Sport

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Spain’s Euro
hopes pinned
on silent
saviour Iniesta
Warriors
down Blazers;
Raptors beat
Heat for lead
Friday, May 13, 2016
Sha’baan 6, 1437 AH
TENNIS
Thiem ousts ailing
Federer, Serena rolls
past Christina
GULF TIMES
SPORT
VOLLEYBALL
Page 6
FINAL: 6:30 PM
CRICKET
Al Arabi stand
between El Jaish
and first Emir Cup
‘Qatar Cup defeat against Jaish left a bitter test in the mouth’
Qatar Volleyball Association technical director Hussein Imam Ali, Al Arabi coach Maaouia Lajnef, El Jaish coach Zohair Belhadj, players and officials pose with the Emir
Cup trophy after a press conference ahead of their Emir Cup volleyball final yesterday. PICTURES: Jayaram
By Yash Mudgal
Doha
A
fter Al Rayyan’s failure, this
weekend it is Al Arabi’s turn
to try and stop the El Jaish
juggernaut in the final of the
Emir Cup volleyball.
Victory for Maaouia Lajnef’s side
at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena
would give the Tunisian his second title of the year and deny the Armymen
their first major domestic title.
League champions Arabi entered the
final defeating Police 2-0 in the bestof-there semifinal playoff, while Jaish
overcame a stiff challenge from the 11time champions Al Rayyan 2-1 for their
maiden Emir Cup appearance.
“We are confident after winning the
league and beating Police comfortably
in the playoffs and we are mentally all
set for the final,” Arabi’s professional
player Ivan Zaytsev told Gulf Times
yesterday.
For Arabi, the match also assumes
importance as they will look to avenge
their semifinal loss to the Armymen in
the Qatar Cup.
“The Qatar Cup defeat against Jaish
left a bitter test in the mouth. I think
we played a good level of volleyball and
now we have a chance to beat them in
the prestigious Emir Cup final,” the
27-year-old star said.
A bronze medallist of the London
Olympics in 2012, Zaytse also praised
Jaish’s game but said his team has belief in their game to win the title.
“Jaish is playing very good volleyball but we are also a strong side and
we have belief in our game and think
we can do it,” the Italian player of Russian origin said.
“Their game plan is very good.
Their receiving is of top quality and I
think their attack revolve around Simon (Robertlandy),” the 202-cm tall
India’s Manohar
is elected ICC
chairman
AFP
New Delhi
I
ndia’s Shashank Manohar (pictured) was elected International
Cricket Council (ICC) chairman
yesterday after championing reforms to ensure the governing body
is not run simply for the benefit of its
most powerful nations.
Days after quitting India’s board,
Manohar was unanimously chosen as
the first “independent” ICC chairman
following reforms designed to ensure
the incumbent no longer feels obliged
to promote his own country’s interests.
“It is an honour to be elected as the
chairman of the International Cricket
Council and for that I am thankful to
all the ICC directors who have put their
faith and trust in my abilities,” Manohar said in a statement after the election at a meeting in Dubai.
“I look forward to working with all
stakeholders to shape the future of
cricket, which has a proud history and
rich tradition.”
Manohar had been serving as head of
the ICC in his role as president of the
Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) in line with the organisation’s
previous system of rotating chairmanships.
But under reforms that he himself
helped draw up and implement, the
ICC has amended its constitution to
bring in direct elections for the position which will now be officially an independent post.
The 58-year-old Manohar had resigned as BCCI president on Tuesday
in a move that freed him up to run for
the ICC chairmanship, and his election
had been widely predicted.
In an interview published after his
resignation from the BCCI, Manohar
said it was important to avoid “a conflict of interest”.
“As BCCI’s nominee, am I not dutybound to fight for our cause? On the
other hand, as ICC chairman, I am expected to protect its interests,” he told
The Times of India.
“That’s why I have proposed that
the post of the ICC chairman should
be made independent and it has been
accepted unanimously,” he added in an
interview published Wednesday.
THREE ‘BULLIES’
Manohar has been critical of recent ICC
rule changes designed to give greater
power to India, England and Australia,
saying the game’s three most powerful countries appeared to be “bullying”
the organisation.
The veteran Indian sports journalist
Al Arabi players celebrate a point during the semi-final playoff against Police earlier this month.
opposite player said. “For us the key of
the match will be our service. We have
to serve strong.”
Jaish and Arabi are clashing for a title second time in the current season.
Earlier, they were pitted in the seasonopening QVA Cup final and the army
team emerged as champions 3-1, after
rallying from one set down.
Led by Cuban stars Simon and Oreol
Camejo, Jaish’s performances have
been very good this season. Though
they are in the final for the first time,
coach Zohair Belhadj says they are not
getting carried away.
“We must try to play the same, with
the same intensity and spirit,” said
Belhadj. Simon played for the Cuban
national team for five years and was
a silver medallist in the 2010 World
Championships. He also bagged the
bronze medal in the 2005 World
League.
The 28-year-old Simon also wore
Al Rayyan colours and helped them
finish runners-up in the FIVB Clubs
World Championship in 2014 in Belo
Horizonte, Brazil. He was declared
the best middle blocker as well in that
championship.
“We have played some very good
games as a team and I hope we will live
up to our potential tomorrow against
Arabi,” Simon said.
In 2009, the Cuban was adjudged
the best blocker and spiker in the
World League. Next year, he won the
best blocker honours in the World
Championships too.
The
winners
will
receive
QR500,000, while the runners-up will
get QR250,000. The player of the tournament will be richer by QR10,000.
The final will be followed by the
Inter-Community Volleyball Challenge Cup, a Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) popular initiative, which
commenced on Wednesday with the
participation of four teams — the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India (KMCC Indians) and Nepal.
Ayaz Memon said that Manohar should
now be freer to push for reforms without having to look over his shoulder.
“It’s a positive move in a way that
now the chairman will not be linked to
a particular board, therefore that nexus
is not seen as something which is unhealthy,” Memon told AFP.
“Having an independent chairman is a better situation than when a
chairman is president of a board. With
an independent chairman, you get an
independent point of view and independent perspective.”
Since India’s emergence as the most
powerful country in world cricket, the
ICC has often been accused of failing to
exert its independence on key issues of
governance.
Many of the game’s smaller Testplaying nations have been accused
of bending to India’s demands in the
ICC, desperate to attract tours by India
which can ensure their financial security by selling TV rights.
Some commentators have criticised
the ICC for not doing more to protect
Test cricket as players opt instead to
play in lucrative domestic Twenty20
competitions, in particular the Indian
Premier League (IPL).
IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla was
among the first administrators to offer
Manohar his best wishes.
“We are all proud of the fact that an
Indian is now holding the first independent position in the world governing body,” Shukla told AFP.
In its statement, the ICC said Manohar had been the sole nominee for the
position and was “unanimously elected” for a two-year term.
Under the new reforms, the largely
ceremonial position of ICC president
has now been scrapped.
“Mr. Shashank Manohar’s unanimous, unopposed election is a matter
of pride for India,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.
“With his vast administrative experience he will provide leadership to
the ICC to strengthen the position of
cricket at the global level.
“The BCCI looks forward to working closely with the ICC for developing
cricket.”
Manohar, who is a successful lawyer,
had only taken over as BCCI president
in October 2015 when he returned for
a second stint in the position after the
death of veteran administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya.
But he became frustrated after coming under pressure to introduce reforms to the BCCI’s governance recommended by a panel convened by the
Supreme Court, including age limits
for the organisation’s office-holders.
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
2
CRICKET
ENGLAND TEAM SELECTION
SRI LANKA'S TOUR OF ENGLAND
Sanga hopes Perera gets recall after doping U-turn
AFP
London
S
ri Lanka great Kumar Sangakarra
yesterday backed calls for Kusal
Perera (pictured) to be called
up to the current squad after the
talented batsman was cleared to play following an admission by officials that he
had been suspended over a botched drug
test.
Perera was suspended during Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand last December, after World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA) accredited laboratory said he
had produced a positive result in an outof-competition test.
But the International Cricket Council
(ICC) lifted the suspension with immediate effect late on Wednesday when it described the test as “an atypical finding”
that could not be construed as evidence
of doping.
Sangakkara, speaking at an event in
London staged by sponsors Investec
ahead of the start of next week’s England-Sri Lanka Test series, said he was
“extremely confused” by recent events
and added he hoped Perera would have a
successful career from now on.
“Before this tour he would have been
in the T20 World Cup, opening up with
(Tillakaratne) Dilshan, which would have
been a huge advantage,” said Sangakkara,
now retired from international cricket
and playing for English county side Surrey.
“I’m extremely confused as to what’s
happened. The labs came back with an
adverse finding in one of his urine samples and they named him, with the steroid that was found. Suddenly, over the
last two days, they’ve withdrawn that
and said ‘we might have made a mistake’.
“The poor boy has been out for quite a
long time. He’s very young, 25, one of the
most exciting talents we have.”
Asked if Sri Lanka should fly Perera,
whose three Tests have already yielded
two fifties, to England, Sangakkara replied: “I hope they do, because I think
when you’ve gone through something
like that, the best thing you can do is to be
allowed to play cricket again.
“But the sad fact is that, I think, when
you are provisionally banned, you can’t
even train or use the facilities that international teams use.”
Sangakkara added: “Unfortunately, Sri
Lanka have lost a remarkable player for quite
a long time now and hopefully he’ll have a
INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE
Daredevils thrash
Sunrisers at home
Hyderabad continue to top IPL table despite loss
IANS
Hyderabad
D
elhi Daredevils rode on a powerful batting performance to defeat
Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven
wickets in an Indian Premier
League (IPL) clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here yesterday.
Chasing a target of 147 runs, Delhi did
not face too many difficulties from the
Hyderabad bowlers before romping home
with 11 balls to spare.
Despite the loss, Hyderabad continue
to sit at the top of the IPL table with 14
points from 11 matches. They have the
same number of points as second-placed
Gujarat Lions but are ahead due to a superior run rate.
The hosts will, however, be disappointed with the fact that they have suffered a
heavy defeat in their last home game of the
ongoing season. They now face three away
matches on the trot.
Delhi, on the other hand, climbed to the
third spot with 12 points from 10 matches.
The visitors were off to a poor start with
opener Mayank Aggarwal departing early.
But Quinton de Kock and Karun Nair (20)
put together a 55-run partnership off 37
balls to build the foundation of a successful run chase.
Pacer Moises Henriques gave the noisy
home crowd a glimmer of hope by removing both Nair and De Kock in the 10th over.
The Australian got Nair with a beautiful yorker but was lucky to get De Kock's
wicket. The South African star had attempted an upper cut to a short pitched
delivery which sailed over his head to the
wicketkeeper.
The umpire awarded a caught-behind
decision, but television replays later
showed that the bat did not connect with
the ball. De Kock scored 44 runs off 31
balls with five boundaries and two sixes.
But Delhi faced no trouble from thereon
as Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson took
them to victory. Pant was unbeaten on 39
Delhi Daredevils' Sanju Samson (right) and Rishabh Pant run between the wickets during
the 2016 Indian Premier League match against Sunrisers Hyderabad yesterday. (AFP)
runs off 26 deliveries with two boundaries and three well-struck sixes. Samson
remained unbeaten on 34 runs, hitting a
couple of sixes during his 26-ball stay in
the middle.
For Hyderabad, Henriques was the best
bowler with figures of 2 for 19 in three overs
while veteran pacer Ashish Nehra (1 for 23)
was the only other bowler to get a wicket.
Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad squandered
a brilliant start to finish at 146 for 8 against a
disciplined Delhi Daredevils bowling.
The hosts were once again off to a brilliant start as the opening duo of David
Warner (46) and Shikhar Dhawan (34)
fired 51 runs in the powerplay to lay the
platform but lost the momentum as the
Delhi bowlers bounced back with some
brilliant efforts.
Warner, who has been in prolific form
this season, looked set for another big
score but off-spinner Jayant Yadav foxed
him with a slower one to dismiss him four
short of his sixth half-century. The Australian smashed six boundaries and a six to
add 67 with Dhawan.
Next in, New Zealand skipper Kane
Williamson (27) joined Dhawan but the
duo could add only 31 runs as leg-spinner
Amit Mishra sent the southpaw packing
with Samson latching on to a brilliant running catch at deep midwicket. Dhawan's
37-ball knock was laced with three hits to
the fence.
The rest of the batting line-up, except
for Deepak Hooda (10), could not get into
double figures with Yuvraj Singh scoring 8
and wicketkeeper batsman Naman Ojha 7.
very successful career from here on in.”
Speaking in Colombo earlier yesterday,
Perera said he had gone through “tremendous mental stress” and indicated
that returning for Sri Lanka’s home series with Australia in July was probably a
more realistic goal.
Sangakarra, one of the outstanding
batsmen of his generation, retired from
the international game last year with a
superb record of 12,400 runs at an average of more than 57 with 38 hundreds.
Last month, he scored 171 for Surrey against Somerset at The Oval in the
County Championship.
But the 38-year-old left-hander, appearing on a platform with England
pacemen Stuart Broad and Steven Finn,
said he had no regrets.
“I think I’ve had my time facing Stuart
(Broad) and Jimmy (Anderson) and fast
bowlers at international level,” said Sangakkara.
“I thought I might miss it more, but I
am quite at peace with the decision I’ve
made.”
Australian
Tait replaces
Hastings in
Kolkata in IPL
Australian fast bowler
Shaun Tait (pictured)
has joined Indian Premier
League side Kolkata Knight
Riders for the rest of the season, replacing compatriot
John Hastings who returned
home with an ankle injury.
Tait, who went unsold in
auctions held in February
for IPL teams, joins a long
list of Australian players taking part in the latest edition
of the cash-rich league.
“Pleasure to welcome @
shaun_tait32 to @KKRiders
family. Welcome Taity!,”
Kolkata chief executive
Venky Mysore wrote on
Twitter.
The 33-year-old speedster
will join fellow Australians
Chris Lynn and Brad Hogg
at KKR, which is in a strong
position to qualify for the
playoffs.
Tait is set for a second
IPL stint after previously
representing the former
Rajasthan Royals, where
he picked up 23 wickets at
an average of 27.82 in 21
matches.
Tait, who quit one-day
internationals in 2011, has
made a mark on Twenty20
cricket with an impressive
performance in Australia’s
Big Bash league.
He is known for bowling the
second-fastest ball in cricket
history, which clocked 161.1
kilometres per hour (100.1
miles per hour), in an ODI
against England at Lord’s in
2010.
BRIEF SCORES: Sunrisers Hyderabad 146
for 8 in 20 overs (Warner 46, Dhawan 34;
Mishra 2 for 19, Coulter-Nile 2 for 25) lost to
Delhi Daredevils 150 for 3 in 18.1 overs (De
Kock 44, Pant 39 not out, Samson 34 not
out; Moises Henriques 2 for 19) by seven
wickets
BOTTOMLINE
Arise King Kohli as Gayle force loses power
riors in 2013 which remains the highest
score in T20 cricket.
AFP
New Delhi
S
elf-styled ‘Universe Boss’ Chris
Gayle is having to confront his
waning powers after a collapse in
form, watching from the bench as
Virat Kohli takes on his mantle as cricket’s superstar batsman.
Since bludgeoning a 48-ball century
in the West Indies’ opening match of the
World Twenty20 in March, Gayle has
failed to get into double figures in one of
his worst runs of form in a glittering career.
Although the West Indies won the
tournament, Gayle’s contribution after
his early fireworks against England was
negligible and he has also been in uncharacteristically meek form in the Indian
Premier League.
After scores of one, nought and seven,
Kohli axed Gayle from the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team at the
weekend in favour of Australian rookie
Travis Head and again omitted him for
Monday’s match against Kings XI Punjab.
