbledon doubles champion,
who helped guide France to
the 2014 Davis Cup final, was
replaced by former captain
Yannick Noah.
STAR OF THE WEEK JASON DAY
J
ASON Day has been making
golf look simple lately but,
after claiming the world No.1
ranking he had long coveted,
revealed that it had been anything
but easy.
“It has been very, very difficult
for me to try and downplay getting
to No.1, because I’ve really wanted
to reach this goal for a long time
now,” the 27-year-old Australian
said after another convincing
win in the US pGA tour’s bmW
Championship catapulted him to
the top.
Day led wire-to-wire,
jump-starting his run with a
spectacular first-round 61, and
never looked back.
His 22-under total of 262 had
echoes of his record-setting
20-under triumph at the pGA
Championship last month, where
Day at last broke through for his
first major title.
His fifth win of the season
has him poised atop the FedEx
Cup play-off standings, in pole
position to seize the $10m play-off
bonus at the season-ending tour
Championship.
but it is the No.1 ranking that
resonates with Day even though
he is the third man in three weeks
to claim it after Jordan Spieth and
rory mcIlroy traded the top spot.
Day said it was a dream he had
nursed since childhood, when he
was inspired by the exploits of
tiger Woods. but he was chided
as a presumptuous upstart when,
as a young pro, he told a group of
reporters on a conference call that
he believed he could topple the
American from the summit.
Day admitted he was
unprepared for the criticism he
received then.
“It wasn’t the response that I
was expecting,” said Day. “I mean,
I expected to get a little bit, but
not the response that I got from
practically everyone.”
As his career progressed and
Day’s undeniable talent failed to
yield a major title, the naysayers
gained steam.
but all that changed in August
when he built on the momentum
of another major near-miss at the
british Open to win the Canadian
Open.
Now with four wins in his
last six events, he is on top
of the world and can afford
to be magnanimous when
contemplating his earlier critics.
“I would love to say, ‘I told
you so’, but that wouldn’t be
very nice,” Day chuckled. “I
would still thank them because
that was kind of the fuel that lit
the fire for me, especially with
the dedication over these last few
years. I know that a lot of people
were thinking against me on that.”
Spain’s Javier Gomez won his
fifth triathlon world title with a
runner-up finish in the World
triathlon Grand Final in Chicago
last week. He finished in 1hr,
44.57sec, just four seconds
behind compatriot mario mola.
Gomez scored 4,930pts to win
the world title for the third
time in a row.
Golf superstar Tiger Woods
said he would be sidelined
until 2016 after a second
back surgery, but confidently
predicted he would make
a full recovery. In an article
posted on his website, the
14-time major champion
revealed he had a
microdiscectomy
surgery in Utah.
33
SPORT THIS WEEK
QATAR
Croatia have named Ante Cacic
as their new football coach.
He replaced Niko Kovac, who
was sacked earlier this month
following their dismal Euro 2016
qualification campaign. Cacic, 61,
who won the league-and-cup
double with Dinamo Zagreb in
’12, is seen as the man to revive
Croatia’s flagging fortunes in the
Euro Cup qualifiers.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
FOOTBALL
Qatar Stars League, Al Gharafa vs Al
Ahli, 6pm at Qatar SC Stadium, El
Jaish vs Al Khor, 6pm at Lekhwiya
Stadium, Lekhwiya vs Al Kharaitiyat,
8.15pm at Lekhwiya Stadium, Qatar
SC vs Al Arabi, 8.15pm at Qatar SC
Stadium.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
FOOTBALL
Veteran pakistan batsman
Younis Khan is facing
disciplinary action for lashing
out at selectors when it became
clear he was to be dropped
for next month’s One-Day
International cricket series in
Zimbabwe. the 37-year-old hit
out a day before the squad was
announced. “If I’m not selected,
the one-day team won’t be able
to stand up,” said Younis.
Qatar Stars League, Al mesaimeer
vs Al Sailiya, 6pm at Al Arabi
Stadium, Al Sadd vs Al Wakrah,
6pm at Al Sadd Stadium, Al rayyan
vs Umm Salal, 8.15pm at Al Sadd
Stadium.
INTERNATIONAL
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
TENNIS
Atp at metz and St petersburg; WtA
at tokyo, Seoul, Guangzhou (till
Sunday).
