THE PENINSULA – DOHA

After their emphatic victory over Angola in the opener, Asian champions Qatar will be looking to continue their winning form as they clash with Japan in their second Group C match at the IHF World Men’s Handball Champi-onship Egypt 2021 in Alexandria, today

In what was a sweet revenge of their past two defeats to Angola including a loss in the previous World Championship, Qatar defeated the Central African nation 30:25, with Ahmed Madadi claiming the ‘Player of the Match Award’.

Qatar coach Valero Rivera was happy with the way the team started their campaign despite losing a number of his regular players to injuries during the opening match.

“We achieved a great victory over Angola after losing in the previous edition,” said Rivera after the game.

“We succeeded this time despite

the absence of more talented players thanks to the current squad’s effort during the game,” he added.

Madadi said after gaining

confidence from the win, Qatar was focusing on the upcoming matches.

“I am happy with the victory espe-cially it comes despite losing six tal-ented players due to injuries,” said Madadi.

“We will do our best to improve performance in the coming games as we did well and managed to claim the victory,” he added.

Qatar have enjoyed an upper hand against Japan over the years and most

recently defeated their Asian rivals 36:28 at the 2020 AHF Men’s Asian Championship.

But, Japan have also shown a golden form in their opening match, earning a 29-29 draw against European giants and one of the pre-event favourites Croatia.

Japan coach Dagur Sigurdsson said his team has taken tremendous confi-dence after a historic performance against the Europeans.

“I’m really happy and satisfied. That was historical for us and I’m just incredible happy and hope that we can continue like this. It was extremely important for the team and I’m very proud of all of them,” said Sigurdsson.

“Of course I would have liked to see my team win this game but you can’t forget who we have faced. They are a really strong team and that’s why it really feels like a victory for us.”

Angola and Croatia will play today’s other Group C match.

Meanwhile, Qatar Handball Fed-eration President, Ahmad Mohamed Al Shaabi congratulated the Qatar national team for their win in World Championship opener.

“It was an important victory that will boost team’s confidence in the event. The team deserves the praise for their performance despite losing key players in the match,” said Al Shaabi.

“We hope Qatar will continue their form in their remaining group matches against Japan and Croatia,” he added.

QVA SENIOR MEN'S LEAGUE: Police beat Al Shamal 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-19); Al Khor beat Al Sadd 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22)

SUNDAY 17 JANUARY 2021

SL fight back after Root’s double centuryHopefully we can come back tomorrow and get some early wickets and make inroads, and drive home this advantage we have built up. When you come and play at this ground, things can change quickly, and it is always difficult to start your innings as a batsman. We need to harness that and think about it when you are at the end of your mark (and ready to bowl).

Sport |06

SHmcdt

Joe Root

Sport

We achieved a great victory over

Angola after losing in the previous

edition. We succeeded this time

despite the absence of more talented

players thanks to the current squad’s

effort during the game: Qatar coach Valero Rivera

Zango sets new indoor record in triple jumpREUTERS – AUBIERE, FRANCE

Hugues Fabrice Zango became the first athlete from Burkina Faso to set a world record when he posted the longest ever indoor triple jump with a leap of 18.07 metres at an event in Aubiere in France yesterday.

Zango, who won bronze at the World Championships in 2019, added 15 centi-metres to the previous record, set by his own coach, Frenchman Teddy Tamgho, in 2011.

The 27-year-old Zango started with a foul but warmed up with a leap of 17.33 metres before steadily increasing his best to 17.61m and then 17.70m.

With his final effort he floated beyond 18m to break his own previous lifetime best by 30 centimetres.

Olympic champ denies doping allegationsREUTERS – NEW YORK

American Olympic 100 metres hurdles gold medallist Brianna McNeal has denied testing positive for any banned substance in a statement released by her management agency yesterday.

The 29-year-old, who won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and was world champion in 2013, was charged with “tampering within the results man-agement process” and provisionally sus-pended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) earlier this week.

