ARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy will face Diego Elias of Peru while German Simon Rösner will take on Paul Coll of New Zealand, in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Classic here today.

Also making it to the last eight were three other Egyptians Tarek Momen, Ali Farag and Karim Abdel Gawad while Welshman Joel Makin continued his impressive run in Qatar.

At the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, top seed and World No.1 Shorbagy’s march towards the retention of the PSA World Tour Platinum Qatar Classic title continued una-bated yesterday as he dispatched England’s Adrian Waller in straight-games to cruise into the quarter-finals.

The Egyptian took just 31 minutes to end the challenge of Englishman Adrian Waller in straight games 11-8, 11-5, 11-7.

Waller had ruthlessly dis-patched former World No.3 Omar Mosaad in the previous round for the loss of just seven points in total, but he was unable to deal with the pace and power of ElShorbagy as the Egyptian, based in Bristol, England, showed why he’s the favourite to triumph again in Doha this week.

“The way he played against Mosaad was unbelievable – you don’t beat Mosaad like that if you

aren’t a great player and he showed that he is a great player with the way he played this week,” said ElShorbagy.

“He put me under a lot of pressure throughout the whole match but the most important thing is that you don’t let it get to you. I feel like I had good prepa-ration for this event – I feel good,

physically strong and mentally fresh.” Peruvian former World Junior Champion Elias, the Lima-based World No.13, sailed into the quarter-finals with a straight-games demolition of Egypt’s Mazen Hesham.

Elias, a quarter-finalist here last year, endured an injury-ravaged start to 2018 but has

begun to find his form again in recent months and showed signs of returning to his best as he swept aside Hesham – one of the most gifted players on the PSA World Tour – with ease, pre-vailing 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 in just 36-minutes.

“The key today was the warm up – I had to be ready for him

from the start because he’s the kind of player who can send you five directions in one rally,” said Elias, who will play World No.1 El Shorbagy in the next round.

“Last season, I got injured and lost in the first round of nearly every tournament. But now, I’m feeling fine and it is always good to play the World No.1 and

challenge yourself so I’ll be ready for it.” Rösner, the World No.5, saw off the threat of England’s Tom Richards to book his place in the quarter-finals.

Rösner, who reached the semi-final stage here twelve months ago in what was a break-through result for him, was at time sluggish on court, but managed to find enough in his locker to prevail 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7 and set up a last eight encounter with Paul Coll of New Zealand.

Coll breezed into the last eight at the 2018 Qatar Classic for the first time in his career fol-lowing the withdrawal of his third round opponent Borja Golan of Spain.

Coll had been in complete control of their clash, taking a two game lead against little resistance, but injury forced Golan to concede the match in the early stages of the third game, gifting Coll safe passage through to the quarter-finals to face Rösner.

In the other matches, Momen defeated James Willstrop of England while Mathieu Castagnet of France retired hurt going down 11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 8-3 to Makin.

Gawad managed to win the cliff hanger against Declan James of England 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 11-2), while second seed Farag ended the challenge of India’s Saurav Ghosal in straight-games.

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

DOHA: When it comes to women’s team battle in artistic gymnastics, there is no match for the United States.

The Americans showed that to the world once again in Doha yesterday, as they comfortably clinched their fourth straight women’s team title by a record margin at the 48th edition of Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

Led by a superb performance by superstar Simone Biles at Aspire Dome, team USA never fell behind and looked like the winners right from the start.

On Monday, the margin of victory for Chinese men over Russia in men’s team final was less than half point but it was not the case in the women’s team final. USA won the title with a lead of 8.766 points, the biggest margin of their six world team titles.

They amassed 171.629 points with Russia winning a silver medal with a tally of 162.863. China completed the podium with a bronze medal scoring 162.396 points. All the top three teams confirmed their team berths in 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

USA, which started with the vault and uneven bars led in all the four rotations at the final.

Biles, a ten-time World Championships and three-time Olympic gold medallist, gave USA a superb start tallying a whopping 15.50 in the vault.

She continued her consistent performance marking - 14.866 (uneven bars), 13.733 (balance beam) and floor (14.766) - in the remaining three routines.

“We are very happy with the victory,” delighted Biles said yes-terday after guiding her team to first gold medal at Doha Worlds.

“We as a team are doing a very good job. It is a result of teamwork,” she said.

Biles, who went to hospital with a kidney stone just hours before women qualifiers on Friday, was hoping to bag maximum number of gold medals in Doha.

“There is lot of nerves, hope-fully I will do my best and see where we stand (in the remaining events),” she said.

“It’s very exciting to be in Doha and may be we’ll go out to explore places and communities,” she said.

Russia, which secured their 5th team medal at the Worlds yesterday were also impressive through the final. After they fin-ished the first rotation on third position, they continued to occupy second spot till the final routine.

Star, Aliia Mustafina, who is

making an international return after 16 months, was amazing particularly in uneven bars in which she scored 14.500, and received a well deserved applause from spectators.

Team Russia players were happy to seize the silver medal despite injury setbacks ahead of the World Championships.

“We are happy to win a

medal. All the team members and coaching staff put in a lot of effort,” said Mustafina.

Commenting on her Tokyo Games plans, she said: “I am 65 to 70 percent right now. Olympics are very far and I would continue to do my training and preparations.”

China, who ensured third position after the first two

rotations, made a great comeback in the final rotation to win bronze medal, after slipping to 7th in the penultimate rotation.

China’s Liu Tingting said her team did not panic after falling behind.

“I was confident that we can manage to fight back in the final,” Tingting said at a post-final press conference.

“We were banking on the strength and confidence. I am happy that we have achieved third position and a berth in Olympics,” she added.

Brazil (159.830), who finished 7th ahead of bottom-placed Germany (159.428), had a first-ever team medal at Worlds in their sights after they replaced China following the third rotation. But their gymnasts failed to cope up with the pressure as China came back strongly.

Canada finished fourth with a total of 161.644 points while France (161.294) and Japan (160.262) finished on 5th and 6th positions respectively.

Today, the title in men’s all-around will be decided with China’s world champion Xiao Ruoteng and Russia’s Nagornyy Nikita starting as favourites. The duo finished on the top two posi-tions respectively in the quali-fying round.

America’s Mikulak Samuel, who took third position in the preliminary round, will also start among the top contenders as a total of 24 gymnasts will compete in the final.

SPORTWednesday 31 October 2018

PAGE | 30 PAGE | 31Federer arrives in

Paris as Sousa lines up Djokovic at the Masters

Qatar’s Al Attiyah set to defend regional title in Kuwait

Team USA storms to 4th straight world title

STANDINGS1: USA - 171.629

2: Russia - 162.8633: China - 162.396

4: Canada - 161.6445: France - 161.2946: Japan - 160.2627: Brazil - 159.830

8: Germany - 159.428

USA’s Simone Biles in action at the Aspire Dome yesterday.