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
GOLF
EpGA at European Open, bad
Griesbach; USpGA at tour
Championship, Atlanta (till Sunday).
MOVERS&SHAKERS
CRICKET
Button hints at quitting
F1 by end of the year
M
CLArEN driver Jenson
Button has increased
speculation he is set
to retire from Formula One after
telling british reporters that
the ‘joy’ of competing
was missing and he had
made a decision about
his future.
media reports
suggested the
35-year-old, whose wife
is Japanese, was likely to
announce at the Japanese Grand
prix on Sunday that he would be
leaving F1 at the end of the year.
“the joy of being in the car is
only there if you’re fighting at the
front, because you feel like you’re
achieving something,” the 2009
world champion said after last
week’s Singapore Grand prix.
button’s words sounded
markedly different to
last season, when there
was also considerable
speculation about his
future, but he ended
up staying while young
Dane Kevin magnussen was
dropped to a reserve role.
then, with the car still an
unknown quantity, he was
adamant he wanted to stay.
Indian cricket chief is dead
F
OrmEr International Cricket
Council (ICC) president
Jagmohan Dalmiya, hailed as
the architect of India’s rise as the
game’s financial superpower,
passed away last Sunday.
the 75-year-old
president of the board of
Control for Cricket in India
(bCCI) died in a hospital in
his hometown of Kolkata
after falling critically ill with
a heart condition.
Dalmiya first shot to fame when
he, along with bureaucrat Inderjit
Singh bindra, broke Australia and
England’s hold on the ICC to win the
right to host the 1987 and ’96 World
Cups on the subcontinent.
He went on to become ICC
president from 1997 to 2000 and bCCI
president from ’01 to ’04.
though Dalmiya
returned as the bCCI
chief in march, he
was dogged by health
problems and had been
absent from recent board
meetings.
His death triggered an
outpour of tributes, including
from legendary batsman Sachin
tendulkar and prime minister
Narendra modi.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
Zimbabwe vs pakistan, 1st t20I at
Harare.
MOTORSPORT
Japanese Formula One Grand prix,
Aragon motoGp.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
TENNIS
CYCLING
World road-racing Championships,
richmond (till Sunday).
RUGBY
World Cup in England (till October
31).
Atp at Kuala Lumpur Shenzhen; WtA
at Wuhan, tashkent (till October 4).
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
CRICKET
Zimbabwe vs pakistan, 2nd t20I at
Harare.
34
MOSAIC
SPORTMART
Wraith
of
the titans!
MEDIA
Watch Bundesliga more!
T
HE German bundesliga is
opening the doors to its
unique vaults, offering
historical footage and fresh
insight covering some 52 years of
professional football via a
video-on-demand service.
Sky Germany, which has been
signed up as the first partner, will
be offering the programme content
to its customers via the ‘bundesliga
Collection’.
the DFL is currently in talks with
further potential partners.
the format, conceived by
the DFL and produced by
renowned production companies,
includes more than 30 hours of
entertainment. Initially, around 50
episodes will be available in eight
different categories , including
‘Liga legends’, ‘the best goals’, ‘my
season’ and ‘Season finals’.
the material includes
historical footage and original tV
commentaries as well as
recently-recorded reminiscences by
well-known contemporaries.
T
HE limited edition of the
rolls-royce Wraith Inspired by
Film is now available in Qatar.
Wraith, the most powerful and
dynamic rolls-royce in history, has
experienced an overwhelmingly
positive response from Qatari
customers since its introduction in
2013.
rolls-royce motor Cars Doha is the
importer of the car, designed with
the curious, confident and bold in
mind.
Alfardan Automobiles General
manager Ihab Allam said, “It’s with
great pleasure that we welcome
the new Wraith ‘Inspired by Film’
to Qatar. While we’ve experienced
great success with the Wraith model
and expect it to go from strength to
strength, the new bespoke model
adds yet another unique twist to
an already impressive car, thus
appealing to the most discerning of
our clientele who look for something
truly remarkable.”
Wraith Inspired by Film features a
unique two-tone Silver and Jubilee
Silver paint scheme, with a
solid-silver hand-cast Spirit of Ecstasy
elegantly propped on the bonnet.
the spectacular vehicle boasts an
anthracite leather interior accented
with casden tan that exudes
confidence and power like a modern
super-hero’s costume while its steely
character is suggested by a pin sharp
aluminium band shooting through
the maccassar Ebony open pore
panelling.
