SENIOR VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE Qatar SC beat Al Sadd 3-0 (25-22, 25-10, 25-18). Al Arabi beat Al Shamal 3-0 (26-24, 25-13, 25-17)

SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2020

Wide participation in Hathab, online equestrian tests encouraging: Al RumaihiAll these riders are also working quite hard to stay in contention at this level. I hope soon they will be ready for international competitions and eventually aim for say the Asian Games. This is the goal to encourage them to think of reaching such levels at the moment.

Sport |06

WeAlet

Ali Al Rumaihi, Event Director and Organizing Committee Member, Longines Hathab

Sport

Qatar fight back to beat Syria 79-72Al Annabi clinch first win at FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers; unbeaten Iran down Saudis

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Hosts Qatar surged ahead with a late comeback in the fourth quarter to defeat Syria 79-72 to claim their first win of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers in Doha yesterday.

At Al Gharafa Indoor Arena, on the opening day of the Group D action in Window 2 of the qualifiers, Qatar's comeback was mainly powered by 24-year-old star guard Abdulrahman Saad who added 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.

The game was close from start to finish, though Syria were able to build a lead up to as much as 10 points in the third quarter.

The Qasioun Eagles under new head coach Joe Salerno were pushing the pace to build their lead, relying on the offense of George Kell III, who was making his national team debut. Kell ended up with 35 points to go with 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

It was not enough to hold back a determined Qatar team that came charging back with a 27-14 fourth quarter run.

Qatar coach Miodrag Perisic sprung a full-court press that forced 19 turn-overs out of Syria which were converted into 25 points for Qatar. A three-pointer in the corner by Erfan Ali Saeed with 11

second left in the game to give Qatar a 78-72 lead was the shot that sealed the deal.

He’ll continue to be a player to

watch from Qatar in the remaining games of the Qualifiers.

The win was much celebrated by the team as it ends a draught of victories

that dates back to July 2, 2018 when Qatar beat Iraq at this same venue during the World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers.

It doesn’t get any easier for Syria as they will face Iran in the first game of Group E on November 30. That will be followed by a rematch between Qatar and Saudi Arabia with both teams high in confidence from their performances yesterday

In another scintillating encounter in Doha yesterday, Iran secured a hard-earned victory against Saudi Arabia, 71-64 to stay unbeaten.

Iran came in as the big time favorites against Saudi Arabia, but the win didn’t come as easy as expected. They jumped out to a good start and led 22-12 at the end of the first quarter on the stellar play of Behnam Yakhchali, but Saudi Arabia wouldn’t bow down to the three-time Asia Cup champions so easily.

Saudi Arabia pushed the pace and heightened the level of energy, allowing them to chip away at Iran’s lead little by little. Early in the 4th quarter, Saudi Arabia finally tied the game up for the first time since the first quarter on a three-pointer by Khalid Abdel Gabar.

That seemed to wake Iran up as they broke away with a 9-0 run sparked by Yakhchali and Mohammad Jamshidi. That was enough to build a cushion for Iran to hold on to until the final buzzer.

Yakhchali shined with a game-high 27 points, 11 of which were scored in the final quarter.

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Coach Felix Sanchez yesterday named 23 players for the upcoming match against Bangladesh in the joint 2017 AFC Asian Cup and the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.

The forthcoming match will be held on December 4 at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium (home venue of Al Duhail Sports Club).

The December 4 match is the first this year after football action resumed a few weeks ago.

The Round 8 match scheduled will be the first of the Asian quali-fiers to be held during the year 2020 after the approval by FIFA and the National Federations.

Although Qatar national team has booked a direct qualification ticket to the 2022 FIFA World Cup as the host country, the team is competing to obtain qualification for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup as it aspires to defend the title that it won in 2019.

Qatar is top of Group E (13 points from five matches) while last-placed Bangladesh has one point from four matches.

Oman (12 points), Afghanistan (4 points) and India (3 points) are the other sides in the group.

In the previous encounter between the two teams saw Qatar winning 2-0 in Dhaka.

