SPORTThursday 15 March 2018

Woods and Els named as Presidents Cup

captains

Halep and Venus in quarters;Wozniacki falls

PAGE | 30 PAGE | 31 PAGE | 35 South Africa’s

Rabada to appealguilty verdict

Ra

Evergrande move closer to last 16REUTERS

HONG KONG: Guangzhou Evergrande continued their resurgence in the Asian Cham-pions League yesterday with a 2-0 win in South Korea over Jeju United that moved the two-time champions to within touching distance of the knockout phase.

Goals from Nemanja Gudelj and Alan Carvalho gave Fabio Cannavaro’s side their second win in a row against the K-League club and moved them on to eight points from four games at the top of Group G.

“We have focused a lot on improving our concentration in away games,” said the Italian.

“In the last game we con-ceded too soon due to a loss of focus but this time you could see all of the players have shown their desire to win.

“We can’t sit back and relax just because we have won so many titles. We need more championships and in this match we were all determined and confident.” The Chinese Super League side lead the group by three points from Thailand’s Buriram United and Cerezo Osaka, who played out a 2-2 draw in Japan with Kenyu Sugimoto scoring two minutes from time to salvage a point for the J-League club. Jeju United are bottom of Group G with three points, with two matches

remaining. Tianjin Quanjian made it a positive night for Chinese teams as they defeated 2016 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 4-2. Anthony Modeste and Alexandre Pato scored the crucial goals in the final six minutes. The defeat was Jeonbuk’s first of the campaign but Choi Kang-hee’s side remain top of Group E. However, their advantage has been whittled down to just two points with Tianjin now in second.

Kitchee sprung the surprise of the round with a last-gasp 1-0 win over Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol, with Cheng Chin-lung scoring two minutes into stoppage time to earn the Hong Kong side their first-ever victory in the Asian Champions League.Spanish World Cup winner Xavi Hern-andez, meanwhile, was on target for Al Sadd as the Qatari side secured a 4-0 win over Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi that keeps them top of Group C.

Al Sadd lead on goal-dif-ference from Iran’s Persepolis after last year’s semi-finalists moved on to nine points with a narrow win over Al Wasl that ensured the club from the United Arab Emirates could not finish in the top two positions.

Al Ahli lead the group by three points from Al Jazira, who are level on five points with Al Gharafa as Tractorsazi occupy last place with just two points from four games.

Topsy Turvy tops in The Late Abdulaziz Al Fuhaid CupKohli reveals toll of gruelling scheduleAGENCIES

MUMBAI: Indian captain Virat Kohli admits his massive workload is starting to have toll on his body.

Kolhi, who boasts an enviable record, has rubberstamped his status as a great of the modern game and is yet to turn 30, giving him plenty of time to build on his long list of accomplishments.

But the batting maestro has con-ceded his exhausting workload is starting to take a toll, revealing he needs to be “very careful” with how he manages his body in the coming years.

“Physically, I had a few niggles and I am just getting over them,” Kohli said at a promotional event in Mumbai.

“The workload has started to dis-agree with me, so I have to be careful about how I go forward with my body, my mind, my cricket.

“Times like these are important going ahead. I am enjoying it.

“I do not think I am missing out on

anything, because my body really needed this. I have started to listen to my body. And when I am done with this period, obviously in the IPL I will be coming out fresh.”

Kohli has been rested from the ongoing T20I tri-series in Sri Lanka, giving him valuable time to recharge ahead of a massive 2018, which includes Test tours of England and Australia.

The gun right-hander sits second behind Australia captain Steve Smith in the ICC Test batting charts and is only the second Indian– after Sunil Gavaskar – to achieve 900 ranking points.

Kohli has played 94 international matches – 25 Tests, 42 ODIs and 27 T20Is – across the three formats since the start of 2016, which is more than anybody else in world cricket.

In comparison, Joe Root (86 matches), MS Dhoni (85) and Mitchell Santner (85) have played the next most international games over the same period, while David Warner has been the busiest Australian with 83 games..

Majestic Messi helps Barca crush Chelsea AGENCIES

BARCELONA: Lionel Messi scored his 99th and 100th goals in the Champions League to send Barcelona through to the quar-terfinals for the 11th straight season with a 3-0 win over Chelsea yesterday.

Barcelona advanced 4-1 on aggregate following a 1-1 first-leg draw in London.

Messi beat Thibaut Courtois with two strikes between the Chelsea goalkeeper’s legs from very tight angles on the side of the box. He struck the opener three minutes into the match and took Barcelona’s third goal in the 63rd.

But the most dazzling moment from the Argentina forward, who returned from missing one match for the birth of his third son on Saturday, came when he helped Ousmane Dembele score his first goal for Barcelona after he stole the ball from former Barcelona teammate Cesc Fabregas and darted past two would-be tacklers in the 20th.

