THE PENINSULA – DOHA

A brilliant strike by Algerian Mohamed Ben Yattou saw Al Wakrah defeating the reigning QNB Stars League champions Al Duhail in the second round of the new season at the Education City Stadium yesterday.

Ben Yattou scored the all-important goal in the 11th minute as Al Wakrah put behind their 1-2 loss to Al Ahli in Week 1.

Al Duhail were on the attack from beginning, whereas Al Wakrah took time to settle down. New recruit Ramin Rezaein skied a shot in the fifth minute to signal The Red Knights’ intentions.

Almoez Ali, Mohammed Muntari, another new signing Eduardo Rod-riguez (Dudu) all looked like making up for the injury-forced absences of Karim Boudiaf, Edmilson Junior, Yousef Msakni, Bassam Al Rawi and Assim Madibo.

However, it was Al Wakrah who got into the scoring act, with Beny-ettou, one of the top scorers in last season’s QNB Stars League, finding the target capitalising on a mistake by the Al Duhail defence, especially Luis Martin.

Al Wakrah then tightened their defence, with Ali Karami, Lucas Mendes, Ousmane Coulibaly and Murad Naji staying strong against an onslaught of attacks by Al Duhail.

The Blue Wave goalkeeper Saoud Al Khater had an outstanding game below the bar as Al Duhail failed to score a goal.

The script was no different in the second half. Al Duhail’s Ali Afif, Ismail Mohammed and Abdelrahman Mohammed came off the bench to give impetus to their attack. Mohammed Moosa also took the field to strengthen their defence, but to no avail.

Walid Regragui’s wards did eve-rything as the game wore on. Mean-while, Al Wakrah resorted to counter-attacks.

Mehdi Benatia’s shot which was palmed away by Al Khater in

stoppage time best spoke about the proceedings as Al Wakrah coasted to a famous victory.

Al Wakrah's Spanish coach, Marquez Lopez, praised the brilliant work of his players against the strong Al Duhail outfit, who had only lost two games on their way to win the 2019-20 season

"Thanks all his players for the great effort they made throughout the match against Al Duhail. The team succeeded in winning the match thanks to this great effort and this is our first victory, which also a very important win," a jubilant Lopez said after yesterday's win.

The loss pushed Al Duhail to the fourth position in the standings with three points while Al Sadd, after winning both of the matches they

have played so far, occupies the top spot in the QSL standings. Al Duhail, who had beaten Umm Salal 3-0 in their opener, will now head into the 2020 AFC Champions League, which will resume on 14th September with all West Zone matches being scheduled in Doha.

Meanwhile, at Al Ahli Stadium, Umm Salal and Al Khor teams were tied without goals in their second match of the League.

With yesterday's result, Al Khor raised its points tally to two following their second consecutive draw in the new season, while Umm Salal claimed their first point.

Later, at the same venue, Al Ahli clinched their second consecutive win of the season after outplaying Al Arabi 2-0 at home.

SportWEDNESDAY 09 SEPTEMBER 2020

Captain Kohli feels relaxed ahead of IPLI (have) never felt so calm going into a season before. He (AB de Villiers) is coming from a very different space and he is enjoying his life and is very relaxed and fit as ever. I feel I am in a much better space, much more balanced, when it comes to environment of (the) IPL.

SPORT | 11

CIdeit

Virat KohliRoyal Challengers Bangalore skipper

Al Sadd extend Al Haydos'

contract until 2025

Al Sadd's Hassan Al Haydos posing for a photograph with

a team jersey after his contract was extended until 2025,

yesterday. The Qatar national team captain, Haydos joined Al

Sadd in 2007 and has made 251 appearances with the Wolves

and has scored 81 goals.

New season's first shocker:Al Wakrah stun Al Duhail

ROUND 2 RESULTS:Al Sadd 5-1 Al Sailiya

Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 Qatar SC

Al Rayyan 3-1 Al Gharafa

Al Wakrah 1-0 Al Duhail

Umm Salal 0-0 Al Khor

Al Ahli 2-0 Al Arabi

CONCACAF qualifiers will not start until March: FIFA

REUTERS – BERN

The start of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in the C O N C A C A F r e g i o n , comprising North and Central America and the Caribbean, has been put back until March next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, global soccer body FIFA said yesterday.

In the latest delay to the qualifying competition for the tournament in Qatar, FIFA said it had jointly decided with CONCACAF that the international dates in October and November were too early for play to start in the current circumstances.

“Many parts of the region continue to have very chal-lenging public health situa-tions, and that has been a key factor in this decision,” said FIFA in a statement.

The South American qual-ifiers, which had been due to begin in March this year, will not start until at least next month, while the Asian qual-ifiers, where the second round is underway, will not restart until March 2021.

De Bruyne named Player of the YearAP – LONDON

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was voted English football’s Player of the Year yesterday, denying Liverpool a third straight winner of the prestigious award.

De Bruyne became the first City player to capture the Professional Footballers’ Association award after scoring 13 goals and making a record-tying 20 assists last season.

Liverpool players Virgil Van Dijk (2019) and Mohamed Salah (2018) won the award - voted on by players in the top flight - the past two seasons, but the team was denied a hat trick of winners despite becoming champions last season for the first time in 30 years. Liverpool finished 18 points clear of City, the runner-up.

Van Dijk was on the shortlist again along with team-mates Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was named the young player of the year.

Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo

reacts after scoring his 100th goal for his

country during the UEFA Nations League match

against Sweden in Solna, Sweden, yesterday.

Ronaldo nets 100th internationalgoal as Portugal down SwedenREUTERS – STOCKHOLM

Cristiano Ronaldo rattled home a superb first-half free kick to become only the second male player to score 100 international goals as Portugal outclassed 10-man Sweden 2-0 in their Nations League A Group 3 game yesterday. Portugal's captain scored with a dipping set-piece effort just before halftime to join Ali Daei, who netted 109 times for Iran, on a century of goals.