McNeal led a U.S. clean sweep of the 100m hurdles at the 2016 Olympics but was banned for a year when she missed three out-of-competition drug tests, which con-stitutes an anti-doping rule violation.

Upbeat Qatar ready to take on Japan

Australian Open arrivals hit by positive casesAP – MELBOURNE

Three coronavirus cases have been detected among charter flights carrying tennis players, coaches and officials to Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, health authorities and tournament organizers said yesterday.

A total of 47 players from the two affected flights - arriving from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi - are now in a strictly enforced 14-day quarantine without the ability to leave their hotel rooms - even to practice. The Aus-tralian Open is scheduled to start Feb. 8.

Health authorities said two pos-itive COVID-19 cases emerged from a charter flight from Los Angeles, and later Saturday, Tennis Australia said there was a third positive case from a flight from Abu Dhabi.

The cases from Los Angeles involved an aircrew member and a passenger who was not a player. The third positive test - also not a player - was from a flight from Abu Dhabi in the past 24 hours, Tennis Australia said.

Authorities earlier said that all passengers from the Los Angeles flight would go into the 14-day hotel quarantine.

“An aircrew member and Aus-tralian Open participant who is not a player have been transferred to a health hotel following positive test results for coronavirus (COVID-19),” Victoria state’s health department said in a statement about the Los Angeles flight.

“All remaining 66 passengers on the flight have been determined to be close contacts. Any players and support people will not be able to leave quarantine to attend training. The remaining flight crew all tested negative and were permitted to fly out without passengers directly to their home port.”

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley issued a statement saying the 24 players who were on

that flight will not be able to leave their hotels rooms for 14 days and until they are medically cleared.

“We are communicating with eve-ryone on this flight, and particularly the playing group whose conditions have now changed, to ensure their needs are being catered to as much as possible, and that they are fully appraised of the situation,” Tiley said.

Later yesterday, Tennis Australia said 23 players were among the 64 people on the flight from Abu Dhabi.

Kei Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up who tested negative for COVID-19 after having two positive tests, and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka were reported by local media to be among a group of players who arrived on the flight from Los Angeles.

Players and officials were sup-posed to have received a negative COVID-19 tests before they boarded their flights. The people who tested

positive on arrival have not been pub-licly identified.

Azarenka, who won the tour-nament in 2012 and 2013, tweeted on Friday: “Made it to Melbourne! Thank you everyone so much for making it happen. I can only imagine how many hours of work and compromise it took for us to be here! Thank you.”

She included what appeared to be a selfie next to a window with downtown city views. Azarenka has not tweeted again since.

The 15 charter flights and the early arrivals are all part of Tennis Australia’s attempt to hold the tournament despite a general ban on international arrivals into the country. Australia has done a good job of containing the coronavirus, with 909 deaths nationally. Victoria state, which has as its capital Mel-bourne, accounted for 810 of those during a deadly second wave three months ago which resulted in overnight curfews and lockdowns for the city.

Five-time finalist Andy Murray’s status for the tournament was put in doubt after he tested positive for COVID-19 only days before his planned flight to Melbourne.

Also, Americans Madison Keys and Tennys Sandgren returned pos-itive tests, but Sandgren was given permission to fly.

Sandgren originally tested pos-itive in November, and Victorian state health authorities determined he was no longer contagious though still shedding viral particles.

The charter flights to Australia were restricted to 25% capacity, and arrived over a 36-hour period ending early Saturday.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are among a group of players involved in an exhibition event in Adelaide, South Australia state, on Jan. 29. Those players flew straight to Adelaide to begin their hotel quarantine period.

Handball World Championship: Asian giants look to maintain top spot in Group C

Naomi Osaka arriving at Adelaide Airport ahead of the Australian Open. LEFT: Novak Djokovic arriving at Adelaide Airport .