While he was recalled to open the
batting against the Mumbai Indians on
Wednesday, he was soon back on the
bench after scoring only five before being
caught by Rohit Sharma off Tim Southee’s bowling.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Captain Virat Kohli (right) and Chris Gayle. (AFP)
“The thing is that in this game it is
not reputation but your current form
that matters,” Indian sports journalist V
Krishnaswamy told AFP.
RCB skipper Kohli did not spare Gayle’s
blushes when he spoke of the decision to
drop him, denying he was rested after
recently becoming a father but instead
backing the 22-year-old Head to bring
“more solidity”.
Such an assessment would have stung
a player who has never been coy about
his own ability and calls himself the
“Universe Boss” on his Twitter account
where he posts pictures and videos of
his high jinks with Kohli, including their
dance routines and appearances at fan
fests.
Since the IPL began in 2008, Gayle has
been the tournament’s top overseas star,
thrilling fans with performances such as
his unbeaten 175 against the Pune War-
‘YOUNG MAN’S GAME’
But Krishnaswamy said that the 36-yearold was showing signs of his age.
“In this format you’ve got to be on
your toes. It is a young man’s game. Also
whether you are a senior or not, you are
only as good as your last performance.
“Sure he is a match-winner on his day
but unfortunately there haven’t been any
Chris Gayle days of late.”
Gayle’s decline in this year’s IPL mirrors his poor run in the most recent Big
Bash League in Australia where he passed
50 only once and was widely slated for
sexist behaviour after flirting with a female interviewer on live television.
But while Gayle’s fortunes have waned,
those of his Bangalore skipper Kohli have
been waxing dramatically.
He has already scored 568 runs in
this year’s IPL, including two centuries,
putting him well on course to beat Gayle’s
record of 733 for the tournament with a
possible seven games still to play.
Lacking the natural six-hitting ability
of Gayle, Kohli has sometimes struggled
to translate his form in Test cricket into
the shortest format.
But the 27-year-old eclipsed all his rivals in the recent World T20 in India where
he was named player of the tournament.
Uncapped Vince,
Ball in squad for
Sri Lanka opener
AFP
London
U
ncapped duo James
Vince and Josh Ball
were both named yesterday in England’s 12man squad for next week’s first
Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley.
Hampshire batsman Vince
could well make his Test debut
in Leeds, given there is now a vacancy following the retirement
through illness of James Taylor.
Nottinghamshire
paceman
Ball, meanwhile, looks set to
compete with Steven Finn for the
third seamer role in an attack set
to be led by James Anderson and
Stuart Broad.
Vince, 25, already has five England limited-overs caps. His batting style has been compared to
that of former England captain
Michael Vaughan.
The Hampshire captain has
made a sound start to the season, including scoring a hundred
against county champions Yorkshire at Headingley in Leeds,
northern England.
Ball, also 25, has made his case
with 19 Championship wickets
for Nottinghamshire so far this
season.
“Both Jake Ball and James
Vince thoroughly deserve their
opportunity, having performed
well with the England Lions (the
national A or reserve side) and
starting the season in good form
with their respective counties,”
said national selector James
Whitaker in an England and
Wales Cricket Board statement.
“James has been a consistent performer for Hampshire
and England Lions over the past
few years. He is already wellregarded by the England coaches
in the short format and now has
the opportunity to showcase his
skills at Test level.”
Meanwhile Vince, recalling
his Headingley hundred, told
Hampshire’s website: “Obviously I was there not long ago, and it
was nice to spend some time in
Alastair Cook needs 36 runs to
become the first Englishman to
score 10,000 in Tests. (Reuters)
the middle.
“But this is going to be a different feeling...It’s something
I’ve been aiming for since I was
a little kid really. Definitely when
I was growing up, playing for
England in a Test was still the
number one.”
England will again be captained by Alastair Cook, with
the Essex left-hander needing
just 36 more runs to become the
first Englishman to score 10,000
in Tests.
Alex Hales looks set to keep
his place as Cook’s opening partner, with Nick Compton in line to
be given another opportunity at
number three in what will be England’s first Test campaign since
their series win in South Africa.
At Headingley two years ago,
Sri Lanka won a thrilling match
with just one ball remaining to
claim a 1-0 Test series victory.
This time around Sri Lanka are
without batting greats Kumar
Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, both now retired from
international cricket.
The first Test, which starts at
Headingley on May 19, is the first
of a three-match series.
England first Test squad:
Alastair Cook (capt), Moeen Ali,
James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow
(wkt), Jake Ball, Stuart Broad,
Nick Compton, Steven Finn, Alex
Hales, Joe Root, Ben Stokes,
James Vince
India in talks with Australia for
day-night Test: Sutherland
India wants to host a day-night Test against Australia early next
year, according to a report, as the world’s richest cricket board
continues its backing of the concept which seems to be taking
root in the subcontinent.
Australia and New Zealand played the first floodlit Test last November at Adelaide Oval and have found takers in Asia.
India and Pakistan are schedule to play twilight Tests this year
while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are considering following suit
pending the results of domestic trials.
The Indian cricket board (BCCI) announced last month it would host
a floodlit Test against New Zealand when the Black Caps tour later
this year and they now want to play one against Australia next year,
Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland has said.
“I think there’s certainly some positive signals coming out of India
and other parts of the world (on day-night Tests),” Sutherland said
on Big Sports Breakfast radio.
“Indicatively they’ve started to talking to us about the prospect of
playing a day-night Test match against Australia when Australia
tours in February and March of next year.
“That’s just a pretty strong indicator of where things are at.”
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur did not respond to message and
calls from Reuters seeking comment.
The first floodlit Test at Adelaide Oval lasted only three days
raising doubts if the pink ball can last the duration of the required
number of overs in an innings.
But the Test also attracted more than 123,000 fans through the
gates at the picturesque ground, a welcome sight at a time when
the game’s longest format is grappling with dwindling crowds with
the advent of the shortest Twenty20 format.
With authorities across the globe warming up to the idea, the
subcontinent, the game’s commercial hub, has now embraced the
concept.
Pakistan will play a day-night Test in Australia in December and
might play one before that, against West Indies in October, provided the Caribbean nations agree to the proposal.
Even Sri Lanka, who turned down Pakistan’s proposal to play a
day-night Test in 2013 citing their inexperience with the pink ball,
are now considering the option.
West Indies commentator Cozier
dies at 75
Tony Cozier, a legendary West Indies cricket writer and commentator for more than a half century, died Wednesday morning in
Barbados, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced. He
was 75. Cozier was born in Bridgetown, where the press box at the
Kensington Oval cricket grounds is named for him in tribute to his
work as a journalist, radio and television analyst and historian.
The son of Barbados journalist Jimmy Cozier, a newspaper
founder in his homeland and managing editor in St. Lucia, studied
journalism at Canada’s Carleton University before starting his career as a reporter in 1958, working with retired West Indies cricket
legend Everton Weekes after becoming an editor at the Barbados
Daily News.
Cozier, a wicket keeper and field hockey goalkeeper in younger
days, edited all 22 editions of the West Indies Cricket Annual and
wrote “The West Indies: 50 Years of Test Cricket” in 1978.
Known to many as the voice of West Indies cricket, he began test
cricket radio commentary in 1965 when the Caribbean lineup
faced Australia and also handled television commentator duties
for the BBC, Sky Sports and Australia’s Channel Nine.
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
3
FOOTBALL
SPOTLIGHT
REACTION
Allardyce wants
Sunderland to shed
escape artists tag
‘I’m relieved to go to Vicarage Road (to play Watford) with nothing on the line... But a
club like this can’t be cheering and doing a lap of honour just for escaping relegation’
Fans’ support
‘humbling’ for
Norwich boss Neil
Norwich manager Alex Neil applauds the fans.
AFP
Norwich
N
orwich City manager
Alex Neil declared that
he felt humbled by the
reception of the club’s
supporters after their relegation
from the Premier League.
The Canaries beat Watford
4-2 on Wednesday thanks to two
goals from Dieumerci Mbokani,
one from Nathan Redmond and
an own goal by Hornets defender
Craig Cathcart.
But the result ended up counting for nothing as Sunderland beat
Everton 3-0 to confirm that neither Norwich nor Newcastle United can now climb out of the bottom three on Sunday’s final day.
That Sunderland were winning comfortably was known
long before the final whistle at
Carrow Road on a night when
Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo
scored for the visitors.
But the home fans stayed to
applaud the players as well as
singing Neil’s name.
Whether he will still be in
charge at the start of next season
in the Championship remains to
be seen, but the Scot was certainly moved by the acclaim he
received.
“That, for me, was really, really humbling,” he said.
“I feel as if I’ve let them down.
I feel as if we’ve come up short
as a group, as a club. For them to
respond in that way, I didn’t expect. I think it’s really unusual.
“I can only thank them for
that. It makes it even more dif-
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce reacts after his team’s Barclays Premier League match against Everton at the The Stadium of Light.
AFP
London
S
underland manager Sam Allardyce steeled the club for a crucial close season as they bid to
end their reputation as Premier
League relegation escape specialists.
Allardyce hailed the club’s “miraculous” effort to secure their top-flight
future with a game to spare after a 3-0
victory over Everton on Wednesday condemned neighbours Newcastle United
and Norwich City to join Aston Villa in
the Championship next season.
Allardyce’s future would have been
uncertain had Sunderland failed to upset
the odds by clambering out of the bottom
three for a fourth season in a row.
But after guaranteeing a 10th consecutive Premier League campaign, the
61-year-old said that he was relishing
the challenge of helping to ensure “great
escapes” become a thing of the past.
“We’re safe with a game left and that’s
pretty miraculous,” Allardyce said.
“I’m relieved to go to Vicarage Road (to
play Watford) with nothing on the line. Yes,
I am staying next season, but a club like this
can’t be cheering and doing a lap of honour
just for escaping from relegation.”
The January additions of midfielders Wahbi Khazri and Jan Kirchhoff, and
Ivory Coast defender Lamine Kone—who
scored twice as Roberto Martinez’s side
were comprehensively beaten—have
proved crucial in Sunderland’s latest
successful survival bid.
‘GREAT RELIEF’
Former Newcastle manager Allardyce
added: “From January, we’ve been a
team. Our signings in that window have
proved crucial and now the next set of
recruitment over the summer is just as
important.
“We’ve secured the financial side of
things by staying in the division. That
puts us on a par with all the other clubs
in the Premier League next season. The
important thing now is that spend the
money wisely on players.
“This season is the worst season you
could ever get relegated, with the £5 billion ($7.2 billion, 6.3 billion euros) TV
deal kicking in, so we’ve secured massive
revenue levels the club has never seen before and it’s a great relief to the staff that
there won’t be any cutbacks.
“They’ve said ‘never again’ the past
three seasons here after escaping from
relegation, and that has to happen this
time.
“There were some grim days in December, with five defeats in a row, and
the only way forward was to get into the
market in January. That was the only way
we could survive.”
Allardyce said that relegating his old
club Newcastle did not hold any greater
satisfaction and revealed that he had
used the words of his predecessor, Dick
Advocaat, as motivation for his squad after the departing Dutchman tipped Sunderland for relegation in October.
“What’s sweet is proving Dick wrong,”
Allardyce said.
“It was a challenge for me when he said
this team was going to get relegated. I’ve
got the utmost respect for him and I’m
not criticising him, but I’ve used that as
motivation for the players.”
Beleaguered Martinez brushed off
questions over his future after Everton
again succumbed to defeat, sparked
by Patrick van Aanholt’s 38th-minute
free-kick.
The Goodison Park side are in free-fall
after one win in their last 10 games and
cannot now secure a top-half finish.
The Spaniard admits that they have
found it difficult to come to terms with
their FA Cup semi-final exit to Manchester United last month.
“It was a tough result for us to take because we started well, but we didn’t have
too much in the final third,” he said.
“We fought for every ball and put in a
lot of effort. What we focus on now is the
final game on Sunday (at home to Norwich City).
“All you have to do is prepare for the
next game and try to get the win. The
players gave everything they had, but
since we played in the semi-final, it’s
been difficult to get that intensity in the
league.”
BOTTOMLINE
Calm down! Klopp urges patience
AFP
Liverpool
L
iverpool manager Jurgen
Klopp was thrilled with
his side’s late equaliser
in their 1-1 draw against
Chelsea at Anfield, but bemoaned
his players’ lack of patience.
Eden Hazard’s fine finish for
Chelsea in Wednesday’s Premier
League game left Liverpool staring at a first home reverse since
the 1-0 defeat by Manchester
United on January 17.
However, an injury-time
header from Christian Benteke ensured a point apiece and
maintained the buoyant mood in
the red half of the city.
Liverpool face Sevilla in the Europa League next Wednesday with
both silverware and a Champions
League place up for grabs and
Klopp believes this result will provide his side with precious momentum and confidence.
But he wants his team to learn
the art of remaining calm when
everything is not quite going to
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp acknowledges fans.
plan. “I said to my players after
the game it was the most important game of the season because we could learn most from
it,” said the German, whose side
remain eighth, 10 points above
Chelsea.
“We showed in the first 15
minutes what we are capable of.
We were great—wonderful football, without scoring.
“But there was not enough
faith in our own quality so we
lost patience and when you lose
patience in football it’s always
difficult.
“Without patience, we lost formation. We had a lot of moments
around the box when we shot
when we should have passed.
“I love this stadium and atmosphere, but everybody lost
patience tonight, the crowd too.
It’s quite difficult to say ‘Be pa-
tient’ when everybody is shouting ‘Run!’
“We all don’t trust our quality.
That’s what we have to learn. We
can learn that in the future, and
we will.”
Klopp
praised
Chelsea’s
showing and accepted that the
result could have gone in the
other direction, but for a strong
second-half defensive showing
from his side.
He added: “They could have
scored the second, but (goalkeeper) Simon Mignolet did brilliant and Kolo (Toure) and Dejan
(Lovren) had one or two situations
where they saved our lives.”
HAZARD’S ‘BEAUTIFUL GOAL’
Guus Hiddink is coming to the
end of his temporary tenure as
Chelsea manager, but he has
succeeded in repairing some of
the damage caused by the disastrous start to the season under
Jose Mourinho.
He was close to pulling off
an impressive Anfield win until Benteke intervened, but although he felt his side should
have held on, he was satisfied
with their display.
“Of course, it’s a big disappointment to concede in the last
minute,” he said. “But I think
Chelsea played the perfect game.
“Defensively, we were well organised and offensively we had
the intensity to score a beautiful
goal through Eden.
“We should have killed the
game off and we had two or three
chances, but even though they
equalised, we can be satisfied with
the performance of the team.”
Hazard’s goal was a delight—
the winger weaving through a
crowd of defenders before coolly
beating Mignolet—and it confirmed that he is back to top form
and fitness after a quiet season.
The Belgian has come in for an
enormous amount of criticism
for his anonymous showings this
term and Hiddink believes he has
more than answered his doubters.
“In every job you have criticism and it’s how you deal with
it,” said Hiddink, who will give
way to Italy manager Antonio
Conte at the season’s end.
ficult for me to accept that we’ve
come up short.”
Norwich are not a club known
for hiring and firing managers.
Neil, at 34, is one of the youngest
in the profession and took them
up from the second tier in his
first season in charge.
But he offered no indication
that he was expecting to stay.
“I’m saying there’s discussions to be had with the club,”
he said. “The club’s got to decide what road they want to go
down and how they’re going to
go about it for next season.
“I want to sit down with the
owners and have a good chat
with them and see where they
are. I’ve had nothing but support
since I’ve been at this club. I’ve
got absolutely no complaints.
“They’ve given me their utmost support. I can’t grumble
about any of it.”
