SPORTTuesday 28 August 2018

PAGE | 17 PAGE | 18No Bolt, no cry for

Coe after Su’s 9.92 sprint

Federer looks to end decade-long drought

Gold medallist Abderrahman Samba of Qatar on the podium with silver medallist Dharun Ayyasamy of India (left).

No hurdle for Samba in gold rushARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar won a gold and silver in athletics yesterday at the Asian Games with Abderrahman Samba sprinting to the finish to clinch the 400 metres gold while Yassir Salem Mubarak clinched the silver in the Steeplechase.

After yesterday’s one gold and silver, Qatar now has three gold and equal number of silver while also picking up one bronze in the continental championship.

Samba (22), broke the Games record in the men’s 400m hurdles when he finished his run in 47.66 seconds. Dharun Ayyasamy of India was a distant second with a time of 48.96 while Japanese athlete Takatoshi Abe finished third.

“I’ve had an awesome race today! I’m very happy that I have achieved a gold medal and clearing an Asian Games record. It doesn’t beat my personal time but it is still considered a great time under 48 secs. I’m proud to raise the Qatari flag high on the podium. I would like to dedicate this gold medal to H H the Amir and the people of Qatar, and I will do my best to add to this achievement in the coming events,” said Samba after winning the event.

“It’s a good feeling you know. Actually these are big competi-tions, the Asian Games, the Asian Championship. I think I worked hard this season to be in this place and I won gold medal,” he added.

“Also this competition makes me prepare for next year in the world championship and 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” Samba said after winning the 400m race.

Earlier, Qatar’s Yassir Salem Mubarak won the silver medal in the steeplechase with a timing of eight minutes 28.21 seconds. The men’s 3000m steeplechase gold went to Iranian Hossein Keyhani, who broke the Games record for the event by clocking eight minutes 22.79 seconds while the bronze medal went to Japanese Kazuya Shiojiri.

Qatar’s Hashim Mohamed came fifth finishing the race in eight minutes 35.40 seconds.

The rest of the medals for Qatar at the 2018 Games have come from Abdalelah Haroun’s gold in 400m, Ashraf Saifi’s gold in hammer throw, Tosin Ogunode’s silver in the 100m race, Fares Hassouna’s silver in weightlifting (94kg), and Hammad Al Marri’s bronze medal in shooting, double Trap.

In javelin throw, Ahmed Magour fin-

ished sixth by clearing a dis-

tance of

7 8 . 2 3 m w h i l e Mohamad Kaida finished seven places behind him.

In high jump, Hamdi Al Ameen leaped to a distance of 2.24m to come fifth.

In the other athletics events, Jamal Hairan and Abubaker Haidar, both qualified for today’s final of the 800m with a timing of 1:47.45 and 1:48.25 respectively.

In Karate, Qatar were not so lucky as Qassim Ghavidel lost in the Men’s 75kg pre-quarter-finals going down to Pakistan’s Saadi Abbas 6-1.

In Squash team event, Qatar registered contrasting wins in the Pool B matches. In the first match they defeated Thailand 3-0 and then defeated Indonesia by a margin of two games to one.

Meanwhile, Qatar will feature in Friday’s Handball final, as they defeated South 27-20 in yester-day’s semi-final.

Elsewhere today, Qatar will take on the challenge of Japan in the Volleyball quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, India’s Neeraj Chopra smashed the field to claim the men’s javelin gold at the Asian Games on Monday by posting his personal best which was nearly six metres clear of his closest competitor.

The long-haired 20-year-old entered the competition in Jakarta having posted the season’s best throw by an Asian when he hurled 87.43 metres at the Diamond League leg in Doha in May.

The Commonwealth Games champion threw even further at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, clearing a distance of 88.06 metres. China’s Liu Qizhen posted a personal best of 82.22m for the silver. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem took bronze.

Chopra began with a modest 83.46 and after fouling his second attempt, registered his best effort of the night on his third.

In men’s high jump, China’s Wang Yu leapt 2.30 metres to claim the gold ahead of South Korea’s Woo Sang-hyeok whose season’s best of 2.28 fetched him the silver. Syrian Majd Eddin Ghzal and Japan’s Naoto Tobe both cleared 2.24 to claim a bronze apiece.

It was Syria’s first medal at the ongoing Games.

Qatar assured of medalin beach volleyballARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar are assured of a medal in Beach Volleyball when the Al Annabi pair of Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse take on Indonesian pair of Ade Candra Rachmawan and Mohammad Ashfiya in the final at the Jakabaring Sport City Beach Volleyball Court in Palembang today.

Qatar’s Ahmed and Cherif cruised to the final showdown with an unbeaten record after squeezing China’s Goa and Li out while host pair Rachmawan and Ashfiya followed to join the champion contest after elimi-nating their compatriots Gilang Ramadhan and Danangsyah Yudistira Pribadi.

Facing the world 10th ranked Ahmed and Cherif, China’s Goa and Li did caused some troubles but finally conceded in a narrow 0-2 (18-21, 24-26).

Rachmawan and Ashfiya won the match in straight sets.

In the first set, Rachmawan-Ashfiya defeated Ramadhan-Yudistira Pribadi 21-13.

In the second set, Rach-mawan-Ashfiya defeated their compatriots 21-19.

Rachmawan, accompanied by Ashfiya, Ramadhan and Pribadi, said after the match that the team would compete in the finals was not a team of two individuals, but a team of the Indonesian nation.

Rachmawan added that they would strive to win the gold medal, while the other team would strive to win the bronze.

“So, hopefully we’ll get one gold and one bronze,” he said.

Speaking about Team 1’s strategy to face the Qatari pair in the final, Rachmawan said they would give their best for the country.