SQUAD: Meshaal Barshim, Tariq Salman, Abdel Karim Hassan, Boualam Khokhi, Hassan Al Haydous, Akram Afif, Musab Khidr, Muhammad Waad and Youssef Abdel Razzaq (Al Sadd). Al Moez Ali, Karim Boudiaf, Ismail Muhammad, Abdullah Abd Al-Salam, Muhammad Imad Ayesh and Abdel-Rahman Fahmy (Al Duhail). Ahmed Alaa El Din, Humam Ahmed, Muayad Hassan (Al Gharafa) Ahmed Fathy, Jasim Jaber, Mahmoud Abu Nada (Al Arabi) Abdel-Aziz Hatem and Fahd Younis (Al Rayyan).Coach: Felix Sanchez

Coach Sanchez names Qatar squad for Bangladesh qualifier

ACL: Guangzhou beat Vissel Kobe to end winless run; Shanghai edge YokohamaAFP – DOHA

Chinese giants Guangzhou Ever-grande snapped a seven-game winless streak in the Asian Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Japan’s Vissel Kobe yesterday.

First-half goals from Bra-zilians Anderson Talisca and Ai Kesen were enough for Guangzhou to avenge their defeat to Vissel Kobe just three days ago and put themselves in contention for a spot in the round of 16.

Italian legend Fabio Can-navaro had been at his wit’s end with his team’s inability to crack open rival defences, conceding he didn’t have an explanation as to what was wrong with them.

But the strong words he has directed at his team finally seemed to have their desired effect as the 2013 and 2015 winners jumped to second spot in Group G with four points, two behind leaders Vissel Kobe.

Saturday’s opponents had already qualified after two wins from as many matches, with their group left with only three teams following the withdrawal of Malaysian outfit Johor Darul Ta’zim.

Guangzhou, who have won eight of the last 10 Chinese Super League titles and were runners up in 2018 and 2020, also had a

poor record against Japanese teams in the continental competition.

Guangzhou established early control and went ahead in the 17th minute with a perfectly taken penalty by Talisca after he was fouled by Hirofumi Watanabe. Talisca missed two chances after that and Zhong Yihao also saw his effort saved by Vissel Kobe goalkeeper Hiroki Iikura.

Iikura couldn’t keep out a free-kick from Ai Kesen as Guangzhou increased their lead in the 38th minute. Vissel Kobe managed to put pressure on

Guangzhou in the final 15 minutes, but a shot from Andres Iniesta was saved and Douglas headed the ball just over.

Ai Kesen almost got his second goal late in the match but his shot went just wide of the far past after he had got past two defenders. Meanwhile in Group H, Shanghai SIPG edged Yokohama F. Mariners 2-1 to end the Japanese side’s three-game winning streak in the competition.

Shanghai had lost their first clash against Yokohama on Wednesday but made good of the limited opportunities that

came their way on Saturday to go level on points with the Mar-iners, who stay ahead on goal difference.

Cai Huikang gave Shanghai the lead in the 14th minute with a header from close range fol-lowing a corner but their advantage was short-lived as Ado Onaiwu restored parity in the 21st minute with a shot from the edge of the six-yard box.

Ricardo Lopes’ 55th minute striker from a through pass by Oscar put Shanghai ahead again and Vitor Pereira’s men hung onto it for their third win in four matches.

FA World Cup y, the team is in qualification for

n Cup as it aspires to at it won in 2019.of Group E (13 matches) while

gladesh has one matches.

2 points), points) and ) are the other up.ous encounter

wo teams saw ng 2-0 in

Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez celebrates after scoring their fifth goal against Burnley yesterday.

Liverpool left frustrated as Mahrez hat-trick powers CityAFP – LONDON

Jurgen Klopp again fumed at a "dangerous" schedule as Liverpool had two goals disallowed and conceded two penalties in a 1-1 draw at Brighton, while Man City clicked back into gear with a 5-0 thrashing of Burnley.

Liverpool edged back to the top of the Premier League table, a point ahead of Tottenham, but were left frustrated by Pascal Gross's stoppage-time penalty which salvaged a point for Brighton.

Klopp had voiced his displeasure all week at facing a lunchtime kick-off just three days after a Cham-pions League defeat to Atalanta.

Already hit by a huge list of injuries, the Reds suf-fered another setback when James Milner had to be

replaced with a hamstring problem in the second-half.