Remarkably, Watford manager
Quique Sanchez Flores appears
more likely to find himself in
need of a new job.
Watford came up with Norwich last season and never allowed themselves to become
embroiled in a relegation battle.
Flores also led them to a Wembley FA Cup semi-final, where
they lost to Crystal Palace, but
despite a satisfying season he is
expected to be replaced by club
owners the Pozzo family.
“The contract is very clear,”
Flores said. “We need to meet,
to say what is our feelings. Both
parties need to decide. We chose
this kind of contract and after
one year it’s important to share
feelings.”
SADNESS
Newcastle issue
apology to fans after
getting relegated
AFP
Newcastle
N
ewcastle United’s managing director issued
an apology to fans after
Wednesday’s relegation from the Premier League,
saying the club were “devastated” and “truly sorry”.
Bitter north-east neighbours
Sunderland’s 3-0 win at home
to Everton on Wednesday was
enough to put Newcastle in the
Championship as they were consigned to the dreaded drop the
alongside Norwich City and Aston Villa.
“Tonight we are devastated at
our relegation from the Premier
League, as I know every single
person connected to this football club will be,” said managing
director Lee Charnley in a statement on the club’s website.
“I want to thank all of the fans
for the support you have shown
for the club you love throughout
the season, in spite of this massive disappointment and underachievement.
“Your support throughout has
been magnificent, but I want to
pay particular thanks for the incredible backing you have given
to Rafa (Benitez) and the team
during the latter part of the season.
“Nothing more could be asked
of you and I am truly sorry we
have not given you the outcome
you deserve.”
Newcastle’s demotion, which
comes 12 months after a last-day
victory against West Ham preserved their Premier League status, puts the future of manager
Rafael Benitez in doubt.
The Spaniard was in charge of
giants Real Madrid at the start of
the season before being sacked in
January.
Benitez took over from Steve
“Tonight we are devastated
at our relegation from
the Premier League, as I
know every single person
connected to this football
club will be”
McClaren in March, but with
a reported release clause in his
contract that could be triggered
if the club were relegated.
“We know that supporters
want to know what the future
holds and will want to hear more
from us as soon as possible,”
added Charnley.
“Right now, of course, Rafa
and the team must prepare for
the final game of the season but
after that, please rest assured
we will communicate more fully
with supporters.”
Some players took to social
media to express their feelings.
“Absolutely gutted! But we
have to pick up and start again
to come back stronger,” tweeted
Newcastle defender Jamaal Lascelles.
Former players vented their
anger, with record goal-scorer
Alan Shearer tweeting: “You
can’t pretend it hadn’t been
coming.
“@NUFC not learned lessons from 2009. Hard as it is for
me to say, well done Sam and @
SunderlandAFC,” added Shearer,
referring to their last relegation
from the Premier League.
Newcastle now hold the unwanted title of being the most
expensively assembled side to
be relegated from the Premier
League, according to the UK’s
Daily Telegraph.
The club’s net expenditure of
£80 million ($115 million, 101
million euros) on players this
season is second only to Manchester City in English football.
Champions Leicester City’s
net spend, by contrast, was just
over £30 million.
4
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
FOOTBALL
SPOTLIGHT
APPEAL
Pochettino extends
his Tottenham
contract until 2021
‘It was an easy decision for my coaching staff and I because we can feel the
appreciation of everyone here. There is no better place to be right now’
Baffled Kuwait clubs
plead with FIFA to
end exclusion
Reuters
Mexico City
K
uwait’s clubs are baffled
by their country’s exclusion from international
soccer and have urged
FIFA to end the dispute they say
they have nothing to do with.
The Kuwait FA (KFA) was suspended by FIFA in October after
soccer’s governing body said a
draft sports law constituted interference in the nation’s football
association.
The clubs have sent a delegation, headed by the captain of the
country’s 1982 World Cup side, to
lobby national football associations to vote for an end to the ban
at Friday’s annual FIFA Congress.
“There is nothing that can be
considered to be against the FIFA
statutes,” Kuwaiti MP Abdullah
al-Maayouf told Reuters. “Much
of the information that FIFA gets
is wrong.
“What is very strange is they
placed us under these sanctions
before any law was passed, it was
just a draft. We cannot be banned
for something that has not happened.”
The suspension means Kuwait
teams cannot play international
matches, including World Cup
qualifiers, international club
competitions, transfer players
abroad or receive FIFA funds.
The nation has also been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), putting
Kuwait’s participation at the Rio
de Janeiro Games in August in
doubt.
However, sources close to the
Kuwait clubs said some sporting federations had looked at the
situation and found no grounds
for suspension.
A letter from FIFA to the KFA
in October, seen by Reuters, said
the ban would only be lifted
when “the Kuwait FA and its
members (the clubs) will be able
to carry out their activities and
obligations independently”.
The
delegation
includes
former midfielder Saad al-Houti
who captained Kuwait’s 1982
World Cup team.
“This is very hard to accept,”
he said. “We just want to show
we are separate from the government and we want to return
things as they were before because this is doing us very great
harm.”
Al-Houti is hoping that, following Gianni Infantino’s election as FIFA president in September, soccer’s governing body
can be more sympathetic.
“Three are new leaders in the
FIFA so we hope they will be
more understanding of the problems and find a solution,” he said.
Czech FA suspends drunk referees
The Czech Football Association (FACR) on Thursday
banned two referees who appeared drunk on the pitch during a top-flight game between
FK Pribram and Slavia Prague
the day before.
The FACR said fourth official
Marek Pilny and additional assistant referee Jiri Jech would
lose their licences and face
disciplinary action.
“Pilny was visibly drunk from
the beginning of the game,” the
association said in a statement.
“He struggled for balance by
the touchline, he fell, at times
he ran with the linesman copying his movements.”
“After 10 minutes he had to be
guarded by a bodyguard, and at
halftime Pilny left for the chang-
ing rooms and never came
back,” the association said.
It added additional assistant
Jech was “also under the influence of alcohol and allegedly
even peed during the game.”
FA head Miroslav Pelta said
the game’s referee and two
linesmen would be suspended
until the end of the season
because they failed to prevent
the situation.
He showed no mercy for the
two, whose staggering and
tottering is depicted in videos
posted on YouTube.
“They were not tipsy, they
were drunk. They don’t exist
for us any more,” said Pelta.
Slavia won the game 3-1,
securing fifth spot in the top
flight with one game to play.
File picture of Tottenham Hotspur’s Argentinian head coach Mauricio Pochettino looking on during the English Premier League match against Manchester United.
AFP
London
T
ottenham Hotspur manager
Mauricio Pochettino has extended his contract until 2021, the
Premier League club announced
yesterday.
The highly regarded Argentine, 44,
arrived from Southampton in 2014 and
came close to leading Spurs to their first
league title since 1961 this season, only
for them to lose out to Leicester City.
His assistants Jesus Perez, Miguel
D’Agostino and Toni Jimenez have also
extended their contracts.
“I could not be happier to sign this new
contract,” Pochettino said in comments
published on Tottenham’s official Twitter account.
“It was an easy decision for my coach-
ing staff and I because we can feel the appreciation of everyone here. There is no
better place to be right now.”
Pochettino revealed two weeks ago
that he had agreed a new contract, but
Thursday’s announcement will come as
something of a relief to Spurs fans after the former Argentina defender was
linked to the Manchester United job.
His previous contract had been due to
expire in 2019.
REVITALISED SPURS
Pochettino has revitalised Tottenham,
helping to bring through young English
players like Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric
Dier and earning plaudits for the quality
and intensity of his team’s football.
Spurs have secured a Champions
League place for the first time since
2010-11 and will be assured of finishing second—their highest position since
1963 — if they avoid defeat at Newcastle
United on Sunday.
“We have seen Mauricio bring a tremendous spirit and ethos to our club and
embrace the attacking style of play with
which we have always been associated,”
chairman Daniel Levy told the club website.
“He has built a squad of youth and
experience and this season we have seen
football played at the highest level—quite
sublime at times.
“Everyone at the club is delighted he
has agreed an extended contract and we
all look forward to working with him in
the coming seasons. I know he is as ambitious for our club as we all are.”
The new contract means that Pochettino, who guided Spurs to a fifth-place
finish in his first season, stands to be at
the helm when the club move into their
new 61,000-seater stadium, which is
scheduled to open in 2018.
Looking to the future, Pochettino said:
“The supporters are unbelievable, we
have assembled a great group of players with huge potential that can get even
better, while the facilities we have to
work in are world-class.
“We also have an incredible new stadium to look forward to and now we are determined to build a side worthy of playing in such an exciting new venue.
“We have enjoyed a great season and
we believe this is just the beginning. We
have a long-term project and huge belief
that we can achieve something big here
for the future.
“This club has all the ingredients to
continue to challenge at the very top in
both the Premier League and in Europe
and we want to be here to be a part of
what I believe will be a special period in
the club’s history.”
BOTTOMLINE
Everton sack manager Martinez
AFP
Liverpool
E
verton have sacked manager Roberto Martinez,
the Premier League club
announced yesterday,
confirming widespread reports
in the British media.
In place since joining from
Wigan Athletic in 2013, the
42-year-old Spaniard paid the
price for a run of one win in 10
league games and an FA Cup
semi-final defeat at the hands of
Manchester United.
“Everton Football Club regrets to announce that Roberto
Martinez has left his position as
first team manager with immediate effect,” the club announced
in a statement on their website.
Martinez departs with Everton
12th in the league table ahead of
their final game of the season at
home to Norwich City on Sunday.
“The chairman and the board
of directors would like to place
on record their thanks for the
dedication and commitment
File picture of Everton’s Spanish manager Roberto Martinez.
Roberto has shown during his
three seasons with the club,”
Everton added.
“Roberto has been a great ambassador for the club, conducting himself, at all times, with the
utmost integrity and dignity.
“He secured the club its highest ever Premier League points
total, a place in the last 16 of the
Europa League and appearances
in both domestic cup semi-finals.
“He has also played a key role
in the development of several
young players, managing their
progression to the Everton first
team and international honours.”
The club also announced that
they have postponed their endof-season awards ceremony,
which had been due to take place
in Liverpool on Thursday.
Martinez joined Everton after
leading Wigan to FA Cup glory
and relegation in the same season, replacing the Manchester
United-bound David Moyes,
and took the Merseyside club
to a fifth-place finish in his first
season.
He promised to steer Everton
into the Champions League, but
they finished 11th last season
and have failed to compete for a
European place this season, de-
spite reaching the semi-finals of
both domestic cups.
Martinez has helped to bring
on talented young players such
as England internationals John
Stones and Ross Barkley and
prolific Belgian striker Romelu
Lukaku.
But his team’s defensive
shortcomings have become increasingly apparent in recent
months and he has angered supporters by repeatedly emphasising the positives.
A banner saying “TIME TO
GO ROBERTO” was flown over
Goodison Park during their 2-1
win over Bournemouth last
month and fans remained in the
ground after the match to protest against him and chairman
Bill Kenwright.
Martinez’s sacking follows
Iranian businessman Farhad
Moshiri’s arrival in February as
the club’s new majority shareholder.
Frank de Boer, who left Dutch
giants Ajax earlier on Thursday,
has been touted as a potential
candidate to succeed Martinez.
MOVING ON
Frank de Boer quits
as Ajax coach
AFP
Amsterdam
A
jax coach and former
Dutch
international
Frank de Boer announced
yesterday
he was quitting the Amsterdam club after failing to win the
Dutch title.
“Frank de Boer is quitting as
Ajax trainer. He told the club’s
board in a meeting,” Ajax said in a
statement issued in Amsterdam.
De Boer’s announcement
comes after Ajax drew 1-1 against
minnows De Graafschap on Sunday while defending champions
PSV retained their hold on the
trophy with a 3-1 victory against
PEC Zwolle.
Ajax needed a win to claim the
34th championship in the club’s
116-year history.
PSV’s victory saw wild parties in their southern home base
Eindhoven, but in the Dutch capital many Ajax fans slinked off in
despair at the end of the highly
anticipated televised match.
“After four national championships the 2014-15 season was
a disappointment and we wanted
to fix it this season,” said De Boer,
a former Ajax player, in the statement.
“We’ve done everything. But
alas, what we hoped for and were
expecting didn’t happen.
“I’m realising more-andmore that it’s time to do something else. It’s better for me and
it’s better for Ajax,” said De Boer,
indicating that he may take a year
off from any coaching duties.
“It’s an option, but I’ll wait
and see what lies ahead on the
road.”
De Boer’s last official job will
be taking the team on a seasonending tour to China, leaving
from the Netherlands on Friday,
Ajax said.
His contract is due to run
through until mid-2017 and Ajax
File picture of Ajax Amsterdam
club’s coach Frank de Boer.
said they still hope he’ll change
his mind, although a club statement said the search for a successor is underway.
De Boer’s resignation “was
not a big surprise, as over the
last few months we’ve been discussing his future at Ajax”, club
director and legendary former
Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der
Sar said.
“But as all contracts of signed
players run through until 2017
and because Frank is enormously
ambitious, I still hope he’d want
to serve out the contract,” Van
der Sar added in the statement.
He had high praise for De Boer,
saying he was an “excellent ambassador for the club who always
made time for the fans, the media, the club’s social upliftment
projects and sponsors”.
Former Dutch defender De
Boer, who took the field 112 times
for the Oranje, made a name for
himself as assistant coach of the
national squad thaty reached the
2010 World Cup final in South
Africa, where they lost to Spain.
De Boer took Ajax to four
straight league titles from 2011
to 2014. Dutch and international
media reported that De Boer’s
most likely successor could be
Macabbi Tel Aviv trainer and fellow Dutchman Peter Bosz.
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
FOOTBALL
SPOTLIGHT
IN SHORT
Spain’s Euro hopes
pinned on silent
saviour Iniesta
‘It happens often that players are written off. But now Iniesta is in one of the best
moments of his life. Let’s hope he arrives like that in France’
New Bayern coach Ancelotti tells
Goetze to switch clubs
Incoming Bayern Munich
coach Carlo Ancelotti has
told Germany forward Mario
Goetze to look for a new club
if he wants more playing time,
the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ)
said late Wednesday.
Citing sources close to the Italian coach, the paper said that
Ancelotti informed Goetze
by phone last week “that
he could not promise him a
different role to the one he
currently has” - spending most
of the time on the subs bench.
“Goetze got the clear signal
from Ancelotti last week: If
Goetze wants to play on a
regular basis, according to
Ancelotti, then he would recommend him to switch clubs,”
the SZ said.
Goetze, who scored Germany’s winning goal in the
2014 World Cup final, came to
Munich for 37 million euros
(42.2 million dollars) in 2013
from Borussia Dortmund on a
contract until 2017.
But Pep Guardiola has not
fielded him regularly and the
23-year-old has hardly played
since a February comeback
from injury.
This will not change under
Ancelotti as the SZ said “he
seemingly found no reason
why he should dramatically
change the structure and hierarchy of the squad.”
The SZ said that Goetze can
leave for “20 million euros
plus X,” amid speculation of a
return to Dortmund, but also
interest from Juventus, Arsenal, and Liverpool who are
managed by Goetze’s former
Dortmund coach Juergen
Klopp.
Goetze also needs playing
time to retain his place in
the German national team
although coach Joachim Loew
considers him an important
player for upcoming Euro
2016.
Dortmund sign rising French star
Dembele
Borussia Dortmund signed
France’s young player of the
year Ousmane Dembele from
Rennes on Thursday, the German club fighting off strong
English Premier League interest in the teenage forward.
Dortmund called the 18-yearold “one of Europe’s most
sought after talents” in a statement announcing the transfer
on a five-year contract.
The Bundesliga side did not
give a figure for the deal, but
German media said the fee
was in the region of 15 million
euros (£11.8m, $17.1m).