“We’ll be all-out because we have the support of the Indo-nesian people,” he said, while adding that he had met the Qatari players once previously.

dd ee nn oooo eeeee eeeeee

ddddd dd ee e e e

s ss ssss 6 6 66fffff ffaaaaa ee dd

ee eeeeeeee ee ddd ... ..

eee ttt oo ee ee rr rl l s g g gg g

. ---nn nddd e .s ee 00 0r r

m n f e d , r t

InInInInInInI j jjjjavaaaavaava elelininnn tt hrhrrrrroowoowowowoo , , AhAhhhhmemememmmmm d d MaMaMMaMMMM gogooooouuuuurur f finininininini --

isisi heheeeed d d ssisissixtxttx h hh h h bybybybybybby clcllclcleaeaeaeaeaeaririiiringngng aa aa dd d ddisiss--

tatatat ncnncncnce eee ofof

7 877 87 8 . 2. 22.. 3 m3 mmmm3 mm3 www hw hhhwww i li li li lll e e e MMMMMMooM hhahaamamamam d ddd KaKaKaKaKaK idididida aaafiffif ninishshhheded ss evevenen p p ppplalalaacceccecceces sssbebeeebebeebebb hhihhinndndd hhhhiiimimmm.

InInI h higigigh h jujujummmpmpmpmpmp, Hamdmdmdmdmdmdmddiiiiii i i AlAlAlAlAAlAlAlAAA A AA mmememememeeeenennnnenleleeleeeeeeaaapapapapapapapeddedeedededd t ttt tt o o oo a aa aaa dididididd ststststttanananana cecce oof 2.22..22424242444424mmmm mm mm totototoo ccooomememme f f fififfthththhthhhh..

In ththee e ottotttheheher r attatathlhlhlhlh eteticiciccss eeevevveenenenee ttststss,,JaJammamaall HHaaaaaaaairiririrririririranaaaaaa aaaandndn A Abubububabakeker rHHHHHaaaHHHaHHaHaH iidddiidddddaraaraaaa , bobboboooooothtthhththhththht qqqquauaaauuaualiliififiededdd fffororo ttododayay’s’sss ffifinanaaaaann lll l l ofoofofoofof tt ttthhhehehee 8888 0000mm m m wiwiwww tht aaa t timimimininng g g gg ofo 1:1::1:47474474774 4.445 5 aaananaannnanannanandddd d dd ddddd 1:1:1:111 48844844844 .22. 555 555 rererreeespspspspsspecececeeceeectitittivvvevevelyylylly.

InIn K KKararararaatattta e,e,e,,,e,,, Q QQQ QQQaataaarrra w wwwwwwerererrerereree e e e e e nonononnnnon ttt sosososo lulululululuullluuuuuuckckckckckckkkkckckkccckckkckcc yyyyyyy yy y y aaasassasaaasasasaasasasasa QQQQQ QQ QQ Q QQQQasasasasassisiisis mmmmmm mmmm GhhhhhGhhhavavavavavvvaa ididididididelelelelelelell l l lll loosoooso t t inn tttthhthhtththhtttht eee e MMMMeMMMeMeeMen’’n’n’n’n s s s 775757575kkgkgkgkgkgkk prpprprrrrprrrrprpp ee--eeee qqqququuuuuuuuquq ararararara tetetetetettter-r-r-r-rr-r-r ffififififiinanaaaanallslsl gggggooogggogog innniinnng gg gg doodododododownwnwnwnnwnwnwnnwnwnw tt tt o o o PPPPaaaaaPPaPaPP kkiiiststttttananannanan’s’s’sss SS S Saaaaaaaa diidiidid AAAAbAbbbbAbbbbbbbbbbbababbababababab ss s sss 666-6 1111.1.

InInInIn SSquq asasa h h h h teeaaaammmmmmaam eeevev ntnt, , QQaQaatttataaataarr rrrer giisttererrededed cc coonontrraaaasasasaa tiiiiiiiingnggnngnggg w winininninssss ss ininniniininin ttthheheeheh PPPoPPP ol BB m mmmmatches.. .. IIIInnIInII ttttt hhehehehheehee fffff ffiriririrriririrstststststststst mm mm m mmatatta chchchchhhhhhhhchch ttthtttttt ey defefefeaaeaeaee tetetetet d d d ThThThThThThhhhhhhThhhh iaiaiaiaiaaiaa lalaandndnddddd 3 33-0-0-0-0 a nndndthtthen defefffffffeaeeaae teddd Innnnnnnndodod nenenenenn sisia a a aa bybbbyy aaa aaaaa mmmmamamam rgggrgiininnininini oo ooo ooo off f f ttwtwo ggagammmmemeemmm s s to onene..

MMeeannnanwhwhhhhwhwhwhwhhhilliillilililiili eeeee,e,ee, QQQQQQQQQQQQQ Q Qaatattaaaa arar ww wiliill l fefeeatataturururu ee einnnininnnn F riidadadayy’y’y’yy s ss HHHaHanddndbabaaaaab llll f f fininalalll,, ,, asasasasa tt thehehheheyy ddedeedd feffeeaatatededdddddd SS SSoououo tht 22277-7 2020 in yeester-dadad yy’’yy ss seesemmi-fffininnnnnal.dad yy s ses mi ffinnnna .

ElElseewwwherrre e e ee toottotodaday,y QQatataraa wwilill l tatakeke on thhhhe e e chhchchalalala leeengngge ofofof J J JJapapappananan ii innnthththhe e VVoVooV lllleyybababallllllll q qq quauauauartrtrterererer-f-f-f-finini alals.ss

MMeeeaannwhwhilile,e InI dia’s s NeNeerererajajaj ChChChopoppppprrararara sss mamm sheded t tthehee f ffieieeldld t tto o clclaiaimm ththththe e mmmemeen’nnn sss s jajavevelililin n gogolddd aatt ththe AsAsiaian n GaGameeeeeees s ononnnn MM M ondaday y byby ppostiing hisis pepersssssoononoooononallalaa bbb bbbeese t which hh waw s nenenen arararlylylyly sisisix xx memmemetrtrt eses c clelearar o ooooofffff hihihhihhiis s clclclclclclc oosososo esest tcocompmpetetetitittorororror.

