SPORTTour of Spain; Tour of Britain

World Cup, quarter-final: USA vs France

CYCLING BASKETBALL

07WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2019

This is truly an amazing accomplishment, but I

could definitely get used to this feeling. I’m not

done yet.

US Open champion Bianca Andreescu says she is eyeing more titles after winning her maiden Grand Slam title.

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Formula One: Schumacher in Paris for cell therapy, says reportAFP PARIS

The stricken seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is in Paris’ Georges-Pompidou hospital for cell therapy surgery, according to French daily Le Parisien.The Paris hospitals department refused to confirm or deny the

news citing medical privacy laws. But according to Le Parisien, the 50-year-old German is in the cardiovascular department overseen by surgeon Philippe Menasche, described as a ‘pioneer in cell surgery against heart failure’.Schumacher will receive stem cells to obtain an anti-inflam-

matory effect throughout his system, Le Parisien suggests.“The treatment will begin on Tuesday (yesterday) and (he will) leave the establishment on Wednesday (today),” said Le Parisien, which claims the former Ferrari star has already been treated there twice this spring.

The athlete was struck down by a skiing accident that

snapped his helmet in December 2013 and little information on his condition has been made public since then.

He was placed in a medi-cally-induced coma for six months after the fall and was moved from Grenoble hospital to Lausanne before being returned home in September 2014 where he receives private

treatment. It has been suggested by old friends he is unable to walk or properly communicate. Schumacher won his first world title 25 years ago and had won his first Grand Prix back in 1992. His glory years were spent at Benetton and Ferrari, for whom he won the last of his 91 Grand Prix victories in China in 2006.

He came out of retirement

in 2010 for a three-year stint with Mercedes.

Fans revere the determined German and his name was chanted at the Monza circuit last weekend for Ferrari’s most suc-cessful Formula One driver Schumacher, with his son Mick, who is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, present during the Italian Grand Prix .

Injured Lewis pulls out of US Solheim Cup teamREUTERS NEW YORK

Stacy Lewis (pictured) has

withdrawn from the US

Solheim Cup team with a back

injury and will be replaced by

Ally McDonald, captain Juli

Inkster said yesterday.

The experienced 34-year-

old, who has played in four of

the biennial tournaments, was

one of Inkster’s two captain’s

picks to face Europe in the

September 13 to 15 event at

Gleneagles, Scotland.

“I’m extremely disap-

pointed not to be able to play.

I’m a competitor and I want

to play, but I had a back injury

flare up last week,” Lewis said

in a statement on the tour-

nament website https://www.

solheimcup2019.com/news/

mcdonald-to-replace-lewis-

in-team-usa.

“I’ve done everything I

could possibly do over the last

week to be ready to play. For

my health and... in the best

interest of the team, I decided

to take myself out.

“I’ll take a different role

with the team and will do

whatever I can to help Team

USA bring the Cup home.”

McDonald, who is in her

fourth year on the LPGA Tour,

will make her Solheim Cup

debut and the 26-year-old

said she was ready to step up

to the challenge.

“I didn’t want to make the

team this way, but when Juli

told me what was going on

with Stacy, I was ready to step

into either role, if that was

being here and being part of

the experience or being ready

to tee it up,” McDonald said.

The United States have

won five of the last seven

Solheim Cups. Europe last

won the trophy in 2013.

I’m extremely

disappointed not

to be able to play.

I’m a competitor

and I want to play,

but I had a back

injury flare up last

week: Stacy Lewis

Scola stars as Argentina oust Serbia, cruise into Cup semisAFP DONGGUAN, CHINA

Argentina’s grand old man Luis Scola knocked down a series of key buckets in a fourth quarter surge yesterday to crush Serbian hopes and propel the South Americans into the semi-finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Scola, 39 years old and the last remaining member of Argentina’s “Golden Generation” that won the Olympics in 2004, finished with a team-high 20 points in the 97-87 win.

The outcome leaves Argentina undefeated in the World Cup, hosted this year by China, and headed for a Friday match-up against the winner of USA-France, who tip off today.

For the Serbs, shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings led all scorers with 21 points, while Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic added 16. The bigger Serbians, who had looked dominant in group play behind do-it-all centre Jokic, had to play catch-up against the quick Argentines throughout their quarterfinal contest in Dongguan in southern China.

Serbia finally grabbed a 70-68 fourth quarter lead on a three-pointer by the Memphis Grizzlies’ Marko Guduric and looked like they might make amends for a frustrating 81-69 second-round loss to Spain, the only blemish in their World Cup campaign to that point.

But that’s when Scola

stepped up, scoring eight rapid-fire points in a 21-6 Argentina run that dropped the curtain on Serbia’s World Cup.

“We believed it. It wasn’t impossible. We have a great team and we have great energy,” said Argentina forward Patricio Garino. Scola is by far the oldest player in the relatively young Argentina squad.

“The way we played today is an example of what we want to do over the years,” Garino said.

Argentina were the more fluid of the two teams throughout the game, moving the ball well and spreading out the scoring.

Serbia had looked like title contenders after demolishing

their opponents in the group phases by a average 40.8 points per game.

But the subsequent loss to Spain rocked the Serbs and they

never seemed able to find a con-sistent rhythm against a pesky Argentine defence.

Jokic was valiant in defeat as his team relied heavily on him, but he got little support for most of the game from his team’s long-range shooters, who had been among the most accurate from the three-point range throughout the tournament.

“We should have played better defense and more concen-trated. The toughest matches are the quarter-finals but now we have lost the chance to win a medal,” said Bogdanovic.

“The best thing we can do now is to fight to at least be the fifth.”

Argentina’s Luis Scola (centre) takes a shot during the Basketball World Cup quarter-final game against Serbia in Dongguan, yesterday.

Scola finishes with a team-high 20 points in the 97-87 win.

For the Serbs, Bogdan Bogdanovic leads all scorers with 21 points.

The outcome leaves Argentina undefeated in the World Cup.

NHL: Ovechkin returns to ice after injury scareREUTERS WASHINGTON

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was able to laugh off what initially appeared to be a serious injury during a scrimmage on Monday.

Ovechkin went down awkwardly and reportedly screamed in pain before leaving the ice without putting any weight on his left leg. The three-time Hart Trophy recipient was helped off the ice by team-mates John Carlson, Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom.

Ovechkin, however, returned to the ice approximately 20 minutes later to resume skating.

Ovechkin, who turns 34 on September 17, dismissed Monday’s events as a con-tinuation of a bad start to his week.

“It’s OK,” he said, per NHL.com. “Last night I fell off my bike.”