British media had earlier
reported that Liverpool were
ready to offer £28 million for
the France under-21 international, who was voted Ligue 1’s
young player of the year last
weekend.
Dembele, born in Normandy,
has been a revelation for
Rennes this season, scoring
12 goals and and five assists
since making his debut in
November.
“Ousmane can play nearly
every position in attack,”
Dortmund’s sporting director
Michael Zorc told the club’s
website.
“He is strong one-on-one, he
can play with both feet, he
is good at nutmegging and
dribbling, and he is fast and
dangerous in front of goal.”
Dortmund have been tracking
the young talent for a long
time.
“BVB showed a lot of interest
in me right from an early
stage and they have always
kept close contact with me this really impressed me,” said
Dembele, who came close to
leaving Rennes last summer
before making a single topteam appearance.
“I can hardly wait to play in the
Bundesliga in front of more
than 80 000 spectators in the
Signal Iduna Park and to walk
onto the pitch in the Champions League with my new
team-mates,” he added.
News of his signing emerged
48 hours after Bayern Munich
prised away Dortmund’s
captain, Germany centre-back
Mats Hummels.
Wilmots laments lack of Kompany
for Belgium squad
File picture of Spain’s midfielder Andres Iniesta (L) controlling the ball next to his teammate Gerard Pique during a training session.
AFP
Barcelona
S
ix years from delivering the most
important strike of a football in
Spanish history, Andres Iniesta
remains the cornerstone of a La
Roja side hoping to rekindle former glories at Euro 2016.
Iniesta’s extra-time goal in the 2010
World Cup final against the Netherlands
will be his lasting legacy. But Iniesta’s
technique, quick-feet as a midfielder and
humble off-field demeanour have been
pillars around which Spain’s back-toback European Championship victories
have been built.
The Barcelona captain will be one of
the few remaining figures from all of
Spain’s three consecutive major tournament triumphs between 2008 and 2012
amongst Vicente del Bosque’s squad in
France.
More significantly, of those left from
that glory run, Iniesta’s inclusion is the
most undisputed.
Whilst, Del Bosque’s loyalty to Iker
Casillas and Cesc Fabregas—despite a
dramatic dip in their club form—has been
questioned, Iniesta, completing his 14th
season at Barcelona, has shone for his
side over the past two years.
Iniesta was named in the FIFA world XI
for the seventh time last year.
“It happens often that players are
written off,” said Del Bosque recently.
“But now Iniesta is in one of the best
moments of his life. Let’s hope he arrives
like that in France.
“We have to support each other in
what we see, not in what we assume
things will be.”
Such is his importance, Del Bosque
even left Iniesta out for friendly matches
against Italy and Romania in March to
give his 31-year-old legs extra rest ahead
of the demands of a fourth international
tournament in five years.
Without his sidekick of many years
Xavi Hernandez, Barca’s style has become slightly more direct to accomodate
the talents of a forward line containing
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.
Yet, for Spain, the loss of Xavi and Xabi
Alonso to international retirement has
made Iniesta’s ability to set the tempo of
the game and breakdown mass ranks of
opposition defence even more crucial.
“He’s so good that it is impossible not
to play him,” said Iniesta’s former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.
“Nobody has a better reading of space
and time than him.
“But, above that, he has the ability to
unbalance opposition teams. He is the
player that always kills you in attacks and
he is always there in the biggest games.”
Yet, just as key to Iniesta’s status as a
national treasure in Spain as his World
Cup winner, is a humility often at odds
with modern footballers.
Iniesta joined Barcelona as a 12-yearold and been a rock through a career with
four Champions League and seven Spanish league titles.
“Hero? No way,” he told El Pais on how
his life changed after that goal against the
Netherlands in Johannesburg.
“Heroes fight against illnesses, or people who have to emigrate to feed their
children.
“I am privileged that I play football
and that at times I have the luck to make
people happy by scoring a goal or giving a
pass to help win a game.
“That is the good thing about this
national team, that we have given joyful days to these anonymous heroes that
don’t often get the chance to smile.”
Whether the remnants of Spain’s
golden generation have a final day of joy
to offer with a third consecutive Euro title will depend much on Iniesta producing his magic on the big stage once more
in France.
BOTTOMLINE
Turan seeks to shine on Euro stage
Galatasaray this month.
“It’s an example for young
people who dream. Because this
is a success story. It shows there
is a way in a profession by starting right at the bottom and going
to the top.”
AFP
Istanbul
A
rda Turan, who rose
from a tough upbringing in a working class
Istanbul district to join
Barcelona in the highest-profile
move ever by a Turkish footballer, has to prove his international
class at Euro 2016.
No other Turkish player
comes close to the profile of
Turan, who moved to Atletico
Madrid in 2011 and became a pillar before moving on to Barcelona, a team he describes as one of
the best in football history.
Despite his dream move all has
not been plain sailing for Turan
at Barca. He had to wait until
2016 for his debut due to a transfer ban and he has yet to secure
a regular first team place amid
rumours the team could sell him.
But Turan prides himself on
overcoming adversity and nothing could set him apart more
than spearheading a successful
performance by Turkey in its
File picture of Barcelona’s Arda Turan during his presentation.
first international competition
in eight years.
“I think it is a beautiful story
right from the start,” Turan
said of his career in an article
for the magazine of his old club
‘ONE OF BEST TEAMS EVER’
Turan, 29, was born in the Istanbul suburb of Bayrampasa in
1987, and his first matches were
for the gritty western district’s
local team Altintepsi Makelspor.
After his move to Barcelona,
the authorities in Bayrampasa
announced that they had named
the street where he grew up
“Arda Turan Street” in his honour.
He was snapped up in 2005
by Istanbul giants Galatasaray,
a club to whom he retains an intense loyalty.
Then came Atletico Madrid,
where he was a huge favourite
with fans and won La Liga in
2013-2014 under Diego Simeone, before his sensational
transfer to Barca in 2015.
“I am part of one of the best
teams in the history of the world.
I am very happy both for my own
career, Turkish young people
and the Galatasaray community.
I think I can be a good example to
everyone,” Turan said.
“Every day I work more and
try and be better. Both for my
country and for the national
team.”
While Turan insists he has realised his dreams, some Spanish
media reports have suggested he
is unsettled at Barca after failing
to find a regular starting place
under Luis Enrique and could be
tempted by a move to China.
Turan stands out as the most
gifted Turkish player of his generation.
He is known for his uncompromising style of play. In 2015
Turan appeared to hurl one of
his boots at the assistant referee
in frustration during a La Liga
clash while playing for Atletico.
Despite his time in Spain,
Turan makes no secret of his patriotism and pride in pulling on
the red jersey with the white star
and crescent moon.
Belgium coach Marc Wilmots
named a 24-man pre-Euro
2016 squad on Thursday, without injured captain Vincent
Kompany. The 47-year-old
coach must reduce the list to
23 players by May 31 ahead of
the June 10-July 10 finals.
And with Manchester City
centre-back Kompany set
to miss the tournament due
to a groin problem, Wilmots
named nine defenders in his
squad due to a number of
other injury concerns.
“I’m terribly disappointed by
Vincent Kompany’s absence,
he’s our leader and he won’t
be there,” said Wilmots.
“I’m terribly
disappointed by Vincent
Kompany’s absence, he’s
our leader and he won’t
be there,” said Wilmots
The coach has doubts over
Barcelona’s Thomas Vermaelen, Dedrick Boyata of Celtic
and Nicolas Lombaerts, who
plays for Zenit St Petersburg.
All three will be monitored
during training. Wilmots
added six players to a reserve
list due to the number of
defensive uncertainties.
Amongst them are Tottenham’s Nacer Chadli and Kevin
Mirallas of Everton.
Keane tops bill in provisional 35-man
Ireland squad
The Republic of Ireland’s
record goal-scorer Robbie
Keane headlined a 35-man
squad announced yesterday
for the forthcoming friendly
against the Netherlands and
the 2016 European Championship.
The Los Angeles Galaxy
striker, 35, will go in search
of his 68th international goal
against Holland in Dublin on
May 27, while, at the other end
of the scale, Oxford United
winger Callum O’Dowda has
won his first call-up.
Ireland manager Martin O’Neill
will whittle his squad down to
23 players the day after the
match in preparation for Euro
2016, which will see the Irish
tackle Sweden, Belgium and
Italy in Group E.
“Everything now is about
preparing for Euro 2016 and
that is why we wanted to
play a team of the calibre of
the Netherlands as we aim
to make the most of our time
ahead of the departure for
France,” O’Neill told a press
conference in Dublin.
“We will travel to Fota Island
Resort (near Cork, Ireland) for
a training camp and a game
against Belarus in the week
afterwards, but this game
at the Aviva Stadium is very
important in terms of building
our match sharpness and getting into tournament mode.
“It is also an opportunity to
play in front of the Ireland
“Everything now is
about preparing for
Euro 2016 and that is
why we wanted to play
a team of the calibre of
the Netherlands as we
aim to make the most
of our time ahead of the
departure for France,”
O’Neill told a press
conference in Dublin
supporters, who have been
terrific, at the Aviva Stadium
before leaving for the Euros
and that is something that
means a lot to the players because when we get together, it
all comes together.”
Keane, who is also Ireland’s
captain, recently returned
to action for LA Galaxy after
undergoing knee surgery.
There was a place in the
squad for Everton right-back
Seamus Coleman, despite the
fact he has not played since
last month due to a hamstring
injury.
Shay Given, Marc Wilson,
Jeff Hendrick, Harry Arter,
Jonathan Walters and David
McGoldrick also return after
missing the March friendlies
against Switzerland and Slovakia through injury.
Ireland play their final pretournament friendly against
Belarus in Cork on May 31
before travelling to France on
June 8. They open their Euro
campaign against Sweden in
Paris on June 13.
5
6
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
SPORT
FOCUS
Clock is ticking for Federer ahead of French Open
By Kevin Mitchell in Rome
theguardian.com
R
oger Federer is out of the Italian Open, one of the few titles
he has never won during his 18
years on the Tour, but there are
more pressing matters on his mind.
Whether or not the 34-year-old
can recover from a straight sets loss
to young Dominic Thiem in the third
round yesterday and get his ailing body
in shape for the French Open in a fortnight is problematic.
Federer has made ominous sounds
of struggle this week as he tried to
manage a back injury and the residual
effects of a knee operation after the
Australian Open.
The Swiss almost pulled out of the
tournament before his win over another next-generation star, Alexander
Zverev, on Wednesday and was not
even certain to start in this one. But he
dragged himself to the line and gave it
his best shot.
Thiem, a prospect every bit as dangerous as Zverev, won 7-6, 6-4, his
third victory over a top-10 player this
year. This normally would have been
the biggest scalp of his young career,
but he beat a reduced version of the
man who has won 17 slam titles.
Federer rarely surrenders but there
was an air of resignation in some of his
more expansive shots yesterday, especially in the second set, as if he would
win if he could but was not prepared
to jeopardise more important engagements to come.
While he moved well enough,
showing no signs of discomfort when
stretching, running or occasionally
stroking the ball with his old majesty,
the sharpness was not quite there.
The pair traded breaks in a tight first
session, but the serving cycle put Federer in the hot seat in the 11th game to
remain in the set. Trusting his talent as
ever, he ignored a top-edged forehand
that sailed into the crowd to hang on
through deuce and force a tie-break.
Thiem took his left hand off the
racket for a backhand winner, angled
cross court through the ad-service
box, to change ends 4-2 up.
It was as if he were mimicking Federer, the ultimate classicist. He closed
it out with another, this time down the
line, and time seemed to quicken for
the veteran, for whom the clock normally ticks obediently.
The turning point arrived in three
quick exchanges just on the hour, in
the fifth game. A Thiem backhand
was called out, then over-ruled, Fed-
erer netted and saved one of two break
points with an ace but could do nothing about the running forehand winner that put Thiem 3-2 up and within
sight of what in normal circumstances
would be regarded as a major upset.
From there to the end, the crowd
knew the jig was up for Federer. He
charged into the service box to return
Thiem’s second serve, a flickering gesture of defiance.
There was little he could, do, however, about Thiem’s focused charge
to the finish. He double faulted with
three match points in the bag as nerves
grabbed at his arm, but finished with
an ace, as pointed a sign of things to
come as he could have wished for.
Federer’s loss means Andy Murray
will returned to No. 2 in the world.
An hour or so after his loss, Roger
had put it out of his mind and was
looking ahead to making a full recovery
from back trouble before the French
Open. The second seed remained positive with 10 days to go before the start
at Roland Garros that he could come
good and make a further impression on
clay at the major.
Already, the Rome loss is becoming
just a memory. “I knew I wasn’t good
enough for any result here, so that’s
why I hope you don’t read into it so
much,” said the four-time finalist at
the Foro Italico who will drop back to
third in the ATP rankings on Monday.
“I need to see this completely in
ITALIAN OPEN
GOLF
Thiem ousts ailing
Federer, Serena
rolls past Christina
‘I’m going to have a meeting with my team, talk about options we have, stay in
Rome, Paris or go back to Switzerland. Should I rest, train, do some more physio?
All that stuff needs to be discussed but I’m so happy I didn’t get hurt this week’
AFP
Rome
R
oger Federer’s Rome
Masters bid ended with
a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 thirdround defeat to Austrian
13th seed Dominic Thiem, as
world number one Serena Williams sailed into the Italian Open
quarters yesterday.
Swiss third seed Federer, who
withdrew last week from Madrid with back pain, admitted on
Wednesday he had been surprised
to get past second-round opponent
Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Rome marks only the fourth
tournament of the season for Federer, who underwent knee surgery in early February, the first
operation of his career.
And amid ongoing back pain
that has compounded his hopes
of an 18th Grand Slam title in
Paris, Federer admitted: “I actually thought I could really do a
good result in Paris.
“Now, after the last couple of
weeks, it’s been more difficult. I
see my chances as, you know, as
not great.”
The 17-time Grand Slam champion only decided to face Thiem at
the last minute, and the Austrian
capitalised to finish off an obviously
ailing Federer in 1 hour 18 minutes.
In the quarter-finals, Thiem will
play Japan’s sixth seed Kei Nishikori, who swept aside French 11th seed
Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-4.
A former four-time finalist who
has never triumphed in Rome,
Federer will now consider his options as he tries to regain full fitness ahead of next month’s French
Open at Roland Garros.
But as for competing in Rome,
Federer said: “My body’s just
not ready... I’m not going to go
into specifics, because I’m not in
the mood.”
Federer said he will only be able
to gauge his expectations for Roland Garros over the coming fortnight. “I’m going to have a meeting
with my team, talk about options
we have, stay in Rome, Paris or go
back to Switzerland,” he said.
“Should I rest, train, do some
more physio?
“All that stuff needs to be discussed but I’m so happy I didn’t
get hurt this week. Happy I’m
through the tournament now and
can look ahead. I can pace myself.
In a match you can’t really pace
yourself,” he added.
It could be the beginning of
isolation, and I cannot carry any luggage from here other than the positive
information out of Rome. It (the loss)
just needs to stay here - the result,
what I couldn’t do and how limited I
was. I was far off. I need to see it completely in isolation,” he added.
Instead, Federer chooses to look
ahead with optimism form the back
pain which forced him from Madrid
last week. “I have a lot of hours on the
clay already this year, maybe not on
match courts but on practice courts.
I actually thought I could really do a
good result in Paris.
“In the last couple of weeks it’s been
more difficult. I see my chances as not
great to have the most unbelievable
run, but if maybe in three, four days
I can practice 100 per cent for next
week, then I believe that something is
possible again.
“Clearly the way I’m playing right
now is never going to be enough for
any good run in Paris, and then I also
wouldn’t play (in this condition). I’m
still confident I will be fine somehow.
