cops drop points again daring to rehm!...february 26 election to succeed sepp blatter. although some...

ASPIRE Academy Director General Ivan Bravo speaks about its evolution, various age-group football teams, development of players and overall progress. PAGES 10-11

FRANKTALK

P 20 | POSTERLEWIS HAMILTONSPECIAL

STORY

P 24 | MOTORSPORTNasser and his Tour de fource!

Follow us onwww.dohastadiumplusqatar.comWEDNESDAY, OcTObER 28, 2015 | Vol X | No.39 | QR 2.00

P 16 | PARA-ATHLETICSDARING TO REHM!

German long jumper Markus Rehm, whose life symbolises victory of human

spirit over despair, betters own world record.

UK ...................................... £1Europe ............................. €2Oman ...............200 BaisasBahrain ..................200 FilsEgypt .............................LE 2Lebanon ..........3,000 LivreKuwait ....................250 FilsMorocco ......................Dh 6

UAE ...............................Dh 5Yemen..................75 RiyalsSudan ...................1 PoundKSA .......................... 2 RiyalsJordan ....................500 FilsIraq .................................... $1Palestine ......................... $1Syria .............................LS 20

P 6 | FOOTBALLcOPS DROP POINTS AGAIN

Holders Lekhwiya lose further ground in the Qatar Stars League title race after being held by Al Gharafa.

DSP

/Fad

i Al A

ssaa

d

ALL

SPORTS,

ONE

STADIUM

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Catch every pulse of action... Stay tuned www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com

www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 3

INSIDE

Editor-in-Chief Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi

Managing Editor Kumar Ravi

Senior Editor/Writer Aswin Abraham

Senior Sports Writer N Ganesh

Sports Writers Sajith B WarrierAju George ChrisMohammad Amin-ul IslamSarath Pookkat

Photographers MohanVinod DivakaranFadi Al AssaadMohammed DabboosA K BijuRaj

Graphic Designers Abhilash ChackoGopakumar K Joice Michael

Technical support Shaheen MohammedAbdul Naser M

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www.facebook.com/dohastadiumplusqatar

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Publishers: ASPIrE Printing, Publishing and Distribution Printed at ASPIrE Printing Press

© Stories and photographs appearing in this publication may not be reproduced without the permission of ASPIrE Printing, Publishing and Distribution.

OPINION

Doha a perfect platform toperform for para-athletesTHEIr physique may not be willing like that of the

able-bodied athletes, but mind is. And the spirit is indomitable. that’s how they more than make up

for their disabilities. In the process, they truly uphold the Olympic motto of faster, higher, stronger.

their grit and determination are on display at the International Paralympic committee’s (IPc) Athletics World championships, currently under way in Doha. A slew of records have been broken and its hugely-successful organisation has won plaudits from many quarters.

the level of competition is so high that German long jumper Markus rehm’s world record of 8.40M would’ve earned him gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, where Greg rutherford of Great britain triumphed in 8.31M! the athletes are producing their best as it’s the last qualification event for next year’s rio Paralympic Games.

the Qatar Olympic committee (QOc) and Qatar Paralympic committee (QPc) deserve credit on the organisational front even as the Doha edition has become the biggest in terms of participation. As many as 1,282 athletes, including 443 women, from 97 countries are in action, an increase of 21 per cent from the last Worlds. there’s also a rise of 39 per cent in the number of female competitors.

Qatar has been at the forefront of promoting para-athletics and that it’s hosting the first Worlds in

Asia is indeed a matter of great pride. IPc chief Sir Philip craven believes the championships will give the QPc a new impetus and help change the people’s mindset in the region.

the british official also said the facilities and number of hotel rooms in Doha for disabled persons were significantly higher by international standards. Going by the trend, the Qatari capital has a chance of joining the IPc Athletics Grand Prix series.

It’s a known fact that Qatar has been supporting its para-athletes to the hilt. the QOc’s annual Schools Olympic Programme has a day designated for athletes with disabilities. And paralympic events are given due prominence at the National Sports Day, which falls on the second tuesday in February.

Qatar has once again provided the para-athletes with a perfect platform to perform and fielded its biggest-ever squad, which included a woman, in the championships, true to the values of creating a way of life based on the joy found in effort.

Dr Ahmed Al MohannadiEditor-in-chief

»The writer can be contacted at:[email protected]

P 26 | MOTORSPORTHamilton joins the pantheon of greatsMercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who was crowned Formula One champion for a third time, enjoys his life in the fast lane.

P 29 | VOLLEYBALLJaish start in styletwo-time champions El Jaish began their Association cup campaign in resounding style by posting two straight-set wins.

P 28 | SWIMMINGLeading names are raring to goMore than 300 swimmers from 44 nations will reach Doha for the penultimate round of the FINA/airweave World cup.

P 22 | SQUASHBeauty and the Beast!Defending champion and world No.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy of Egypt looks the player to beat at the Qatar classic.

P.O. box: 24598, Doha, Qatar tel: +974 44138065, Fax: +974 44138597

www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com

Editorial: tel: +974 44138522, Fax: +974 44138593e-mail: [email protected]

Marketing & advertising: tel: +974 44138566e-mail: [email protected]

Distribution: tel: +974 44138535/36, Fax: +974 44138597e-mail: [email protected]

P 12 | FOOTBALLStalematecity hold on to their top spot after playing out a dull draw with United in the Premier League’s Manchester derby.


INSIDE

Editor-in-Chief Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi

Managing Editor Kumar Ravi

Senior Editor/Writer Aswin Abraham

Senior Sports Writer N Ganesh

Sports Writers Sajith B WarrierAju George ChrisMohammad Amin-ul IslamSarath Pookkat

Photographers MohanVinod DivakaranFadi Al AssaadMohammed DabboosA K BijuRaj

Graphic Designers Abhilash ChackoGopakumar K Joice Michael

Technical support Shaheen MohammedAbdul Naser M

www.twitter.com/dohastadiumplus

www.facebook.com/dohastadiumplusqatar

www.flickr.com/photos/dohastadiumplusqatar

Publishers: ASPIrE Printing, Publishing and Distribution Printed at ASPIrE Printing Press

© Stories and photographs appearing in this publication may not be reproduced without the permission of ASPIrE Printing, Publishing and Distribution.

OPINION

Doha a perfect platform toperform for para-athletesTHEIr physique may not be willing like that of the

able-bodied athletes, but mind is. And the spirit is indomitable. that’s how they more than make up

for their disabilities. In the process, they truly uphold the Olympic motto of faster, higher, stronger.

their grit and determination are on display at the International Paralympic committee’s (IPc) Athletics World championships, currently under way in Doha. A slew of records have been broken and its hugely-successful organisation has won plaudits from many quarters.

the level of competition is so high that German long jumper Markus rehm’s world record of 8.40M would’ve earned him gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, where Greg rutherford of Great britain triumphed in 8.31M! the athletes are producing their best as it’s the last qualification event for next year’s rio Paralympic Games.

the Qatar Olympic committee (QOc) and Qatar Paralympic committee (QPc) deserve credit on the organisational front even as the Doha edition has become the biggest in terms of participation. As many as 1,282 athletes, including 443 women, from 97 countries are in action, an increase of 21 per cent from the last Worlds. there’s also a rise of 39 per cent in the number of female competitors.

Qatar has been at the forefront of promoting para-athletics and that it’s hosting the first Worlds in

Asia is indeed a matter of great pride. IPc chief Sir Philip craven believes the championships will give the QPc a new impetus and help change the people’s mindset in the region.

the british official also said the facilities and number of hotel rooms in Doha for disabled persons were significantly higher by international standards. Going by the trend, the Qatari capital has a chance of joining the IPc Athletics Grand Prix series.

It’s a known fact that Qatar has been supporting its para-athletes to the hilt. the QOc’s annual Schools Olympic Programme has a day designated for athletes with disabilities. And paralympic events are given due prominence at the National Sports Day, which falls on the second tuesday in February.

Qatar has once again provided the para-athletes with a perfect platform to perform and fielded its biggest-ever squad, which included a woman, in the championships, true to the values of creating a way of life based on the joy found in effort.

Dr Ahmed Al MohannadiEditor-in-chief


P 26 | MOTORSPORTHamilton joins the pantheon of greatsMercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who was crowned Formula One champion for a third time, enjoys his life in the fast lane.

P 29 | VOLLEYBALLJaish start in styletwo-time champions El Jaish began their Association cup campaign in resounding style by posting two straight-set wins.

P 28 | SWIMMINGLeading names are raring to goMore than 300 swimmers from 44 nations will reach Doha for the penultimate round of the FINA/airweave World cup.

P 22 | SQUASHBeauty and the Beast!Defending champion and world No.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy of Egypt looks the player to beat at the Qatar classic.

P.O. box: 24598, Doha, Qatar tel: +974 44138065, Fax: +974 44138597


Editorial: tel: +974 44138522, Fax: +974 44138593e-mail: [email protected]

Marketing & advertising: tel: +974 44138566e-mail: [email protected]

Distribution: tel: +974 44138535/36, Fax: +974 44138597e-mail: [email protected]

P 12 | FOOTBALLStalematecity hold on to their top spot after playing out a dull draw with United in the Premier League’s Manchester derby.

WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com4

MIXED ZONE | QATAR


PICK OF THE WEEK | FOOTBALL

SO NOW we know who’s in and who’s out in the race to become FIFA president. A list, that

at one stage comprised only two, suddenly burgeoned to eight in the final hours before the deadline last Monday with the anticipated rush of last-minute candidates.

cards are no longer being clasped to chests, but in a way the poker game has only just begun as the contenders jostle for supremacy with all manners of horse-trading over the next few months ahead of the February 26 election to succeed Sepp blatter.

Although some of the hopefuls submitted their applications, you can bet your bottom dollar the field will be narrowed by the time the ballot takes place. For a start, those in the running have to go through a rigorous integrity check, the results of which should be known within

the next 10 days, while others seem certain to discover they simply don’t have the necessary support.

It’s hard at such an early stage to pick a favourite now that Michel Platini’s bid to succeed his one-time mentor appears to be all, but doomed over that infamous $2.1m payment he received in 2011 even though, after receiving some sharp legal advice, he took the clever precaution of putting in his candidacy just before being suspended in the event he somehow clears his name in time.

Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, with most of Asia behind him, must fancy his chances after deciding to go for the job himself now that Platini, whom he previously backed, risks his hopes going up in smoke. the Asian Football confederation president knows he has the crucial backing of Kuwaiti

powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, who may’ve only recently joined the FIFA Excom but who, by all accounts, is pulling the strings.

Salman’s candidacy provides a mouth-watering head-to-head battle royale with Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, the young Jordanian reformer who ended up being

blatter’s only opponent in May and lost by 133 votes to 73. they’re two very different personalities between whom there’s no love lost. Prince Ali will feel he can split the Asian vote, just as he believes he did last time. recently, he was in chile and Mexico

drumming up support and last week he has been in cairo to test the water among senior African delegates. but without Europe on his side on this occasion, it’s hard to foresee anything other than defeat for the well-meaning Jordanian, making him the only contender in FIFA presidential history to lose twice.

Ah, Europe. Why, you might ask, having supported Prince Ali last time, is UEFA abandoning him this time? the answer is simple. However right Prince Ali might’ve been in questioning Platini’s credentials (the proof is in the pudding; the pudding is Platini’s current provisional suspension), the fact is he ruffled too many feathers in the European camp with his series of verbal onslaughts against the beleaguered Frenchman.

As a result, even with Platini possibly unlikely to return, Europe couldn’t stomach getting back into

bed with Prince Ali and have gone instead for their own back-up candidate.

recently, Gianni Infantino, UEFA’s general secretary and second in command, assured anyone who would listen that there was no plan b, but has been forced to eat his words. With the pressure growing on UEFA not to get left in the political wilderness, Infantino offered to step in, the farthest thing from his mind until Platini became embroiled in the ongoing FIFA corruption crisis.

Although the UEFA president is still technically in the running having submitted the relevant documentation before his suspension and is appealing, UEFA simply couldn’t stand by and just hope for the best. Hence the reason why its Executive committee had to find a way out of the mess in case Platini fails to make it.

YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THE

FIELD WILL BE NARROWED IN TIME FOR THE POLL.

EIGHT TO FIGHT! the eight official FIFA presidential candidates

PRINCE ALI BIN AL HUSSEIN

the 39-year-old brother of Jordan’s King Abdullah was a member of his country’s special forces, specialising in parachute jumps. the prince was on the FIFA Executive committee from 2011 until this year when he first challenged Sepp blatter for the presidency. Prince Ali championed the cause of allowing women to play football in a hijab. He has repeatedly demanded greater transparency within FIFA and promised to increase the share of revenues sent back to the national associations. He has condemned the “backroom deals” that he says are one of the biggest causes of FIFA’s long-standing troubles.

MICHEL PLATINI

One of the greatest footballers of all time and, until he was implicated in a Swiss criminal investigation into FIFA, one of the sport’s most skilful politicians. After being co-chairman of France’s 1998 World cup organisation, he became president of UEFA in 2007 and has since been re-elected twice. but the Frenchman’s 90-day suspension while FIFA investigates a 2m Swiss francs payment from the world body without a written contract has seriously hit the chances of the man who was once hot favourite. the 60-year-old made his name as a sports administrator by pressing for football’s riches and decision-making to be spread between members.

TOKYO SEXWALE

the South African anti-apartheid campaigner, who entered the race last week, wants to make history by becoming the first African to head football’s governing body in its 111-year history. A former politician and one of his country’s wealthiest men, Sexwale, 62, was jailed alongside Nelson Mandela. He served 13 years of an 18-year jail term on robben Island on terrorism charges. A member of South Africa’s 2010 World cup bid team he serves on FIFA’s anti-racism and anti-discrimination committee, likening racism to “a monster that’s trying to infiltrate sports fields”. He is also a FIFA Media committee member.

SH SALMAN BIN IBRAHIM AL KHALIFA

the soft-spoken bahraini royal took over the Asian confederation in 2013 and now enjoys an iron grip on the body. He has strong backing from Kuwaiti powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, one of the most influential figures in world sport and a major player in both FIFA and the Olympic movement. this year, Shaikh Salman was re-elected unopposed for a full four-year term and became a FIFA vice-president.

GIANNI INFANTINO

the 45-year-old Swiss lawyer joined UEFA in 2000 and became general secretary in ’09. Multilingual, Infantino’s original role was to deal with legal, commercial and professional football matters. He was subsequently appointed as director of legal affairs and club-licensing division in ’04. He worked on fostering close contacts with the European Union, the council of Europe and governmental authorities. Prior to joining UEFA, he had a lot of experience working in sport. He had been an advisor to various football bodies in Italy, Spain and Switzerland and then working as the general secretary of the International centre for Sports Studies at the University of Neuchatel.

poker gameThe

ARGUMENTS AND NEGOTIATIONS COULD BE THE KEYWORDS IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AS EIGHT CONTENDERS JOSTLE FOR SUPREMACY AHEAD OF THE FEBRUARY 26 FIFA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, WRITES ANDREW WARSHAW. begins!

www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 5www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 5

Russia supports Infantino’s bid

Shaikh Salman hits out at lies

Beckenbauer says he made mistake

RUSSIA will support Gianni Infantino’s bid to become FIFA president if UEFA chief Michel Platini is unable to run for the

post, the President of the russian Football Union and russian

Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on tuesday.

“russia will support UEFA General Secretary, Infantino in

the FIFA presidential elections, if UEFA head Platini is unable to take

part,” Mutko told R-Sport news agency.“If Platini returns to the race, Infantino will

drop out,” he added. Last Monday, the UEFA Executive committee

had supported Infantino’s FIFA presidential candidacy.

FIFA presidential candidate Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa dismissed accusations of human rights abuses during his time as

bahrain Football Association (bFA) head as nasty lies, in comments to the BBC on

tuesday.the Asian Football

confederation chief’s nomination for the FIFA presidency came amid an

outcry from human rights groups who say that he, as the bFA head

and member of the country’s royal family, had local football players arrested, detained, abused, tortured and publicly humiliated during protests in February, 2011. bahrain was swept by protests during the ’11 Arab Spring uprisings.

LEGENDArY player Franz Beckenbauer, who headed Germany’s 2006 World cup organising committee, said last Monday that

a transfer of €6.7m to FIFA in ’05 was a mistake, but rejected claims it was a return of a loan to

buy votes in favour of the country’s World cup bid.

In a brief statement sent to media, the former World cup-winning player and coach said the Germans never bought

votes.“In order to get a subsidy from

FIFA (for the organisation of the ’06 World cup) those involved went ahead with a proposal from the FIFA finance commission that in today’s eyes should’ve been rejected. I, as president of the then organising committee, bear the responsibility of this mistake,” beckenbauer said.

Multilingual Infantino, who was believed to be in Qatar last Sunday though it won’t known precisely on what business, had to rush out a statement after the surprise turn of events that at least allowed UEFA to save face.

“throughout my time in football, I’ve always worked hard to serve the best interests of our great game, and to support the principles of good governance and genuine integrity,” said Platini. “I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved at UEFA and the way in which we conduct ourselves as an organisation. the values at the heart of UEFA are shared by many in the global football family.”

“I’ll in due course be setting out my detailed thinking in a manifesto which’ll address the challenges and opportunities ahead. It’ll be based on the need for reform and also for a FIFA that genuinely serves the interests of all 209 national associations, big or small, and that puts football and football development at the top of its

agenda.”“If elected I would lead that

change in partnership with all who want to see a FIFA worthy of governing the world’s No.1 sport with dignity and respect. I’m humbled and honoured to be entering this election with a vision

for a renewed FIFA, serving football and all its stakeholders and with such strong support from so many friends and colleagues,” he said.

Platini insists he has done nothing wrong, but will only have his candidacy recognised if and when his ban ends. UEFA has cleverly gone for the next best option and someone who would be prepared to drop out should Platini miraculously be cleared.

For a few days, there were suggestions that UEFA might be negotiating some kind of deal with Shaikh Salman. that may still happen down the road, but at this stage, UEFA members clearly felt none of the other contenders had enough credentials with whom to form an alliance while Dutch FA boss Michael van Praag, who withdrew last time ahead of the ballot, was reluctant to stand again and anyway is being heavily touted as a possible contender for the leadership of UEFA instead of FIFA, should a presidential election at the European body be needed sometime next spring.

UEFA MIGHT BE NEGOTIATING SOME KIND OF DEAL WITH

SHAIKH SALMAN.


JEROME CHAMPAGNE

the 57-year-old was a French diplomat in Oman, Los Angeles and brazil before becoming a protocol advisor for the 1998 World cup organisers. He joined FIFA in ’99 and rose to become deputy secretary general under Sepp blatter, before leaving in 2010. “I’m not ashamed of the FIFA years,” he said. though not a footballer, champagne was a freelance journalist for the magazine France Football. champagne had tried to challenge blatter in the election this year, but could not get the required five signatures from national associations to enter. He has vowed to bring in greater transparency, stronger ethical standards and modernise the world body’s administration.

DAVID NAKHID

the mystery candidate in the FIFA race. Nakhid, 51, was captain of trinidad and tobago and played club football with Grasshoppers in Switzerland, Waregem in belgium and New England revolution in the United States. His main administrative post has been running his own chain of football academies. Nakhid said it is time for football’s power to be moved away from Europe and that it will need a former player to reform the world body. “I can’t be reckless. I’m committed to transformation that’s fair and even-handed and will deal with all or any breaches and improprieties,” he said.

TOKYO SEXWALE


MUSA BILITY

President of the Liberian Football Association, bility’s candidacy is something of a surprise. He is one of a select band of Africans to stand for the presidency following current acting FIFA head Issa Hayatou in 2002, and Sexwale this time around. “If we’re to change football, then we’ve to make sure that those who’ve been running FIFA for the last 20-25 years have nothing to do with it,” the 48-year-old told the BBC after announcing his candidature.

I’m suspended from holding office, but you can’t be suspended

as a private person. I want a dignified departure after 41 years. Otherwise, I would fear visiting my father’s grave. What do you believe will happen when I tell him that I give up? He would step out of his grave.Sepp Blatter

www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 5www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 5

Russia supports Infantino’s bid

Shaikh Salman hits out at lies

Beckenbauer says he made mistake

RUSSIA will support Gianni Infantino’s bid to become FIFA president if UEFA chief Michel Platini is unable to run for the

post, the President of the russian Football Union and russian

Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on tuesday.

“russia will support UEFA General Secretary, Infantino in

the FIFA presidential elections, if UEFA head Platini is unable to take

part,” Mutko told R-Sport news agency.“If Platini returns to the race, Infantino will

drop out,” he added. Last Monday, the UEFA Executive committee

had supported Infantino’s FIFA presidential candidacy.

FIFA presidential candidate Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa dismissed accusations of human rights abuses during his time as

bahrain Football Association (bFA) head as nasty lies, in comments to the BBC on

tuesday.the Asian Football

confederation chief’s nomination for the FIFA presidency came amid an

outcry from human rights groups who say that he, as the bFA head

and member of the country’s royal family, had local football players arrested, detained, abused, tortured and publicly humiliated during protests in February, 2011. bahrain was swept by protests during the ’11 Arab Spring uprisings.

LEGENDArY player Franz Beckenbauer, who headed Germany’s 2006 World cup organising committee, said last Monday that

a transfer of €6.7m to FIFA in ’05 was a mistake, but rejected claims it was a return of a loan to

buy votes in favour of the country’s World cup bid.

In a brief statement sent to media, the former World cup-winning player and coach said the Germans never bought

votes.“In order to get a subsidy from

FIFA (for the organisation of the ’06 World cup) those involved went ahead with a proposal from the FIFA finance commission that in today’s eyes should’ve been rejected. I, as president of the then organising committee, bear the responsibility of this mistake,” beckenbauer said.

Multilingual Infantino, who was believed to be in Qatar last Sunday though it won’t known precisely on what business, had to rush out a statement after the surprise turn of events that at least allowed UEFA to save face.

“throughout my time in football, I’ve always worked hard to serve the best interests of our great game, and to support the principles of good governance and genuine integrity,” said Platini. “I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved at UEFA and the way in which we conduct ourselves as an organisation. the values at the heart of UEFA are shared by many in the global football family.”

“I’ll in due course be setting out my detailed thinking in a manifesto which’ll address the challenges and opportunities ahead. It’ll be based on the need for reform and also for a FIFA that genuinely serves the interests of all 209 national associations, big or small, and that puts football and football development at the top of its

agenda.”“If elected I would lead that

change in partnership with all who want to see a FIFA worthy of governing the world’s No.1 sport with dignity and respect. I’m humbled and honoured to be entering this election with a vision

for a renewed FIFA, serving football and all its stakeholders and with such strong support from so many friends and colleagues,” he said.

Platini insists he has done nothing wrong, but will only have his candidacy recognised if and when his ban ends. UEFA has cleverly gone for the next best option and someone who would be prepared to drop out should Platini miraculously be cleared.

For a few days, there were suggestions that UEFA might be negotiating some kind of deal with Shaikh Salman. that may still happen down the road, but at this stage, UEFA members clearly felt none of the other contenders had enough credentials with whom to form an alliance while Dutch FA boss Michael van Praag, who withdrew last time ahead of the ballot, was reluctant to stand again and anyway is being heavily touted as a possible contender for the leadership of UEFA instead of FIFA, should a presidential election at the European body be needed sometime next spring.

UEFA MIGHT BE NEGOTIATING SOME KIND OF DEAL WITH

SHAIKH SALMAN.


JEROME CHAMPAGNE

the 57-year-old was a French diplomat in Oman, Los Angeles and brazil before becoming a protocol advisor for the 1998 World cup organisers. He joined FIFA in ’99 and rose to become deputy secretary general under Sepp blatter, before leaving in 2010. “I’m not ashamed of the FIFA years,” he said. though not a footballer, champagne was a freelance journalist for the magazine France Football. champagne had tried to challenge blatter in the election this year, but could not get the required five signatures from national associations to enter. He has vowed to bring in greater transparency, stronger ethical standards and modernise the world body’s administration.

DAVID NAKHID

the mystery candidate in the FIFA race. Nakhid, 51, was captain of trinidad and tobago and played club football with Grasshoppers in Switzerland, Waregem in belgium and New England revolution in the United States. His main administrative post has been running his own chain of football academies. Nakhid said it is time for football’s power to be moved away from Europe and that it will need a former player to reform the world body. “I can’t be reckless. I’m committed to transformation that’s fair and even-handed and will deal with all or any breaches and improprieties,” he said.

TOKYO SEXWALE


MUSA BILITY

President of the Liberian Football Association, bility’s candidacy is something of a surprise. He is one of a select band of Africans to stand for the presidency following current acting FIFA head Issa Hayatou in 2002, and Sexwale this time around. “If we’re to change football, then we’ve to make sure that those who’ve been running FIFA for the last 20-25 years have nothing to do with it,” the 48-year-old told the BBC after announcing his candidature.

I’m suspended from holding office, but you can’t be suspended

as a private person. I want a dignified departure after 41 years. Otherwise, I would fear visiting my father’s grave. What do you believe will happen when I tell him that I give up? He would step out of his grave.Sepp Blatter


QSL WEEK 6 | SHORT TAKES

AL SADD 0 AL KHOR 0

AL SAILIYA 1 UMM SALAL 2

AL AHLI 3 QATAR SC 0

AL RAYYAN 5 AL ARABI 2

AL GHARAFA 1 LEKHWIYA 1

MESAIMEER 2 AL KHARAITIYAT 1

thirteen-time champions Sadd dropped points for the second time this season when a stubborn Khor held them goalless. Sadd once again wasted several opportunities. they took their tally to 14 points, but slipped to third.

Umm Salal came from behind to defeat 10-man Sailiya. Mustafa Mohammed put Sailiya ahead on the half-hour mark, but goals from Ismail Mahmoud (47th) and Jeremie Aliadiere (79th) helped the Men in Orange rally to victory.

Ahli blanked Qatar Sports club. captain Mustafa Jabbari (51st), Meshaal Abdullah (82nd) and Abdullah Kuwari (84th) found the target. Qatar Sc thus find themselves at the bottom of the table with one point from six matches.

rayyan drubbed Arabi to maintain their perfect start. their sixth straight win helped rayyan go four clear of El Jaish at the top with 18 points. the Lions took the lead in the 22nd minute through rodrigo tabata and doubled it in the 45th through Mohammed Juma. Musaab Mohammed pulled one back for Arabi in the 55th. Sebastian Soria won a penalty and tabata dutifully converted it to give rayyan a 3-1 lead in the 66th while Spanish Striker Sergio Garcia made it 4-1 two minutes later. though Paulinho cut the deficit once again in the 72nd, rayyan completed the rout in the 84th, when Juma scored his second goal.

Defending champions Lekhwiya failed to win for the third straight match as Gharafa held them. captain bilal Mohammed put Gharafa ahead on the hour mark, but their joy did not last long as Slovakia winger Vladimir Weiss equalised two minutes later.

Note: the match was scheduled for the opening week, but postponed due to Lekhwiya’s AFc champions League engagement.

Mesaimeer Sports club defeated Kharaitiyat to end their losing streak. burkinabe striker Yahia Kebe put the blues ahead in the 11th minute, but Mesaimeer rallied brilliantly, courtesy of a twin strike from brazilian forward Everilto Silva (37th and 60th).

EL JAISH 2 LEKHWIYA 0

Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah netted a brace (fourth and 12th) as El Jaish shocked champions Lekhwiya and extended their unbeaten streak to six matches. the win took Jaish to second with 14 points. It was the second defeat on the trot for the cops, who hardly got anything right in the game.

AL WAKRAH 2 AL GHARAFA 1

Moroccan midfielder Mouhcine Moutouali struck twice in the second half (74th and 95th) as Wakrah handed Gharafa a second straight defeat. Gharafa had taken the lead in the 58th minute through Anas Mubarak.

Lazaroni back at Qatar SC’s helm

QAtAr Sports club brought back Sebastiao Lazaroni as coach in place of Iraqi radhi Shenaishil after the

club got off to a terrible start in this season’s Qatar Stars League (QSL). the brazilian started training the team last Monday.

After six rounds, Qatar Sc are at the rock bottom with just one point. It is a big disappointment for the club, which had finished fourth last time under radhi.

Lazaroni had two spells at the club separated by a short stint at the Qatar national team’s helm. In his debut season (2008-09), he helped them finish fourth in the QSL and lift the Heir Apparent’s cup. He won his only other title with them, the Qatar Stars cup, in January, ’14, before leaving four months later.

Meanwhile, Qatar Sc signed burkina Faso striker Moumouni Dagano in place of tunisian forward Hamdi Harbaoui, who left for belgium recently following a tiff with radhi and did not come back.

Qatar Sc will play promoted side Mesaimeer Sports club on Friday.

KICK-OFF

Thursday, October 29

Al Kharaitiyat vs Al SailiyaAl Gharafa Stadium, 5.30pm.

Al Wakrah vs El JaishAl Gharafa Stadium, 7.45pm.

Friday, October 30

Al Ahli vs Al KhorAl Ahli Stadium, 5.30pm.

Mesaimeer vs Qatar ScAl Ahli Stadium, 7.45pm.

Saturday, October 31

Al Gharafa vs Umm SalalAl Gharafa Stadium, 5.30pm.

Lekhwiya vs Al rayyanLekhwiya Stadium, 5.30pm.

Al Arabi vs Al SaddLekhwiya Stadium, 7.45pm.

STANDINGSAl rayyan 6 6 0 0 20 6 18

El Jaish 6 4 2 0 13 3 14

Al Sadd 6 4 2 0 14 5 14

Al Arabi 6 4 0 2 11 8 12

Umm Salal 6 3 2 1 12 8 11

Lekhwiya 6 3 1 2 15 7 10

Al Gharafa 5 3 1 2 7 7 10

Al Ahli 6 2 2 2 9 8 8

Al Wakrah 6 2 0 4 6 10 6

Al Sailiya 6 2 0 4 4 13 6

Al Kharaitiyat 6 1 1 4 7 16 4

Al Mesaimeer 6 1 0 5 2 12 3

Al Khor 6 0 2 4 2 8 2

Qatar Sc 6 0 1 5 5 16 1

rayyan next, but I’m concentrating on my team, not them,” said belmadi.

rayyan, aided by yet another impressive performance by playmaker rodrigo tabata, drubbed 10-man Al Arabi 5-2 to take their tally to 18 and draw four clear of Jaish at the top. Arabi briefly impressed, but once they lost goalkeeper rajab Hamsa to a red card, a fight was impossible.