Barcelona remained unbeaten in 25 straight Cham-pions League matches at Camp Nou, a run that dates back to 2013. The hosts also stayed in contention for a rare treble of titles. They lead the Spanish league and have reached the final of the Copa del Rey.

Chelsea will now have to focus on finishing in the top four in the Premier League to return to tournament. It is currently in fifth place.

Meanwhile, a Thiago Alcantara strike and Sandro Wagner’s first Champions League goal capped Bayern Munich’s 3-1 win at Besiktas yesterday as the German giants cruised into the quarter-finals for the seventh year in a row.

Bayern completed a compre-hensive 8-1 aggregate victory in Istanbul, having effectively clinched the last-16 tie following a 5-0 rout last month in the first leg in Munich.

For Bayern coach Jupp Hey-nckes, who replaced Carlo Ance-lotti in October, this was his 11th straight win in the Champions League which set a new compe-tition record.

“It was a convincing result,” said Heynckes. “Besiktas hadn’t lost here in the Champions League, so it wasn’t easy.

“We scored at the right times and it’s normal that we dropped off a little -- losing some focus

after winning 5-0 is just human.“The only negative today is

that we picked up too many yellow cards,” he added after defenders Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Rafinha all earned bookings.

After Thiago fired home early on, an own goal by Besiktas right-back Gokhan Gonul put Bayern 2-0 up right at the start of the second half.

With their team 7-0 down overall, Besiktas finally came to life, grabbing a c o n s o l a t i o n goal by Vagner Love.

But Bayern notched their third of the evening when back-up striker Sandro Wagner

came off the bench to mark his Champions League debut with his first goal at this level.

“It was a really hectic game,” said Bayern captain Thomas Mueller.

Quarter-final qualifiers:

Barcelona (ESP), Real Madrid

(ESP), Sevilla (ESP), Manchester

City (ENG), Liverpool (ENG),

Juventus (ITA), Roma (ITA),

Bayern Munich (GER)

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

UEFA Champions League results yesterday:Last 16, second legsAt Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona (ESP) 3 (Messi 3, 63, Dembele 20) Chelsea (ENG) 0

Barcelona win 4-1 on aggregateAt Istanbul, Turkey

Besiktas (TUR) 1 (Vagner Love 59) Bayern Munich (GER) 3 (Thiago Alcantara 18, Gonul

46-og, Wagner 84)Bayern Munich win 8-1 on aggregate

Played on TuesdayAt Manchester, England

Manchester United (ENG) 1 (Lukaku 84) Sevilla (ESP) 2 (Ben Yedder 74, 78)

Sevilla win 2-1 on aggregateAt Rome

Roma (ITA) 1 (Dzeko 52) Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 0Tie ends 2-2 on aggregate,

Roma go through on away goals

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS

Anthony Modeste (centre) of Tianjin Quanjian controls the ball during the AFC Champions League group stage football match against South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai in Tianjin, yesterday.

Action from The Late Abdulaziz Al Fuhaid Cup at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday. Jockey E Pedroza guided Topsy Turvy, owned by Sheikh Faisal bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, to victory in the Late Abdulaziz Al Fuhaid Cup.

Barcelona’s French forward Ousmane Dembele (left) celebrates with team-mate Lionel Messi during the UEFA Champions League round of sixteen second leg match against Chelsea FC at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, yesterday.

30 THURSDAY 15 MARCH 2018SPORT

Ecuador ‘determined’ to assist Qatar in success of World Cup THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The President of the Qatar Football Association (QFA), Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani yesterday received H E Ivonne Abdel baki, Ambassador of Ecuador to Qatar, and Ecuador’s Defence Minister, Patricio Zambrano Restrepo in QFA’s headquarters located at Al Bidda Tower.

The meeting was attended by QFA Vice President Saoud Al Mohannadi, and QFA General Secretary Mansoor Al Ansari.

The visit of Ecuador’s Defence Minister is on the side-lines of the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX 2018), taking place in Qatar (March 12 to 14) at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) under the patronage of the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

The meeting discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen and further develop them.

They also discussed matters of mutual interest and agreed to promote cooperation in the future to further develop football in the two countries.

During the meeting, they dis-cussed several matters of mutual interest. The QFA President high-lighted the strength of the rela-tionship between the Qatari and

Ecuadorian football federations and the importance of building that relationship by exchanging of experience and expertise.

The two parties emphasised on the importance of promoting cooperation in the future to further develop football in the two countries.

H E Ivonne Abdel, Ambas-sador of Ecuador to Qatar expressed her thanks and appre-ciation to the QFA President for the remarkable reception and for the important role he plays in constantly supporting the devel-opment of football. She empha-sised that the visit highlights the deep relations between the two countries.