ThThThe e e lololongg-hhaiairereed d d 2020-y-yeaear-r-ololold d denenentetetered the comppetetititioion n inin Jakakarartata having posted the seassonon’s’s b besestt throw by an Asian when he hurledd 87878 .4.443 metres at the Diamond LeL agagagueueueu l l legegeg i n nn DoDoD ha in MaM y.

ThThe e CooCommmmmmononwewealth Gameseses champion tthrhrewew eevevennn fufufurtrtrthheher atthe Gelora Bung Karnr o Stadadiuiui m,mm, clearing a distance of 88.066 metres. China’s Liu Qizhen posted a personal best of 82.22m for thesilver. Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem

Abderrahman Samba of Qatar celebrates after

winning the men’s 400m hurdles during the 2018 Asian Games at the GBK Main Stadium in Jakarta,

Indonesia, yesterday.

MEDAL TABLE (TOP 20)RANK COUNTRY G S B TOTAL1 China 86 62 43 191

2 Japan 43 36 57 136

3 South Korea 28 36 42 106

4 Indonesia 22 15 27 64

5 Iran 17 15 15 47

6 Chinese Taipei 12 12 17 41

7 DPR Korea 12 6 7 25

8 Thailand 9 10 33 52

9 India 8 13 20 41

10 Kazakhstan 7 8 28 43

11 Uzbekistan 6 13 12 31

12 Bahrain 6 3 3 12

13 Hong Kong 3 11 15 29

14 Malaysia 3 8 6 17

15 United Arab Emirates 3 6 3 12

16 Singapore 3 4 10 17

17 Qatar 3 3 1 7

18 Mongolia 3 2 5 10

19 Philippines 3 0 12 15

20 Vietnam 2 11 13 26

Qatar’s Yaser Bagharab competes in the final of the men’s 3000m steeplechase athletics event during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on August 27, 2018.

17TUESDAY 28 AUGUST 2018 SPORT

No Bolt, no cry for Coe after Su’s 9.92 sprint

REUTERS

JAKARTA: HIGHLIGHTS of day 10 of the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang yesterday.

CHINA WIN MIXED AND WOMEN’S DOUBLES TITLESChina won gold in the women’s

doubles and mixed doubles badminton competitions after failing to win a singles medal at the Games for the first time since 1970.

Japan’s Olympic champions Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi gave up leads in both games to lose the women’s doubles final 22-20 22-20 to Chinese duo Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan.

In the mixed doubles final, China’s Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong thrashed Hong Kong pair Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet 21-8 21-15.

SAMBA SECURES 400M HURDLES GOLD FOR QATARAbderrahman Samba secured

Qatar’s third gold of the meet with a victory in the 400 metres hurdles.

The 22-year-old crossed the line in 47.66 seconds, a new Games record.

Dharun Ayyasamy of India finished in second, and Japan’s Takatoshi Abe completed the podium with a third-place finish.

INDONESIA NOTCH EIGHTH PENCAK SILAT GOLD

Abdul Malik won Indonesia’s eighth gold in Pencak Silat, beating Muhammad Faizul M Nasir of Malaysia 5-0 in the 50 to 55kg final.

IRAN’S SALIMIKORDASIABI DEFENDS WEIGHTLIFTING GOLD

Iran weightlifter Behdad Salimikor-dasiab won his third straight Asiad gold medal in the men’s +105kg category.

HOSTS INDONESIA SURPASS PRE-GAMES GOLD TARGETIndonesia won two more gold

medals in the local martial art of pencak silat to reach a total of 17, one more than their pre-Games goal.

Aji Bangkit Pamungkas won in the men’s 85-90kg event while Komang Harik Adi Putra won in the men’s 65-70kg category.JAPANESE ARCHERS WIN MIXED

TEAM RECURVE GOLDJapanese archers Tomomi Sugimoto

and Takaharu Furukawa won gold in the mixed team recurve competition with a 6-0 victory over North Korea’s Kang Un Ju and Pak Yong Won in the final.

KAZAKHSTAN’S GAFUROVA WINS KARATE GOLD

Kazakhstan’s Guzaliya Gafurova suc-cessfully defended her title in the karate 68kg women’s event. China’s Tang Lin-gling claimed silver.

TAIWAN’S MEN WIN TEAM RECURVE ARCHERY GOLDTaiwan’s male archers avenged the

defeat of their women’s team by South Korea earlier on Monday, winning the recurve team gold with a 5-3 victory in the final.

SOUTH KOREAN WOMEN CON-TINUE ARCHERY DOMINANCE

South Korean archers claimed gold in the women’s recurve team event to extend their winning streak to six Games.

The trio of Chang Hye-jin, Kang Chae-won and Lee Eun-gyeong beat Taiwan 5-3 at the GBK Archery Field. Japan claimed bronze.

South Korea edge past Uzbekistanin thriller AFP

INDONESIA: Tottenham forward Son Heung-min helped South Korea reach the Asian Games semi-finals as the defending champions beat Uzbekistan 4-3 in an extra-time cliff-hanger yesterday.

The World Cup star, who is in Indonesia chasing a gold medal that would spare him a career-threat-ening spell of military service, pro-duced a pair of smart assists for hat-trick hero Hwang Ui-jo before a late Hwang Hee-chan penalty sent the Koreans through.

While Spurs prepared to visit Manchester United in the Premier League some 7,000 miles away, Son was the driving force as the Koreans squeezed through to face either Syria or Vietnam in the last four.

The Korea captain revealed that he was supposed to take the penalty kick but that substitute Hwang Hee-chan had demanded to take it -- and Son couldn’t bear to watch.

The 26-year-old Son provided a superb assist after just five minutes in Bekasi, near Jakarta.