Ovechkin will be heading into his 15th NHL season after collecting a league-leading 51 goals to go along with 38 assists in 81 games in 2018-19.

Astros bash 7 homers, hammer A’sREUTERS HOUSTON

Houston battered Oakland pitching for 11 runs on 12 hits -- six of them home runs -- in the first two innings as the Astros hammered the visiting Athletics 15-0 to set a fran-chise record for home wins on Monday night.

Robinson Chirinos went 3-for-4, crushed a pair of home runs and drove in a career-high-tying six runs to help the Astros match their club record with seven homers in a game.

Yordan Alvarez belted a pair of solo homers, and Alex Bregman clouted a three-run homer as Houston won for the fifth in a row and for the 17th time in the past 21 games.

Jose Altuve went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and two runs, and Michael Brantley had a solo homer and two runs for Houston.

Yankees 5, Red Sox 0 Austin Romine and Gio

Urshela homered, James Paxton threw 6 2/3 shutout innings and New York blanked host Boston in the finale of a four-game series.

Paxton (13-6) won his eighth straight start, giving up four hits and three walks and

striking out seven. The victory was the

Yankees’ 14th in 19 meetings with the Red Sox this season, their most over Boston in a single year in the expansion era (since 1961).

Mets 3, Diamondbacks 1 Pete Alonso hit two solo

shots to as he continues his

chase of baseball’s single-season rookie home run record, and New York beat visiting Arizona in the opener of a pivotal four-game series.

The Mets, who remained four games behind the Chicago Cubs in the race for the second National League wild card, snapped a two-game losing streak. The Dia-mondbacks, who fell to 2 1/2 games back of the Cubs, lost their second straight and fell for just the third time in 14 games.

Braves 7, Phillies 2 Ronald Acuna Jr. and Josh

Donaldson homered to lift visiting Atlanta past Phila-delphia in the opener of a four-game series.

Acuna also walked twice and scored three runs while Dansby Swanson had a hit, a run and two walks for Atlanta. Freddie Freeman ripped three hits and Ozzie Albies had two hits for the Braves, who have won 10 of 11.

Houston Astros’ catcher Robinson Chirinos (foreground) celebrates with his team-mates after a win over Oakland Athletics on Monday.

Spain down Poland in Shanghai quarter-finalAFP SHANGHAI

Spain will play Australia or the Czech Republic in Friday’s Basketball World Cup semi-finals as Ricky Rubio made history in a 90-78 win over surprise-packages Poland.

The Poles, back in the compe-tition after a 52-year absence, had defied expectations to reach the last eight in China.

They were behind from the third minute against the Olympic bronze medallists yesterday in Shanghai, with the Phoenix Suns’ Rubio making an electric start for Spain.

He had nine points in the first half and grabbed his 107th career World Cup assist to become the all-time leader, surpassing Pablo Prigioni of Argentina.

Rubio finished the match with 19 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Juan Hernangomez of the Denver Nuggets surged to 14 points before the break as Spain, ranked two in the world behind reigning champions the United States, threatened to run riot.

The 34-year-old Gasol, who played a key role in the Toronto Raptors’ historic run to the NBA crown, had 10 points and seven assists.

REUTERS TOKYO

Samoa scrumhalf Scott Malolua has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup with a shoulder injury and replaced by Pele Cowley, coach Steve Jackson said ahead of the team’s departure to Japan on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Malolua had a test debut to forget against Australia on Saturday, dislo-cating his shoulder in a tryline ruck. He faces eight weeks on the sidelines, which will keep him out of the September 20 to November 2 World Cup.

Cowley has represented Samoa in 12 tests and last featured in their 13-10 Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) defeat by the United States in August.

“We’re all gutted for Scott,” Jackson said in Auckland.

“He was playing some good rugby. But we all understand that this is the nature of our game. So we need to push forward to Japan.

“And that’s why we’ve brought Cowley into our squad. He spent the PNC with us and so he’s familiar with the playing group and how we want to play the game.”

Cowley said he felt bad for Malolua and that he knows exactly what he is going through.

“It’s an unfortunate circumstance in which to be called up. I feel for Scotty,” Cowley said.

Samoa, World Cup quarter-finalists in 1991 and 1995, kick off their campaign against Russia in Kumagaya on Sept. 24 before facing against Scotland, Japan and Ireland.

Meanwhile, Namibia loose-forward PJ van Lill has received a Rugby World Cup reprieve after successfully appealing against a red card he received in a warm-up match against South African franchise Southern Kings on Saturday.

Van Lill, who will be appearing at his third World Cup in Japan, was sent off in the 21-17 victory along with Kings flanker Thembelani Bholi after the pair were involved in a scuffle.

It would have meant a suspension for Namibia’s opening three games of the World Cup against Italy, South Africa and New Zealand.

However, yesterday, he made a successful appeal to a panel chaired by Roger Morris (Wales), and also containing former interna-tional players Olly Kohn (Wales) and Leon Lloyd (England).

08 WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2019SPORT

Japan heat will suit our game, says All Blacks star WeberAFP KASHIWA

New Zealand scrumhalf Brad Weber believes the All Blacks’ high-tempo game will perfectly suit the hot and humid Japanese conditions as they seek to run oppo-nents ragged in pursuit of a third straight World Cup.

Weber told reporters yesterday that the focus of the team’s first training session in Japan was on getting used to the “pretty hot” conditions in Tokyo with temperatures hitting 35 Celsius.

But Weber insisted the All Blacks would relish the warmth, and the contrast with a New Zealand winter.

“New Zealanders in general, we like to play a fast game, up tempo. I see these conditions suiting us per-fectly,” said the 28-year-old, who won his ticket to Japan off the back of a stand-out Super Rugby season for the Waikato Chiefs.

“We’re all pretty keen to get amongst these condi-tions, because it’s relatively cold and wet back home and we’ll get some conditions we enjoy playing in.”

Weber quipped that the weather was “just like summer in New Zealand,” before admitting: “OK, maybe the humidity’s a bit different.”

Lock Sam Whitelock said that the change in temper-ature was fierce but teams that adapted their style to the conditions would prosper over the seven-week tournament.

“Because it’s going to be warm, everyone’s going to want to play expansive rugby but it’s about making

sure you can control the tempo,” said Whitelock, also part of the past two World Cup-winning teams.

“You’ve got to have the ability to play a couple of dif-ferent styles,” he said.

The giant lock revealed

that some players had taken to wrapping themselves in cold towels at training to get their body temperature

down but stressed that two weeks was enough to acclimatise.

New Zealand open their title defence against South Africa on September 21 in what Whitelock said was “a massive match that will set the tone for our whole campaign.”