It really depends now on the next, I
think, seven to nine days how I can really play in Paris.” (With DPA inputs)
Serena Williams of the US overcame a tight first set against compatriot and qualifier Christina McHale to
prevail 7-6 (9/7), 6-1 and maintain her bid for a fourth Italian Open crown. (AFP)
a Rome Masters fairytale for
22-year-old Austrian Thiem, who
is approaching 30 wins for the
season having secured two titles
already and suffered defeat to
Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber
in the final at Munich nearly a
fortnight ago.
Thiem admitted: “Of course,
maybe if Roger wasn’t 100%
maybe I wouldn’t win today.”
But the Austrian said it was
still “very nice” to beat the big
champion he started watching as
a youngster. “When he started,
I was 10, 11 years old. First of all,
it was already very big for me to
play against him in Brisbane, and
now to beat him, even that he was
not 100%, it’s very nice for me,”
added Thiem.
More Swiss disappointment
arrived a few hours later when Argentine Juan Monaco beat fourth
seed Wawrinka 6-7 (5-7), 6-3,
6-4 as the Roland Garros holder
sent a forehand long on match
point. Wawrinka had won his four
previous meetings with the Argentine, the last in the Rome second round a year ago.
King of clay Rafael Nadal went
into survival mode after dropping
the first set to Nick Kyrgios, but
despite being given a second-set
hip massage, the Australian hung
in before ending with a 6-7 (3-7),
6-2, 6-4 loss to the fifth seed.
Nadal won with 24 each of winners and unforced errors, breaking four times in two and threequarter hours. Elsewhere, Lucas
Poulille put out ninth seed David
Ferrer 6-4, 6-1.
Williams, meanwhile, overcame a tight first set against compatriot and qualifier Christina
McHale to prevail 7-6 (9/7), 6-1
and maintain her bid for a fourth
Italian Open crown.
The American world number one
is also seeking a fourth French Open
title and admitted her quarter-final
opponent, Svetlana Kuznetsova,
who stunned 2015 finalist Carla
Suarez Navarro 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, should
give her a good run-out.
“I think it’s great,” said Williams. “Right now she’s probably
one of the best clay court players out there so it’s the perfect
opportunity for me, win or lose,
leading up to Roland Garros.”
Third seed Garbine Muguruza
advanced over Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-1, 6-4.
Romania’s Irina Begu beat Russian Darya Kasatkina 6-1, 6-4
and Misaki Doi put out Brit Johanna Konta 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Asian Tour needs
‘independence’ in
tie-up with Europe,
says Kyi Hla Han
AFP
Singapore
T
he head of Asia’s biggest golf tour said a
proposed alliance with
Europe cannot compromise its “independence
and identity”, apparently ruling out a full-blown merger.
Asian Tour commissioner
Kyi Hla Han said yesterday
that his top priority was providing playing opportunities
for his players—whether a tieup went ahead or not.
“The players strongly believe the Asian Tour must
retain its independence and
identity,” Han told AFP in an
e-mail interview.
“The primary focus for the
Asian Tour is to always ensure we continue to provide
our members (players) with
playing and earning opportunities as well as a career
pathway, with or without
partnerships with the other
international tours.”
The Asian and European
bodies had previously talked
about merging their playing
memberships and business
interests, creating a mega tour
with the potential to tilt golf’s
global landscape.
But Han’s responses appear to rule out a full merger
of the two tours, which former
Asian Tour CEO Mike Kerr had
backed before resigning late
last year.
Instead, Han talked about a
“strategic partnership” with
the European Tour to “enhance
opportunities” for Asian players and create “a pathway” to
global success.
Kerr’s stance resulted in
deep divisions among players, fearful of a takeover by
their European counterparts.
In December, after Kerr’s departure, the old Asian Tour
board of directors, including
former European Tour chief
Ken Schofield, was ousted.
Four prominent Asian businessmen were voted in as nonplaying directors, three board
player members were also removed and Han was promoted
from chairman to “interim
Tour Commissioner”.
The first priority for the new
board has been “to establish
better communications with
our players who are the stakeholders,” Han said.
He added, however, that
talks with the European Tour
were continuing.
“The proposed strategic
partnership with the European Tour is meant to enhance
playing opportunities for both
(tours’) members, which will
subsequently create greater
opportunities for our players
to raise their game, ability and
mindset and move onto the
next level,” Han said.
Han said he was encouraged
by European Tour victories in
the past month by South Korean youngsters Lee Soo-Min
(Shenzhen International) and
Wang Jeung-Hun (Hassan
Trophy, Morocco).
“We have the talent
and depth in Asian
golf to see one of our
players win a major
championship in
the very near future.
Apart from (Hideki)
Matsuyama, Kiradech (Aphibarnrat)
and (Anirban) Lahiri, there are other
established Asian
stars like Thongchai
Jaidee, An ByeongHun and KT Kim all
in the world’s top
100, capable of
contending and
winning a major”
“They have the potential to
be world-class players,” said
Han, who believes Asia can win
a second major soon to add to
YE Yang’s 2009 US PGA crown.
We have the talent and depth
in Asian golf to see one of our
players win a major championship in the very near future.”
“Apart from (Hideki) Matsuyama, Kiradech (Aphibarnrat) and (Anirban) Lahiri, there
are other established Asian
stars like Thongchai Jaidee, An
Byeong-Hun and KT Kim all in
the world’s top 100, capable of
contending and winning a major,” he added.
Han said that their success was an inspiration, along
with Danny Willett’s rise from
outside the world’s top 100
to winning the US Masters in
less than 18 months, and Asian
Tour order of merit champion
Anirban Lahiri’s fifth place at
the 2015 US PGA.
“Players will realise that
these guys are also Asian Tour
players and they would start
telling themselves, ‘If they can
do it, so can I,’” Han said.
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
7
SPORT
NBA
SPOTLIGHT
Warriors finish off
Blazers; Raptors
beat Heat to lead 3-2
‘Steph’s probably the only one who can make that shot’
DPA
Los Angeles
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry hoists the
MVP trophy before game five of the second round of
the NBA Playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at
Oracle Arena. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports
S
tephen Curry lifted his
second MVP trophy in
as many years before the
game, then carried the
Golden State Warriors over the
finish line and into the Western
Conference finals.
Curry had 14 of his 29 points
in the fourth quarter, including
a dagger triple with 24.9 seconds left as the Warriors eliminated the pesky Portland Trail
Blazers 125-121 in Game 5 on
Wednesday of their semifinal
series.
“Much respect to Portland
and coach Terry Stotts,” Warriors NBA Coach of the Year Steve
Kerr said. “We had to fight and
scrap and claw and do everything possible to win.”
Ahead by two, Curry dribbled
the ball behind his back and delivered his fifth three-pointer of
the night over Al-Farouq Aminu
to send the sold-out Oracle
Arena crowd into a frenzy and
give the Warriors a decisive 121116 lead.
“This is what you practice
every day for, to be in those
kinds of moments,” he said.
“Just let your mind be free, have
confidence and knock down the
shot. In that situation, I was
trying to make a read, shot the
three and it went in.”
Curry sank four free throws in
the last 10.9 seconds to wrap up
the thrilling win.
“Steph’s probably the only
one who can make that shot,”
Kerr said.
“He made his free throws and
we got it done.”
Klay Thompson led the Warriors with a game-high 33
points through three quarters
on 13-of-17 shooting, while
Draymond Green had 13 points,
11 rebounds and six assists.
“I’m happy to be done with
this series,” Green said. “I’m
just looking at it and see 4-1 but
it didn’t feel like that. I gained
a lot of respect with those guys
and the way they fought.”
The defending NBA Champs
will meet winner of the Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs series. Oklahoma
lead 3-2, with Game 6 on
Thursday.
“Both team pose different
problems,” Thompson said. “Its
really a coin flip and you’re not
going to get any breaks playing
either team.”
Damian Lillard scored 28
points and C.J. McCollum
added 16 of his 27 in the fourth
quarter for the fifth-seeded
Trail Blazers, who knocked
down 16-of-36 triples in defeat.
“We lost 4-1 but we should
be proud of the way we pushed
them,” Lillard said.
“You have to give them credit; they do what championship
teams do. When it’s time to win
games they do things a little
better than we did.”
In Wednesday’s other game,
DeMar DeRozan scored 34
points, Kyle Lowry had 25, and
the two combined for the team’s
final 13 points as the Toronto
Raptors held off the visiting
Miami Heat 99-91 to take a 3-2
lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
The All-Star duo had struggled earlier in the tie, including
a frigid 6-of-28 in Monday’s
Game 4 overtime loss before
coming up big 48 hours later,
but came back strong.
“We have faith in those guys,”
Raptors coach Dwane Casey
said. “Not one time did we
doubt their ability to score.”
DeRozan, playing with a
painfully jammed right thumb,
said: “We just go out there
and be aggressive. Shots just
weren’t dropping for us but we
knew they’d come back around.”
Lowry added in reference to
their final 13 points: “We’re our
closers. We’ve been our closers
the whole year.”
The Raptors built an early
20-point lead and 82-69 with
8:33 left in the game before surviving some anxious moments
down the stretch after two free
throws by Dwayne Wade drew
the Heat within 88-87 with 1:54
left.
But DeRozan hit a pair of foul
shots for a 90-87 lead, Miami’s
Goran Dragic then slipped and
threw the ball out of bounds,
and Lowry’s 12-foot jumper for
95-89 with 23.7 ticks to go ended Miami’s hopes.
“I missed like four or five easy
shots throughout the fourth
quarter and had the opportunity
to make up for it,” Lowry said.
“I hit a three and the next
shot my guy (DeRozan) said, be
big, be aggressive, be me.”
Wade dropped in 20 points
while Dragic and Josh Richardson had 13 apiece for the thirdseeded Heat.
“Every time it looked like
they were going to pull away we
kept fighting and pulled within
one,” Wade explained.
“I said this is our time, we’re
going to make our move but
couldn’t.”
The Raptors can wrap up the
tie in Friday’s Game 6 at Miami
and advance to the conference
finals for the first time in franchise history while the Heat
looks to stay alive.
“Our guys love this type of
competition,” Heat coach Erik
Spoelstra said.
New coach Joerger
yearns for Kings’
style of heyday
By Ailene Voisin
The Sacramento Bee
T
he Kings hired a very
good coach. Dave Joerger won in the minor leagues, won in
the major leagues and won his
introductory news conference
Tuesday in the club’s downtown
offices overlooking Golden 1
Center’s construction site.
He struck all the right chords.
He spoke about the new building, the NBA draft, the team’s
salary cap situation, and suggested the area was a terrific
geographic fit for his active, outdoorsy family.
So here is the next question:
What does this mean for DeMarcus Cousins and his future with
the Kings?
“I don’t think we’re going
to trade him,” Kings general
manager Vlade Divac told The
Sacramento Bee after the news
conference. “DeMarcus needs
a system, a structure. He needs
rules, like we all do.”
That all sounds great, except
for the fact that, among Divac’s
handful of final candidates, Joerger is regarded as the most
player-friendly of the bunch.
Mike Woodson has an edge. Nate
McMillan is a no-nonsense disciplinarian. Frank Vogel follows
one set of rules.
Ettore Messina ran his European teams with an iron fist and
a steel clipboard. All of which
makes the hasty hiring of Joerger
-- which totally contrasted with
Divac’s insistence on proceeding
cautiously-- more than a little
puzzling. Should anyone be concerned about the analytics on
shotgun weddings?
Furthering the intrigue came
word late Monday that Memphis Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace
is entertaining the possibility
of rehiring Lionel Hollins, the
crusty veteran coach who developed the nucleus of the Memphis roster that features Marc
Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike
Conley, and was inherited by ...
Dave Joerger.
This new NBA is the same as
the old NBA. It’s an unpredictable
and political world. Joerger, 42,
joins a franchise that is a sibling
of the Grizzlies, Brooklyn Nets
and Los Angeles Lakers in the
sense that they can switch jerseys
and colors and arenas, and still
reek of instability.
Asked about putting an end to
the Kings’ roller derby these past
several seasons, Divac quickly responded, “I already stopped it.”
The iconic Kings figure went
on to inject some humor with the
quote of the morning: “In California, they have that (fast-food)
chain In-N-Out, and we’ve got a
(team philosophy), in or out.”
About the time the laughter
died down, Cousins walked into
the back of the room. He flew in
from Los Angeles and planned to
meet with Divac, assistant GM
Ken Catanella and Joerger before
the Kings officials flew to Chicago for the pre-draft camp.
“I can’t help but look back and
be nostalgic about the heyday,
the glory days of when Vlade and
Peja (Stojakovic) played, with
Chris Webber and Mike Bibby
and Bobby Jackson and Hedo
(Turkoglu) and Doug Christie,”
Joerger said, “and the way they
played, and the chemistry they
played with, and the passion. It
was about the team, ball movement. They helped each other;
they protected each other. That’s
the kind of people we want to be
here.”
Joerger, whose wife, Kara, and
daughters Alli, 13, and Kiana,
10, sat in the front row, arrives
with his Memphis luggage and
lessons learned at colleges in
Southern California (Chapman)
and Minnesota (Concordia and
Moorhead State) and later in minor-league outreaches in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, Sioux Falls, S.D.,
and Bismarck, N.D. Projecting
a poised, confident demeanor,
he half-jokingly recalled driving
the vans and popping popcorn,
and one suspects taping a few
ankles as well.
But the Kings were most impressed by the fact he led the
Grizzlies to the playoffs in all
three of his seasons in Memphis,
most recently to a 42-40 record
and seventh-place finish without an ailing Gasol and Conley.
Winning sells. That never
changes. Whether Joerger can
flip the switch on Cousins,
coax the big man into shedding
weight and a bad attitude, remains to be seen.
Unless that happens, the
Kings could channel John Wooden, Pete Newell or Harry Litwack
and still be left prepping for their
early vacations and frequent lottery appearances.
Given that Cousins’ previous
coaches were criticized for enabling, or at least looking the other way as the immensely talented
All-Star center bullied teammates and screamed at referees
nightly, why should anyone assume Joerger will be different?
Because this is Divac’s hire,
presumably. And this better be
his hire. If the second-year executive was pressured by principal
owner Vivek Ranadive to ditch
his expansive approach when
Joerger became available, was
directed in no uncertain terms
to hire someone he had spoken
with only briefly in the past, this
becomes another lame chapter
in Kings history.
“I think it was a great decision
by us, hopefully,” Divac said.
NHL
Blues blow out Stars in Game 7 to advance
The Sports Xchange
Dallas
T
he St. Louis Blues advanced to the Western
Conference finals for
the first time since 2001
after beating Dallas 6-1 in Game
7 of their semi-final series at
American Airlines Center on
Wednesday.
Troy Brouwer, Robby Fabbri and Paul Stastny each had
three points and Brian Elliott
stopped 31 of 32 shots for the
Blues, who also got a goal and an
assist each from David Backes
and Patrik Berglund and two assists from Jori Lehtera. St. Louis
will face the winner of Game 7
between San Jose and Nashville
on Thursday, with the conference finals starting on Saturday.
St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock is
now 5-2 in Game 7s while Stars
coach Lindy Ruff is 0-4.
Patrick Eaves broke the shutout 5:05 into the third with his
third goal of the playoffs. Eaves
scored on an easy tip-in at the
near post after Alex Goligoski’s
slap shot from the right circle
deflected off Joel Edmundson.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored an
empty-net goal with 4:40 remaining to make it 6-1.
Antti Niemi stopped eight of
10 shots in relief of Kari Lehtonen, who stopped just five of
eight shots.
Fabbri scored a power-play
goal 5:23 into the first period off
a rebound to give the Blues an
early 1-0 lead.