"Congratulations," Klopp said sarcastically to a television reporter for BT Sport. "You work for them yeah? Hamstring, surprise."

Klopp named Neco Williams and Nathaniel Phillips in a makeshift back four and Brighton took advantage when Williams wiped out Aaron Connolly for Brighton's first spot-kick, but Neal Maupay sent it wide.

Mohamed Salah was then denied an opener by VAR for offside but the Egyptian teed up Diogo Jota to keep his flying start to life at Liverpool going with a fine finish on the hour mark.

Sadio Mane had a second for the visitors ruled out for offside before another VAR review went

against Liverpool when Andy Robertson was adjudged to have kicked Danny Welbeck trying to clear.

This time Gross took responsibility from the spot and sent Alisson Becker the wrong way.

City shrugged off their problems in front of goal by hitting five past Burnley for the fourth consecutive clash between the two at the Etihad.

Pep Guardiola's men had scored just seven goals in their previous seven league games, but Riyad Mah-rez's early double opened the floodgates.

Benjamin Mendy made it 3-0 before half-time and Ferran Torres got his first Premier League goal before Mahrez completed the scoring and his hat-trick.

Victory propelled City to within six points of Liv-erpool at the top of the table with a game in hand still to come.

Felix Sanchez

Guangzhou’s forward Ai Kesen (centre) scores from a free-kick during the AFC Champions League group G match against Vissel Kobe.

Action during the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifying match between

Qatar and Syria at Al Gharafa Indoor Arena yesterday.

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Qatari runner Mubarak Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi yesterday set-off from the Corniche on his attempt to set a Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the run around the country.

He aims to complete the run, which is approximately 500km, in under 7 days, which the current record sits at. The current record was set by Qatari Resident and adventurer Pierre Daniel who tackled the run in a self-sup-ported manner in February 2018.

Mubarak, who by day is an Executive Manager in Cor-porate Banking with Masraf Al Rayyan and a father of four, is aiming to cover over 80km a day in his record attempt, which he is doing in a supported manner, with a support crew of friends, all of are either taking time off work, or juggling commit-ments around there day to day to work, who will make sure he has access to food and drink as he pushes himself to the limits of human endurance.

His team includes Adulazi-zAlabdulla, Fahad AlBuenain, Fahad AlHadfa, Faisal AlZaman, Talal AlEmadi, Ali Al Mansouri, Rashid AlHajri, Noel

Cuaton and Coach Ryan Sosna-Bowd.

If successful, this will be a further first for a Qatari sportsman who has been blazing the trail for Qatar in the trail running world.

“This challenge is the cul-mination of a journey that was inspired by trail blazing Qatari athletes, like Abdulla Al Hammadiwho inspired me into sport and athletes like Pierre Daniel and so many more who opened my eyes to the possibilities within each of us," Mubarak said.

“I hope that this challenge inspires more Qatari’s to push their limits whether it be in sport, art, culture, business or serving their community, and to live the fullest lives they can,” Mubarak said.

Pierre Daniel, the first and current record holder of the Round Qatar FTK said: “Its fantastic what Mubarak is attempting and has achieved for the Qatari trail running community. The Run Around Qatar is a significant challenge and will test him unlike anything he has done,

he has the unique spirit of an adventurer, looking to push his limits and enjoy the natural beauty of Qatar in way that can only be done during such a challenge. It will be my joy to see him at the finish line and celebrate his success.”

Fans can follow Mubarak in his challenge on Instagram @Trailss-ports and track him live via this link h t t p s : / / e v e n t s .g e o t r a c k s . c o . u k /live/584

s ttthhehe uniiquququue e spirit of annnnnn nttuurru er, loooooookoking to pushhhhhh iimmmiitts andndddddnd e njoy theeeeeeaal l l bebeb autytyyyyy of QaaQ tar r innnnnn

thhaatat ccan ooooooonln y beb donnnonnoneeeeee eeg sssuucch h a chchchcc allel nge. IItttt e mymymymy jj jjoyoyoyy tt t tooo o o o sesesssseeee e hihihhh m aatttt ninishshshshsh l llinininine ee annnannndd d cececececellleleleeleebbbrbrbbrrbrratatatataateeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeccesess.ss.”