The 35-year-old was a constant threat to Sweden's back line in the early exchanges, hanging on the shoulder of the last defender before bursting forward to beat the offside trap, but Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen was equal to the task. That all changed when Gustav Svensson received his second yellow card and was sent packing after a reckless challenge on Joao Moutinho on the edge of his own box just before halftime. Ronaldo stepped up and smashed a dipping effort beyond the despairing dive of Olsen and just under the crossbar before breaking into a wide smile as he celebrated with his team mates.

Ronaldo struck again in the 73rd minute with another curling, dipping effort, this time from open play, to leave himself just eight goals short of Daei's record.

Al Wakrah's Mohamed Ben Yattou vies for the ball against Al

Duhail players during yesterday's match.

Australia beat England in final T20 clash, regain No.1 rankingAFP – LONDON

Australia beat England by five wickets at Southampton yesterday to regain top spot in the global Twenty20 rankings from their arch-rivals as the tourists ended the series with a conso-lation win.

Australia set a modest 146 to win, were cruising to victory at 70-1.

But they suffered a collapse that saw them slump to 100-5, with leg-spinner Adil Rashid taking 3-21 including the key wickets of captain Aaron Finch (39) and star batsman Steve Smith (three).

But Mitchell Marsh (39 not out) and Ashton Agar (16 not out) saw them home with three balls to spare.

Earlier, Mitchell Starc led a disci-plined bowling display as Australia held a revamped England to 145-6.

Fast bowler Starc took 1-20 from his maximum four overs, with leg-spinner Adam Zampa returning fine figures of 2-34.

Jonny Bairstow, with 55, was the only England batsman to pass 30.

But England, already 2-0 up in a three-match series, were without captain Eoin Morgan (dislocated finger) and fellow star batsman Jos

Buttler, absent for personal reasons after making a match-winning 77 not out in a six-wicket victory on Sunday.

England, sent into bat on a used pitch, saw Tom Banton -- opening in place of Buttler -- caught behind for just two following a loose drive off Josh Hazlewood, one of three changes to Australia's side.

They were 53-2 when the in-form Dawid Malan holed out for 21 off Zampa.

Bairstow, who struggled early on, struck left-arm spinner Ashton Agar and Zampa for two huge sixes.

But Zampa had his second wicket

when Sam Billings, recalled in the absence of Buttler and Morgan, miscued a reverse sweep that was well caught by Australia captain Aaron Finch at slip.

Stand-in England captain Moeen Ali cleverly uppercut a Hazlewood short ball for four before Bairstow completed a 41-ball fifty with a superb straight six off Zampa.

However, Bairstow was out soon afterwards when he miscued a pull off Agar, with the bowler making good ground to take the catch.

Moeen made an attractive 23 before he hoisted Starc to deep midwicket

where Steve Smith, fearful of touching the boundary rope and conceding a six, threw the ball up into the infield to com-plete a well-judged catch.

But with the recalled Joe Denly (29 not out) cutting a couple of bound-aries, England took 16 runs off Kane Richardson in the 18th over.

BRIEF SCORES: ENGLAND: 145/6 (JM Bairstow 55,

DJ Malan 21, Moeen Ali 23, JL Denly 29 not out; A Zampa 2 for 34)

Australia: 146/5 in 19.3 overs (MS Wade 14, AJ Finch 39, MP Stoinis 26, MR Marsh 39 not out, AC Agar 16 not out; AU Rashid 3 for 21)

08WEDNESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2020

NBA: Clippers win; Celtics push Raptors to the brinkAFP — MIAMI

Paul George scored 32 points and the Los Angeles Clippers turned up the heat defensively in a 113-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets for a 2-1 lead in the NBA Western Conference semi-finals.

Kawhi Leonard added 23 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for the Clippers, coming up big on both ends of the floor as Los Angeles powered to the finish in the see-saw battle.

Denver, blown out in game one but coming off a convincing game-two victory, led 78-68 midway through a third quarter that featured nine lead changes.

It was tied up at 101-101 with less than five minutes remaining and the Clippers closed it out with a 12-6 scoring run.

There was no suspense in the Boston Celtics’ 111-89 blowout victory over the Toronto Raptors, which pushed the reigning NBA champions to the brink of elimination in the E a s t e r n C o n f e r e n c e semi-finals.

The Celtics, who had lost two straight as the Raptors clawed their way back into the best-of-seven series, took a 3-2 lead and can clinch a place in

the conference finals with a win on Wednesday.

They dominated defen-sively to hold the Raptors to 20 percent shooting in the first quarter, emerging from the opening period with a 25-11 lead. The Raptors never recovered from the early body blow. The Celtics’ 37 points in the second quarter were two more than the Raptors managed in all of the first half.

They trailed 62-35 at half-time, and despite a noticeable uptick of energy to start the third, there was too much ground to make up.

Kemba Walker added 21 points, four rebounds and seven assists, Jayson Tatum delivered 18 points and 10 rebounds, Daniel Theis and reserve Brad Wanamaker scored 15 apiece and Marcus Smart chipped in 12 for the Celtics.

LA Clippers guard Paul George (right) makes a layup over Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) during the first half of game three.

Eastern Conference Semi-finalsBoston Celtics 111 Toronto Raptors 89

(Boston lead series 3-2)Western Conference Semi-finals

LA Clippers 113 Denver Nuggets 107(LA Clippers lead series 2-1)

NBA PLAY-OFF RESULTS

Lightning strike for 8-2 win over Isles in NHL series openerAFP — LOS ANGELES

Brayden Point scored twice and delivered three assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning trounced the New York Islanders 8-2 in game one of the NHL Eastern Conference final on Monday.

Nikita Kucherov added one goal and four assists for the Lightning, who looked rested, not rusty, after nearly a week off since their series win over the Boston Bruins.

Yanni Gourde scored twice, Victor Hedman had a goal and two assists, and Andrei Vasi-levskiy made 23 saves for second-seeded Tampa Bay.

“We’re playing so well,” Point said.

“We’re playing with structure, we’re playing respon-sible with the puck, we’re making the right plays. I think our team has been so good.”

New York goaltender Thomas Greiss allowed three goals on nine shots before he was pulled at 10:46 of the first period.

He was replaced by Semyon Varlamov, who made 20 saves for the sixth-seeded Islanders, who wrapped up a 4-3 series win over the Phila-delphia Flyers on Saturday, then travelled from Toronto to the NHL’s second play-off hub in Edmonton, Alberta.