Lehtonen stopped the initial
shot by Brouwer with a pad save,
but Fabbri popped in the rebound
for his third goal of the playoffs.
Fabbri is the youngest player in
Blues history to score in a Game 7.
St. Louis were 52 seconds into
a power play resulting from a
hooking call on Goligoski against
Tarasenko at 4:31 of the first period. Dallas caught a break late in
the first period when an apparent
goal by Tarasenko 2:21 before the
first intermission was waived off.
Tarasenko scored from the edge
of the left circle with a shot that
deflected off the stick of Stars
defenseman John Klingberg.
Ruff used a coach’s challenge asserting that Tarasenko
was offside. A replay showed
Tarasenko’s left skate was just
offside.
However, the Blues scored
twice in the final 1:38 of the first
period to lead 3-0 after 20 minutes. Stastny sent a wrist shot
from the right of the Dallas goal
through Lehtonen with 1:38 remaining.
Then Berglund gave the visitors a three-goal edge with
his fourth goal of the playoffs
with four seconds remaining
in the first period. Berglund’s
wrist shot from the left point
traveled in under Lehtonen’s
blocker.
Niemi replaced Lehtonen in
goal to start the second period.
Backes made it 4-0 in the
second with his sixth goal of the
playoffs. Berglund set Backes up
beautifully by sending the puck
just over the Dallas blue line
from inside the neutral zone.
Backes received it just inside
the Dallas zone and beat Niemi
far post with a wrist shot from
the right circle.
Brouwer made it 5-0 with his
fifth goal of the playoffs with
5:54 remaining in the second period. Brouwer’s wrist shot from
near the far post off the rush
capped a well-executed 2-on-1
sequence by the Blues.
The St. Louis Blues celebrate with Brian Elliott (No 1) after a 6-1 win against the Dallas Stars in Game Seven of the Western Conference Second
Round during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center on May 11, 2016 in Dallas. (Getty Images/AFP)
8
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
SPORT
BASEBALL
NFL
Scherzer ties record
with 20 strikeouts
in Nationals’ 3-2 win
‘So obviously they respect what they saw out of him’
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer is
doused with water after striking out an MLB record 20 batters
against the Detroit Tigers at Nationals Park. The Washington
Nationals won 3-2. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports
By Anthony Fenech
Detroit Free Press
I
n the latest display of his
otherworldly,
dominant
stuff, former Detroit Tigers
All-Star Max Scherzer allowed two runs on six hits in a
complete game effort.
He struck out 20 batters in
the Tigers’ 3-2 loss to the Nationals Wednesday.
The 20 strikeouts were a career-high and Nationals record.
He became the fifth pitcher in
major league history to strike out
20 batters, joining Tom Cheney,
Randy Johnson, Kerry Wood and
Roger Clemens. Scherzer struck
out 17 last season in his second
no-hitter of the year, against the
Mets on October 3.
Scherzer knew something
was up in November, at former
Tigers teammate Austin Jackson’s wedding, when former
batterymate Alex Avila - son of
Tigers general manager Al Avila
- kept asking questions about
right-hander Jordan Zimmermann.
“And I kind of put two and
two together,” he said on Tuesday. “They want Zimm.”
Soon thereafter, they got
Zimmermann, for five years and
$110 million. “So obviously they
respect what they saw out of
him,” he said.
And what we saw at Nationals Park on Wednesday night
was why the Tigers gave Zimmermann that deal and, perhaps, why the Nationals gave
Scherzer their money instead
of offering a long-term contract
extension to Zimmermann the
winter before.
Zimmermann returned home
- he spent the first six seasons
of his career with the Nationals
- and Scherzer faced his former
teammates. And when they did,
the former teammates deadlocked in a pitchers’ duel.
Zimmermann stumbled out
of the gate, allowing a run on
three hits in the first inning, but
settled from there, allowing just
a walk and a hit until the sixth
inning, when Daniel Murphy
broke a 1-1 tie with a RBI single.
The Nationals padded the lead
on a Danny Espinosa solo home
run in the seventh inning.
Zimmermann, who received a
standing ovation before his first
at-bat of the game and tipped
his helmet to the fans, allowed
three runs on seven hits over
seven innings. He struck out
three and walked three.
But while the early noise was
made for Zimmermann, the late
noise was made for Scherzer,
who elevated his game in the top
of the seventh inning, after Justin Upton doubled off the centre-field fence to put runners on
second and third with one out.
Scherzer promptly struck out
James McCann, Anthony Gose
and then the side in the eighth
inning to a standing ovation.
Two home runs - Jose Iglesias in
the first inning and J.D. Martinez in the ninth inning - were the
only blemishes in his box score.
Scherzer struck out Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez, McCann and Gose each
three times.
He struck out Cabrera all three
times swinging at high-velocity
fastballs, on 10 total pitches. The
only Tiger he did not strike out
was Victor Martinez, who singled three times.
With the win, Scherzer joined
Cubs righty John Lackey as the
only two pitchers to defeat every major league team. He spent
five seasons in Detroit, winning
the 2013 American League Cy
Young Award.
Scherzer’s 20 strikeouts were
the most against the Tigers
since Roger Clemens struck out
20 at Tiger Stadium in 1996,
which is tied for the most in
a nine-inning game in baseball history. Like Clemens, he
walked none.
New Lions LB
Williams has brains
to match brawn
By Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press
F
ormer Georgia Southern
assistant Mike Mutz always felt like he had an
extra set of eyes on the
field in linebacker Antwione
Williams.
Williams, the Lions’ second of
two fifth-round NFL draft picks,
played every linebacker position
over the last two years, led the
Eagles with 107 tackles and four
sacks as a senior, and was a big
reason the school won the Sun
Belt Conference championship
in 2014.
“We’ve walked off the field at
halftime before, and he’s come
up to me and said, ‘Hey, Coach,
with this set, why don’t we
check this? This is where they’re
hurting us. And this blitz’ll be
good because they keep sliding
the protection this way,’ “ Mutz
said. “And there’ve been several times where I was like, ‘You
know what? That’s a hell of an
idea.’ “
Mutz took one of Williams’
suggestions into account in a
game against Georgia State in
2014. The rivals were in a shootit-out 27-17 battle at halftime,
and Georgia State was moving
the ball at will out of its emptyset backfield.
As the teams made their way
to the locker room after a late
Georgia State drive ended in
a turnover, Williams stopped
Mutz with an idea.
“It kind of surprised us that
they were running it so much,
and we were walking off the field
at halftime - we’ve got the lead,
but they’re moving the ball on
us - and he grabs me and he says,
‘Coach, why don’t we check
Cover (9) to empty? We’ll be all
over them,’ “ recalled Mutz, now
the linebackers coach at Tulane.
“And I sat there and thought
about it and I was like, ‘God
dang, that’s a great call.’
“We hadn’t practiced it that
week. You only have a certain
amount of practice time, and so
we drew it up at halftime, and
the very first play, they came
out in empty, and we checked
Cover (9). Unfortunately, it hit
our nickel safety right in the
shoulder pad. If he caught it,
it would have been a pick-six.
That helped get them out of the
empty set, and the adjustment
was his suggestion. It was pretty
impressive. He knows football.”
The Lions are banking on
Williams’ football acumen to
upgrade their thin linebacking
corps this fall.
He’s not likely to start - DeAndre Levy and Tahir Whitehead will play most of the snaps
at linebacker - but should be
ticketed for backup and special teams duties alongside Josh
Bynes and Kyle Van Noy.
“(He’s got) good size, good
speed. Athletic. Good instincts,”
Lions general manager Bob
Quinn said after the draft. “We
watched the film, and when
you watch that level of football,
you really want the player to
jump out, like he’s dominating
that level of competition. And
I thought he played very well at
that level of competition, and we
really thought it would translate
to our league.“He’s a versatile
guy. He can blitz, he can cover,
he can play the run. So at the end
of the day, we thought he was a
good player to add.”
Williams, who missed all of
2013 with a triceps injury, started at weakside linebacker during Georgia Southern’s run to
the conference championship in
2014.
Last year, after do-it-all linebacker Edwin Jackson graduated and signed with the Indianapolis Colts, Williams played
strongside linebacker in the Eagles’ base 4-3 defense, middle
linebacker in the team’s nickel
package and stayed on the field
in Georgia Southern’s dime defense, as well.
“He’s had experience playing
inside and outside, and I have no
concerns with him covering and
having to come off the field at
all,” Mutz said.
Given the FCS competition
Williams faced in college and his
average testing results at pro day
(a 4.82-second 40-yard dash),
that might be wishful thinking
at first.
Still, Williams said in his
draft-day teleconference that
he’s versatile enough and willing
to do whatever the Lions ask.
“Georgia Southern is bluecollar, and it’s hard-nosed football,” Williams said. “If you
watch any of my film, I’m flying
around to the ball, sideline to
sideline. Just flying around to the
ball and hitting people real hard.
I feel like that’s something I can
do really well. I’m a very versatile
player and I’m excited to show
you guys what I can do down
there in Georgia.”
RESULTS
San Diego
Baltimore
Texas
Houston
7
9
6
5
Colorado
Seattle
8
6
San Francisco 5
Washington
Kansas City
Miami
Boston
Atlanta
Pittsburgh
San Diego
St. Louis
NY Mets
3
7
3
13
5
5
1
5
4
Chicago Cubs
4
Minnesota
2
Chicago White Sox 5
Cleveland
3
(16 innings)
Arizona
7
Tampa Bay
5
(11 innings)
Toronto
4
(13 innings)
Detroit
2
NY Yankees
3
Milwaukee
2
Oakland
3
Philadelphia
1
Cincinnati
4
Chicago Cubs
0
LA Angels
2
LA Dodgers
3
ICE HOCKEY
Finland beat Hungary to go top of their group
AFP
Moscow
T
wo-time former champions Finland consolidated their Group B
lead at the world ice hockey championship with a confident 3-0 win
over promoted Hungary at Saint Petersburg on Wednesday.
Toronto Maple Leafs center Leo Komarov collected two points for assists, while
goalie Juuse Saros made just 13 saves for a
shutout setting up Finland’s win, which
lifted them top of their group, three points
ahead of reigning champions Canada, who
have a game in hand.
The Finns outshot Hungary 38-9 in the
first two periods but Magyar goaltender
Adam Vay was catching and deflecting almost all the pucks thrown at him.
But he was unable to deny a shot by Jokerit Helsinki forward Atte Ohtamaa 3:38
before the second interval.
Finland’s skipper Miko Koivu added his
goal halfway into the third period, while
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov
rounded off the scoring with a powerplay
effort with 3:26 remaining.
In the early Group B encounter the 2002
champions Slovakia suffered their second
consecutive defeat at the hands of Belarus,
who battled back from two goals down to
notch their first win at the championship
4-2.
After a goalless first period Edmonton
Oilers rear guard Andrej Sekera and Detroit Red Wings winger Tomas Jurco scored
within the space of six minutes of the second to give Slovakia a 2-0 lead.
But in the third Belarus picked up steam
to reply through Kiril Gotovets, Artur Gavrus, Andrei Stepanov and Charles Linglet,
who all scored to claim a well-deserved
win.
“This match was the most important for
us at the world championships so far,” Belarus head coach Dave Lewis said.
“We have a very hard schedule but that is
no excuse and now we have no other choice
but to keep on winning from one match to
another.”
Meanwhile, in the early match in Group
A, Switzerland recorded their second win
at the event beating Latvia 5-4 in Moscow’s
nine-goal thriller.
After the first break Minnesota Wild forward Nino Niederreiter scored twice on
powerplay, while Gregory Hofmann added
his goal to give Switzerland a comfortable
3-0 lead.
But Latvia levelled the score courtesy of
a powerplay brace by Mikelis Redlihs and
an unassisted goal by Ronalds Kenins in an
exciting second period.
In the third the teams traded goals by
Montreal Canadiens Sven Andrighetto and
Aleksejs Sirokovs before Eric Blum netted
the Swiss team’s winner with 1:29 to go.
“For us it was a huge game. We needed to
get at least two points but won all three today,” Switzerland manager Patrick Fischer
said.
“We took a good start into the second
period but then we’ve lost that 3-0 lead. At
the end we’ve won by a lucky shot but for
us this win is very important anyway and
I’m really proud of my men.”
Later in Moscow Sweden outscored promoted Kazakhstan 7-3 courtesy of a hattrick by Detroit Red Wings winger Gustav
Nyquist to join the Czech Republic on top
of Group A. The Czechs have a game in
hand.
Finland’s forward Teemu Pulkkinen (L) and Finland’s forward Mikael Granlund (R) attack Hungary’s goalie Adam
Vay (2nd L) during the group B preliminary round game at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in
Saint Petersburg. (AFP)
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
9
SPORT
FORMULA ONE
Rosberg stays calm as
teammate Hamilton aims
to kick-start poor season
LONG IN THE SHADOW OF TEAMMATE LEWIS HAMILTON, NICO ROSBERG HAS CONTROL OF THE F1 CAMPAIGN
WHILE THE WORLD CHAMPION TRIES TO SPARK HIS SEASON INTO LIFE AT THIS WEEK’S SPANISH GRAND PRIX
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg poses with fans during an open pitlane walk at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona, yesterday. (Below) McLaren driver Fernando Alonso (left) takes a selfie with Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton. (Reuters)
DPA
Barcelona
F
our wins from four races this
campaign in a run of seven
straight victories has given
Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg total
command of the Formula One season
heading into Sunday’s Spanish Grand
Prix but teammate Lewis Hamilton is
not about to throw in the towel as yet.
Hamilton has been plagued by illfortune this term but, despite trailing leader Rosberg by 43 points in the
standings, is staying positive heading to
the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
“Every weekend, we’ve got the car
into a great place setup-wise. I just
haven’t been fully able to exploit it,” he
said. “So the glass is half-full for me. It
will be a big challenge but there’s a long
way to go with 17 races left and, if the
last four are anything to go by, there’s a
lot more still to come from us.”
Rosberg, for his part, is aware that
Hamilton remains a big threat to his
hopes of a maiden world title after the
Briton beat him to claim the last two
championships.
“It’s not something I could have ex-
pected--winning the first four races of
the year,” said the German. “It’s been
a great start but I’m just enjoying the
moment and the form I’m in, doing my
best to keep it going and hoping I can
carry it through to the end of the season. Sport is all about ups and downs
and being mentally prepared to bounce
back stronger when they come.”
Should Rosberg survive the European opener with his lead largely intact,
he will be in a strong position heading
to the classic Monaco race in two weeks
having won the last three years in the
principality.
Kimi Raikkonen is making the challenge in third for Ferrari while fourtime world champion Sebastian Vettel
struggles in fifth. Vettel’s challenge has
been hampered by clashes with Russian Daniil Kvyat in each of the last two
races but he still believes Ferrari can
finally compete with Mercedes again
after a spell in the wilderness.
“Barcelona is a very good indication
of where you are with the car,” he said.
“We can see a good reference where we
stand, therefore it is incredibly important to get all the details right because
you know that track so well. It is very
important to get everything together to
Barcelona, the drivers are all very familiar with the circuit and make use of
data gleaned from dozens, if not hundreds of previous laps, but nothing will
be taken for granted.
“The Circuit de Barcelona is a track
we know well having completed eight
days of pre-season testing at the venue,” Pat Symonds, chief technical officer of Williams, said.
“It is, however, a circuit that is very
reactive to climatic conditions, even
over the course of a day, therefore the
car characteristics we saw in the temperatures of February and March, may
not necessarily be indicative of what
we will see in May,” he warned.
Frustrated Kvyat shrugs
off Toro Rosso demotion
be able to perform high.”
The recent controversial incidents
may have played a part in the decision of
Red Bull to demote Kvyat to the junior
Toro Rosso team and promote 18-yearold Max Verstappen to partner Daniel
Ricciardo in the senior outfit.