The victorious US women’s team members and an official celebrate on the podium during 48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018 at the Aspire Dome yesterday. PICS: SYED OMAR

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS

[8] Paul Coll (NZL) beat Borja Golan (ESP) 3-0 (11-3, 12-10, 3-0 rtd)

[4] Simon Rosner (GER) beat Tom Richards (ENG) 3-1 (11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7)

Diego Elias (PER) beat Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-5)

[1] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) beat Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-7)

[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) beat James Willstrop (ENG) 3-1 (7-11, 11-0, 11-1, 11-7)

Joel Makin (WAL) beat Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 3-1 (11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 8-3 rtd)

[7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) beat Declan James (ENG) 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 11-2)

[2] Ali Farag (EGY) beat Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-0 (12-10, 11-4, 11-6)

Egyptian world number one Mohamed El Shorbagy (left) in action against England’s Adrian Waller during their third round match of the Qatar Classic yesterday. El Shorbagy won 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-7).

Top seed El Shorbagy in Doha quarters

REUTERS

BERLIN: The Court of Arbitration for Sport yesterday upheld an appeal by hopeful Serik Konakbayev (pictured) against his exclusion from next month’s vote to elect the new Pres-ident of international boxing association AIBA.

AIBA has been beset by serious financial and governance problems which have put its spot at the 2020 Olympics in jeopardy with the Inter-national Olympic Com-mittee telling it to fix the current problems by next month or face an Olympic exit.

CAS ordered AIBA to include Konakbayev, an AIBA Vice-President who had been banned from running against the only candidate -- interim president Gafur Rahimov -- in the list of those standing for election at the next congress, on Nov. 2-3 in Moscow. Konakbayev, a Kazakh, who also heads the Asian boxing confederation, had been told by the AIBA election committee at the time that he had not acquired the nec-essary 20 letters of s u p p o r t f r o m federations.

CAS said the election committee had wrongly refused to consider some nominations of support for Konakbayev.

“Therefore, the Panel acknowledged that Serik Konakbayev reached the threshold of 20 nomina-tions supporting his can-didature for the AIBA Presidency within the relevant time limit,” it said in a statement.

“In conclusion, the CAS Panel came to the conclusion that the appeal should be upheld and that Serik Konak-bayev should be allowed to participate in the election for the role of AIBA President.”

AIBA has been in turmoil for several

years. Its former pres-ident Wu Ching-kuo was suspended in 2017 before stepping down over governance and finance issues and was briefly replaced by Franco Falcinelli before Uzbek businessman Rahimov became interim president in January.

Rahimov, however, is on the United States Department of the Treas-ury’s sanctions list “for providing material support” to a criminal organisation, according to the US body.

Rahimov strongly denies the claim but the IOC has told AIBA it is not happy with the choice of the Uzbek at the helm of the organisation.

The IOC also warned AIBA in October that failure to settle the dispute by next month’s congress could result in the sport losing its Olympic spot at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

AP

MINNEAPOLIS: After a lethargic loss in their last game, the Minnesota Timberwolves came to life.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers served as their spark plug.

Jimmy Butler hit five of Minne-sota’s eight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to finish with 32 points on 12-for-20 shooting and help the Tim-berwolves hang on to beat the Lakers 124-120 on Monday.

“They were playing fast, which made us play with a lot of energy, so I guess their energy kind of helped ours,” Butler said.

Karl-Anthony Towns pitched in 25 points, a season-high 16 rebounds and four blocks for the Timberwolves (3-4), who played some clutch defense just in time to fend off a late push from James. The four-time MVP had 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter after missing his first five shots of the night, but the Lakers (2-5) went back to Los Angeles with another uneven performance.

“We’ve got to get better. We know that. We talk about patience,

but we can’t have reoccurrence of doing the same things over and over and over again and expecting a dif-ferent result,” said James, who added 10 rebounds and seven assists on the 15th anniversary of his professional debut. “That’s insanity.”

Brandon Ingram came back strong from his four-game sus-pension with 24 points for the Lakers. Kyle Kuzma, after scoring 11 points in the first five minutes, had only eight more over the rest of the night. The Lakers let the Wolves grab a season-high 20 offensive rebounds and committed 18 turnovers.

Anthony Tolliver was perfect on four shots from the floor for the Tim-berwolves, including a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter for a 96-94 lead. Butler’s back-to-back swishes from behind the arc pushed the lead to 114-107. He added one more, his fifth in as many attempts in the final period, to make it 122-117.

That preceded a corner miss with 16.3 seconds left by James, who had a costly turnover with 1:43 remaining when he lost the ball at the top of the key and let it drift into the backcourt.

“We’ve got to get better at the little things. One of those things is paying attention to details, following game plans. The game plan tonight: Keep them off the free throw line, and defensive rebounding,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “They hurt us with both of those.”

Rookie Josh Okogie, starting at shooting guard for the Wolves in place of the injured Andrew Wiggins, had a career-high 17 points. The defensive-minded Okogie was one of the catalysts for a team that lost at home to Milwaukee by 30 points on Friday night.

“Shots are going to fall. Shots

aren’t going to fall. But we have to have that energy every single night, and that’s what’s going to get us through those humps,” said Okogie, who added four rebounds, three assists and three steals in 30 minutes.

Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau remained noncommittal on keeping Okogie as part of the rotation when Wiggins is back.

“He makes things happen,” Thi-bodeau said. “He’s not perfect, but he’s learning, he’s eager and every day he comes in with a great attitude, and I like that he’s taking advantage of when he does play.”

The Lakers went with a new starting lineup to maximize their length, sliding the 6-foot-9 Ingram back to the shooting guard spot and flanking James with the sharp-shooting Kuzma at power forward. They entered the night with a league-leading 22 percent of their points coming on fast breaks, but the Wolves outscored them 21-15 in transition.

Ingram was 9 for 18 from the floor.

“I didn’t feel tired out there,” Ingram said. “That was surprising.”

28 WEDNESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2018SPORT

The Panel acknowledged that Serik Konakbayev reached the threshold of 20 nominations supporting his candidature for the AIBA Presidency within the relevant time limit: The Court of Arbitration for SportChampions Red Sox return to

Boston with World Series trophyAP

BOSTON: The World Series champion Boston Red Sox have returned to Fenway Park, carrying the championship trophy they won a night earlier.

A caravan of buses arrived at Fenway on Monday night, less than 24 hours after the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 to win the World Series in five games, giving the organization its fourth title since 2004.