Qatar players celebrate after beating Angola on Friday. PIC: HANDBALLEGYPT2021.COM

YESTERDAY'S RESULTSGroup E

Austria 28-35 FranceGroup F

Morocco 33-20 PortugalGroup G

Egypt 38-19 North Macedonia

TODAY'S FIXTURES (Qatar Time)Group C

Qatar vs Japan (5:30pm)Group A

Cape Verde vs Germany (8:00pm)Group B

Tunisia vs Brazil (8:00pm)Group C

Angola vs Croatia (8:00pm)Group D

Argentina vs Bahrain (8:00pm)Group B

Poland vs Spain (10:30pm)Group D

D.R. Congo vs Denmark (10:30pm)Group A

Hungary vs Uruguay (10:30pm)

Coach Valero Rivera addressing the Qatari players during a practice session held in Alexandria, Egypt, on the eve of their IHF World Championship Group C clash against Japan.

06SUNDAY 17 JANUARY 2021Sport

Al Jaaidi becomes favourite for National Championships titleTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

A record number of 155 riders took to the start line of the Qatar Cycling Federation’s third road race in a season where COVID-19 has increased the public appetite for outdoor sport.There has been such growth in cycling that organisers added an additional novice classi-fication to this event to accom-modate the new riders joining the sport for the first time.

This Al Ghuwayriyah course is a favourite among racers for its rural setting and interesting trian-gular multi-lap course which offers sections of just five to six kilometres apiece of headwind, cross-wind and tail wind, each of which con-tribute to the tactics of bunch racing.

With the first section into the head wind, Khaleel Abduljanan (Team Doha Cycling) and Abdulla Al Khater attacked from the gun, taking a gamble that nobody would waste energy giving chase.

This pair built a good lead of 1m 30s while behind them the Team Al Jassra combination of Lee Jones and Chris Murrin were putting in repeated surges which fractured the race.

By the time the catch was made at 30km, six riders had already been dropped and, with the wind strength increasing, the remaining riders would now split in half again.

The final six of the ninety

kilometers were wind-assisted, which strips away some of the advantage to the sheltered riders drafting off those in front.

Team Doha Cycling launched a long-range attack at 60 kph and again it was Team Al Jassrachasing them down. This time Lee Jones did all the work to save Chris Murrin’s legs for the sprint to the line, but to no avail.

Abdullah Aljaaidi (Team Doha Cycling) has shown strong form both on and off-road this season and it was he who snatched victory over Murrin and team-mate Mouh-cineRhaili with Hamad Al Jaaidi (Team Doha Cycling) and Fadhel AlKhater (Rasen Adventure Shop) edged out from the podium.

This was to be Abdullah Al Jaaidi’s third road podium of the season and his first time on the top step. With no other Qatari riders challenging him this year, he is now a strong favourite for the National Championships at the end of the month.

Riders in action during the third road race of the season.

RESULTSRider, Team, Country

Men A1 Abdullah AL JAAIDI, Team Doha Cycling, QAT

2 Chris MURRIN, Team Al Jassra, GBR3 Mouhcine RHAILI, Team Doha Cycling, MAR

Women A1 Elizabeth DUNNE, Team Al Jassra, IRL

2 Sophie CLARKE, Rasen Adventure Shop, GBRMen B

1 Khalid ALYAFEI, Team Doha Cycling, QAT2 Rafael TAMARIT, Los Gauchos, ESP

3 Jose FIGUEIREDO, Team Doha Cycling, PORMEN C

1 Mohsen JAFAR, Team Doha Cycling, IRI 2 Khalifa ALKHULAIFI Team Doha Cycling QAT

3 Phil Angelo GANITANO Bike to Work Qatar PHIWomen B

1 Daniela SPOSI, Rasen Adventure Shop, ITA 2 Isobel BUSHELL, Team Doha Cycling, GBR

3 Mamiya AJERO BPMQ PHINovice

1 Jonnie Christian, ENGRACIA BPMQ, PHI 2 Julius BORROMEO, Team Doha Cycling, PHI

3 Nik Mohd Najib, NIK WAN Team Farhana, MAS

Australia frustrated as rain dampens Gabba deciderREUTERS — BRISBANE

A heavy downpour frustrated Australia on day two of the fourth Test decider in Brisbane yesterday, with play abandoned after tea and India spared from resuming on 62 for two in reply to the home side’s first innings 369.