aansns c an folololollolol w Mubarakkkkkk khisi challll enenenengege oonggram @T@T@@Traaililssss-anand trtracacacack k hiim vvvvvvviaiaiaiaiaiia tt t thihihihihhh s s s ss liliililinknknknknk s :s :s ::s / // // // // // // / e ve ve ve ve vvve vee vv ee ne ne ne ne nne nne ne ne n t st st st sttt ssst s ...r ar ar a c kc k s .s . c oc o . uuu. uu k /kk /k /8484

07SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2020 SPORT

Aspire Academy Cross Country Race a grand successTHE PENINSULA – DOHA

The picturesque Aspire Park and perfect weather for running provided the stage for the 4th Aspire Academy Cross country race on Friday morning. A field of around 60 male and female youth runners from local Clubs, Al Ahli, Qatar SC, Doha Athletics Club and Sher-borne School joined Aspire Academy student-athletes aged from 12 years to 18 for the competition

It was a good display of some of the fine running talent in Qatar with strong races that delighted the sizeable watching crowd and the early fitness enthusiast who work-out in Aspire Park. Athletes lined up to run 2km for mini cadet, 3km for cadet and 4km for youth and junior races. Ahmed Alharbi from Qatar Sports Club clocked 6.52 minutes to win the boys’ mini-cadet race with Aspire Academy student-athlete, Ahmed Ibrahim in second place and Hassan Ibrahim of Qatar SC in third place.

In the girls’ mini cadet race, all three podium places went to Doha Athletics Club runners with Gabriella Franklin’s time of 8.05 minutes giving her gold, Vera Tramullas took silver and bronze went to Amelia Wichert. The Cadet race for

girls was another All- Doha Ath-

letics Club v i c t o r y . A n n a

Sanchez’s time of 14.14 minutes beating Lily Schnurman and Zoha Siddiqui into second and third respectively.

Ashraf Hyder of Al Ahli club won the 3km boys Cadet races with a time of 10.03 min. He was followed by the Aspire student-athlete duo of Abdulsalam Alawi and Ibrahim Abdalla. Amelia Bennet was the only female runner in the female youth section. In the boys’ youth race, Qatar Sports club locked the front two places with Mohamed El Alami winning gold and his club-mate Moatasem Al Raei

taking silver and bronze going to Othman Dani of Al Ahli club.

There was a home win when Aspire Academy student-athlete Housam Hrabi completed the 4km in 12.30 minutes to win the Junior race. Suber Jama of Qatar Sports Club took silver and another Aspire Academy student-athlete Omer Elfadi claimed bronze.

Speaking after the race, Housam Hrabi said, “It was really good

to come out and run after months of

training without competition. I e n j o y e d

running against a strong group of ath-letes and very happy to win gold.”

Running in the 2km mini-cadet race was Qatar National Football team head-coach, Felix Sanchez’s daughter, Anna. After coming first, she said, “I am happy to win this morning and found the run a good challenge and enjoyable. I am happy to be running in an Aspire event which feels like home with my dad having been with Aspire Academy for many years and l have grown up around Aspire.”

Meanwhile, Felix Sanchez himself was at Aspire Academy Cross Country race cheering on his daughter and said, “It’s wonderful to see this colourful crowd outside doing sports, something that has been difficult lately due to the pandemic. Aspire Academy does these kind of sporting events so well and it’s lovely to be able to join in at this cross country this morning”

Aspire Academy's Athletics Coach, David McCarthy, said: “Athletes train for competition and look forward to applying learnt tactics in races and battle it out with other athletes. Today they got that oppor-tunity and met that challenge and we managed to get some podium places too which all bodes well for the work Aspire coaches, staff and athletes have put in training. There were some strong runners in today’s event, and they gave our boys a good contest and something to think about ahead of forthcoming National Cross-Country competition."