Game two will be played today in Edmonton, where all games in the conference finals and the Stanley Cup final will be played.

Point put the Lightning up 1-0 1:14 into the first period,

driving across the crease and shooting past the outstretched pad of Greiss.

Jordan Eberle scored a power-play goal to tie it 1-1 at 4:33 before Hedman gave the Lightning a 2-1 advantage with a power-play goal at 8:12 of the first.

Ryan McDonagh’s slap shot made it 3-1 at 10:46.

Gourde got to a loose puck in the crease to stretch the lead to 4-1 at 4:03 of the second and Point made it 5-1 when he redi-rected a shot from Hedman on a power play at 13:18.

Kucherov made it 6-1 when he converted a pass from Point on a 2-on-1 at 5:51 of the third period. After Nick Leddy cut it to 6-2 Palat scored for the fifth straight game to make it 7-2, and Gourde scored a power-play goal for the final 8-2 margin.

The Lightning matched their play-off goal-scoring record, first set in an 8-2 win over Pittsburgh in the first round in 2011.

But Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he expected the Islanders to make things more difficult in game two of the best-of-seven series, which will send the winner to the Stanley Cup final.

Brayden Point (right) scores a goal against New York Islanders in game one of the Eastern Conference Final.

Tour de France director positive for COVID-19 but peloton negative

AFP — SAINT-MARTIN-DE-RÉ, FRANCE

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme must leave the race and quarantine for a week after a positive COVID-19 test but all the riders were negative, organisers announced before the start of yesterday’s 10th stage.

Prudhomme, who is asymptomatic, said he had tested negative for coronavirus three times before this year’s rescheduled race started on August 29 but the positive came from the first of two

in-race mass tests of riders, team staff and officials. His role as chief organiser means he attends numerous Tour-related social events, and on Saturday he shared his car with French Prime Minister Jean Castex who visited the eighth stage in the Pyrenees.

Following news of Prud-homme’s positive test it was announced that Castex himself would undergo a precau-tionary test. The prime minis-ter’s office said he and Prud-homme had worn masks “and respected social distancing” measures.

Prudhomme, who has been in charge of cycling’s showcase event since 2007, said: “I leave the Tour now for a week, I’m going to do what any French employee would in this kind of case.”

Prudhomme said he was not surprised that the peloton was free from coronavirus, saying “the riders live like monks or soldiers, which is not the case with me”.

He hands over temporary responsibility of the sport’s crown jewels to former rider Francois Lemarchand, who is director of the Paris-Nice race.

Bennett wins 10th stage as Roglic retains overall leadREUTERS — PRETOT ILE DE RE, FRANCE

Ireland’s Sam Bennett completed his set of Grand Tour victories when he prevailed in the 10th stage of the Tour de France yesterday.

The Deceuninck-Quick Step rider, who already had three Giro d’Italia and two Vuelta stage wins to his name, narrowly outsprinted Aus-tralian Caleb Ewan and Slo-vakian Peter Sagan for his first win in cycling’s biggest event.

“I’m in shock,” a tearful Bennett told Tour television afterwards.

“I just want to thank the whole team... everybody it took to get to here.”

“Sorry - I don’t mean to be a cry-baby,” he added, wiping away tears.

Jumbo's Slovenian leader Primoz Roglic holds on to the overall lead with Colombia's defending champion Egan Bernal in second place in the general classification, 21 seconds adrift.

The result also meant the 29-year-old Bennett reclaims the green jersey for the points classification from triple world champion Sagan.

Sagan is looking to win the jersey for a record-extending eighth time, while Bennett is hoping to become the first Irishman to take the points classification since Sean Kelly in 1989.

All 22 teams set off after every rider tested negative for coronavirus on Monday’s rest day, with deputy race director Francois Lemarchand waving the flag for racing to com-mence in place of his boss Christian Prudhomme - who it emerged had also tested positive.

Sam Bennett (second left) of Ireland celebrates his stage victory.

The Lightning matched

their play-off goal-

scoring record, first

set in an 8-2 win over

Pittsburgh in the first

round in 2011.

The Deceuninck-Quick

Step rider, who already

had three Giro d’Italia

and two Vuelta stage

wins to his name,

narrowly outsprinted

Australian Caleb Ewan

and Slovakian Peter

Sagan for his first win in

cycling’s biggest event.

French health authorities and organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) have said that should two members of a team, riders or staff, test pos-itive for the coronavirus the whole outfit will be kicked out of the race.

The International Cycling

Union (UCI) and the organisers said that one staff member each from French outfits Cofidis and AG2R-La Mondiale, Britain’s Team Ineos-Grenadiers and Australia’s Mitchelton-Scott contracted the virus.

On a route peppered with t r a f f i c i s l a n d s a n d

roundabouts, several crashes occurred, with France’s Guil-laume Martin, third overall, and one of the main con-tenders, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, being involved in a pile-up 65km from the line.

They both made it back to the main bunch.

Sport

09WEDNESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2020 SPORT

Rising costs are a result of IOC’s reform delay: StudyREUTERS - ATHENS

The Olympic Games’ cost overruns in recent decades are a result of the Inter-national Olympic Committee’s delay in undertaking deep reforms, and it is now paying the price, said the lead author of new Oxford University research.

The study, “Regression to the Tail: Why the Olympics Blow Up,” claimed all Olympics since 1960 had run over their budgets at an average of 172%.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have also gone above the initial budget with almost $13bn already spent, according to organisers, before their costly delay by a year to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many cities in recent years have been scared off by the mounting price tag of hosting the Games, and the 2022 and 2026 winter Olympics were left with only two bidders each after

several cities dropped out. The 2024 and 2028 summer Olympics were directly awarded to Paris and Los Angeles before a complete overhaul of the bidding process by the IOC.

“Far more in terms of reform needs to be done,” Bent Flyvbjerg, Professor and Chair of Major Programme Man-agement at University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School said in an interview yesterday.

“Over a period of about 25 years the IOC has not been able to be more inventive and more intelligent, because they are not paying for the event. So they are not concerned about it.”