Al Sadd squandered several

chances before settling for a goalless draw with Al Khor. Umm Salal climbed up to fifth after scripting a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Al Sailiya.

Al Wakrah defeated Gharafa 2-1 for their second win while Mesaimeer registered their first victory, seeing off Al Kharaitiyat 2-1.

Qatar Sports club lost 0-3 to Al Ahli which pushed them to the rock bottom. It also cost Iraqi coach radhi Shenaishil his job.


UMM SALAL CLIMBED UP TO FIFTH AFTER SCRIPTING

A COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN OVER AL SAILIYA.

TOP SCORERS8 Abderrazzak Hamdallah El Jaish

6Muriqui Al Sadd

Youssef Msakni Lekhwiya

5rodrigo tabata Al rayyan

Vladimir Weiss Lekhwiya

4 Sergio Dutra Al Arabi

Meshaal Abdullah Al Ahli


FOOTBALL | QATAR

LABOUREDWEISS!HOLDERS LEKHWIYA CONTINUE TO

STUTTER AS THEY ARE HELD BY AL GHARAFA IN THE QATAR STARS

LEAGUE, WRITES N GANESH.

LEKHWIYA are not getting things right at the moment and look laboured in their

ways. the cops, starting the campaign as the overwhelming favourites, are losing ground in their march to retain the title. It was another frustrating result for Djamel belmadi’s men on tuesday as they failed to win for the third straight match, something they are not familiar with, and settled for a 1-1 draw with Al Gharafa.

Earlier last week, El Jaish had handed them a 0-2 defeat which followed a 2-3 loss to Al Arabi. Lekhwiya have slipped to sixth in the standings, eight points behind leaders Al rayyan.

And when Lekhwiya take on unbeaten rayyan on Saturday, it is hard to put money on the former even though they will be playing at home.

the Gharafa-Lekhwiya match was played at a slow pace, but

came alive at the hour mark when bilal Mohammed headed home from an Anderson Martins cross to put Gharafa ahead. Vladimir Weiss fired a scorching low shot past goalkeeper Qasim burhan to equalise two minutes later. the Slovakia winger came close to being the big difference once again by winning a penalty, when bilal brought him down inside the area in the 84th, but he smashed his kick on to the crossbar.

He looked crestfallen. So did his team.

Lekhwiya were depleted and did not have even 18 players on the team sheet. Spanish

defender chico Flores and brazilian midfielder Luiz Martin missed out due to injuries while Karim boudiaf has been handed a six-month ban for throwing the captain’s

armband at the fourth official while walking out of the pitch after his red card against Arabi. that apparently was the beginning of

all bad things.Gharafa too arrived at the

back of two straight defeats. but Leopards coach Pericles chamusca had his plan. It was to press the rivals, who had top-notch attacking players in Weiss and Youssef Msakni. It worked as they often put everybody behind the ball, allowing Lekhwiya to enjoy possession.

belmadi did not agree that his team was looking far from impressive.

“I don’t agree with that. Stats show that we once again gave our maximum and that we created a lot of chances. Maybe we deserved a win

as some refereeing decisions were dubious,

but I don’t want to comment on them,” said belmadi.

“the problem is that we’re losing points,

something we’re not used to. but that won’t dampen our morale and stop us from working hard.

“When you’ve a lot of absentees like chico, Martin and boudiaf, and some others like Ahmed Maksoud play despite not being fully fit, it makes things very difficult. but we’ve to look forward. We’ll play

LEKHWIYA WERE DEPLETED AND DID NOT

EVEN HAVE 18 PLAYERS ON THE TEAM SHEET.

ŠŠAl Gharafa’s bilal Mohammed challenges Lekhwiya’s Vladimir Weiss, left, as Moayad Hassan looks on.

IN THEIR

DSP

/Moh

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QSL WEEK 6 | SHORT TAKES

AL SADD 0 AL KHOR 0

AL SAILIYA 1 UMM SALAL 2

AL AHLI 3 QATAR SC 0

AL RAYYAN 5 AL ARABI 2

AL GHARAFA 1 LEKHWIYA 1

MESAIMEER 2 AL KHARAITIYAT 1

thirteen-time champions Sadd dropped points for the second time this season when a stubborn Khor held them goalless. Sadd once again wasted several opportunities. they took their tally to 14 points, but slipped to third.

Umm Salal came from behind to defeat 10-man Sailiya. Mustafa Mohammed put Sailiya ahead on the half-hour mark, but goals from Ismail Mahmoud (47th) and Jeremie Aliadiere (79th) helped the Men in Orange rally to victory.

Ahli blanked Qatar Sports club. captain Mustafa Jabbari (51st), Meshaal Abdullah (82nd) and Abdullah Kuwari (84th) found the target. Qatar Sc thus find themselves at the bottom of the table with one point from six matches.

rayyan drubbed Arabi to maintain their perfect start. their sixth straight win helped rayyan go four clear of El Jaish at the top with 18 points. the Lions took the lead in the 22nd minute through rodrigo tabata and doubled it in the 45th through Mohammed Juma. Musaab Mohammed pulled one back for Arabi in the 55th. Sebastian Soria won a penalty and tabata dutifully converted it to give rayyan a 3-1 lead in the 66th while Spanish Striker Sergio Garcia made it 4-1 two minutes later. though Paulinho cut the deficit once again in the 72nd, rayyan completed the rout in the 84th, when Juma scored his second goal.

Defending champions Lekhwiya failed to win for the third straight match as Gharafa held them. captain bilal Mohammed put Gharafa ahead on the hour mark, but their joy did not last long as Slovakia winger Vladimir Weiss equalised two minutes later.

Note: the match was scheduled for the opening week, but postponed due to Lekhwiya’s AFc champions League engagement.

Mesaimeer Sports club defeated Kharaitiyat to end their losing streak. burkinabe striker Yahia Kebe put the blues ahead in the 11th minute, but Mesaimeer rallied brilliantly, courtesy of a twin strike from brazilian forward Everilto Silva (37th and 60th).

EL JAISH 2 LEKHWIYA 0

Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah netted a brace (fourth and 12th) as El Jaish shocked champions Lekhwiya and extended their unbeaten streak to six matches. the win took Jaish to second with 14 points. It was the second defeat on the trot for the cops, who hardly got anything right in the game.

AL WAKRAH 2 AL GHARAFA 1

Moroccan midfielder Mouhcine Moutouali struck twice in the second half (74th and 95th) as Wakrah handed Gharafa a second straight defeat. Gharafa had taken the lead in the 58th minute through Anas Mubarak.

Lazaroni back at Qatar SC’s helm

QAtAr Sports club brought back Sebastiao Lazaroni as coach in place of Iraqi radhi Shenaishil after the

club got off to a terrible start in this season’s Qatar Stars League (QSL). the brazilian started training the team last Monday.

After six rounds, Qatar Sc are at the rock bottom with just one point. It is a big disappointment for the club, which had finished fourth last time under radhi.

Lazaroni had two spells at the club separated by a short stint at the Qatar national team’s helm. In his debut season (2008-09), he helped them finish fourth in the QSL and lift the Heir Apparent’s cup. He won his only other title with them, the Qatar Stars cup, in January, ’14, before leaving four months later.

Meanwhile, Qatar Sc signed burkina Faso striker Moumouni Dagano in place of tunisian forward Hamdi Harbaoui, who left for belgium recently following a tiff with radhi and did not come back.

Qatar Sc will play promoted side Mesaimeer Sports club on Friday.

KICK-OFF

Thursday, October 29

Al Kharaitiyat vs Al SailiyaAl Gharafa Stadium, 5.30pm.

Al Wakrah vs El JaishAl Gharafa Stadium, 7.45pm.

Friday, October 30

Al Ahli vs Al KhorAl Ahli Stadium, 5.30pm.

Mesaimeer vs Qatar ScAl Ahli Stadium, 7.45pm.

Saturday, October 31

Al Gharafa vs Umm SalalAl Gharafa Stadium, 5.30pm.

Lekhwiya vs Al rayyanLekhwiya Stadium, 5.30pm.

Al Arabi vs Al SaddLekhwiya Stadium, 7.45pm.

STANDINGSAl rayyan 6 6 0 0 20 6 18

El Jaish 6 4 2 0 13 3 14

Al Sadd 6 4 2 0 14 5 14

Al Arabi 6 4 0 2 11 8 12

Umm Salal 6 3 2 1 12 8 11

Lekhwiya 6 3 1 2 15 7 10

Al Gharafa 5 3 1 2 7 7 10

Al Ahli 6 2 2 2 9 8 8

Al Wakrah 6 2 0 4 6 10 6

Al Sailiya 6 2 0 4 4 13 6

Al Kharaitiyat 6 1 1 4 7 16 4

Al Mesaimeer 6 1 0 5 2 12 3

Al Khor 6 0 2 4 2 8 2

Qatar Sc 6 0 1 5 5 16 1

rayyan next, but I’m concentrating on my team, not them,” said belmadi.

rayyan, aided by yet another impressive performance by playmaker rodrigo tabata, drubbed 10-man Al Arabi 5-2 to take their tally to 18 and draw four clear of Jaish at the top. Arabi briefly impressed, but once they lost goalkeeper rajab Hamsa to a red card, a fight was impossible.

Al Sadd squandered several

chances before settling for a goalless draw with Al Khor. Umm Salal climbed up to fifth after scripting a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Al Sailiya.

Al Wakrah defeated Gharafa 2-1 for their second win while Mesaimeer registered their first victory, seeing off Al Kharaitiyat 2-1.

Qatar Sports club lost 0-3 to Al Ahli which pushed them to the rock bottom. It also cost Iraqi coach radhi Shenaishil his job.


UMM SALAL CLIMBED UP TO FIFTH AFTER SCRIPTING

A COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN OVER AL SAILIYA.

TOP SCORERS8 Abderrazzak Hamdallah El Jaish

6Muriqui Al Sadd

Youssef Msakni Lekhwiya

5rodrigo tabata Al rayyan

Vladimir Weiss Lekhwiya

4 Sergio Dutra Al Arabi

Meshaal Abdullah Al Ahli

WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com8FOOTBALL | QATAR

N Ganesh

ONE, two, three, four, five... Al rayyan fans counted in chorus. Injury time was still

to be played and their team was on the rampage, but they seemed quite content with the 5-2 scoreline against arch-rivals Al Arabi.

A twin strike each from rodrigo tabata (both penalties, 22nd and 68th) and Mohammed Juma (46th and 84th), and another effort from former Espanyol captain Sergio Garcia (69th) gave Jorge Fossati’s men their sixth win on the trot, consolidating their lead on top.

Musaab Mahmoud (55th) and Paulinho (72nd) twice pulled back for Arabi, and they fought until the end, but the reds could not avoid a second defeat.

the tie was touted as rayyan’s biggest test so far this season and

it turned out to be exactly that. rayyan had the edge throughout the match, but it swung fully in their way only after the hour mark when Arabi were reduced to 10 men, losing goalkeeper rajab Hamsa. He felled Sebastian Soria in the box when the striker was poised to tap the ball home, with the scoreline being 2-1.

Arabi had looked determined on resumption, but the red card really upset their plans. the numerical deficit was felt as rayyan were better in terms of individual players and superior as a team.

“the impressive thing about this

match was both teams wanted to win. We confronted a difficult opponent. We deserved to win and our players’ commitment once again made the difference, but I never expected such a big margin.

Looking back, the red card proved crucial,” said Fossati.

At the start, a Victor caceres’s header from a

corner was deflected out by rajab, who also kept out a scorcher from

Sergio Garcia minutes later, but barring

those two attempts, rayyan did not have to boast much until the Arabi keeper blundered to give the rivals the lead. rajab messed up while going for a tabata-bound Soria cross, and pulled the former down. referee Khamis Al Marri pointed to the spot as tabata stepped up and tucked it home.

tabata had another great game and a hand in everything impressive rayyan

did, let alone the goals.

they have too many big names out there on the pitch, but rayyan fans just could not stop chanting the brazilian’s name. It has been the case at all matches this season. He is their blue-eyed boy and they know he carries their title hopes.

the game remained more physical later in the first half, with rayyan enjoying most possession. Arabi did not have a single real look at the rival goal while a mix-up saw them concede a second when tabata set up Juma, who moved up and poked the ball home in injury time.

“conceding the second goal was a letdown because it was already injury time. I knew for sure that we would be stronger in the second half,” said Arabi coach Gianfranco Zola.

they came back stronger. Musaab rightly slotted home 10 minutes past resumption after Sergio Dutra pulled the ball back from the right byline. Zola brought on striker Yousef to put more pressure, but then came the red card to rajab.

tabata netted the resultant penalty and a minute later released Garcia with a stunning first-time pass as the Spaniard made it 4-1.

Yousef successfully challenged Nathan ribeiro and selflessly squared the ball for Paulinho, who reduced the margin in the 72nd, but Juma restored the two-goal lead by scoring from a Koh Myong-Jin pass in the 84th.

Juma has got into the groove quickly at rayyan and is savouring every bit of it. Much of his toil at Al Khor had ended in vain but, at the Lions, it has so far been for a winning cause.

He looked solid in his defensive duties and confident while going forward. His brace proved he has a few tricks up his sleeve.

So did rayyan. they look the team to beat at the moment as they next run into Lekhwiya.

On a roll

Zola faces ‘strange’ problem

against Lions

CONCEDING THE SECOND GOAL WAS A LETDOWN

BECAUSE IT WAS ALREADY INJURY TIME.

Al Arabi coach Gianfranco Zola encountered an issue during their match against Al rayyan which he described as “strange” in his 20-year football career.

the Italian wanted to bring on Dame traore to strengthen the defence towards the end, but fourth official Saoud Ali Al Athba stopped the centre-back, insisting him to remove the ring on his finger which was taped.

Dame tried, but could not due to a fracture he had suffered.

team-mates too made an attempt, but in vain. the player, who is on loan from Lekhwiya, took back his position in the dug-out, looking rather frustrated.

“I’ve spent my football career in England and Italy, but never experienced something like this. Dame has been playing with his taped finger all these days in Qatar and I didn’t understand why he was stopped suddenly,” said a smiling Zola.

THE Qatar Under-23 players will face off with their counterparts from the UAE, Australia and Ivory coast in friendlies next month.

the venue and dates will be announced later.the matches are part of Qatar’s preparations for

the inaugural AFc U-23 championship, to be held in Doha from January 12 to 30 next year.

In December, Qatar will camp in Spain and play against Serbia. they will then play host to Uzbekistan and Yemen.

In January, they will hold a camp in turkey and take on two local U-23 teams.

“We aren’t expecting significant changes from the squad that we had for the recent West Asian competition,” said Qatar coach Felix Sanchez.

Qatar U-23 team to play three friendlies

Felix Sanchez

ŠŠAl rayyan’s Mohammed Juma celebrates after scoring against Al Arabi.


EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

‘Engage families to increase attendance at league venues’

QAtAr will host turkey in a friendly at the Lekhwiya Stadium on November 13.

the match against the world’s 37th-ranked team is a part of Qatar’s preparations for their second-round tie in the 2018 FIFA World cup qualification against bhutan in thimpu on November 17.

Qatar had routed the South East Asian side 15-0 at home last month in the first leg for their biggest-ever victory in any official competition.

After five rounds in the second round, Qatar lead the five-team Group c with 15 points. In the last match, they defeated Maldives 4-0.

Eight group winners and best four runners-up will progress to the third and final round, where they will be drawn into two groups of six teams each.

the top two from each group will progress to the russia finals, with the two third-placed teams going into play-offs.

Qatar to take on Turkey in friendly

THE Qatari clubs should engage women and children in a culturally-sensitive manner to

increase attendance at their league matches, according to a leading official.

In an interview with Doha Stadium Plus on the sidelines of the Josoor Institute’s certificate programme last week, Scottish Professional Football League’s chief Executive Neil Doncaster said the Qatari clubs could take a leaf out of some regional restaurants.

“It’s very important any solution has to be tailored to the region and culturally sensitive. At Josoor’s programme, we’ve discussed what happened in sports in different regions around the world. We also drew out the best practices from different parts of the world and various sports that would work here,” said Doncaster.

“One of the very successful strategies that’ve been employed particularly in the UK is to bring in far more women and children into the stadium environment. there’re huge benefits of doing that. Of course, it has to be done in a way that’s culturally sensitive. I know there has been a lot of success in terms of family areas in restaurants here for example. Exactly the same logic can be applied to football stadiums. You’ve to ensure what you offer is right and matches what families get elsewhere.

“Football is one of the sports disciplines and one of the several activities people would love to do during their leisure time. So it should be ensured football in Qatar has the same quality of service you would expect not just in other sporting events, but in other leisure activities, say in restaurants. It’s

taking lessons from the west, working with people involved in sports here, and guaranteeing they’re culturally and geographically-tailored solutions to the problems that exist here,” he said.

Doncaster said smaller clubs should not look at the globally successful ones in Europe, but must work rooted in their strong points.

“If you take the second-tier clubs in any country, they’re competing with the biggest brands in the world. My old club Norwich, for example, were in the championship. they weren’t playing in the champions League, so how could they compete against clubs like

Manchester United and chelsea? “the answer is that local clubs

can offer more to children and families the experience of going to a live match to enjoy the unique experience inside a stadium. None of the big clubs around the world can do that. You don’t need a big global brand to succeed locally,” he said.

the official said the clubs should also effectively utlilise their big names and simultaneously work on youth development to strengthen the link with communities.

“I think there has to be a mix in everything. talent coming from outside is one thing, but there should also be a great concentration on youth development within the country,” he said.

Doncaster said the success of teams on the pitch was not always a factor in attracting spectators.

“A club can attract fans to the stadiums even in the absence of success on the pitch. It’s about getting the relationships right with the families and communities. the work the Josoor Institute is doing to encourage that thinking at the clubs is absolutely priceless. It’s possible to increase the attendance at the venues. the weather here is an issue, I understand that, but it can be done.

“the strong bonding with the communities must happen first. You can work with the schools and send the most talented and popular players there. the clubs can send the coaches to the communities. they’re all vital,” he concluded.


DSP

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DSP

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şşAl rayyan’s rodrigo tabata, left, is challanged by Al Arabi’s Ashkan Dejagah.

şŢSupreme committee for Delivery and Legacy (ScDL) Secretary General Hassan Al thawadi, right, shakes hands with Oman-based Injaz Development’s Muhanned Al Asfoor after it signed an MoU with ScDL-inspired Josoor Institute. the deal targets development of new education products for the MENA region.

ANY SOLUTION HAS TO BE TAILORED TO THE

REGION AND CULTURALLY SENSITIVE.

Neil Doncaster


age-group side from Aspire has won tournaments (not friendly matches, but tournaments) against bundesliga, Premiership, La Liga, Serie A, chilean, Argentinian and Japanese clubs, at every age group, from 12 to 18.

this would be almost unthinkable a few years ago. Winning these tournaments isn’t the aim in itself, but rather it’s the result of training day in, day out.

the development of an understanding of the game and skills (technical, tactical, physical and mental) is needed to execute right decisions on the field.

One shouldn’t forget that Qatar won the Under-19 Asian championship last year fielding the youngest team in the competition. We went into the U-19 tournament with many 17 and 18-year-olds.

And they prepared the year before the tournament by playing in competitions like toulon, against U-21 sides from brazil, England and Ecuador. It’s also a fact that we went to the U-20 World cup in New Zealand with, again, the youngest team in the competition to continue pushing that generation into elite status.

Another fact is that the new U-19 squad for the 1997 age group, which just qualified for next year’s U-19 Asian championship in bahrain, did so by also being the youngest squad in the competition, with many players born in ’98 and some even in ’99.

So people need to know that Aspire manages progression through age groups in the right way, in an ambitious way. the ’22 World cup is the destination, but the daily work of each player and team is where the focus is.

ЂЂ I’m sure you, as well as everybody associated with football in Qatar, would agree that all stakeholders will’ve to work in unison to develop the game in the country. But Fossati’s comments reveal that at least of some of them are working at cross purposes. Your comments…ЂЃ coach Fossati is a winner and he’s

responsible for leading one of Qatar’s great clubs into winning again. It’s normal for coaches at that level to be worried if they lose a player for national team duty. the same happens at chelsea when Spain call Diego costa or at real Madrid when Wales call Gareth bale.

but I see the reality about the co-operation between stakeholders in a much more positive way. For the last three years, it’s a fact that coaches from every club are being invited to Aspire every month to discuss their players’ development. It’s a fact that Aspire scouts are attending the league matches every weekend to monitor player development and competition performance. It’s a fact

that, at the request of clubs, Aspire players are released on thursdays to train with their clubs in preparation for their weekend matches.

And, for the first time in a decade, it’s a fact that during the past three years, the Qatar Football Association, clubs and Aspire sign, every season, an agreed calendar for the benefit of players, including scheduling of all matches and a mandatory summer break for the youth to recover.

Every time Aspire is informed by a club of its commitment for any player, who’s not in Europe, to train with their first team, we’ve been flexible. On the contrary, pulling them out from Aspire without permission to play Shebab or Nasheen matches, even radiff to give priority to winning a game at that age group is disrespectful to the agreement signed by all parties and detrimental to player development.

We build the training and competition programme for a full year (scheduling of matches, periodisation of strength and heavy load sessions, recovery periods). If clubs don’t respect that, a player risks injury and proper development. the very physical development some people question.

As far as the national teams are concerned, Aspire will always side with the needs and requests of teams representing Qatar as a country. this year, the international calendar is complicated because it’s an Olympic season, which means the demands on national team duty normally for players born in ’93 and ’94 is higher.

I understand it might be inconvenient for clubs since the new rule of having to field an U-23 player has come into play. but I applaud the decision by the QFA leadership on this rule. It’s refreshing to see clubs and coaches worry about not being able to play these young players. It’s a start. the reality is that during the past three seasons, those same players averaged about 100 minutes per season of playing time. You can’t be considered a footballer if that’s how much you play.

If you look at the winning sides of the last 15 years at the Olympics, U-21 championships in Europe or Asia, players on those teams averaged almost 1,500 minutes of playing time in their first teams. What they need is playing time and

not just training with first teams in Doha. And that’s what they’re getting with the Olympic national team at the moment. they can feel important again, after years lacking real opportunities.

Last year, had it not been for the matches they played under coach Fahad thani, they would’ve barely played any professional football. they can still play a big role for Qatar and they deserve it. All of us should support the Olympic squad. And by the way, once again Qatar, under coach Felix Sanchez, just competed in the West Asian Football Federation championship for U-23 teams with the youngest

squad, with many 18 and 19-year-olds. And you can be sure that Qatar will try to qualify for the Olympics with the youngest squad in all of Asia, possibly the world.

ЂЂ Lack of physique of young players is another worry, according to Fossati. Do you agree with his comment as far as Aspire players are concerned?ЂЃ I would go back to the notion

that if coaches believe players lack physique, they should look at the number of minutes and competition they’ve played the last three seasons. If you compare the physical performance of players Aspire has been able to place in Europe and those who’re staying in Doha, factual data show that those in Europe are having an advantage. Aspire players are getting the right training, including physical, through their youth. It might be the lack of match fitness and minutes once they’re professionals that might be hindering their performance.

ЂЂ When the U-19 team, comprising Aspire boys, triumphed in Myanmar last year, there was a lot of expectation from the batch that would follow. But the U-18 and U-16 teams fared badly in Asian

qualifiers as well as GCC events, raising doubts about sustained success. How do you look at this?ЂЃ I think there’s some

misperception about this. the journey to qualify for a U-19 Asian tournament is a process of having completed the whole development itinerary, from eight years to 19. If a fair objective to measure where you’re is to try to qualify for the U-19 championship, the country needs to evaluate whether it makes sense to schedule a Gcc event right before such an important qualification.

I don’t believe in the idea of preparing a competition with another competition so close in time with each other. It becomes a distraction and prevents you from managing playing minutes, training loads and emotional focus to reach the qualification in peak condition. the Gcc event is great, but it shouldn’t be turned into the ultimate championship if the objective is to qualify for the Asian championship two weeks later.

Qatar have now qualified for the Asian U-19 championship for three consecutive editions for the first time since ’98; they’ve won the event for the first time in history, with a younger age group; participated in an U-20 World cup for the first time since ’95; the U-16 team qualified for the Asian championship’s last edition for the first time since ’04; every 12-18 age group teams at Aspire have won tournaments against the best teams in the world over the past three years, and more than 15 young national team players are playing professional football in Europe.

Yes, the U-16 national team finished third in the Gcc tournament and barely fell short in the Asian championship qualification. but the fact is that they outperformed every opponent in both tournaments in cohesiveness,

compactness, tactical awareness, match analysis physical data and ball possession — and playing again with several ’01 born players in a 2000 age-group competition.

I think the facts should encourage people to see real progress is happening in Qatar football. Also at a time when the first national team is making a fantastic run in the ’18 World cup qualifiers, the Olympic team is slowly blending players from five different generations (1993-97) and the quality of the QSL and attendance at the stadiums is on the rise.

I see the glass half full.

ЂЂ When teams from the GCC region fail and others like Nepal, Iraq and Syria make progress at different levels, criticism is bound to come. Do you think ‘lifestyle’ in the GCC countries, especially the rich ones, is a major hindrance to development of players?ЂЃ I wouldn’t speculate about

whether other nations in the region are following different objectives and approaches on how they enter these competitions. but we can say that we’re competing with young teams, we’re using these competitions as part of a well-thought-out and well-executed development programme with great professionals who’re committing 12-14 hours a day to our players and teams in Qatar and abroad.

And based on the experience we’re accumulating, yes, lifestyle can be an obstacle. It has nothing to do with wealth or social status. It has to do with the importance a society gives to football and the history, tradition and respect to symbols and habits in a given sport. that’s why, today, and while some of these football culture nuances evolve it’s important that our 18 to 22-year-olds immerse themselves in European football system, which is the world’s most professional at the moment, to finish their development and return soon to Qatar as the most complete and better-prepared football generation of the country.

WE BUILD THE TRAINING AND COMPETITION PROGRAMME FOR

A FULL YEAR.

DSP

/Fad

i Al A

ssaa

d

ЂŠAspire and Qatar football officials with other dignitaries during the recent Aspire4Sport congress and Exhibition in berlin, Germany.

WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com10FOOTBALL | QATAR

COVER STORYEXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

FRANKASPIRE ACADEMY DIRECTOR GENERAL IVAN BRAVO TELLS OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ABOUT ITS EVOLUTION, VARIOUS AGE-GROUP TEAMS, DEVELOPMENT OF PLAYERS AND PROGRESS.

THE ASPIrE Academy is taking the lead role in Qatar to develop champions of

tomorrow. Since its establishment in 2004, the prestigious institution is mandated to provide sports training and education to students with potential, in an exceptional learning and sports environment.

the overall purpose is to develop Qatari athletes, academically as well, to meet the society’s needs and realise its aspirations in international sports competitions.

Spaniard Ivan bravo, who has worked as the director of strategy at real Madrid, is the Director General of ASPIrE Academy.

In an exclusive interview with Doha Stadium Plus, bravo speaks about the academy, its evolution, various age-group teams, development of players and overall progress.

ЂЂ Can you speak about the evolution of ASPIRE Academy’s talent development?ЂЃ A lot is spoken about Aspire

in Doha and that’s a good thing. Debating and sharing opinions about the development of young players in this country will only strengthen the process for our players to become internationally competitive. but a lot is spoken without really knowing how Aspire is working.

I always stress that, irrespective of who’s managing this institution, if Aspire didn’t exist, it would’ve to

be invented. We’ve a total of 5,065 registered

football players in this country, including Qatar Stars League, youth and grass-roots. that number is miniscule compared to Spain (three million), Germany (six million), china (15 million) and Japan (one million) to name a few.

If we think we can try to keep up internationally by spreading our few elite players into the youth systems of the clubs to train there and without a national training

programme like Aspire, where the most promising ones compete with each other and improve on a daily basis, we’re delusional.

ЂЂ Can you describe the lead role Aspire is taking in youth development in Qatar football, especially in view of the Qatar ’22 World Cup?ЂЃ Some people might be of

the opinion that the game isn’t progressing in Qatar. Opinions are very personal and need to be respected. but facts and realities also need to be respected and credit must be given where it’s due.

It’s a fact that Aspire is working

with a training programme and a training methodology and a game model consistent across all age groups, and that it’s receiving praise and recognition from clubs like real Madrid, Fc barcelona, English Premier League sides, Japan, South Korea and many more. It’s a fact that Aspire shares all information about its training methodology and sessions in regular meetings and individual reports on every player with their respective clubs in Qatar throughout the season. I urge each and every club not to skip any of these meetings for the benefit of their own players.

ЂЂ Al Rayyan coach Jorge Fossati had said in an interview last week that the club isn’t getting enough chances to train their young players as they’re mostly with national age-group teams. How do you look at it?ЂЃ People need to know the reality

of how youngsters train and compete in this country. As part of their development process, it’s also an important step that our young players in Qatar, from early on, normalise the notion of competition at the highest level, against the toughest opponents. that’s, to believe they can compete and beat any side in the world if they play at 100 per cent of their ability and will.

the fact is that over the last three years, thanks to the training programmes and player-development itineraries, every

A LOT IS SPOKEN ABOUT ASPIRE IN

DOHA AND THAT’S A GOOD THING.

Ivan Bravo D

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TALK


age-group side from Aspire has won tournaments (not friendly matches, but tournaments) against bundesliga, Premiership, La Liga, Serie A, chilean, Argentinian and Japanese clubs, at every age group, from 12 to 18.

this would be almost unthinkable a few years ago. Winning these tournaments isn’t the aim in itself, but rather it’s the result of training day in, day out.

the development of an understanding of the game and skills (technical, tactical, physical and mental) is needed to execute right decisions on the field.

One shouldn’t forget that Qatar won the Under-19 Asian championship last year fielding the youngest team in the competition. We went into the U-19 tournament with many 17 and 18-year-olds.

And they prepared the year before the tournament by playing in competitions like toulon, against U-21 sides from brazil, England and Ecuador. It’s also a fact that we went to the U-20 World cup in New Zealand with, again, the youngest team in the competition to continue pushing that generation into elite status.