The Springboks have already been in Japan for more than a week and ran out 41-7 winners against the Japanese Brave Blossoms in their final warm-up game.

“They are a very good side so I’m sure they will have been holding some-thing back and I’m sure they’ll keep something up their sleeve for us,” said Whitelock.

New Zealand All Blacks player Kieran Read (second left) and head coach Steve Hansen (second right) take part in a welcoming ceremony after arriving at their hotel in Kashiwa, Chiba prefecture on Monday night.

Malolua faces eight weeks on the sidelines, which will keep him out of the September 20 to November 2 World Cup.

Samoa’s scrumhalf Malolua out of World Cup with shoulder injury

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Russell the key to Scots’ hopesREUTERS TOKYO

From apprentice stone-mason working out of a cold shed in Stirling to cele-brated flyhalf lighting up the playing fields of France, the rise of Scotland’s Finn Russell (pictured) is the stuff rugby dreams are made of.

Since earning his first full-time contract at Glasgow Warriors in 2014 Russell has established himself as one of the finest number 10’s in the world, his talents persuading French cracks Racing 92 to make him one of rugby’s highest earners.

While some feared the move to France would damage his international

career, with Racing under no obligation to rest Russell ahead of Scotland matches, Paris has proved the perfect setting for the 26-year-old to grow.

On the pitch, Russell is challenged in every way possible, the Top 14 a league brimming with the cream of French talent and a sprinkling of elite foreign

imports lured by huge con-tracts and the promise of superstar status. Off it, he is soaking up the Parisian life-style, learning the language, broadening his horizons.

“I’m getting a lot more challenges here and I’m outside my comfort zone a lot more,” Russell told The Times.

“I’m going to become a better player, and the expe-riences I’ll get off the field will be great for me as a person.”

It is all a far cry from the three years he spent training to be a stonemason after leaving school -- building door frames, win-dowsills and walls. Safe to say, he will never take his new life for granted.

“On rainy days it could

be pretty miserable,” he told local media of his previous trade.

“If I ever have a bad day at training, I think back to what it was like working in that cold shed.”

Russell has gone from strength to strength since swapping Stirling Castle for the Sacre Coeur. Against Georgia in Tbilisi last month the standoff’s exquisite range of passing was on full display once more, an offload from his knees to Matt Fagerson that set up the Scots’ opening try the pick of the bunch.

In all he had a hand in four of Scotland’s five tries in their 44-10 victory that day. The Scots will be hoping for more of the same in Japan.

THE PENINSULA DOHA

The Athletics Federation of India selection committee on Monday picked a 25-member national team including 16 men and nine women for the IAAF World Championships to be held in Doha, Qatar, from September 27 to October 6.

With less than a year to go for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the well-prepared squad will carry the hopes of the track and field fans from India.

The AFI believes that the 4x400m relay teams will all perform better than they did in the World Relays in Yokohama in May last.

“We have invested a lot of time in the 400m runners, getting them to train under renowned coach Galina Bukharina. We believe that the squad has been well prepared to deliver the best results on the World stage,” AFI President AdilleJ Sumariwalla said.

Metric miler Jinson Johnson, who is now training with coach Scott Simmons in Colarado Springs, United States of America, has caught the eye with his con-sistency. In the recent months, he improved his own National record in the 1500m twice, first with a time of 3:37.62 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, on June 15 and then 3:35.24 in Berlin on September 1 to make the grade.

Long jumper M Sreeshankar, among the first Indians to attain the IAAF qualifying standard with a leap of 8.20m in the National Open Championships in Bhubaneswar in September last year, has regained form after a heel injury kept him away from the Asian Championships in Doha in April. He recently found the 8.00m mark again and will gain from competing in the big

stage. While 400m runner Arokia Rajiv is unavailable due to injury, the selectors decided to discuss the case of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra who is undergoing rehabilitation pro-gramme after an elbow surgery at a later stage.

Selection committee also approved the names of sprinters Dutee Chand (100m Women), ArchanaSuseentran (200m

Women) and high jumper Tejaswin Shankar subject to invi-tation from IAAF based on their world rankings.

The committee also decided to conduct confirm-atory trial for quarter miler Anjali Devi for selection in the team in individual women’s 400m. The trial will be con-ducted on 21st September 2019 at NS-NIS Patiala.

The AFI selection committee meeting, chaired by Olympian Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, was attended by AFI President AdilleJ Sumariwalla, Chief Coach Bahadur Singh, Bahadur Singh Saggu, Krishna Poonia, Praveen Jolly,UdayPrabhu, Paramjit Singh. Former Chief Coach JS Saini and Deputy Chief Coach Radhakrishnan Nair were special invitees.

Indian TeamMen

Jabir MP (400m Hurdles), Jinson Johnson (1500m), Avinash Sable

(3000m Steeplechase), KT Irfan and Devender Singh (20km Race

Walk), Gopi T (Marathon),Sreeshankar M (Long Jump), Tajinder Pal

Singh Toor (Shot Put), Shivpal Singh (Javelin Throw), MuhammedAnas,

Nirmal Noah Tom, Alex Antony, Amoj Jacob, KS Jeevan, Dharun

Ayyasamy and Harsh Kumar (4x400m Men’s & MixedRelay).

Women

PU Chitra (1500m), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw), Hima Das, Vismaya

VK, Poovamma MR, Jisna Mathew, Revathi V, SubhaVenkatsan, Vithya

R (4x400m Women & Mixed Relay).

AGENCIES PARIS

Eleven more Russian athletes have been cleared to compete internationally just two weeks ahead of the world champion-ships in Doha, the IAAF announced yesterday.

Russia was barred from international competition in 2015 over a vast state-run doping con-spiracy but athletes subsequently deemed clean have been allowed to compete as neutrals.

Nineteen competed as neu-trals at the 2017 world champi-onships in London and 29 at the 2018 European championships in Berlin.

In a statement the IAAF said a total of 128 Russian compet-itors had been cleared to compete in 2019 but the Russian athletics federation remains banned.

The latest athletes to win clearance include six women: Kseniya Aksyonova (400m),

Irina Ivanova (pole vault), Sardana Trofimova (marathon), Anna Tropina (3000m steeple-chase), Yuliya Turova (20km race walk) and Nataliya Aksenova (high jump). The five men also cleared to compete are Mikhail Akimenko (high jump), Vladislav Panasenkov (javelin), Dmitriy Sorokin (triple jump), A n a t o l i y R y b a k o v (5000/10,000m), and Konstantin Shabanov (110m hurdles).