She said: “We are very happy to be meeting with Sheikh Hamad today, who gives huge impor-tance to football and advocates on the importance of excluding

politics from sports. This visit highlights the great role football plays in bringing people together and building strong relations with different cultures away from politics.”

“Ecuador is determined to contribute to the success of the 2022 World Cup taking place in Qatar. We are happy to assist in all matters to support this signif-icant tournament. Ecuador is cen-trally located in the world and in Central America, which can act as a unique location to help fans

from all over Central America to travel easily to Qatar to attend the games.”

“The presence of the Defence Minister in this important visit is a confirmation of the support of His Highness the President of Ecuador who stands with Qatar during the greatest football event.”

“We have many Ecuadorian players playing in Europe and Latin America which showcases Ecuador’s important role in world football. I wish Qatar the best of

luck in their journey to host the World Cup.”

Ecuador’s Defence Minister, Patricio Zambrano said: “I would like to congratulate Qatar on hosting the 2022 World Cup, I am confident that Qatar will organise a unique version of the tournament.”

He praised the important role played by the Qatar in the sports sector, pointing out that Doha has become one of the most important sports cities in the world.

He added: “Football will cer-tainly be a strong bridge to strengthen relations between Qatar and Ecuador in the coming period from all aspects, be it political, economic, social and commercial. Football has the ability to unite the world and bridges gaps between nations.”

“We have visited a number of stadiums and sports facilities, all of which confirm that whoever attends the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be very happy to be in Qatar and surely Ecuador will be participating in the World Cup in Qatar seeing that we did not qualify to the Russia 2018 World Cup.”

When replying to a question regarding the possibility of pro-fessional Ecuadorian players playing in the QNB Stars League, he said: “Yes absolutely, we have more than 100 professional players in many international leagues, who play in Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Italy, England, Mexico and Russia, and soon there will be players in Qatar.”

The visit was concluded with the exchange of commemorative shields between the two sides.

The President of QFA pre-sented the Ambassador and the Minister of Defence the with the Qatar National Team jersey that has the number 22 in reference to the upcoming World Cup to be organised in Qatar.

President of Qatar Football Association, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, H E Ivonne Abdel baki, Ambassador of Ecuador to Qatar, and Ecuador’s Defence Minister, Patricio Zambrano Restrepo along with QFA Vice President Saoud Al Mohannadi pose for a picture at QFA’s headquarters at Al Bidda Tower yesterday.

We are happy to

assist in all matters to

support this significant

tournament: H E

Ivonne Abdel baki,

Ambassador of

Ecuador to Qatar

ACFT: Stage set for thrilling semi-finals at Doha StadiumTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The fifth Asian Communities Football Tournament (ACFT) semi-finals are set to take place tomorrow and will see Jordan taking on India at 8pm and Nepal meeting Lebanon at 9:20pm.

Initially, the semi-finals were scheduled to be played in Al Markhiya Sports Club, however, the venue was changed to Doha Stadium because a big spectator turnout is anticipated this weekend.

The four teams are

marching on into the semi-finals after Jordan beat Indonesia 2-0, Nepal beat Sri Lanka 2-0, India beat Bangladesh 2-1, and Lebanon beat Malaysia 5-0 in the quarter-finals last week.

The best players of last week’s quarter-finals include Jordan’s Murad Al Sous, Nepal’s team captain Shiva Shrestha, India’s Shahed Bakr, and Leba-non’s Hussain Mansour.

The ACFT is a com-munity tournament which brings together various Asian communities

residing in Qatar, and encourages them to play more football in a fun com-petitive environment.

The ACFT is organised by the Qatar Football Asso-ciation (QFA) and initially featured the participation of six teams during its’ first edition. Following the success of the first edition, the tournament drew lots of interest from the various Asian communities in Qatar who were eager to take part in the tour-nament, and thus resulted in a significant increase in t h e n u m b e r o f

participating teams year after year.

This year, twelve Asian community teams are par-ticipating for the grand prize. The third place decider match will take place on March 23 in Al Markhiya Sports Club and will kick off at 7pm. The final will be played on March 30 at 7pm.

The ACFT falls under QFA’s Sub-Leagues Com-mittee which oversees the organising of QFA’s tour-naments that target the dif-ferent segments of the community.

Lebanon will take on Nepal in ACFT semi-final tomorrow at Doha Stadium.

SA’s Rabada to appeal against guilty verdictREUTERS

CAPE TOWN: Kagiso Rabada (pictured) is appealing the guilty verdict handed to him by the Inter-national Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching their code of conduct in a last-ditch bid to be able to play in the rest of the gripping Test series against Australia.

Fast bowler Rabada was found guilty of “inappropriate and delib-erate physical contact with a player” after leaning with his shoulder into Steve Smith when he dismissed the Australia captain in the first innings of South Africa’s six wicket win in the second Test in Port Eliz-abeth. The result levelled the four-match series at 1-1.