“I’m very excited for the opportu-
nity to drive for Red Bull Racing and I
can’t wait to jump in the car in Barcelona,” the teenager said. “I have a lot
of work to do ahead of the race, lots
of data to study but luckily it’s a track
I know well because we have driven
there so much.”
As pre-season testing takes place in
Russian Formula One driver Daniil
Kvyat has attempted to shrug off his
demotion from Red Bull to junior team
Toro Rosso ahead of the Spanish Grand
Prix in Barcelona this Sunday. “Obviously the decision was a bit of a shock
but this is where it is at the moment,” a
frustrated Kvyat said yesterday.
Kvyat was promoted from Toro
Rosso to Red Bull in 2015 to replace the
departing former world champion Sebastian Vettel but has struggled after a
promising debut season. The 22-yearold Kvyat was involved in controversial
incidents with Vettel in the last two
races, ending his home race in Sochi
last time out after a pair of first-lap
collisions. “Toro Rosso has given me a
very warm welcome,” Kvyat said. “The
goals are clear for the team and myself.”
Kvyat’s place with Red Bull has gone
to 18-year-old Max Verstappen who
said “racing for a top team was always
the plan. I’m definitely going to enjoy it”.
Carlos Sainz, Kvyat’s new teammate
with Toro Rosso, was laidback about
the switch but backed the decision of
his bosses.
“There’ve been many changes in the
team but I don’t get to analyse them,
that’s not my job,” he said. “I fully trust
Toro Rosso and Red Bull.”
With Kvyat and Verstappen attending the same tense news conference,
senior drivers took the chance to lighten the mood. “They switched drivers?
You knew that?” McLaren’s Fernando
Alonso asked Mercedes’ world champion Lewis Hamilton when asked for
an opinion on the change. “I had no
idea!” Hamilton joked back.
CYCLING
Wellens claims maiden Giro stage, Dumoulin impresses
AFP
Rome
B
elgium’s Tim Wellens enjoyed a
red letter day on the Giro d’Italia
yesterday with his maiden Grand
Tour stage win as Tom Dumoulin
held onto the leader’s pink jersey.
The 25-year-old Wellens broke early
and powered up the final 18-kilometre
climb to Roccaraso to come home alone
after the 157km sixth stage.
On the 2016 Giro’s first gentle taste of
mountain air Dumoulin held off challengers for his pink jersey, finishing fourth.
Looking in good shape the Dutch rider
took a fistful of seconds off some of the
main contenders for outright victory like
Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali, and Spanish duo
Mikel Landa and Alejandro Valverde.
“My attack was not planned but I saw
Nibali going so I went too,” said the Team
Giant leader.
“I really surprised myself. I was strong-
er than I expected. I didn’t think I’d be in
that shape for climbing. It was not a high
mountain but it was still a proper climb.”
Astana’s Jakob Fuglsang got closest
to Wellens, the Danish rider reaching
the race’s first summit finish in second,
1min19sec behind, with Russian Ilnur Zakarin on his rear wheel in third.
In the overall standings Dumoulin now
leads Fuglsang by 26sec, with Valverde
41s away and Nibali 47.
Wellens made his stage-winning move
15km out, when he slipped free from his
companions in the breakaway, first Eugert
Zhupa and Alessandro Bisolti and then
Laurent Didier and Pim Ligthart.
For much of the 157km stage, a threeman break of Alexandr Kolobnev, Bisolti
and Zhupa were out ahead, building up
a lead of six minutes. The gap was cut
back to less than a minute on the descent of the categorised Bocca della
Selva, about 75km from the finish, but
there was no real urgency to reel them in
as Wellens, teammate Pim Ligthart and
Laurent Didier bridged to the leaders.
Didier made the first move on the final 9.25km climb towards the finish, but
Wellens responded and quickly opened
up a gap that he never looked like losing.
“I have Pim Ligthart to thank,” he said.
“It was his idea to go away together at
that point in the race. Then we bridged
the gap to the leaders. I’m enormously
happy with this victory. It’s a little bit of
a surprise.”
One of the rising stars of Belgian cycling Wellens was giving himself the
perfect present to mark his birthday on
Tuesday.
Up to this point he had come in second
twice in stages on his first Giro in 2014,
won last year’s Grand Prix de Montreal,
and claimed the closing stage in this
year’s Paris-Nice.
He celebrated his career high by picking
up his bike and waving it over his head.
Today’s seventh stage is a 211km ride
from Sulmona to Foligno favouring the
sprinters despite a second category climb.
Belgium’s Tim Wellens
celebrates after winning the
sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia
cycling race yesterday. (AFP)
10
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
SPORT
SPOTLIGHT
FOCUS
Athletes urge WADA
to ensure Russians
are drug-free in Rio
Beckie Scott, the 2002 cross-country Olympic champion, makes an emotional plea
Dancers perform at
a event where Rio
Olympics team’s
uniforms were
presented by the
organising
committee in Rio de
Janeiro. (Reuters)
Reuters
Montreal
R
ussian athletes should be banned
from the Rio Olympics unless
there are guarantees that they
are drug free, the chair of the
World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA)
athletes committee said yesterday.
Canadian Beckie Scott, the 2002 crosscountry Olympic champion, made an
emotional plea to the WADA foundation
board to use its influence to keep Russian
drug cheats out of the Aug. 5-21 Rio Summer Games and protect clean athletes.
“We acknowledge that WADA does
not have jurisdiction over the Olympic
Games,” said Scott, who originally won
bronze at the 2002 Olympics but was
upgraded to gold after two Russians who
finished ahead of her were found guilty of
doping.
“WADA does have, however, influence
and clean athletes of the world propose
that you use that influence with respect to
Rio and Games beyond. Athletes strongly
feel that if there cannot be a guarantee
that athletes there from Russia are clean
and not involved in doping activity that
they should not be there.”
Russian has been in the doping spotlight since late 2014 when a German television documentary called “Top Secret
Doping: How Russia Makes Its Winners”
aired and led to the suspension of Russia
from international athletics competition.
This week more shocking revelations
surfaced and prompted a new WADA investigation after whistleblower Vitaly
Stepanov told investigative programme
“60 Minutes” that the former head of
Russia’s drug testing laboratory told
him at least four Russian gold medallists
at the 2014 Sochi Olympics were using
steroids. Scott urged WADA, whose independent commission revealed widespread doping in Russia and corruption
with involvement from Russian and international athletics officials, to aggressively pursue the latest reports and said
athletes are frustrated at what they see as
a lack of action.
“We are deeply disappointed in what
we perceive to be a lack of decisive action and follow-up that came in the wake
of a 300-page report detailing one of the
most comprehensive and organised systems of doping and cheating in international sport that has ever been brought to
light,” said Scott.
“The authors themselves describe a
culture of cheating and state on several
occasions the utter complete implausibility of this system being in place to
service only track and field athletes.
“That the curtain had been pulled back
to reveal such corruption and widespread
prolific abuse of the rules and laws of
sport and nothing was done was almost
incomprehensible to the athlete community. “The lack of action and follow-up
combined with the growing sentiment
among the athlete community that there
are leaders in sport that just wanted this
to go away.”
‘New doping
allegations
hard to prove’
Reuters
Montreal
D
ick Pound, the former
World
Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA) chief
who headed an independent commission that uncovered evidence of state-sponsored doping in Russia, says new
allegations of a drugs cover-up at
the Sochi Olympics may be hard
to prove.
WADA meetings of its executive committee and foundation
board on Wednesday and yesterday have taken on new urgency after whistleblower Vitaly
Stepanov said the former head of
Russia’s drug testing lab told him
that at least four Russian gold
medal winners at the 2014 Winter Games were using steroids.
Stepanov and wife Yuliya, an
international runner for Russia
once banned for doping, were
the whistleblowers who provided key evidence that led to
the establishment of a WADA
independent commission that
revealed widespread doping in
Russia and led to that country
being banned from all athletics
competition.
WADA announced on Tuesday
it would investigate the new allegations and could ask the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) for a re-test of the Sochi
doping samples.
During an interview with the
CBS News investigative programme “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Stepanov, a former employee with the Russian Anti-Doping
Agency, said he had recorded
conversations with Grigory Rodchenkov, RUSADA’s former head.
CBS News said it had listened
to the tapes in which Rodchenkov brags that at least four Russian athletes won gold medals in
Sochi while using steroids. Given
the sophistication of the statesponsored doping uncovered
by his investigation, Pound was
sceptical that, if four medallists
Dick Pound, the former World Anti-Doping Agency chief.
ROUND-UP
WADA says Kenya breached code
AFP
Montreal
T
he World Anti-Doping Agency’s compliance review committee unanimously
recommended yesterday that Kenya
be found in non-compliance with the
WADA Code with immediate effect.
The surprise move could lead to Kenyan athletes missing August’s Rio Olympics if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) so deems.
Only the IOC can ban a sport or country from
the Olympics. According to WADA, the compliance review committee cited issues with Kenya’s
new legislation which it says is not in line with
the WADA code.
“They are sufficiently major changes that
they wouldn’t be operating under the same rules
as everybody else so we need to get it right,”
WADA president Craig Reedie told Reuters. Under the WADA Code, non-compliant countries
and sporting federations risk being prohibited
from holding international events.
Kenya’s parliament had passed, and its president signed, a law last month that will criminalise doping. Many thought that would satisfy
WADA’s threat to sanction the African nation
famous for its middle and long-distance runners. But Reedie said the legislation was not
code compliant.
“We have been working with Kenya for a
number of years and thought we had agreed
that the draft legislation and rules were entirely
compliant and it would appear that during their
parlimentary process changes were made that
unfortunately weren’t code compliant so we will
be in touch with Kenya to try and resolve that at
the earliest possible moment.”
WADA had give Kenya until May to enact the
law or be declared non-compliant.
Up to 40 Kenyan athletes have failed doping
tests since 2012, the biggest name among them
being former three-time Boston City Marathon
A woman walks into the head office for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Montreal, Canada. (Reuters)
and Chicago Marathon champion, Rita Jeptoo,
now serving a ban.
PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD AVOID RIO
OLYMPICS DUE TO ZIKA RISK: WHO
The World Health Organization has urged pregnant women not to travel to Rio for the Olympics
and urged athletes and visitors to the Games to
take precautions to avoid Zika infection.
Acknowledging the widespread anxiety surrounding the threat of mosquito-borne Zika,
which is rampant in Brazil and which experts
agree causes the birth defect microcephaly in
babies born to women infected with the virus,
WHO issued its first guidelines specifically
linked to the Rio Olympics.
The UN health agency, along with the Pan
American Health Organization (PAHO), reiter-
ated its recommendation to pregnant women
“not to travel to areas with ongoing Zika virus
transmission.”
“This includes Rio de Janeiro,” the organisations said in a joint statement. Brazil has been
the epicentre of the Zika outbreak now affecting
58 countries and territories, with around 1.5 million people infected in the country since 2015.
The virus, which also causes the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, is mainly spread by two species of Aedes
mosquito but has also been shown to transmit
through sexual contact.
The Olympics and Paralympics, set for August 5 through September 18, “will take place
during Brazil’s wintertime when there are fewer
active mosquitoes and the risk of being bitten is
lower,” WHO stressed.
did indeed test positive, it would
be for steroids.
“They (WADA) could certainly
ask the IOC if they would do that
(re-test samples)” Pound told
Reuters before the start of the
WADA meetings. “By and large
with steroids, especially if it is a
state-run thing, they are pretty
good about the clearance times.
It is the not-so-gifted amateurs
that sometimes get the clearance
times wrong and end up testing positive. Generally speaking,
if you know when your event is
and you test positive, you fail not
only the drug test but an IQ test.”
Pound said he did not rule out
the possibility of returning to
take up his role as head of another WADA independent commission, but added that he has not
yet been asked.
Before WADA requested a retest of Sochi samples, Pound felt
the first step in any investigation should be another conversation with Rodchenkov, who
is believed to be in hiding in the
United States.
“They might well do that (ask
for a re-test) but I think what
they would really prefer to do
would be to get hold of Radchenkov,” said Pound. “People
make it sound like he is in America somewhere. He’s a fairly slippery character.
“I
interviewed
him
in
Lausanne and there was lots of
rolling of eyes and hands drawn
across necks and stuff like that.
“He wasn’t very forthcoming
but I must say our terms of reference were so narrow that we
didn’t talk about it.”
While not connected to athletics, the latest doping allegations will not help Russian efforts to satisfy the International
Association of Athletics Federations it has done enough to have
its suspension lifted to take part
in the Rio Games.
“The more the rot appears to
spread, the harder it is for them
to develop the kind of credibility
they need on this,” said Pound.
It nonetheless urged all those planning to
make the trip to Rio for the games to wear bodycovering clothing and insect repellant to avoid
mosquito bites and to choose accommodation
with air-conditioning, rather than relying on
leaving windows open for ventilation.
It also said they should avoid visiting impoverished and overcrowded areas with poor sanitation, where the risk of mosquito bites is higher.
Due to the risk of sexual transmission, anyone
visiting Rio should use a condom when have sex
for at least four weeks after their return, especially if they had experienced symptoms of Zika,
or refrain from sex altogether, WHO said.
For the partners of pregnant women, the
agency said they should practice safe sex for the
remainder of the pregnancy, or abstain completely until the baby is born.
POCOG
approve Lee
as 2018 chief
Seoul: Former South Korea trade
minister Lee Hee-beom moved a
step closer to becoming the new
2018 Winter Olympics chief after the
Pyeongchang organising committee
(POCOG) unanimously approved his
candidacy yesterday.
Lee is now awaiting final approval
from the country’s ministry of culture,
sports and tourism before officially
taking up the role next week.
POCOG said in a statement Lee was
expected to begin work on Monday
and begin by making a two-day trip
to Pyeongchang and the coastal city
of Gangneung to check on Olympic
venues and preparations.
“The Pyeongchang 2018 Games is a
historic project that will showcase the
development of Korea to the world
and put Pyeongchang’s name on the
map as a major winter sports hub,”
said Lee. “I will fully devote myself to
deliver a successful Games in 2018.”
Lee is set to replace Hanjin Group
Chairman Cho Yang-ho, who stepped
down last week in order to focus on
the management of the troubled
Hanjin shipping business.
While Lee brings little in the way
of sports administration experience
to the role, his business ties are likely
to help organisers meet sponsorship
targets with Asia’s first Winter Games
outside Japan less than two years
away. Lee served as South Korea’s
trade minister from 2003-06 and has
also held high level positions at the
Korea International Trade Association
and Korea Employers Federation.
The IOC said it was confident
POCOG would continue to work
through preparation issues.
Gulf Times
Friday, May 13, 2016
11
SPORT
SPOTLIGHT
Gatlin praises new talent
despite competitive threat
US sprinter says he is readying for the US trials with his eye on fellow American Trayvon Bromell
AFP
Shanghai
U
S sprinter Justin Gatlin yesterday praised the new generation of track competitors,
particularly fellow American
Trayvon Bromell, as the 34-year-old
veteran preps for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Gatlin, who won the 100 metres gold
at the 2004 Games in Athens, said he
was readying for the US trials with his
eye on the 20-year-old who swept to
victory in the 60m at the World Indoor
Athletics Championships in March.
“I believe that Trayvon Bromell is a
huge talent, still in the making,” he told
a news conference in Shanghai ahead of
the Diamond League meeting in China’s
commercial hub tomorrow.
“I definitely can’t count him out, but
I can’t anybody else out who’s going to
line up against us for the Olympic trials.
They’ll be ready too.”
Bromell took the bronze medal in the
100m at the World Championships in
Beijing last August, when he finished
behind Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt
and Gatlin—who also lost to Bolt in the
200m.
