SPORTFriday 31 August 2018

PAGE | 18 PAGE | 19Vettel plays down

Hamilton comments ahead of Italian GP

QSL: Al Gharafa target full points against Al Ahli

Qatar clinch relay gold with record run

MEDAL TABLE (TOP 10)Rank Country G S B Total

1 China 112 76 53 241

2 Japan 59 49 66 174

3 South Korea 39 46 56 141

4 Indonesia 30 23 37 90

5 Iran 19 19 20 58

6 Uzbekistan 15 19 19 53

7 Chinese Taipei 14 17 24 55

8 India 13 21 25 59

9 DPR Korea 12 9 12 33

10 Bahrain 12 6 7 25

11 Kazakhstan 11 11 38 60

12 Thailand 9 14 36 59

13 Malaysia 5 11 9 25

14 Qatar 5 4 3 12

15 Vietnam 4 15 16 35

16 Hong Kong 4 13 17 34

17 Philippines 4 1 13 18

18 UAE 3 6 4 13

19 Singapore 3 4 10 17

20 Mongolia 3 4 9 16

21 Kuwait 3 1 2 6

CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The dominant Qatari 4x400m relay quartet was no match for any other finalists as Abderrahman Samba, Mohammed Al Noor, Mohammed Abbas and Abdalelah Haroun bagged the country’s fifth gold medal with a record run at the Asian Games yesterday.

Champion hurdler Samba gave a perfect start before Al Noor and Abbas made sure Qatar stayed ahead as the 400 metres champion Haroun further extended the lead to finish the race in 3:00.56 minutes, a new Asian Record.

Yesterday’s gold medal was Samba and Haroun’s second at the 2018 Asian Games, having won the 400m hurdles and 400m dash respectively at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

“We did it! We won gold today! I would like to dedicate the win to H H the Amir and H E Sheikh Joaan. We also dedicate it to the people of Qatar. We promise to always fly Qatar’s flag high and make the country proud,” a jubilant Samba said after receiving the medals from the President of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday.

According to his team-mate Abbas, yesterday’s win was no surprise. “This was an expected win for the team, we gave our best and performed very well as a team. I dedicate the win to the people of Qatar and they deserve more,” Abbas said after the victory in the final athletics event of the 2018 Asiad.

Al Noor was also happy after erasing the previous record held by Japan, and promised that there is more to come.

“I am very happy for the gold medal and Asian record. The promise is in Doha 2019,” Al Noor, 22 said.

Indian team was a clear second with a time of 3:01.85 minutes, but the Japanese men had fight for the remaining podium spot with the Sri Lankans who were putting up an impressive effort. Despite the keen tussle, Japan won the bronze with a time of 3:01.94 while Sri Lankans failed to secure their only medal in athletics.

In other finals which took place yesterday at the same venue, three more Qatari athletes com-peted in their respective events, but failed to book podium finishes.

Ali Musaab and Hamza Driouch competed in the men’s 1,500 metres final and were ranked fifth and sixth respectively. Musaab clocked a time of 3:47.35 while Driouch finished with a time of 3:47.84 in the event which was won by India’s Jinson Johnson who made up for his shock loss to compatriot Manjit Singh in the 800m.

In the men’s 5,000 metres final, Qatar’s Yaser Bagharab fin-ished fifth marking 14:16.68.

Meanwhile, Qatar secured their fourth silver medal in

Indonesia when equestrian rider Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani won the silver medal in the individual jumping event yesterday.

Riding on the saddle of his nine-year old stallion Sirocco, Sheikh Ali scored 2.02 at the Jakarta International Equestrian Park.

This was the second medal at the 2018 Games for Sheikh Ali, who was partnered with compa-triots Basem Hassan, Hamad Al Attiayah and Salmen Al Suwaidi to secure the bronze third place in the team event on Tuesday.

“We came to the Asian Games aiming for gold, but we got a bronze medal as a team and I got

a silver medal in my competition today. Still great, thanks God. We look forward to better perform-ances in future,” Sheikh Ali said after yesterday’s win.

Kuwait’s Ali Al Khorafi won the gold medal to become the second jumper from his country to win gold in the individual event at the Asian Games while Saudi Arabia’s Ramzi Al Dahami secured the bronze.