India number three Cheteshwar Pujara was eight not out, with stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane on two at the teabreak before a storm broke over the Gabba.

With more rain forecast over the remaining days, Aus-tralia may have little time to bowl India out twice and seal

the series 2-1. Home captain Tim Paine betrayed his dis-pleasure in an animated dis-cussion with the field umpires after they inspected the field and called off proceedings.

“No doubt disappointing to the spectators,” Australia assistant coach Andrew McDonald told reporters.

“It would have been nice to get some play there...but the decision was made by the offi-cials and that’s their role.”

India will have been more than happy to turn in early.

The tourists only need to draw the Test to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, two years after their breakthrough 2-1 series win in Australia in 2018/19.

To emerge with a tied series would be a massive achievement for Rahane’s side, which has battled a mounting injury toll throughout and lacked a single first-choice bowler to call on in Brisbane.

They are already a man

down in their pace attack, with Navdeep Saini having suffered a groin injury on day one.

Australia, thwarted by India’s wounded batsmen in the drawn Test in Sydney, are likely to ponder another lost oppor-tunity on day two, having resumed in the morning on 274 for five.

Paine (50) and all-rounder Cameron Green (47) were in good shape to set a platform for a much bigger total but surren-dered in a collapse when three wickets fell in four runs.

Paine was caught in the slips by Rohit Sharma off paceman Shardul Thakur, with Green following after being bowled by all-rounder Wash-ington Sundar, one of two Test debutants in the Indian side.

Pat Cummins (2) became the third victim when trapped lbw by Thakur.

Playing his 100th Test, Nathan Lyon soaked up the acclaim of the home crowd, pushing Australia past 350

before he was bowled by Sundar for 24 off 22 balls.

Starc chipped in a valuable unbeaten 20 before paceman T. Natarajan (3-78), the second of India’s test debutants but the pick of their bowlers, wrapped up the innings by bowling Josh Hazlewood for 11.

India’s reply began shakily after lunch, with the relentless Pat Cummins having opener Shubman Gill caught in the slips for seven.

Rohit and Pujara built a 49-run partnership before the former threw away his wicket for 44 when he attacked Lyon and top-edged to Starc at long-on.

Rahane and Pujara then took no chances, adding only two runs to India’s total in six overs to tea before the rain came.

“I thought we stuck to our plans,” said Rohit.

“If we bat well tomorrow, you never know, anything can happen.”

Water is seen pooling on the surface near the wicket during a rain delay on day two of the fourth and final Test between Australia and India at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, yesterday.

Australia 1st innings D. Warner c Sharma b Siraj ...............................1

M. Harris c Sundar b Thakur ............................ 5

M. Labuschagne c Pant b Natarajan ...........108

S. Smith c Sharma b Sundar ..........................36

M. Wade c Thakur b Natarajan ......................45

C. Green b Sundar ............................................47

T. Paine c Sharma b Thakur ............................50

P. Cummins lbw Thakur .................................... 2

M. Starc not out .............................................. 20

N. Lyon b Sundar .............................................24

J. Hazlewood b Natarajan ............................... 11

Extras (b4, lb5, nb6, w5) ............................ 20

Total (10 wickets, 115.2 overs) ......... 369Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Warner), 2-17 (Harris), 3-87

(Smith), 4-200 (Wade), 5-213 (Labuschagne), 6-311

(Paine), 7-313 (Green), 8-315 (Cummins), 9-354

(Lyon), 10-369 (Hazlewood)

Bowling: Siraj 28-10-77-1 (1w), Natarajan 24.2-3-

78-3 (6nb), Thakur 24-6-94-3, Saini 7.5-2-21-0, Sun-

dar 31-6-89-3, Sharma 0.1-0-1-0

India 1st inningsR. Sharma c Starc b Lyon .............................. 44

S. Gill c Smith b Cummins ................................. 7

C. Pujara not out ................................................8

A. Rahane not out .............................................2

Extras (nb1) .......................................................1

Total (2 wickets: 26 overs) ....................62Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Gill), 2-60 (Sharma)

To bat: M. Agarwal, R. Pant, W. Sundar, S. Thakur, N.