Another fact is that the new U-19 squad for the 1997 age group, which just qualified for next year’s U-19 Asian championship in bahrain, did so by also being the youngest squad in the competition, with many players born in ’98 and some even in ’99.

So people need to know that Aspire manages progression through age groups in the right way, in an ambitious way. the ’22 World cup is the destination, but the daily work of each player and team is where the focus is.

ЂЂ I’m sure you, as well as everybody associated with football in Qatar, would agree that all stakeholders will’ve to work in unison to develop the game in the country. But Fossati’s comments reveal that at least of some of them are working at cross purposes. Your comments…ЂЃ coach Fossati is a winner and he’s

responsible for leading one of Qatar’s great clubs into winning again. It’s normal for coaches at that level to be worried if they lose a player for national team duty. the same happens at chelsea when Spain call Diego costa or at real Madrid when Wales call Gareth bale.

but I see the reality about the co-operation between stakeholders in a much more positive way. For the last three years, it’s a fact that coaches from every club are being invited to Aspire every month to discuss their players’ development. It’s a fact that Aspire scouts are attending the league matches every weekend to monitor player development and competition performance. It’s a fact

that, at the request of clubs, Aspire players are released on thursdays to train with their clubs in preparation for their weekend matches.

And, for the first time in a decade, it’s a fact that during the past three years, the Qatar Football Association, clubs and Aspire sign, every season, an agreed calendar for the benefit of players, including scheduling of all matches and a mandatory summer break for the youth to recover.

Every time Aspire is informed by a club of its commitment for any player, who’s not in Europe, to train with their first team, we’ve been flexible. On the contrary, pulling them out from Aspire without permission to play Shebab or Nasheen matches, even radiff to give priority to winning a game at that age group is disrespectful to the agreement signed by all parties and detrimental to player development.

We build the training and competition programme for a full year (scheduling of matches, periodisation of strength and heavy load sessions, recovery periods). If clubs don’t respect that, a player risks injury and proper development. the very physical development some people question.

As far as the national teams are concerned, Aspire will always side with the needs and requests of teams representing Qatar as a country. this year, the international calendar is complicated because it’s an Olympic season, which means the demands on national team duty normally for players born in ’93 and ’94 is higher.

I understand it might be inconvenient for clubs since the new rule of having to field an U-23 player has come into play. but I applaud the decision by the QFA leadership on this rule. It’s refreshing to see clubs and coaches worry about not being able to play these young players. It’s a start. the reality is that during the past three seasons, those same players averaged about 100 minutes per season of playing time. You can’t be considered a footballer if that’s how much you play.

If you look at the winning sides of the last 15 years at the Olympics, U-21 championships in Europe or Asia, players on those teams averaged almost 1,500 minutes of playing time in their first teams. What they need is playing time and

not just training with first teams in Doha. And that’s what they’re getting with the Olympic national team at the moment. they can feel important again, after years lacking real opportunities.

Last year, had it not been for the matches they played under coach Fahad thani, they would’ve barely played any professional football. they can still play a big role for Qatar and they deserve it. All of us should support the Olympic squad. And by the way, once again Qatar, under coach Felix Sanchez, just competed in the West Asian Football Federation championship for U-23 teams with the youngest

squad, with many 18 and 19-year-olds. And you can be sure that Qatar will try to qualify for the Olympics with the youngest squad in all of Asia, possibly the world.

ЂЂ Lack of physique of young players is another worry, according to Fossati. Do you agree with his comment as far as Aspire players are concerned?ЂЃ I would go back to the notion

that if coaches believe players lack physique, they should look at the number of minutes and competition they’ve played the last three seasons. If you compare the physical performance of players Aspire has been able to place in Europe and those who’re staying in Doha, factual data show that those in Europe are having an advantage. Aspire players are getting the right training, including physical, through their youth. It might be the lack of match fitness and minutes once they’re professionals that might be hindering their performance.

ЂЂ When the U-19 team, comprising Aspire boys, triumphed in Myanmar last year, there was a lot of expectation from the batch that would follow. But the U-18 and U-16 teams fared badly in Asian

qualifiers as well as GCC events, raising doubts about sustained success. How do you look at this?ЂЃ I think there’s some

misperception about this. the journey to qualify for a U-19 Asian tournament is a process of having completed the whole development itinerary, from eight years to 19. If a fair objective to measure where you’re is to try to qualify for the U-19 championship, the country needs to evaluate whether it makes sense to schedule a Gcc event right before such an important qualification.

I don’t believe in the idea of preparing a competition with another competition so close in time with each other. It becomes a distraction and prevents you from managing playing minutes, training loads and emotional focus to reach the qualification in peak condition. the Gcc event is great, but it shouldn’t be turned into the ultimate championship if the objective is to qualify for the Asian championship two weeks later.

Qatar have now qualified for the Asian U-19 championship for three consecutive editions for the first time since ’98; they’ve won the event for the first time in history, with a younger age group; participated in an U-20 World cup for the first time since ’95; the U-16 team qualified for the Asian championship’s last edition for the first time since ’04; every 12-18 age group teams at Aspire have won tournaments against the best teams in the world over the past three years, and more than 15 young national team players are playing professional football in Europe.

Yes, the U-16 national team finished third in the Gcc tournament and barely fell short in the Asian championship qualification. but the fact is that they outperformed every opponent in both tournaments in cohesiveness,

compactness, tactical awareness, match analysis physical data and ball possession — and playing again with several ’01 born players in a 2000 age-group competition.

I think the facts should encourage people to see real progress is happening in Qatar football. Also at a time when the first national team is making a fantastic run in the ’18 World cup qualifiers, the Olympic team is slowly blending players from five different generations (1993-97) and the quality of the QSL and attendance at the stadiums is on the rise.

I see the glass half full.

ЂЂ When teams from the GCC region fail and others like Nepal, Iraq and Syria make progress at different levels, criticism is bound to come. Do you think ‘lifestyle’ in the GCC countries, especially the rich ones, is a major hindrance to development of players?ЂЃ I wouldn’t speculate about

whether other nations in the region are following different objectives and approaches on how they enter these competitions. but we can say that we’re competing with young teams, we’re using these competitions as part of a well-thought-out and well-executed development programme with great professionals who’re committing 12-14 hours a day to our players and teams in Qatar and abroad.

And based on the experience we’re accumulating, yes, lifestyle can be an obstacle. It has nothing to do with wealth or social status. It has to do with the importance a society gives to football and the history, tradition and respect to symbols and habits in a given sport. that’s why, today, and while some of these football culture nuances evolve it’s important that our 18 to 22-year-olds immerse themselves in European football system, which is the world’s most professional at the moment, to finish their development and return soon to Qatar as the most complete and better-prepared football generation of the country.

WE BUILD THE TRAINING AND COMPETITION PROGRAMME FOR

A FULL YEAR.

DSP

/Fad

i Al A

ssaa

d

ЂŠAspire and Qatar football officials with other dignitaries during the recent Aspire4Sport congress and Exhibition in berlin, Germany.


MANcHEStEr United manager Louis van Gaal said he was “sick” of

answering questions about Wayne rooney’s form after last Sunday’s Manchester derby ended in a goalless draw.

the United captain has scored just two Premier League goals in nine appearances this season and struggled to get into the game against Manchester city, leading journalists to ask his manager why he was sticking with the 30-year-old as the team’s attacking focal point.

Playing as a lone striker, rooney managed just one shot during the game, and none on target, while he had to wait until the 70th

minute for his first and only touch in the opposition penalty area.

but the Dutchman bristled at the first mention of rooney’s name in

his post-match press conference.“I’ve to talk every week about

rooney, why?” british media quoted the United manager as saying.

“You’ve your opinion — write it. I don’t give any more answers about Wayne rooney. I’m sick of them,” he added.

Van Gaal also confirmed that Antonio Valencia has picked up a foot injury during the game, potentially ruling him out of Wednesday’s League cup tie against Middlesbrough.

“He had a kick on his foot in the first half... but then he played further. However, at the end, he couldn’t continue,” the manager said.

Van Gaal sick of Rooney queries

MOURINHO DID NOT TURN UP FOR HIS

POST-MATCH NEWS CONFERENCE.

‘Lean period has made Kane strong’

ENGLAND striker Harry Kane has become a better player because of the lean spell that ended when he scored a hat-trick

in tottenham Hotspur’s 5-1 victory at bournemouth last Sunday, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Kane, who burst into the spotlight last season with 21 Premier League goals, had managed only one before the trip to bournemouth, but after converting a first-half penalty, he added two more from close range in the second half.

“We never had any doubts about him,” Pochettino said. “It was a very important hat-trick for him, it’s important for him to learn about that period, the good and the bad about football.

“I’m happy because he has become a much better player. this period was very tough for him.”

Kane’s performances have been decent this season without finding the net, but he said luck had finally turned his way as he helped his side up to sixth in the table.

“As a striker you’re going to go in and out of spells. I haven’t had a bit of luck that maybe I had last season and today was the day it changed with chances coming my way,” said Kane.

I feel for Mourinho, says West Ham’s Bilic

“We never had any doubts about him (Kane). It

was a very important hat-

trick for him, it’s important for him to learn about that period, the good and the bad about football.Mauricio Pochettino, tottenham manager.

Everton defender Jagielka out for two monthsEverton captain Phil Jagielka will be out for two months after the England defender suffered a knee injury in their 1-2 defeat at Arsenal in the English Premier League.

roberto Martinez described it as “good news” because the club had feared more serious damage to the player’s medial ligaments after what the Everton manager called a “stupid challenge” by Alex Oxlade-chamberlain.

“After the game, we expected the worst,” said Martinez. “It’s probably the least bad it could be. I wouldn’t expect anything longer than eight to nine weeks and we’ve got an international break in the middle so hopefully he’s not going to miss too much action.”

Jagielka will be out of contention for England’s friendlies against Spain and France next month.

After beating lower division opposition in the previous two capital One cup rounds, Martinez is targeting a place in the last eight of a competition Everton have never won.

ššManchester United’s Wayne rooney in action against Manchester city.

šŠWest Ham manager Slaven bilic, left, shakes hands with chelsea’s Jose Mourinho.

ROONEY MANAGED JUST ONE SHOT DURING THE

GAME, AND NONE ON TARGET.

WHOEVEr coined the phrase ‘it never rains but it pours’ has

unwittingly provided a graphic illustration of the miserable start to the season that is being endured by chelsea and Jose Mourinho.

Last week’s 1-2 reversal at

London rivals West Ham United was chelsea’s fifth defeat in 10 English Premier League games and everything that could go wrong for the champions did go wrong.

Mourinho, who already has a suspended FA stadium ban hanging over him following repeated run-ins with match officials, was sent off at half-time, adding to the first-half dismissals of his enraged assistant Silvino Louro and midfielder Nemanja Matic.

Even West Ham manager

Slaven bilic had sympathy for Mourinho, who also looked on in frustration when cesc Fabregas had a first-half goal harshly ruled out for offside.

“I feel for him,” bilic told reporters after goals from Mauro Zarate and substitute Andy carroll gave third-placed West Ham victory at a wet Upton Park.

Mourinho ranted about the referees turning down penalty claims after last week’s 0-0 champions League draw in Kiev and the 1-3 Premier League defeat by Southampton earlier this month.

bilic felt referee Jon Moss’ decisions to disallow Fabregas’ goal, when the Spain midfielder seemed to be in line with the last defender, and Matic’s second yellow card could easily have gone the other way.

Former croatia defender bilic admitted he probably would have moaned too if Matic had been a West Ham player because the foul that led to the Serbia midfielder’s second caution was borderline.

Mourinho did not turn up for his post-match news conference.

WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com12FOOTBALL | INTERNATIONAL

MANcHEStEr city held on to their top spot in the English Premier League

after a 0-0 draw with Manchester United last Sunday, but the much-hyped meeting proved far less eventful than the day’s other derby which saw Sunderland beat bitter rivals Newcastle United 3-0 to escape from the bottom of the table.

Earlier, 10-man chelsea were condemned to a 1-2 defeat at West Ham, with their midfielder Nemanja Matic receiving marching orders for two bookable offences. Adding insult to injury, manager Jose Mourinho was also sent off at

the interval.Juergen Klopp was denied a first

victory in charge of Liverpool when Sadio Mane scored a late equaliser for Southampton before being sent off in a 1-1 draw at Anfield. christian benteke had put Liverpool in front. tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane returned to goal-scoring form after a lean spell for his club with a hat-trick in the London club’s 5-1 romp at bournemouth.

Man city have 22 points from 10 games, the same as Arsenal who beat Everton 2-1, while United are in fourth place with 20 points. Leicester city beat crystal Palace 1-0 to maintain their fifth place.

United manager Louis van Gaal claimed his team had “controlled the game” at Old trafford, but it was only in the last few minutes of a dismal game that they looked like scoring.

Jesse Lingard hit the bar from a clever chip by Anthony Martial and chris Smalling forced Joe Hart into his only significant save.

that was one more than David de Gea needed to make in the home team’s goal.

Newcastle had dominated the north-east derby until their captain Fabricio coloccini was sent off just before half-time for barging Steven Fletcher off the ball, Adam Johnson converting the resultant penalty.

reduced to 10 men, the visitors wilted in the second half, conceding further goals to billy Jones — his first for Sunderland — and Fletcher.

At Anfield, Klopp is still without a victory after a third successive draw since replacing brendan rodgers.

Half-time substitute benteke sent the Anfield crowd, and Klopp, into raptures by powering in a superb header from James Milner’s cross in the 77th minute.

Eight minutes later, however, Mane bundled in an equaliser at the far post before getting himself sent off for two yellow cards in quick succession.

Matt ritchie gave bournemouth a first-minute lead, but Kane soon equalised from a penalty after being brought down by keeper Artur boruc.

STALEMATECITY HOLD ON TO THEIR TOP SPOT AFTER PLAYING OUT A DULL DRAW AGAINST UNITED IN THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE’S MANCHESTER DERBY, WRITES STEVE TONGUE. HEADLINES

• Man city back on top of the table after derby stalemate at Old trafford

• troubled chelsea stunned by West Ham, Klopp denied first Liverpool win

• Arsenal maintain momentum, Sunderland crush Newcastle to secure first win

QUOTE “It was never a penalty. Absolutely ridiculous. We were the better side by a distance, but referee decisions are out of your control.Newcastle manager Steve Mcclaren lets rip after his first taste of the tyne-Wear defeat ended in an acrimonious 0-3 defeat to Sunderland.

TWEET “We wanted this victory so bad! Unfortunately, we couldn’t reward ourselves after a great second half.Manchester United midfielder bastian Schweinsteiger shows his frustration after the 0-0 draw against Manchester city.

STAT Matt ritchie’s strike against tottenham came after just 49 seconds at Dean court, the fastest Premier League goal this season.

GOAL Steven Fletcher (for Sunderland against Newcastle)

Scotland striker Fletcher put the seal on Sunderland’s record-breaking sixth successive win over bitter rivals Newcastle when he volleyed home at the far post from Younes Kaboul’s perfectly-weighted cross to finish a sweeping attack from the rampant hosts.

MOMENT carroll stuns Mourinho (in West Ham’s 2-1 victory against chelsea)An already troubled season for chelsea boss Jose Mourinho hit a new low as he was sent to the stands for protesting Nemanja Matic’s red card.

PLAYER Harry Kane (tottenham)

England striker Kane hit a hat-trick in a 5-1 win at bournemouth to end a miserable goal-drought which had seen him score only once for tottenham this season.

EPL HIGHLIGHTS

EPL TOP SCORERS10 Jamie Vardy Leicester city

6Alexis Sanchez ArsenalSergio Aguero Man cityGeorginio Wijnaldum Newcastle

5

callum Wilson bournemouth Olivier Giroud Arsenalromelu Lukaku Evertonriyad Mahrez Leicester cityGraziano Pelle SouthamptonAndre Ayew SwanseaOdion Ighalo WatfordDimitri Payet West Ham United

Villa sack SherwoodAston Villa sacked manager Tim Sherwood, the English Premier League club announced last Sunday.

“the board has monitored the performances closely all season and believes the results were simply not good enough and that a change was imperative,” said a statement on the official website (www.avfc.co.uk).

A 1-2 home defeat by Swansea city last week was their sixth league

defeat in a row and Villa are at the bottom of the table.

Sherwood was appointed in February and won six of his 23 games,

losing 16.

AT ANFIELD, KLOPP IS STILL WITHOUT A

VICTORY AFTER A THIRD SUCCESSIVE DRAW.

ŠŠManchester United’s Ander Herrera, left, challenges Manchester city’s Kevin De bruyne. Re

uter

s /

Eddi

e Ke

ogh


MANcHEStEr United manager Louis van Gaal said he was “sick” of

answering questions about Wayne rooney’s form after last Sunday’s Manchester derby ended in a goalless draw.

the United captain has scored just two Premier League goals in nine appearances this season and struggled to get into the game against Manchester city, leading journalists to ask his manager why he was sticking with the 30-year-old as the team’s attacking focal point.

Playing as a lone striker, rooney managed just one shot during the game, and none on target, while he had to wait until the 70th

minute for his first and only touch in the opposition penalty area.

but the Dutchman bristled at the first mention of rooney’s name in

his post-match press conference.“I’ve to talk every week about

rooney, why?” british media quoted the United manager as saying.

“You’ve your opinion — write it. I don’t give any more answers about Wayne rooney. I’m sick of them,” he added.

Van Gaal also confirmed that Antonio Valencia has picked up a foot injury during the game, potentially ruling him out of Wednesday’s League cup tie against Middlesbrough.

“He had a kick on his foot in the first half... but then he played further. However, at the end, he couldn’t continue,” the manager said.

Van Gaal sick of Rooney queries

MOURINHO DID NOT TURN UP FOR HIS

POST-MATCH NEWS CONFERENCE.

‘Lean period has made Kane strong’

ENGLAND striker Harry Kane has become a better player because of the lean spell that ended when he scored a hat-trick

in tottenham Hotspur’s 5-1 victory at bournemouth last Sunday, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Kane, who burst into the spotlight last season with 21 Premier League goals, had managed only one before the trip to bournemouth, but after converting a first-half penalty, he added two more from close range in the second half.

“We never had any doubts about him,” Pochettino said. “It was a very important hat-trick for him, it’s important for him to learn about that period, the good and the bad about football.

“I’m happy because he has become a much better player. this period was very tough for him.”

Kane’s performances have been decent this season without finding the net, but he said luck had finally turned his way as he helped his side up to sixth in the table.

“As a striker you’re going to go in and out of spells. I haven’t had a bit of luck that maybe I had last season and today was the day it changed with chances coming my way,” said Kane.

I feel for Mourinho, says West Ham’s Bilic

“We never had any doubts about him (Kane). It

was a very important hat-

trick for him, it’s important for him to learn about that period, the good and the bad about football.Mauricio Pochettino, tottenham manager.

Everton defender Jagielka out for two monthsEverton captain Phil Jagielka will be out for two months after the England defender suffered a knee injury in their 1-2 defeat at Arsenal in the English Premier League.

roberto Martinez described it as “good news” because the club had feared more serious damage to the player’s medial ligaments after what the Everton manager called a “stupid challenge” by Alex Oxlade-chamberlain.

“After the game, we expected the worst,” said Martinez. “It’s probably the least bad it could be. I wouldn’t expect anything longer than eight to nine weeks and we’ve got an international break in the middle so hopefully he’s not going to miss too much action.”

Jagielka will be out of contention for England’s friendlies against Spain and France next month.

After beating lower division opposition in the previous two capital One cup rounds, Martinez is targeting a place in the last eight of a competition Everton have never won.

ššManchester United’s Wayne rooney in action against Manchester city.

šŠWest Ham manager Slaven bilic, left, shakes hands with chelsea’s Jose Mourinho.

ROONEY MANAGED JUST ONE SHOT DURING THE

GAME, AND NONE ON TARGET.

WHOEVEr coined the phrase ‘it never rains but it pours’ has

unwittingly provided a graphic illustration of the miserable start to the season that is being endured by chelsea and Jose Mourinho.

Last week’s 1-2 reversal at

London rivals West Ham United was chelsea’s fifth defeat in 10 English Premier League games and everything that could go wrong for the champions did go wrong.

Mourinho, who already has a suspended FA stadium ban hanging over him following repeated run-ins with match officials, was sent off at half-time, adding to the first-half dismissals of his enraged assistant Silvino Louro and midfielder Nemanja Matic.

Even West Ham manager

Slaven bilic had sympathy for Mourinho, who also looked on in frustration when cesc Fabregas had a first-half goal harshly ruled out for offside.

“I feel for him,” bilic told reporters after goals from Mauro Zarate and substitute Andy carroll gave third-placed West Ham victory at a wet Upton Park.

Mourinho ranted about the referees turning down penalty claims after last week’s 0-0 champions League draw in Kiev and the 1-3 Premier League defeat by Southampton earlier this month.

bilic felt referee Jon Moss’ decisions to disallow Fabregas’ goal, when the Spain midfielder seemed to be in line with the last defender, and Matic’s second yellow card could easily have gone the other way.

Former croatia defender bilic admitted he probably would have moaned too if Matic had been a West Ham player because the foul that led to the Serbia midfielder’s second caution was borderline.

Mourinho did not turn up for his post-match news conference.


JUVENTUS RECORDED ONLY THEIR THIRD LEAGUE WIN OF THE SEASON WITH A

2-0 WIN OVER ATALANTA.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP

Suarez treble lifts Barcelona

COLLATED RESULTSCHAMPIONS LEAGUE

GROUP AMalmo (rosenborg 17) bt Shakhtar Donetsk

1-0

PSG drew real Madrid 0-0GROUP B

cSKA Moscow (Doumbia 15) drew Man United (Martial 65)

1-1

Wolfsburg (Dost 46, Kruse 57) bt PSV Eindhoven

2-0

GROUP CAtletico Madrid (Saul Niguez 23, Martinez 29, Oliver torres 63, Dedechko 89-og) bt Astana

4-0

Galatasaray (Selcuk Inan 19-pen, Podolski 33) bt benfica (Gaitan 2)

2-1

GROUP DJuventus drew borussia Moenchengladbach

0-0

Man city (rami 36-og, De bruyne 90+1) bt Sevilla (Konoplyanka 30)

2-1

GROUP EbAtE lost to barcelona (rakitic 48, 64) 0-2bayer Leverkusen (Hernandez 4-pen, 19, Kampl 84, Mehmedi 86) drew roma (De rossi 29, 38, Pjanic 54, Falque 73)

4-4

GROUP FArsenal (Giroud 77, Ozil 90+4) bt bayern Munich

2-0

Dinamo Zagreb lost to Olympiakos (Ideye 79)

0-1

GROUP GPorto (Aboubakar 37, brahimi 41) bt Maccabi tel Aviv

2-0

Dynamo Kiev drew chelsea 0-0GROUP H

Zenit St Petersburg (Dzyuba 3, Hulk 56, Danny 83) bt Lyon (Lacazette 49)

3-1

Valencia (L Nielsen 15-og, S Mitrovic 72-og) bt Gent (Foket 40)

2-1

EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP A

Fenerbahce (Fernandao 89) bt bt Ajax 1-0 Molde (Kamara 11, Forren 18 Elyounoussi 56) bt celtic (commons 55)

3-1

GROUP B bordeaux lost to Sion (Lacroix 21) 0-1Liverpool (can 37) drew rubin Kazan (Devic 15)

1-1

GROUP CFK Qabala (Dodo 90+3) lost to borussia Dortmund (Aubameyang 31, 38, 72)

1-3

PAOK Salonika drew Fc Krasnodar 0-0GROUP D

Midtjylland (Pusic 43) lost to Napoli (callejon 19, Gabbiadini 31, 40, Higuain 90+4)

1-4

Legia Warsaw (Kucharczyk) drew club brugge (De Fauw 39)

1-1

GROUP Erapid Vienna (Hofmann 34, Schaub 52, Petsos 68) bt Viktoria Pilsen (Duris 12, Hrosovsky 76)

3-2

Villarreal (bakambu 17, 32, Soldado 61, bailly 71) bt Dinamo Minsk

4-0

GROUP F braga (Hassan 61, Eduardo 77, Alan 88) bt Marseille (Alessandrini 84, batshuayi 87)

3-2

Slovan Liberec (Luckassen 87) drew Groningen (Hoesen 90+6)

1-1

GROUP GDnipro lost to Saint-Etienne (Hamouma 44)

0-1

Lazio (Matri 28, Anderson 54, candreva 79) bt rosenborg (Soderlund 69)

3-1

GROUP HLokomotiv Moscow (Maicon 54) drew besiktas (Gomez 64)

1-1

Sporting Lisbon (Aquilani 38-pen, Montero 41-pen, Pereira 64, 77, Figueiredo 69) bt Skenderbeu (Jashanica 89)

5-1

GROUP I basel (Lang 15) lost to belenenses (Leal 27, Kuca 45+1)

1-2

Fiorentina (rossi 90) lost to Lech Poznan (Kownacki 65, Gajos 82)

1-2

GROUP JAnderlecht (Gillet 13, Okaka 75) bt tottenham Hotspur (Eriksen 4)

2-1

Monaco (traore 69) bt Qarabag 1-0Group K

APOEL (cavenaghi 45+9-pen, carlao 59) bt Asteras (Lluy 8)

2-1

Schalke (Di Santo 6, Sane 73) drew Sparta Prague (Fatai 50, Lafata 63)

2-2

GROUP LAZ Alkmaar lost to Augsburg (trochowski 43)

0-1

Partizan belgrade lost to Athletic bilbao (Garcia 32, Extebarria 85)

0-2

RESULTSAs of Sunday

EPL bournemouth lost to tottenham 1-5 Liverpool drew Southampton 1-1Man United drew Man city 0-0 Sunderland bt Newcastle 3-0 Arsenal bt Everton 2-1Aston Villa lost to Swansea city 1-2Leicester city bt crystal Palace 1-0Norwich city lost to West brom 0-1Stoke city lost to Watford 0-2West Ham bt chelsea 2-1

SPFL celtic bt Dundee United 5-0Aberdeen drew Motherwell 1-1Dundee lost to Kilmarnock 1-2Hearts bt ross county 2-0caledonian thistle lost to St Johnstone 0-1Partick thistle drew Hamilton 1-1

LA LIGA Atletico Madrid bt Valencia 2-1barcelona bt Eibar 3-1Las Palmas drew Villarreal 0-0Levante lost to real Sociedad 0-4celta Vigo lost to real Madrid 1-3Granada drew real betis 1-1Malaga bt Deportivo coruna 2-0Sevilla bt Getafe 5-0rayo Vallecano bt Espanyol 3-0

SERIE A Ac Milan bt Sassuolo 2-1chievo Verona lost to Napoli 0-1Fiorentina lost to AS roma 1-2Juventus bt Atalanta bergamo 2-0Lazio bt torino 3-0Sampdoria bt Verona 4-1Udinese bt Frosinone 1-0carpi lost to bologna 1-2Empoli bt Genoa 2-0Palermo drew Inter Milan 1-1

BUNDESLIGA borussia Dortmund bt Fc Augsburg 5-1borussia M’bach bt Schalke 04 3-1Mainz lost to Werder bremen 1-3bayer Leverkusen bt Vfb Stuttgart 4-3bayern Munich bt cologne 4-0Fc Ingolstadt 04 lost to Hertha berlin 0-1Hanover 96 lost to E Frankfurt 1-2Darmstadt 98 lost to VfL Wolfsburg 0-1Hoffenheim lost to Hamburg SV 0-1

LIGUE 1 G bordeaux bt troyes Ac 1-0Lille lost to Oly Marseille 1-2PSG bt St Etienne 4-1Stade de reims lost to Monaco 0-1Angers drew Guingamp 0-0Fc Lorient drew Stade rennes 1-1GFc Ajaccio bt Nice 3-1Montpellier bt bastia 2-0caen lost to Nantes 0-2Oly Lyon bt toulouse 3-0

BRAZILIAN C’SHIPAtletico Mineiro bt Ponte Preta 2-1chapecoense drew Avai 0-0corinthians bt Flamengo 1-0coritiba lost to Sao Paulo 1-2Goias lost to cruzeiro 0-1Vasco da Gama drew Gremio 0-0Palmeiras lost to Sport 0-2Figueirense drew Santos 0-0Fluminense lost to Atletico Paranaense 0-1 Internacional bt Joinville 1-0

MUcH-MALIGNED at times, Olivier Giroud displayed his poacher’s knack to help

salvage Arsenal’s champions League campaign last week, scoring just after coming off the bench to set up a 2-0 win over bayern Munich.

the Frenchman punished a terrible mistake by bayern keeper Manuel Neuer in the 77th minute to nod his side in front against the bundesliga champions before Mesut Ozil sealed Arsenal’s first points in Group F with a close-range volley in stoppage time.

Giroud, 29, has struggled to make

manager Arsene Wenger’s starting team this season, but has now scored four times after coming on as a substitute and the header was his most important intervention by far.

“I’ve to give him credit because it’s not been easy for him,” said Wenger. “He had a dip in form, but in the last two weeks he has come back to his best. the focus he shows and the spirit, he’s a winner and he gives us a different option.”

Giroud’s impact was immediate when he replaced theo Walcott with bayern threatening to score the goal that would have left Arsenal’s hopes

of reaching the last 16 in tatters.Santi cazorla’s hopeful, lofted

free-kick was flapped at by Neuer and Giroud could hardly believe his luck as the ball glanced off his head and into the net.

“We did well until the goal and defended really well,” said Giroud said. “bayern will have the ball, they’re very good in possession and they finished with 70 per cent of the ball. they dominated the game, but we knew we were able to finish it off. We needed this win to stay in the League and try to qualify for the next stage.”

Wenger lauds Giroud’s performance

şşbarcelona’s Luis Suarez celebrates after scoring against Eibar.

Olivier Giroud

REAL Madrid and barcelona ended the weekend level on 21 points at the top after real

claimed a nervy 3-1 win at 10-man celta Vigo and barcelona needed a Luis Suarez treble to secure a 3-1 comeback win at home to Eibar.

Goals from cristiano ronaldo and Danilo put real in control at celta last week, but the Galicians fought back strongly after going a man down and Nolito pulled one back before Marcelo scored with the last kick of the game.