The 22-year-old, who took 11-150 in the game, was fined 50 percent of his match fee and given three demerit points, which took him past the tally of eight that triggers an automatic two-game suspension.

“ICC confirms that Kagiso Rabada has appealed against the level two breach following the incident with Steve Smith during the Port Elizabeth Test. ICC will now appoint a Judicial Commissioner at the earliest opportunity and hearing details will be confirmed in due course,” the governing body said yesterday.

The ICC have 48 hours to appoint a commissioner and a hearing will be heard within a seven day period. Rabada will remain suspended unless the commissioner takes a decision to allow him to play in the third test in Cape Town starting on March 22. Although there was contact made with Smith, Rabada maintains that it was accidental and at the time he was not even aware he had brushed against his opponent. “If I knew I did it deliberately, I wouldn’t have gone to contest (the charge),” Rabada told reporters after the game.

Sharma and Sundar take India into Tri-series finalAFP

COLOMBO: Skipper Rohit Sharma and off-spinner Wash-ington Sundar helped India enter the Twenty20 Tri-series final with a 17-run win over Bangladesh in Colombo yesterday.

Sharma’s dominant 89 guided India to 176-3 and then Sundar claimed three wickets to restrict Bangladesh to 159-6 at the R Premadasa Stadium.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s unbeaten 55-ball 72, his second successive half-century, went in vain as India secured their third win in four matches.

They now await the winner of the last league contest, which is a virtual semi-final between Bangladesh and hosts Sri Lanka tomorrow.

Sundar got three top Bang-ladesh batsmen including dan-gerous left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal for 27 to derail the opposition chase at 40-3.

Mushfiqur then put on 65

runs for the fifth wicket with Sabbir Rahman, who made 27, to give India a scare but the increasing run-rate finally got to the Bangladesh chase.

S u n d a r r e t u r n e d impressive figures of 3-22 while leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and pacemen Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur claimed a wicket each.

Earlier Sharma, who hit form after scores of 0, 17 and 11, smashed five fours and as many sixes in his 61-ball knock

after India were put into bat first. Following a watchful start against a disciplined Bang-ladesh bowling, India cut loose with Sharma and Suresh Raina, who smashed 47, putting together 102 runs for the second wicket.

Sharma, who registered his 13th T20 half-century, also put on 70 runs with fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan, who made 35, to lay a solid platform.

Paceman Rubel Hossain claimed two wickets and also

ran Sharma out off his own bowling on the final ball of the innings. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have both lost two of their three matches. The final is slated for Sunday.

Meanwhile, former Test opening batsman Chris Rogers was yesterday appointed as cricket Australia’s new high-performance coach, tasked with helping develop the coun-try’s next generation of stars.

The 40-year-old called time on his 25-Test career after the end of the 2015 Ashes series and has been involved in mul-tiple coaching roles since then.

“Chris brings thought-fulness, persistence and passion to the role and com-bines this with a strong intellect,” said CA executive general manager of team per-formance Pat Howard.

“We’re looking forward to having Chris work with Aus-tralia’s next generation and watching him develop as a coach.”

IndiaRohit Sharma Run Out Rubel Hossain .......................... 89

Shikhar Dhawan b Rubel Hossain ....................................35

Suresh Raina c Soumya Sarkar b Rubel Hossain ...........47

Dinesh Karthik Not Out ........................................................ 2

Extras (1lb 2w) ...................................................................... 3

Total (20.0 overs) ............................................... 176Fall of Wickets: 1-70, 2-172, 3-176

Bowling: Abu Hider 4-0-43-0 1w; Nazmul Islam 4-0-

27-0; Rubel Hossain 4-0-27-2; Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-

38 0;Mehedi Hasan 3-0-31-0 1w; Mahmudullah 1-0-9-0

Bangladesh Tamim Iqbal b Washington Sundar ................................ 27

Liton Das st D Karthik b Washington Sundar ...................7

Soumya Sarkar b Washington Sundar .............................1

Mushfiqur Rahim Not Out .................................................72

Mahmudullah c Lokesh Rahul b T Chahal ....................... 11

Sabbir Rahman b Shardul Thakur .................................... 27

Mehedi Hasan c Suresh Raina b M Siraj ............................7

Extras (1lb 1nb 5w) ..............................................................7

Total (20.0 overs) ...................................... 159-6 Fall of Wickets: 1-12 Das, 2-35 Sarkar, 3-40 Iqbal,

4-61 Mahmudullah, 5-126 Rahman, 6-150 Miraz

Did Not Bat: Rony, Hossain, Rahman, Islam

Bowling: Mohammed Siraj 4-0-50-1 2w 1nb; Wash-

ington Sundar 4-0-22-3 1w; Shardul Thakur 4-0-37-1;

Yuzvendra Chahal 4-0-21-1 2w; Vijay Shankar 4-0-

28-0

SCOREBOARD

31THURSDAY 15 MARCH 2018 SPORT

Tiger Woods in action during Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida in this March 9, 2018 file photo.