Qatar’s Al Suwaidi, astride Cantaro 32, finished in the 45th spot.

With two medals being added to the tally, Qatar have now won a total of 12 medals, including five gold, four silver, and three bronze.

Elsewhere, Qatari volleyball team’s unbeaten run at the 2018 Games came to an end when Iran defeated them in straight sets (25-23, 25-19, 25-18) in yes-terday’s semi-final despite a strong fight from the Al Annabi spikers.

However, Al Annabi still have a shot at the bronze medal if they beat Chinese Taipei tomorrow.

In the women’s trampoline, Qatari female gymnast, Nadeem Wehdan was ranked sixth in the final round with a score of 46.075.

Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani

guides his nine-year old stallion Sirocco

over a hurdle in the individual jumping

event at the Jakarta International

Equestrian Park. Sheikh Ali won the

silver medal.

Qatar’s Mohammed Abbas, Abdalelah Haroun, Mohammed Al Noor and Abderrahman Samba celebrate after winning the final of the men’s 4x400m relay with a new Asian Record during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta yesterday.

The Qatari men’s 4 x 400m relay team members celebrate on the podium during the medal ceremony.

We did it! We won gold today! I would like to dedicate the win to H H the Amir and H E Sheikh Joaan. We also dedicate it to the people of Qatar. We promise to always fly Qatar’s flag high and make the country proud: Samba

17FRIDAY 31 AUGUST 2018 SPORT

China’s Jiaqi, 14, claims second diving medalAFP

JAKARTA: China’s powerhouse divers secured a one-two in the women’s 10 metre platform yesterday, with Si Yajie taking gold to success-fully defend her Asian Games title.

Nineteen-year-old Si, an Olympic silver medallist, never looked seriously threatened by Zhang Jiaqi, 14 -- but later claimed she had not anticipated the win over her younger rival.

“I’m feeling quite emotional, I did not expect this,” Si said after securing the top spot with 405.45.

Zhang -- nicknamed “Little Fu Mingzia” after the Chinese diving great -- opened with an outstanding forward three-and-a-half som-ersaults in front of a sea of boisterous, red-shirted China fans.

But in the end Si’s experience saw her through and she won with a remarkably con-sistent 8.5 average on all five rounds.

“I felt the pressure a little bit,” said the tiny Zhang, looking overwhelmed among a scrum of reporters.

“But she (Si) is a bit older and has taught me how to cope,” added Zhang, who won the synchronised 10 metre platform on Tuesday with Zhang Minjie, who was celebrating her 14th birthday. Zhang Jiaqi finished on 395.30, as North Korea’s Kim Mi Rae landed the bronze with 367.90.

Unified Korea slam Taiwan to reach basketball finalAFP

JAKARTA: A joint Korean women’s basketball team slammed Taiwan 89-66 to reach the Asian Games final yesterday, helped by Las Vegas razzmatazz and some good, old, northern grit.

Roared on by around 100 fans waving Korean unification flags, North Korean Ro Suk Yong joint top-scored with 17 points in a blow-out victory in Jakarta. The winners await either China or Japan in this weekend’s gold medal game.

Beanpole centre Park Ji-su chipped in with 10 points -- one of six Korean players in double figures -- in her first game since being released by WNBA team the Las Vegas Aces.

A noisy section of Korean fans waving flags bearing the blue Korean unification flag with the slogan “One dream, one Corea”, and wearing matching T-shirts, sere-naded the players throughout. As chants of “Uri nun hana da” (we are one) echoed around the arena, the Koreans were sparked by a captain’s performance from Lim Yung-hui -- who at 38 is old enough to be the mother of some of her team-mates.

Lim also scored 17 points, along with Park Hye-jin, in a one-sided encounter.

“I’m mixed myself and I came here with an open slate, that’s what our whole team did. We show each other photos of our families, they’re really nice girls -- my mum’s met them!

“It’s a big, big step in the right direction. Hopefully it will propel something in the future for

maybe coming together again.”

Kim looked every inch the street baller with her bleach-blonde hair and headband, while her northern cousins sported sensible, state-approved cropped cuts and no-non-sense ponytails.

But the hard-working Ro, one of three Pyongyang-based players on the team, had travelling Korean media eating out of her hand after the game.