It was the tournament’s top scorer Hwang Ui-jo who hit the opener, tucking away his sixth goal of the Games after a brilliant run from Son.

But Jaloliddin Masharipov pounced on South Korea’s defensive hesitation to equalise with a sharp finish after 17 minutes.

Japan-based Hwang smashed in his seventh of the competition with a dipping shot from long distance to restore his side’s advantage 10 minutes before the break.

However, Korean hopes of advancing to the semi-finals almost evaporated in the space of two calamitous second-half minutes.

Ikromjon Alibaev fired Uzbekistan level in the 53rd minute after finding himself unmarked at the back post.

Moments later, the midfielder tried his luck from range and got a huge slice of luck as the ball took a wicked deflection off Hwang Hyun-soo and trickled into the net.

Hwang Ui-jo -- like Son hoping for exemption from military service -- struck back, latching on to a Son through-ball to complete his hat-trick with aplomb after 75 minutes.

Son then let fly with a ferocious left-foot shot that whistled past the post as the Koreans went in search of a winner in normal time.

Already booked, Alibaev was sent off for a shove early in the first period of extra time before hat-trick man Hwang missed a sitter from point-blank range.

Both teams looked out on their feet after going toe-to-toe in sapping humidity but as a penalty shootout loomed, Hwang Hee-chan triggered ecstatic scenes from the Koreans as he stepped up to blast home from the spot after a foul on Hwang Ui-jo.

AFP

JAKARTA: Su Bingtian’s Asian Games gold in the 100 metres came as little surprise to many, including athletics boss Sebastian Coe, long an admirer of the pint-sized Chinese sprinter.

The 28-year-old streaked to victory in a competition record of 9.92 seconds in Jakarta at the weekend, missing the continental record by the tiniest of fractions.

Su edged out Qatari Tosin Ogunode - younger brother of Femi Ogunode, with whom the Chinese star shares the conti-nental best of 9.91 -- on a night when six African-born athletes bagged six track and field golds at Asia’s showcase sports event.

Ryota Yamagata - part of the 4x100m Japan team that took silver behind Usain Bolt’s Jamaica

at the 2016 Rio Olympics, took bronze, underlining Coe’s confi-dence in the future of Asian sprinting.

“You could argue Japan and China are two of the most improved athletics nations over the last six or seven years,” the Briton said in an interview with news agencies.

“For me it’s very clear -- they’re making very good progress. If we’d been sitting here a decade ago, talking about potential here for a China athlete to run 9.8, you’d have probably taken quite long odds on that.”

Coe, President of track and field’s governing IAAF, pointed to China’s willingness to embrace overseas coaches after years of fostering suspicion of state-spon-sored doping.

Su is coached by American coach Randy Huntington, while

swim star Sun Yang’s part-nership with Australian Denis Cotterell has helped turn h im into a world-beater.

“If you look at the Chinese federation, they’ve been quite global,” said Coe. “They’ve recog-

nised there are gaps in their own coaching structures and said ‘hey, let’s bring that talent to the table’.

“It ’s a pragmatic approach. There’s been a

greater clarity around the importance of coaching.”

Coe is aware of the massive void left by athletics mega-star Bolt after the Jamaican legend’s retirement last year.

But he also wants athletes to be person-alities who can connect with fans.

“I’m a boxing fan,” said Coe, twice an Olympic 1,500m champion.

“If we’d been sitting in the 70s, you’d probably be

saying to me what on earth are we going to be doing after Muhammad Ali? But actually, Floyd Mayweather, Hagler, Hearns come along.

“Do they suddenly replace Muhammad Ali? No. Should we suddenly expect these athletes to replace him? No,” he added.

“Because Usain is not simply thought about at the status that he’s thought about because he’s got a sack full of world records and he’s got a clutch of Olympic titles.

“It’s actually because he’s a personality. It’s performance plus personality. We’ve got to help the athletes tell their stories.”

Su himself is a superstar in China, although he has some way to achieve the celebrity that pin-up Liu Xiang achieved after winning 110m hurdles gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

“There was more pressure

here than at a world champion-ships,” said Su, swallowed by a scrum of state media after his win.

“Everybody expected me to win so I kept telling myself to stay calm. I just found a way. It’s a massive victory for me.”

OAAF President Sebastian Coe

China’s Su Bingtian celebrates after winning the men’s 100m final of the 2018 Asian Games on Sunday.

Yesterday’s highlights

Hosts Indonesia smash Asian Games recordAFP

JAKARTA: Asian Games hosts Indonesia smashed their record gold medal haul yesterday on a day tainted by referee controversy, while Son Heung-min’s hopes of a military service reprieve were kept alive by a penalty deep in extra time.

Indonesia dominated its home-grown ancient martial art of pencak silat, scooping all eight gold medals as they doubled their previous best tally at the regional Olympics.

But there were controversial scenes as a Malaysian athlete withdrew in protest two seconds before the end of his final, accusing judges of bias.

Mohd Al-Jufferi Jamari, the 2016 world champion, punched a hole in the wall of the warm-up area, but officials told he was unlikely to face sanctions.

There were also golds for Indonesia in both the men’s and women’s speed climbing events.

The successes brought their gold count for the day to 10, and their total for the Games to 22 -- double their pre-

vious best, when they last hosted the regional Olympics in 1962.

And there was more reason to cheer for local fans in Jakarta as homegrown badminton star Jonatan Christie stormed into the men’s final with a 21-15, 15-21, 21-19 victory over Kenta Nishimoto of Japan.

The world number 15, who began his route to the gold medal match by knocking out top-seeded Shi Yuqi of China, said he was “overwhelmed” by the support in badminton-mad Indonesia.

He will face off against Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen today, who ended the dream run of fellow Indonesian shuttler Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the other semi-final.

Meanwhile, NBA star Jordan Clarkson is on his way home after his Philippines side lost out to South Korea in basketball.