Host cities take on the financial responsibility of staging the Olympics with the IOC providing more than $1bn to the Games’ budget, among other contributions.

Host cities are responsible for cov-ering any losses incurred.

“This is now coming back to bite

the IOC,” Flyvbjerg said. “They have been slow and careless about these issues for decades.”

The IOC said it had neither seen the study nor had it been contacted by the authors.

“The (Oxford University) researchers have not requested any kind of data from the IOC over the past few years, saying that they cannot rely on numbers provided by the organ-isers, the IOC or governments,” the IOC said in a statement.

“This leads to the question of where the numbers used in the study have come from and how they have been validated.”

The IOC also questioned some of the findings, citing a study conducted by the University of Mainz and Sorbonne University that found on the operations side that organisers had broken even or made a profit at every Games in the past 20 years.

“What we can see from the media reports so far is that the study takes a fundamentally flawed approach, mixing two different budgets: the budget for the organisation of the Games, and the infrastructure budgets of the city, region and country.”

The IOC introduced a string of reforms with its ‘Agenda 2020’ and ‘New Norm’ programmes, to make the Games cheaper.

“For the Olympic Games Paris 2024, this will lead to the use of com-petition venues of which 95% are already existing or temporary." the IOC said.

"LA 2028 will use only existing or temporary venues in four unique sports parks spread across the city, high-lighting LA’s geographical diversity,” the IOC said.

Several countries have expressed an interest to host the 2032 Olympics, including India, Indonesia, Qatar,

Australia and Germany. For Flyvbjerg, however, those reforms are not enough.

“It is already clear that this is all too little too late. They are not bad ideas but just not effective.”

His study proposed a number of measures, including reducing the seven-year preparation time, semi-permanent locations, larger cost con-tingencies, and getting the IOC finan-cially tied to the event.

“The owners of the concept have no interest to make it effective because they don’t care about the cost side. They define the specs but somebody else pays the bill,” Flyvbjerg said.

“The IOC needs to get realistic about what the issues are and not deny them. They must embrace them and say ‘OK, there is a problem. The Games are too costly’.

"If you are not willing to say it then you cannot solve it.”

A general view shows the National Stadium (centre) from the Shibuya Sky observation deck in Tokyo yesterday.

Olympics sponsors in limbo as year-end contract expiration looms REUTERS - TOKYO

Tokyo 2020 Olympics organisers have not extended sponsors’ contracts set to expire at the end of the year, sources said, leaving some ques-tioning whether to continue after COVID-19 forced a delay of the world’s largest sporting event.

Postponing the Games for a year has created additional costs for sponsors, including fees to extend contracts, and some wonder whether it’s worth doing so, three of the sources said, declining to be identified

because the information is not public.At the same time, sponsors fear

damaging their image by abandoning a politically important national project.

“The delay threw financial plans for the Games into disarray and many companies really don’t want to pay any more,” said one of the sources, an Olympics insider. Sponsors expect the contract extension negotiations to be fraught, said two more of the sources, both from sponsors.

Tokyo 2020 raised a record $3.1bn in sponsorship money from across

corporate Japan through the inter-cession of sports marketing heavy-weight Dentsu, but many companies are reeling from economic damage wrought by the pandemic.

Local sponsors’ contracts cover only Tokyo 2020, unlike a smaller number of worldwide sponsors.

Tokyo 2020 is “asking our partners for their ongoing support in the process of extending the con-tracts,” organisers said, adding that although the pandemic has “had a certain impact... we will continue to make every effort to seek

understanding and cooperation going forward.”

Dentsu did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Faced with sliding support for the Games - just 24% of Japanese are in favour of holding the event next year, according to a July poll by Kyodo news agency - the national mood further discourages Olympics pro-motional activity, said another source, an Olympics insider, and a fifth source from a sponsor. Companies are already trying to cut spending in the face of an economic slowdown, and

some sponsors question what benefit there is to backing the event.

“While some sponsors see benefits even with reduced attendance at the Games, for others its hard to see the point,” said one of the sponsor sources.

The sponsorship contracts are one of many problems for Olympics organisers as they scramble to dem-onstrate the viability of the delayed Games and ensure safety for athletes and spectators. The success of the Tokyo 2020 is likely to be a top pri-ority for the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo delivers a speech as part of the inauguration of the “We love 2023 tour”, a train launched for the 2023 rugby world cup - Webb Ellis Cup, at the Paris’ gare de Lyon in Paris yesterday.

Melbourne Bledisloe Cup test pushed back to 2022 due to COVID-19

REUTERS - MELBOURNE

The Bledisloe Cup test between Australia and New Zealand scheduled for Melbourne this year has been switched to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rugby Australia said yesterday.

The annual three-match Bledisloe Cup series is nor-mally contested as part of the southern hemisphere’s Rugby Championship, which also includes South Africa and Argentina.

Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium was due to host a test for the first time since 2010 as part of a doubleheader involving both countries’ men’s and women’s sides this year.

“The decision to swap the All Blacks test to 2022 is a sen-sible one and I thank Premier Daniel Andrews and the Vic-torian government for their flexibility and support,” RA’s interim chief executive Rob Clarke said in a statement.

Melbourne will also host a test in July next year.

Victoria, which accounts for about 75% of the country’s total infections of 26,320, extended a hard lockdown in its capital Melbourne until September 28, as the daily infection rates had declined more slowly than hoped.

The All Blacks have held the Bledisloe Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman supremacy, since 2003.

All Blacks player Ennor injured, out for 9 monthsAP - WELLINGTON

The All Blacks have had an injury setback only two days after their first squad of the season was announced.

Crusaders centre Braydon Ennor ruptured ligaments in his right knee early in the South Island’s 38-35 comeback win over North on Saturday, a prelude to the announcement of coach Ian Foster’s 35-man squad.

He may be sidelined for nine months.

Ennor made his New Zealand debut against Argentina last year and was one of four centers included in Foster’s squad.

Foster said he will not pick a replacement for the

23-year-old Ennor until a test schedule for the season has been confirmed.