“When you are united good things happen,” said the 25-year-old. “I’ve never felt such warm support on a basketball court,” added Ro, who paid tribute to Park’s contribution.

“Park Ji-su had a big impact -- she’s like a tree, just blocks everything.”

Park provided the high-light of the game with a gnarly spin move on the baseline, topped off with a finger-roll Allen Iverson would have been proud of.

North and South Korea have also formed united teams in canoeing and rowing at the Asian Games in the latest sign of thawing

relations on the troubled peninsula.

The two countries marched together at the opening cer-emony in Jakarta after forming their first-ever unified Olympic team -- a joint women’s ice hockey side -- for February’s Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

Japan eye 2020 sprint goldafter success at Asian GamesAFP

JAKARTA: Japan’s 4x100 metres relay team added gold to their Rio silver on the last night of Asian Games athletics yesterday, as they dared to dream of a shock victory at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Three of the four sprinters who earned Japan a stunning second behind Usain Bolt’s Jamaica at the 2016 Olympics teamed up again for a dominant showing in Jakarta.

They led from the start to win in 38.16, while home team Indonesia drew a massive cheer by holding on to finish second, ahead of China.

“We came here for the gold so we are happy to get the job done,” said Ryota Yamagata. “We have pressure for the Olympics but we have confi-dence too.

“We want to get gold -- I think it is possible.”

Yamagata said the win was a great introduction for new member Shuhei Tada -- replacing Shota Iizuka -- even if their time was 0.56 seconds slower than in Brazil.

“We were aiming to go under 38 seconds but we attacked the race and got what we came for,” he said.

Indonesia celebrated as if they had won gold after edging out Asian heavyweights China, who made a slow start but nearly caught up in the final stretch.

The team’s 18-year-old talisman Lalu Zohri, who is from quake-hit Lombok, paid tribute to the support he had received from home fans.

“I feel very proud and grateful because I could give the best to Indo-nesia,” he said. “I hope in the future I can perform better for my beloved country.”

Zohri admitted he had felt the pressure during his seventh-placed finish in the individual 100m earlier in the meet.

“Tonight it’s a team, so it’s good mentally. The other day, on the sprint, maybe I was mentally down to see the big names.”

Lalu, who is from humble origins and grew up in a bamboo hut unable to afford running shoes, won Indone-sia’s first ever gold at the junior world championships in Finland this year.

The feat led to a government promise to rebuild his parents’ poor home.

“My new home has already been constructed, which was granted by the military,” he confirmed.

Elsewhere, Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong added the 4x100m gold to her 100m and 200m victories, but fell short of an unprecedented fourth win in the 4x400m -- which started less than two hours after her earlier win.

Her compatriot Kalkidan Befkadu also secured multiple golds after adding the 1,500m title to her 5,000m

victory. She edged out another Bah-raini athlete, her training partner Tigist Belay.

Triple Olympic medallist Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan soared to victory in the triple jump, with her 14.26m easily enough for a third con-secutive Asian Games win.

Rypakova, 33, who took gold at London 2012, said there was “no secret” to her longevity.

“It’s my job. I like it,” she said. “I have a little worry that there’s nobody coming through after me in Kazakhstan -- nobody who can match my results in the future.”

India scooped two more gold medals to take their athletics tally to seven -- a vast improvement on their two in Incheon 2014.

Jinson Johnson made up for his shock loss to compatriot Manjit Singh in the 800m by winning the 1,500m, while India’s women comfortably won the 4x400m relay.

Bahrain also went one-two in the men’s 5,000 metres to finish level with China at the top of the athletics medals table on 12 golds each.

Japan’s Aska Cambridge (centre) competes in the final of the men’s 4x100m relay during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta yesterday. Japan won the gold medal in 38.16 secs.

Three of the four sprinters who earned Japan a stunning second behind Usain Bolt’s Jamaica at the 2016 Olympics teamed up again for a dominant showing in Jakarta.

Malaysia’s ‘Pocket Rocketman’ soars to cycling gold

AFP

JAKARTA: Malaysia’s “Pocket Rocketman” Azizulhasni Awang powered to men’s sprint gold in the Asian Games track cycling yesterday -- and then shaved off his mous-tache to celebrate.