The IAAF will address the question of whether to the reintegrate the Russian feder-ation at its council meeting in Doha on September 23, while data from the Russian anti-doping laboratory covering the 2011-2015 period when state-sponsored doping was prevalent is still being analysed.

Meanwhile, Athletics Aus-tralia have announced a team of 57 athletes for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019. The team for the 17th edition of the

World Championships is the second largest to represent Australia.

“It’s an exciting team,” said Head of High Performance and Coaching, Christian Malcolm.

“There’s a mix and blend within the team. We’ve got experience there but also a lot of youngsters coming through. I’m really excited to see how they perform, really.”

Headlining the team are Common-w e a l t h G a m e s h i g h j u m p

champion Brandon Starc (IAAF world rank No. 2) and Kelsey-Lee Barber (IAAF world rank No. 2), who will both arrive after

second place finishes at the IAAF

D i a m o n d League final in Zurich.

09WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2019 SPORT

Neutral AthletesThe Doping Review

Board has accepted

the applications of the

following athletes:

Kseniya Aksyonova (400m)Mikhail Akimenko (High Jump)Irina Ivanova (Pole Vault)Vladislav Panasenkov (Javelin)Dmitriy Sorokin (Triple Jump)Sardana Trofimova (Marathon)Anna Tropina (3000m steeplechase)Yuliya Turova (20km race walk)Nataliya Aksenova (High Jump)Anatoliy Rybakov (5000/10000m)Konstantin Shabanov (110mH)

IAAF clears 11 Russians to compete at Doha Worlds as neutral athletes

India to send 25-member team to Qatar for World Championships

Andreescu ‘not done yet’ after Slam breakthroughREUTERS MONTREAL

Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu, who upstaged tennis great Serena Williams in the US Open final to win her maiden Grand Slam title, said she was not done yet during a whirlwind media tour on Monday.

Since claiming the title in her US Open main draw debut, Andreescu has had a trophy pho-toshoot atop Rockefeller Center and appeared on several US morning shows in New York to discuss her breakthrough win.

“I never thought it would

be this hectic, but I’m not com-plaining,” Andreescu, 19, said on Good Morning America.

“This is truly an amazing accomplishment, but I could definitely get used to this feeling. I’m not done yet.” Andreescu produced a bold and brilliant performance on Sat-urday to secure a 6-3 7-5 win and deny former world number one Williams from a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title.

With the win, Andreescu has jumped to a career-high fifth in the world rankings a year after sitting outside the top 200 when she was an unknown quantity to most in her home

country. But Andreescu will now have to get used to her celebrity status as she is headline news back home. “It hasn’t really sunk in,” Andreescu said on Live with Kelly & Ryan.

“I didn’t really have the time to just see what’s hap-pening in my life right now. It’s been a crazy year for me, and being able to hold this trophy is pretty awesome.”

Andreescu, who also appeared on the “Today” show, ABC’s “The View” and “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon to discuss her US Open win.

Clubs call for more time for Champions League reformAFP GENEVA

European Club Association chairman Andrea Agnelli insisted yesterday that the “real deadline” to finalise contro-versial plans to reform the UEFA Champions League is not until 2022 as clubs struggle to reach agreement on a way forward.

Agnelli, the chairman of Italian champions Juventus as well as the ECA, has been at the forefront of plans to reshape Europe’s elite club competition from 2024 which would turn it into a largely closed shop.

Those plans have been met with resistance from domestic leagues and from clubs below the very cream of the continental game, so the ECA’s two-day General Assembly in Geneva ended without a consensus on how to move forward.

“We know we have to find an answer by 2022. That is when they (UEFA) go to market in terms of selling commercial rights of whatever competition there will be,” Agnelli, who was earlier re-elected to the position of ECA chairman until 2023, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“So the real deadline if you want is 2022, but hopefully you will not need all that time.” The ECA, which represents more than 230 clubs from across Europe, has been at the heart of the plans for a new-look Champions League, which were presented by UEFA in May.

The proposed reforms include the introduction of weekend fixtures, four groups of eight, and a tiered system with relegation and promotion that would see the top six teams in each group automatically qualify for the following year’s competition. Fierce opposition from clubs and national leagues worried about the potential damage to their competitions led UEFA to cancel a meeting planned for September 11.

Over the last two days in Geneva, the ECA has carried on discussions with clubs but Agnelli called it “the end of phase one of the consultation”.

“What has been very important about the proposal on the table is that it has made everybody engage that there is a requirement for change,” he added.

“What is important is more European games, that is all we want. We want a fair access, we want greater participation for minor countries. What we want to remain loyal with are our principles. That is what matters, in a unified environment, where all stakeholders can come together and think for the best of European football going forward.”

Riske rallies to beat Kerber in Zhengzhou; Mladenovic advancesREUTERS CHINA

American Alison Riske (pictured) fought back from a set down to beat Germany’s Angelique Kerber 5-7 6-4 7-6(6) in the first round of the inaugural Zhengzhou Open yesterday, extending the former world number one’s poor run of form.

Riske held her nerve to save a match point in the third-set tie-break before going on to inflict a fourth consecutive first-round defeat on Kerber, who was beaten by Kristina Mladenovic in her first match at the US Open.

The German, a three-times Grand Slam champion, was beaten in the second round at Wimbledon and suffered first

round defeats in Toronto and Cincinnati in the run-up to the year’s final Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.

Mladenovic made short work of Chinese wildcard Duan Yingying earlier in the day, winning 6-2 6-3 to set up a second round meeting with

fellow Frenchwoman and her former doubles partner Caroline Garcia.

“It was very tricky condi-tions. It’s super humid and it’s never easy to start a tour-nament,” said Mladenovic, who won 79% of her first serve points during the match.

“Every first round is difficult and Yingying, I’ve played her in the past and she’s a very pow-erful player with a big serve. I think the key today was the con-sistency on my serve, and I managed to read hers well, which is her biggest weapon.”

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko beat 23-year-old Chinese qualifier You Xiaodi 6-3 0-6 6-2 to reach the last 16.

Hima Das of India celebrates winning a race in this file picture.

aliya e fivete are ump),velin), ump),a k o v tantin

ss theo theeder-ng in while anti-

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Aus-am of rlds

Head of High Performance and Coaching, Christian Malcolm.

“There’s a mix and blend within the team. We’ve got experience there but also a lot of youngsters coming through. I’m really excitedto see how they perform, really.”

Headlining the teamare Common-w e a l t h G a m e s h i g h j u m p

second place finishes at the IAAF

D i a m o n d League final in Zurich.

th

fo

KMJIrV(JDJS(MAstYwNJA(5K(

Sebastian Coe, President of IAAF

10 WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2019SPORT

Australia coach Justin Langer and David Warner during nets at the Oval, London, yesterday.