Mubarak aims to set fastest known time for circumnavigation

Inspirational Qatari 'ironman' to run around the country

MUBARAK ABDULAZIZ AL KHULAIFIThe first elected Qatari Runners Representative in the International Trail Running Association (“ITRA”) Successfully organising the first ultra-trail race in Qatar (THEEB 2019) and certified by ITRA The first Qatari to participate & finish numerous key global trail Races including;

��Trans Jeju 2017 - 50K, Mountain Range 50 2017��Ultra-Trail Serra Da Freita 2018��UTMB 2018 – OCC

��Tarawera 100 Mile Endurance Run 2019,UTMB 2019 - CCC. ��The first Qatari to finish a 100-mile trail race��Completing Ironman 70.3 Sri Lanka 2018

Al Duhail opens official storeAl Duhail football stars Al Moez Ali, Bassam Al Rawi, Edmilson da Silva and Karim Boudaif posing for a photograph in front of the official store during its inauguration at the Al Duhail club’s headquarters yesterday.

Qatar SC, Al Shamal win League matchesAn Al Sadd player tries to score as Qatar SC players block his shot during their Qatar men's Senior Volleyball League match played at the Qatar Volleyball Association Indoor Stadium yesterday. Al Sadd lost to Qatar SC 0-3 (22-25, 10-25, 18-25). Al Arabi beat Al Shamal 3-0 (26-24, 25-13, 25-17) in the second match of the day.

Juventus held by modest Benevento after resting RonaldoREUTERS – BENEVENTO, ITALY

Serie A titleholders Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw away to promoted side Benevento yesterday, their fifth draw in nine league games this season, after resting their talismanic forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

Alvaro Morata gave Juventus a 21st-minute lead but was sent off as tempers flared at the end of a niggly second half. Gaetano Letizia rifled in Benevento’s equaliser in first-half stoppage time.

Juve’s performance raised more questions about the team’s dependence on 35-year-old Ronaldo who is their leading scorer in Serie A with eight goals despite having played only five matches.

Although they are still unbeaten in Serie A, Juve have yet to win a league game this season without Ronaldo and their performances have been laboured.

The Turin side are fifth with 17 points, three behind leaders AC Milan who are at home to Fiorentina on Sunday. Benevento are in midtable with 10 points.

Former Italy and AC Milan team mates Filippo Inzaghi and Andrea Pirlo, coaches of Benevento and Juventus respectively, faced each other on the touchline for the first time.

As with all the other Serie A games at the weekend, there was a minute’s silence for Diego Maradona, who died aged 60 on Wednesday, and play was stopped for a tribute to the great Argentine in the tenth minute.

Federico Chiesa set up Juve’s goal with a majestic cross-field pass to release Morata and the Spaniard glided past his mark and scored with an angled shot which went in off the post.

Paulo Dybala should have added a second but curled his shot wide before Benevento grabbed their surprise equaliser three minutes into first-half stoppage time.

Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny made a brilliant save to deny Pasquale Schiattarella but the resulting corner was poorly cleared by Arthur and the ball fell per-fectly for Letizia to rifle into the net. Juventus had more possession in the second half but did little with it, while Ben-evento looked dangerous when they broke forward.

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL RESULTS English Premier LeagueBrighton 1 (Gross 90-pen) Liverpool 1

(Jota 60)

Manchester City 5 (Mahrez 6, 22, 69,

Mendy 41, Torres 66) Burnley 0

Everton 0 Leeds 1 (Raphinha 79)

Spanish La LigaHuesca 0 Sevilla 1 (En-Nesyri 83)

Valencia 0 Atletico Madrid 1 (Lato 79-og)

Elche 1 (Boye 38) Cadiz 1 (Gimenez 55)

Italian Serie ASassuolo 0 Inter Milan 3 (Sanchez 4,

Chiriches 14-og, Gagliardini 60)

Benevento 1 (Letizia 45+3) Juventus 1

(Alvaro Morata 21)

French Ligue 1Marseille 3 (Thauvin 2, Payet 35, Benedetto

60-pen) Nantes 1 (Blas 73)

Mubarak Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi

06SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2020SportHamilton takes 98th career pole positionAP - SAKHIR

Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton set a track record at the Bahrain Grand Prix on his way to a record-extending 98th career pole position yesterday.

The seven-time F1 champion looked in total control as he set a time of 1 minute, 27.264 seconds under the floodlights.

“We did some really good work overnight. I was really happy with the car from the get-go,” the veteran British driver said. “I just didn’t make any mistakes.”