The remnants of Japan’s basketball team -- after four players were sent packing in disgrace - were also elimi-nated in a 93-67 thrashing by Iran.

A day after a joint Korean team,

symbolising this year’s rapprochement on the Korean peninsula, won their first Asian Games gold in the women’s dragon boat racing, their men’s team took a bronze in the 1,000m race.

And the South’s weightlifters joined their Northern neighbours in cele-bration as Kim Kuk Hyang secured North Korea’s eighth gold on the last day of the sport these Games -- dou-bling their previous record.

“I think we have shown the world that the people of Korea are the greatest as one,” Kim said.

Earlier, Iranian giant Behdad Sal-imikordasiabi claimed a hat-trick of Asiad golds in the men’s superheavy-weight class.

And farmer’s son Neeraj Chopra skewered India’s first-ever Asian Games javelin gold medal, despite recently learning of the death of his former coach.

In the medal standings China’s haul continued to rocket, claiming eight more golds including wins in both men’s and women’s cycling team sprints.

The Asian Games giant now has 86 golds, followed by Japan on 43 and South Korea on 28.

Qatar’s Ahmed Magour competes in the men’s javelin throw final yesterday.

Qatar’s Yaser Bagharab (left), Iran’s Hossein Keyhani (right) and Japan’s Kazuya Shiojiri (centre) compete in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase final during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta yesterday. Bagharab won the silver medal behind Keyhani.

Sri Lanka’s Indunil Herath (left), India’s Jinson Johnson (centre) and Qatar’s Jamal Hairana (right) compete in a heats of the men’s 800m event during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta yesterday. All three of them qualified for today’s final.

18 TUESDAY 28 AUGUST 2018SPORT

Federer looks to end decade-long droughtAP

NEW YORK: Even with all the times Roger Federer held the US Open trophy, he still can’t forget the time it slipped through his fingers.

He had won five titles in a row in Flushing Meadows and was a game away from a sixth in 2009 when Juan Martin del Potro pulled out a fourth-set tiebreaker, then won the fifth set.

“I still wish I could have played that match again,” Federer said on Friday.

He’s never been that close to winning the US Open since, just once reaching the final.

That would have been hard to imagine then, when Federer would steamroll into New York at the tail end of some of the greatest seasons in tennis history. He was 247-15 from 2004-06, and knew he’d figure things out across seven matches on the hard courts in a city where he is so comfortable.

“For a long period I think I was not losing much,” Federer said, “and when I came to the Open, I had all the answers for all the guys, all my opponents, all conditions, wind, you know, night, day. I really embraced everything about New York.”

Still does, which is why - at age 37, and a full decade removed from his last title at the place - Federer believes he can succeed again at the year’s final Grand Slam tournament and collect a male-record 21st major when main-draw play begins Monday. A sixth US Open title would break a tie with Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras for the most in the professional era.

“Well, I mean, it would mean the world to me,” he said.

Novak Djokovic just beat Federer in the final in Cincinnati, and the Wimbledon champion might be the favorite in New York.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal is the top seed after taking back the No. 1 ranking that Federer had regained earlier this season for the first time in five years.

And del Potro is up to a career-best No. 3 in the world and proved again he could handle Federer at the US Open when he stopped him last year in the quarterfinals.

Yet few would count out No. 2 seed Federer, even as erratic as his gifted game looked against Djokovic on Sunday in Ohio.

“If you are playing well before,

is easier to play well in the Grand Slam, no? No doubt of that,” Nadal said.

“At the same time it’s true that especially a few players are able to increase the level of concentration, the level of tennis, level of intensity in some places. If you have to do it, this is one of the places.”

Federer hasn’t done it in the biggest moments in New York over the last decade. The loss to del Potro was followed by semifinal defeats against Djokovic in both 2010 and 2011, blowing two match points in

both. He finally got back to the final again in 2015 but was beaten by Djokovic, then had to miss the 2016 event because of a knee injury.

He won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in a resurgent 2017 but tweaked his back while reaching the Montreal final and knew his body and his game weren’t in shape by the time he got to New York.

“I knew from the get-go it was not going to be possible for me to win,” Federer said. “Everything would have had to fall into place.”

So he was even more cautious in monitoring his schedule this year, sitting out the clay-court season again and pulling out of Toronto, making Cincinnati his only hard-court warmup. That’s left him only four tournaments in five months, perhaps explaining some of the shots that once were winners but were sprayed around the court against Djokovic.

“It’s a fine line of how fit do you need to be and how much tennis can you play to be competitive?” Hall of Famer Rod Laver said.

“And if you’re not able to go get the match practice, then you’ve got to rely on being competitive on the other side of the coin, which is how fit can you be. He certainly is fit enough but mentally in the final, I could tell he was sort of down. You could tell he was just frustrated with some of the shots that he played.”

Federer won’t second-guess his scheduling, believing he’s made the right decisions for his preparation. Nor will he kick himself over the US Opens lost over the last decade.

“I won the US Open five times. So I stand here pretty happy, to be quite honest,” Federer said.

“It’s not like, ‘God, the US Open never worked out for me.’ It hasn’t the last couple years, but it’s all good.”

Roger Federer of Switzerland trains prior to the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday.

Nadal, Federer to meet -- for first time? -- Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have

37 Grand Slam titles between them and have clashed 38 times in a mesmerising ri-

valry stretching back to 2004.

However, the world’s two top players have never met at the US Open.

Nadal leads their head-to-head 23-15 and is 9-3 at the Slams. Nine of those 12 at

the majors have been in finals with the pair never having met before the semi-finals.

If they are to meet at the US Open this year, it can only be in the final as Nadal is top

seed and Federer is seeded two.

Will Federer end 10-year New York drought? -- Federer has won five US Open

titles, but they all came between 2004-2008. He has even been French Open

champion (2009) since the last time he triumphed in New York!