The pint-sized former world champion, who is 1.66m (5ft 5in) tall, beat Japan’s Fukaya Tomohiro in two heats in the final before greeting his excited Malaysian fans.

Azizulhasni, who won Olympic keirin bronze in 2016, and the world title in 2017, then had his moustache shaved off by his coach in ceremonial style trackside, using an electric razor.

“I kept the moustache when I came to Jakarta to look a bit more fierce. Part of my gameplan,” he explained. “Luckily I delivered a sprint gold which was unexpected.

“It meant a lot because for the last two Asian Games I did not win a (sprint) gold medal. Ended fourth in Guangzhou and Incheon. There’s always something I have to fine-tune in my sprint... I learn from my mistakes.”

Azizulhasni said that his good per-formance in the sprint will give him a boost as he goes for keirin gold on Friday. He already has a silver from the men’s team sprint event with Shah Firdaus and Muhammad Fadhil Zonis.

“My ultimate goal is to qualify for Tokyo 2020 and to deliver the first ever gold medal for our country Malaysia. It (this medal) has boosted my motivation and confidence level,” Azizulhasni said.

In the women’s 3,000m individual pursuit, South Korea’s Lee Ju-mi, who set a new Asian record of 3:33.048 in the qualifi-cation, won gold.

Wang Hong of China settled for silver while Taiwan’s Huang Ting-ying took bronze.

Malaysia’s Azizulhasni Awang reacts after winning the men’s sprint gold in the Asian Games track cycling yesterday.

Unified Korea’s Choi Eunsil (right) shoots over Taiwan’s Wu Yingchieh during the women’s basketball semi-final of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta yesterday.

18 FRIDAY 31 AUGUST 2018SPORT

Vettel plays down Hamilton comments ahead of Italian GPAP

MONZA, ITALY: Sebastian Vettel isn’t biting. Last week, Lewis Hamilton said in a trackside interview shortly after Vettel’s victory at the Belgian Grand Prix that Ferrari had “a few trick things going on in the car.”

Hamilton later tried to distance himself from sounding suspicious, or suggesting Ferrari infringed the rules in any way.

“I don’t know. You need to ask him but I think he said in the press conference something with tricks but I think he said many times he doesn’t want it to be interpreted in the wrong way and I think maybe it did,” Vettel said yesterday ahead of the Italian Grand Prix..

“I am not so sure but for all of us in terms of is the call is legal or not, the FIA is responsible for it and we have several checks throughout the weekend to prove that so as long as I don’t hear anything from that front then I think it’s fine. Same for the others.”

Hamilton finished 12 seconds behind Vettel last week in second place, although that margin was made larger by the fact the Mercedes driver eased up in the closing laps because he knew he could not catch his rival and was saving the engine for races ahead.

“As I said, maybe it’s more of a question for him and for us it’s to keep our head down,” Vettel added.

“If there’s something like momentum then to use that momentum to make sure we go forward.”

Hamilton was not scheduled to be at yesterday’s tra-ditional news conference but was due to appear before the media at Mercedes’ hospitality area. However, the team announced in the morning that the world champion would not be arriving at Monza until the evening because of an “unavoidable personal commitment.”

Both Hamilton and Vettel are chasing a fifth world title this year.

After trimming Hamilton’s overall lead to 17 points last weekend, Vettel is now focused on ending Ferrari’s eight-year wait for a win at the Italian GP, where he says the track “in many ways is similar to Spa” and suited to the team. The German driver has finished on the podium in Monza three times since moving to Ferrari, finishing runner-up to Hamilton in 2015 before two straight third-place finishes.

Ferrari’s German driver Sebastian Vettel (left) and his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen address a press conference in Monza, yesterday.

Serena sees off Witthoeft to set up Venus clashREUTERS

NEW YORK: Serena Williams overpowered German Carina Witthoeft 6-2, 6-2 to set up a third-round clash with big sister Venus at the US Open on Wednesday.

Williams sent down 13 aces and 30 winners to record her second consecutive straight sets victory at Flushing Meadows as the 36-year-old, who is hunting a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, wrapped up the win in one hour and seven minutes.

“It’s always such a great crowd at night. It’s just amazing to play in front of this crowd,” she said courtside after her victory.