Strauss, Boycott receive knighthoodsAGENCIES LONDON

Former England cricket captains Andrew Strauss and Geoffrey Boycott have been given knighthoods in former Prime Minister Theresa May’s resig-nation honours list.

The two opening batsmen were the only sporting names in a list largely con-sisting of political figures, a nod to May’s lifelong love of cricket and her admi-ration for Boycott in particular.

Strauss played 100 Tests for England from 2004-12, scoring more than 7,000 runs at an average of 40.91, and cap-taining the team to two Ashes series wins. Less than three years after retiring, he became the most powerful official in the English game as managing director. He was the unseen administrative architect behind England’s first World Cup triumph in July.

Boycott’s 108 Tests from 1964-82

brought him 8,114 runs at 47.72 - the first man to reach 8,000 in Tests for England. He captained England in four Tests in 1978, deputizing for the injured Mike Brearley.

At a news conference last November, May was asked in the form of a crick-eting analogy about the number of min-isterial resignations, or “wickets,” over

her handling of Brexit. “One of my cricket heroes was always Geoffrey Boycott, and what do you know about Geoffrey Boycott?” she asked.

“He stuck to it, and he got the runs in the end.”

Boycott was forced to apologize in 2017 after joking that would have to “black up” to be considered for a

knighthood, pointing out the honour had been bestowed on West Indies crick-eters including Sir Viv Richards, Sir Gar-field Sobers, and Sir Curtly Ambrose.

He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2002 but made a full recovery and returned to TV commentating.

The decision to honour to Boycott , however, was criticised by domestic

abuse charities because the former cricketer was convicted in France in 1998 of hitting his ex-girlfriend, although he maintains his innocence.

Boycott, interviewed yesterday by a female presenter on BBC radio after the honour was announced, was irri-table when asked about the conviction.

“It’s a cross I have to bear - right or wrong, good or bad, I have to live with it - and I do because I am clear in my mind and I think most people in England are that it’s not true,” said Boycott, 78.

When asked about the criticism by the Women’s Aid charity he replied: “I don’t care a toss about her, love. It’s 25 years ago. You can take your political nature and do what ever you want with it... I couldn’t give a toss.”

As well as Boycott and Strauss, May also nominated Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick who will receive a damehood.

Andrew Strauss (left) played 100 Tests for England from 2004-12, scoring more than 7,000 runs at an average of 40.91, and captaining the team to two Ashes series wins. Geoffrey Boycott’s (right) 108 Tests from 1964-82 brought him 8,114 runs at 47.72 - the first man to reach 8,000 mark for England. He captained England in four Tests in 1978.

Australia’s coach Langer wants struggling batsmen to step up at OvalREUTERS LONDON

Australia coach Justin Langer has urged the struggling batsmen in his team to step up and deliver when the final Ashes Test against England starts at The Oval tomorrow.

Australia took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-test series fol-lowing their 185-run win in the fourth test at Old Trafford and now have the chance to wrap up their first series win in England since 2001, when Steve Waugh’s men won 4-1.

The performances of Steve Smith, with an astronomical average of 134.2, and Marnus Labuschagne, combined with a strong showing from the bowlers, have minimised the impact of failures from the other specialist batsmen during the series.

Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Usman Khawaja, Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and David Warner have all been posted missing, with experienced opening batsman Warner the worst of the lot with an average of 9.87.

While safe in the knowledge that England cannot win the Ashes, Langer said Australia would not be easing off in the fifth test.

“You’ve still got to perform, as an Australian test cricketer,” he told reporters. “Whether or not winning the Ashes will make a dif-ference, time will tell, but you’ve still got to perform whether you are young or a veteran.”

With 671 runs from threeT, Smith has carried the Australian batting on his shoulders with some support from Labuschagne, who has an average of 58.2 in the series.

Langer called for patience with the young batters in the side.“He (Smith) has done a lot for Australian cricket for the last few

years actually, and so has Dave Warner,” Langer said.“But we’ve also got to remember, Travis Head is new to Test

cricket, Marnus (Labuschagne) is new to Test cricket, Marcus Harris is new to Test cricket, Cameron Bancroft is new to Test cricket.

“You can’t just give them that experience, they’ve got to earn that and we’re very thankful to have Steve batting. We’re lucky to have him but Test cricket takes time. We’ve got to respect that, it takes a lot of time.”

While his batsmen have been misfiring, Langer has no such problems with his fast bowling unit.

Pat Cummins has played all four Tand is the pick of the fast bowlers with 24 wickets while Josh Hazlewood has taken 18 from three.

The touring side have James Pattinson and Peter Siddle with two Tests each under their belt in the series, and the uncapped Michael Neser is also an option.

“We’ve James Pattinson literally jumping out of his skin to play the next Test,” Langer said. “Peter Siddle, in those first two tests, was probably the standout bowler, a great professional and a ripping person to have in the team. It’ll be fascinating to see how they (Cummins and Hazlewood) pull up... whatever happens we’re lucky to have a couple of other guys who are raring to go if we need them.”

Australia’s Tim Paine,

Mitchell Marsh and

Peter Siddle during nets at the Oval,

London, yesterday.

Pollard named new West Indies captain for ODIs, T20s

REUTERS BARBADOS

West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has been named as the new captain of their one-day international and Twenty20 teams, the country’s cricket board (CWI) said on Monday.

Pollard, who has not played an ODI for West Indies since October 2016, replaces Jason Holder at the helm. Holder, who led the team at the last two 50-over World Cups, will continue to lead the side in test cricket.

“We believe Kieron Pollard is the right person at the right time now to lead the West Indies team in white ball cricket,” CWI President Ricky Skerritt said at a news conference.

“Jason Holder is a very important force and he is still going to be our red ball captain.”

Pollard will begin his cap-taincy by travelling to India for a series against Afghan-istan. They will play three T20s followed by three ODI matches in November.

“In the short term as captain, the immediate aim is to defend the T20 World Cup,” Pollard, 32, said.

West Indies will be defending their T20 World Cup title next year in Australia.

“One of the discussions I hope to have is to bring back the idea of specialists playing in their best positions,” he added.

“I’ve played all over the world and I hope to use this experience to help the West Indies in my role as captain.”

‘Accidental’ captain Paine on verge of Ashes landmarkAFP LONDON

Greg Chappell could not do it, while Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, who had both had two attempts each, were unable to manage it either.

But if his side avoid defeat in the fifth Test against England at the Oval starting tomorrow, Tim Paine will join the list of Aus-tralia captains who have led the team to an Ashes series win in England.