BBC extends deal with
Wimbledon tennis
the BBC has ended fears of losing coverage of
Wimbledon tennis to pay-per-view television by
agreeing a three-year extension to the current
contract.
A statement from the corporation said rights
for television and radio coverage had been agreed
until 2020.
“the BBC consistently delivers large national
audiences for Wimbledon and they deliver those
audiences with high-quality production values,
live across multiple platforms and always with
a strong narrative,” said All England Club Chief
Executive richard Lewis.
35
LIFESTYLE
Serena gives latest fashion looks
S
ErENA Williams put a brave
face on her shock US Open
defeat, unveiling her latest
fashion collection in New York
last week with Anna Wintour and
rumoured boyfriend Aubrey Drake
Graham in the front row.
the tennis ace, whose dreams of
winning a calendar-year Grand Slam
were shattered in the semifinal at
Flushing meadows, looked beautiful
in black and gave a bashful smile
to cheering fans at the end of the
show.
Williams presented 23 looks —
all available for immediate purchase
online.
the rumour mill went into
overdrive over Drake and Williams’s
relationship status after the
Canadian rapper kissed Williams’s
hand backstage and she used some
of his music to accompany the
models down the runway.
CAMEO
HEALTH
LG backs Yas Marina Circuit
Weight-reducing op
helps type 2 diabetics
South Korea’s LG became the Official
Electronics partner of the Yas marina
Circuit, the home to Formula One’s
season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand prix.
LG will supply the circuit with screens
and handheld devices on and off the
track as part of the deal.
T
HE benefits of weight-loss surgery for
mildly obese people with type 2 diabetes
can last at least five years, according to a
new study.
However, it is too early to say whether mildly
obese people with diabetes live longer after
weight loss surgery than those who receive nonsurgical treatments.
“the mortality data take a long time to show
up,” said Dr robin blackstone, a weight-loss
surgery expert who wrote an editorial on the new
study in JAMA Surgery.
Weight-loss operations, or bariatric surgery, use
various methods to shrink the size of the stomach.
they reduce hunger and limit the body’s ability to
absorb food.
Low vitamin D
levels linked to
memory loss
Older adults with low vitamin D
levels may lose their memories
and thinking abilities faster
than those with normal vitamin
D levels, US researchers say.
Dr Joshua W miller from
the rutgers University in
New Jersey and a team at
the University of California’s
Davis’s Alzheimer’s Disease
Center looked at the association
between blood levels of vitamin
D and changes in memory and
thinking ability in 318 adults
over an average of five years.
participants were an average
of 76 years old, and included
158 whites, 113 African
Americans and 96 Hispanics.
ACHIEVEMENT
Forbes list more diverse than 1995
T
HE world’s highest-paid
athletes are a much richer
and more international
group than those who dominated
the same list 20 years ago, Forbes
said last week.
the top 40 earners in sports over
the last year combined to earn
$1.9bn in prize money, salary and
Wintour, the editor-in-chief of
Vogue as well as a powerful arbiter
of style and huge tennis fan, chatted
in the front row to Drake and
model-of-the-moment Gigi Hadid.
the Serena Williams Signature
Statement for retailer HSN was
practical, comfortable, affordable
and infused with the relaxed,
everyday casual vibe one would
expect from a sportswoman with a
keen eye for style.
endorsements, up significantly
from the $490m made by the
highest earners in 1995.
Among those on the current
list, 21 were born outside the
US, including four of the top five.
by comparison, former Formula
One driver michael Schumacher
of Germany, ranked ninth, was
highest among the eight
non-Americans who made it to
the ’95 list.
American boxer Floyd
mayweather Jr was the runaway
leader atop the current list with
$300m while in ’95, Hall of Fame
basketball player michael Jordan
led the list with $43.9m.
BMW stays with
DP World Tour
German auto giant bmW agreed
to extend its sponsorship of golf’s
Dp World tour Championships
until at least 2017. the deal will
see bmW continue as the official
car of the $8m tournament, which
has Dubai-based port operator
Dp World as the title sponsor. It
will be held on the Earth course
at Jumeirah Golf Estates from
November 19 to 22.