A couple hundred fans and about a half-dozen TV cameras

were wai t ing for the team.Fans started cheering when

the buses arrived and roared when catcher Christian Vazquez got off the second bus holding the trophy.

Manager Alex Cora got off the first bus and held his index finger aloft to acknowledge the crowd.

The players grabbed their luggage and left in their vehicles - with Brock Holt tooting his horn as he drove off. Many waved to the crowd, but none spoke.

Cora left the park wearing a grey sweat shirt with a hood over

his head, walking down the street briefly unnoticed before he was fol-lowed and surrounded by about a dozen fans. He stopped a couple of times to sign autographs.

He was asked, “How does it feel to be a world champion?”

“Different,” Cora said before he strolled away.

The city of Boston has planned a parade of Duck Boats for Wednesday.

Steve Pearce hit two homers and drove in three runs in the clincher, earning World Series MVP honors.

Boston Red Sox players hoist the Commissioner’s

Trophy after winning the fifth game of the

2018 World Series against the Los

Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

Warriors’ Thompson breaksCurry’s three-pointer record AGENCIES

CHICAGO: Warriors guard Klay Thompson set an NBA record with 14 3-pointers on Monday in Golden State’s 149-124 road win over the Chicago Bulls.

Thompson surpassed the mark set by teammate Steph Curry, who had 13 3-pointers on Nov. 8, 2016, against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Washington State product sank 14 of 24 3-point attempt. Thompson hit 18 of 29 shots from the floor overall and finished with 52 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes of action.

Thompson, 28, entered the night averaging 15.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game this season. Part of three championship teams with the Warriors, he has career averages of 19.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

“I don’t know if I would be able to break these records... without the system I play in or the team I’m with or the guys I play with” Thompson said.

“They knew even before I went out for the second half, Steph looked at the box score and said, ‘Go get it.’ That just shows you the unselfishness that is within him. The same with...

everyone else that was out there on the floor trying to find me and give me good looks.

“I might have forced a few bad shots, but I was so anxious because any time there’s an NBA record at stake, you kind of get a little nervous. I’m just so blessed to play with the guys that I do. It was an amazing night I’ll hopefully never forget.”

Golden State had 92 points at halftime, which was the most ever by a road team and the second most of all time behind the Phoenix Suns (107) in 1990.

The Warriors were on top 92-50 at the break.

NFL to play four regular-season games in London

AP

LONDON: The NFL says it will play four regular-season games in London next year, two at Wembley Stadium and two at the new stadium being built for Premier League team Tottenham.

The NFL did not say which teams would be making the trip, or when the games will be played.

The league played three games in London this year in three straight weeks. All three games were at Wembley. One game had been scheduled for Tottenham but it was moved because the stadium is not ready.

NBA RESULTS

San Antonio 113 Dallas 108

Miami 113 Sacramento 123

New York 115 Brooklyn 96

Indiana 93 Portland 103

Philadelphia 113 Atlanta 92

Denver 116 New Orleans 111

Chicago 124 Golden State 149

Milwaukee 124 Toronto 109

Minnesota 124 LA Lakers 120

Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors puts up a three point shot on his way to a game-high 52 points against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago, Illinois on Monday.

Butler shoots Timberwolves past Lakers

CAS clears Konakbayev to run for AIBA Presidency

REUTERS

SYDNEY: Pressure was building on Cricket Australia chairman David Peever to resign yesterday in the wake of the release of a scathing independent review into the culture of the game.

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and former ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed were among those calling for him to be replaced after Monday’s release of the review commissioned in the wake of March’s ball-tampering scandal.

The report said the governing body was perceived as “arrogant” and “controlling” and treated its elite players like commod-ities, allowing “alpha-male” egos to develop a win-at-all-costs approach.

Peever, who was awarded a second five-year term last week, embarked on a series of media interviews defending the leadership of Cricket Australia on Monday, including one in which he described the ball-tampering incident as a “hiccup”.

Speed said that interview had convinced him that the former mining executive was not the right man to take Cricket Australia forward and that somebody with a back-ground in the game needed to take over.

“It’s not a hiccup, it’s much more than that,” Speed, who was chief executive of the Australian cricket board from 1997 until 2001 before serving a similar role at the global governing body, told ABC radio.

“My response when I saw that interview and I saw that comment, I thought Australian cricket can do better in choosing its chairman and the game deserves better governance.”

Former Prime Minister Rudd joined a growing chorus of discontent at Peever’s reaction to the review on social media, posting his comments on Twitter.

“So let’s get this straight,” he wrote. “Cricket Australia, under David Peever, has overseen the destruction of the

(international) image of our national game. But Peever gets re-appointed as chair last wk, 3 days before release of damning report? #PeeverShouldResign.”

With the review also suggesting that the culture CA fostered had contributed to the ball-tampering scandal, there were calls for the suspensions imposed on Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft to be lifted.

Speed suggested that former Australia test captain and Cricket Australia board member Mark Taylor would fit the bill as chairman in place of Peever.

“I’d like to see Mark Taylor stand up as chairman of Cricket Australia,” he said.

“David is the first to have come out of the corporate world rather than out of the cricket world and I think in this crisis that’s what’s shown here,” Speed added.

“It’s good to see some diversity on the board - some women, some people who aren’t from the cricket family so to speak

- but I think that’s missing at the moment, that the dyed-in-the-wool cricket people need to stand up and take back their sport.”

Peever was also faced with blanket con-demnation in the pages of Australia’s news-papers yesterday, the main charge being that he had extended his reign as chairman after the ball-tampering scandal while heads around him rolled.

Former captain and vice-captain Smith and Warner are serving one-year bans, former coach Darren Lehmann and chief executive James Sutherland have since stood down, while high performance chief Pat Howard has announced his departure.

In The Australian newspaper, cricket writer Gideon Haigh pinpointed a line in the review that spoke of people in leadership roles having to take responsibility for matters “over which they do not exercise direct control”.

“David Peever is lost,” he wrote. “Cricket needs to find another guide.”

29WEDNESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2018 SPORT

England cricketer Stuart Broad

(left) delivers the ball during the

two-day practice match against the

Sri Lanka Board XI in Colombo

yesterday. England’s cricket stars have been

told to stay away from political

demonstrations while touring Sri

Lanka, which is in the grip of a constitutional

power struggle.

England cricketers warned over Sri Lanka upheavalCOLOMBO: England’s cricket stars have been told to stay away from political demonstrations while touring Sri Lanka, which is in the grip of a constitutional power struggle.

One man has been killed in upheaval after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked the country’s prime minister and replaced him with former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“We are exercising vigilance and avoiding all demonstrations or large political gatherings,” England spokesman Danny Reuben told AFP.