“It’s hugely disappointing for Braydon but he is a strong young man and we’ll be sup-porting him as he goes through his surgery and rehab over the next few months,” Foster said.

Meanwhile Tony Brown is firming as the favourite to become the new Otago High-landers head coach after the chief executive of the Super Rugby franchise said they would be “silly” not to con-sider him for a return to the role.

The former Highlanders flyhalf is considered one of the best attack coaches in the game and currently combines

that role as an assistant in Dunedin with a similar post under Jamie Joseph with the Japan national team.

The Highlanders, who won the Super Rugby title in 2015 under Joseph, are in the hunt for a new head coach after Aaron Mauger was let go last week after three years in charge.

“We’d be silly not to con-sider it. He’s been head coach before,” chief executive Roger Clark told news website Stuff.co.nz yesterday.

Brown was previously Highlanders head coach after Joseph’s departure for Japan in 2017 and led the side to the quarter-finals of the playoffs before making way for Mauger.

F1 champion Hamilton to enter team in Extreme E electric seriesREUTERS - LONDON

Six times Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton (pictured), an outspoken campaigner for the environment and sustainability, is entering his own team in a new Extreme E electric off-road series highlighting climate change.

The first race is scheduled for early 2021 and Hamilton’s team will be X44, referring to the Mercedes driver’s racing number.

The Briton, who will not be driving or involved in day-to-day oper-ations, is the biggest name to link up with a series that includes the US-based Andretti United and Chip Ganassi Racing teams.

“Extreme E is an exciting new sustainability initiative, and this is a great opportunity to be involved from the outset as a team founder,” Hamilton said in a statement.

“Of course, my ambitions and commitments with Mercedes in Formula One mean that I won’t be operationally involved in X44, but I’m excited to play a different role in this new series, one that brings my vision for a more sustainable and equal world to life.”

Hamilton, a vegan, said last year he was trying to reduce his carbon footprint -- selling his private jet and banning single-use plastic from home and office among other measures.

He also said then that he had no interest in switching to the all-electric Formula E series.

Extreme E races, held without spectators but to be broadcast live on TV and social media, will be held in some of the most remote and harsh environments including the Brazilian rain forest, Greenland, Saudi Arabian deserts and mountains of Nepal.

The locations are either already damaged or severely under threat from a range of issues such as rising sea levels or deforestation.

Teams will race identical SUVs with each one having a male and female driver.

The series will also use a former mail ship as a floating paddock and transporter between locations and for oceanographic research.

“Like us, Lewis is hugely passionate about motorsport, but also shares our belief that we can use sport to highlight subjects which are vital to the world, such as climate change and equality,” sa id se r ie s founder Alejandro Agag.

ace identical SUVs with each one having adriver.also use a former mail ship as a floatingsporter between locations and for

esearch.wis is hugely motorsport, ur belief port to ectso s

o

REUTERS – NEW YORK

Novak Djokovic has pleaded for compassion for the line judge he inadvertently struck in the throat with a ball at the US Open on Monday after the female official faced a backlash from fans of the world number one on social media.

The Serb was disqualified in the fourth round after he hit a ball to the back of the court in frustration after dropping serve in the first set against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, sending the official to the floor.

A section of Djokovic’s fans took to social media to hurl abuse at the official after her Instagram username was carried by Serbian media.

“Shame on you. Old lady full of evil,” read one of the messages left on her Instagram account, while other users accused her of faking the injury and “bad acting”.

Djokovic yesterday defended the official on Twitter, while thanking fans who had left him positive messages of support.

“Please also remember the

linesperson that was hit by the ball last night needs our community’s support too. She’s done nothing wrong at all. I ask you to stay espe-cially supportive and caring to her during this time.

“From these moments, we grow stronger and we rise above. Sharing love with everyone. Europe here I come.”

With the line judge screaming out in pain as she fell to the ground, a horrified Djokovic ran over to her and apologised.

A tournament spokesman told

Reuters later that the line judge appeared to be okay and was not brought off-site.

Tournament referee Soeren Friemel came out on to the Arthur Ashe Stadium and spoke to chair umpire Aurelie Tourte and Andreas Egli, the Grand Slam supervisor, before a long chat with the three-time former US Open winner.

Djokovic pleaded his case for 12 minutes but the Grand Slam rules are clear, and his fate was already sealed.

Britain’s Tim Henman, who suffered a similar fate in 1995 at Wimbledon, said Djokovic would learn from the experience.

“Djokovic has had plenty of examples in the past where he has cut it pretty fine on the court,” Henman told The Times.

“Unfortunately for him he has got it wrong this time and suffered the harshest penalty.

“I think he will take this on board because he is a bright indi-vidual. Going forward he won’t be hitting balls and throwing his racket because he knows what the reaction will be.”

Please also remember the

linesperson that was hit by

the ball last night needs our

community’s support too.

She’s done nothing wrong

at all. I ask you to stay

especially supportive and

caring to her during

this time: Djokovic

10 WEDNESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2020SPORT

Medvedev marches ahead with Tiafoe demolition

REUTERS – NEW YORK

Daniil Medvedev’s bid for a maiden Grand Slam title gathered pace on Monday as the Russian stormed into the US Open quarter-finals with a dominant 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 win over a listless Frances Tiafoe.

Third seed Medvedev, who lost an epic five-setter to Rafa Nadal in last year’s final, barely broke sweat in the evening match at Arthur Ashe Stadium as American Tiafoe’s resistance crumbled after going down a break in the second set.

With Roger Federer and Nadal missing, and top seed Novak Djokovic disqualified for hitting a ball into a line

judge, Medvedev is now favoured by book-makers to win in New York.

The only man in the last eight to have

not dropped a set, his lone blip against Tiafoe came when broken at 5-2 serving for the first set.

“I think it was maybe my best match (of the tour-nament),” the 6-ft 6-in (1.98m) 24-year-old told ESPN.

“It’s always better to start the tournament a little bit rusty and then get better.”

Medvedev will battle 10th-seeded compatriot Andrey Rublev, a player he knows well from junior days, for a semi-final berth.

Rublev overhauled sixth seed Matteo Berrettini in four sets, reaching his second US Open quarter-finals three years after breaking through in 2017 as a 19-year-old bolt from the blue.