“I was happy with a lot of things.” Next up is a 30th career meeting with Venus,

who beat her younger sibling in their most recent encounter at Indian Wells earlier this year.

The last time the two sisters met at a Grand Slam was in the 2017 Australian Open final, where Serena prevailed in straight sets.

“It’s obviously a tough match,” Serena added.“It’s so young in the tournament, but it is what

it is. It’s not the end of the world. We would rather have met later. We’re both going to come out per usual and play our best in front of you guys.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian seventh seed Elina Svi-tolina cruised past Tatjana Maria 6-2, 6-3 to avenge a first round defeat at the hands of the German player at Wimbledon last month.

Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi followed up her first round win over world number one Simona Halep by seeing off Jil Teichmann of Switzerland 6-4, 6-3.

However, ninth seeded Julia Goerges, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, slumped to a 7-6 (12/10), 6-3 defeat to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.

Nadal storms into third roundAFP

NEW YORK: World number one and defending champion Rafael Nadal steamed into the third round on another scorching day at the US Open on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Vasek Pospisil.

Nadal, spared the worst of the heat thanks to his late-night start on Arthur Ashe Stadium, sped past Pospisil 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. His only hiccup came in the second set, when he dropped his serve to fall 2-4 down.

“The conditions are

tough,” Nadal said. “It was important to start very well with that break. To win in straight sets is always very positive, especially in these conditions. It’s almost mid-night, very happy about the victory.”

Former champions Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin del Potro also advanced, while 2012 winner Andy Murray, like Wawrinka back at Flushing Meadows after

missing last year through injury, was bounced by Fernando Verdasco.

Wawrinka survived searing mid-day heat and a spirited Ugo Humbert.

“I knew it would be a dif-ficult match,” said Wawrinka, who was pleased to find himself feeling fit after prevailing 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in three hours and 21 minutes.

Meanwhile, Murray, the

2012 US Open winner, who was playing his first Grand Slam in 14 months, is still fighting to find full fitness after hip surgery in January.

He gave himself a mixed review after a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Spain’s Verdasco, whose only win over Murray in 14 prior meetings was at the 2009 Australian Open.

“I think some of the tennis I played today was some of the best I’ve played

since I had the surgery or since I came back,” said Murray. He was disappointed to surrender the first set after holding a set point, but pleased he had enough in the tank to push Verdasco through five break points in the final game before the Spaniard converted his third match point.

Even with his current limitations, Murray is a dan-gerous opponent, Verdasco said.

“He’s an unbelievable player, so talented. No matter how much his hip hurts or whatever, he’s going to fight and he’s going to put all the balls he can in and run,” Verdasco said after earning a third-round meeting with 2009 champion del Potro.

The third-seeded Argen-tinian, who career was nearly ended by wrist injuries after his maiden Grand Slam triumph here, defeated American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).

Del Potro was delighted to get through in three sets, and not spend too long in the steamy sunshine.

Organisers again imple-mented an extreme heat policy that allowed both men and women a 10-minute heat break in matches extended beyond straight sets.

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his win against Vasek Pospisil of Canada on Wednesday.

Former champions

Stan Wawrinka

and Juan Martin

del Potro also

advanced, while

2012 winner

Andy Murray, like

Wawrinka back at

Flushing Meadows

after missing last

year through injury,

was bounced

by Fernando

Verdasco.

Curran rescues England after top order slump on first dayAFP

SOUTHAMPTON: Sam Curran marked his England return with a Test-best 78 as the hosts fought back on the first day of the fourth Test against India in Southampton yesterday.

It was a familiar story when Curran, primarily a left-arm swing bowler and playing just his fourth Test, came into bat with England in dire straits at 86 for six.

But thanks to the 20-year-old they finished on a far more respectable 246 all out, with India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah taking an economical three wickets for 46 runs in his 20 overs India had four overs to bat until the close but reached stumps on 19 without loss, a deficit of 227 runs.

Shikhar Dhawan was three not out and KL Rahul 11 not out.

Curran was unfor-tunate to miss the third Test at Trent Bridge, a match India won by 203

runs to reduce England’s lead in the five-match series to 2-1, as he made way for returning all-rounder Ben Stokes.

But the first day saw him put on 81 for the seventh wicket with the recalled Moeen Ali (40) and Curran then added 63 for the ninth with Stuart Broad (17).