Poor defending by barca allowed Eibar to take an early lead in last Sunday’s clash at the camp Nou, but Suarez was on clinical form and his second La Liga hat-trick on the one-year anniversary of his debut gave the champions the spoils.

Atletico Madrid stayed hard on the leaders’ heels on 19 points in third, one ahead of fourth-placed celta, when Yannick carrasco scored the pick of the goals in a 2-1 win at home to Valencia.

Roma top table

In Italy, AS roma moved top of Serie A after a 2-1 victory away at

previous leaders Fiorentina, with Mohamed Salah marking his return with a goal and a red card.

Juventus recorded only their third league win of the season with a 2-0 triumph over Atalanta, while Lazio defeated torino 3-0.

Sampdoria trounced Verona 4-1 and Ac Milan, who gave a debut to 16-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, beat Sassuolo 2-1.

Bayern post 1,000th win

In Germany, champions bayern Munich crushed cologne 4-0 with winger Arjen robben scoring on

his comeback from injury to record their 1,000th bundesliga win.

bayern extended their record-breaking start to the season to 10 wins from 10 matches to stay seven points clear at the top.

Second-placed borussia

Dortmund remained on their heels with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring a hat-trick, his second in four days, and Marco reus adding another in their 5-1 demolition of bottom-placed Augsburg.

Schalke 04 slumped to a 1-3 loss to borussia Moenchengladbach but held on to third place on 19, four behind Dortmund.

PSG extend lead

In France, PSG extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 after a routine 4-1 win over St Etienne while Marseille ended a seven-game winless streak with a 2-1 triumph at Lille. Second-placed Angers only could only manage a 0-0 home draw against Guingamp, allowing reigning champions PSG to move seven points clear.

third-placed caen lost 2-0 at home to Nantes. Layvin Kurzawa, Edinson cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lucas Moura were on target for champions PSG.

WEDNESDAY, OctObEr 28, 2015 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com14FOOTBALL | INTERNATIONAL

GENNArO Gattuso has never been known to shy away from a battle. Whenever the

going got tough, this famously combative midfielder would invariably get going, with few in world football able to match his tigerish tenacity.

Allied to energy, ability and tactical astuteness, this personality established Gattuso as an integral, even indispensable figure for a succession of Italy and Ac Milan coaches. It also ensured that he ended a glittering playing career having won the champions League twice, earned 73 caps and conquered the world with both club and country.

Establishing his credentials as a top-level coach is the challenge he faces and, so far at least, it has been tougher than even his most demanding midfield skirmishes. Spells in charge of Sion, Palermo and OFI crete have been short and less than sweet, and there were some who wondered whether Gattuso would ever return to the dugout after resigning his post in Greece last December.

they should, of course, have remembered that this is a man not prone to meekly accepting defeat. before long, the same determination that marked his playing career resulted in him grasping a post in Italy’s third tier, committing himself to reviving Pisa while proving himself as a coach of substance.

Gattuso spoke to www.fifa.com about his playing style, midfielders he admires most, memories of 2006 World cup and his target as a coach.

ЂЂ How’re you enjoying life at Pisa?ЂЃ I’m getting on very well. I work

for an illustrious club that had some fantastic times for so many years. the city is beautiful, and it lives and breathes football.

ЂЂ You’re unbeaten so far this season and sit third in the league. Are you happy with the way the team is taking shape?ЂЃ We started late. We’ve been

working together for barely a couple of months, but we hope to continue the way we’ve started. ten players arrived in the final days before the transfer window closed. Some

weren’t regular starters while others had little or no pre-season under their belts. but I’m very pleased with the business we did.

ЂЂ Pisa used to play in Serie A during the 80’s and 90’s. Do you believe those heights can be reached again?ЂЃ I think we’ve everything it takes

to do that. A lot of money has been spent in recent years. to do well requires not just money, but also the right expertise and people who know how to spend wisely and especially how to buy the best players. With Fabrizio Lucchesi

as chairman, I think all of this is achievable. the main objective is to grow and lead the league table. First and foremost, we’ve to become a group and I’d say that we’re on the right track, but we’ve to keep working.

ЂЂ How’ve you found the experience of overseeing a match from the dugout as coach rather than being at the heart of it all as a midfield general? ЂЃ they’re two completely different

jobs. Having been a good player can help you, but a coach’s job is much more complex. I’m no longer a student, it’s my turn to teach football. ЂЂ Your memory of the 2006 World

Cup win in Germany... ЂЃ Wearing the national shirt was

always something special. When I was there in the middle of the pitch and I heard the national anthem, I got goose-bumps and thought back to my beautiful childhood. the key to our success was definitely Marcello Lippi. He was our leader, we relied on him. He had charisma and made us feel valued and protected. the chief architect of the victory was him.ЂЂ You were a passionate, hard-

working and determined player. Do those same characteristics mark you out as a coach?

ЂЃ I demand a lot from myself, I’m picky and, above all, I’m someone who goes about things with a lot of professionalism and wants to do them properly. I’m a tough nut too and this flaw, if you want to call it that, has stayed with me as a coach. but in recent years I’ve changed my attitude with the players. I used to be tough on them too, whereas now my priority is to prepare the team in the best way possible. I let the players have their own space and don’t breathe down their necks all day.

ЂЂ You played under some great coaches. Have you learnt anything in particular from them? ЂЃ With my personality it’s difficult

to copy someone or adopt certain approaches. I’ve my own way of doing things and I’ve to convey to my players. As a footballer, I was lucky enough to play for big clubs and, when I got there, I knew exactly how to behave and what to do. As a coach, I’m now working with a lot of young people, some of whom are coming straight out of the youth ranks. With them, I can’t behave in the same way that my coaches behaved with me.

ЂЂ Unlike most Italians you’ve played abroad on several occasions. Do you feel you’ve benefited from your experiences in Scotland, Switzerland and Greece?ЂЃ those experiences had a big

and very positive influence on me. Whoever watches me working on the pitch immediately notices my methods are slightly different from the Italian way, in fact, closer to English style. I liked to work at a very high tempo and on the day after a match I prefer to get straight back into training. Going abroad enriched me as a player, but also as a coach.

ЂЂ Do you think AC Milan or any other Italian teams will win Champions League again?ЂЃ to win major trophies like

champions League, you’ve to have champions in your team. At Milan in those years, we could afford to have the likes of Alessandro costacurta, Jaap Stam, rivaldo, rui costa and Filippo Inzaghi on the bench. We

had a squad consisting of 22 to 23 top-level players. As for Milan and Italian football, to get back into contention, we’ve to start investing again. We need the economy to recover, new stadiums to be built and big personalities in the mould of Silvio berlusconi, Massimo Moratti or Andrea Agnelli to make major new investments.

ЂЂ You were seen as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of your era. Who do you admire playing your position these days?ЂЃ I really like radja

Nainggolan. Although we aren’t that similar, because he’s definitely better than me technically, I consider him to be one of the strongest players.

INTERVIEW

I give players their own space: Gattuso

I demand a lot from myself, I’m picky and, above all, I’m someone who goes about things with a lot of professionalism and wants to do them properly. I’m a tough nut too and this flaw, if you want to call it that, has stayed with me as a coach.Gennaro Gattuso

HAVING BEEN A GOOD PLAYER CAN HELP YOU, BUT A COACH’S JOB IS

MUCH MORE COMPLEX.


JUVENTUS RECORDED ONLY THEIR THIRD LEAGUE WIN OF THE SEASON WITH A

2-0 WIN OVER ATALANTA.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP

Suarez treble lifts Barcelona

COLLATED RESULTSCHAMPIONS LEAGUE

GROUP AMalmo (rosenborg 17) bt Shakhtar Donetsk

1-0

PSG drew real Madrid 0-0GROUP B

cSKA Moscow (Doumbia 15) drew Man United (Martial 65)

1-1

Wolfsburg (Dost 46, Kruse 57) bt PSV Eindhoven

2-0

GROUP CAtletico Madrid (Saul Niguez 23, Martinez 29, Oliver torres 63, Dedechko 89-og) bt Astana

4-0

Galatasaray (Selcuk Inan 19-pen, Podolski 33) bt benfica (Gaitan 2)

2-1

GROUP DJuventus drew borussia Moenchengladbach

0-0

Man city (rami 36-og, De bruyne 90+1) bt Sevilla (Konoplyanka 30)

2-1

GROUP EbAtE lost to barcelona (rakitic 48, 64) 0-2bayer Leverkusen (Hernandez 4-pen, 19, Kampl 84, Mehmedi 86) drew roma (De rossi 29, 38, Pjanic 54, Falque 73)

4-4

GROUP FArsenal (Giroud 77, Ozil 90+4) bt bayern Munich

2-0

Dinamo Zagreb lost to Olympiakos (Ideye 79)

0-1

GROUP GPorto (Aboubakar 37, brahimi 41) bt Maccabi tel Aviv

2-0

Dynamo Kiev drew chelsea 0-0GROUP H

Zenit St Petersburg (Dzyuba 3, Hulk 56, Danny 83) bt Lyon (Lacazette 49)

3-1

Valencia (L Nielsen 15-og, S Mitrovic 72-og) bt Gent (Foket 40)

2-1

EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP A

Fenerbahce (Fernandao 89) bt bt Ajax 1-0 Molde (Kamara 11, Forren 18 Elyounoussi 56) bt celtic (commons 55)

3-1

GROUP B bordeaux lost to Sion (Lacroix 21) 0-1Liverpool (can 37) drew rubin Kazan (Devic 15)

1-1

GROUP CFK Qabala (Dodo 90+3) lost to borussia Dortmund (Aubameyang 31, 38, 72)

1-3

PAOK Salonika drew Fc Krasnodar 0-0GROUP D

Midtjylland (Pusic 43) lost to Napoli (callejon 19, Gabbiadini 31, 40, Higuain 90+4)

1-4

Legia Warsaw (Kucharczyk) drew club brugge (De Fauw 39)

1-1

GROUP Erapid Vienna (Hofmann 34, Schaub 52, Petsos 68) bt Viktoria Pilsen (Duris 12, Hrosovsky 76)

3-2

Villarreal (bakambu 17, 32, Soldado 61, bailly 71) bt Dinamo Minsk

4-0

GROUP F braga (Hassan 61, Eduardo 77, Alan 88) bt Marseille (Alessandrini 84, batshuayi 87)

3-2

Slovan Liberec (Luckassen 87) drew Groningen (Hoesen 90+6)

1-1

GROUP GDnipro lost to Saint-Etienne (Hamouma 44)

0-1

Lazio (Matri 28, Anderson 54, candreva 79) bt rosenborg (Soderlund 69)

3-1

GROUP HLokomotiv Moscow (Maicon 54) drew besiktas (Gomez 64)

1-1

Sporting Lisbon (Aquilani 38-pen, Montero 41-pen, Pereira 64, 77, Figueiredo 69) bt Skenderbeu (Jashanica 89)

5-1

GROUP I basel (Lang 15) lost to belenenses (Leal 27, Kuca 45+1)

1-2

Fiorentina (rossi 90) lost to Lech Poznan (Kownacki 65, Gajos 82)

1-2

GROUP JAnderlecht (Gillet 13, Okaka 75) bt tottenham Hotspur (Eriksen 4)

2-1

Monaco (traore 69) bt Qarabag 1-0Group K

APOEL (cavenaghi 45+9-pen, carlao 59) bt Asteras (Lluy 8)

2-1

Schalke (Di Santo 6, Sane 73) drew Sparta Prague (Fatai 50, Lafata 63)

2-2

GROUP LAZ Alkmaar lost to Augsburg (trochowski 43)

0-1

Partizan belgrade lost to Athletic bilbao (Garcia 32, Extebarria 85)

0-2

RESULTSAs of Sunday

EPL bournemouth lost to tottenham 1-5 Liverpool drew Southampton 1-1Man United drew Man city 0-0 Sunderland bt Newcastle 3-0 Arsenal bt Everton 2-1Aston Villa lost to Swansea city 1-2Leicester city bt crystal Palace 1-0Norwich city lost to West brom 0-1Stoke city lost to Watford 0-2West Ham bt chelsea 2-1

SPFL celtic bt Dundee United 5-0Aberdeen drew Motherwell 1-1Dundee lost to Kilmarnock 1-2Hearts bt ross county 2-0caledonian thistle lost to St Johnstone 0-1Partick thistle drew Hamilton 1-1

LA LIGA Atletico Madrid bt Valencia 2-1barcelona bt Eibar 3-1Las Palmas drew Villarreal 0-0Levante lost to real Sociedad 0-4celta Vigo lost to real Madrid 1-3Granada drew real betis 1-1Malaga bt Deportivo coruna 2-0Sevilla bt Getafe 5-0rayo Vallecano bt Espanyol 3-0

SERIE A Ac Milan bt Sassuolo 2-1chievo Verona lost to Napoli 0-1Fiorentina lost to AS roma 1-2Juventus bt Atalanta bergamo 2-0Lazio bt torino 3-0Sampdoria bt Verona 4-1Udinese bt Frosinone 1-0carpi lost to bologna 1-2Empoli bt Genoa 2-0Palermo drew Inter Milan 1-1

BUNDESLIGA borussia Dortmund bt Fc Augsburg 5-1borussia M’bach bt Schalke 04 3-1Mainz lost to Werder bremen 1-3bayer Leverkusen bt Vfb Stuttgart 4-3bayern Munich bt cologne 4-0Fc Ingolstadt 04 lost to Hertha berlin 0-1Hanover 96 lost to E Frankfurt 1-2Darmstadt 98 lost to VfL Wolfsburg 0-1Hoffenheim lost to Hamburg SV 0-1

LIGUE 1 G bordeaux bt troyes Ac 1-0Lille lost to Oly Marseille 1-2PSG bt St Etienne 4-1Stade de reims lost to Monaco 0-1Angers drew Guingamp 0-0Fc Lorient drew Stade rennes 1-1GFc Ajaccio bt Nice 3-1Montpellier bt bastia 2-0caen lost to Nantes 0-2Oly Lyon bt toulouse 3-0

BRAZILIAN C’SHIPAtletico Mineiro bt Ponte Preta 2-1chapecoense drew Avai 0-0corinthians bt Flamengo 1-0coritiba lost to Sao Paulo 1-2Goias lost to cruzeiro 0-1Vasco da Gama drew Gremio 0-0Palmeiras lost to Sport 0-2Figueirense drew Santos 0-0Fluminense lost to Atletico Paranaense 0-1 Internacional bt Joinville 1-0

MUcH-MALIGNED at times, Olivier Giroud displayed his poacher’s knack to help

salvage Arsenal’s champions League campaign last week, scoring just after coming off the bench to set up a 2-0 win over bayern Munich.

the Frenchman punished a terrible mistake by bayern keeper Manuel Neuer in the 77th minute to nod his side in front against the bundesliga champions before Mesut Ozil sealed Arsenal’s first points in Group F with a close-range volley in stoppage time.

Giroud, 29, has struggled to make

manager Arsene Wenger’s starting team this season, but has now scored four times after coming on as a substitute and the header was his most important intervention by far.

“I’ve to give him credit because it’s not been easy for him,” said Wenger. “He had a dip in form, but in the last two weeks he has come back to his best. the focus he shows and the spirit, he’s a winner and he gives us a different option.”

Giroud’s impact was immediate when he replaced theo Walcott with bayern threatening to score the goal that would have left Arsenal’s hopes

of reaching the last 16 in tatters.Santi cazorla’s hopeful, lofted

free-kick was flapped at by Neuer and Giroud could hardly believe his luck as the ball glanced off his head and into the net.

“We did well until the goal and defended really well,” said Giroud said. “bayern will have the ball, they’re very good in possession and they finished with 70 per cent of the ball. they dominated the game, but we knew we were able to finish it off. We needed this win to stay in the League and try to qualify for the next stage.”

Wenger lauds Giroud’s performance

şşbarcelona’s Luis Suarez celebrates after scoring against Eibar.

Olivier Giroud

REAL Madrid and barcelona ended the weekend level on 21 points at the top after real

claimed a nervy 3-1 win at 10-man celta Vigo and barcelona needed a Luis Suarez treble to secure a 3-1 comeback win at home to Eibar.

Goals from cristiano ronaldo and Danilo put real in control at celta last week, but the Galicians fought back strongly after going a man down and Nolito pulled one back before Marcelo scored with the last kick of the game.

Poor defending by barca allowed Eibar to take an early lead in last Sunday’s clash at the camp Nou, but Suarez was on clinical form and his second La Liga hat-trick on the one-year anniversary of his debut gave the champions the spoils.

Atletico Madrid stayed hard on the leaders’ heels on 19 points in third, one ahead of fourth-placed celta, when Yannick carrasco scored the pick of the goals in a 2-1 win at home to Valencia.

Roma top table

In Italy, AS roma moved top of Serie A after a 2-1 victory away at

previous leaders Fiorentina, with Mohamed Salah marking his return with a goal and a red card.

Juventus recorded only their third league win of the season with a 2-0 triumph over Atalanta, while Lazio defeated torino 3-0.

Sampdoria trounced Verona 4-1 and Ac Milan, who gave a debut to 16-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, beat Sassuolo 2-1.

Bayern post 1,000th win

In Germany, champions bayern Munich crushed cologne 4-0 with winger Arjen robben scoring on

his comeback from injury to record their 1,000th bundesliga win.

bayern extended their record-breaking start to the season to 10 wins from 10 matches to stay seven points clear at the top.

Second-placed borussia

Dortmund remained on their heels with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring a hat-trick, his second in four days, and Marco reus adding another in their 5-1 demolition of bottom-placed Augsburg.

Schalke 04 slumped to a 1-3 loss to borussia Moenchengladbach but held on to third place on 19, four behind Dortmund.

PSG extend lead

In France, PSG extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 after a routine 4-1 win over St Etienne while Marseille ended a seven-game winless streak with a 2-1 triumph at Lille. Second-placed Angers only could only manage a 0-0 home draw against Guingamp, allowing reigning champions PSG to move seven points clear.

third-placed caen lost 2-0 at home to Nantes. Layvin Kurzawa, Edinson cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lucas Moura were on target for champions PSG.


PARA-ATHLETICS

GERMAN LONG JUMPER MARKUS REHM, WHOSE LIFE SYMBOLISES THE VICTORY OF HUMAN SPIRIT OVER DESPAIR, BETTERS OWN RECORD AT THE IPC ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TO REOPEN DEBATE ON HIS CHANCES OF COMPETING IN NEXT YEAR’S RIO OLYMPIC GAMES, WRITES SARATH POOKKAT.

DARING TO REHM!EVErY human soul deals with

grief, loss and crisis in its own way, they say.

Some are left scarred for life, some curse the darkness forever and some just about manage to grit their teeth and chug along with the flow.

but a few, like Markus rehm, never really lose the smile on their lips and spring in their steps despite disaster threatening to rob them of everything beautiful in their lives.

And rehm’s face was all the more beaming last week after he set a world record of 8.40M in men’s long jump t44 at the International Paralympic committee’s Athletics World championships at the Qatar Sports club, where he yet again expressed his desire to compete in the Olympics. the German’s third jump, which bettered his own record by 11cm, would have fetched him gold at the London Olympics, where briton Greg rutherford leaped to glory with an 8.31M effort.

“I prepared really hard for this moment. I was in good shape and we had amazing conditions. Pretty warm... it always helps,” rehm said after his amazing effort.

His feat has again started a debate on whether paralympic athletes using prosthesis should

be allowed to compete alongside able-bodied sportspersons, leaving the authorities with some important decisions to make in a few months’ time if he is to compete in next year’s rio Games.

In fact, rehm had made his presence felt in the athletics world when he won the long jump at the German national open championship in 2014 with an effort of 8.24M.

though the German Athletics Association (DLV) did not include

him in the team for the last year’s European championships in Zurich, Switzerland, saying there was “significant doubt” that efforts by an athlete using a prosthesis can be compared with those having a natural joint, he made sure his exploits would be a big topic of conversation.

the DLV said biometric measurements showed rehm’s prosthesis might give him an unfair “catapult effect”, which rehm denies.

Unlike his more famous predecessor in paralympic sport,

Oscar Pistorius, who fought and won his right to compete in the Olympics, rehm did not go for any appeal out of respect for other athletes and because he wanted to avoid causing confusion and “remain fair,” a stance which he maintains.

“I don’t want to win because I’ve an advantage. I want to win because I’m a great athlete. And I’m really looking forward to having fair competitions. I’m just hoping that we’ve the chance to compete together,” rehm, articulate and measured, said.

“My biggest goal is to show the world it’s really worth watching paralympic sport because I’m still a proud paralympian and it’s not going to change. I’m really proud to be a part of this amazing family. I see this as a great chance to make a good advert for our sports to show the whole world that we’ve amazing athletes. And it’s not only me.

“I just hope that the International Association of Athletics Federations would give me the chance to explain to them (my case),” he said. “I don’t think I’ve any advantage. there’re some others who say I’ve an advantage, but I don’t think so,” said the 27-year old.

His doctor Helmutt Hoffman too is of the impression that rehm does not enjoy any advantage

THE GERMAN’S THIRD JUMP BETTERED HIS

OWN WORLD RECORD BY 11CM.

ISIS HOLT (AUS)Australia’s 14-year-old runner Isis

Holt won the battle of the teenagers, pushing Great britain’s 15-year-old Maria Lyle to second place in a thrilling showdown, as she raced to women’s 200M t35 gold in 28.57sec. Holt, who

took up the sport only a year ago, thus won a major medal

outside her nation for the first time.

VANESSA LOW (GER)the German long jumper won gold

after bettering the previous t42 long jump world record by a whopping 19cm at the Qatar Sports club. She landed at a distance of 4.79M, beating Italian Martina caironi’s mark of

4.60, set earlier this year. caironi had to be content with

second place.

SOPHIE HAHN (GBR)the 18-year-old brit clocked

12.60sec to shave four tenths of a second off her own world t38 100M record set at the IPc Grand Prix meeting in London in July. “It feels amazing to be a world champion and to

smash the world record. I’m in shock as I really didn’t know I

could run this fast,” she said.

RICHARD BROWNE (USA)American richard browne won his

much-hyped showdown with brazil’s Alan Oliveira in the men’s 200M t44 final with a world record time of 21.27sec. While it was browne’s first major individual international medal, Oliveira, the reigning

Paralympic champion, lost both his world title and world record on

the same evening.

OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMERS

şşMarkus rehm competes in Doha.


DARING TO REHM!because of his prosthesis.“they were never able to

prove that he has an advantage. I’m a doctor and I work with him. I’ve been working with disabled athletes since 1992 and I believe prosthesis doesn’t give him any advantage,” said Hoffman, who is in Doha with the German team.

“He’s mentally very strong and that’s his biggest plus. He’s also very humble and hard-working. He doesn’t think himself as a big athlete. He has no problem sitting with other coaches and listening to them to improve himself,” he said.

rehm was growing up as an adventurous and athletic kid in Goppingen, southern Germany,

when disaster struck in the form of a freak wakeboarding accident in which he lost his right leg below the knee.

though it knocked the 14-year-old down for a while, rehm made sure he did not stay that way for long.

“the first time it was really hard because, of course, you fall out of your life,” he said.

“I was always sporty. I did long jump before my accident. I came back to sports (after the injury). So one day an athlete came to me when I was jumping on a trampoline — I was training already for my body and everything — and told me ‘you looking quite good, have you ever tried athletics?’ and I said ‘when I was a kid’.

“I didn’t have a blade and he arranged one for me. I started to train hard. After four years, I moved to another city, Leverkusen,

and decided to pursue athletics seriously and train every day. Since then, I’m with tSV bayer 04 Leverkusen team, where I’ve been getting really amazing support,” he said.

rehm is in awe of his coach Steffi Nerius, a former world champion in javelin throw, whom he also considers one of his all-time favourite athletes.

“She didn’t know much about jumping with a prosthesis because she was a thrower. but the secret was that we started from the beginning. She really pushed me to my limits and she always has ideas for next year on how we’re going to improve. We’re a good team.

“People just see the success and not the training I do behind it. they think I jump so far because of the blades, ‘no, I jump far because I train hard’,” said rehm, who could not stress enough the importance of his family’s support.

“I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. they’re everything to me... Every christmas weekend me and my friends — eight to 10 guys — we go for snowboarding and that’s one thing I really enjoy,” he said.

but right now he is enjoying his time in the limelight and rightly so.

rehm’s majestic image from the Doha meet, his torso in full flight and head in perfect balance, with the floodlights in the background almost serving as an aura, beautifully captured not only his overall mood and ambition, but also that of the paralympic sport.

Whether rehm should be allowed to compete in the Olympics calls for a big debate, but if he does, it will be another victory for the human spirit and its amazing ability to bounce back from the depths of despair.

BEST LONG JUMPS OF 2015MARK NAME VENUE DATE8.52M Jeff Henderson (USA) toronto, canada July 22

8.50M Jeff Henderson (USA) california, USA April 18

8.44M Jeff Henderson (USA) Oregon, USA June 25

8.41M Zarck Visser (rSA) bad Langensalza, Germany July 4

8.41M Greg rutherford (Gbr) beijing, china August 25

8.41M Markus Rehm (GER) Doha October 23

PEOPLE JUST SEE THE SUCCESS AND NOT THE TRAINING I DO

BEHIND IT.

Aju George Chris

THE International Paralympic committee’s (IPc) Athletics World championships, currently under way at the Qatar Sports club, have

already been dubbed the biggest in history. IPc President Sir Philip craven, who attended the

opening ceremony in Doha, felt the event would also be a turning point for the sport’s growth in the region.

“this is the biggest-ever Paralympic athletics event to come to Asia. It has helped us gain a vital foothold in an emerging market. We’re keen to go to newer places around the world in order to grow our sport and keep it relevant,” said craven.

“the facilities in Doha are simply superb. I hope this event will also give the Qatar Paralympic committee a new lease of life. I’m confident more big events will head for the Qatari capital in the coming years,” he added.

the IPc Athletics Worlds, which first began in 1994, has come to Asia for the first time. Except for the ’11 edition in New Zealand, all others were held in Europe. the ’17 event is once again set to return to Europe — London.

but the former british wheelchair basketball player rejected the notion of the IPc being pro-European.

“We’re not a Euro-centred organisation, but a world sports body. Going to London in ’17 is in some ways tied up with the IAAF organising its World championships there that year. that precedent may or may not continue in the future,” he said.

“but if you look past sporting events, the IPc has organised its last five Executive committee meetings in Eastern Asia. We felt as welcome there as we did in Europe. We simply don’t have an affinity towards any continent in particular,” he said.

the official also spoke about Paralympic sports’ growing visibility around the world.

“While there’s still a lot of work left to do, we’re financially stable. the 21st century has proved to be far different from the end of the 20th. companies have started looking at us not as a platform for corporate social responsibility, but corporate social opportunity. It’s a great change,” he said.

“After the London Paralympics, our visibility has increased manifold. Our relationship with the International Olympic committee is very strong and it’s set to grow even stronger in the coming months,” he signed off.

Keen to reach newer places, says IPC chief

Qatar’s orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital Aspetar is the exclusive medical partner of the IPc Athletics World championships.

Aspetar is providing top-level medical services during the championships as part of the National Sport Medicine Programme. While ‘on ground sports medicine’ and ‘orthopaedic surgery’ divisions are taking care of athletes, ambulances and a comprehensive mobile clinic are also on hand.

Aspetar also organised a medical symposium — the health of the Paralympic athlete — in association with the IPc and International Sports Medicine Federation.

the symposium dealt with the medical needs of para-athletes as well as physically-active people with impairments. A number of topics, including the IPc’s vision of para-athlete health, their travel issues, challenges and solutions of thermoregulation among para-athletes and anti-doping, were discussed.

Aspetar provides medical services for IPC Worlds

“Qatar is a nation passionate about sports and believes in its power. the IPc athletes

inspired, surprised and amazed the spectators. they’re beyond

incredible and we wish them the best of luck.

Dr Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, Qatar Olympic committee

Secretary General.

Philip Craven


DARING TO REHM!because of his prosthesis.“they were never able to

prove that he has an advantage. I’m a doctor and I work with him. I’ve been working with disabled athletes since 1992 and I believe prosthesis doesn’t give him any advantage,” said Hoffman, who is in Doha with the German team.

“He’s mentally very strong and that’s his biggest plus. He’s also very humble and hard-working. He doesn’t think himself as a big athlete. He has no problem sitting with other coaches and listening to them to improve himself,” he said.

rehm was growing up as an adventurous and athletic kid in Goppingen, southern Germany,

when disaster struck in the form of a freak wakeboarding accident in which he lost his right leg below the knee.

though it knocked the 14-year-old down for a while, rehm made sure he did not stay that way for long.

“the first time it was really hard because, of course, you fall out of your life,” he said.

“I was always sporty. I did long jump before my accident. I came back to sports (after the injury). So one day an athlete came to me when I was jumping on a trampoline — I was training already for my body and everything — and told me ‘you looking quite good, have you ever tried athletics?’ and I said ‘when I was a kid’.

“I didn’t have a blade and he arranged one for me. I started to train hard. After four years, I moved to another city, Leverkusen,

and decided to pursue athletics seriously and train every day. Since then, I’m with tSV bayer 04 Leverkusen team, where I’ve been getting really amazing support,” he said.

rehm is in awe of his coach Steffi Nerius, a former world champion in javelin throw, whom he also considers one of his all-time favourite athletes.

“She didn’t know much about jumping with a prosthesis because she was a thrower. but the secret was that we started from the beginning. She really pushed me to my limits and she always has ideas for next year on how we’re going to improve. We’re a good team.

“People just see the success and not the training I do behind it. they think I jump so far because of the blades, ‘no, I jump far because I train hard’,” said rehm, who could not stress enough the importance of his family’s support.

“I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. they’re everything to me... Every christmas weekend me and my friends — eight to 10 guys — we go for snowboarding and that’s one thing I really enjoy,” he said.

but right now he is enjoying his time in the limelight and rightly so.

rehm’s majestic image from the Doha meet, his torso in full flight and head in perfect balance, with the floodlights in the background almost serving as an aura, beautifully captured not only his overall mood and ambition, but also that of the paralympic sport.

Whether rehm should be allowed to compete in the Olympics calls for a big debate, but if he does, it will be another victory for the human spirit and its amazing ability to bounce back from the depths of despair.