Saini, M. Siraj, T. Natarajan

Bowling: Starc 3-1-8-0, Hazlewood 8-4-11-0 (1nb),

Cummins 6-1-22-1, Green 3-0-11-0, Lyon 6-2-10-1

SCOREBOARD

South Africa arrives in Pakistan for first Test series since 2007

AP — ISLAMABAD

South Africa’s cricket team arrived in the southern port city of Karachi yesterday to play Test matches in Pakistan for the first time in nearly 14 years.

The South Africans last toured Pakistan in late 2007 when it won the two-Test series 1-0.

Since then, Pakistan has twice hosted South Africa for the test series in the United Arab Emirates - in 2010 and 2013.

The Pakistan Cricket Board was forced to choose the UAE for its home venue after ter-rorists attacked a Sri Lanka

team bus at Lahore in 2009.The present tour comprises

two Test matches at Karachi (January 26-30) and Rawalpindi (February 4-8), fol-lowed by a three-match Twenty20 series at Lahore, starting from February 11.

Quinton de Kock (captain), Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Anrich Nortje, Wiaan Mulder, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Kyle Verreynne, Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde, Daryn Dupavillon, Marco Jansen.

SOUTH AFRICA SQUAD

South African players upon their arrival in Karachi, yesterday.

SL fight back after Root’s double centuryREUTERS — GALLE

England captain Joe Root scored a double-century, but Sri Lanka began a spirited fight-back to close day three of the first Test in Galle on 156 for two in their second innings, trailing the visitors by 130 runs.

Opener Lahiru Thir-imanne anchored the Sri Lanka innings with an unbeaten 76 and will resume today’s proceedings

with nightwatchman Lasith Embuldeniya, who has yet to score.

It was a vastly improved effort on the home side’s first innings score of 135, as they chase down England’s first innings total of 421.

Kusal Perera (62) was the first wicket to fall, caught at deep point by Jack Leach after trying to launch seamer Sam Curran to the boundary.

Spinner Leach then had

the out-of-form Kusal Mendis caught by wicket-keeper Jos Buttler for 15 shortly before bad light took the players from the field.

Root will be disap-pointed his side did not make further inroads on a turning wicket, but it was still a memorable day for him as he brought up his fourth Test double-ton with a score of 228.

He also became the seventh English batsman to pass 8,000 Test runs but was the last man out, caught on the mid-on boundary off spinner Dilruwan Perera (4-109), whose excellent performance on the third morning kept England somewhat in check.

Root’s control and ability to sweep Sri Lanka’s spinners pointed to a strong return to form after he went throughout 2020 without reaching three figures.

England resumed the third morning on 320 for

four as Root and Buttler (30) scored 52 runs in quick time before Sri Lanka received a bit of luck. A massive six from Root into the stands left the ball out of shape. When it was replaced, the home side suddenly found movement that had been lacking up to that point.

Seamer Asitha Fernando

(2-44) removed Buttler and Curran in successive balls, before Dom Bess was run out in a mix-up with Root as the visitors lost three wickets for 10 runs.

Perera then removed the final three batsmen as the home side picked up six wickets for 101 more runs in the morning session.

Joe Root celebrates his double century.

Bangladesh's Shakib set for international return after banAGENCIES — DHAKA

Bangladesh have named star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan in the squad for this month's one-day series against the West Indies.

Shakib, 33, was handed a two-year ban in October 2019, one year suspended for violating the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption Code.

Bangladesh have also called-up three uncapped players for their upcoming men’s ODI home series against West Indies.