Since 2008, he has twice been a runner-up -- to Juan Martin del Potro in 2009 and

Novak Djokovic in 2015.

Del Potro returned to haunt him again last year when the towering Argentine tri-

umphed in the quarter-finals.

Now 37, Federer would become the oldest New York champion in the Open era

should he lift the trophy again on September 9 and second oldest of all time.

“It’s even a bigger priority this year, the US Open, than it has been last year. Not that

it wasn’t last year, but Wimbledon was key for me last year,” Federer said Friday.

Time for ‘NextGen’ to take next step -- They are young, gifted but not quite yet

the finished product. Tennis’s widely-touted ‘NextGen’ are still to make an impact at

the Slams with much expected of German star Alexander Zverev, the world number

four.

The 21-year-old has yet to get past the quarter-final of a Slam while his last two

visits to New York have seen second-round exits.

Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas, 20, who is ranked 15 having been at 161 in the world

this time last year, made his mark at the Toronto Masters this month where he de-

feated Zverev, Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson on his way to the final where he

lost to Nadal.

“Zverev’s been struggling at Slams maybe a little bit, sure, but he’s still young, so

time is on his side,” said Federer of a player who has hired Ivan Lendl as his coach.

Serena on verge of Grand Slam history -- Serena Williams missed the US Open

last year as she prepared to give birth to daughter Olympia. Her return to the sport

has been a rollercoaster with a runners-up spot at Wimbledon followed by a 6-1, 6-0

defeat by Britain’s Johanna Konta in San Jose -- the worst loss of her career.

However, the 36-year-old is still one of the favourites to lift a modern era record

seventh US Open and 24th career Grand Slam to go level with the mark set by Mar-

garet Court.

“I think the surface plays in her favour, as does competing at her home Grand Slam

and having an American crowd cheer for her. All of those things will be helpful,”

former champion Martina Navratilova told wtatennis.com.

“It’s about trying to win a 24th Grand Slam to equal Court -- that’s the number she

cares about.”

Murray to win second US Open? Don’t count on it -- When Andy Murray won

the US Open in 2012, he ended Britain’s 76-year wait for a men’s singles champion

at the Slams. He has gone on to add two Wimbledons to his CV, but his career has

been stalled by hip surgery in January which has seen his ranking slump to 378 in the

world.

The 31-year-old has not played at a Slam since Wimbledon in 2017 and there remain

serious doubts over whether or not he can last two weeks of intense best-of-five sets

in New York.

“It feels slightly different, this one, because for the last 10 years or so I’ve been

coming and trying to prepare to win the event, whereas I don’t feel like that’s realis-

tic for me this year,” he admits

US OPEN: FIVE TALKING POINTS

McGrath says Anderson’s Test wicket haul won’t ever be beatenAFP

LONDON: James Anderson (pictured) will not be caught once the England cricketer becomes the most prolific fast bowler in Test history, says Australia’s current record-holder Glenn McGrath.

Anderson has 557 wickets, just six fewer than the retired McGrath ahead of the fourth Test against India, which starts on Thursday.

McGrath, who played his last Test in 2007, expects Anderson to surpass his record and that it will then stand the test of time.

“Jimmy Anderson deserves everything he gets, and even though he is an Englishman I will be delighted for him when he goes past my record and becomes the most prolific fast bowler in Test history,” he wrote in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper.

“I have an awful lot of respect for Jimmy. Good luck to him. I believe once he goes past me he will never be beaten.

“Records are nice and I’ve b e e n very

proud to have taken more wickets than any fast bowler in Test history, but any high is there to be beaten.”

Spin bowlers occupy the top three places on the overall list of Test wicket-takers -- Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah

Muralitharan took 800 wickets, ahead of

Austra l ia ’s S h a n e W a r n e (708) and India’s Anil K u m b l e (619).

Jimmy Anderson

deserves everything

he gets, and even

though he is an

Englishman I will

be delighted for

him when he goes

past my record and

becomes the most

prolific fast bowler

in Test history: Glenn

McGrath

wrote in Britain s Daily Mailnewspaper.

“I have an awful lot of respect for Jimmy. Good luck tohim. I believe once he goes past me he will never be beaten.

“Records are nice and I’ve b e e n very

Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan took 800 wickets, ahead of

Austra l ia ’sS h a n e W a r n e (708) and India’s Anil K u m b l e (619).

DeChambeau wins Northern Trust titleAFP

PARAMUS, US: Bryson DeChambeau says he is now on a “double mission” after his impressive four-shot victory at the PGA Northern Trust tour-nament on Sunday.

DeChambeau, 24, captured his second PGA Tour victory this year and the third of his short pro career courtesy of a two-under par 69 for an 18-under 266 total on the Ridgewood County Club course.

The American headed into the last round of the opening event of the FedEx Cup Play-Off Series enjoying a four-stroke lead and stretched that to six shots with birdies on his opening two holes.

DeChambeau then stalled with bogeys at the third and ninth holes and also found himself leading by two as his rivals, including Aaron Wise, who had raced to 14-under through 14 holes, sought to bridge the gap.

However, any inward half

charge at DeChambeau failed to materialise and when he birdied 12 and 13 to move to 18-under par. It was then a matter of by how many shots he would secure victory.

DeChambeau parred his remaining five holes, including

saving par after a wild drive way right into the spectators on the last hole.

“I’m a man on a mission right now. With two missions actually, one being the Ryder Cup and other winning the FedEx Cup,” said DeChambeau,

who collected $1.62m in prize money to take his earnings this season to $6.25m.

His win comes after the con-troversy of seeing victory slip in last month’s European Open in Germany and also last fortnight’s agony in missing the halfway cut in the PGA Championship.

In missing the St Louis cut, DeChambeau dropped to ninth on the Ryder Cup standings to miss out on automatic selection. But with victory in New Jersey he has now done enough to earn a USA wildcard pick when USA captain Jim Furyk announces three of his four Versailles picks in early September.