BCCI to fly with
Air India
the board of Control for Cricket in
India (bCCI) entered into a tie-up
with Air India. Accordingly, the
airline will fly national team players,
bCCI staff and officials. Air India
also endorses Indian stars such as
Suresh raina, Harbhajan Singh,
Yuvraj Singh and robin Uthappa.
DHL delivers Indian
Super League
the Indian Super League football
signed a major sponsorship
agreement with international
logistics company DHL. As part
of the deal, the ‘DHL winning
pass’ award will be introduced for
players who accumulate the most
assists over the season.
Manchester United
revenues fall
manchester United’s revenues
fell by 8.8 per cent last season,
but the club predicted record
revenues of £500m
to £510m for
2015-16.
United’s failure
to qualify for
the lucrative
Champions
League saw
revenues for the period 2014-15
fall by £38m to £395.2m, largely
due to losses in gate receipts
and broadcasting income.
meanwhile, Arsenal risked
further criticism from supporters
after accounts released showed
cash reserves having shot up to
£193m in may while only one
new senior player (goalkeeper
petr Cech) was signed in the
recent transfer window. that
figure is an increase of £20m.
— Courtesy CSM Sport & Entertainment
www.csm.com
@FastTrack_ME
36
DSP/ Vinod Divakaran
CLOSE-UP
DSP/A K BijuRaj
Chinese taipei’s Ko pin
Yi eyes a shot during
the World 9-ball pool
Championship final against
USA’s Shane Van boening in
Doha. Yi won 13-11.
ŢšKeen tussle!
Al Khor’s Julio Cesar fights
for the ball with Al Arabi’s
Abdullah marafiya, left, and
boualem Khoukhi during their
Qatar Stars League football
match in Doha. Arabi won 1-0.
ŢšEye-to-eye!
the Netherlands’ thiemo de bakker
returns to hosts Switzerland’s
roger Federer during their Davis
Cup tennis World Group play-off in
Geneva. Federer won 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
to guide his country to victory.
AFP/Fabrice Coffrini
ššTable topper!
37
AFP/ Emmanuel Dunand
AFP/ Loic Venance
Canada’s D t H van der
merwe, right, is challenged
by Ireland’s Ian madigan
during their rugby World
Cup pool D match in Cardiff,
Wales. Ireland won 50-7.
šŢUp & above!
Hosts France’s Nicolas batum,
centre, vies with Spain’s pau ribas
during their Eurobasket semifinal
in Lille. Spain won 80-75 and
went on to clinch the title, beating
Lithuania 80-63 in the final.
ŢŢAll focused!
Japan’s Kento momota returns to Hong
Kong’s Wei Nan during their Korea Open
Superseries badminton quarterfinal in
Seoul. momota won 21-13, 21-16, but
lost to eventual champion China’s Chen
Long in the last four.
AFP/Jung Yeon-Je
şŢTough tackle!
38
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MIND SQUARE
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SUDOKU-491
6
8
S
2
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9puzzle
8 based on a
udoku is a number-placing
9x9 grid with several given numbers.
the object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in
the empty squares so that each row, each column and
each 3x3 box contains the same number only once.
3 7
1
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1
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2
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3
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9
4
4
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2
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1
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Spencer FC
@SpencerOwen
Diego Costa cares not for
sportsmanship.
Elizabeth Ammon
@legsidelizzy
Diego Costa seems like
the sort of chap my
mother wouldn’t have
approved of.
Hayley
@HayleyWright
Is Costa Coffee anything
to do with Diego Costa? I
don’t care. I’m never going
in there again.
Piers Morgan
@piersmorgan
Going to church now for
my cousin’s wedding. Will
pray for Diego Costa’s sins,
the filthy cheat.
ChaitanYa
@CechmateChait
Every Club: Fans are our
12th man.
Chelsea: Since we don’t
have fans, ref is our 12th
man. @ChelseaFC @
diegocosta
GP MORGAN
@parisbent
Nice performance from
Diego Costa and mike
Dean. ref mike Dean won
man of the match.
the_go_to_cech
@morrow_7
If I had a gun with 2 bullets
and was locked in a room
hitler,
8with
2 bin7laden and
4
Diego Costa...
I’d shoot Diego Costa.....