“We are aware of a political demonstration today, but for us it is all about preparations for the first Test.”

Reuben said a four-day practice match in Colombo would go ahead as planned, despite the troubles in the capital.

England take on Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle, in the south of the country, on November 6. England are due to stay in Sri Lanka until November 27 when the third Test ends.

The dispute between sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse has already hit Sri Lanka’s cricket establishment.

Ngidi expects stiff task against Finch-led Aussie batting line-upREUTERS

PERTH: Young South Africa speedster Lungi Ngidi has singled out Australia’s newly-appointed 50-over captain Aaron Finch as a major threat to his side’s chances in the three match one-day inter-national series, which begins in Perth on Sunday.

The 22-year-old has quickly adapted to the rigours of bowling on the international stage since making his South Africa debut in a Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka in January, 2017.

With 22 wickets from his first 10 ODIs at an average of 20.45, and a similarly impressive haul in Tests, the Durban-born quick has emerged as one of the team’s strike bowlers.

Ngidi believes Australia’s batting unit is replete with big hitters, while Finch is particularly ‘dangerous’ and will provide the tourists with stiff competition upfront.

“They come hard at the bowlers, they’re very confident players and that’s really exciting to see as a bowler,” Ngidi said in an interview.

“You’ve always got to be up for the challenge, you know they’re not going to back down, they’re not going to give you their wickets.”

Explosive opening batsman Finch, 31, leads Australia in the shortest Twenty20 format and last week replaced Tim Paine as the leader in the 50-over format. He has scored 11 centuries in 93 ODIs with a strike-rate of over 90.

Speaking after a training session at Optus Stadium - Perth’s iconic new 60,000 seat venue where he is likely to play his first international match in Australia - Ngidi said keeping his nerves in check would be a challenge.

“As a youngster coming into the team (a big crowd) can be a little bit intimidating but I’m going to try and keep a level head, try to keep it as cool as possible,” he said.

“I’m always excited to play international cricket, I’m always excited to get out on to the pitch... the stadiums, it’s a new envi-ronment for me, I’ve never been here. So that would probably be the most nerve-wracking thing for me.”

Also exciting the youngster is the prospect of bowling on Aus-tralia’s renowned fast and bouncy pitches.

“On quick wickets, you’ve got to be able to have variation as well,” Ngidi said while standing on the $1.3bn stadium’s vast outfield.

“So you’ve got to be able to nail your yorkers, slower balls as well - you’ve got to be able to use the field as best as possible.

“I can see there’s pretty big boundaries here. (You) have to use that as best as you can.”

Earlier this year, when South Africa hosted Australia for a Test series - infamously remembered for the ball-tampering scandal which saw Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft suspended by Cricket Australia - Ngidi was competing with the now-retired Morne Morkel for a place in the side.

Ngidi picked up five wickets in the second Test against Aus-tralia at Port Elizabeth, including the key wicket of Warner. He is aware that short-pitched bowling is going to be a potent weapon on the pitches in Australia.

With the 50-over World Cup scheduled next year, Ngidi rec-ognises that one-dayers have added context now as teams begin to settle their squads and finalise their best combinations.

“There’s always been a good competition between South Africa and Australia in terms of cricket, but there is that hint of World Cup preparation,” he said.

“As well as two great teams competing against each other I think this is going to be one of the best chances (for the teams) to look at their World Cup preparation.”

For Ngidi, playing for South Africa on the world stage instils in him a great sense of pride.

“There’s a few million there that would love to be in the position that I’m in,” the fast bowler said. “I’m out here in Australia with the opportunity to represent them.

“So I’m flying the South African flag high and that makes me very proud as a cricketer and as a person.”

South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi celebrates after taking the

wicket of Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis (not

pictured) in this file photo taken in Dambulla, Sri Lanka on

August 1, 2018.

Oct 31, Wed Prime Ministers XI vs South Africa, One-day Practice match at Manuka Oval, Canberra

Nov 04, Australia vs SA, 1st ODI at Perth Stadium, PerthNov 09, Australia vs SA, 2nd ODI at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Nov 11, Australia vs SA, 3rd ODI at Bellerive Oval, Hobart at

Nov 17, Australia vs SA, Only T20I at Carrara Oval, Queensland

Luminaries call for Cricket Australia chairman to resign

Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) President Greg Dyer speaks during a press conference in Melbourne yesterday. The ACA renewed calls to reduce the sentences of players involved in the ball-tampering scandal, as pressure mounts on Cricket Australia chairman David Peever after a damning review of the governing body.

Union leads calls for end to Smith, Warner bansREUTERS

SYDNEY: The Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) called yesterday for the immediate lifting of lengthy bans imposed on Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft after the release of a scathing report into the culture of Australian cricket.

Greg Dyer, the head of the Aus-tralian players’ union, said all three players had been punished enough.

“Given there is now independent verification that CA’s system and culture were contributory factors, the ACA calls for the lifting of the board-imposed penalties on Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft,” ACA chief Dyer told a news conference in Melbourne.

“The players have already lost time in the game, lost chances to play for Australia, endured public humiliation and faced massive financial penalties.

“My message to Cricket Australia is this: these contrite men have suffered enough. Let them play.”

Cricket Australia (CA) Chairman David Peever, in his reaction to the

review on Monday, made it clear that the board had handed out the sanc-tions after “full and thoughtful process” and that they would remain in place.

Former Australia coach Darren Lehmann, who stood down in the wake of the scandal, also joined calls to have the bans set aside and allow the trio to return to state and international cricket.

“I think they should be back but it’s up to the board to make that decision, not me,” Lehmann told the Sydney Morning Herald. “I think the general feeling around Australia, cer-tainly the people I talk to, is they want them playing again, at worst domestic cricket. Now the findings have come down they should be reviewing the sanctions on the three players.”

While Lehmann’s view of the mood of the Australian public might be reflective of the “bubble” the review said surrounded top players, Test greats Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Doug Walters have also called for a reduction to the bans.

Rayudu promises to end India’s No. 4 woesREUTERS

NEW DELHI: Rohit Sharma struck yet another ‘daddy hundred’ but it was probably Ambati Rayudu’s relatively modest century on Monday which pleased India captain Virat Kohli more as he seeks an end to a pesky problem seven months before next year’s World Cup.

India’s problem of late has been acute at number four with Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Lokesh Rahul and Dinesh Karthik being trialled at the crucial spot and found inadequate. Rayudu’s second 50-plus score in four matches against West Indies has filled Kohli with optimism he may not need to fret over the issue anymore.