He finished about.3 seconds ahead of his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and around.4 clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Bottas thought he was closer to Hamilton’s time.“I was quite surprised when I saw the gap,” the Finnish

driver said. “I definitely have the speed but I haven’t quite got it all together yet.”

Verstappen, however, is resigned to being in Mercedes’ shadow.

“You always want more but it’s important to stay realistic. I’m just pushing as hard as I can with the material I have,” Ver-stappen said. “We’ll see what we can do tomorrow, it’s quite aggressive on the tires here.”

Verstappen’s teammate Alexander Albon was in fourth place and a full second behind Hamilton, who will bid for his record-extending 95th F1 win today.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took the first of his seven pole positions last season in Bahrain, but this year the team has struggled badly and he starts from 12th place behind teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Former champion Kimi Raikkonen was among the five drivers eliminated from Q1 while Carlos Sainz Jr. went out of Q2 after his rear tires blocked and his McLaren stalled on the track.

Qualifying was halted for a few minutes while his car was removed.

Earlier, Verstappen beat Hamilton’s leading time to go fastest in the final practice. The Dutchman was.26 ahead of Hamilton and.37 ahead of Bottas.

Hamilton was quickest in both practice runs on Friday and looked set to make it a hat trick when he overtook Verstappen and then Bottas with about 10 minutes left in the hour-long session. But Verstappen came back out and returned to the top of the leaderboard.

Albon’s car was fitted with a new chassis after he crashed heavily following a mistake on the last turn in the second practice.

Hamilton and other drivers have been complaining about the new Pirelli tires, which they are testing ahead of 2021, saying they are too heavy and Vettel calling them even worse than before.

“(It is) three kilos heavier and it’s about one second slower per lap,” Hamilton said. “If that’s the best they can do (it’s) better we stick with this (current) tire.”

The four-time F1 champion Vettel agreed with Hamilton to keep the 2020 tire for next year, rather than switch to the unpopular 2021 model.

Because of the lack of grip on the new range of tires, Ver-stappen joked that the championship could become “a drift challenge” if manufacturer Pirelli uses the 2021 tires as planned.

This is the 15th of 17 races in the coronavirus-shortened season, with another race to follow in Bahrain next Sunday before the campaign concludes in Abu Dhabi.

Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton speaks after the qualifying session at the Bahrain International Circuit in the city of Sakhir yesterday.

'Wide participation in Hathab, online equestrian tests encouraging'THE PENINSULA - DOHA

The increasing number of partic-ipating riders and especially female riders who are excelling both in show jumping and dressage in the Longines Hathab Qatar Equestrian Tour Season 2020-21 supported by The Social & Sport Contribution Fund is highly encouraging, says Ali Al Rumaihi, Event Director and Organizing Committee Member, Longines Hathab.

Speaking on the sidelines of the dressage event of Hathab Round 4 at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s indoor arena yes-terday, Al Rumaihi, himself a former Olympian rider, said while the young riders have bucked up and are steadily improving in their performances they are also being encouraged to go for online tests competitions in dressage which has become quite a trend.

“It makes us happy to see riders like Maryam Ahmad Al Boniin, Maryam Ahmed al Semaitt, and Asmaa Yasser Mohammed that they are com-peting in two disciplines of

equestrian and doing a really good job. It also encourages other young lady riders that can be in both show jumping and dressage. All these riders are also working quite hard to stay in contention at this level. I hope soon they will be ready for international com-petitions and eventually aim for say the Asian Games. This is the goal to encourage them to think of reaching such levels at the moment,” said AL Rumaihi.

He also revealed that the riders are also competing in other competitions in dressage overseas online.

“They are doing a great job participating here and also online,” he said.

Elaborating on how they do it, he said: “Online if you partic-ipate, they give you the tests and you practice on it, record your performance and send it to the judges who then assess it and give you points accordingly. Then you see where you stand.

“They also have special equipment like cameras which can be placed at strategically to follow the rider and for the sensor

to track the horse’s movements.“There about nine from Qatar

who are already competing, but you will see more and more soon,” he added.

Competing in an online dressage event means there is no for travelling, no stress, no riding in public and a whole month to get your test ridden, videoed and submitted. Plus there are a number of classes to choose from.