It is a feat no Australia captain has achieved since Steve Waugh oversaw a 4-1 success 18 years ago.

Waugh, like Chappell, Ponting and Clarke, is one of Australia’s greatest cricketers.

No one, least of all wicket-keeper Paine himself, would suggest he is in that class and the way in which he inherited the captaincy was highly unusual.

Traditionally, Australia have picked their best 11 players first and then opted for one of them as captain, while in England, where there has long been an emphasis on ‘leadership qual-ities’, the tendency has been to select the skipper first and then

find 10 others to join him. Paine’s case was different. Following the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town in March 2018 that saw Steve Smith stripped of the cap-taincy and David Warner removed from the post of vice-captain -- with both batsmen subsequently given 12-month bans by Cricket Australia -- offi-cials needed someone uncon-taminated by the incident to lead the team and turned to Paine the morning after ‘Sandpapergate’.

Paine, who had made his Australia debut in a Test against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010, had been on the brink of retiring from cricket in 2017 and taking up a job with an equipment manufacturer instead.

But having forced his way back into the side, the Tas-manian found himself thrust into the captaincy barely a year later.

Ever since becoming skipper, Paine has face accusations that he is both an “accidental” skipper and not worth his place in the side.

But having shown dignity after a dramatic one-wicket loss in the third Test at Headingley, Paine had the satisfaction of leading the team to an 185-run

win at Old Trafford on Sunday that ensured they retained the Ashes at 2-1 up with just one to play.

Most captains are only as good as their players, but Paine contributed to victory in Man-chester by ending a run of low scores with a valuable first-innings 58.

“In terms of what we’ve been able to achieve as a group is pretty satisfying from where we’ve come from in the last 18 months,” said Paine.

“Great character, shows the great people we have got and shows we’ve also got some bloody good cricketers in our team.

“Also from where we’ve come from, even from last week (the defeat at Headingley). That was a loss that would break a lot of teams but we weren’t.”

As for personal satisfaction, the 34-year-old Paine added: “My dream was to come here and win an Ashes. I certainly didn’t want to be the captain winning the Ashes.

“I am just happy to be a part of it.

“I could have been working at Kookaburra so this isn’t bad.”

Root under ‘no pressure’ despite Ashes failure, says coach BaylissAFP LONDON

Joe Root is under “no pressure” as England captain despite failing to wrest the Ashes from Australia’s grasp, outgoing coach Trevor Bayliss said yesterday.

Australia lead the five-match series 2-1 with one Test to go, meaning they are certain to retain the urn because they are the Ashes holders. England’s failure has led to questions over Root’s position, par-ticularly given his inconsistent batting throughout the series.

But Australian Bayliss, who leaves his role after four years fol-lowing this week’s final Test at the

Oval, said there were no issues with his skipper.

“He’s not come under question from anyone making any decisions,” Bayliss said yesterday. “He’s under no pressure at all.” Speaking about Root’s form with the bat, Bayliss said: “Everyone goes through periods where they don’t score as many runs as they’d like. I think the Australian team have bowled pretty well to him, so we’ll see how things go further down the line.”

Bayliss will return to Australia after the series, having spent four years in the job and taking England to World Cup glory in July.

“On one hand I am sad to be leaving,” he said. “It’s been a fantastic

environment to work in, everyone has made me feel at home. From a cricket sense we’ve had a lot of good performances, the cherry on top the World Cup win. But I am looking forward to getting home and it’s time for someone else to come in with a new voice.”

Injured England paceman James Anderson said Root remained the best man to captain the side.

“He has done some great work,” he told the Press Association.

“But the team has been devel-oping over the last few years and going into a big series like this you want a settled team that’s fit and firing. I feel for Joe as he’s not quite had that. It’s been difficult.”

11WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2019 SPORT

Adel set for 24-hour challenge in FranceTHE PENINSULA FONTAINE-FOURCHES, FRANCE

Qatar’s Adel Abdulla will make a dramatic return to off-road rallying action when he joins a French team to tackle the 27th edition of the esteemed 24-hour Tout Terrain de France at the Circuit de Fontaine-Fourches in northern France this weekend (September 14-15).

The former FIA T2 World Champion withdrew from the T3 category of this year’s FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas before August’s Hungarian Baja, but the Doha-based driver is delighted to announce that he will compete for the MMP (Micouleu Mécanique Pré-cision) Rallye Raid Team in a purpose-built Buggy entered in the T1A category at the marathon off-road encounter.

Adel joins forces with the well-known French off-road racer Matthieu Serradori and team-mates Benjamin and Cédric Bujon to try and win the 24-hour event. The drivers will crew the Ooredoo-supported Buggy throughout the 24-hour duration of the event on the challenging off-road circuit.

The MMP Rallye Raid Buggy is equipped with a 3.6-litre Porsche turbo-diesel engine and power is delivered to the two rear driving wheels by a six-speed Sadev sequential gearbox. The car is built to full FIA specification and fea-tures an integral on-board tyre inflation and deflation system, AP Racing brakes and Donerre suspension.

The 24-hour race, one of France’s premier off-road events, has attracted a formidable field and the MMP team faces fierce competition across several classes. The event has attracted a near-capacity 74 entries with a wide range of cars as diverse as the powerful Bowler

Wildcat, SSV vehicles like the Yamaha and the Can-Am, and more traditional off-road machines like the Mitsubishi Pajero, Range Rover and Toyota.

T1A is the largest of all the categories on the final round of the French Tout-Terrain Championship and Adel and his team will race against the likes of Philippe Boutron’s BV4 Nissan and Jean-Pierre Strugo’s Optimus MD that will also feature a guest driver appearance for five-time Dakar winner Cyril Despres.

Adel said: “I had an offer from the

MMP Team, one of the best teams in France. They have good experience of cross-country and they offered me to be one of their four drivers for the 24 Hours. This is the last round of their championship and there are a lot of good drivers.

“I am happy to do this race for the first time and to be in a T1 car. It is an exciting new challenge for me and great experience. Maybe it will be the start of something else. The target for the team is to win this race. We hope to do a good team job and have a good strategy

through the 24 hours and have a good result. We will carry out some official testing on Friday and I am looking forward to the weekend.”

Fontaine-Fourches is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Ile-de-France region of north-central France, 120km south-east of Paris.

Crews will pass technical and administrative checks on Friday afternoon (September 13) before qual-ifying heats take centre stage on Sat-urday morning.

The 24-hour race will start at 16.00hrs on Saturday and the chequered flag will fall at the off-road circuit at 16.00hrs on Sunday, before the prize giving at 17.00hrs.