Woods and Els named as Presidents Cup captainsREUTERS

ORLANDO: Tiger Woods and Ernie Els shifted their decades-long friendly rivalry onto the international stage as they were officially named captains for the 2019 Presidents Cup on Tuesday.

Woods, who holds the matchplay competition’s record with 24 match wins for the United States, and Els, who has won an International side best 20 matches, will lead their teams to Australia for the 2019 edition from December 12 to 15 at Royal Melbourne.

The announcement was made in the Latrobe Room at Bay Hill, site of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour.

Els and Woods have fre-quently shared golf’s main stage.

Four-times major winner Els of South Africa has been runner-up to Woods seven times in his professional playing career, including twice in

majors -- the US and British Open in 2000.

Woods and Els served as captain’s assistants in the 2017 Presidents Cup, when the 12-man US team won 19-11 at Liberty National in New Jersey for their 10th Cup victory against one loss and one draw in the biennial event.

Els and Woods also shared an iconic moment at the 2003 Presidents Cup when they faced off in a sudden-death play-off to decide the competition.

They battled evenly through three tension-packed playoff holes before failing light forced

officials to declare the event in South Africa a draw.

“Tiger and I have had some great duels in the past, and I look forward to the challenge of going against my longtime friend yet again in 2019,” said Els.

Els might even have to stomach Woods once again wielding a golf club in the matchplay competition.

Woods, who has launched a comeback after his spinal fusion surgery a year ago, fin-ished joint runner-up by one shot last week at the Valspar Championship. He said on Tuesday with a smile that he

had thought about a possible playing captaincy.

The 42-year-old American acknowledged there was a lot of time and a lot of golf to go before the teams are set.

“That’s a bridge that’s a long way away from now to be crossing but, if it does come to that point, it won’t just be my decision, it will be a collabo-rative effort, what is best for the team,” said Woods.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said having contem-porary giants such as Woods and Els captain the Presidents Cup teams could have a huge impact on the event and the game of golf.

“I think it’s huge for two reasons. One, they’re going to bring the world at large to the Presidents Cup as they have done every time that they’re competing on a global stage,” he said.

“And in doing so they’re likely going to be bringing forward future stars.

“We don’t know who is

going to come forward between now and then, but it’s likely that stars from new countries are going to come with Ernie Els and Tiger Woods leading their respective teams. So I think it’s just going to take the game deeper and wider than it’s ever been.”

In addition to the naming of the captains, two format changes were announced.

Each player will only be required to play one match prior to the final-round singles instead of two as in past competitions.

Also, the top eight players for the International and U.S team standings will automatically qualify following completion of the 2019 Tour Championship. Captains will later select four wild-card picks instead of the two they had previously.

This will be the third Presi-dents Cup to be held at ven-erable Royal Melbourne, designed by Alister MacKenzie, who also designed Augusta National.

Woods, who holds the matchplay

competition’s record with 24 match wins for

the United States, and Els, who has won an

International side best 20 matches, will lead

their teams to Australia for the 2019 edition

from December 12 to 15 at Royal Melbourne.

Skiing: Italy’s Goggia wins World Cup titleAFP

ARE, SWEDEN: Italy’s Sofia Goggia lost the race but won the World Cup women’s downhill title yesterday as she finished second to Lindsey Vonn in the finals in Are, Sweden.

Goggia, who won the downhill gold at the Pyeongchang Olympics in Feb-ruary, needed to finish second to ensure she added a first World Cup globe.

The Italian started the final race with a 23-point edge over Vonn, who took bronze in South Korea, and a 71-point cushion over the only other potential champion, Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein.

Goggia skied ninth and posted the fastest time to that point, finishing in 55.71sec and eliminating Weirather who had already completed her run.

Vonn started 13th of the 26 entrants and eclipsed Goggia by 0.06sec. That gave the American an 82nd World Cup victory, only four fewer than the all-time record of Ingemar Stenmark, but

she needed help to claim her 17th small globe for winning a World Cup discipline.

If Goggia remained in second, Vonn would gain only 20 points in the standings and the Italian would take the title by just three points.

Vonn’s compatriot Alice

McKennis, the 23rd skier to race, came closest to overtaking Goggia, but the American, whose only previous World Cup podium came in 2013, fin-ished 0.22 behind the Italian to take third.

Weirather finished seventh, 0.49 behind Vonn.

Sofia Goggia of Italy kisses

her trophy after winning the FIS Downhill World Cup yesterday.

Scotland make five changes for Italy tieAFP

EDINBURGH: Scotland coach Gregor Townsend yesterday announced five changes to his line-up for this weekend’s Six Nations clash against Italy as he looks to end their campaign on a high.