BEST LONG JUMPS OF 2015MARK NAME VENUE DATE8.52M Jeff Henderson (USA) toronto, canada July 22

8.50M Jeff Henderson (USA) california, USA April 18

8.44M Jeff Henderson (USA) Oregon, USA June 25

8.41M Zarck Visser (rSA) bad Langensalza, Germany July 4

8.41M Greg rutherford (Gbr) beijing, china August 25

8.41M Markus Rehm (GER) Doha October 23

PEOPLE JUST SEE THE SUCCESS AND NOT THE TRAINING I DO

BEHIND IT.

Aju George Chris

THE International Paralympic committee’s (IPc) Athletics World championships, currently under way at the Qatar Sports club, have

already been dubbed the biggest in history. IPc President Sir Philip craven, who attended the

opening ceremony in Doha, felt the event would also be a turning point for the sport’s growth in the region.

“this is the biggest-ever Paralympic athletics event to come to Asia. It has helped us gain a vital foothold in an emerging market. We’re keen to go to newer places around the world in order to grow our sport and keep it relevant,” said craven.

“the facilities in Doha are simply superb. I hope this event will also give the Qatar Paralympic committee a new lease of life. I’m confident more big events will head for the Qatari capital in the coming years,” he added.

the IPc Athletics Worlds, which first began in 1994, has come to Asia for the first time. Except for the ’11 edition in New Zealand, all others were held in Europe. the ’17 event is once again set to return to Europe — London.

but the former british wheelchair basketball player rejected the notion of the IPc being pro-European.

“We’re not a Euro-centred organisation, but a world sports body. Going to London in ’17 is in some ways tied up with the IAAF organising its World championships there that year. that precedent may or may not continue in the future,” he said.

“but if you look past sporting events, the IPc has organised its last five Executive committee meetings in Eastern Asia. We felt as welcome there as we did in Europe. We simply don’t have an affinity towards any continent in particular,” he said.

the official also spoke about Paralympic sports’ growing visibility around the world.

“While there’s still a lot of work left to do, we’re financially stable. the 21st century has proved to be far different from the end of the 20th. companies have started looking at us not as a platform for corporate social responsibility, but corporate social opportunity. It’s a great change,” he said.

“After the London Paralympics, our visibility has increased manifold. Our relationship with the International Olympic committee is very strong and it’s set to grow even stronger in the coming months,” he signed off.

Keen to reach newer places, says IPC chief

Qatar’s orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital Aspetar is the exclusive medical partner of the IPc Athletics World championships.

Aspetar is providing top-level medical services during the championships as part of the National Sport Medicine Programme. While ‘on ground sports medicine’ and ‘orthopaedic surgery’ divisions are taking care of athletes, ambulances and a comprehensive mobile clinic are also on hand.

Aspetar also organised a medical symposium — the health of the Paralympic athlete — in association with the IPc and International Sports Medicine Federation.

the symposium dealt with the medical needs of para-athletes as well as physically-active people with impairments. A number of topics, including the IPc’s vision of para-athlete health, their travel issues, challenges and solutions of thermoregulation among para-athletes and anti-doping, were discussed.

Aspetar provides medical services for IPC Worlds

“Qatar is a nation passionate about sports and believes in its power. the IPc athletes

inspired, surprised and amazed the spectators. they’re beyond

incredible and we wish them the best of luck.

Dr Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, Qatar Olympic committee

Secretary General.

Philip Craven


THE chances of beach handball making it to the Olympic Games have become

brighter in recent months.As a first step, the International

Handball Federation (IHF) had decided during the Men’s World championship in Doha last January to include it in place of the traditional indoor version at the next Youth Olympics in buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018. IHF President Hassan Moustafa had recently expressed hope that it would be a part of the ’24 Olympic Games.

“In July, we made a presentation in front of the International Olympic committee members in Lausanne to push beach handball’s inclusion in the Summer Games. We played some live games

and they were very impressed. Our

aim is to help it make the Olympic cut in

’24,” said Moustafa.“Having the two disciplines at

the Olympics will help strengthen

the IHF’s position in world sports. It’ll also have a positive effect on our game as a whole,” he said.

brazil coach Antonio H Guerra Peixe endorsed the view.

“If you ask me, it’s high time beach handball made it to the quadrennial Games. but such decisions aren’t ours to make. We’ll certainly miss the sport at rio de Janeiro next year. I’m happy the IHF has finally started trying to get it into the Olympic programme,” said Antonio, who has helped his national team win four world titles.

“In countries like brazil, beach handball has a bigger fan following than the indoor version. brazilians simply love beach sports,” he added.

Olympic chances bright

QATAR’S RESULTSLost to brazil 0-2

Lost to brazil 1-2

Lost to brazil 0-2

bt brazil 2-1

QAtAr played four friendlies against brazil at the Al Gharafa courts last week.

Qatar lost the first three matches (0-2, 1-2, 0-2), but won the fourth (2-1). Yet, coach Ali Hassan sounded pleased.

“the games against brazil were part of our preparations ahead of the 2016 IHF beach World championships in budapest, Hungary. Although the results didn’t go our way, I’m happy with my players’ overall performance. they held their own against quadruple world champions brazilians,” Ali told Doha Stadium Plus last week.

Qatar Handball Association board member Khalifa tayseer Al Jassim, who heads its beach Handball

committee, said they were keen to improve on their show in budapest.

“Nobody gave us a chance last time, but we emerged as the third best team in the world. Now, our aim is to do even better next year. We’ll do everything possible to ensure that our players are ready for the challenges ahead. I’m confident we can do well,” he said.

“We’ll do everything possible to ensurethat our players

are ready forthe challenges

ahead. I’m confident

they’ll do well.

Khalifa Tayseer Al Jassim, Qatar Handball Association board member and beach Handball committee head.

introduced the game’s beach version in ’95 and brazil was one of the first countries to form a team. We launched it as a recreational sport at schools and, slowly, children took to it. brazil’s abundance of beaches helped the sport grow fast. While it’s still far behind beach football and volleyball in popularity, we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of casual and serious players every year. Winning four world titles also seems to have helped.

ЂЂ Does the sport enjoy significant support from the Brazilian government?ЂЃ the government gives our

players bonus payments whenever they do well in major international competitions. they also get rewards from the sponsors.

ЂЂ Do you see scope for the sport’s growth around the world?ЂЃ Yes, I do think it has the potential

to attract more spectators. It’s an excellent product which’s

saleable and good for tV. It’s fast and highly

unpredictable, but not excessively violent.

Qatar to play in friendly event

Qatar will compete in a four-nation friendly handball tournament at home next week.

the event, which also features Saudi Arabia, bahrain and china, will begin at the Qatar Handball Association complex in Duhail on November 2. Matches will also be played on November 5 and 6.

It will be their last games ahead of the Asian Olympic Qualification tournament at the same venue, from November 14 to 27.

the team had been training in barcelona under experienced Spanish coach Valero Rivera, who recently extended his contract with the side until the 2020 tokyo Games.

Qatar coach happy with overall display

Antonio H Guerra Peixe

ЂşQatari players gained valuable experience from their four friendlies against brazil.

DSP

/Moh

an


BEACH HANDBALL

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

BRAZIL COACH ANTONIO H GUERRA PEIXE SPEAKS ABOUT THEIR DOMINATION OF THE SPORT, ITS POPULARITY IN THEIR COUNTRY AND THE WAY FORWARD, WRITES AJU GEORGE CHRIS.

successScripting

sandson

THINK of brazil and one of the first things that comes to mind is football. Much like

cricket in India, the sport tends to make every other discipline’s popularity pale in comparison.

Yet, the nation has produced champions in volleyball, tennis and motor sports. Over the last two decades, beach handball too has tried to eat into football’s huge fan base. Having won four of the six world titles in history, beach handball is making its presence felt.

brazil owe much of the success to their white-haired countryman Antonio H Guerra Peixe, who has been in charge of the team since 1998. He was recently in Doha as his wards played four friendlies against Qatar.

In an exclusive interview with Doha Stadium Plus, Antonio spoke about brazil’s domination of the sport, its popularity in their country and the way forward.

ЂЂ You won three of the four friendlies against Qatar. How do you rate Qatar’s performance as well as that of your team?ЂЃ Qatar are a great team,

motivated and ambitious. Last year, they won bronze at the World championship in brazil. before our arrival, they played a series of matches against European runners-up Spain. I wouldn’t be

too surprised if they improve their position at next year’s Worlds in budapest, Hungary.

I’m completely satisfied with my team’s performances. We missed some key players due to their club duties and we had less than a week to train together. We weren’t at our best, still we achieved positive results.

ЂЂ Brazil won four world titles and were runners-up once. What makes your team so successful, especially

since your indoor side isn’t that strong?ЂЃ We look at handball and

beach handball as totally different sports. We never select players from one discipline for a career in the other. We never shy away from introducing fresh blood.

We enjoy a huge advantage over our rivals as, unlike them, all our players compete only in beach handball. brazil has a very strong

national league, running from August to March. It helps my players be in good shape. they’re ever ready for major competitions.

ЂЂ How do you select your players?ЂЃ We select young players and

develop them. We don’t have any age-group competition in beach handball. Once we’ve identified a potential talent, we work on him and keep him if he’s good.

It’s better to have dedicated players who can work fulltime

with our coaches rather than have those who

keep swapping the two disciplines.

ЂЂ You’ve been with the national team for close to two decades. How much have things changed?ЂЃ When I took charge,

WE LOOK AT HANDBALL AND

BEACH HANDBALL AS TOTALLY

DIFFERENT SPORTS.

BRA

ZIL’S

M

AJO

R

MED

ALS

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WORLD GAMES Gold Gold

2006, ’10, ’12, ’14 2009, ’13 Silver bronze

2008 2001

brazil weren’t in the global beach handball map. Several European sides were far ahead of us. At the beginning, we selected players from the indoor game. Gradually, we switched to more specialised players.

the International Handball Federation


THE chances of beach handball making it to the Olympic Games have become

brighter in recent months.As a first step, the International

Handball Federation (IHF) had decided during the Men’s World championship in Doha last January to include it in place of the traditional indoor version at the next Youth Olympics in buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018. IHF President Hassan Moustafa had recently expressed hope that it would be a part of the ’24 Olympic Games.

“In July, we made a presentation in front of the International Olympic committee members in Lausanne to push beach handball’s inclusion in the Summer Games. We played some live games

and they were very impressed. Our

aim is to help it make the Olympic cut in

’24,” said Moustafa.“Having the two disciplines at

the Olympics will help strengthen

the IHF’s position in world sports. It’ll also have a positive effect on our game as a whole,” he said.

brazil coach Antonio H Guerra Peixe endorsed the view.

“If you ask me, it’s high time beach handball made it to the quadrennial Games. but such decisions aren’t ours to make. We’ll certainly miss the sport at rio de Janeiro next year. I’m happy the IHF has finally started trying to get it into the Olympic programme,” said Antonio, who has helped his national team win four world titles.

“In countries like brazil, beach handball has a bigger fan following than the indoor version. brazilians simply love beach sports,” he added.

Olympic chances bright

QATAR’S RESULTSLost to brazil 0-2

Lost to brazil 1-2

Lost to brazil 0-2

bt brazil 2-1

QAtAr played four friendlies against brazil at the Al Gharafa courts last week.

Qatar lost the first three matches (0-2, 1-2, 0-2), but won the fourth (2-1). Yet, coach Ali Hassan sounded pleased.

“the games against brazil were part of our preparations ahead of the 2016 IHF beach World championships in budapest, Hungary. Although the results didn’t go our way, I’m happy with my players’ overall performance. they held their own against quadruple world champions brazilians,” Ali told Doha Stadium Plus last week.

Qatar Handball Association board member Khalifa tayseer Al Jassim, who heads its beach Handball

committee, said they were keen to improve on their show in budapest.

“Nobody gave us a chance last time, but we emerged as the third best team in the world. Now, our aim is to do even better next year. We’ll do everything possible to ensure that our players are ready for the challenges ahead. I’m confident we can do well,” he said.

“We’ll do everything possible to ensurethat our players

are ready forthe challenges

ahead. I’m confident

they’ll do well.

Khalifa Tayseer Al Jassim, Qatar Handball Association board member and beach Handball committee head.

introduced the game’s beach version in ’95 and brazil was one of the first countries to form a team. We launched it as a recreational sport at schools and, slowly, children took to it. brazil’s abundance of beaches helped the sport grow fast. While it’s still far behind beach football and volleyball in popularity, we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of casual and serious players every year. Winning four world titles also seems to have helped.

ЂЂ Does the sport enjoy significant support from the Brazilian government?ЂЃ the government gives our

players bonus payments whenever they do well in major international competitions. they also get rewards from the sponsors.

ЂЂ Do you see scope for the sport’s growth around the world?ЂЃ Yes, I do think it has the potential

to attract more spectators. It’s an excellent product which’s

saleable and good for tV. It’s fast and highly

unpredictable, but not excessively violent.

Qatar to play in friendly event

Qatar will compete in a four-nation friendly handball tournament at home next week.

the event, which also features Saudi Arabia, bahrain and china, will begin at the Qatar Handball Association complex in Duhail on November 2. Matches will also be played on November 5 and 6.

It will be their last games ahead of the Asian Olympic Qualification tournament at the same venue, from November 14 to 27.

the team had been training in barcelona under experienced Spanish coach Valero Rivera, who recently extended his contract with the side until the 2020 tokyo Games.

Qatar coach happy with overall display

Antonio H Guerra Peixe

ЂşQatari players gained valuable experience from their four friendlies against brazil.

DSP

/Moh

an

HAMILTONLEWIS



SQUASH

DEFENDING CHAMPION AND WORLD NO.1 MOHAMED EL SHORBAGY OF EGYPT LOOKS THE PLAYER TO BEAT AT THE QATAR CLASSIC, WRITES SAJITH B WARRIER.

THOUGH squash is still trying to overcome the bitter disappointment of

losing its bid to make it to the 2020 Olympics, players on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour still have a busy schedule, thanks to a jam-packed calendar with some of the biggest titles still up for grabs.

the Qatar classic, which starts at the Khalifa International complex

courts on Friday and ends on November 6, features

some of the marquee

names in the sport.the PSA World tour event in

Doha promises exciting action as defending champion and world No.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy of Egypt leads the star cast.

two years ago, El Shorbagy, then ranked sixth in the world, had defeated England’s Nick Matthew in a gripping five-game final in Doha. Much has changed since then. the Egyptian has become the world No.1 while No.2 Matthew continues his quest for the top ranking.

Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, the ’11 champion, and colombia’s Miguel Angel rodriguez are other big names in the main draw of 24.

Egypt’s rising star Omar Mosaad, who lost to Gaultier in the recent US Open final, will also be keen to

impress in Doha, where players from the North African country

have always felt at home.the players in the main draw

will be joined by eight qualifiers. With the PSA World

championship starting at bellevue, Washington, on November 15, most of the players are considering the Qatar classic as their final tune-up event.

Despite his recent defeat to

Gaultier, El Shorbagy, nicknamed the beast, looks the man to beat in Doha. the 24-year-old has already notched up 15 PSA titles in his short career so far and with his nemesis and compatriot ramy

Ashour giving the tournament a miss due to an injury, the Egyptian looks the firm favourite for the title.

“Gaultier was too good for me in the US Open semifinal. It’s time to go back and regroup in Qatar,” El Shorbagy tweeted after his exit from the premier tournament in Philadelphia recently.

Matthew, who was recently conferred with the Order of the british Empire for his yeoman’s service to the game, will also be keen to atone for his failure at the ’13 edition. the former world No.1 has clinched 33 PSA World tour titles over a 17-year career in addition to capturing three World championship crowns.

this year, he has already won the Swedish Open, Windy city Open (chicago) and canary Wharf classic (London). Matthew, 35, became the oldest winner of a PSA World Series event after his triumph at the Windy city Open. A final between the seasoned campaigner and the current world No.1 would be the perfect finale for the fans in Doha.

THE PLAYERS IN THE MAIN DRAW WILL

BE JOINED BY EIGHT QUALIFIERS.

ROLL OF HONOUR Last 10 champions

2013 Mohamed El

Shorbagy (EGY)

2011 Gregory Gaultier

(FrA)

2010 Karim Darwish

(EGY)

2009 Nick Matthew (ENG)

2008 Karim Darwish

(EGY)

2007 Amr Shabana (EGY)

2006 ramy Ashour

(EGY)

2005 James Willstrop

(ENG)

2011 Nicol David

(MAS)

2010 Nicol David

(MAS)

2009 Jenny Dulcalf

(ENG)

2008 Nicol David

(MAS)

2007 Nicol David

(MAS)

2006 Nicol David

(MAS)

2005 Vanesa Atkinson

(NED)

MEN

WOMEN

TOP SEEDSMEN WOMEN

1. Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) 1. raneem El Welily (EGY)2. Nick Matthew (ENG) 2. Nicol David (MAS)3. Gregory Gaultier (FrA) 3. camille Serme (FrA)4. Miguel rodriguz (cOL) 4. Laura Massaro (ENG)5. Omar Mosaad (EGY) 5. Omneya Abdelkawy (EGY)6. Simon rosner (GEr) 6. Nour El Sherbini (EGY)7. Peter barker (ENG) 7. Annie Au (HKG)8. Mathieu castagnet (FrA) 8. Nouran Gohar (EGY)

BeautyBeast!and the

DSP

/Vin

od D

ivak

aran

Mohamed El Shorbagy

Nick Matthew


MAIN DRAWMEN

Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) vs Abdullah Al tamimi (QAt)James Willstrop (ENG) vs

QualifierMax Lee (HKG) vs

QualifierStephen coppinger (rSA) vs

Simon rosner (GEr)Mathieu castagnet (FrA) vs

QualifierMarwan El Shorbagy (EGY) vs

chris Simpson (ENG)Adrian Waller (ENG) vs

tarek Momen (EGY)cameron Pilley (AUS) vs

Miguel Angel rodriguez (cOL)Gregory Gaultier (FrA) vs

QualifierMazen Hesham (EGY) vs

QualifierDaryl Selby (ENG) vs

QualifierQualifier vs

Peter barker (ENG)Omar Mosaad (EGY) vs

Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)tom richards (ENG) vs

QualifierFares Dessouki (EGY) vs

Saurav Ghosal (IND)borja Golan (ESP) vs Nick Matthew (ENG)

WOMENraneem El Welily (EGY) vs

Joshna chinappa (IND)Yathreb Adel (EGY) vs Dipika Pallikal (IND)

Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) vs Habiba Mohamed (EGY)

Line Hansen (DEN) vs Omneya Abdelkawy (EGY)Emma beddoes (ENG) vs

QualifierEmily Whitlock (ENG) vs

QualiferSalma Hany Ibrahim (EGY) vs

QualifierLaura Massaro (ENG) vs

Qualifiercamille Serme (FrA) vs

QualifierAmanda Sobhy (USA) vs

Qualifierrachael Grinham (AUS) vs

Heba El torky (EGY)Nour El Sherbini (EGY) vs

QualifierAnnie Au (HKG) vs Victoria Lust (ENG)

Jenny Duncalf (ENG) vs Qualifier

Nouran Gohar (EGY) vs tesni Evans (WAL)

Nicolette Fernandes vs Nicol David (MAS)

POINTS BREAK-UPWinner 2,625runner-up 1,7253 & 4 1,0505 to 8 6409 to 16 37517 to 32 190Successful qualifiers 75


2006 ramy Ashour

(EGY)


(ENG)

2003 Lee beachill

(ENG)

2002 Peter Nicol

(ENG)

tournament was not held in 2012 and ’04 due to the World championship.


(NED)


(NED)

2003 Natalie Grainger

(USA)

2001 Sarah Fitz-Gerald

(AUS)

Not held in 2002 due to World championship.

REIGNING world champion and Doha’s sentimental favourite ramy Ashour pulled

out of the Qatar classic due to a hamstring injury.

Ashour, a big favourite for the huge Egyptian expatriate population in Doha, had pulled out midway through his second-round tie against France’s Mathieu castagnet at the recent Delaware Investments US Open.

Doha has been a happy hunting ground for the 28-year-old, who won two of his three world titles (2012 and ’14) at the Khalifa International Squash complex. He had also claimed the Qatar classic title way back in ’06 while his

third global crown came in ’08 at Manchester.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be playing in the Qatar classic as my hamstring injury hasn’t healed yet. Good luck to all players participating there,”

said Ashour, currently ranked fourth in the world.

In both World championship finals in Doha, Ashour had beaten compatriot and current world

No.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy. Fans in the city had really enjoyed the intense rivalry between the top two Egyptians and are certainly going to miss Ashour this time.

“It’s a huge loss for the fans as Ashour is one of the most popular players in Doha. He’s also the reigning world champion and has won this event earlier too. We pray for his speedy recovery from the injury,” said Qatar Squash Federation technical Secretary Gamal rasmi.

In Ashour’s absence, England’s Adrian Waller comes into the main draw to face a qualifier in the first round while castagnet moves one place up to be seeded eighth.

Ashour’s absence a huge loss

AS tHE women’s game returns to Doha for the first time since 2011, there has been a

major shake-up at the top.In September, Raneem El Welily

had snapped Malaysian Nicol David’s nine-year uninterrupted run at the top to become the first player from Egypt to occupy the No.1 spot.

El Welily is just the 13th player to be No.1 and having halted David’s

109-month reign, which began in August, ’06, the

Egyptian will be the player to watch out for in the women’s field.

the 26-year-old celebrated her top ranking by winning the

Professional Squash Association (PSA)

china Open last month, where she beat compatriot Nouran Gohar

in the final.

“I’m very glad with the way I’ve started the season. I know that the challenge now is proving whether I’m worthy of staying as No.1 or not. If I want to do that, then it all rests on how I perform this season,” said

El Welily.With David, who has won

a record eight world titles, intent on winning back the top spot, the battle between the Malaysian

queen and Egyptian rising star would be interesting.

Former junior world No.1 Nour El Sherbini will be another player to watch out for. the Egyptian is no stranger to Doha, having won the world junior title in the Qatari capital in ’12.

World No.5 Alison Waters of England and No.8 Nour El tayeb of Egypt have both withdrawn from the tournament due to injuries.

US Open runner-up El tayeb pulled out after failing to recover from a shoulder strain while Waters is down with a lower back injury.

In their place, tesni Evans of Wales and Yathreb Adel of Egypt have moved into the main draw and will face Egypt’s Nouran Gohar and India’s Dipika Pallikal respectively.

Leading names are set to battle for bragging rights

UNFORTUNATELY, I WON’T BE PLAYING IN THE QATAR

CLASSIC. GOOD LUCK TO ALL PLAYERS.

Qatar’s challenge at the Qatar classic will once again be led by world No.67 Abdullah Al Tamimi. the 20-year-old wild card faces a tough task against Egypt’s world No.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy in the opening round.

Al tamimi, who turned professional in 2011, reached a career-high ranking of 67th in April and has been in good form in recent times.

He reached his first PSA World tour final at the recent $10,000 AnyPresence Open in Virginia, US, where he lost to Pakistan’s Farhan Zaman.

three other Qatari players — Syed Azlan Amjad, Abdulrahman Al Malki and Ahmed Al tamimi — will have to seek entry through qualifiers. Syed, ranked a lowly 461st in the world, had reached the third round of the World Junior championships in the Netherlands in July.

Al Tamimi to lead Qatar’s challenge

We’re very pleased to once again welcome the world’s best

players to Doha for what promises to be a fantastic tournament. We also welcome the

best female players back to Doha for the first time

since 2011.Nabeel Ali bin Ali,

Qatar Squash Federation President.

Ramy Ashour

Nicol David


MAIN DRAWMEN

Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) vs Abdullah Al tamimi (QAt)James Willstrop (ENG) vs

QualifierMax Lee (HKG) vs

QualifierStephen coppinger (rSA) vs

Simon rosner (GEr)Mathieu castagnet (FrA) vs

QualifierMarwan El Shorbagy (EGY) vs

chris Simpson (ENG)Adrian Waller (ENG) vs

tarek Momen (EGY)cameron Pilley (AUS) vs

Miguel Angel rodriguez (cOL)Gregory Gaultier (FrA) vs

QualifierMazen Hesham (EGY) vs

QualifierDaryl Selby (ENG) vs

QualifierQualifier vs

Peter barker (ENG)Omar Mosaad (EGY) vs

Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)tom richards (ENG) vs

QualifierFares Dessouki (EGY) vs

Saurav Ghosal (IND)borja Golan (ESP) vs Nick Matthew (ENG)

WOMENraneem El Welily (EGY) vs

Joshna chinappa (IND)Yathreb Adel (EGY) vs Dipika Pallikal (IND)

Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) vs Habiba Mohamed (EGY)

Line Hansen (DEN) vs Omneya Abdelkawy (EGY)Emma beddoes (ENG) vs

QualifierEmily Whitlock (ENG) vs

QualiferSalma Hany Ibrahim (EGY) vs

QualifierLaura Massaro (ENG) vs

Qualifiercamille Serme (FrA) vs

QualifierAmanda Sobhy (USA) vs

Qualifierrachael Grinham (AUS) vs

Heba El torky (EGY)Nour El Sherbini (EGY) vs

QualifierAnnie Au (HKG) vs Victoria Lust (ENG)

Jenny Duncalf (ENG) vs Qualifier

Nouran Gohar (EGY) vs tesni Evans (WAL)

Nicolette Fernandes vs Nicol David (MAS)

POINTS BREAK-UPWinner 2,625runner-up 1,7253 & 4 1,0505 to 8 6409 to 16 37517 to 32 190Successful qualifiers 75


2006 ramy Ashour

(EGY)


(ENG)

2003 Lee beachill

(ENG)

2002 Peter Nicol

(ENG)

tournament was not held in 2012 and ’04 due to the World championship.


(NED)


(NED)

2003 Natalie Grainger

(USA)

2001 Sarah Fitz-Gerald

(AUS)

Not held in 2002 due to World championship.

REIGNING world champion and Doha’s sentimental favourite ramy Ashour pulled

out of the Qatar classic due to a hamstring injury.

Ashour, a big favourite for the huge Egyptian expatriate population in Doha, had pulled out midway through his second-round tie against France’s Mathieu castagnet at the recent Delaware Investments US Open.

Doha has been a happy hunting ground for the 28-year-old, who won two of his three world titles (2012 and ’14) at the Khalifa International Squash complex. He had also claimed the Qatar classic title way back in ’06 while his

third global crown came in ’08 at Manchester.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be playing in the Qatar classic as my hamstring injury hasn’t healed yet. Good luck to all players participating there,”

said Ashour, currently ranked fourth in the world.

In both World championship finals in Doha, Ashour had beaten compatriot and current world

No.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy. Fans in the city had really enjoyed the intense rivalry between the top two Egyptians and are certainly going to miss Ashour this time.

“It’s a huge loss for the fans as Ashour is one of the most popular players in Doha. He’s also the reigning world champion and has won this event earlier too. We pray for his speedy recovery from the injury,” said Qatar Squash Federation technical Secretary Gamal rasmi.

In Ashour’s absence, England’s Adrian Waller comes into the main draw to face a qualifier in the first round while castagnet moves one place up to be seeded eighth.

Ashour’s absence a huge loss

AS tHE women’s game returns to Doha for the first time since 2011, there has been a

major shake-up at the top.In September, Raneem El Welily

had snapped Malaysian Nicol David’s nine-year uninterrupted run at the top to become the first player from Egypt to occupy the No.1 spot.

El Welily is just the 13th player to be No.1 and having halted David’s

109-month reign, which began in August, ’06, the

Egyptian will be the player to watch out for in the women’s field.

the 26-year-old celebrated her top ranking by winning the

Professional Squash Association (PSA)

china Open last month, where she beat compatriot Nouran Gohar

in the final.

“I’m very glad with the way I’ve started the season. I know that the challenge now is proving whether I’m worthy of staying as No.1 or not. If I want to do that, then it all rests on how I perform this season,” said

El Welily.With David, who has won

a record eight world titles, intent on winning back the top spot, the battle between the Malaysian

queen and Egyptian rising star would be interesting.

Former junior world No.1 Nour El Sherbini will be another player to watch out for. the Egyptian is no stranger to Doha, having won the world junior title in the Qatari capital in ’12.

World No.5 Alison Waters of England and No.8 Nour El tayeb of Egypt have both withdrawn from the tournament due to injuries.

US Open runner-up El tayeb pulled out after failing to recover from a shoulder strain while Waters is down with a lower back injury.

In their place, tesni Evans of Wales and Yathreb Adel of Egypt have moved into the main draw and will face Egypt’s Nouran Gohar and India’s Dipika Pallikal respectively.

Leading names are set to battle for bragging rights

UNFORTUNATELY, I WON’T BE PLAYING IN THE QATAR

CLASSIC. GOOD LUCK TO ALL PLAYERS.

Qatar’s challenge at the Qatar classic will once again be led by world No.67 Abdullah Al Tamimi. the 20-year-old wild card faces a tough task against Egypt’s world No.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy in the opening round.

Al tamimi, who turned professional in 2011, reached a career-high ranking of 67th in April and has been in good form in recent times.

He reached his first PSA World tour final at the recent $10,000 AnyPresence Open in Virginia, US, where he lost to Pakistan’s Farhan Zaman.

three other Qatari players — Syed Azlan Amjad, Abdulrahman Al Malki and Ahmed Al tamimi — will have to seek entry through qualifiers. Syed, ranked a lowly 461st in the world, had reached the third round of the World Junior championships in the Netherlands in July.

Al Tamimi to lead Qatar’s challenge

We’re very pleased to once again welcome the world’s best

players to Doha for what promises to be a fantastic tournament. We also welcome the

best female players back to Doha for the first time

since 2011.Nabeel Ali bin Ali,

Qatar Squash Federation President.

Ramy Ashour

Nicol David


Loeb is out to set Losail track ablaze

Mikkelsen supreme in Spain

QAtAr Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) racing team have signed belgium’s

Xavier Simeon for two seasons starting from next year. Simeon will join QMMF’s other rider — Julian Simon of Spain — as they hope to build a strong team for the future.

Simeon, a former FIM and European Superstock champion, will replace Mika Kallio who will

call time on his career after the season-ending race in Valencia on November 8. the Finn will join KtM as a development rider for their new project.