Adel Abdulla will take part in the 24 Hours Tout Terrain de France this weekend in a Buggy for the MMP (Micouleu Mécanique Précision) Rallye Raid Team.

Top Qatari driver returns to

off-road rallying action when

he joins a French team to

tackle the 27th edition of the

esteemed 24-hour Tout Terrain

de France this weekend.

The former FIA T2 World

Champion joins forces with

the well-known French racer

Matthieu Serradori and

team-mates Benjamin and

Cédric Bujon who will crew the

Ooredoo-supported Buggy

during the day-long event

at the Circuit de Fontaine-

Fourches in northern France.

QFA to increase number of second division teams

THE PENINSULA DOHA

The Executive Committee of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) on Monday decided to increase the number of second division clubs to eight from next season.

The decision was taken after accepting the registration of Al Nasr and Lusail clubs.

The two new clubs will now join Al Kharaitiyat, Al Markhiya, Mesaimeer, Al Shamal, Muaither and Al Bidda in the second-division tournament next season.

The competition system provides for the establishment of the league in two phases.

The decision to increase the second division clubs is expected to provide opportunities to increase the audience while devel-oping the sport.

City assemble football’s first billion-euro squad

REUTERS MANCHESTER

Premier League champions Manchester City are the first

team to have spent more than €1bn ($1.1bn) to assemble

their squad, a study has shown.

Data from the Swiss-based CIES Football Observatory

showed that City have spent €1.014bn on their current

squad. French champions Paris St-Germain were second

having spent 913 million euros and Spain’s Real Madrid

were third with €902m. Manchester United (€751m) have

the second-most expensive squad in the Premier League

followed by Champions League winners Liverpool (€639m).

The Premier League average was €345m, it said.

At the other end of the scale, Germany’s Paderborn

had the cheapest squad in the study (€4m), which looked

at teams from the English, German, Italian, French and

Spanish top flights.

Germany restore Euro 2020 order with 2-0 win over Northern Ireland

REUTERS BELFAST

Germany beat hosts Northern Ireland 2-0 on Monday to get their Euro 2020 qualification on track as they bounced back from last week’s loss to the Nether-lands to take over top spot in Group C.

Defender Marcel Hal-stenberg drilled the ball in three minutes after the restart fol-lowing a lacklustre first half by the Germans, who lost 4-2 at home to the Dutch on Friday, and Serge Gnabry added another goal in second-half stoppage time.

The win put Germany on 12 points from five games, ahead on goal difference of second-placed Northern Ireland, who suffered their first loss of the campaign as captain Steven Davis became their most capped outfield player with 113 appearances.

The third-placed Nether-lands, 4-0 winners away to Estonia on Monday, are on nine points from four matches.

The Germans, missing half a dozen injured players, seemed to lack a clear game plan in the first half with plenty of passing

but struggling to find ways to open up the Irish defence.

Joachim Loew’s young team, looking to recover from last year’s shock first-round World Cup exit and Nations League rel-egation, have not had enough match practice and it showed.

Conor Washington had a golden chance to put the hosts ahead in the seventh minute when he pounced on a rare Toni Kroos mistake but fired sraight at charging goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Timo Werner had the vis-itors’ best chance before the break but his close-range effort was saved by Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Germany looked to be feeling the effects of Friday’s loss with the Irish working hard to stifle their attacks early.

Halstenberg eventually settled German nerves, timing his half-volley to perfection as he angled Julian Brandt’s cross into the far corner just after the break.

They should have scored again in a scintillating start to the second half but instead had to wait until deep into stoppage for Gnabry to make sure of the three points.

Croatia go top as Slovakia stun HungaryREUTERS BAKU

Croatia went top of Euro 2020 qual-ifying Group E despite being held to a surprise 1-1 draw in Azerbaijan as Hungary slipped to a shock 2-1 home defeat by neighbours Slovakia on Monday.

The results lifted Croatia into pole position on 10 points from five games, one ahead of Slovakia, who bounced back in style after Friday’s 4-0 home drubbing by the Croatians, and Hungary.

Wales have six points from four games and Azerbaijan are on one point from five matches.

The Croatians took an 11th-minute lead thanks to a Luka Modric

penalty after Anton Krivotsyuk handled the ball and then missed a hatful of chances before substitute Tamkin Khalilzade equalised with a solo effort.

The forward weaved his way past three defenders after cutting in from the left flank and beat goal-keeper Dominik Livakovic with a fine shot from eight metres.

Home keeper Emil Balayev twice denied Nikola Vlasic and also kept out a pair of Ante Rebic sitters in the first half, while Azerbaijan had two goals correctly ruled out for offside in an action-packed encounter.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic scorned his players for a below-par performance as it left them

with work to do in order to qualify for next year’s 24-nation tournament.

“Some of my players need to grow up,” Dalic told reporters.

“We missed too many chances after taking an early lead and their goalkeeper also had an excellent afternoon. They stifled us in the second half and we only have our-selves to blame.”

Hungary failed to capitalise on Croatia’s slip-up as they conceded two goals against the run of play in front of a fervent home crowd in Budapest.

Robert Mak fired the visitors ahead in the 40th minute when he swept a loose ball into the net from seven metres after Marek Hamsik’s

teasing low cross from the right rebounded kindly.

The home side levelled in the 50th minute when 18-year-old Dominik Szoboszlai curled in a delightful free kick past keeper Martin Dubravka for his first inter-national goal.

But the Hungarians were rocked again six minutes later when Slo-vakia’s 19-year-old striker Robert Bozenik also netted the first goal for his country, driving in a crisp shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Mak fired over an empty net after a defensive mix-up several minutes later and Dubravka then rescued Slovakia when he kept out a rasping shot by midfielder Balazs Dzsudzsak.

Germany’s Serge Gnabry (top) scores their second goal against Northern Ireland during the Euro 2020 Group C Qualifier at the Windsor Park in Belfast, on Monday.

Slovakian forward Robert Bozenik celebrates after scoring against Hungary during the UEFA Euro 2020 Group E qualifying match at the Groupama Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday.

Adel Abdulla

SPORTPAGE | 10 PAGE | 11‘Accidental’

Australian captain Tim Paine on verge of Ashes landmark

Qatar’s Adel Abdulla set for 24-hour off-road challenge in France

Wednesday 11 September 2019

2022 FIFA WORLD CUP ASIA QUALIFIERS/ AFC ASIAN CUP

CHINA 2023 QUALIFIERS

Qatar 0-0 IndiaMaldives 0-5 China

Yemen 2-2 Saudi ArabiaKuwait 0-3 Australia

Chinese Taipei 0-2 NepalCambodia 0-1 BahrainGuam 1-4 PhilippinesHong Kong 0-2 Iran

Singapore 2-1 PalestineAfghanistan 1-0 Bangladesh

Mongolia 0-1 TajikistanMyanmar 0-2 Japan

Indonesia 0-3 ThailandMalaysia 1-2 UAE

Sri Lanka 0-1 North KoreaTurkmenistan 0-2 South Korea

Nakajima, Minamino shine for JapanAGENCIES YANGON

Japan started on the road to the 2022 World Cup by beating Myanmar 2-0 in Yangon yesterday.