Mahadi Hasan, the off-spinner, was included in the side, along with the pacers Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud. The team will be captained by Tamim Iqbal.

Bangladesh and West Indies will feature in a three-match ODI series, starting on 20 January.

The first two ODIs will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, before the series moves to Chattogram for the final ODI on 25 January.

The ODIs form a part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League fixtures.

The teams will stay in Chattogram for the first of the two-match Test series thereafter, starting on 3 February, before returning to Mirpur for the final Test, which will begin on 11 February.

Sri Lanka 1st innings 135 England 1st innings

J. Root c Embuldeniya b D. Perera ............228

J. Buttler c Dickwella b Fernando ................ 30

S. Curran b Fernando ....................................0

D. Bess run out .............................................0

J. Leach lbw b D. Perera ................................ 4

M. Wood c Dickwella b D. Perera .................. 2

S. Broad not out ........................................... 11

Extras (b7, nb6) ..........................................13

Total (117.1 overs) ................................ 421Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Sibley), 2-17 (Crawley), 3-131

(Bairstow), 4-304 (Lawrence), 5-372 (Buttler),

6-372 (Curran), 7-382 (Bess), 8-398 (Leach), 9-406

(Wood)

Bowling: Embuldeniya 45 4 176 3, Fernando 14 1

44 2, de Silva 15 1 63 0, D. Perera 36.1 2 109 4,

Shanaka 7 1 22 0

Sri Lanka 2nd inningsK. Perera c Leach b Curran ..........................62

L. Thirimanne not out ................................. 76

K. Mendis c Buttler b Leach .........................15

L. Embuldeniya not out .................................0

Extras (b1, nb2) ........................................... 3

Total: (two wickets - 61 overs) .......... 156Fall of wickets: 1-101 (Perera), 2-155 (Mendis)

To bat: D. Chandimal (capt), A. Mathews, N. Dickwel-

la, D. Shanaka, P. de Silva, D. Perera, A. Fernando

Bowling: Broad 8-6-3-0, Curran 7-0-25-1, Bess 13-

2-30-0, Wood 7-1-20-0, Leach 20-2-67-1, Root 6-0-

10-0

Toss: Sri Lanka

SCOREBOARD

REUTERS – LONDON

Michail Antonio’s early goal proved enough for West Ham United to beat a toothless Burnley 1-0 and move into the top eight in the Premier League at the London Stadium yesterday.

The powerhouse striker stabbed the ball home from close range in the ninth minute after Burnley defender James Tarkowski inex-plicably failed to clear a cross.

In l ine with COVID-19 guidelines Antonio opted for a solo celebration of his 40th Premier League goal for the club -- laying on his back and motioning as if swimming backstroke.

“I had a game of Call of Duty with Declan (Rice) and lost and that was the forfeit,” Antonio said.

West Ham had chances to increase their lead with Angelo Ogbonna hitting the woodwork and Jarrod Bowen going close before Burnley finally began to threaten late on.

Substitute Jay Rodriguez bundled one effort wide for Burnley but home keeper Lukasz Fabianski was rarely called into meaningful action as West Ham held out for the win.

West Ham have 29 points from 18 games while Burnley, who have yet to reach double figures in goals scored this season, are looking anxiously over their shoulders in 17th place.

Only Paolo Di Canio (47),

Mark Noble (46) and Carlton Cole (41) have reached the 40-goal mark in the Premier League for West Ham and Antonio deserves his place on that list.

Strong and powerful he was a constant thorn in Burnley’s side as he returned to the starting lineup in the league after some substitute appearances following a hamstring injury.

He could not believe his luck though for his goal. Tarkowski looked favourite to head away a cross from the left by Pablo Fornals but he made no contact and the ball arrived to Antonio who finished from close-range past Nick Pope.

Burnley offered little before the break and could have fallen further behind when Ogbonna hit the post from the lively Bowen’s

cross. Bowen had a glorious chance after the break and Declan Rice curled a free kick over.