Rublev, Medvedev and Karen Khachanov, who was seeded 11th and beaten in the third round, lead a strong Russian generation tipped to challenge for Grand Slam spoils in coming years.

Rublev said he and Medvedev were “crazy on court” when they played each other as children.

“Just throwing the rackets, complaining,” he told reporters.

“What I remember from him he was always one of the biggest fighters I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Medvedev said he would resort to lobbing the ball repeatedly at Rublev or other players to try to win.

“Until like maybe 12-years-old, maybe 10, it’s true maybe if something was going wrong, I was just doing lobs until I win the match,” he said.

“In Russia when there is tournaments (for) under-10s, you play up to four games, which is short, and I was managing to make these matches up to three hours.

“Russian mentality is not easy for tennis.”

Djokovic urges angry fanbase not to turn on line judge

REUTERS – NEW YOR

Daniil Medvedev’s maiden Grand Slgathered pace on as the Russian stormthe US Open quartwith a dominant 66-0 win over a Frances Tiafoe.

Third seed Mewho lost an epic fivto Rafa Nadal in lafinal, barely broke the evening match aAshe Stadium as ATiafoe’s resistance cafter going down a the second set.

With Roger FedNadal missing, and Novak Djokovic disfor hitting a ball in

judge, Medvedevfavoured bymakers to wiYork.

The onlythe last eight

not dropped a setblip against Tiafowhen broken at 5-2for the first set.

“I think it was mbest match (of thnament),” the 6(1.98m) 24-year-ESPN.

“It’s always bstart the tournamebit rusty and thbetter.”

Medvedev wil10th-seeded comAndrey Rublev, a pknows well fromdays, for a semi-fin

Alex de Minaur of Australia serves the ball during his Men’s Singles fourth round

match against Vasek Pospisil of Canada on monday.

From clown shoes to quarters: De Minaur savours successREUTERS – NEW YORK

Australia’s Alex de Minaur once struggled to grow into his body as a tennis player but the tenacious 21-year-old feels himself a snug fit in the US Open quarter-finals.

De Minaur made his first Grand Slam quarter-final on Monday with a 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-2 win over Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, giving Australia a player to rally around in the absence of women’s world number one Ash Barty.

“At the end of the day, this is where I want to be, and this is where I truly believe I belong, second weeks of Slams and going deep,” De Minaur told reporters after setting up a clash with second seed Dominic Thiem.

The man nicknamed “Demon” has turned heads since 2018 when he made the third round of Wimbledon on his main draw debut and eclipsed tempestuous talent Nick Kyrgios as Australia’s number one before turning 20.

Behind De Minaur’s rise has been plenty of hard work, though, and waiting for his body to catch up with his aspirations.

“As a young kid, I was probably 11 or 12 and already had the same size (11) foot I have right now,” he said.

“So it felt like (I was) a little kid with clown shoes on. I didn’t have the best footwork, the best movement.

“So it was just a lot of work, especially in technique of movement from a young age.”

At 6 feet (1.83m) tall, De Minaur is the shortest player in the last eight but stands out as an all-court scrapper among baseline beanpoles like Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, who are tipped to dominate the game’s future with raw power.

Toppling three-times Grand Slam finalist Thiem will be a big ask for De Minaur, who joked he would prefer to “blast people off the court” if he could.

“This running thing gets tiring,” he smiled.

I’ve got to deal with

what God gave me.

He didn’t give me the

best physique, I’m not

as strong or as tall as

other people so I have

to find ways to win.

That’s the way I win.

I want that to be my

brand of tennis. I

want people in the

locker-room to know

that if they’re going

to beat me, they’re

going to have to go

through me:

Alex de Minaur

Nadal to return to action at next week’s Italian OpenAP – ROME

Rafael Nadal is preparing his return to tennis after a seven-month layoff at next week’s Italian Open.

“The Foro Italico is always a special place for me and even more so this year as it will be my first tournament following a long period without playing,” Nadal, who has won the Rome tournament a record nine times, said in a video message played at the event’s presen-tation yesterday.

Because of concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, Nadal preferred not to travel to New York for the ongoing US Open. He last played in Feb-ruary, when he won a tour-nament in Acapulco, Mexico.

The Sept. 14-21 Italian Open, which was postponed from its usual slot in May, will therefore be Nadal’s main preparation for the French Open later this month.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who was disqualified from the US Open, is also entered.

In all, 19 of the top 20 men’s players are entered, with only No. 4 Roger Federer missing because of injury.

Four-time champion Serena Williams headlines a women’s field that features nine of the top-10 ranked players - with top-ranked Ash Barty the only big name missing.

Novak Djokovic checks on a line judge after he hit her with a tennis ball after losing a game to Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain (not pictured) on day seven of the US Open.

Daniil Medvedev of Russia serves during his Men’s Singles fourth round match against Frances Tiafoe of the United States during the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Queens borough of New York City, on Monday.

Semenya loses appeal against CAS ruling over testosterone regulations

REUTERS – LUSANNE

Double Olympic 800 metres champion Caster Semenya has lost her appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal to set aside a 2019 Court of Arbitration (CAS) ruling that female athletes with a high natural level of testo-sterone must take medication to reduce it.

South Africa’s Semenya approached the tribunal in May last year after CAS, sport’s highest court, ruled that World Athletics regulations were nec-essary for athletes with differ-ences in sexual development (DSDs) in races ranging from 400 metres to a mile, to ensure fair competition.

The tribunal found the requirement of subjecting certain female athletes to drug or surgical interventions as a precondition to compete does not amount to a violation of Swiss public policy, Semenya’s lawyers said in a statement yesterday.

Testosterone increases muscle mass, strength and hae-moglobin, which affects endurance. Some competitors have said women with higher levels of the hormone have an unfair advantage.

“I am very disappointed by this ruling, but refuse to let World Athletics drug me or stop me from being who I am,” Semenya said referring to the sport’s governing body.

Warholm fails in bid for world recordAFP – OSTRAVA

Norway’s Karsten Warholm failed in his bid to set a new world record in the men’s 400m hurdles at yesterday’s Golden Spike meet in the Czech city of Ostrava.