The Dark Blues’ faint title hopes were extinguished with defeat to Ireland last week but they will be keen to propel themselves up the table with victory against the tournament’s whipping boys after wins against France and England.

Wing Tommy Seymour returns from injury to replace Blair Kinghorn in Rome on Saturday, while centre Nick Grigg makes his first championship start as he takes the place of Pete Horne, whose blunder put Ireland on their way to victory in Dublin.

Townsend has made three further changes to the pack, with hooker Fraser Brown, prop Willem Nel and lock Tim Swinson all pro-moted from the bench in place of Stuart McInally, Simon Berghan and Grant Gilchrist.

Lock Richie Gray and prop Zander Fagerson could also make their first appear-ances of the campaign, having shrugged off injuries to be named among the substitutes.

“There were a number of positives in how we took the game to Ireland in attack and defence but this didn’t lead to us scoring enough points to win the game,” said Townsend.

“We’ve been pleased with how the players have responded to last week’s dis-appointment, with the energy they have brought to training and a determination to improve our performance in our final match.”

“Playing Italy will be a very tough game -- it always has been for any Scotland side,” he added.

“We are ready for the challenge and have an expe-rienced group of players working hard to finish our campaign with a positive per-formance and result.”

Cruz sustains latest injury for MarinersAP

NEW YORK: Nelson Cruz (pictured right) joined the Seattle Mariners’ growing list of injured players.

Cruz hit a two-hop RBI single to the right-field wall in the first inning against Colorado, then walked slowly to the Mariners’ dugout while rubbing his right thigh and slightly favoring the leg. He was replaced by pinch runner Daniel Vogelbach, and the Mar-iners said Cruz had soreness in his right quadriceps.

Second baseman Robinson Cano left Sunday’s game because of tightness in his left hamstring, and a scan Monday revealed a minor strain, the Mariners said.

Left-hander Marco Gonzales left his start Monday after 1 2/3 innings when he was hit on his right hand by a comebacker off the bat of Leury Garcia of the Chicago White Sox. Gonzales threw to first for the out, then departed. Seattle said he sus-tained a bruise.

Ace right-hander Felix Her-nandez hasn’t pitched in a game since he was hit on the right

forearm by a line drive off the bat of the Chicago Cubs’ Victor Caratini on February 26.

Other injured players include outfielders Ben Gamel (strained oblique), Mitch Haniger (hand) and Guillermo Heredia (shoulder surgery) and right-hander Erasmo Ramirez (lat strain).

ORIOLES 7, TWINS 5 A day after finalising a

$12m, one-year deal with Min-nesota, Lance Lynn struck out five in three hitless against Bal-timore. He walked one.

“I wanted to go somewhere where they had a chance to win no matter what,” Lynn said.

“It seemed like the perfect fit, and I look forward to doing what I have to do, which is take the ball when it is my turn.”

Baltimore’s Chris Tillman

walked six in two innings, allowing four runs and three hits. Manny Machado had two hits, including a double.

Ryan LaMarre singled and drove in a pair of runs and Miguel Sano doubled.

TIGERS 2, YANKEES 2 Jordan Zimmerman allowed two hits in five scoreless innings and struck out four. Leonys Martin homered in the second off CC Sabathia, and JaCoby Jones had three hits and raised his average to.462. CC Sabathia gave up four hits in four innings. Didi Gregorius homered.

CARDINALS 11, MARLINS 4 Miami starter Jose Urena got just one out, giving up six runs and six hits. Carlos Martinez struck out five in four innings and gave up four hits. Marcel Ozuna had two hits,

32 THURSDAY 15 MARCH 2018SPORT 33THURSDAY 15 MARCH 2018 SPORT

World’s best ready for FINA spectacle at the Corniche

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Local and international sponsors have united in support of Doha’s first ever FINA/HOSA Marathon Swim World Series event hosted in the stunning setting of Doha’s Corniche on Saturday.

The world-class competition will see Olympic and World Champions swim head to head over 10km providing a mem-orable and unique experience for all the public to enjoy, free of charge.

Over 100 of the world’s best swim-mers will compete in the event which is the first of a nine-meeting series taking place in some of the world’s most scenic waterways, including the Seychelles, Por-tugal, Canada and China.

Local companies Al Kass, Ooredoo, QNB and Zoom Arts have been announced as National Sponsors, with GULF Crafts and Al Jouf as National Suppliers. Mean-while FINA have appointed Chinese Sportswear brand HOSA as the title spon-sor of the event series, and Microplus as the timing and scoring services provider.

Speaking ahead of the event, Presi-dent of FINA, Julio Maglione, said: “The very high-profile start list including Olym-pic and World Champions to take the departure in Doha confirms the

popularity and success of the prestigious event. Doha have been for the last years a very solid FINA partner in the organi-sation of several events and we look forward to seeing the result of all this hard-work and commitment, which will represent another milestone for the devel-opment of this Olympic discipline in this region of the world.”