Simeon, who started competing in Moto2 in 2010 when the category was introduced, is currently riding for Gresini team.

His only Moto2 triumph was at the German Grand Prix in July, which was the first by a belgian since 1983.

“Joining the QMMF racing team is a new challenge. I want to thank the QMMF for this fantastic opportunity. Signing a two-year-contract was a crucial part as it’ll allow us to forge a partnership with strong foundations and build our collaboration step by step,” said Simeon.

the 26-year-old has ridden

four different bikes in the past six seasons. With his broad Moto2 experience, he is expected to be a good addition to the QMMF team and their constructor Speed Up in their ongoing development project.

“the Speed Up bike has shown its potential on numerous occasions and with the backing of the QMMF, we’ve a very strong team. I’ve known many of the team members for quite some time and I really look forward to be a part of this project,” added the brussels native.

Simeon to join QMMF team

SIMEON STARTED OFF IN MOTO2 IN 2010 WHEN

THE CATEGORY WAS INTRODUCED.

THE Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), in line with its

avowed policy of promoting women in the sport, organised a training camp for female riders at the Losail International circuit.

the three-day camp, held under the auspices of the QMMF, FIM Women in Motorcycling commission and bMW Motorrad, was the first of its kind organised outside Europe. It attracted 21 riders from 10 countries.

the training module included track sessions, theory classes as well as mental build-up, which has become an integral part of preparations for a race these days.

Former MotoGP riders Simon crafar and Jurgen Fuchs, and Qatar Superbike riders Alexander cudlin and Shelina Moreda were among the key trainers, who gave lectures

on handling a bike and other race-related matters.

“this was truly an amazing opportunity for the riders to be at this very special circuit, the only one

which hosts a MotoGP race at night. It was a great experience for the girls to ride under the amazing Losail lights. I want to thank the QMMF and its president Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah for all the support they extended for having our first camp outside Europe,” said FIM Women in Motorcycling commission Director Nita Korhonen.

Developing women riders!

THE TRAINING INCLUDED TRACK SESSIONS, THEORY

CLASSES AS WELL AS MENTAL BUILD-UP.

FOrMEr world rally champion Sebastien Loeb will be the star attraction in the final round of the FIA World touring car

championship (Wtcc) at Losail on November 26 and 27.

the French legend, who won a record nine world titles in a row, had switched to the Wtcc last year. Loeb, with three victories to his name so far, has 282 points and is currently third in the standings.

With two more rounds to go, Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez leads with 396 points while France’s Yvam Muller has 321.

Loeb will be up against 18 other competitors including Qatari ace Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, who has been given a wild card for the final round, to be held under lights for the first time in the event’s history.

Nasser will drive a chevrolet rML cruze tc1 for campos racing. John Filippi and Hugo Valente are the other drivers of the campos racing team.

Originally set for November 21 and 22, the race was rescheduled following the request from the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) to conclude it on a Friday, which is a public holiday in the country.

“We’re delighted to host the Wtcc for the first time in Qatar and provide the drivers with a special night event. to have Loeb competing in Qatar is good news. It’s great that one of our most famous sport stars (Nasser) will also

participate and represent his country in a different motorsport discipline,” said QMMF President Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah.

Wtcc promoter Eurosport Events has

a three-year deal with the QMMF to host a round

of championship in Qatar.

Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen scored his maiden World rally championship victory in Spain after champion Sebastien Ogier crashed in the final speed test. Mikkelsen finished 3.1sec ahead of his Volkswagen Polo r team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala as Ogier smashed into a roadside barrier just a few of kilometres from the finish. Spaniard Dani Sordo finished third in a Hyundai i20.

şşXavier Simeon, centre, with the QMMF mechanics.

şšNasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah speaks to Nita Korhonen.

Abdullah Al Kuwari won the third round of Misfer Qatar rally organised in memory of the late Middle East champion.

Driving a Mitsubishi Evo 10, Abdullah and co-driver Adel Hussein completed the one-day rally in 1:20:15. Kuwait’s Salah bin Eidan and his Slovenian co-driver Vili Oslaj finished 1.37sec behind.

Qatar’s Edith Weiss and her Lebanese co-driver Anitha Weib brought up the last spot on the podium, finishing a further 1.39 behind.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Jaralla Jahman, in a Nissan Patrol, won the sixth round of the National baja rally. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Al twijry, in a toyota Land cruiser, finished second and compatriot Omer Allahem, also driving a Land cruiser, came third.

Abdullah emerges champion

SebastienLoeb


MOTORSPORT

fource!THrEE titles in as many weeks,

four for the season, and just what Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah

had aimed for.At the rally of Spain last week,

Nasser finished only third, but it was enough to defend his World rally championship’s support category (Wrc2) title after his main challenger Esapekka Lappi of Finland crashed on the penultimate stage.

the Qatari, who had won his second Dakar and FIA World cup for cross-country rallies crown earlier this season and annexed a remarkable 11th Middle East rally championship (MErc) title recently, was not his usual self and rode his luck in a Skoda Fabia r5s.

Sweden’s Pontus tidemand led a Skoda Fabia r5s 1-2-3 with the czech republic’s Jan Kopecky finishing second.

the other Qatari driver, Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, finished eighth.

Nasser has a 24-point lead over Lappi, but with both drivers having completed their maximum seven rallies this season, next month’s final round in Wales will only be of academic interest.

Nasser started the last day in fourth and immediately gained a

spot when third-placed Eric camilli retired.

but 44-year-old Nasser was chased closely by Armin Kremer. the German was only 0.1sec behind before the Power Stage, but he never got a chance to fight the championship leader as the rally ended prematurely due to an accident to champion Sebastien Ogier in the main category.

the stage was cancelled allowing Nasser to take the crucial third place behind tidemand and Kopecky.

“As a mixed rally held on asphalt and gravel, the rally of Spain was extremely challenging for drivers and cars alike. I did all I could,” said Nasser.

It was one of the toughest rallies for Nasser in recent times. On the opening day, he lost time with a rear puncture in the penultimate stage and fell 64.4sec behind Lappi. However, his crash on the second

day turned things in Nasser’s favour. In the process, Nasser also became

the first multiple champion of the Wrc2 series, which was launched in 2013 through the merger of the SWrc and PWrc.

Poland’s robert Kubica and Abdulaziz had finished winner and runner-up respectively in the inaugural edition.

Nasser will not compete in the

MErc’s penultimate leg in Oman on November 5. He will also skip the final round in Dubai and plans to equal Mohammed bin Sulayem’s record 60 MErc wins in the ’16 season-opener at home.

For the time being, he will turn his attention to his other favourite sport — shooting. Some folks just cannot stay idle and Nasser truly belongs to that group!

RESULTSWORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOr) Volkswagen 3:21.042. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Volkswagen at 3.1sec3. Dani Sordo-Marc Marti (ESP) Hyundai i20 21.2

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 21. Pontus tidemand (SWE) Skoda Fabia 3:30:012. Jan Kopecky (cZE) Skoda Fabia at 10.73. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAt) Skoda Fabia 4:05.3

NASSER SALEH AL ATTIYAH WINS THE WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP’S SUPPORT CATEGORY FOR HIS FOURTH TITLE IN AS MANY EVENTS THIS SEASON, WRITES SAJITH B WARRIER.

IT WAS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST

RALLIES FOR NASSER IN RECENT TIMES.

Tour de

STANDINGSWORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Sebastien Ogier (FrA) 2382. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) 1803. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOr) 154

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 21. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAt) 1222. Esapekka Lappi (FIN) 883. Yuriy Protasov (UKr) 80

şşNasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah presents a bouquet to Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah during a felicitation function at QMMF office.

şşNasser Saleh Al Attiyah drives at the rally of Spain.

DSP

/Moh

an

Phot

o/M

aria

n Ch

ytka


Loeb is out to set Losail track ablaze

Mikkelsen supreme in Spain

QAtAr Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) racing team have signed belgium’s

Xavier Simeon for two seasons starting from next year. Simeon will join QMMF’s other rider — Julian Simon of Spain — as they hope to build a strong team for the future.

Simeon, a former FIM and European Superstock champion, will replace Mika Kallio who will

call time on his career after the season-ending race in Valencia on November 8. the Finn will join KtM as a development rider for their new project.

Simeon, who started competing in Moto2 in 2010 when the category was introduced, is currently riding for Gresini team.

His only Moto2 triumph was at the German Grand Prix in July, which was the first by a belgian since 1983.

“Joining the QMMF racing team is a new challenge. I want to thank the QMMF for this fantastic opportunity. Signing a two-year-contract was a crucial part as it’ll allow us to forge a partnership with strong foundations and build our collaboration step by step,” said Simeon.

the 26-year-old has ridden

four different bikes in the past six seasons. With his broad Moto2 experience, he is expected to be a good addition to the QMMF team and their constructor Speed Up in their ongoing development project.

“the Speed Up bike has shown its potential on numerous occasions and with the backing of the QMMF, we’ve a very strong team. I’ve known many of the team members for quite some time and I really look forward to be a part of this project,” added the brussels native.

Simeon to join QMMF team

SIMEON STARTED OFF IN MOTO2 IN 2010 WHEN

THE CATEGORY WAS INTRODUCED.

THE Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), in line with its

avowed policy of promoting women in the sport, organised a training camp for female riders at the Losail International circuit.

the three-day camp, held under the auspices of the QMMF, FIM Women in Motorcycling commission and bMW Motorrad, was the first of its kind organised outside Europe. It attracted 21 riders from 10 countries.

the training module included track sessions, theory classes as well as mental build-up, which has become an integral part of preparations for a race these days.

Former MotoGP riders Simon crafar and Jurgen Fuchs, and Qatar Superbike riders Alexander cudlin and Shelina Moreda were among the key trainers, who gave lectures

on handling a bike and other race-related matters.

“this was truly an amazing opportunity for the riders to be at this very special circuit, the only one

which hosts a MotoGP race at night. It was a great experience for the girls to ride under the amazing Losail lights. I want to thank the QMMF and its president Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah for all the support they extended for having our first camp outside Europe,” said FIM Women in Motorcycling commission Director Nita Korhonen.

Developing women riders!

THE TRAINING INCLUDED TRACK SESSIONS, THEORY

CLASSES AS WELL AS MENTAL BUILD-UP.

FOrMEr world rally champion Sebastien Loeb will be the star attraction in the final round of the FIA World touring car

championship (Wtcc) at Losail on November 26 and 27.

the French legend, who won a record nine world titles in a row, had switched to the Wtcc last year. Loeb, with three victories to his name so far, has 282 points and is currently third in the standings.

With two more rounds to go, Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez leads with 396 points while France’s Yvam Muller has 321.

Loeb will be up against 18 other competitors including Qatari ace Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, who has been given a wild card for the final round, to be held under lights for the first time in the event’s history.

Nasser will drive a chevrolet rML cruze tc1 for campos racing. John Filippi and Hugo Valente are the other drivers of the campos racing team.

Originally set for November 21 and 22, the race was rescheduled following the request from the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) to conclude it on a Friday, which is a public holiday in the country.

“We’re delighted to host the Wtcc for the first time in Qatar and provide the drivers with a special night event. to have Loeb competing in Qatar is good news. It’s great that one of our most famous sport stars (Nasser) will also

participate and represent his country in a different motorsport discipline,” said QMMF President Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah.

Wtcc promoter Eurosport Events has

a three-year deal with the QMMF to host a round

of championship in Qatar.

Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen scored his maiden World rally championship victory in Spain after champion Sebastien Ogier crashed in the final speed test. Mikkelsen finished 3.1sec ahead of his Volkswagen Polo r team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala as Ogier smashed into a roadside barrier just a few of kilometres from the finish. Spaniard Dani Sordo finished third in a Hyundai i20.

şşXavier Simeon, centre, with the QMMF mechanics.

şšNasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah speaks to Nita Korhonen.

Abdullah Al Kuwari won the third round of Misfer Qatar rally organised in memory of the late Middle East champion.

Driving a Mitsubishi Evo 10, Abdullah and co-driver Adel Hussein completed the one-day rally in 1:20:15. Kuwait’s Salah bin Eidan and his Slovenian co-driver Vili Oslaj finished 1.37sec behind.

Qatar’s Edith Weiss and her Lebanese co-driver Anitha Weib brought up the last spot on the podium, finishing a further 1.39 behind.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Jaralla Jahman, in a Nissan Patrol, won the sixth round of the National baja rally. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Al twijry, in a toyota Land cruiser, finished second and compatriot Omer Allahem, also driving a Land cruiser, came third.

Abdullah emerges champion

SebastienLoeb

Returned to winning

ways for his fourth

victory in Canada. He

started on pole for the

sixth time in seven races.

Started on pole and led

for three laps, equalling

Jackie Stewart’s 45-year-

old record of leading 17

successive races. Finished

second behind Rosberg

for his 15th successive

podium.

Again started on pole,

set the faste

st lap and

broke Stewart’s record

by leading his 18th

successiv

e race. Won

comfortably.

Starting on pole,

but

made a poor start a

nd

dropped out of th

e points

before recoverin

g to

finish six

th.

Won

from pole

for h

is

sixth

victo

ry of

the

seas

on an

d 39th

of his

caree

r. The r

ace a

lso

brough

t his

80th

podium

.

Regis

tere

d hi

s

seve

nth

win

of t

he

seas

on.

First

retir

emen

t of t

he

seas

on.

Eigh

th w

in o

f the

sea

son

and

41st

of h

is ca

reer

,

equa

lling

Ayr

ton

Senn

a’s

tally

.

Won

for t

he n

inth

tim

e in

the

year

, and

sec

ond

in a

row

in R

ussi

a.

Took

the

title

afte

r w

inni

ng th

e ra

ce d

espi

te

Rosb

erg

star

ting

on

pole

afte

r rai

n-af

fect

ed

qual

ifyin

g.

AUSTRALIA MALAYSIA CHINA BAHRAIN SPAIN MONACO CANADA AUSTRIA

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www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OCTObER 28, 2015 27

MOTOGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the season

finale in Valencia from the back of the grid after the Italian was penalised for clashing with Marc Marquez at the Malaysian Grand Prix last Sunday.

Dani Pedrosa claimed a dominant victory at Sepang and was followed home by Rossi’s Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who has closed the gap on his championship rival to seven points ahead of the decider in Spain on November 8.

Rossi finished third, but had an anxious wait to see if he would keep the points after making enough contact with Marquez to send the Spaniard spinning into the gravel on the eighth lap.

After an inquiry, Race Direction opted against docking the seven-time premier class champion any

points but imposed a ‘three point penalty’ that will see him start at the back of the field in Valencia.

The Yamaha team have appealed the decision.

Prior to the race, Rossi had claimed former champion Marquez wanted fellow Spaniard Lorenzo to win the championship instead of him and the simmering relationship between the pair boiled over at the Sepang International Circuit.

The duo darted into corners trying to get the upper hand, swapping places and touching wheels a number of times until Rossi slowed at Turn 14, forced Marquez wide and then flicked out a knee, which resulted in his rival’s Honda sliding into the gravel.

by avoiding disqualification, Rossi remains on 312 points, seven ahead of Lorenzo with 25 available for victory in Valencia.

w

MOST FORMULA ONE TITLES

7 5 4 3

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

(GER) JUAN MANUEL

FANGIO (ARG)

SEBASTIAN VETTEL (GER)

ALAIN PROST (FRA)

LEWIS HAMILTON (GbR)

JACKIE STEWART (GbR)

AYRTON SENNA (bRA)

NELSON PIQUET (bRA)

NIKI LAUDA (AUT)

JACK BRABHAM (AUS)

ROLL OF HONOURLast 10 champions

2015Lewis Hamilton (GbR)

Mercedes

2014Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

2013Sebastian Vettel (GER)

Red bull

2012Sebastian Vettel

Red bull


Red bull


Red bull

2009Jenson button (GbR)

brawn

2008Lewis Hamilton

McLaren

2007Kimi Raikkonen (FIN)

Ferrari

2006Fernando Alonso (ESP)

Renault

This is the greatest moment of my life. I owe so much to them — my mum, dad, family, with all they sacrificed. I remember my first british Championship when my dad drove me home singing ‘We’re the champions’.

Lewis Hamilton

“He (Lewis Hamilton) does a fantastic job, a better job in my opinion outside the car than inside it. What he does for us, for the sport, is

incredible.

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One supremo.

Pedrosa wins, Rossi penalised

ŠŠDani Pedrosa celebrates with the trophy.

In his 150th race, started

on pole and led until the

safety car was deployed,

when he pitted and Sebastian Vettel stayed

out to win. Hamilton was

second.

Win number 35 for Hamilton, who again started on pole and set the fastest lap.

Took his third win in four races, again from pole.

Nico Rosberg took his

first win of the season,

and from pole, with

Hamilton second.

Led from pole and looked

set to win until a needless

late pit stop, with the safety

car deployed, scuppered

his chances. Finished third

behind Rosberg and Vettel.


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WEDNESDAY, OcTObER 28, 2015 | www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com26MOTORSPORT

WHEN HAMILTON CAME HOME FROM SCHOOL, HE WOULD PUT ON A VIDEO OF SENNA AND DREAM.

w


In the

MERCEDES’ 30-YEAR-OLD BRITISH DRIVER LEWIS HAMILTON, WHO WAS CROWNED FORMULA ONE CHAMPION FOR A THIRD TIME, ENJOYS HIS LIFE IN THE FAST LANE, WRITES ALAN BALDWIN.

Hamilton picked up

where he left off at the

end of the previous

season in Abu Dhabi,

taking his 34th career

win and from pole

position.

LEWIS Hamilton’s life has changed gear just as fast as the Mercedes he drives on the

Formula One race track.This time last year he had only

one World championship to his name and now he has three, a career dream come true as he pulls level with his boyhood idol, the late brazilian great Ayrton Senna.

The first briton to take back-to-back titles, and only his country’s second triple champion after Jackie Stewart in 1973, Hamilton is living life in the fast lane like never before and loving it.

“It’s hard to get the balance of life right, but I’ve got a mega balance now,” said Hamilton.

The United States, where Hamilton spends much of his downtime with friends from the music industry and Hollywood, was a fitting place for him to clinch his third crown.

The multi-racial boy from an underprivileged background is now a man who is happy to flaunt his millions and the trappings of success.

Only he, when asked how the sport could create more enthusiasm in urban black America, could talk about karting with black kids and

describe being overtaken as ‘like seeing myself come by’.

The fierce and sometimes bitter

rivalry with

German team-mate Nico Rosberg has been replaced by something close to dominance.

F1’s commercial supremo bernie Ecclestone, who has known most of the sport’s world champions since the 1950s, could not have asked for more.

“He does a fantastic job, a better one in my opinion outside the car than inside it. What he does for the sport, is incredible,” said Ecclestone.

Hamilton, by his own admission,

sticks out like a sore thumb in F1.He may rub shoulders with the

rich, but nothing in his background suggested he was destined for such fame and fortune.

The private jet, the garage full of luxury sportscars, the clunky gold chains and diamond ear studs are the visible rewards.

but Hamilton never forgets that he grew up in social housing, sleeping on his father’s sofa on a Stevenage council estate.

With money tight, and his parents divorcing when he was two, father

Anthony held down multiple jobs to fuel the passion for karting that his son first discovered on a low-cost family holiday to Spain.

When Hamilton came home from school, he would put on a video of Senna and dream.

“I wanted to be like him. I aspired to one day drive the way he drove, and achieve something similar to what he achieved,” he said.

The grandson of a Grenadian who emigrated from the West Indies to work on the London underground rail system, Hamilton owes everything to his talent.

“Who would ever have thought it of us Hamiltons turning up at the track in the first year in karting, the only black family there?” recalled Hamilton.

Hamilton could have taken the crown in his sensational 2007 debut season, losing

out to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by a single point after a stormy year at McLaren, but he did it the next year to become the youngest ever champion at 23.

Five seasons of frustration, albeit with plenty of wins, followed as compatriot Jenson button triumphed for brawn and then Sebastian Vettel took four titles in a row for Red bull.

He was once seen as over-controlled by McLaren group boss Ron Dennis, but Hamilton’s move to Mercedes allowed him to become his own man, even if not everyone is a fan of his fashion sense.

“Until this year, I cared what people thought and tried to live to people’s own expectations rather than my own,” he said.

RESULTSFORMULA ONE

1. Lewis Hamilton (GbR) Mercedes 1:50:522. Nico Rosberg (GER) Mercedes at 2.8sec3. Sebastian Vettel (GER) Ferrari 3.34. Max Verstappen (NED) Toro Rosso 22.35. Sergio Perez (MEX) Force India 24.4

MOTOGP1. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Honda 40:37.62. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) Yamaha at 3.6sec3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 13.74. bradley Smith (GbR) Yamaha Tech3 23.95. cal crutchlow (GbR) Honda LcR 28.7

STANDINGSFORMULA ONE

DRIVERS1. Lewis Hamilton (GbR) 3272. Sebastian Vettel (GER) 2513. Nico Rosberg (GER) 247 4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) 123 5. Valtteri bottas (FIN) 111

CONSTRUCTORS1. Mercedes 5742. Ferrari 3743. Williams 2204. Red bull 1505. Force India 102

MOTOGP1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 3122. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) 3053. Marc Marquez (ESP) 2224. Dani Pedrosa (ESP)) 1905. Andrea Iannone (ITA) 188

PATH TO TITLE

şşLewis Hamilton competes at the US Grand Prix.

Returned to winning

ways for his fourth

victory in Canada. He

started on pole for the

sixth time in seven races.

Started on pole and led

for three laps, equalling

Jackie Stewart’s 45-year-

old record of leading 17

successive races. Finished

second behind Rosberg

for his 15th successive

podium.

Again started on pole,

set the faste

st lap and

broke Stewart’s record

by leading his 18th

successiv

e race. Won

comfortably.

Starting on pole,

but

made a poor start a

nd

dropped out of th

e points

before recoverin

g to

finish six

th.

Won

from pole

for h

is

sixth

victo

ry of

the

seas

on an

d 39th

of his

caree

r. The r

ace a

lso

brough

t his

80th

podium

.

Regis

tere

d hi

s

seve

nth

win

of t

he

seas

on.

First

retir

emen

t of t

he

seas

on.

Eigh

th w

in o

f the

sea

son

and

41st

of h

is ca

reer

,

equa

lling

Ayr

ton

Senn

a’s

tally

.

Won

for t

he n

inth

tim

e in

the

year

, and

sec

ond

in a

row

in R

ussi

a.

Took

the

title

afte

r w

inni

ng th

e ra

ce d

espi

te

Rosb

erg

star

ting

on

pole

afte

r rai

n-af

fect

ed

qual

ifyin

g.


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HUNGARY

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M

ITALY

SING

APOR

E JA

PAN

RU

SSIA

U

NIT

ED S

TATE

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www.dohastadiumplusqatar.com | WEDNESDAY, OCTObER 28, 2015 27

MOTOGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the season

finale in Valencia from the back of the grid after the Italian was penalised for clashing with Marc Marquez at the Malaysian Grand Prix last Sunday.

Dani Pedrosa claimed a dominant victory at Sepang and was followed home by Rossi’s Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who has closed the gap on his championship rival to seven points ahead of the decider in Spain on November 8.

Rossi finished third, but had an anxious wait to see if he would keep the points after making enough contact with Marquez to send the Spaniard spinning into the gravel on the eighth lap.

After an inquiry, Race Direction opted against docking the seven-time premier class champion any

points but imposed a ‘three point penalty’ that will see him start at the back of the field in Valencia.

The Yamaha team have appealed the decision.

Prior to the race, Rossi had claimed former champion Marquez wanted fellow Spaniard Lorenzo to win the championship instead of him and the simmering relationship between the pair boiled over at the Sepang International Circuit.

The duo darted into corners trying to get the upper hand, swapping places and touching wheels a number of times until Rossi slowed at Turn 14, forced Marquez wide and then flicked out a knee, which resulted in his rival’s Honda sliding into the gravel.

by avoiding disqualification, Rossi remains on 312 points, seven ahead of Lorenzo with 25 available for victory in Valencia.

w


7 5 4 3

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

(GER) JUAN MANUEL

FANGIO (ARG)

SEBASTIAN VETTEL (GER)

ALAIN PROST (FRA)

LEWIS HAMILTON (GbR)

JACKIE STEWART (GbR)

AYRTON SENNA (bRA)

NELSON PIQUET (bRA)

NIKI LAUDA (AUT)

JACK BRABHAM (AUS)

ROLL OF HONOURLast 10 champions

2015Lewis Hamilton (GbR)

Mercedes

2014Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

2013Sebastian Vettel (GER)

Red bull


Red bull


Red bull


Red bull

2009Jenson button (GbR)

brawn

2008Lewis Hamilton

McLaren

2007Kimi Raikkonen (FIN)

Ferrari

2006Fernando Alonso (ESP)

Renault

This is the greatest moment of my life. I owe so much to them — my mum, dad, family, with all they sacrificed. I remember my first british Championship when my dad drove me home singing ‘We’re the champions’.

Lewis Hamilton

“He (Lewis Hamilton) does a fantastic job, a better job in my opinion outside the car than inside it. What he does for us, for the sport, is

incredible.

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One supremo.

Pedrosa wins, Rossi penalised

ŠŠDani Pedrosa celebrates with the trophy.


IN TABLE TENNIS, QATAR BEAT THE UAE 3-0 IN

THEIR LAST GROUP GAME TO FINISH THIRD.

TWO-tIME champions El Jaish began their Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) cup

campaign in resounding style by posting two straight-set victories.

Jaish, who won the QVA cup in 2013 and ’14, beat Al Gharafa 25-15, 25-13, 25-20 in the Group b opener before easing past Al Shamal 25-13, 25-16, 25-8.

Playing their first tournament under new coach Ljubomir travica, the Armymen looked a determined lot and hardly broke a sweat in

both matches.With most Qatar internationals

being absent, the season-opening event was a chance for fringe players to impress.

German christian Pampel did the star turn for Jaish. the former Arabi star may be 36, but he showed age has not slowed down his reflexes as his lethal smashes proved too tough for Gharafa blockers.

Pampel, who played at the ’08 beijing Olympics, again made the difference against Shamal.

In Group A, Al Ahli defeated Al Sadd 25-19, 25-23, 25-21 while Police suffered a 22-25, 34-36, 25-15, 27-29 loss to Al Wakrah.

VOLLEYBALL

Jaish begin march in style

RESULTSEl Jaish bt Al Gharafa 25-15, 25-13, 25-20Al Khor bt Al Shamal 25-13, 25-10, 25-12El Jaish bt Al Shamal 25-13, 25-16, 25-8Qatar Sc bt Al Arabi 22-25, 25-20, 25-19,

25-18Al Ahli bt Al Sadd 25-19, 25-23, 25-21Al Wakrah bt Police 25-22, 36-34, 15-25,

29-27

EQUESTRIANISM

THE Qatar national team finished a creditable third at the FEI World Endurance championships for Young riders and

Juniors in Santo Domingo, chile, last week.the side, consisting of Nasser Jassim Al

Mohannadi, Jassim rashid Al Kaabi, Mohammed Nasser Ghonaim and Hamad Saad Al Nabat, completed the 120km race in an average time of 21hr, 34sec. bahrain triumphed in 17:38.16 while Uruguay (19:32.22) were second.

Al Mohannadi finished sixth in the individual race (16:07.12).

“this is the first time we’re winning a medal on the world stage in this age category and I’m very pleased with our riders’ achievement. I’m sure it’ll give a huge fillip to the sport in the country and encourage more children to join it,” said team

manager Khalid Safar Al Hajiri.Meanwhile, the new season

of the Qatar racing and Equestrian club will start on Wednesday.

Young Qatari riders come third in ChileQAtAr won five gold, two

silver and three bronze medals in athletics at the

Second Gcc Games in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, last week.

Jamal Abdul Nasser (400M hurdles) and Mabrouk Saleh (10km walk) clinched gold medals on the track while rashid Ahmad Al Mannai (triple jump), Hamdi Al Amin (high jump) and Ahmad Amjad Mohammed (hammer

throw) emerged as victorious on the field.

Saeed Adeb and Khalid Dheeb won silver in 1,500M and discus throw respectively. High jumper Muammer Essa barshim, 10km walker Hussain Mohammed and the 4x400M relay team all finished third.

Meanwhile, Qatari judokas Usam Hagam (90kg), Abdulqader bin Mahdi (100kg), Murad Zamoury (73kg) and Khalil rabahi (81kg) all won gold, for a total haul of seven medals from the mat.

Qatar’s basketball team triumphed with an unbeaten record. they opened their campaign with a 61-49 win over bahrain before beating Saudi Arabia (58-37) and the UAE (76-69).

In table tennis, Qatar beat the UAE 3-0 in their last group game to finish third, behind hosts Saudi

Arabia and bahrain.Qatar, comprising seasoned

campaigner Ahmed Khaleel Al Mohannadi, Abdulrahman Al Najjar, Fahad Al Mughanne and Mohammed Abdul Wahab, lost 2-3 to bahrain in the opener before being thrashed 0-3 by the hosts.

“We’re happy with the result, but could’ve done better. It’s always a good thing to play against such teams which helps us analyse better where we stand in the region,” said Qatar coach boris Vukelic.

GCC GAMES

Rich haul by Qatar in Dammam

THE Qatar cycling Federation (QcF) is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the 2016 UcI road World championships, to be held in

Doha from October 9 to 16, is a big success.As part of its efforts, a Qatari delegation set up

promotional booths at the Arab championships at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, last week. A booth was also set up at the Sharm El Sheikh convention centre.

the delegation was headed by QcF President Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al thani, who is also chairman of the ’16 UcI road Worlds Organising committee.

CYCLING

Promoting Doha UCI Road Worlds

ššEl Jaish’s christian Pampel smashes against Al Gharafa.

šş Qatari triple jumper rashid Ahmad Al Mannai and other medallists on the podium.

ššriders display Doha road Worlds promotional leaflets in Sharm El Sheikh.

Al Wakrah’s Abdulaziz Jassim Al Abdullah won the Qatar table tennis Association’s Youth League singles title, defeating Qatar Sc’s Nawaf Al Maliki 3-2 last week. Al Gharafa’s Abdulaziz Abdul Hamid beat Al rayyan’s Abdullah Al Yafei 3-0 to finish third.