A spectacular strike from outside the area by Shoya Nakajima after 16 minutes put Japan in control. Takumi Minamino ensured Japan led 2-0 by half-time.

Japan reached the second round of the 2018 World Cup and is looking for a seventh suc-cessive finals appearance.

It moved into second place in Group F of Asia qualifying, three points behind leader Tajikistan who recorded a second successive win, defeating Mongolia 1-0.

Only the top team from the eight groups and the four best second-placed finishers progress to the next stage.

In Colombo, Jang Kuk Chol scored the only goal as North Korea defeated Sri Lanka to move onto six points in Group H, three ahead of South Korea, who kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 win over Turkmenistan.

Iran ease to win over Hong Kong; Elkeson strikes twice for ChinaAGENCIES HONG KONG

Sardar Azmoun and Karim Ansar-ifard were on target as Iran made a winning start to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup with a 2-0 win over Hong Kong yesterday.

Seeking a sixth World Cup appearance and third in a row, Iran picked up maximum points in their Group C opener after seeing off a determined and defensive Hong Kong, whose jeering fans drowned out the Chinese national anthem before kick off.

Azmoun gave Iran the lead midway through the first half with a low volley into the bottom corner before Ansarifard secured the win with a side-footed finish nine

minutes after the break. Iran are a point behind group leaders Bahrain who won away to Cambodia 1-0 but have played one game more.

Tajikistan top the group after they picked up a second straight win with a 1-0 victory in Mongolia.

In Group A, Brazilian-born striker Elkeson scored twice on his debut for China in a 5-0 win over the Maldives, just a month after becoming a Chinese citizen.

The 30 year-old Elkeson, who has been one of the stars of the Chinese Super League since 2013, is the first player of non-Chinese her-itage to be called up to the national team.

Now known as Ai Kesen, the striker scored two late goals after the visitors were already 3-0 up as

coach Marcello Lippi’s team got off to a winning start.

China are trying to qualify for a first World Cup since its sole appearance in 2002.

In Group G, the United Arab Emirates fought back from going a goal down after 33 seconds to defeat Malaysia 2-1 in Kuala Lumpur thanks to a brace from Ali Mabkhout.

Bert van Marwijk’s side join the Malaysians on three points and trail group leaders Thailand by a point after Akira Nishino’s team beat Indo-nesia 3-0 in Jakarta.

Anjan Bista scored twice as Nepal beat Chinese Taipei 2-0 in Group B and Afghanistan notched up a 1-0 victory over Bangladesh in Group E.

India hold Asian champions QatarARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

A brilliant performance from goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and some stout defending helped India take a point from Asian champions Qatar in the FIFA World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023 qualifying campaign at the Al Sadd Stadium yesterday.

With the goalless draw, coach Igor Stimac’s side opened their points tally having lost 2-1 to Oman, while Qatar took their points tally to four points, having picked up full points in their emphatic 6-0 win over Afghan-istan five days back.

Bangladesh is the other team in the group and will play India on October 15 in Kolkata.

The Asian champions were dominant with the ball throughout yesterday’s match.

Qatar had 27 shots in com-parison to just two from India but Sandhu led from behind and made massive saves to help India to maintain a clean slate till the end.

Sandhu looked dejected and had tears in his eyes at the end of the match after helping India walk away with a point.

India’s cause was helped by the crossbar and a couple of missed headers by the Qataris which did not produce any goal in the full time play.

In the end, India were be happy with the fact that they were been able to hold Qatar goalless and Sandhu had a big role to play in this. He made some crucial saves to keep India in the game.

However, the Indian defence kept its shape well and for the most part denied Qatar any chance to take a shot from close. Qatar mostly had to go for strikes from far off.

Chants of India reverberated in the stadium, coach Stimac was running around celebrating with his players and then the Indian players did the Icelandic clap cel-ebration with the fans and it was easily one of India’s best results away from home.

India took the field without their experienced striker Sunil Chhetri, who was down with fever, as the visitors made four changes in the starting line-up from the last match against Oman.

Qatar were dominant in the first half.

They have had most of the ball and all the big chances while India have not even had a shot at the Qatari goal in the first half.

Towards the end, Qatar were incisive and created a number of chances but were unable to bury them.

In the second half, Qatar con-tinued to attack but the Indians kept them at bay.

However, the Indian defense and keeper which stood up to the test for most part of the match almost caved in.

India came close to scoring in the 82nd minute, the only time they made deep inroads in the rival defense. A move between AnirudhThapa and Udanta Singh, saw the last named shot going inches over the crossbar.

With five minutes to go, Hassan Al Haydos shot saw Sandhu get his hands and the rebound shot saw Almoez Ali attempt hitting the crossbar.

That was one of the few moments Sandhu was beaten.

In the first half he made many saves but in the 25th minute India defense almost caved in as Haydos curling corner towards the far post saw an unmarked Boualem Khoukhi heading it wide much to the relief of the Indian supporters.

Earlier, in the first half, Sandhu kept out tries from Almoez, Al Haydos, while Abdulaziz Hatim shot over the bar in the 13th minute after a defensive lapse.

Qatar will meet Bangladesh in an away match on October 10.

Japan’s Ritsu Doan vies for the ball possession with Myanmar’s Nanda Kyaw during the 2022 World Cup Round 2 qualifying match at the Thuwunna YTC Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar, yesterday.

FIFA WORLD CUP QATAR 2022/AFC ASIAN CUP 2023 CHINA JOINT QUALIFIERS

GROUP E STANDINGS P W D L F A GD PTS1: Qatar 2 1 1 0 6 0 6 32: Oman 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 33: Afghanistan 2 1 0 1 1 6 -5 34: India 2 0 0 1 1 2 -1 15: Bangladesh 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

Qatar’s Assim Madibo (centre) vies for the ball with India’s Rowllin Borges during their FIFA World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023 qualifying campaign at the Al Sadd Stadium yesterday.PICTURES: SALIM MATRAMKOT / THE PENINSULA

Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu makes a stop.

India’s GahlotAnirudh Thapa heads the ball

during yesterday’s match.