Asked about his arch-rival, Gatlin
said: “Now I’m training to be a better
athlete, make sure I stay focused within
myself when it comes to competition.
I hope that it will turn around for me
when it comes to Rio ‘16,” he said.
Gatlin has failed two dope tests during his career but has returned to competition and also represented the United
States at the 2012 Olympics. Fresh from
a 100 metre victory in Japan earlier this
month, Gatlin played down worries
over an ankle injury last year and said he
was pacing himself early in the season.
“I don’t want to get too burnt out
before the season even kicks off to the
important part where I need to be at my
top form,” he said. In Shanghai, he will
face US compatriot and world finalist
Mike Rodgers in the 100m.
RUDISHA EYES SHANGHAI
RECORD
David Rudisha set his sights on breaking
the Shanghai Diamond League record
as he steps up his campaign for the first
back-to-back Olympic 800 metres titles in 52 years.
The world record-holder from Kenya
said he was hoping for improvement in
his second outing of the season, after
clocking one minute 44.78 seconds in
Melbourne in March. “I want to keep
on improving every time. Of course,
my ultimate aim is to be at the top form
in August for Rio Olympics,” he told a
news conference in Shanghai.
“I’m also looking forward to improve
from my last time in Australia,” he said.
I’m looking forward for something like
1:43-and-a-half.”
The Shanghai meet record is 1:44.63,
set by now-retired Kenyan Wilfred
Bungei in 2008. Rudisha, now 27, set an
amazing world record of 1:40.91 to win
gold in the London Games in 2012.
No man has won consecutive Olym-
pic 800m titles since New Zealand’s
Peter Snell in 1960 and 1964, while only
two others—Douglas Lowe (1924 and
1928) and Mal Whitfield (1948 and 1952)
-- have ever done it.
Tomorrow, Rudisha will face four
other Kenyan runners in the 800m
race, including world finalists Ferguson
Cheruiyot Rotich and Alfred Kipketer.
The field also includes Erik Sowinski
and Nick Symmonds, both of the United
States.
INJURED FRASER-PRYCE
PULLS OUT
Meanwhile, World and Olympic 100
metres women’s champion Shelly-Ann
Fraser-Pryce has been ruled out of
Shanghai Diamond League because of
a minor toe injury. The organisers say
Fraser-Pryce is currently getting treatment and expects to be fit in short order.
There have been concerns about Fraser-Pryce’s health in recent days after
she failed to show at the Jamaica International Invitational on May 7. she was
down to compete in the 200 metres and
was to line up against eventual winner
Shaunae Miller from The Bahamas.
Two-time Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown will line up
against a trio of Americans as she returns to Shanghai just 12 months after
being beaten here by Nigeria’s multitalented Blessing Okagbare over 100m.
The Jamaican, who is aiming to complete an Olympic hat-trick in Rio later
this summer, triumphed over 100m
at this meeting in 2011 and at 200m
in 2012. She currently lies third in the
world rankings after running 22.29 at
the end of April, but will face formidable opposition this year from US sprinters Candyce Mc.Grone, Jeneba Tarmoh
and Tiffany Townsend.
McGrone will be a particular threat as
looks to build on her 2015 breakthrough
when she was fourth in Beijing, while
Tarmoh is a former world junior 100m
champion who was sixth over 200m at
the World Championships after placing
fith at the 2013 Moscow Worlds.
Rousseff’s
departure
won’t affect
Rio Games:
IOC
Reuters: Preparations for
the Rio de Janeiro Olympics,
which begin in less than three
months, will not be affected
by the Brazilian senate’s vote
to put President Dilma Rousseff on trial, the International
Olympic Committee said
yesterday.
The first South American
city to host the Olympics,
has been racing to get ready
for the Aug. 5-21 Games—its
second global sports event
in two years—in the face of
political turmoil, health scares
and the country’s worst recession since the 1930s.
“Preparations for the Olympic Games have now entered
into a very operational phase
and issues such as these have
much less influence than at
other stages of organising the
Olympic Games,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a
statement. “We have seen the
great progress being made in
Rio de Janeiro and we remain
confident about the success
of the Olympic Games in
August.”
Brazil’s Senate voted
on Thursday to put leftist
Rousseff on trial. The historic
decision follows the recession
and a massive corruption
scandal that will now confront
her successor, centrist Vice
President Michel Temer.
Brazil’s first female
president, the 68-year-old
economist and former Marxist guerrilla is unlikely to be
acquitted in a trial that could
last as long as six months.
Only days ago, she had
welcomed the Olympic
flame in the capital Brasilia
and marked the start of the
nationwide torch relay.
As its economy shrinks
after a decade of prosperity,
Brazil is fighting an outbreak
of the mosquito-borne Zika
virus that threatens to keep
some athletes and tourists
away from Rio.
Federal investigators also
told Reuters recently they
were probing alleged corruption in Olympic projects.
Rio organisers are also facing criticism for the polluted
waters of the venues that will
host sailing and open-water
swimming events among
other things.
The IOC has supported the
Brazilian organisers in their
efforts and said they would
deliver on their promises
of successful maiden South
American Games.
“The Brazilian people will
deliver a memorable Olympic
Games full of passion for
sport for which they are world
renowned,” Bach said.
“It will be a moment for
Brazil to show to the world its
determination to overcome
the present crisis. These will
be Brazil’s Games.”
OLYMPICS
French inquiry says $2 million payment fuels Tokyo suspicions
AFP
Paris
F
rench investigators said yesterday they
suspect that $2 million paid to a son of
disgraced athletics supremo Lamine
Diack was to get support for Tokyo’s
2020 Olympics bid. Some 2.8 million Singapore dollars (1.8 million euros, $2 million) paid
to a company owned by Papa Missata Diack is
at the centre of the suspicions, prosecutors said
in a statement. Diack father and son already
face corruption charges in France. The Japanese
government insisted earlier yesterday that the
Tokyo bid was “clean”.
Two payments were made in 2013 to Black
Tidings, a Singapore-based company linked to
Papa Diack, who was employed by the International Association of Athletics Federations
(IAAF) as a consultant, French prosecutors
said in a statement. The International Olympic
Committee chose Tokyo over Istanbul and Madrid as host for the 2020 Games in September
2013. Diack senior was still an IOC member at
the vote.
The payments were discovered as part of an
inquiry into allegations that Diack father and
son organised bribes to cover up failed dope
tests by Russian athletes, the prosecutors said.
French investigators became involved as the
money may have been laundered in Paris.
“The National Financial Prosecution service
was informed of two financial movements alleged to have been carried out in July and October 2013,” said the statement.
It said the money totalled 2.8 million Singapore dollars and was “labelled as ‘Tokyo 2020
Olympic Games Bid’, coming from an account
Two payments were made in 2013
to Black Tidings, a Singapore-based
company linked to Papa Diack, who was
employed by the IAAF as a consultant,
French prosecutors said in a statement.
The International Olympic Committee
chose Tokyo over Istanbul and
Madrid as host for the 2020 Games in
September 2013. Diack senior was still
an IOC member at the vote
opened at a Japanese bank, for the profit of the
‘Black Tidings’ company in Singapore”.
The prosecutors said the payments “so close
to the International Olympic Committee’s designation of the organising city for the 2020 Olympic Games, important parallel purchases by
Black Tidings in Paris”, and other elements had
convinced them to start a new inquiry.
It said a World Anti-Doping Agency report
and press reports on possible corruption in the
Olympic bidding had also played a role. It said
three financial investigators were leading the
probe for corruption, aggravated money laundering, fraud and conspiracy surrounding the
2020 bidding.
There are now separate investigations into
the doping bribes and suspected Olympic bid
corruption for the 2016 and 2020 Games. Lamine Diack now faces corruption and money
laundering charges in France. His son is wanted
by French authorities who have issued an international arrest alert through Interpol.
An IOC spokesman said in March, however,
that there was “no evidence” at that stage of
corruption in the Olympic bids. Reacting to a
report by British newspaper, The Guardian, into
the French investigation, Japanese government
chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said
yesterday: “My understanding is that the bid
process of the Tokyo 2020 Games was done in
a clean way. Japan will take appropriate measures if the French justice authorities make any
request”, but will not question the Tokyo 2020
team based on the report, Suga added.
A report released in January by the World
Anti-Doping Agency suggested that Diack’s
vote for 2020 may have been swayed by $5 million in sponsorship money. A footnote in the
WADA independent commission report cited
transcripts of conversations between another
Diack son, Khalil, and Turkish officials over the
2020 Games.
“It is stated that Turkey lost LD’s (Lamine Diack’s) support because they did not pay
sponsorship moneys of $4-5 million either to
the Diamond League or IAAF. According to the
transcript the Japanese did pay such a sum,” the
WADA report said.
“The 2020 Games were awarded to Tokyo.
The IC (independent commission) did not investigate this matter further for it was not
within our remit,” it added. At the time, Tokyo
2020 spokesman Hikariko Ono called the report
“beyond our understanding”.
Ono made a similar comment about the new
details of the French investigation. Tokyo 2020
“has no means of knowing these allegations”,
Ono said in a statement to AFP. “We believe
that the Games were awarded to Tokyo because
the city presented the best bid.”
Lamine Diack, 82, left the IOC in 2013 after
the vote for the 2020 Games. He resigned as an
honorary member in November after he was
suspended by the IOC because of the French
charges. Diack is now banned from leaving
France. Papa Diack is based in Senegal, where
authorities have said he will not be extradited.
French investigators are probing a suspect payment of 1.3 million euros ($1.5 million) to a company
owned by Papa Missata Diack, the son of ex-IAAF president Lamine Diack, who is facing corruption
charges in France. (AFP)
Friday, May 13, 2016
SPORT
GULF TIMES
SPOTLIGHT
‘BIG FOUR’ SET FOR TODAY’S
EMIR CUP SEMI-FINALS
In the first semi-final, Al Rayyan will take on defending champions Al Sadd, while Lekhwiya face El Jaish in the other clash
By Sports Reporter
Doha
T
he ‘Big Four’ of the Qatar Stars
League (QSL) – Al Rayyan, El
Jaish, Lekhwiya and Al Sadd –
will lock horns in the semi-finals of
the Emir Cup today with an aim of
winning the season-ending championship.
In the first semi-final, Al Rayyan
– the QSL champions – will take
on defending champions Al Sadd at
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, with the
kick-off set for 5:30pm.
In the evening’s second semi-final
at the same venue with the kick-off
set for 8:00pm, Lekhwiya will take
on El Jaish for a place in the final
which will be played on May 20.
Al Rayyan facing hosts Al Sadd is
one of the most sought-after games
in Qatar with the rivalry between
the two teams going back a long way
historically.
Coached by Jorge Fossati, Al Rayyan will be looking to conquer the defending champions who were admittedly fortunate to edge a formidable
Al Gharafa side in the quarter-finals.
Al Sadd, coached by Jesualdo Ferreira, will be looking for their first
piece of silverware this season having failed to stop Al Rayyan in QSL.
In the second semi-final, El Jaish
have their sights set on a first Emir
Cup on the expense of Lekhwiya.
Coached by Sabri Lamouchi, El Jaish
are one of the most consistent sides
in Qatar.
They beat Al Ahli 4-2 after conceding the first goal in the quarterfinals three days ago.
Lekhwiya, coached by Djamel Belmadi, will be looking for an outright
win having struggled in their quarter-finals against Al Sailiyah three
days ago.
The tickets have been picked up by
the fans and a housefull is expected
to witness the two games today.
Al Sadd, coached by Jesualdo Ferreira (centre), will be looking for their first piece of silverware this season having failed to stop Al Rayyan win the Qatar Stars League.
Coached by Jorge Fossati (right), Al Rayyan will be looking to add another trophy, having already
won the Qatar Stars League convincingly this season.
ROUND-UP
FOCUS
Croatia’s Bonacic set to be
appointed Al Ahli coach
By Sports Reporter
Doha
Graduation ceremony
for Al Shaqab students
to be held on May 26
By Sports Reporter
Doha
C
roatia’s Luka Bonacic arrived in Doha
on Wednesday evening, ahead of
signing a contract to coach Al Ahli for
the 2016/2017 season. His arrival was confirmed by Ahli vice president Khaled Shabib
to QSL website.“Luka Bonacic arrived in
Doha to go over the final details of his contract. We will make an announcement in due
course following the conclusion of the negotiations,” said Shabib.
Bonacic is no stranger to the Qatar Stars
League, having managed Al Shahania for
the 2014-2015 campaign. The Croatian will
be looking to improve the fortunes of Ahli,
who finished the season strongly, ending up
in sixth place in the QSL standings.
Shabib wished the best for short-term
coach Yusef Adam. “We wish to thank Yusef
Adam for his efforts, he remains a crucial
member of the staff at Al Ahli club”
T
he curtain of a successful season of Al
Shaqab’s Equine Education Department
came down when several competitions for
the junior riders took place at the Al Shaqab indoor
arena. These competitions challenged the junior
riders to raise their standard while instilling a greater sense of cultural awareness among them and
those included dressage and jumping while over 150
riders (girls and boys) took part.
Equine Education aims to install noble values
into the students and teach them various equestrian skills, such as jumping and dressage. This
will qualify the students to integrate into the Qatari
equestrian society and bring it more success at the
international and regional level.
Mohammed Sultan al-Sowidi, Equine Education
Manager, stated: “The final competitions were part
of the new curriculum for our students before the
final exams and the graduation ceremony, which
will take place on May 26. The competitions provided an appropriate environment to the junior
riders, which enabled them to exchange experience
and develop their relationship with horses”
He continued: “I would like to extend our sincere
thanks to Exxon Mobil Qatar for supporting and
adopting the educational programs of Al Shaqab,
which has had a significant impact on developing
the junior riders programs and conclusion of a successful season.”
To encourage the members of families and the
general public to attend the competitions, a variety
of entertainment activities were organised including children’s fun zone, horse carriage and pony
rides. During the graduation ceremony Al Shaqab
will also be announcing the setting up of a complete
Qatari equestrian curriculum for aspiring professionals in equestrian sports in line with the heritage
and culture of Qatar.
HAN KOOK-YOUNG SIGNS
FOR GHARAFA
QSL side Al Gharafa has announced the
signing of former Qatar SC midfielder Han
Kook-Young. The club confirmed the deal
on Wednesday evening via their official
website.
The dynamic South Korean international
has been a mainstay in the Qatar SC midfield this season. However, with Qatar SC
being relegated to the Qatar Gas League the
former Kashiwa Reysol has opted to sign a
three-year deal with Al Gharafa.
The new signing caps of a good week for
the Cheetahs, who also announced that
head coach Pedro Caixinia has signed a
one-year contract extension with the club.
Gharafa will now begin preparations for the
upcoming 2016/2017 QSL season.
UMM SALAL WIN YOUTH
FUTSAL TOURNAMENT
Umm Salal beat Al Khor 5-2 in the final of
the Youth Futsal tournament at the Al Wakrah Indoor Hall.
Umm Salal closed the first half with a 2-0
lead to lay the foundations of a convincing
win. Despite missing numerous opportunities to score, Umm Salal and Al Khor maintained a fast pace in the game.
Al Khor hit back in the second half by
scoring two goals but Umm Salal added
Croatian coach Luka Bonacic.
three more goals to close out a memorable
win. At presentation ceremony, the organising committee honoured the match commissioner, the game referees before turning to the two teams.
Al Khor team players and officials received
the silver medals whereas Umm Salal got the
gold medals. Umm Salal and Al Khor had
reached the final after beating Al Kharaitiyat
and Al Arabi respectively in the semi-finals.
Junior riders of Al Shaqab’s Equine Education Department in action during the competitions at the
Al Shaqab indoor arena.