7twice.5 2 1
Stacie Dawson
6@stacie_dawson
1 4 7
I love Diego Costa!! that
is all
9Bob Wilson
8 3 2
@bobWilsonbWSC
Another game ruined by
match officials’ inability
to see the full picture
#CFCvAFC
Harish
@harishAFC
Football isn’t football
wen u have ppl like Costa
playing it. that guy has no
place in a sport field.
Romeo
@Arsenal490304
this is soo frustrating. Its
Comeback campaigners Al Rayyan
make their intentions loud and clear
by thumping Al Sailiya in the Qatar
Stars League’s lung opener. pAGES 8-11
3
4
5
6
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UAE ...............................Dh 5
Yemen..................75 Riyals
Sudan ...................1 Pound
KSA.......................... 2 Riyals
Jordan ....................500 Fils
Iraq .................................... $1
Palestine ......................... $1
Syria.............................LS 20
P 12 | FOOTBALL
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW
Zero tolerance
on fan trouble
P 20 | POSTER
SEBASTIEN
OGIER
Al Rayyan back to
where they belong
It’s great to see Al rayyan mark their return to the
Qatar Stars League after a one-season gap with a
thumping win (Doha Stadium Plus, September 16).
the team looked in fine nick while routing Sailiya
4-0 in the lung opener.
rayyan, coached by Uruguayan Jorge Fossati,
have a bunch of good players. Qatar international
Sebastian Soria gives the attack a potent look
while rodrigo tabata is one of the best players in
the country when it comes to orchestrating the
midfield.
the Lions, undoubtedly, are one of the most
attractive sides in the league this time.
Nasser Al Rumaihi, Doha.
9 8
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The match between arch-rivals Chelsea and Arsenal was always
expected to be a fiery affair. Sure enough, tempers flared quickly
as Chelsea’s Diego Costa riled his rivals with aggressive tactics.
He grappled with Laurent Koscielny, pushing the Frenchman in
the face with his hands before catching him with a flailing arm,
which prompted Gabriel to come to the aid of his fellow defender.
Costa was soon tussling with Gabriel and both were booked,
but the Brazilian naively fell for the tricks of the Spaniard who
continued the altercation and induced a retaliation from him.
Referee Mike Dean flashed the red card after Costa claimed he
had been kicked. While Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho felt Costa
deserved to be the ‘man of the match,’ a majority of fans begged
to disagree. Taking to Twitter, they were quite critical of the player.
Here are some reactions.
michael owen
@themichaelowen
massive injustice at
Stamford bridge.
Costa gets away with
a red Card and Arsenal
go down to 10 men
seconds later.
Dennis Orcollo, the star attraction at the
ongoing World 9-Ball Pool Championship,
talks about his thirst for success.
UK ...................................... £1
Europe ............................. €2
Oman ...............200 Baisas
Bahrain..................200 Fils
Egypt .............................LE 2
Lebanon..........3,000 Livre
Kuwait....................250 Fils
Morocco ......................Dh 6
4
5
8
6
1
9
P 24 | CUE SPORTS
ORCOLLO, THE ACE OF BAIZE
Seriousness, proper education and
discipline are important to raise the
standard of teams in the Gulf region.
WEDNESDAY, SEpTEmBER 16, 2015 | Vol X | No.29 | QR 2.00
TOP TWEETS
1
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P 6 | FOOTBALL
ATTITUDE CHANGE NEEDED
DSP/Mohan
3 7
standing
3like
6 up1 5
to a bully who harasses
people and later its u
gets
6who
8 punished
9 !3
#Costa
9Tushar
3Kamath8 2
@GlorifiedUnited
I dare Costa to play this
4provocations
5 game
7 with
6
roy Keane. He’ll be torn
into two pieces with one
being thrown in brazil,
other in Spain.
TweetChelseaFC
@tweetChelseaFC
Lets be honest, if you
had Diego Costa in your
side, you would love
him.
Footy Humour
@FootyHumour
Diego Costa would start
a fight with his own
reflection in the mirror.
2
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Big test awaits Belmadi
Lekhwiya’s defeat in the AFC Champions League
quarterfinal (Doha Stadium Plus, September 16)
was sad news to Qatar football.
the cops were the only Qatari side in the
knockout stage and a semifinal berth would’ve
enhanced their reputation on the continent.