Sean Dyche’s side showed more purpose in the latter stages but never really looked like scoring as West Ham recorded a fourth successive clean sheet in all competitions.

“Not our best performance but another resilient one,” manager David Moyes said.

Burnley have managed only five shots on target in their last three Premier League games and urgently need to start scoring if they are not to be dragged into a relegation dogfight.

“We had a lot of possession but couldn’t quite open the door and that’s been our problem all season,” said Dyche.

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Prominent Qatari rider Faleh Suwead Al Ajami yesterday guided Demilion in a flawless routine to capture major honours on the final day of the 8th round of Longines Hathab Qatar Eques-trian Tour.

At the Qatar Equestrian Federa-tion's outdoor Arena, Al Ajami and his 12-year-old stallion completed the winning round of the Big Tour compe-tition in 48.98 seconds to bag QR11,250 in prize money after finishing on top of a 17-entry field.

He then went on to book his second podium spot in the same event, this time with Ulano, as the 19-year-old bay gelding finished with the third fastest time in the event.

Ulano completed the task in 55.07 secs with no errors as Al Ajami added further QR6,750 to his account.

Quel Homme, with Nasser Al Ghazali in the saddle, finished second with a time of 50.39 secs.

Al Ghazali, ranked first in the Big Tour overall standings, won QR9,000 along with his silver trophy.

Following yesterday's round, Al Ghazali extended his lead at the top to 21 points to 188. On the other hand, Al Ajami, placed third in the overall tally, closed the gap between him and second-placed Hamad Nasser Al Qadi, to three points with yesterday's win.

Mohammed Saeed Haidan was the

fastest among the top five riders, but he was placed fourth after making four errors during his routine. Haidan's stallion D-Saucedo, completed the routine in 48.47 secs as the Qatari won QR4,500 in prize money.

Last season's Tour winner Al Qadi rounded up the top five in yesterday's feature event with a time of 49.25 (4 faults) astride S I E C Lonnie. He got richer by QR3,150.

Earlier, Happy Tina, with Ghanim Nasser Al Qadi in the saddle, topped a 27-strong field to seal QR6,250 in prize money for his win in the Open Class competition.

Happy Tina, an eight-year old mare, completed the ‘Mini Derby’ round in 120.41 seconds. Jassim Al Jaham Al Kuwari and Sandro Girl spent a time of 123.18 seconds to complete the same task. The Qatari rider finished second and got richer by QR5,000. Apple Bee, who completed the round in 131.46 seconds with Mohammed Saeed Haidan in the saddle, booked the remaining spot on the podium and won a prize cheque for QR3,750.

Al Ajami won both fourth and fifth spots with Corrandos and Jumbo respectively as the top five ranks fin-ished without any errors during their rounds.

Ali bin Yusef Al Rumaihi, director of the Championship, and Khaled Al Khubaizy, the guest of honour, handed over the trophies to the winning riders.

07SUNDAY 17 JANUARY 2021 SPORT

Liverpool clash a reality check for United: Solskjaer

We know that we can beat

anyone, anywhere on any

given day. So to be able to go

into a game like this, feeling if we

play to our best that we can win,

is a good feeling. It’s a test and

reality check for where we are

really at because Liverpool at

Anfield is one of the great

challenges. We have won many

tight games, scored a few goals

in injury time: Manchester

United manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Juventus still the team to beat: Inter coach Conte

It’s inevitable that Juventus

represent a yardstick for

everyone, for years they have

dominated in Italy. When you

want to know what level you are

at, you compare yourself to

Juventus. No team in Italy can say

they have bridged the gap to

Juventus. For nine years they

have dominated and done

important work, managing to

change things and rejuvenate the

squad without sacrificing

experience: Inter Milan head

coach Antonio Conte

Inter Milan test important but not decisive: Pirlo

We never set out looking for a

draw. We’re going to San Siro

to win. It’s a match that will be

important but not

fundamental for the title. I’m

initially expecting an

aggressive Inter that will give

rhythm to the game. We’ve

prepared for this and we must

not be afraid of playing our

own game, even in such an

important match. It will be a

tactical battle, but we must

free our minds: Juventus

coach Andrea Pirlo

West Brom clinch 1st PL win under AllardyceAP – WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND

West Bromwich Albion collected only its second win in the Premier League - and first under new manager Sam Allardyce - as two penalties by Matheus Pereira helped to earn a 3-2 victory over Wolverhampton yesterday.