“Rayudu has taken his opportunity with both hands,” Kohli said after the team’s victory in the fourth one-dayer against West Indies in Mumbai.

“We need to back him till the World Cup and give him more confidence. He is feeling good about his game and he is a very confident man.”

Rayudu exhibited both sides of his batting in his 211-run stand with Rohit on Monday, first playing second fiddle to his partner and then using the long handle to good effect in his brilliantly paced knock of 100.

In the end, he matched Rohit’s four sixes and also reached the 50 and 100 marks in fewer balls than his partner. “He reads the game really well, so we are happy that someone with intelligence is batting at number four,” Kohli said. Rohit was equally impressed with the ability of Rayudu, who registered his third ODI century on Monday, to play according to the situation.

Australia vs South Africa

30 WEDNESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2018SPORT

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus hits a return against Ashleigh Barty of Australia in their first-round match of the Zhuhai Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, in south China’s Guangdong province, yesterday.

AFP

ZHUHAI: World number 12 Aryna Sabalenka has apologised for an on-court tantrum in which she shook an empty bottle in the direction of a ball boy before tossing it on the floor.

The big-hitting Belarusian faced crit-icism after footage of the episode during her quarter-final defeat to Wang Qiang at the China Open in early October was shared widely on social media.

But following a winning start at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, the 20-year-old vowed to “never do it again”.

“Well, I’m so sorry,” she said at her post-match press conference after beating Ash-leigh Barty 6-4, 6-4. “It was emotional and I was losing my mind and after that I saw it on Twitter and I was just like ‘Oh my god, what did you mean?’. I didn’t even remember this, and I was just like ‘Wow, I’m sorry for this guy’.”

The controversy came ahead of a similar incident in which Spain’s Fernando Verdasco ranted at a ball boy for not

bringing his sweaty towel quickly enough during a semi-final defeat by Yoshihito Nishioka at the Shenzhen Open.

Footage went viral on social media and saw Verdasco heavily criticised.

Judy Murray, the former British Fed Cup captain and mother of three-time Grand Slam winner Andy, tweeted: “What about a rule that makes players get their own towels?”

At the Shanghai Masters, Roger Federer said tennis sets the standard for many sports when it comes to respectful behaviour -- and that must extend to the treatment of ball boys and girls.

“The ball kids are really important to us because they are also maybe the future of our game, like I was,” said the Swiss player, a ball boy before going on to become a 20-time Grand Slam champion. You don’t want to have them leaving with feeling, oh my God, I was not appreciated or I was not liked or it was a horrible thing.”

But Federer pointed out that emotions run high in the heat of a match and that tennis is more intense now than in the past.

In 2015 Novak Djokovic, now a 14-time Grand Slam winner, apologised to a Wim-bledon ball girl after he screamed in her direction, leaving her looking shaken.

Following Sabalenka’s actions in Beijing, Anne Keothavong, Britain’s Fed Cup captain, tweeted: “I don’t care how good a tennis player you are but this type of behaviour needs to STOP.”

An apologetic Sabalenka said: “It was bad of me and now I will never do it again, and I will try and be nice with the ball boys, even if they’re sometimes so slow!

“They’re just small kids, and you can’t do anything to them. Yea, I’m so sorry for that guy and hopefully he’s not pissed with me.”

Sabalenka has shot up the world rankings from 39th to 12th place in just three months and was recently named WTA Newcomer of the Year.

Asked about her strong finish to the season, she said: “I didn’t expect to do this well, but now I am just enjoying it and trying to improve more and more. It’s a really good feeling.”

ATP Rankings1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 7660 pts

2. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 7445

3. Roger Federer (SUI) 6260

4. J Martin Del Potro (ARG) 5460

5. Alexander Zverev (GER) 5115

6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4230

7. Marin Cilic (CRO) 4050

8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3825

9. John Isner (USA) 3425

10. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 3335

11. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 3210

12. David Goffin (BEL) 2675

13. Borna Coric (CRO) 2460

14. Fabio Fognini (ITA) 2315

15. Kyle Edmund (GBR) 2195

16. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 2175

17. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 1977

18. Karen Khachanov (RUS) 1845

19. D Schwartzman (ARG) 1835

20. Marco Cecchinato (ITA) 1829

WTA Rankings1. Simona Halep (ROU) 6921 pts

2. Angelique Kerber (GER) 5875

3. C Wozniacki (DEN) 5586

4. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 5350

5. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 5115

6. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5023

7. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 4630

8. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 4465

9. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4335

10. Daria Kasatkina (RUS) 3315

11. A Sevastova (LAT) 3185

12. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3145

13. Elise Mertens (BEL) 3065

14. Julia Goerges (GER) 2995

15. Serena Williams (USA) 2976

16. Madison Keys (USA) 2817

17. Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 2725

18. Caroline Garcia (FRA) 2600

19. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 2420

20. Anett Kontaveit (EST) 2375

Sabalenka

edges out

Barty in

Zhuhai opener

AFP

ZHUHAI: Big-hitting Aryna Sabalenka was too strong for Ashleigh Barty in the opening singles clash of the WTA Elite Trophy in China yesterday, taking the match 6-4, 6-4.

The tournament ’s youngest player produced some typically aggressive tennis in Zhuhai, showing the form that has seen her shoot up the world rankings from 39th to 12th place in just three months.

Belarus’s Sabalenka, 20, made the most of breaking Australian Barty, 22, in the very first game of the match, seeing out a nip-and-tuck opening set.

In-form Sabalenka looked the more confident of the two in the early stages, and the third seed held her nerve to pull out her first two aces to clinch the set.

Ninth seed Barty took the initiative in the second set, breaking in the fourth game, only for Sabalenka to break back in Barty’s two following service games.

The pair produced some thrilling base-line battles for the spectators at the Hengqin International Tennis Center, but Sabalenka turned the screw to see out the match in one hour, 26 minutes.

Their clash was their first round robin match, with both yet to play eighth seed and world number 18 Caroline Garcia from France.

“I think I played well in the first set, and in the second set I probably started to rush a little bit and make a lot of mistakes, and kind of stupid mistakes,” Sabalenka said after the match.

“But I think the game was quite good, just a few a stupid moments.”

Barty said: “I’m disap-pointed not to come away with the win, but I’ll have another opportunity in the next few days to try and finish my season on a real high.”

Asked about the strength of the field in Zhuhai, the 2017 semi-finalist said: “It’s phe-nomenal. I think last year was good, but this year’s another level.

“It’s really exciting for the women’s game. We have the top 20 players in the world this year who are fighting right until the end of the season, which is really positive.”

AP

MADRID: The search is on for a new coach at Real Madrid.

With the team reeling from a demoralizing loss to Barcelona and far from the top in the Spanish league standings, Madrid is looking for someone who can turn things around and save the season.