Meanwhile, President of the Qatar Swimming Association, Khalil Al Jabir, said: “We are very excited to host such a prestigious and exciting FINA event in the heart of Doha. The weekend timing, stun-ning setting and central location enable us to bring a new swimming discipline directly to the people of Doha. We encour-age everyone to come down, cheer on the world’s best swimmers and enjoy this truly unique experience with their fam-ily and friends.”

He continued: “The Qatar Swimming Association is committed to continuing to grow and develop the sport in Qatar and around the region and we hope that this event will raise the profile of mara-thon swimming and inspire more people to take up the sport, and lead healthy and active lifestyles.”

Local sponsors are uniting to provide first-class support and services to ensure that the event is organised to the highest

possible level, and contribute to the con-tinued development of Qatar’s second most popular participation sport. National Sponsors Al Kass, Ooredoo, QNB, Zoom Arts, Gulf Crafts and Al Jouf will be sup-porting the staging of the event.

72 male and 44 female athletes from 24 countries will compete in the Olympic distance event in the open water beside Doha’s Corniche. Starting from the Orry statue, the women’s event will begin at 8:30am and the men’s at 1:30pm.

Top female swimmers participating include Rio 2016 Olympic Champion, Sha-ron Van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands, 2017 World Series winner, Arianna Bridi and Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist, Rachele Bruni, both of Italy and 2017 World silver medallist Samantha Michelle Arevalo Salinas of Ecuador.

Meanwhile top male swimmers to look out for include Rio 2016 Olympic and Budapest 2017 World Champion Ferry Weertman who will face a strong chal-lenge from Rio 2016 and Budapest 2017 bronze medallist Marc-Antoine Olivier of France and Great Britain’s Jack Burnell, who finished just outside the medals in

fourth place at last summer’s World Championships. There will be local inter-est in up and coming young Qatari swimmer, Abdulrahman Hisham, who looks to gain useful experience in a high-level global competition amongst the world’s best.

Many of the elite swimmers will be on hand to meet and provide tips and guid-ance to members of the public who are

participating in the Open Water Challenge event.

Taking place tomorrow at 1:30pm, the event is being organised to give amateur swimmers the opportunity to enjoy the same facilities and full services as the elite athletes, enabling everyone to be a world-class athlete for the day.

With weather and water temperatures expected to be ideal and the course tak-ing place in front of Doha’s beautiful backdrop, competitors will have the opportunity to sample the very best of open-water swimming.

Doha’s hosting of the FINA Marathon Swim World Series event will provide fur-ther vital experience in the build up to its hosting of the 2023 FINA World Championships.

The pinnacle of the aquatics calen-dar includes all six FINA disciplines: Swimming, Diving, High Diving, Artis-tic Swimming, Open Water, Water Polo plus the Masters competitions. Doha already has solid FINA experience through its hosting of six FINA World Cups and the 2014 World Swimming Championships.

France’s swimming team trains at Aspire ZoneTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) yesterday welcomed the French national swimming team, comprising 17 males and six female swimmers between the ages of 14-16, for a train-ing camp in preparation for the upcoming FINA/HOSA Marathon Swim World Series 2018.

More than 122 swimmers repre-senting 24 countries will take part in the upcoming World Series, which is due to take place on Saturday, on Doha’s Corniche.

Speaking about their visit, Stéphane Lecat, the manager of the visiting French team, praised AZF’s facilities and said the organisation is well-equipped to host international swimming teams.

As part of their training pro-gramme, the team will focus on technique and rehabilitation and plans

to visit the Corniche on Friday to test Doha’s waters ahead of the competition.

Commenting on the French swim-mers’ training camp, Ibrahim Hilal, Head of Events and National Teams at AZF, said: “AZF is committed to sup-porting all sporting events hosted in Doha, including visiting teams, which see this as one of their preferred des-tinations to prepare for major tournaments. This is all thanks to the comprehensive training facilities here, which offer integrated world-class facilities to visiting teams to allow them to exceed their training objectives.”

AZF and its affiliated organisations are perfectly placed to provide an integrated set of world-class sporting and medical services all in one place. These are a key contributor to AZF’s goal of becoming the reference in sports excellence worldwide by 2020.

All eyes will be on Xiao in DohaTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: After winning the All-Around title at the 47th FIG World Championships last Octo-ber, China’s Xiao Ruoteng (pictured) was mobbed by fans on a cool afternoon at the lawn of the iconic 1976 Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada.

Xiao, who became the first Chinese to win a gold at a top global individual all-around competition since Yang Wei achieved the feat at the 2008 Beijing Games, will be one of the stars at the 11th FIG Artistic Indi-vidual World Cup, which starts here at the Aspire Dome from March 21-24.