Abdulaziz wins Youth League title

DSP

/Vin

od D

ivak

aran


MIXED ZONE | QATAR

SOME splendid action is in store for fans as more than 300 swimmers from 44

nations will descend on Doha for the penultimate round of the FINA/airweave World cup, to be held at the Hamad Aquatic centre on November 2 and 3.

South African cameron van der burgh, who leads the men’s standings in the eight-leg event, is expected to do well. In the women’s category, Hungarian ‘Iron Lady’ Katinka Hosszu will once again attempt to make a strong statement.

Another South African chad Le clos, who was chosen as FINA’s Athlete of the Year last time, is likely to return to action in Doha after skipping a few legs.

breaking from tradition, all World cup events are being held in 50M pools. Each meet is also a qualifying event for the 2016 rio Olympic Games.

“Last year, we organised some major events in Doha. this year, we’re happy to start from where we left off. Some of the world’s top swimmers will be seen in action and we’re looking forward to two days of intense action. I hope Qatari

swimmers can also do a good job,” said Qatar Swimming Association President Khaleel Al Jabir, who is also Executive Director of the World cup’s Local Organising committee.

Qatar will field a 12-member team at the competition.

Abdullah Al Yahri, Waleed rafeeq Dalloul, Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, Abdulrahman Khalid

Al Kuwari, Omar Hisham, Noah Al Khulaifi, Hassan Abdulaziz Al Obaidly, Abdulla Musallam Al Nabit, Abdulla Mohammed Aboughazala, Abdulrahman Hisham Mohammed and Firas Mourad Saidi will represent the country in the men’s category.

Nada Mohammed Wafa Arakji, who competed in the ’12 London Olympics, will be the only female member.

the heats will start at 10am and finals at 6pm. tickets, priced at Qr10, can be purchased from the Virgin Megastores outlets in Qatar. they can also be bought online at www.tickets.virginmegastore.me.

SWIMMING

Raring to go

BREAKING FROM TRADITION, ALL WORLD CUP EVENTS ARE BEING

HELD IN 50M POOLS.

DOHA will have to wait for a little longer to know its chances of organising either

the 2021 or ’23 FINA Aquatics World championships after the international swimming federation postponed its meeting scheduled in Dubai next month to choose the two host cities.

“FINA has postponed the meeting from November 8 to January 16. We’re looking forward to it,” Qatar Swimming Association President Khaleel Al Jabir told

Doha Stadium Plus.At one point, eight cities had

expressed their interest to host the two editions, but the number later dwindled to just three, with Nanjing (china) and Fukuoka (Japan) being the other two.

budapest (Hungary) was originally awarded the ’21 event, but it stepped in to host the ’17 edition after Mexico’s Guadalajara withdrew, owing to financial troubles.

the ’19 FINA Worlds will be held in Gwangju, South Korea.

Doha waits as FINA postpones meeting

SHOOTING

SAILING

SKEEt shooter Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah will be the cynosure of all eyes at the 13th Asian championships, which will begin in Kuwait on

Sunday.It being the last qualifying event for the 2016

rio Olympics, Nasser has his task cut out as he has not got much time to practise, especially due to his cramped schedule in motor sports.

In January, ’12, Nasser had defied odds to make the Olympic cut at the 12th Asian championships in Doha, which too was his last chance to qualify for the London Games.

Nasser’s qualification was the stuff of legend back then as he pulled out midway through his Dakar rally title defence and reached the Losail Shooting range just days ahead of the competition. What followed was sheer magic as he managed a perfect score of 150.

but it would be too much to expect the same from the Qatari three years down the line if one considers his recent form.

the 44-year-old had failed to even make it to the ’14 Asian Games final in Incheon.

Nasser has quite often spoken about his childhood dream of winning an Olympic gold but, for that, he first needs to go all guns blazing in Kuwait.

the championship will end on November 12. Meanwhile, Qatari shooters won four gold, as

many silver and three bronze medals at the recent Kuwait crown Prince cup.

ArOUND 120 competitors from 17 countries are vying for honours at the Optimist Asian and Oceanian championships, which are on at the

Katara beach. Qatar have fielded 12 male sailors — Kheireddine

bouchema, Ali Al Marhoon, Yacine Al benzarti, Zaid Al Awamlah, Gililiano Palazzi, Ghanim Al Suwaidi, Abdulrahman Al Nasser, Maxence boggio, Ali Al Sharshani, Abdulla Al Sharshani, Mohsen Al Sharshani and Mohammed Al Sharshani.

the four Qatari girls competing are Israa Al Sulaiti, Vera Palazzi, Anna borras and Shahed Al Awamlah.

the event, which consists of two races — Optimist Individual Asian and Oceanian championship and Optimist Asian and Oceanian team racing championship — will conclude on Friday.

Final chance for Qatari marksmen

120 competitors vying for honours

Cameron van der BurghChad Le Clos

Katinka Hosszu

DSP

Pho

to


IN TABLE TENNIS, QATAR BEAT THE UAE 3-0 IN

THEIR LAST GROUP GAME TO FINISH THIRD.

TWO-tIME champions El Jaish began their Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) cup

campaign in resounding style by posting two straight-set victories.

Jaish, who won the QVA cup in 2013 and ’14, beat Al Gharafa 25-15, 25-13, 25-20 in the Group b opener before easing past Al Shamal 25-13, 25-16, 25-8.

Playing their first tournament under new coach Ljubomir travica, the Armymen looked a determined lot and hardly broke a sweat in

both matches.With most Qatar internationals

being absent, the season-opening event was a chance for fringe players to impress.

German christian Pampel did the star turn for Jaish. the former Arabi star may be 36, but he showed age has not slowed down his reflexes as his lethal smashes proved too tough for Gharafa blockers.

Pampel, who played at the ’08 beijing Olympics, again made the difference against Shamal.

In Group A, Al Ahli defeated Al Sadd 25-19, 25-23, 25-21 while Police suffered a 22-25, 34-36, 25-15, 27-29 loss to Al Wakrah.

VOLLEYBALL

Jaish begin march in style

RESULTSEl Jaish bt Al Gharafa 25-15, 25-13, 25-20Al Khor bt Al Shamal 25-13, 25-10, 25-12El Jaish bt Al Shamal 25-13, 25-16, 25-8Qatar Sc bt Al Arabi 22-25, 25-20, 25-19,

25-18Al Ahli bt Al Sadd 25-19, 25-23, 25-21Al Wakrah bt Police 25-22, 36-34, 15-25,

29-27

EQUESTRIANISM

THE Qatar national team finished a creditable third at the FEI World Endurance championships for Young riders and

Juniors in Santo Domingo, chile, last week.the side, consisting of Nasser Jassim Al

Mohannadi, Jassim rashid Al Kaabi, Mohammed Nasser Ghonaim and Hamad Saad Al Nabat, completed the 120km race in an average time of 21hr, 34sec. bahrain triumphed in 17:38.16 while Uruguay (19:32.22) were second.

Al Mohannadi finished sixth in the individual race (16:07.12).

“this is the first time we’re winning a medal on the world stage in this age category and I’m very pleased with our riders’ achievement. I’m sure it’ll give a huge fillip to the sport in the country and encourage more children to join it,” said team

manager Khalid Safar Al Hajiri.Meanwhile, the new season

of the Qatar racing and Equestrian club will start on Wednesday.

Young Qatari riders come third in ChileQAtAr won five gold, two

silver and three bronze medals in athletics at the

Second Gcc Games in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, last week.

Jamal Abdul Nasser (400M hurdles) and Mabrouk Saleh (10km walk) clinched gold medals on the track while rashid Ahmad Al Mannai (triple jump), Hamdi Al Amin (high jump) and Ahmad Amjad Mohammed (hammer

throw) emerged as victorious on the field.

Saeed Adeb and Khalid Dheeb won silver in 1,500M and discus throw respectively. High jumper Muammer Essa barshim, 10km walker Hussain Mohammed and the 4x400M relay team all finished third.

Meanwhile, Qatari judokas Usam Hagam (90kg), Abdulqader bin Mahdi (100kg), Murad Zamoury (73kg) and Khalil rabahi (81kg) all won gold, for a total haul of seven medals from the mat.

Qatar’s basketball team triumphed with an unbeaten record. they opened their campaign with a 61-49 win over bahrain before beating Saudi Arabia (58-37) and the UAE (76-69).

In table tennis, Qatar beat the UAE 3-0 in their last group game to finish third, behind hosts Saudi

Arabia and bahrain.Qatar, comprising seasoned

campaigner Ahmed Khaleel Al Mohannadi, Abdulrahman Al Najjar, Fahad Al Mughanne and Mohammed Abdul Wahab, lost 2-3 to bahrain in the opener before being thrashed 0-3 by the hosts.

“We’re happy with the result, but could’ve done better. It’s always a good thing to play against such teams which helps us analyse better where we stand in the region,” said Qatar coach boris Vukelic.

GCC GAMES

Rich haul by Qatar in Dammam

THE Qatar cycling Federation (QcF) is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the 2016 UcI road World championships, to be held in

Doha from October 9 to 16, is a big success.As part of its efforts, a Qatari delegation set up

promotional booths at the Arab championships at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, last week. A booth was also set up at the Sharm El Sheikh convention centre.

the delegation was headed by QcF President Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al thani, who is also chairman of the ’16 UcI road Worlds Organising committee.

CYCLING

Promoting Doha UCI Road Worlds

ššEl Jaish’s christian Pampel smashes against Al Gharafa.

šş Qatari triple jumper rashid Ahmad Al Mannai and other medallists on the podium.

ššriders display Doha road Worlds promotional leaflets in Sharm El Sheikh.

Al Wakrah’s Abdulaziz Jassim Al Abdullah won the Qatar table tennis Association’s Youth League singles title, defeating Qatar Sc’s Nawaf Al Maliki 3-2 last week. Al Gharafa’s Abdulaziz Abdul Hamid beat Al rayyan’s Abdullah Al Yafei 3-0 to finish third.

Abdulaziz wins Youth League title

DSP

/Vin

od D

ivak

aran


CrOAtIA’S Marin cilic beat roberto bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 to win a second successive

Kremlin cup in Moscow.the 27-year-old needed an

hour and 28 minutes to beat the Spaniard in a repeat of last year’s final, which was also won by cilic with the same scoreline.

He has now won at least one AtP title every season since 2008.

russians Andrey rublev and Dmitry tursunov won the doubles after beating radu Albot and Frantisek cermak 2-6, 6-1, 10-6.

In the women’s section, russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova ended her 14-month title drought with a straight-set win over compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Kuznetsova prevailed 6-2, 6-1 in one hour, 18min for her fourth win in five meetings with last year’s champion.

“Deep down I always wanted to

win this tournament. Finally, my dream has come true. I’m really happy to win this particular title,” said Kuznetsova, whose last success was at Washington in August, 2014.

two-time Grand Slam champion Kuznetsova dominated from the start, earning a one-set lead in 40 minutes as Pavlyuchenkova

appeared tired.In the second set,

Pavlyuchenkova, who played three three-setters on her way to the final, ran out of gas allowing Kuznetsova to gain a commanding 5-0 lead minutes before she claimed the set and the match.

Spain’s David Ferrer virtually sealed his place at the AtP World tour finals for the seventh time when he beat American Steve Johnson 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to win the Vienna Open.

the 33-year-old needed to be at his resilient best to claim his fifth title of the year, his best tally since 2012 when he managed seven.

Six players have already qualified for the season-ender in London and victory in Vienna lifted Ferrer to equal seventh in the AtP race standings with Japan’s Kei Nishikori.

both players lead ninth-placed Frenchman Jo-Wilfried tsonga by more than 1,000 points.

Rose blooms in Hong Kong

GOLF

New Zealand’s Lydia Ko cantered to a nine-stroke victory at the LPGA taiwan championship to take back the women’s world No.1 spot from South Korean Park In-bee.

Ko started the final round with a four-stroke advantage and then carded a seven-under-par 65 for a total of 20-under, which also made the 18-year-old the youngest player to earn 10 wins on the

LPGA tour.

Ko back on top of the world

GErMANY’S John Degenkolb left the likes of tour de France champion chris

Froome in his wake to win the criterium de Saitama.

the 26-year-old, who had said somewhat tongue-in-cheek that he had come to Japan looking for a great revenge after his failure to win a stage at July’s tour, proved quickest in a sprint finish between the criterium’s star attractions.

three laps from the end of the 57km race, the six main draws broke clear of the field with Degenkolb and Froome joined by French climber romain bardet, Spanish puncher Joaquim rodriguez and Japanese pair Yukiya Arashiro and Fumiyuki beppu.

From there it seemed to be a genuine race and Paris-roubaix winner Degenkolb proved too

strong for his rivals, beating beppu into second with Froome third.

Degenkolb proved a popular winner in Japan where the riders’ hotel was often swamped with autograph hunters, including those waving cardboard cut-outs of the German.

Earlier, Frenchman Alexis

Vuillermoz, won the 21km points race while Japan’s Hideto Nakane took the 3km time trial title where Froome finished a disappointing ninth at 13sec.

there was also a women’s time-trial, won by Yumena Hosoya, and a para cycling race against the clock, in which Masaki Fujita triumphed.

CYCLING

TENNIS

ENGLAND’S Justin rose edged Dane Lucas bjerregaard by a stroke in their final-round duel to win the Hong Kong Open for his eighth

European tour title.the lead changed hands several times during

the round, but it was the world No.7 who finally prevailed with a two-under-par 70, which included four birdies and two bogeys, for a final total of 17-under.

“I’m very happy to get the job done. I had a chance to win in Napa recently and let that one flitter away a little bit. I wanted to hang onto this one,” said rose.

the duo came into the final round four strokes clear of the chasing pack and maintained that gap while fighting for the title.

bjerregaard, who picked up his fourth top-10 finish in the last month, saw his chances fade with a double bogey on the par-four 14th. He carded five birdies and two bogeys during his round of 69.

South Korean Lee Soo-min shot a 64 to surge up the leader board for a share of third place with british Masters winner Matthew Fitzpatrick, American Patrick reed and Australian Jason Scrivener, all on 11-under.

Meanwhile, PGA tour rookie Smylie Kaufman clinched a stunning one-stroke victory at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, US.

Kaufman shot a bogey-free 10-under-par 61, sinking his winning birdie putt from 20 feet at the par-four 18th at tPc Summerlin in the Nevada desert.

Degenkolb shines in Japan

Cilic continues his reign in Moscow

RUSSIA’S SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA TRIUMPHED

IN THE WOMEN’S CATEGORY.

Ferrer all but seals London spot

ššMarin cilic returns to roberto bautista Agut.

šš John Degenkolb celebrates after winning the criterium Saitama race.

Justin Rose


MIXED ZONE | INTERNATIONAL

RANGANA Herath picked up four wickets while spin partner Milinda Siriwardana took three as Sri Lanka defeated West Indies by 72 runs

on the fifth day of the second and final test in colombo to win the series 2-0.

West Indies, who lost the first test in Galle by an innings and six runs, were all out for 171 in the second session as their wait for a first win in the format in Sri Lanka continues.

the hosts made 200 in the first innings in a low-scoring game before bowling out the visitors for 163.

Lanka managed 206 in the second innings and though the tourists made a bright start in their chase of 244, their hopes of a series-levelling win dimmed after losing three quick wickets to the spinners in the first session, with batting mainstay Darren bravo (61) the only one to offer some resistance.

West Indies resumed on 20 for one after rain washed away the final session on the third day and the entire fourth day’s play. Shai Hope and bravo added 60 for the second wicket.

Mathews turned to all-rounder Siriwardana to break the stand and the left-arm spinner did exactly that by dismissing Hope in his fifth delivery.

ADAM Ashley-cooper scored a hat-trick of tries as Australia waltzed into a

record-equalling fourth rugby World cup final after beating Argentina 29-15 in the second semifinal at twickenham.

the Wallabies, world champions in 1991 and ’99, and runners-up in 2003, will play their great southern hemisphere rivals New Zealand, also in the final for the fourth time, on Saturday.

the All blacks defeated South Africa 20-18 in the other last-four encounter.

Australia made a flying start when lock rob Simmons scored an intercept try after just 70sec before winger Ashley-cooper dived over in the right corner in the 10th minute and they never relinquished the lead.

Ashley-cooper scored his second try just before the break as Australia went to the interval leading 19-9

and completed his hat-trick nine minutes from the end of a free-flowing match that was in stark contrast to the tense first semifinal.

the Pumas, who will face the Springboks in the third-place play-off on Friday, got all their points through penalties kicked by fly half Nicolas Sanchez, who overtook Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw as the tournament’s leading points-scorer.

Windies in a spin, Lanka win series

RUGBY

CRICKET

Historic victory for

Afghanistan

Australia, New Zealand in final

PAKIStANI bowlers wore down tough resistance from England’s tail to win the

second test by an emphatic 178-run margin in Dubai last Monday as they took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah (four for 87) and left-arm spinner Zulfiqar babar (three for 53) shared the bowling honours as England, set a daunting 491-run target, were bowled out for 312 late on the fifth day with just 6.3 overs left.

A win early in the day was very much on the cards, but England’s ninth-wicket pair of Adil rashid (61) and Mark Wood (29) put up a valiant fight for 29.2 overs through their 55-run partnership.

babar ended Wood’s resistance

while Shah finished the match by halting rashid’s 239-minute resistance when he had him caught in the covers in the fading light as the Pakistani fielders embraced each other.

Pakistan had sensed victory at lunch with just four wickets to

take, but first rashid and broad frustrated them through their 60-run stand for the eighth wicket and then the rashid-Wood stand lasted for nearly two-and-a-half hours.

before tea, riaz bowled broad to bring Pakistan to within two wickets of winning the match, but rashid and Wood carried England to 285 for eight at tea with 31 overs remaining to bat for a draw.

Pakistan could have finished the game before the break, but Mohammad Hafeez dropped a regulation catch at slip when rashid edged a Shah delivery while on 42.

rashid completed his maiden fifty soon after tea, pushing for a quick single off raiz. It took him 110 balls of defiance to reach the mark including five boundaries.

In all, rashid batted for 172 balls, hitting seven boundaries.

the last test starts in Sharjah on November 1.

Afghanistan made history last week when they became the first Associate nation to defeat a test-playing country in a one-day series with a comprehensive 73-run win over Zimbabwe in bulawayo.

the victory gave Afghanistan a 3-2 series win after the two sides had shared the first four games at the Queen’s Sports club.

Needing 246 runs for victory, Zimbabwe were skittled out for 172 in the 45th over despite Sean Williams making a fine 102 off 124 balls.

Shah of might!

SPINNERS YASIR SHAH AND ZULFIQAR BABAR SHARED THE BOWLING

HONOURS FOR PAKISTAN.

şşPakistan’s Yasir Shah, centre, is the toast of team-mates after he dismissed England’s Adil rashid.

şŠSri Lanka’s rangana Herath celebrates after dismissing West Indies’ Denesh ramdin.

şšAustralia’s Adam Ashley-cooper scores their third try against Argentina.


CrOAtIA’S Marin cilic beat roberto bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 to win a second successive

Kremlin cup in Moscow.the 27-year-old needed an

hour and 28 minutes to beat the Spaniard in a repeat of last year’s final, which was also won by cilic with the same scoreline.

He has now won at least one AtP title every season since 2008.

russians Andrey rublev and Dmitry tursunov won the doubles after beating radu Albot and Frantisek cermak 2-6, 6-1, 10-6.

In the women’s section, russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova ended her 14-month title drought with a straight-set win over compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Kuznetsova prevailed 6-2, 6-1 in one hour, 18min for her fourth win in five meetings with last year’s champion.

“Deep down I always wanted to

win this tournament. Finally, my dream has come true. I’m really happy to win this particular title,” said Kuznetsova, whose last success was at Washington in August, 2014.

two-time Grand Slam champion Kuznetsova dominated from the start, earning a one-set lead in 40 minutes as Pavlyuchenkova

appeared tired.In the second set,

Pavlyuchenkova, who played three three-setters on her way to the final, ran out of gas allowing Kuznetsova to gain a commanding 5-0 lead minutes before she claimed the set and the match.

Spain’s David Ferrer virtually sealed his place at the AtP World tour finals for the seventh time when he beat American Steve Johnson 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to win the Vienna Open.

the 33-year-old needed to be at his resilient best to claim his fifth title of the year, his best tally since 2012 when he managed seven.

Six players have already qualified for the season-ender in London and victory in Vienna lifted Ferrer to equal seventh in the AtP race standings with Japan’s Kei Nishikori.

both players lead ninth-placed Frenchman Jo-Wilfried tsonga by more than 1,000 points.

Rose blooms in Hong Kong

GOLF

New Zealand’s Lydia Ko cantered to a nine-stroke victory at the LPGA taiwan championship to take back the women’s world No.1 spot from South Korean Park In-bee.

Ko started the final round with a four-stroke advantage and then carded a seven-under-par 65 for a total of 20-under, which also made the 18-year-old the youngest player to earn 10 wins on the

LPGA tour.

Ko back on top of the world

GErMANY’S John Degenkolb left the likes of tour de France champion chris

Froome in his wake to win the criterium de Saitama.

the 26-year-old, who had said somewhat tongue-in-cheek that he had come to Japan looking for a great revenge after his failure to win a stage at July’s tour, proved quickest in a sprint finish between the criterium’s star attractions.

three laps from the end of the 57km race, the six main draws broke clear of the field with Degenkolb and Froome joined by French climber romain bardet, Spanish puncher Joaquim rodriguez and Japanese pair Yukiya Arashiro and Fumiyuki beppu.

From there it seemed to be a genuine race and Paris-roubaix winner Degenkolb proved too

strong for his rivals, beating beppu into second with Froome third.

Degenkolb proved a popular winner in Japan where the riders’ hotel was often swamped with autograph hunters, including those waving cardboard cut-outs of the German.

Earlier, Frenchman Alexis

Vuillermoz, won the 21km points race while Japan’s Hideto Nakane took the 3km time trial title where Froome finished a disappointing ninth at 13sec.

there was also a women’s time-trial, won by Yumena Hosoya, and a para cycling race against the clock, in which Masaki Fujita triumphed.

CYCLING

TENNIS

ENGLAND’S Justin rose edged Dane Lucas bjerregaard by a stroke in their final-round duel to win the Hong Kong Open for his eighth

European tour title.the lead changed hands several times during

the round, but it was the world No.7 who finally prevailed with a two-under-par 70, which included four birdies and two bogeys, for a final total of 17-under.

“I’m very happy to get the job done. I had a chance to win in Napa recently and let that one flitter away a little bit. I wanted to hang onto this one,” said rose.

the duo came into the final round four strokes clear of the chasing pack and maintained that gap while fighting for the title.

bjerregaard, who picked up his fourth top-10 finish in the last month, saw his chances fade with a double bogey on the par-four 14th. He carded five birdies and two bogeys during his round of 69.

South Korean Lee Soo-min shot a 64 to surge up the leader board for a share of third place with british Masters winner Matthew Fitzpatrick, American Patrick reed and Australian Jason Scrivener, all on 11-under.

Meanwhile, PGA tour rookie Smylie Kaufman clinched a stunning one-stroke victory at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, US.

Kaufman shot a bogey-free 10-under-par 61, sinking his winning birdie putt from 20 feet at the par-four 18th at tPc Summerlin in the Nevada desert.

Degenkolb shines in Japan

Cilic continues his reign in Moscow

RUSSIA’S SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA TRIUMPHED

IN THE WOMEN’S CATEGORY.

Ferrer all but seals London spot

ššMarin cilic returns to roberto bautista Agut.

šš John Degenkolb celebrates after winning the criterium Saitama race.

Justin Rose


MOVERS&SHAKERS

LEVANtE sacked coach Lucas Alcaraz after Sunday’s 0-4 defeat at home to real

Sociedad left the Valencia-based club bottom of the Spanish League with only one win from nine matches.

“the Levante board of directors has decided to dispense with the services of coach Lucas Alcaraz and his team,” the club website said.

Levante President Kiko catalan said an announcement on Alcaraz’s successor would be made in coming days.

Alcaraz is the second coach to be dismissed in Spain’s top flight this season after Las Palmas, who like Levante have only six points

from nine games, sacked Paco Herrera recently.

Levante have outperformed for a club with limited resources in recent

years. they finished sixth in 2011-12 and

qualified for the Europa League. Alcaraz, who has also coached teams including Granada, Almeria, and cordoba, took over at Levante in October last year.

VEtErAN Lleyton Hewitt was appointed Australia’s new Davis cup captain, succeeding

interim skipper Wally Masur.the 34-year-old, who

is calling it quits after his 20th consecutive Australian Open in January, has been positioned for the role since Pat rafter stepped down earlier this year. Masur agreed to fill in until Hewitt was ready.

He follows in the footsteps of other Australian tennis greats to hold the coveted role, including Neale

Fraser, John Newcombe and rafter.“I’ve been fortunate enough to

work under some of the greatest Davis cup captains in history. For

me, it’s about instilling my experience in these

younger guys,” said Hewitt.

A veteran of 40 ties over a record 17 years’

service, Hewitt will lead young guns including

bernard tomic, Nick Kyrgios and thanasi Kokkinakis.

Hewitt’s first tie in charge will be in March, 2016, when Australia host the USA in a first-round fixture.

Alcaraz, Levante part ways

Australia name Hewitt as Davis Cup captain

SPORT THIS WEEK

World No.2 Nick Matthew of England was forced to withdraw from the Professional Squash Association Qatar classic starting on Friday due to an abdominal injury. Swiss player Nicolas Mueller will now move into the main draw ,where he faces England’s Adrian Waller. World No.3 Gregory Gaultier will be seeded second in Matthew’s place.

Alexander Rossi became the first American Formula One driver since Scott Speed in 2007 to make the grid on home soil when he lined up for the Manor Marussia team in last week’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, texas. the 24-year-old californian, who started 17th on the grid, managed a 12th-place finish.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28PARALYMPICSIPc Athletics World championships, 9.30am onwards at Qatar Sc Stadium (till Saturday).

SAILINGOptimist Asian and Oceanian championships, 10am onwards at Katara beach (till Friday).

VOLLEYBALLAssociation cup, Al Arabi vs Al Gharafa, 5.30pm and Qatar Sc vs Al Khor, 6.45pm at Al Arabi Sports club.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29FOOTBALLQatar Stars League, Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Sailiya, 5.30pm at Al Gharafa Stadium, Al Wakrah vs El Jaish, 7.45pm at Al Gharafa Stadium.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30FOOTBALLQatar Stars League, Al Ahli vs Al Khor, 5.30pm at Al Ahli Stadium, Mesaimeer vs Qatar Sc 7.45pm at Al Ahli Stadium.

VOLLEYBALLAssociation cup, Al Arabi vs Al Khor, 5.30pm and Al Shamal vs Al Gharafa, 6.45pm at Al Arabi Sports club.

SQUASHQatar classic, 12noon onwards at Khalifa International complex (till November 6).

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31FOOTBALL Al Gharafa vs Umm Salal, 5.30pm at Al Gharafa Stadium, Lekhwiya vs Al rayyan, 5.30pm at Lekhwiya Stadium, Al Arabi vs Al Sadd, 7.45pm at Lekhwiya Stadium.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1VOLLEYBALLAssociation cup, Al rayyan vs Al Sadd, 5.30pm and Al Ahli vs Al Wakrah, 6.45pm at Al Ahli Sports club.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2HANDBALLFour-Nation Friendly tournament, 5pm onwards at Qatar Handball Association complex.

SWIMMINGFINA/airweave World cup, 10am onwards at Hamad Aquatic centre (till tuesday).

VOLLEYBALLAssociation cup, El Jaish vs Qatar Sc, 5.30pm and Al Arabi vs Al Shamal, 6.45pm at Al Arabi Sports club.

QATAR

INTERNATIONALWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28BASKETBALLStart of NbA season.

GYMNASTICSWorld championships, Glasgow (till Sunday).

SWIMMINGWorld cup at tokyo (till thursday).

TENNISAtP at Valencia and basel, WtA tour Finals, Singapore (till Sunday).

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29CRICKETZimbabwe vs Afghanistan, 2nd t20I at bulawayo.

GOLFEPGA at turkish Open; LPGA at Hainan Island, china; Asian tour at Kuala Lumpur (till Sunday).

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30FIGURE SKATINGSkate canada, Lethbridge, Alberta (till Sunday).

HORSERACINGbreeders cup meeting at Keeneland (till Saturday).

RUGBYWorld cup, third-place play-off match, England.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31RUGBYWorld cup final, England.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1ATHLETICSNew York city Marathon.

CRICKETEngland vs Pakistan, 3rd test at Sharjah, (till November 5); Sri Lanka vs West Indies, 1st ODI at colombo.

MOTORSPORTMexico Formula One Grand Prix.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2TENNISAtP Paris Masters (till November 8).

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3FOOTBALLchampions League group matches.

HORSERACINGMelbourne cup at Flemington.

TENNISWtA at Zhuhai (till November 8).

ЯЯ Earlier report on Page 22


PEOPLE

SOUtH African skipper A b de Villiers led the charge by scoring three centuries

in five matches as they clinched the One-Day International series against India 3-2.

the 31-year-old was a man on a mission in the final ODI at Mumbai, racing to 119 off only 61 balls, hitting three fours and an astonishing 11 sixes.

It followed his match-winning 73-ball unbeaten 104 in the first ODI at Kanpur and a valiant 107-ball 112 in a losing cause in the fourth match in chennai.

In Mumbai, De Villiers, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis all hit centuries as South Africa thrashed India by 214 runs.

the Proteas, batting first at the Wankhede Stadium, made a mammoth score of 438 for four, the fourth-highest ODI total on record, before bowling out the opposition for 224.

“It was a huge game and kind of a final, with history in line. this is definitely the best and biggest game I’ve captained. It was a complete performance with bat and ball. I’m very proud of the boys,” said De Villiers, who was also adjudged man of the series.

De Villiers, who holds the record for the fastest hundred in the format off 31 balls, needed no invitation to launch into the Indian bowlers with the stage set perfectly for his pyrotechnics.

He reached his 23rd ODI century in just 57 balls, clearing the boundary ropes with ease.

“It’s not always about the result, but about representing your country in a proud manner,” said De Villiers, after South Africa completed their first-ever ODI series win in India.