Former player Santiago Solari, coach of Madrid B, was in charge of practice yes-terday, but the club was in a hurry to find a replacement.

Madrid fired Julen Lopetegui on Monday, saying it was time to “change the team’s dynamic while all of its objectives for the season were still reachable.”

The club said the team deserved better results with the quality of players it has. Under Lopetegui, Madrid won six matches, lost six and drew two. The team is ninth, seven points behind leader Bar-celona after 10 matches.

“Ultimately, the way a dressing room is managed is sometimes more important than a coach’s technical knowledge,” Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said after the Barcelona loss at Camp Nou.

It wasn’t exactly clear what type of coach Madrid was looking for, whether it was a hardliner like Antonio Conte or a more compro-mising figure like Roberto Martinez. The team’s recent success came with the calm-mannered Zinedine Zidane. Then again, he had Cristiano Ronaldo. Both departed in the off-season.

Madrid can go with the home solution again. Solari has been following the same path as Zidane, his former teammate and also a former coach of Madrid’s B squad.

“Nobody can be com-pared to Zidane,” Solari said yesterday. “We can leave him and his greatness alone. He was one of the greatest we have ever had at Madrid.”

Solari will be in charge today when Madrid faces third-division club Melilla in the Copa del Rey. The team then plays on Saturday at home against Valladolid in the Spanish league.

Here’s a look at the top coaches considered candi-dates to take over Madrid:

ANTONIO CONTEThe Italian is touted by

Spanish media as the front-runner.

He carries the experience of having coached Chelsea and Italy, but against him is the fact that his authoritarian style may not bode well with a Madrid squad filled with strong-minded veterans.

ROBERTO MARTINEZThe Spaniard gained

prominence after leading Belgium to a third-place finish at the World Cup, and many back him over Conte because of his calmer demeanor.

SANTIAGO SOLARISolari is the interim coach

and hasn’t been ruled out as a candidate for the per-manent position.

The 42-year-old former Argentina midfielder played for Real Madrid in the early 2000s.

OTHERSOthers considered long-

shots but can’t be fully ruled out include Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, the former Madrid coach who is strug-gling with Manchester United, and Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Sabalenka says ‘sorry’ to ball boy

for on-court tantrum

Madrid goes

after new

coach to save

its season

Switzerland’s Roger Federer arrives to attend a training session during the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 - Rolex Paris Masters - indoor tennis tournament at The AccorHotels Arena in Paris, yesterday. Federer. holder of 20 Grand Slam titles, won his 99th career title last week in Basel.

AFP

PARIS: Roger Federer is poised to seek his 100th

ATP title at the Paris Masters this week with the

Swiss great attending his first training session.

The 20 Grand Slam titles has lined up at Bercy

for his first appearance at the last Masters event

of the season since 2015.

The 37-year-old Swiss star won his 99th career

title at the weekend in Basel but hasn’t played in

Paris in three years due to injury and selective

scheduling.

Federer “arrives tomorrow” organisers tweeted

on Monday. Federer landed right on cue along with

coach Ivan Ljubicic.

He faces either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Milos

Raonic on Wednesday.

Portugal’s Joao Sousa will meet Novak Djokovic

in the second round after defeating Marco Cecch-

inato 7-5, 6-3 in his opening match.

Cecchinato stunned Djokovic in the quarter-

finals of the French Open in June, but the Italian

missed out on a rematch with Djokovic as he fell

apart after losing his serve at 5-5 in the opening

set.

Second seed Djokovic is a four-time champion

in Paris and is bidding to reclaim the world number

one ranking from Rafael Nadal this week.

The Spaniard, who has never won the indoor

tournament, is making his return from the knee

injury that scuppered his US Open chances.

Filip Krajinovic, last year’s runner-up in Paris,

slid to a first-round defeat by Karen Khachanov

that will send the Serb spiralling down the rankings.

The 34th-ranked Krajinovic served for the first

set but rapidly came unstuck and suffered a 7-5,

6-2 loss that will see him tumble outside the top

90. Also on Monday Frenchman Nicoals Mahut went

out 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 to American Frances Taifoe.

Meanwhile home favourite Richard Gasquet

punished an erratic display from Canadian teenager

Denis Shapovalov to progress to the second round

of the Paris Masters with a 6-4 7-6(3) victory.

Shapovalov made a brisk start and raced to a

3-0 lead before Gasquet responded with a mix of

aggressive backhands and clever drop shots to

reel off five consecutive games.

The 19-year-old Canadian struggled to settle

into a serving rhythm as he made 18 unforced

errors, including five double faults, allowing

Gasquet to clinch the opening set in 44 minutes.

Federer arrives in Paris

as Sousa lines up

Djokovic at the Masters

THE PENINSULA

ARIFJAN, KUWAIT: Qatari rally driver Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah will be looking to defend his regional rally crown in Kuwait City this weekend with the record for the most number of victories at the Kuwait International Rally (KIR).

The three-day Kuwait International Rally begins tomorrow.

It is the fourth round of the 2018 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) and Kuwait’s flagship motor sporting event will make a return to the FIA calendar at the new Kuwait Motor Town Race Circuit (KMTRC) facility.

The Qatari star, Al Attiyah, has been impressed with the new start location in Kuwait.

“This is an excellent facility and I am sure it will have a very exciting future in world motor sport,” said the visiting MERC series leader, who starts as top seed this weekend.

This will also mark the first time that the facility has ever

been used to host an FIA event. Kuwait Motor Town Race

Circuit was inaugurated under the patronage and attendance of the Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah on March 28 this year. The KIR is based there this week with the fourth round of the regional rally series taking place over 13 timed desert special stages

The new KMTRC is situated in the area of Arifjan, 52km south of Kuwait City, and was constructed in 14 months. The project was the vision of the Amiri Dirwan and was brought

to reality by renowned German engineer and circuit designer Herman Tilke.

The site holds seven dif-ferent race tracks, including an FIA grade one main race circuit of 5.61km, and also features facilities for drag racing, karting, motocross, rally and dune racing.

There is sufficient seating and space for around 8,000 spectators, VIP halls, media

facilities, 32 pit facilities and parking for around 3,300 vehicles. The race track itself was laid by the Arizona National Company in associ-ation with Trimble, the machine control technologies company.

The KIR started at the Sirbb karting track, near Kuwait City, in 2016 but has followed its neighbours in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to utilise excellent race

circuit facilities to host off-road rally events.

Jordanian motorcycle enduro rider Ata Al Hmoud won his category at the recent Jordan Baja and is in Kuwait for the rally.