Allardyce was unable to call upon two key players - goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and winger Matt Phillips - after they contracted the coronavirus, but West Brom still managed to boost its survival hopes with its first win since beating Sheffield United on Nov. 28.

Pereira slotted home his first penalty in the fourth minute after Callum Robinson was tripped at the edge of the penalty area, but Wolves fought back to lead at halftime thanks to goals

by Fabio Silva in the 38th and Willy Boly in the 43rd.

Centre-half Semi Ajayi scored for the third time since Allardyce arrived a month ago after a header following a long throw-in in the 52nd minute, and

Pereira regained the lead for West Brom four minutes later from a penalty again won by Robinson.

West Brom remained in next-to-last place, but moved in sight of safety.

West Bromwich Albion’s Semi Ajayi celebrates after scoring their second goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers yesterday.

Comp. (3) Open Class, Mini Derby (Without J-Off), Fei Art. 277, 115/125cm, QR25,000(Rank, horse, rider, time, Prize money)

1: Happy Tina, Ghanim Nasser Al Qadi 120.41 QR6,250

2: Sandro Girl, Jassim Al Jaham Al Kuwari 123.18 QR5,000

3: Apple Bee, Mohammed Saeed Haidan 131.46 QR3,750

4: Corrandos, Faleh Suwead Al Ajami 136 QR2,500

5: Jumbo, Faleh Suwead Al Ajami 141.24 QR1,750

Comp. (4) Big Tour, Competition With Winning Round, 30/145cm, QR45,000(Rank, horse, rider, time, time-winning round, Prize money)

1: Demilion, Faleh Suwead Al Ajami (4)78.61 48.98 QR11,250

2: Quel Homme, Nasser Al Ghazali 83.83 50.39 QR9,000

3: Ulano, Faleh Suwead Al Ajami 77.68 55.07 QR6,750

4: D Saucedo, Mohammed Saeed Haidan (4) 77.49 (4)48.47 QR4,500

5: S I E C Lonnie, Hamad Nasser Al Qadi 83.52 (4)49.25 QR3,150

Al Ajami, Demilion excel in Big Tour

Police players are blocking an attempt made by Al Shamal's Omar Ibrahim during their Qatar Volleyball League match played at QVA Indoor Hall yesterday. Police won the match with a 3-0 margin (25-17, 25-22, 25-19). BOTTOM: An Al Khor player leaps to hit the ball during their match against Al Sadd. Al Khor beat Al Sadd 3-0 with a 25-19, 25-18, 25-22 scoreline.

Al Rayyan's Michael Efevberha (left) and Al Gharafa's Todic Miroslav in action during their Qatar Basketball League match played at Al Gharafa Indoor Hall yesterday. Efevberha scored 35 points and made eight rebounds and five assists as Al Rayyan beat Qatar SC 101-63. BOTTOM: Action during the match between Al Ahli and Al Khor. Al Ahli won 90-51.

QVA League: Police, Al Khor win

QBF League: Efevberha shines as Al Rayyan crush Qatar SC

Antonio earns West Ham narrow win over Burnley

West Ham United’s Michail Antonio in action with Burnley’s James Tarkowski during yesterday's Premier League match played at London Stadium, yesterday.

Ali bin Yusef Al Rumaihi, Director of the Championship, and Khaled Al Khubaizy, the guest of honour, posing for a photograph with the Big Tour podium winners.

Faleh Suwead Al Ajami guiding Ulano over a

hurdle during the Big Tour event.