Curran, a son of the late Zimbabwe all-rounder Kevin Curran, was last man out, bowled trying to heave spinner Ravi-chandran Ashwin.

In all, he batted for over three hours, facing 136 balls including eight fours and a six.

Earlier, England captain Joe Root opted to bat after winning the toss and promptly saw his side slump to 36 for four.

It was the 32nd time in their last 63 Test innings that England had been four wickets down with 100 or fewer runs on the scoreboard.

India’s four quicks all gained sharp and often

e x t r a v a g a n t s e a m movement -- which helped explain the large total of 23 byes conceded by wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant. Bumrah struck with just his seventh delivery when he had the Keaton Jennings lbw for a duck, with the struggling left-hander leaving a ball that cut back into him.

Jonny Bairstow had been promoted to bat at number four despite a broken finger suffered at Trent Bridge that means he is unfit to keep wicket, with Jos Buttler set to dep-utise again behind the stumps as he did at Nottingham.

Bairstow, however was caught behind off Bumrah for six.

All the while, Alastair Cook, England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer, had watched the collapse from the other end.

But the veteran opener, himself looking to

end of a run of low scores, fell for 17 when he care-lessly played outside off stump to Hardik Pandya and saw an edge well caught low down at third slip by India captain Virat Kohli.

Buttler, as happened during his maiden Test century at Trent Bridge, was dropped early in his innings by Pant.

But yesterday he fell for 21, edging a loose drive off Mohammed Shami to Kohli in the slip cordon.

Stokes had made a

battling 62 during a second-innings part-nership of 169 with Buttler at Trent Bridge.

Curran and Ali were recalled after Curran’s fellow 20-year-old Surrey rising star Ollie Pope, a batsman, was dropped and pace-bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes ruled out with a thigh injury.

Ali drove Ashwin for six before his opposing off-spinner had him top-edging a sweep well caught on the run by Bumrah.

England’s Sam Curran hits a shot during the first day of fourth Test against India in Southampton, yesterday.

England (I Innings) A Cook c Kohli b Pandya ......................................17K Jennings lbw b Bumrah .................................... 0J Root lbw b Sharma .............................................. 4J Bairstow c Pant b Bumrah ................................. 6B Stokes lbw b Shami ..........................................23J Buttler c Kohli b Shami ......................................21M Ali c Bumrah b Ashwin .................................. 40S Curran b Ashwin ................................................78A Rashid lbw b Sharma ......................................... 6S Broad lbw b Bumrah .........................................17J Anderson (not out) ..............................................0Extras (B23, Lb9, Nb2) .....................................34

Total (all out) ...................................... 246Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-15, 3-28, 4-36, 5-69, 6-86, 7-167 , 8-177, 9-240, 10-246Bowling: Bumrah 20-5-46-3 (1nb); Sharma 16-6-26-2; Pandya 8-0-51-1 (1nb); Shami 18-2-51-2; Ashwin 14.4-3-40-2India (I Innings)

Shikhar Dhawan (batting) ................ 3 Lokesh Rahul (batting) ....................11 Extras (B4, W1) ................................5 Total (4.0 overs) ................... 19Bowling: James Anderson 2-1-3-0; Stuart Broad 2-0-12-0 1w

SCOREBOARD

India’s Jasprit

Bumrah celebrates

a wicket, yesterday.

19FRIDAY 31 AUGUST 2018 SPORT

Al Gharafa target full points against Al AhliFAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

DOHA: After holding an in-form Al Sadd to a 1-1 draw in their previous match, Al Gharafa are hoping to secure full points against Al Ahli in the fourth round of QNB Stars League (QSL) at Khalifa International Stadium today.

Al Gharafa, who suffered a shock 3-1 defeat to Qatar SC in their first clash of QSL, are on seventh in the standings with four points, and their head coach Christian Gourcuff is aiming for full points against Al Ahli.

“We put a good show for a draw against Al Sadd and the team is targeting full points against Al Ahli. The short break has helped the players recover after tough Al Sadd game,” the head coach said at a pre-match press conference yesterday.

Gourcuff said he will con-tinue to test youngsters of the team, hoping they will excel in today’s match.