“I have been very impressed. The circuit, the set-up, the pits, the facilities, they are all state-of-the-art,” Ata said.

Competitors carried out their first day of route recon-naissance yesterday and will be permitted a second day to check the route today before the competitive action gets underway with a timed super special at 4.00pm tomorrow after the ceremonial start at the Kuwait Motor Town Race Circuit.

This year’s event is being organised by the Basil Salem Al Sabah Motor Racing Club (BMRC) under the chair-manship of Sheikh Athbi Nayef Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah and in conjunction with the General Authority for Sport and the Kuwait International Auto-mobile Club (KIAC).

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Six-time world All-around champion Kohei Uchimura felt that Japan team need to put in a lot of efforts before the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games after his side fell to bronze medal in Doha.

Defending champions Japan finished third in the MAG Team final behind China and Russia at the 48th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships on Monday which also handed the legend Uchimura his 20th Worlds medal.

“The five of us did our best, but found out there are many things we need to work on. We can work together and win the gold in the Olympics. Hopefully, that’s what we want to do,” Uchimura said.

Japan, who collected 253.744 points, finished behind China (256.634) and Russian Feder-ation (256.585).

The 29-year-old felt that this ankle injury a month before the Doha Worlds restricted his performances.

“I feel very bad for my team-mates because I had injuries from the beginning, and I was

not happy about that,” said Uch-imura, who also missed last year’s edition in Montreal, Canada, due to ankle injury on vault landing during the qualifications.

On not competing on all six apparatus in the team final here, he added, “Until the last minute, I thought I could do it. However, it wasn’t possible. As a result, I had 50-50 feelings.”

Meanwhile, China’s Xiao Ruoteng praised young gymnast

for the gold medal performance.

“We’re really happy because some of our gymnasts are in the World Championships for the first time, and they are already the champions,” he said.

“We are a young team but we are a strong team. We believe in ourselves, but we can do even better. We have to teach our-selves how to (cope with) the pressure, and we to come back better, training harder at home.”

On his fall from horizontal bar as the last Chinese com-petitor in the last rotation on Monday, he said: “I really regret that. I was totally ready for this competition, but we are a team and everyone encouraged me.”

“We are a team. The atmos-phere on our team is really great.”

“We are so happy that we qualified to Tokyo, because it was our (main) goal and we made every effort to do that.”

31WEDNESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2018 SPORT

The five of us did our best, but found out there are many things we need to work on. We can work together and win the gold in the Olympics. Hopefully, that’s what we want to do: Uchimura

In our team the competition is very strong, and by competing with each other we are becoming stronger and stronger. Each athlete in our team is a leader and can compete individually and as a team: Nagornyy

We need to work hard for2020 Olympics: Uchimura

Russian men’s team looks the part despite painful defeatTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: It may now be 22 years since a Russian men’s team stood atop the gymnastics world, but, having agonisingly lost out on top spot to China by just 0.049 points in Doha on Monday, the long-term prospects for the

current quintet appear golden.From Dmitrii Lankin on Still

Rings to Artur Dalaloyan and Nikita Nagornyy on Vault; Russia had heroes all over the Aspire Arena during the men’s Team Final at the Doha 2018 World Championships.

Ultimately the quintet fell

just short, meaning the Soviet Union’s triumph in 1991 is still the last time a Russian men’s team topped the podium at a World Championships. But, even in the pain of defeat, rising star Nagornyy acknowledged that his team is very much on the right track.

“There are two ways of making a team,” Nagornyy said after Russia finished on a team total of 256.585, just 0.049 behind gold medallists China.

“The first is to make a team based on one leader. The second way is to make a team based on a number of leaders where all the athletes are very strong. In our team the competition is very

strong, and by competing with each other we are becoming stronger and stronger.”

“Each athlete in our team is a leader and can compete indi-vidually and as a team.”

There is no denying the truth of the 21-year-old’s words. Even with several significant mistakes – including an uncharacteristic early slip off the Parallel Bars by 2018 European champion Dala-loyan – Russia still came to the very final routine of a thrilling competition with the gold firmly in their grasp.

While Nagornyy was not quite able to score the 13.783 Russia needed from him on Hor-izontal Bar – despite thinking as

he landed that he had “won it” he actually recorded 13.733 – the fact they came so close and secured their spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games points to an ever brighter future.

Remarkably, the silver was the Russian men’s first world championship team medal of any colour since 2006. The team won gold at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics and bronze four years later, but finished out of the medals for the next three Olympics in Athens, Beijing and London. But having now won European champi-onship team gold and a World silver in the last two months, as well as claiming team silver at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the

Russians are starting to make success a habit once again.

“As sportsmen we know that we won’t know the final results until the very last routine but we also kept all of you guessing,” coach Valery Alfosov joked with the press after the competition.

Despite not being at their best Russia did score highest on Still Rings and Vault – on which Dalaloyan recorded 15.066 and Nagornyy hit 15.033. On the back of such performances it was left to seven-time world veteran Nikolai Kuksenkov to aptly sum up his team’s trajectory.

It is a comforting thought for the Russians and perhaps a wor-rying one for their competitors.

Japan’s Kohei Uchimura in action in the men’s rings during the Men’s Team Final on Monday.

Artur Dalaloyan of Russia competes

in the Men’s horizontal bar

during the Men’s Team final of the 2018 FIG Artistic

Gymnastics Championships

at Aspire Dome in Doha on Monday.

Al Attiyah set to defend regional title as FIA event returns to Kuwait

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah

Kuwait’s flagship motor sporting event will make a return to the FIA calendar at the new Kuwait Motor Town Race Circuit (KMTRC) facility.

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah holds the record for the most number of victories at the Kuwait International Rally.

Overage youth team footballers jailed in BeninAFP

COTONOU: Ten Benin youth team players were jailed yesterday for lying about their age after they were kicked out of quali-fying for next year’s under-17 Africa Cup of Nations finals.

A court in the country’s commercial capital, Cotonou, handed down one-month sentences to the players, who were detained in September following their expulsion. Charges were dropped against other people involved in the case, including a policeman and local politicians, on the “benefit of the doubt”.

The case was followed closely in the tiny West African nation and the court was packed with football insiders and fans.

Althanase Soton, who heads a fans’ association, told the sentence was “lenient but educational”.

Benin were kicked out of the tour-nament after 10 players from the junior team were discovered to have lied about their age with the help of federation offi-cials. At the same hearing, the former pres-ident of Benin’s football federation, Anjorin Moucharafou, was sentenced to two months in jail.

Football’s world governing body FIFA suspended Benin completely in 2004 and threatened the country with a ban several times again between 2010 and 2013.