Opining on the on-going fourth season of Longines Hathab and overall progress in eques-trian since the event was launched in 2017, Al Rumaihi said yesterday: “The aim of Hathab has been this right from the start to get people to know our sport. You can see now so many young new faces who are competing, they want to buy their own horses.

“From this we can find a new generation of riders, new juniors, and teams which can only be based on such new talent. You can’t do that with a handful of riders, you need to have a big base to choose from which Hathab is helping produce.

“If we continue in the same vein, in five years’ time you can see a big difference,” he concluded.

The podium winners of the Dressage - Medium (Level 1) event are seen during prize distribution ceremony at QEF's Indoor Arena yesterday.

4TH LONGINES HATHAB TOUR 2020/2021: RESULTS

Dressage - Medium (Level 1) - Test 1B - Prize-Money QR15,000

1. Rider: Maryam Ahmad Al Boinin; Horse: Silvan; A: 68.621; B: 66.724

Score: 67.672; Prize: QR4,200

2. Maryam Ahmed Al Semaitt;

Rhythm; 67.414; 67.414; 67.414;

QR 3,375 3. Ali Mohammed Al Marri; Wait

and See ZE; 67.759; 62.414;

65.086; QR2,625

4. Jassim Al Jaham Al Kuwari;

Monopoly; 64.655; 64.138; 64.397; QR1,875

Dressage - Prelim (Level 2) - Test 2A - Prize-Money QR10,000 1. Khalid Sanad Al Nuaimi; Dow Jones 54; 66.176; 71.176; 68.676;

QR 2,500

2. Ghanim Nasser Al Qadi; Andreas

SPB Z; 65.882; 70.882; 68.382;

QR2,000 3. Asmaa Yasser Mohammed;

Quatro Junior; 67.353; 67.059;

67.206; QR1,500

4. Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi;

Casal Des Forets; 66.176; 67.059; 66.618; QR1,000.

New Zealand captain Sam Cane lays an All Blacks jersey with the name Maradona and the number 10 printed on it, as a tribute to the late Argentinian footballer, before the start of the 2020 Tri-Nations rugby match between New Zealand and Argentina at the McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle yesterday.

All Blacks bounce back to crush Argentina 38-0AFP - NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA

The All Blacks crushed Argentina 38-0 yesterday to restore some pride as they roared back from two straight defeats to put one hand on the Tri Nations trophy.

The three-time world champions were under enormous pressure after slumping to the Wallabies then the Pumas, leaving them facing the prospect of losing three in a row for the first time in more than 20 years.

But spurred on by a backlash from their notoriously demanding fans, Ian Foster’s team bounced back emphatically with a five tries to nil win in brutally hot and humid conditions at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, north of Sydney.

It was a far more disciplined All Blacks who dominated the first half, going to the break 10-0 ahead, but there were also missed opportunities with two tries disallowed.

Argentina, playing just days after the death of football legend Diego Maradona, lacked cohesion after making 10 changes to the team that drew with the Wallabies last week.

Two tries in quick succession from young fullback Will Jordan in the final quarter sealed the victory and a crucial bonus point for winning by three tries or more.

“It’s extremely satisfying. There’s no hiding that we’ve had tough few weeks, we felt the pain of the losses and I’m really proud of the work we have put in the last two weeks,” said All Blacks captain Sam Cane.

“The way that the Pumas defended and kept us out numerous times is a real credit to their desire. But I’m proud of the way we were able to stay patient and we got there in the end.”

It all but secured the silverware for New Zealand, who have 11 points from four games.

Australia play Argentina next week and either side could feasibly edge them out, but it would take a bonus point win and by a huge margin given New Zealand’s vastly superior points differential.

Defeat brought Argentina’s fairy-tale run to a shuddering halt in the tourna-ment’s penultimate round after they beat New Zealand 25-15 then battled to a 15-15 draw with Australia.

It proved extra painful for Mario Ledesma’s men, who were hoping to lift

the spirits of their nation after Maradona’s death aged 60 this week.

Cane laid an All Blacks jersey embla-zoned with Maradona’s name and shirt number, 10, in the centre circle ahead of the kick-off as a mark of respect.