“that’s what it’s all about. We know who we play this game for and why we play. It’s not just about cricket, it’s off the field as well. It’s about life, about knowing each other. that’s an area where we’re better than other teams in the world — the team spirit and culture. We’re very proud of that,” he added.

De Villiers is fast establishing himself as a modern-day great and becoming a great fan favourite too.

Few supporters are as passionate or partisan as Indian ones. but the cries of ‘Ab, Ab,’ which reverberated around every venue he played, were true marks of appreciation for him.

STAR OF THE WEEK A B DE VILLIERS

South African batsman Faf du Plessis has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee for showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during their fourth one-day international against India last week. the 31-year-old, who captains South Africa in the twenty20 format, pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the fine.

british driver Jolyon Palmer, whose father Jonathan competed in Formula One in the 1980s, will race for Lotus next season alongside Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado. the team said in a statement at the US Grand Prix that the 24-year-old, who won the GP2 support series last year, would complete their 2016 driver line-up.

Neymar has been recalled for brazil’s 2018 FIFA World cup qualifiers against Argentina and Peru next month in a squad that features four players from corinthians. the club’s goalkeeper cassio has been called up for the first time, alongside defender Gil and midfielders Elias and renato Augusto.

Scottish champions celtic have signed free-agent striker Carlton Cole until the summer of 2017. the 32-year-old was released by West Ham United at the end of last season after nine years with the London club. He has scored 85 goals in 384 games across five clubs during his time in English football.

Dutch football great Johan Cruyff, 68, regarded as one of the world’s greatest-ever players, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. cruyff, who captained the Netherlands to

the World cup final in 1974 and one of the proponents

of “total football”, has been in-and-out of hospital with health complaints.

Arsenal will be without Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey until the end of November after he suffered a hamstring injury during his side’s champions League win over bayern Munich. He was forced off in the 57th minute.


MOVERS&SHAKERS

LEVANtE sacked coach Lucas Alcaraz after Sunday’s 0-4 defeat at home to real

Sociedad left the Valencia-based club bottom of the Spanish League with only one win from nine matches.

“the Levante board of directors has decided to dispense with the services of coach Lucas Alcaraz and his team,” the club website said.

Levante President Kiko catalan said an announcement on Alcaraz’s successor would be made in coming days.

Alcaraz is the second coach to be dismissed in Spain’s top flight this season after Las Palmas, who like Levante have only six points

from nine games, sacked Paco Herrera recently.

Levante have outperformed for a club with limited resources in recent

years. they finished sixth in 2011-12 and

qualified for the Europa League. Alcaraz, who has also coached teams including Granada, Almeria, and cordoba, took over at Levante in October last year.

VEtErAN Lleyton Hewitt was appointed Australia’s new Davis cup captain, succeeding

interim skipper Wally Masur.the 34-year-old, who

is calling it quits after his 20th consecutive Australian Open in January, has been positioned for the role since Pat rafter stepped down earlier this year. Masur agreed to fill in until Hewitt was ready.

He follows in the footsteps of other Australian tennis greats to hold the coveted role, including Neale

Fraser, John Newcombe and rafter.“I’ve been fortunate enough to

work under some of the greatest Davis cup captains in history. For

me, it’s about instilling my experience in these

younger guys,” said Hewitt.

A veteran of 40 ties over a record 17 years’

service, Hewitt will lead young guns including

bernard tomic, Nick Kyrgios and thanasi Kokkinakis.

Hewitt’s first tie in charge will be in March, 2016, when Australia host the USA in a first-round fixture.

Alcaraz, Levante part ways

Australia name Hewitt as Davis Cup captain

SPORT THIS WEEK

World No.2 Nick Matthew of England was forced to withdraw from the Professional Squash Association Qatar classic starting on Friday due to an abdominal injury. Swiss player Nicolas Mueller will now move into the main draw ,where he faces England’s Adrian Waller. World No.3 Gregory Gaultier will be seeded second in Matthew’s place.

Alexander Rossi became the first American Formula One driver since Scott Speed in 2007 to make the grid on home soil when he lined up for the Manor Marussia team in last week’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, texas. the 24-year-old californian, who started 17th on the grid, managed a 12th-place finish.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28PARALYMPICSIPc Athletics World championships, 9.30am onwards at Qatar Sc Stadium (till Saturday).

SAILINGOptimist Asian and Oceanian championships, 10am onwards at Katara beach (till Friday).

VOLLEYBALLAssociation cup, Al Arabi vs Al Gharafa, 5.30pm and Qatar Sc vs Al Khor, 6.45pm at Al Arabi Sports club.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29FOOTBALLQatar Stars League, Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Sailiya, 5.30pm at Al Gharafa Stadium, Al Wakrah vs El Jaish, 7.45pm at Al Gharafa Stadium.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30FOOTBALLQatar Stars League, Al Ahli vs Al Khor, 5.30pm at Al Ahli Stadium, Mesaimeer vs Qatar Sc 7.45pm at Al Ahli Stadium.

VOLLEYBALLAssociation cup, Al Arabi vs Al Khor, 5.30pm and Al Shamal vs Al Gharafa, 6.45pm at Al Arabi Sports club.

SQUASHQatar classic, 12noon onwards at Khalifa International complex (till November 6).

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31FOOTBALL Al Gharafa vs Umm Salal, 5.30pm at Al Gharafa Stadium, Lekhwiya vs Al rayyan, 5.30pm at Lekhwiya Stadium, Al Arabi vs Al Sadd, 7.45pm at Lekhwiya Stadium.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1VOLLEYBALLAssociation cup, Al rayyan vs Al Sadd, 5.30pm and Al Ahli vs Al Wakrah, 6.45pm at Al Ahli Sports club.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2HANDBALLFour-Nation Friendly tournament, 5pm onwards at Qatar Handball Association complex.

SWIMMINGFINA/airweave World cup, 10am onwards at Hamad Aquatic centre (till tuesday).

VOLLEYBALLAssociation cup, El Jaish vs Qatar Sc, 5.30pm and Al Arabi vs Al Shamal, 6.45pm at Al Arabi Sports club.

QATAR

INTERNATIONALWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28BASKETBALLStart of NbA season.

GYMNASTICSWorld championships, Glasgow (till Sunday).

SWIMMINGWorld cup at tokyo (till thursday).

TENNISAtP at Valencia and basel, WtA tour Finals, Singapore (till Sunday).

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29CRICKETZimbabwe vs Afghanistan, 2nd t20I at bulawayo.

GOLFEPGA at turkish Open; LPGA at Hainan Island, china; Asian tour at Kuala Lumpur (till Sunday).

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30FIGURE SKATINGSkate canada, Lethbridge, Alberta (till Sunday).

HORSERACINGbreeders cup meeting at Keeneland (till Saturday).

RUGBYWorld cup, third-place play-off match, England.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31RUGBYWorld cup final, England.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1ATHLETICSNew York city Marathon.

CRICKETEngland vs Pakistan, 3rd test at Sharjah, (till November 5); Sri Lanka vs West Indies, 1st ODI at colombo.

MOTORSPORTMexico Formula One Grand Prix.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2TENNISAtP Paris Masters (till November 8).

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3FOOTBALLchampions League group matches.

HORSERACINGMelbourne cup at Flemington.

TENNISWtA at Zhuhai (till November 8).

ЯЯ Earlier report on Page 22


adidas plans ‘Speedfactory’GErMAN sports goods maker

adidas aims to open its first fully-automated shoe factory

in Germany next year as part of an effort to bring manufacturing back closer to its consumers in more affluent countries.

adidas signed an agreement to obtain technology from German engineering group Manz that will allow it to design and make custom-tailored shoe components in a new type of automated plant it calls ‘Speedfactory’, Manz said last week.

the company has been working

with the German government, academics and robotics firms on new technologies which, it hopes, will trigger a significant a shift in the footwear industry as the move led by its arch-rival Nike to produce in Asia decades ago.

adidas wants to speed up delivery times to fashion-conscious customers and reduce freight costs.

the project fits with a broader drive by adidas to catch up with Nike, which has extended its lead as the world’s biggest sportswear firm in recent years.

TECHNOLOGY

Sharp super smartphone

WItH smartphones becoming ever more elaborate, one might

think that there’s little left to surprise users. but Japan’s Sharp corporation have brought us roboHoN, a robot smartphone that employs facial recognition and a two-inch touchscreen embedded in its back for making calls, sending texts and surfing the web.

It was displayed at the recent cEAtEc technology show on the outskirts of tokyo.

Shaped like a humanoid communication robot, roboHoN is 19cm tall and weighs around 390gm. In addition to its smartphone functions,

roboHoN can also dance and talk with people.

“We wanted to make a phone that felt closer to a user’s life than the normal telephone. that idea led us to this humanoid robot phone,” said Sharp representative Kuniyuki Maruyama.

the robot is also programmed to learn from interacting with users and thus become smarter by

accumulating users’ data in its cloud system.

roboHoN can also project images onto any surface from short distances with its in-

built forehead projector and even call a cab for its user.

Sharp says the robot phone is expected to be available in Japan in the first half of 2016.

SECURITY

CAMEO

FOrMEr United States attorney general Eric Holder Jr will be a keynote speaker at the International centre for Sport Security’s Securing

Sport 2015 conference in New York on November 3 and 4.

Holder will discuss the challenges facing American and international sports from a legal perspective, covering integrity, ethics and security.

With sport integrity issues in the headlines, Securing Sport ’15 will examine the threats to the safety and integrity of sports and unite high-profile decision makers, law enforcement officials and senior policymakers from around the world.

“As attorney general, I witnessed the need for international co-operation to advance national security, public safety and anti-corruption efforts. In order to inspire future generations, sports events must be safe and competitions must not be tainted by corruption,” said Holder.

Holder to speak at Securing Sport

Optus ties up with Cricket AustraliaAustralian telecoms group Optus announced a three-year sponsorship deal with cricket Australia. It will see its customers get free access to the ‘cricket Australia Live Pass’, offering them year-round access to cricket action on their mobile, tablet and laptop. Optus will also receive on-ground signage at international matches, access to Australian players for promotional purposes as well as tickets and hospitality services for customers.

Formula E backed by VISA EuropePayment services company Visa Europe agreed to extend its

sponsorship of international electric car racing championship FIA Formula E. Visa will be the Official Payment Partner for the next three seasons, which will include its sponsorship of the Visa Fastest Lap Award.

Audi supports New York Red Bulls Audi signed a deal with New York red bulls that will see it become the Official Luxury Automotive

Partner of the Major League Soccer team. Accordingly, the club lounge in the red bull Arena has been officially renamed the Audi club.

Vivo bats for Indian cricketthe board of control for cricket in India announced that chinese mobile telecommunications brand Vivo Mobile became the new title sponsor of domestic twenty20 competition, Indian Premier League. Meanwhile, American sports company Nike extended its deal with the Indian national team.

Virgin Money stays with London Marathon London Marathon’s title sponsor Virgin Money will extend its support for another three years. the race will be known as the Virgin Money London Marathon until at least the race’s 40th edition in 2020. the financial services brand first became a sponsor in ’10, replacing margarine brand Flora, and has helped participants raise over £315m for charitable causes in the six years since, including £54.1m in ’15.

— Courtesy CSM Sport & Entertainmentwww.csm.com

@FastTrack_ME


MOSAIC

ANY physical activity, including walking, helps your overall health. but

walking, in particular, comes with a host of benefits. Here’s a list of five of them that may surprise you.

It counteracts weight-gainingresearchers looked at 32 obesity-promoting genes in more than 12,000 people to determine how much these genes actually contribute to body weight. they then discovered that, among the study participants who walked briskly for about an hour a day, the effects of those genes were cut in half.

Helps tame a sweet tooth A pair of studies from the University of Exeter in the UK found that a 15-minute walk could curb cravings for chocolate and even reduce the amount of chocolate you eat in stressful situations. And the latest research confirms that walking can reduce cravings and intake of a variety of sugary snacks.

FITNESS

Reduces risk of breast cancer researchers already know that any kind of physical activity blunts the risk of breast cancer. but an American cancer Society study, that zeroed in on walking, found that women who walked seven or more hours a week had a 14 per cent lower risk of breast cancer than those who walked three hours or fewer per week. And walking provided this protection even for the women with breast cancer risk factors such as being overweight.

Eases the pain on joints Several studies have found that walking reduces arthritis-related pain, and that walking five to six

miles a week can even prevent arthritis from forming in the first place. Walking protects the joints — especially the knees and hips which are most susceptible to osteoarthritis — by lubricating them and strengthening the muscles that support them.

Boosts immune function Walking can help protect you during cold and flu season. A study of more than 1,000 men and women found that those who walked at least 20 minutes a day, at least five days a week, had 43 per cent fewer sick days than those who exercised once a week or less. And if they did get sick, it was for a shorter duration.

— Harvard Medical School

HEALTH

FOLLOWING a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish

and healthy fats may preserve a more youthful brain in old age, a US study suggests.

Previous research has connected a Mediterranean diet to a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative brain conditions, noted lead study

author Yian Gu of the columbia University in New York.

For the current study, researchers focused on elderly people with normal cognitive function to see if the diet might also be tied to losing fewer brain cells due to ageing, Gu said.

to understand the relationship between the diet and brain health, Gu and colleagues reviewed surveys

that 674 elderly people completed about their eating habits and then examined magnetic resonance imaging scans of their brains.

compared to the people who did not regularly follow many aspects of the Mediterranean diet, the participants who adhered to this way of eating more often had larger total brain volume as well as more gray and white matter.

Mediterranean diet and healthy brain

LIFESTYLE

EVEN doctors and nurses do not always follow the healthy lifestyle choices they recommend for patients to reduce the risk of medical

problems like obesity, heart disease and diabetes, a US study suggests.

Although rates of these conditions appeared lower among healthcare workers than other people, the diseases were still common. they also rose over time at rates similar to increases in the general population, researchers reported in the Mayo clinic Proceedings.

the findings suggest that the same societal and environmental factors that can influence the development of chronic diseases for ordinary people also impact clinicians and medical experts, said lead study author Dr Anupam Jena, a health policy researcher at the Harvard Medical School and physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in boston.

“this highlights the notion that nobody is fully immune to the factors that promote unhealthy lifestyle behaviours,” said Jena.

According to the study, health professionals were less likely to smoke and more likely to exercise than people in other fields, but they were more likely to report moderate to heavy drinking.

Practise what you preach…


adidas plans ‘Speedfactory’GErMAN sports goods maker

adidas aims to open its first fully-automated shoe factory

in Germany next year as part of an effort to bring manufacturing back closer to its consumers in more affluent countries.

adidas signed an agreement to obtain technology from German engineering group Manz that will allow it to design and make custom-tailored shoe components in a new type of automated plant it calls ‘Speedfactory’, Manz said last week.

the company has been working

with the German government, academics and robotics firms on new technologies which, it hopes, will trigger a significant a shift in the footwear industry as the move led by its arch-rival Nike to produce in Asia decades ago.

adidas wants to speed up delivery times to fashion-conscious customers and reduce freight costs.

the project fits with a broader drive by adidas to catch up with Nike, which has extended its lead as the world’s biggest sportswear firm in recent years.

TECHNOLOGY

Sharp super smartphone

WItH smartphones becoming ever more elaborate, one might

think that there’s little left to surprise users. but Japan’s Sharp corporation have brought us roboHoN, a robot smartphone that employs facial recognition and a two-inch touchscreen embedded in its back for making calls, sending texts and surfing the web.

It was displayed at the recent cEAtEc technology show on the outskirts of tokyo.

Shaped like a humanoid communication robot, roboHoN is 19cm tall and weighs around 390gm. In addition to its smartphone functions,

roboHoN can also dance and talk with people.

“We wanted to make a phone that felt closer to a user’s life than the normal telephone. that idea led us to this humanoid robot phone,” said Sharp representative Kuniyuki Maruyama.

the robot is also programmed to learn from interacting with users and thus become smarter by

accumulating users’ data in its cloud system.

roboHoN can also project images onto any surface from short distances with its in-

built forehead projector and even call a cab for its user.

Sharp says the robot phone is expected to be available in Japan in the first half of 2016.

SECURITY

CAMEO

FOrMEr United States attorney general Eric Holder Jr will be a keynote speaker at the International centre for Sport Security’s Securing

Sport 2015 conference in New York on November 3 and 4.

Holder will discuss the challenges facing American and international sports from a legal perspective, covering integrity, ethics and security.

With sport integrity issues in the headlines, Securing Sport ’15 will examine the threats to the safety and integrity of sports and unite high-profile decision makers, law enforcement officials and senior policymakers from around the world.

“As attorney general, I witnessed the need for international co-operation to advance national security, public safety and anti-corruption efforts. In order to inspire future generations, sports events must be safe and competitions must not be tainted by corruption,” said Holder.

Holder to speak at Securing Sport

Optus ties up with Cricket AustraliaAustralian telecoms group Optus announced a three-year sponsorship deal with cricket Australia. It will see its customers get free access to the ‘cricket Australia Live Pass’, offering them year-round access to cricket action on their mobile, tablet and laptop. Optus will also receive on-ground signage at international matches, access to Australian players for promotional purposes as well as tickets and hospitality services for customers.

Formula E backed by VISA EuropePayment services company Visa Europe agreed to extend its

sponsorship of international electric car racing championship FIA Formula E. Visa will be the Official Payment Partner for the next three seasons, which will include its sponsorship of the Visa Fastest Lap Award.

Audi supports New York Red Bulls Audi signed a deal with New York red bulls that will see it become the Official Luxury Automotive

Partner of the Major League Soccer team. Accordingly, the club lounge in the red bull Arena has been officially renamed the Audi club.

Vivo bats for Indian cricketthe board of control for cricket in India announced that chinese mobile telecommunications brand Vivo Mobile became the new title sponsor of domestic twenty20 competition, Indian Premier League. Meanwhile, American sports company Nike extended its deal with the Indian national team.

Virgin Money stays with London Marathon London Marathon’s title sponsor Virgin Money will extend its support for another three years. the race will be known as the Virgin Money London Marathon until at least the race’s 40th edition in 2020. the financial services brand first became a sponsor in ’10, replacing margarine brand Flora, and has helped participants raise over £315m for charitable causes in the six years since, including £54.1m in ’15.

— Courtesy CSM Sport & Entertainmentwww.csm.com

@FastTrack_ME


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CLOSE-UP | PARA-ATHLETICS WORLDS


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YOUR PAGE

QFA, Qatar Shell organise football seminar

Soul Riders, a hugely popular bike group in Qatar, made their first foray into motor sports during the final round of the recent World Superbike Championship held at the Losail International Circuit.The group, which has 170 members, is a regular sight at sports events as well as charity

programmes in the country.QMMF President Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah and General Secretary Mohammed Saad Al Muraikhi held discussions with Soul Riders founding members Khalid Al Hamadi and Abdullah Al Hajjaj on the sidelines of the championship.Neus Ramos sent the details and photograph.

French Ambassador to Qatar Eric Chevallier last week received his countrymen who were in Doha to compete in the International Paralympic Committee’s Athletics World Championships. He held an hour-long interactive session with members of the squad at his residence.

“I’m really pleased to meet them here in Doha. They’re a great source of inspiration not only to children in France, but all people around the world. I wish them the best ahead of future competitions,” said Chevallier.Maia Lahoud sent the details and photograph.

It is your turn now. tell us about sports events in your neighbourhood, send us photographs too and get them published in DSP. Our e-mail is [email protected]

The Qatar Football Association and Qatar Shell recently organised a two-day coaching clinic ahead of the launch of the fourth season of Il’AbWe’Yana, an extracurricular programme for boys and girls between seven and 16.The programme, based on the FC Barcelona Foundation’s FutbolNet methodology,

provides children with an extra 100 hours of physical education.More than 45 local coaches, including Qatari men and women, attended the seminar, which had six teaching modules focusing on healthy living.Farah Al Ali Al Maadeed sent the details and photograph.

More than 1,000 students from the Birla Public School attended a workshop organised by the International Centre for Sport Security’s Save The Dream project last week.Building on last year’s Schools Olympic Programme theme — Sport and Peace — the workshop highlighted the importance of sport as a tool to promote peace and reconciliation.Children underwent a number of activities which helped instil in them the Olympic values of friendship, respect, hard work and leadership.‘Save the Dream’ will further promote the message at a special event in New York’s Times Square on November 3.Will Shand sent the details and photograph.

Abdullah Sulaiman and Joong Suk Kim won the men’s and women’s title respectively of the 17th Qatargas Open at the Doha Golf Club last week.Abdullah had a gross score of 42 while Joong triumphed on count back after tallying 40 points. The annual event featured 350 golfers, including Qatargas employees, stakeholders and players from the Qatar Golf Association. A junior competition, featuring more than 30 participants, was also held. Qatargas Public Relations Manager Azam Abdulaziz Al Mannai awarded the winners.Thajudeen V Aliar sent the details and photograph.

Save The Dream forum held at BPS

Abdullah, Joong reign supreme

Soul Riders at motor sports arena

French Ambassador receives para-athletes


MIND SQUARE

SUDOKU-496

Solution-495

8 2 1 6 3 7 4 5 9 7 6 9 2 5 4 3 1 8 5 4 3 8 1 9 7 6 2 9 5 4 7 8 3 1 2 6 1 7 8 5 6 2 9 4 3 6 3 2 4 9 1 8 7 5 2 8 7 3 4 5 6 9 1 4 1 6 9 2 8 5 3 7 3 9 5 1 7 6 2 8 4

3 4 9 6 9 5 1 5 4 7 2 8 2 1 6 4 3 7 5 2 8 3 8 9

8 2 1 6 3 7 4 5 9 7 6 9 2 5 4 3 1 8 5 4 3 8 1 9 7 6 2 9 5 4 7 8 3 1 2 6 1 7 8 5 6 2 9 4 3 6 3 2 4 9 1 8 7 5 2 8 7 3 4 5 6 9 1 4 1 6 9 2 8 5 3 7 3 9 5 1 7 6 2 8 4

3 4 9 6 9 5 1 5 4 7 2 8 2 1 6 4 3 7 5 2 8 3 8 9

Real Madrid’s Ronaldo a real goal machine real Madrid’s all-time top scorer cristiano ronaldo is indeed a goal machine (Doha Stadium Plus, October 21).

His present tally of 325 goals came from just 311 official matches and the achievement looks all the more stunning when you consider that raul Gonzalez, whom ronaldo eclipsed as the top scorer, took more than double the matches (741) to net 323 times.

At this rate, the Portuguese winger can easily hit the 500-goal mark before he calls it a day.

Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, Doha.

Welcome movethe formation of Qatar Players Association (QPA) was a step in the right direction (Doha Stadium Plus, October 21). As your article pointed out, it’ll increase transparency in the country’s system of football affairs.

It’s heartening to note that the QPA aims to support, advise and represent its members at local and international organisations in case of disputes.

Mohammed Ala, Doha.

Women need to fight the ‘beauty and brawns’ story indeed made an interesting read (Doha Stadium Plus, October 21). I wasn’t aware that cuba, one of the traditional powerhouses in amateur boxing, didn’t allow women to compete.

cubans aren’t a conservative society and the reason not to allow women to fight, saying it will diminish their beauty, is utterly ridiculous.

I think the International Olympic committee must put pressure on cuba to drop the rule and send their female boxers to the Olympics.

Estela Rodriguez, Doha.

Unstoppable Djokovic?ten-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic yet again asserted his supremacy in world tennis by winning the Shanghai Masters (Doha Stadium Plus, October 21).

Djokovic has no apparent weakness and is comfortable on any surface, which makes him one of the most dominant performers on the circuit. the world No.1 player’s performance this year, which included nine titles, surely places him among the sport’s all-time greats.

I think he has a better chance of overtaking roger Federer’s haul of 17 Grand Slam titles than rafael Nadal, who already has 14 to his credit.

Boris Vukelic, Doha.

P 20 | POSTERRAHEEM STERLING

SPECIAL STORY

P 10 | FOOTBALLIn support of players in Qatar

Al Rayyan’s much-travelled Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati speaks about the factors that hinder the growth of football in Qatar and ways to address them. PAGES 6-7

Follow us onwww.dohastadiumplusqatar.comWEDNESDAY, OcTObER 21, 2015 | Vol X | No.38 | QR 2.00

P 18 | PARA-ATHLETICSMIND & bODY WILLINGThe International Paralympic Committee’s Athletics Worlds are sure to showcase the triumph of spirit over adversity.

UK ...................................... £1Europe ............................. €2Oman ...............200 BaisasBahrain ..................200 FilsEgypt .............................LE 2Lebanon ..........3,000 LivreKuwait ....................250 FilsMorocco ......................Dh 6

UAE ...............................Dh 5Yemen..................75 RiyalsSudan ...................1 PoundKSA .......................... 2 RiyalsJordan ....................500 FilsIraq .................................... $1Palestine ......................... $1Syria .............................LS 20

P 8 | FOOTBALLRED-HOT ARAbISergio Dutra does the star turn with a hat-trick as Al Arabi stun champions Lekhwiya in the Qatar Stars League.

DSP

/Moh

an

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers.

the object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once.

TOP TWEETS

Shana Jane@Miss_Shana_Wow, congratulations Lewis Hamilton on that win! race winner and world champion! You are a legend, very well done!

filmdirector247@filmdirector247Lewis Hamilton - 3 time world champion! congratulations man. Well deserved this season, he’s been unstoppable!

R9__@murison17Lewis Hamilton is not a bad driver, but lets be honest, in that car he should always be winning that championship!

CheltPete@PeteJLewisGreat race full of drama.

Hamilton inevitably wins the championship, just a shame the season hasn’t been competitive at all. #Skyf1 #USGP.

Hyper Muse-ic@HandlerOfDronesAlways had the most superior car in his championship wins, never had to work hard for it. Hamilton’s not as great as everyone says.

Wayne Mullins@WayneMullins78congrats to Lewis Hamilton. 3 time world champion. that’s a special achievement. Now has to be ranked amongst the very best! #USGP #SkyF1.

Floella Benjamin@Floellabenjamin#Lewis Hamilton #F1 World

champion for the 3rd time is so wonderful for british sport, economically as well be making the nation proud.

Darren Heath@F1PhotographerKING OF tHE WOrLD! Lewis Hamilton #USGP #F1.

Sam Wallace@SamWallacetelAs a fellow Stevenage boy it’s a puzzle to me how Lewis Hamilton learned to drive so fast despite having to slow down for those roundabouts.

Gary Lineker@GaryLinekerWell played @LewisHamilton . champion of the world for the 3rd time. Let’s try and be proud of our sporting heroes. bloody marvellous.

GO PATS Haylijah af@MeElectraLewis Hamilton is the best driver of his generation #F1.

Amir Khan@AmirKingKhanA big well done to @LewisHamilton on winning today and becoming world champion.

Ludacris@Ludacris1st place has its privileges. congrats to my brother @lewishamilton #fastandfurious #f1 #sundayfunday.

Dan Walker@mrdanwalkerWell done Lewis Hamilton. World champion again while we are moving at 0mph on the M1! #lewishamilton.

Lewis Hamilton created history last week by becoming the first British Formula One driver to clinch back-to-back world titles. By winning the US Grand Prix, he entered an elite club of drivers to have added three world titles to his name. After the twists and turns associated with his first two titles, in 2008 and ’14, it was fairly straightforward this time. His car was simply faster than anybody else’s on the circuit. Hamilton led the standings from start to finish. While some felt it took some sheen off the win, others disagreed and called him the generation’s best driver. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter.


YOUR PAGE

QFA, Qatar Shell organise football seminar

Soul Riders, a hugely popular bike group in Qatar, made their first foray into motor sports during the final round of the recent World Superbike Championship held at the Losail International Circuit.The group, which has 170 members, is a regular sight at sports events as well as charity

programmes in the country.QMMF President Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah and General Secretary Mohammed Saad Al Muraikhi held discussions with Soul Riders founding members Khalid Al Hamadi and Abdullah Al Hajjaj on the sidelines of the championship.Neus Ramos sent the details and photograph.

French Ambassador to Qatar Eric Chevallier last week received his countrymen who were in Doha to compete in the International Paralympic Committee’s Athletics World Championships. He held an hour-long interactive session with members of the squad at his residence.

“I’m really pleased to meet them here in Doha. They’re a great source of inspiration not only to children in France, but all people around the world. I wish them the best ahead of future competitions,” said Chevallier.Maia Lahoud sent the details and photograph.

It is your turn now. tell us about sports events in your neighbourhood, send us photographs too and get them published in DSP. Our e-mail is [email protected]

The Qatar Football Association and Qatar Shell recently organised a two-day coaching clinic ahead of the launch of the fourth season of Il’AbWe’Yana, an extracurricular programme for boys and girls between seven and 16.The programme, based on the FC Barcelona Foundation’s FutbolNet methodology,

provides children with an extra 100 hours of physical education.More than 45 local coaches, including Qatari men and women, attended the seminar, which had six teaching modules focusing on healthy living.Farah Al Ali Al Maadeed sent the details and photograph.

More than 1,000 students from the Birla Public School attended a workshop organised by the International Centre for Sport Security’s Save The Dream project last week.Building on last year’s Schools Olympic Programme theme — Sport and Peace — the workshop highlighted the importance of sport as a tool to promote peace and reconciliation.Children underwent a number of activities which helped instil in them the Olympic values of friendship, respect, hard work and leadership.‘Save the Dream’ will further promote the message at a special event in New York’s Times Square on November 3.Will Shand sent the details and photograph.

Abdullah Sulaiman and Joong Suk Kim won the men’s and women’s title respectively of the 17th Qatargas Open at the Doha Golf Club last week.Abdullah had a gross score of 42 while Joong triumphed on count back after tallying 40 points. The annual event featured 350 golfers, including Qatargas employees, stakeholders and players from the Qatar Golf Association. A junior competition, featuring more than 30 participants, was also held. Qatargas Public Relations Manager Azam Abdulaziz Al Mannai awarded the winners.Thajudeen V Aliar sent the details and photograph.

Save The Dream forum held at BPS

Abdullah, Joong reign supreme

Soul Riders at motor sports arena

French Ambassador receives para-athletes

Publishers: ASPIRE Printing, Publishing and DistributionP O Box: 24598, Doha, Qatar.

Marketing & advertising: Tel: +974 44138566 e-mail: [email protected]

Distribution: Tel: +974 44138535/36, Fax: +974 44138597e-mail: [email protected]

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