The 24-year-old is in electric form and in Stockholm two weeks ago came within 0.09 seconds of Kevin Young’s long-standing world record of 46.78sec which the American set at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

A false start did not help matters in Ostrava, where Warholm blasted off to his usual fast start at the second time of calling.

But the two-time world champion flagged coming through for victory at the line, clocking 47.62sec.

“It’s always nice to get a win,” the 24-year-old Nor-wegian told reporters.

“Today I was a bit surprised by the time to be honest, I actually thought it was faster.”

“But this is sport and... you’ve got to take whatever you get,” Warholm said, refusing to blame the false start.

“You don’t want this of course, but it’s part of the game.” But he admitted he had to adjust his pace in the final turn of the race.

“There is nothing dramatic about it, I needed to do a switch and maybe that was what cost me a good time today,” said Warholm.

“Everything that ruins the rhythm is bad for the sake of time of course.” Warholm only agreed to run at Ostrava last week after weighing carefully the pros and cons of competing in the eastern Czech steel hub during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are starting to get used to it, this is our third meet and I think we’re very good at doing the right decisions and being smart considering the virus,” he said.

“I have a plan about going to Rome for the Diamond League (on September 17) but time will show.”

11WEDNESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2020 SPORT

‘Never felt so calm’: Captain Kohli expects IPL challenge from RCBAFP — NEW DELHI

Virat Kohli (pictured) says he has “never felt so calm” going into an Indian Premier League season as the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper chases an elusive title in the Twenty20 tournament.

Kohli’s Bangalore fin-ished runners-up in the 2016 edition but have since disap-pointed and were bottom of the eight-team table last year.

But the world’s leading ODI batsman expects a turn-around from a team con-taining big names such as South Africa’s explosive AB de Villiers and Australia’s big-hitting white ball skipper Aaron Finch.

“I (have) never felt so calm going into a season before,” Kohli said during an interview posted on his side’s YouTube channel on Monday ahead of the tournament beginning September 19 in

the United Arab Emirates.“He (de Villiers) is coming

from a very different space and he is enjoying his life and is very relaxed and fit as ever. I feel I am in a much better space, much more balanced, when it comes to envi-ronment of (the) IPL.

“Aaron Finch is someone who has experience of playing inter-national cricket.”

Kohli has cap-tained Bangalore since 2013 and said the tournament being played outside India because of corona-virus meant his side would be “dis-connecting w i t h t h i n g s t h a t h a v e

happened in the past and not taking that baggage, as we have done that way too many times. “Just because we have a bunch of players that are so skilled... people have had so much expectation,” he

admitted.B a n g a l o r e ’ s

other imported talent includes South African pace bowler Chris Morris and litt le known Aus-

tralian wicket-keeper-batsman Josh Philippe.

“ M o r r i s br ings

in

a lot of balance,” said Kohli. “Some of the youngsters we have picked this time are quite exciting too like Josh Philippe, a very exciting player.”

The IPL will be played across three venues within relatively close proximity -- Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi -- and Kohli feels that will lead to consistent playing conditions across the tournament.

“It (the usual home and away system in India) gets hectic, conditions change... This time, it’s more of a level playing field and everything would now boil down to skill level rather than home advantage,” he said.

“We have unpacked all bags and stacked clothes in

the wardrobe. We go, practise, live in our own bio-bubble... It’s a more settled and calm feeling,” he said.

when it comes to envi-ronment of (the) IPL.

“Aaron Finchis someone who has experience of playing inter-national cricket.”

Kohli has cap-tained Bangalore since 2013 and saidthe tournament being played outside India because of corona-virus meant his side would be “dis-connecting w i t h t h i n g s t h a t h a v e

admitted.B a n g a l o r e ’ s

other imported talent includes South Africanpace bowler Chris Morris and little known Aus-

tralian wicket-keeper-batsman Josh Philippe.

“ M o r r i s br ings

in

across trelativelDubai, Dhabi --will leadcondititournam

“It (taway syhectic, cThis timplaying would nlevel radvanta

“Webags an

the wpractbio-settlhe

Delhi Capitals can win title, says RabadaIANS — DUBAI

Delhi Capitals’ fast bowler Kagiso Rabada feels that the team has the wherewithal to challenge all comers for the Indian Premier League (IPL) title this season.

Always seen as an under-performing side for much of their 12-year history, Delhi entered the play-offs last year for the first time in seven years and beat 2016 champions SunRisers Hyderabad before losing to Chennai Super Kings.

“We had a really good season, so I know that we can challenge and win this competition because we came really close last season. So, mentally I guess that helps,” Rabada said in a statement.

“But, also, it is a new tournament so we have to start again and we’ve got a nice group put together, nice team.”

Rabada, who has 31 wickets in his IPL career in just 18 matches, trained for the first time with the rest of the team on Monday after completing his quarantine.

Kagiso Rabada

Liverpool target back-to-back titles to underscore dominanceREUTERS — LONDON

Liverpool raised the bar so high and enjoyed such a huge winning margin in claiming the Premier League title last season it would be churlish to doubt their credentials for a repeat showing.

Recent history suggests, however, that retaining the trophy will be far more chal-lenging for Juergen Klopp’s side.

Pep Guardiola’s magnif-icent Manchester City side did win back-to-back titles between 2017-19, but before that bragging rights had changed hands every season since 2009-10.

Klopp’s side finished 18 points above Manchester City last season and an incredible 33 above Manchester United and Chelsea in third and fourth place respectively.

The German knows it will be much closer this time, not because his side are likely to regress, but because the natural evolution of the Premier League means their main rivals will have spared nothing to close the gap.

Catching Liverpool presents arguably the toughest challenge in European football right now though.

Klopp has not built a team for a one-off title smash and grab, he has assembled one for lasting dominance.

From the back to the front there are no weak-nesses and, tellingly, it is dif-ficult to pick out the team’s most valuable component, such is the value every player brings to the mix.

In keeper Alisson, Liv-erpool have arguably the best stopper in the world

while Virgil van Dijk, in his prime at 29 years of age, would walk into the central defence of any team in Europe.