“We’re trying to give more opportunities to our young

players. They must make their presence felt on the pitch. We’re trying to strike a balance, so they get along well with the seniors,” he said.

Al Gharafa star Wesley Sne-ijder, who accompanied Gourcuff in press conference, said he will put the friendship aside when he will face Al Ahli’s Nigel de Jong - his former team-mate at Ajax Amsterdam and the Dutch national side.

“Nigel de Jong and I are very

good friends. But then, a game is a game. Of course, we won’t kick each other! I am playing for three points, he is also playing for three points. This is not the first time that we are playing against each other. We have faced off in Italy before. It’s always a special feeling playing against him,” he said.

Sneijder also expressed sat-isfaction on Al Gharafa’s per-formance so far in the season.

“We had a good result from the Al Sadd game and we need three points from this match. We’re improving after every game. I’m happy with the overall level and quality of football in Qatar. I’ll keep giving my 100 percent.

Meanwhile, Al Ahli coach Milan Macala hoped his team will avoid mistakes of the previous matches in what he described as a tough game.

“We’re still at the beginning of the league and are working to equip the team well in every game. We’ve a very tough game this week against Al Gharafa, who played a very strong match against Al Sadd in the previous

round,” he said.“We’ll miss some players in this game too. We were adversely affected by the absence of Khalil Sharif and Mohammed Reza in the last match that we lost 1-4 to Umm Salal. They will return against Al Gharafa.

“We’re trying hard to correct our mistakes. The QNB Stars

League is only three games old and it’s still early to assess. We play every game with different combinations as we haven’t got the services of all players together, due to injuries and sus-pensions,” he added.

“Against Umm Salal, we played the first 15 minutes well,

but the problem was the mis-takes made by the defence. If you go 0-2 down after 30 minutes due to your own mistakes, you can’t do much in a game,” the coach said.

In other match today, Al Sailiya will take on Al Khor at the same venue.

Al Gharafa head coach Christian Gourcuff (right) and team’s star player Wesley Sneijder during a pre-match press conference, yesterday.

Today’s matches5:10pm: Al Sailiya vs Al Khor at Khalifa International Stadium

7:20pm: Al Ahli vs Al Gharafa at Khalifa International Stadium

Tomorrow5:10pm: Al Rayyan vs Al

Kharaitiyat at Al Sadd Stadium7:20pm: Al Arabi vs Umm Salal

at Al Sadd StadiumSunday

5:10pm: Al Sadd vs Al Shahania at Khalifa International Stadium7:20pm: Qatar SC vs Al Duhail at

Khalifa International Stadium

QNB STARS LEAGUE: ROUND 4

Modric named UEFA Player-of-the-YearAP

MONACO: Croatia captain Luka Modric yesterday won UEFA Player-of-the-Year award, edging former Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah for the UEFA award.

Modric helped Madrid win a third straight Cham-pions League title, and fourth in five seasons, before leading his country to the World Cup final. Croatia lost 4-2 against France.

Voting was by Champions League coaches and invited journalists across Europe.

Madrid swept the overall election for best player in last season’s Champions League after goalkeeper Keylor Navas, defender Sergio Ramos, midfielder Modric and forward Ronaldo won the individual posi-tional prizes. Ronaldo has since joined Juventus.

The best women’s player award was won by Per-nille Harder of Denmark and Wolfsburg.

Real Madrid Croatian midfielder Luka Modric poses with his UEFA Player-of-the-Year award in Monaco, yesterday.

Ronaldo seeks first goal for JuventusREUTERS

MILAN: World Player-of-the-Year Cristiano Ronaldo will try again to score his first goal for Juventus and Inter Milan will attempt to secure their first league win of the season in the weekend’s Serie A games.

Ronaldo added another prize to his collection on Tuesday when his bicycle kick goal for Real Madrid away to Juventus in April won UEFA’s vote for the goal of the season.

The goal also earned him a standing ovation from the Juventus crowd at the end of that game and Ronaldo said recently that their

reaction partly influenced his decision to join the Turin side in a surprise move in July.

The 33-year-old, however, would probably settle for a tap-in or a penalty to get off the mark for his new side when they visit pro-moted Parma tomorrow.

Given that Ronaldo scored 311 goals in 292 La Liga matches for Real Madrid, two scoreless games for Juventus is already beginning to feel like a drought -- and his failure to hit the back of the net certainly has not been for want of trying.