Lekhwiya have been consistent performers in the
last two seasons, particularly last term, when they
were coached by michael Laudrup.
His replacement Djamel belmadi will now be
under pressure to defend the league title.
Mohammad Al Sulaiti, Doha.
Amazing Nasser
Amazing is probably the apt word to describe
Qatari star Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (Doha Stadium
Plus, September 16).
It’s absolutely incredible that he manages to
compete in two different sports — shooting and
motor sports — at the highest level. He’s greatly
talented, and has the passion, discipline as well
as mental toughness to back his skill. that’s what
makes him a champion.
Abdullah Mansour, Doha.
Djokovic is the king
Novak Djokovic proved he’s the world’s best tennis
player by beating roger Federer in the US Open
final (Doha Stadium Plus, September 16).
Federer was the crowd favourite, but the Serb
simply was unstoppable. Djokovic’s mental
toughness also played a key role in his victory over
the Swiss maestro. Way to go champion!
Allan Steward, Doha.
It is your turn now. tell us about sports events in your neighbourhood,
send us photographs too and get them published in DSp.
Our e-mail is [email protected]
39
YOUR PAGE
SCDL lauds role of Indian community
The Supreme Committee for Delivery
and Legacy (SCDL) joined India’s
Independence Day celebrations
organised by the Indian Cultural Centre
at the Diplomatic Club last week.
SCDL Assistant Secretary General for
Tournament Affairs Nasser Al Khater
said Qatar’s Indian community would
play an integral role in the organisation
of 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“The Indian community has been in
Qatar for long. You form an integral part
of our society and our progress. I want
to make sure this World Cup belongs
not only to Qatar, but to you as well. We
look forward to working together for
the next seven years,” said Al Khater.
Indian Ambassador to Qatar Sanjiv
Arora was among the dignitaries
present.
SCDL sent the details and photographs.
Aspire Zone Foundation
extends helping hand
The Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF)
strengthened its ties with Sheikh
Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for
Humanitarian Services last week by
donating 4,000 clothing items to be
distributed to people in need around
the world.
“We want to thank the AZF for this
generous initiative which comes at a
time when our brothers and sisters
around the region are in need of such
support. The AZF has always been a
big help and we’re happy with our
continued collaboration,” said the
foundation’s Manager of Marketing,
Media and Public Relations Ali Yousef
Al Kuwari.
AZF staff also made donations towards
supporting people in Somalia and the
Philippines.
Mohammed Hassan sent the details
and photograph.
QVA ties up with Suliman & Brothers
The Qatar Volleyball Association
(QVA) has signed an agreement
with real estate firm Suliman
& Brothers for the forthcoming
domestic season.
QVA President Khalid Ali Al
Mawlawi and Suliman & Brothers
Board member Ali Haider Suliman
Al Haider signed the deal.
As per the agreement, the company
logo will feature prominently on
the jerseys of players in the league
and cup tournaments.
The QVA also honoured the beach
volleyball pair of Cherif Younousse
and Jefferson Pereira, who reached
the quarterfinal of the FIVB
World Championships held in the
Netherlands in July.
Mohammad Malas sent the details
and photograph.
Galfar, United
reign supreme
Rizlan scored 40 to steer Galfar Al Misnad to a
five-wicket win over Commercial Bank in the Qatar
Cricket Association’s Sprite Stars T20 Super League final
at the Asian Town Stadium. Put in to bat, the bank men
were restricted to 92 for eight. Saman was the pick of
Galfar bowlers with figures of two for 12.
Meanwhile, riding on Shijith’s all-round brilliance
(101, four for 23), United Challengers beat Strikers Club
by 52 runs to win the junior category final.
Batting first, United posted 166 for eight and bowled
out their opponents for 114.
Former star Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar
awarded the winners.
Jamshaid Ahmad sent the details and photograph.
Eid Mubarak!
The management, Editor-in-Chief and staff of
Doha Stadium Plus extend warm greetings to all its
readers on the happy occasion of Eid Al Adha.
Publishers: ASPIRE Printing, Publishing and Distribution
P O Box: 24598, Doha, Qatar.
Marketing & advertising: Tel: +974 44138566
Distribution: Tel: +974 44138535/36, Fax: +974 44138597

FRANCESCO TOTTI P 28 | BASKETBALL QATAR RARING TO GO P

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