The midfield, with skipper Jordan Henderson as its beating heart, will con-tinue to stifle the life out of rivals, and when it comes to attacking width, full backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are the best duo in the business.

Up front the attacking trident of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are not about to go all goal-shy. A bench featuring expe-rienced heads such as James Milner, Xherdan Shaqiri and precocious youth such as full back Neco Williams gives a bountiful options.

Klopp is unlikely to veer away from the formula that has worked so well, even if his side’s form after the resumption of last season following the three-month COVID-19 hiatus was less impressive -- probably more as a result of the title being a formality rather than any darker reason.

But Liverpool will come under attack as the likes of Guardiola, Chelsea’s Frank Lampard, Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Sol-skjaer and Tottenham Hot-spur’s Jose Mourinho, to name a few rival managers, splash the cash and figure out their weaknesses.

“If you can limit the

supply and influence of Alex-ander-Arnold and Robertson, it is a good starting point to stopping them,” former Liv-erpool player Graeme Souness said.

“Certainly, do not kick the ball long at Van Dijk’s head. “Liverpool are the favourites for the title, but I don’t see them running away with it again,” he added.

Klopp has so far kept his powder dry in the transfer market, signing only Kon-stantinos Tsimikas from Olympiakos as cover for Robertson.

That could change in the coming weeks though, as standing still in the Premier League, even for a team as dominant as Liverpool, is not a viable option.

Liverpool’s players celebrate with the Premier League trophy in this July 22, 2020 file photo.

Klopp’s side finished 18 points above Manchester City last season and an incredible 33 above Manchester United and Chelsea in third and fourth place respectively.

Catching Liverpool presents arguably the toughest challenge in European football right now though. Klopp has not built a team for a one-off title smash and grab, he has assembled one for lasting dominance.

European clubs chief warns of heavy losses due to virus

AFP — LONDON

European Club Association chairman Andrea Agnelli warned yesterday that football was still in “crisis-management” mode, predicting damaging financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic over the next few years.

Agnelli said rebates owed to Cham-pions League and Europa League broad-casters totalled €575m ($678m) and he predicted a revenue drop for clubs of €4bn over two years.

The Juventus chairman said the overall value of the transfer market could plummet by up to one-third.

The disruption caused to European club competitions by the COVID-19 pan-demic has left rights-holders seeking compensation from UEFA, the conti-nent’s governing body.

“We have seen very important rebates to the principal broadcasters both at domestic level and at interna-tional level,” he told the ECA general assembly, being held by video conference.

“We have seen a £330m ($430m, €365m) rebate in the Premier League, we have seen a downturn in the Bun-desliga domestic rights of about €200m and we are in the process of finalising the account with UEFA with a reduction of around €575m for the international club competitions, and that is all money that is not going to be distributed.

“We (European clubs) are looking at a revenue decrease of approximately four billion euros in the next two years,” he said.

The ECA chairman said the absence of fans had wiped out a crucial source of income, predicting a downturn in sponsorship revenue and a 20 to 30 percent drop in the overall value of the transfer market.

He said talks over changes to the format of European club competitions had stalled with the continent’s leading sides in “crisis management” mode.

The Italian has been one of the leading voices in calling for a revamp of continental competitions and how teams qualify for them from 2024 to give clubs greater certainty over revenue.

However, he accepts those discus-sions have had to be put on hold.

“We will need to stall before we can properly address what we want to have in the future,” he said.

“We need to have a fairly consistent understanding of what the significance at the economic level (of the pandemic) has been for clubs.”

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin expressed his pride at how the European football community had worked to com-plete domestic and continental compe-titions, and highlighted the importance of a united approach when discussions resumed over the future shape of European football.

“The future is in our hands,” the Slovenian told club delegates.

“Our mutual trust and sound part-nership will bring us soon to identify formulas to consolidate the incredible success story of the UEFA club compe-titions. If we are united, football will win.”

Bid to oust Barca chief gathers pace as fallout from Messi saga continuesREUTERS — BARCELONA

With Lionel Messi’s aborted bid to leave Barcelona still raw, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu may be counting his days after a campaign group announced they were racking up signatures in a bid to force a vote of no-confidence in him.

‘Mes que una mocio’ (More than a motion), the group supported by candi-dates for next year’s presidential election, said they had reached 7,500 club member signatures of the required 16,520 by September 17 to trigger a vote of no confidence in Bartomeu.

If the campaign reaches its target and the vote is held, two-thirds of the club’s 150,000 members would have to vote against Bartomeu to trigger an imminent election.

Bartomeu, who cannot stand again as he has already served two terms, has called elections for March 2021, three months ahead of schedule, in the wake

of the team’s humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League in August.

The motion of censure was filed by presidential candidate Jordi Farre on August 26, the day after captain and all-time high scorer Messi sent the club an official notice saying that he wished to leave.

The Argentinian then said on Friday that he would stay for this season as he did not want to fight a legal battle with Barca over the validity of a clause in his last contract which allowed him to depart for free. He trained with Barca on Monday.

Meanwhile, La Liga president Javier Tebas has said he was never seriously worried about the impact on the league if Messi had left Barcelona this summer.

Asked on Monday if Messi's departure had been a serious worry for him, Tebas said: "A serious worry, no. A worry, yes.

"We always want Leo to be with us, I've said many times he is the best player in history and as president of La Liga I would like him to finish his career in this competition.

"La Liga has been working for quite a few years to ensure that as a brand it is above indi-vidual players and clubs so the value is not affected by one or two players.

"But there was some worry because after 20 years with us, you want him to be here and not in another league," he said.

Tebas also said Messi's departure would not have affected La Liga's income from broadcast rights deals. "I don't think so because we have already sold 90 percent of the rights for the next four seasons, , so I don't think the departure of Messi would affect that issue," the La Liga pres-ident added.

A

EEEEAfomdacoye

picapr€4

ovco

o to betimes story iga I

h his on.een years it is above indi-

s so the value iswo players.

worry becauseou want him to her league," he

ssi's departure ted La Liga's t rights deals.use we have t of the rights

ns, , so I don't Messi would a Liga pres-

Lionel Messi