Ronaldo was denied by an inspired display by Chievo

goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino in his opening game, won 3-2 by Juventus, and again by Lazio’s Thomas Strakosha in their 2-0 win last Saturday.

He also missed an open goal in that game but in doing so unwit-tingly set up an assist for Mario Mandzukic.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said Ronaldo just needed more time.

“He’s intelligent and under-stands that Italian football is dif-ferent to that in Spain,” he said.

Parma have been to the fourth division and back since their 1-0 win over Juventus when the teams

last met in 2015. Shortly after that win, Parma were relegated and subsequently kicked out of the league after going bankrupt.

As often happens in Italian football, they were quickly re-founded, accepted into the fourth tier of the league and managed three straight promotions for the quickest possible return to Serie A.

Ronaldo’s Juventus, Napoli and surprise package SPAL are the only teams with a maximum six points after two games while Inter, touted as possible con-tenders before the season, find themselves with one point after a miserable start.

Cristiano Ronaldo

PSG, Napoli and Liverpool drawn

together in Champions LeagueAP

MONACO: Cristiano Ronaldo is going back to Manchester United and Paul Pogba will return to Juventus after the storied teams were drawn together in a Cham-pions League group yesterday.

After winning four titles at Real Madrid, and one with United, Ronaldo aims to end Juventus’ 23-year wait for a third European title.

Pogba played for Juventus in its 2015 final loss against Barcelona before moving back to Manchester - where he was first recruited as a teenager - for a then-world record fee in 2016.

Valencia and Young Boys are also in Group H with United and Juventus.

Three-time defending champion Real Madrid will start its quest for a record-extending 14th European title in Group G with Roma, CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen.

Barcelona heads a tough-looking Group B with Tottenham, plus former champions PSV Eind-hoven and Inter Milan, while three more former European champions Bayern Munich, Benfica, Ajax are together with underdog AEK Athens in Group E.

Liverpool, the runner-up last season, was the toughest third-seeded team and landed with Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, and Red Star Belgrade in Group C.

English champion Manchester City got a favourable draw in Group F with Shakhtar Donetsk, Lyon and Hoffenheim. Atletico Madrid, whose Metropolitano stadium hosts the final on June 1, is grouped with Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and Club Brugge in Group A.

Lokomotiv Moscow, seeded in the top pot as Russia’s champion,

will play Porto, Schalke and Galatasaray in Group D.

The 32 teams will share 1.95bn euros ($2.28bn) in prize money from UEFA.

Games kick off on September 18, and two teams from each group advance to the Round of 16.

There were 13 former cham-pions in a draw that included three teams - Hoffenheim, Red Star and Young Boys - making their group-stage debuts in the 27-season Champions League era. Red Star won the old European Cup in 1991, one year before the format changed.

Teams from the same country could not be drawn together yes-terday, and teams from Ukraine and Russia were also kept apart due to ongoing political tensions.

This season kicks off a new

three-year cycle of broadcasting and sponsor deals that have raised prize money to record levels. All 32 teams get a basic 15.25m euros ($17.8m) just for being in the draw.

UEFA will also allocate 30 percent of the total to reward teams for their storied history in European competitions and results over the

past 10 years. Real Madrid is guar-anteed to earn at least 50m euros ($59m), plus a share of Spanish TV rights money and results bonuses.

UEFA pays 2.7m euros ($3.2m) per group-stage win and 900,000 euros ($1.05m) for a draw. More fees are earned for reaching each sub-sequent round.

Group A: Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, AS Monaco, Club Bruges

Group B: Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan

Group C: Paris St Germain, Napoli, Liverpool, Red Star Belgrade

Group D: Lokomotiv, Moscow Porto, Schalke 04, Galatasaray

Group E: Bayern Munich, Benfica, Ajax Amsterdam, AEK Athens

Group F: Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk, Olympique Lyonnais, Hoffenheim

Group G: Real Madrid, AS Roma, CSKA Moscow, Viktoria Plzen

Group H: Juventus, Manchester United, Valencia, Young Boys Bern

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: GROUP STAGE DRAW

Former Brazil player Kaka shows the name of Real Madrid during the draw for UEFA Champions League at The Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, yesterday.