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: A total of 29 young coaches featured in the QFA-backed Goalkeeper’s Workshop including Qatar national team keeper Qassim Burhan.

The closing ceremony of the workshop - conducted by QFA’s Development Department - saw the presence of Mohammed Al Hashemi, Strategic Planning Advisor , Development Department. Al Hashemi dis-tributed the certificates.

Also present were lecturer Maher Berkdar, and assistants Fawzi Mayer and Bashir Bin Amer.

Al Hashemi addressed the students in which he stressed the importance of the role of a goal-keeping coach in the modern world. He said a goalkeeper remained the best defense for

any football side at any level.“The goalkeeping coach is

responsible for developing the leadership abilities of their defenders,” Al Hashemi said.

He named Mohammed Wafa, Yousef Ahmed as Ahmed Trabelsi as some of the top names in goalkeeping in the region.

Al Hashemi confirmed the support of QFA’s Development

Department for goalkeeping coaches, saying early mentoring helped young kids pick up the right lessons on way to reaching national squads.

For his part, Maher said that QFA’s Development Department is making a huge effort at all levels to boost the game even from a goalkeeper ’s perspective.

He added that QFA is always

working to organize workshops and training courses for goal-keepers under the umbrella of the AFC.

He thanked the participants for their cooperation and com-mitment during the workshop.

“They showed a great deal of hard work to make the most of their participation in the workshop. It was good to see that,” he said.

Coaches who took part in the Football Workshop pose for a picture.

SPORT 27WEDNESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2018

They (New Zealand) have a

strong team with ideal

batsmen for T20 and a bal-

anced bowling attack so we

need to set the tone from the

first game by winning it.

Sarfraz Ahmed

Pakistan cricket

captain

Arsenal vs BlackpoolWest Ham vs Tottenham

Chelsea vs Derby

New Zealand vs PakistanTwenty20at Abu Dhabi

FOOTBALL CRICKET

TO

DAY

’SA

CTIO

N

We are committed to AIPS’ objectives: Al BoaininQSPC

DOHA: Qatar Sports Press Committee board member, Mubarak Al Boainin, high-lighted the importance of hosting the AIPS Executive Committee & Jury Meet, here yesterday.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines on the Meet that is focusing on the ‘AIPS Sport Media Awards’ scheduled for Lausanne, Switzerland, in January 2019.

“Qatar today is the sought after destination in terms of sports and pro-moting sporting culture. In such a scenario, it is but

obvious that we members of the Qatar Sports Press Com-mittee are playing host to this prestigious event.”

“As AIPS President Mr. Gianni Merlo, yesterday pointed out that, they have received 1276 submissions in eight different categories; it means that the journalists from across the world are following it. To be precise the submissions have come from 119 countries,” said Mubarak, about the importance of the event for journalists across the world.

“We at Qatar Sports Press Committee are com-mitted towards the ideol-ogies of fair journalism, so it

is but obvious that we welcome such a Meet in Qatar”.

Speaking about the schedule for the meet, Mubarak added, “The event is spread across four days starting today. The first two days the Executive Com-mittee Meeting will take place and the next two days the Jurors will meet.”

“We also intend to take the members of the AIPS Executive Committee, to the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, a trip to Qatar Foundation is also planned. These apart they would also go to Aspire Done, which is hosting the

2018 World Artistic Gym-nastics Championships”. “The tour also intends to highlight the development made by Qatar in all walks of life, rather than just sports. The thing he noticed the most is its development. “

“Also such events like the AIPS Executive Committee / Jury Meet, provides a platform for developing technologies in sports jour-nalism to come to the fore as premier journalists and pho-tographers get recognised for their work. When that happens, they innovate and that builds upon the sports culture and that’s what we want,” he said.

Burhan attends QFA-backed goalkeeper’s workshop

Mahrez seals points for CityREUTERS

LONDON: Manchester City returned to the Premier League summit on goal difference with a 1-0 victory over fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur courtesy of an early goal by Riyad Mahrez at a subdued Wembley Stadium on Monday.

It was not the free-rolling City of late and Tottenham will rue missing some good oppor-tunities to salvage something from a rather disjointed affair on a patchwork pitch.

Mahrez caught Tottenham cold in the sixth minute after a defensive mistake but despite City’s dominance they were missing their usual clinical edge on a surface looking more suitable for gridiron football after an NFL fixture a day earlier.

David Silva and Mahrez both could have put the game beyond Tottenham but the hosts, who were on a four-match winning run in the league and could have gone above City into second with a victory, always posed a threat.

Dele Alli returned from a hamstring injury for Tottenham and his arrival as a substitute sparked some late pressure in which Erik Lamela spurned a glorious late chance to equalise.

City held form for a sixth consecutive Premier League clean sheet to knock Liverpool off top spot. They both have 26

points while Tottenham have 21.

After the tragic events of Sat-urday in which Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhana-prabha died alongside four other people in a helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium,

it was fitting that Mahrez, a Leicester hero during their 2016 title success, was the one who scored.

The game was only six minutes old when City keeper Ederson launched the ball forward, quarterback style, and

Spurs right back Kieran Trippier made a mess of his clearing header and it was then turned too easily by Raheem Sterling who squared for Mahrez to fire into the net past Hugo Lloris.

The Algerian celebrated in poignant fashion by raising both

arms towards the heavens.“I am very, very sad. That

is why when I scored I put my hands in the sky for him,” Mahrez, who was voted PFA Player of the Year after Leicester’s stunning 2016 title, said.

Al Duhail goal scorer Yusuf Al Arabi celebrates after scoring a goal against Al Sailiya during the QNB Stars League in Doha yesterday.

QSL: AL DUHAIL DOWN AL SAILIYA 1-0

Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez shoots at goal during the English Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur at the Wembley Stadium, London, Britain on Monday.

Leicester to see action on SaturdayAP

LEICESTER: Leicester’s Premier League fixture against Cardiff is going ahead as planned on Saturday, the team’s first game since the death of its owner and four other people in a helicopter crash.

Leicester’s players have been visibly affected by the tragedy and have spent Monday and yesterday attending commemorative events to pay tribute to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the club’s popular Thai owner whose helicopter spiraled out of control as it left the King Power Stadium following a Premier League game on Sat-urday. Leicester’s English League Cup match against Southampton, scheduled for yesterday, was canceled, while games involving the club’s women’s team were also called off in wake of the crash. There will be a minute’s silence before kickoff in the Cardiff-Leicester match in the Welsh capital, as there will be at games throughout Eng-land’s top division this weekend.

Qatar Sports Press Committee board member, Mubarak Al Boainin speaking to a journalist at the AIPS Executive Committee & Jury Meet, in Doha yesterday.