Also in line for a debut USA Ryder Cup cap is Tony Finau (68) who was second at 14-under par.

Tiger Woods continued to struggle with his putter, posting a last day 70 for a share of 40th place.

Woods was asked what he takes away from this week in what was his first appearance in a FedEx Cup play-off series event in five years.

Bryson DeChambeau (USA) kisses the trophy after winning the Northern Trust tournament at Ridgewood Country Club on Sunday.

Henderson clinches historic triumphAFP

REGINA, CANADA: Brooke Henderson (pictured) became the first Canadian since 1973 to capture her homeland’s top LPGA event, firing a seven-under par 65 on Sunday to win the Canadian Open by four strokes.

The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ontario, ran off four consecutive birdies on the back nine and closed with another to finish 72 holes at

Wascana Country Club in Sas-katchewan on 21-under 267.

The only other Canadian winner of the event was Jocelyne Bourassa in its debut 45 years ago.

Fans serenaded Henderson with the national anthem, “Oh Canada”, after the victory. “It’s amazing. It’s just surreal,” a tearful Henderson said.

“The crowds have been amazing all week. It’s a dream come true.”

Two weeks shy of her 21st birthday, Henderson took her seventh career LPGA title, one shy of Sandra Post’s all-time Canadian record of eight, and second tour triumph of the season after the Lotte Champi-onship in April at Hawaii.

The historic win was Hend-erson’s first since the death of her grandfather in June at age 81 after a battle with cancer. It came with sister Brittany serving as Henderson’s caddie.

19TUESDAY 28 AUGUST 2018 SPORT

Schweinsteiger expects tears on his Bayern farewellNo Ronaldo, no problem for Real coach LopeteguiAFP

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui insisted after a come from behind 4-1 win at Girona that a “keep calm under pressure” attitude would deliver the goals previously scored by the prolific but now departed Cristiano Ronaldo.

Seeking their second win of the new La Liga season the European champions fell behind before a brace from Karim Benzema and further goals from Sergio Ramos and Welsh star Gareth Bale saw Madrid even-tually cruise to three precious points.

“Both halves were tricky. Girona have a good collective game, they started well got an early goal and could have had another,” said Lopetegui.

“Then we got two penalties. We deserved them because we were playing to win and had a hatful of chances,” said the former Spain manager, sacked on the eve of Russia 2018 after his deal with Madrid was revealed.

“We kept calm under pressure and played well enough in the second half to deserve the victory. We were flying forwards too quickly in the first half, we were too keen to attack,” he said.

“We were calm and clear and had plenty of space. When we have that this team gets going, it works and the goals start to flow,” he said.

“This time it was Gareth, Karim and Sergio, but we don’t mind who gets them as long as we get them,” he said.

Real Madrid have yet to sign a direct replacement for the Por-tuguese superstar Ronaldo, who switched to Juventus in July after scoring 450 goals in 438 games over nine seasons at the club.

Lopetegui left World Cup final stars Luka Modric and Rafael Varane on the bench, and also stunned observers by pulling off veteran left-back Marcelo on the hour.

Spanish daily Marca said Lopetegui “Proved he was in charge” and was not “afraid to make unpopular decisions for the best of the team.

There was no start either for Thibaut Courtois who joined the club from Chelsea, Real’s major summer signing had to watch the popular Costa Rican Keylor Navas turn in a solid game in goal.

“We have tried to explain it but it isn’t easy, that much is clear,” said the new coach. “I have two great goalkeepers. Three if you count Kiko Casilla.”

Chicago Fire’s Bastian Schweinsteiger plays the ball during a training session on Sunday, two days before a farewell match between Bayern Munich and Chicago Fire, dedicated to him.

AFP

BERLIN: Bastian Schweinsteiger expects to shed a few tears today on his final Bayern Munich appearance during his testi-monial against current club Chicago Fire.

The 34-year-old former Germany captain will play a half each for Bayern and Chicago at the Allianz Arena (1830 GMT).

It will be his farewell appearance in Munich, having quit his childhood club for Manchester United in 2015 after 17 years and a total of 20 titles with Bayern.

Schweinsteiger wept when he received a standing ovation on his 121st and final appearance for Germany in a 2-0 friendly win over Finland two years ago in Moenchengladbach.

More tears are to be expected in Munich today.

“I somewhat underestimated that when I retired from the national

team,” admitted Schweinsteiger on his return to Munich.

“I felt lots of emotions, you have so many images in

your head and let yourself be led by that.

“There are already so many memories coming back up.

“It was a great time, Bayern is always in my heart, but I know it’ll be

emotional for me.”It was obvious from the huge smile on

his face at Bayern’s training ground that he is enjoying being back in Munich.

On Sunday, he was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit at a civil ceremony, where Bavarian Prime Minister Markus

Soeder described the 2014 World Cup winner as a ‘living legend’.

“I’m overwhelmed, I accept the medal on behalf of all Bayern fans - many of whom deserve this,” said Schweinsteiger humbly.

The football star from the Upper Bavarian town of Kolbermoor, near the border with Austria, said he missed his homeland.

“Friends and family, the mountains - and the Kaiserschmarrn (a Bavarian dessert),” are the things he misses most living in Chicago with his wife, former tennis star Ana Ivanovic, and their baby son. Schweinsteiger made more than 500 appearances for Bayern, who he joined as a 13-year-old.

His last home appearance in the famous red shirt was when he scored in a 2-0 win against Mainz in May 2015, before moving to United two months later, and he has not been back to the Allianz Arena since. His popularity has its price and Sch-weinsteiger can not walk the streets of Munich “without a cap and sunglasses”, unlike in Chicago where his wife “is recog-nised more than me - she’s a bit prettier too,” he added with a grin.

Despite recent results -- Chicago sit second from bottom in the Eastern Con-ference of the North American MLS league -- Schweinsteiger is enjoying playing in the States.