“We were not clinical, there were too many handling errors when we got the ball, some mistakes in defence as well, so not a good thing for us,” said Pumas skipper Pablo Matera.

“I don’t think that was the problem,” he added, when asked about the team’s wholesale changes. “It was a whole team thing. There were many, many mistakes.”

Victory eased the pressure on Foster, who had been facing calls for his axing after just five games in charge following their twin defeats.

He shuffled his forward pack to better deal with Argentina’s physicality and they responded well.

With temperatures above 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), fullback Beauden Barrett went over the try line early on, but a video review showed a knock-on.

But the initiative was with the All Blacks and the breakthrough soon came with hooker Dane Coles powering over in the corner in his 50th Test, with Richie Mo’unga nailing a difficult conversion.

Mo’unga kicked a penalty to put them 10-0 as Argentina struggled to get their hands on the ball.

Powerhouse winger Caleb Clarke should have put them further in front but his try was ruled out after his hand went into touch as he slid for the line.

After almost 75 percent possession in the first 40 minutes, New Zealand again dominated the second stanza and deservedly got another try from a lineout when the ball was fed to Ardie Savea, who bulldozed across the line.

Jordan, in only his second Test, grabbed the all-important third try with 13 minutes left after picking up a wayward ball, then got another when he intercepted a pass and darted down the wing.

Patrick Tuipulotu put the icing on the cake with their fifth try five minutes after the hooter.

“It probably doesn’t make up for the loss, but it just goes to show if we get things right during the week and we get in the right headspace, we can perform,” said Coles.

“So that’s a good lesson going forward.”

Diego Maradona remembered on sports pitchesacross the globeAP - LONDON

Across the globe, teams paid tribute to Diego Maradona yesterday with moments of silence before European soccer games and a touching gesture from New Zealand’s rugby team.

The death of the Argentine great was still being felt three days after he had a heart attack at the age of 60 outside Buenos Aires, where he had been recov-ering from a brain operation.

Manchester City and Burnley players and coaches stood and applauded as a video showed Maradona’s famous solo run and goal for Argentina against England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup.

“This week, we lost a true footballing great. Diego Maradona was everything football should be: expressive, exciting, attacking and free,” City manager Pep Guardiola said in the team’s matchday program. “A unique, once-in-a-generation player who brought joy to so many people,” he added. “Football will never forget Diego.”

City and Burnley players warmed up to the song “Live is Life” by Austrian band Opus. That’s the tune Maradona warmed up to before one of Napoli’s UEFA matches in 1989. The players went through their usual routine as the Etihad Stadium loud-speakers played the song.

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti struggled to hold his emotions together. He made the sign of the cross and kissed his finger after a tribute before their match against Leeds. Ancelotti played against Maradona during their time in Serie A and later went on to manage Napoli.

Maradona led Napoli to its only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990 and is con-sidered an icon in the southern city.

Tributes are ongoing across Serie A this weekend. The warm-up song will also be broadcast in Italian stadiums.

All Serie A players were taking the field wearing a black armband, and a minute’s silence was being observed before each kickoff, with players lined up around the center circle.

The Italian league is also holding a minute’s silence, projecting an image of Maradona on stadium screens, and high-lighting the message “Ciao Diego” on the stands - which, like most stadiums in Europe, are empty because of coronavirus restrictions. At the 10th minute of each Italian match, an image of Maradona was being projected again, in honour of his jersey number.

Napoli hosts Roma today. Thousands of Napoli supporters made a pilgrimage to San Paolo Stadium on Thursday to light a candle, leave a scarf or a shirt and shed some tears in memory of their hero.

Across the Bundesliga, teams stood for a moment’s silence and images of Maradona were shown on stadium screens, including one of the Argentine raising the World Cup trophy in 1986, when they beat West Germany in the final.

At Union Berlin’s home game, stadium announcer Christian Arbeit said in Spanish: “Hasta siempre compañero.”

The tributes weren’t limited to soccer.Before their rugby Tri Nations test

against Argentina, New Zealand captain Sam Cane presented an All Blacks jersey with Maradona’s name and number 10.

As the All Blacks lined up to perform the haka, Cane stepped out, walked toward midfield and laid down the jersey as the Argentina players stood arm-in-arm and watched.