“I feel good physically, it’s fun to drive to training each day and I play every game,” he said and hopes to play another few seasons for Fire, who he joined in 2017 after 18 months at Old Trafford.

‘Attack’ main weapon for Al Duhail in clash against PersepolisFAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Al Duhail will look to tackle Persepolis with an aggressive approach when the two familiar Asian football giants square off in the first leg of AFC Champions League quarter-finals in Doha, today.

Qatar’s Al Duhail and Iran’s Persepolis have not met before but the two teams have much in common as they are aiming for the coveted Asian title after winning their premier domestic leagues – QNB Stars League and Persian Gulf Pro League – respectively. In the AFC Champions League, Al Duhail finished on top in group B while Persepolis also advanced after securing first position in group C.

But, Al Duhail will enter the Khalifa International Stadium with a psychological edge over the last year’s semi-finalists, taking an eight-match AFC Champions League winning streak with them.

After easing to the top of the group and qualifying to the Round of 16 with two games to spare, Al Duhail made light work of 2016 finalists Al Ain, putting eight goals past them across the two legs.

An unstoppable attacking force, Al Duhail have bagged 21 goals in the competition so far, six more than the next best West Asian side, Al Sadd, and head coach Nabil Maaloul said his side will play today’s clash with

the same approach. “The Iranian team is a special team but Al Duhail strategy is clear which is to rely on the attack and thank God the team has a big number of players who are able to make opportunities for our strikers,” said Al Duhail head coach at a pre-match press con-ference at Torch Hotel in Doha, yesterday.

Maaloul, who coached Tunisia at Russia 2018 World Cup, said his team was prepared to take on the top Iranian team.

“The preparations are going well and the players are in their best level and well prepared. Our main goal is to win this title. We also know that we are facing the champion of the Iranian league championship, and we hope that the players will achieve positive result before travelling to Tehran for the away match,” he said.

Meanwhile, Al Duhail striker Edmilson hoped his team will come victorious in what he believed to be a difficult battle.

“Everyone in the team knows the importance of the match. We know the game will not be easy but we will work hard to achieve pos-itive result “.

Bounedjah stars as Al Sadd down EsteghlalTHE PENINSULA

TEHRAN: Feared striker Baghdad Bounedjah excelled with a brace as Al Sadd bounced back from an own goal to beat Iran’s Esteghlal 3-1 in the first leg of the Asian Champions League quarter-finals in Tehran, yesterday.

The Jesualdo Ferreira’s side held their nerves in an away match at Azadi Stadium by scoring three goals in the second half to take a big step towards the semi-finals.

Al Sadd, the 2011 cham-pions began the game brightly but were dealt a blow in the 12th minute, conceding a goal through an unfortunate mistake.

A high ball into the Al Sadd box was headed down by Boualem Khoukhi for his keeper Meshaal Aissa to pick up, but the young custodian inadvertently let it slip past him to gift the hosts an opener.

Esteghlal maintained their lead right up to halftime, after surviving a scare in injury time when Akram Afif’s shot rebounded off the post to be gathered by Esteghlal keeper Mehdi Rahmati.

In the second half, Al Sadd came out of the tunnel looking for a way back into the game and were rewarded for their attacking intent with a goal at the hour mark following a well-worked move. After a fine one-two with Bounedjah, Afif beat his marker and fin-ished past Rahmati to level the score.

Five minutes later, Bounedjah latched onto Xavi’s flicked through ball, made his way into the box, turned Mohammad Daneshgar inside

out before slotting home Al Sadd’s second goal. Bounedjah then made it 3-1 for the Qataris in the 74th minute after winning and then converting the penalty, following a foul on him by Vouria Ghafouri.

Al Sadd will now take home a valuable advantage ahead of the return leg in Doha on September 17.

Meanwhile, Kashima Antlers and Tianjin Quanjian are aiming to reach the AFC Champions League semi-finals for the first time in their history ahead of the first leg of the quarter-finals at Kashima Soccer Stadium today.

Japan’s sole remaining representative on the con-tinent, Kashima, have only

once before appeared in the last eight – a decade ago, before the introduction of the Round of 16 – but will be looking to follow in the foot-steps of countrymen Urawa Red Diamonds, who won the 2017 edition.

Tianjin, meanwhile, are

the only Chinese side left in the competition and their debut appearance can already be considered a major success after suffering just one defeat in eight games en route to the quarter-finals.

Away wins over Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Sydney FC on Matchdays Two and Three set Kashima well on their way to a sixth knockout stage appearance as they sat top of Group H at the midway stage.

A point at home against Sydney then slowed progress, but the J.League side then wrapped up qualification with a 2-2 draw against Shanghai Shenhua as they progressed to their second successive Round of 16 with a game to spare. Kashima again faced opposition from Shanghai – in the form of SIPG – in the last 16, where Yuma Suzuki and Daigo Nishi scored in a 3-1 first-leg home win to mean they travelled to China with a two-goal lead to defend.

Despite falling behind early on in the return meeting, Shoma Doi calmed any nerves when he levelled shortly before half-time, and the eventual 2-1 defeat was enough to see Go Oiwa’s team through to only their second quarter-finals after advancing from the knockout rounds for the first time.

Al Sadd players celebrate after scoring a goal against Esteghlal during their AFC Champions League quarter-final (first leg) at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, yesterday.

Al Sadd forward Baghdad Bounedjah (centre) scores a goal against Esteghlal, yesterday.

Al Duhail vs Persepolis (first leg)

Venue: Khalifa International Stadium

Kick-off: Today, 6:30pm

AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 8

The kits for the two teams were put on display in Doha yesterday. Al Duhail will be in red while Persepolis will sport white kit.

Feared striker

Baghdad

Bounedjah excelled

with a brace as Al Sadd

win first leg 3-1.

Al Sadd will

now take home

a valuable advantage

ahead of the return leg in

Doha on September 17.