“It feels good to be a world

champion,” he had said in an interview to www.agu.gymnas-tics.com. “To be able to defend the crown in the next edition in Doha in October will be a chal-lenge. It needs a lot of hard work and motivation.”

Given the presence of the legend Kohei Uchimura, Xiao, 22, will have his task cut out, but age will be on his side.

While the 28-year-old ‘King Kohei’ would be hoping to revive his form and fitness at the venue which will host the 48th FIG World Championships in Octo-ber, Xiao will look to further strengthen his position as China prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Xiao, who also won the

pommel horse bronze at the Worlds, has slowly developed into a world champion ever since he won his maiden medal at the 2015 Glasgow Worlds with the Chinese team, which fin-ished third.

Despite not being chosen for the 2016 Rio Games, Xiao returned with a bang with loads of confidence the following year, winning three gold (team, pom-mel horse and all-around) and two silver medals (floor and hor-izontal) at the Bangkok Asian Championships.

The Beijing-born gymnast is undoubtedly the next biggest star, but we will have to wait to watch how he fares at the Doha event.

Greek football faces FIFA expulsion because of violenceAP

ATHENS, GREECE: Greece could be expelled from international soccer compe-t i t ions because of widespread violence, a FIFA representative said yester-day.

Herbert Huebel said a series of incidents, culminat-ing with a gun-toting club owner running onto the field to protest a disallowed goal, are “unacceptable.” “Greek football is going to an edge,” Huebel said, adding that a potential Greek suspension from international soccer “is not any more impossible.”

Huebel met with govern-ment and league officials in Athens following Sunday’s incident in Thessaloniki at a league match between PAOK Thessaloniki and AEK Athens.

The government has indefinitely suspended league play after PAOK owner Ivan Savvidis - a Rus-sian with strong business interests in Greece - rushed onto the field, accompanied by bodyguards and with a holstered gun strapped to his waist, when the referee dis-allowed the goal.

Greek league organizers launched disciplinary pro-cedures against Savvidis and PAOK yesterday, which could lead to the team being docked points or even rele-gated, and a maximum five-year ban for its owner.

“We all love football but it’s unbearable that people are scared to go to a sta-dium,” Huebel said.

“How can you bring chil-dren there when there are guns on the pitch? “The aim of the game is always to win, of course,” he added.

“But it can’t be forced by arms, by threats or even by crime.”

Following yesterday’s talks, Greek soccer

federation president Evangelos Grammenos said league officials will draft a declaration against violence by March 23, after which the government will review its position on the league suspension.

“It was decided that pro-fessional soccer (officials) will commit in writing to a framework concerning vio-lence inside and outside stadiums, and concerning stadium security,” Gram-menos said.

“If the minister for sports finds these commitments satisfactory he will decide on whether to revoke his decision.”

Huebel said he would make his report to FIFA in about 10 days.

“The report will be seri-ous,” the Austrian said. “We don’t know what the deci-sions by FIFA will be. There’s a wide range which finally ends up at the FIFA Coun-cil.... The jurisdiction of UEFA and FIFA can be a very strict one.” The Greek gov-ernment welcomed FIFA’s involvement.

“We are ready to act with the vital and valuable con-tribution of FIFA, to put an end to actions that blacken the image of the sport and the country,” government spokesman Dimitris Tzana-kopoulos said.

A public prosecutor has ordered a judicial investiga-tion, which will also look into why police allegedly ignored instructions by a prosecutor to arrest Savvidis on the spot.

Savvidis has apologized for his behavior.

Despite the league ban, more soccer violence was reported in Thessaloniki yesterday - this time at a local high school champion-ship game.

Police said two people were taken to the hospital.

England striker Kane could return next month: SpursREUTERS

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur eagerly-awaited medical bulletin on their England striker Harry Kane’s (pictured) right ankle provided good news on Wednesday with the club saying he could be playing next month.

When Kane hobbled away from Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium on Sunday having been substituted early in the 4-1 Premier League win, there were fears he had sustained serious damage.

However, the first update on his condition from Totten-ham since the weekend offered a more optimistic sce-n a r i o . “ P r e l i m i n a r y assessments have confirmed that (Kane) has damaged lat-eral ligaments in his right ankle,” the club said in a statement on Twitter.

“The England striker sus-tained the injury following a challenge in our 4-1 win over Bournemouth on Sunday and is expected to return to first team training next month.” Kane has scored 39 goals for club and country this season and is expected to be Eng-land’s main striker at the World Cup finals in Russia which start in June.

Swimmers arriving in Doha for the HOSA Marathon Swim World

Series event which will take pace at Doha’s Corniche on Saturday.

Top female swimmers participating include Rio 2016 Olympic Champion, Sharon Van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands, 2017 World Series winner, Arianna Bridi and Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist, Rachele Bruni, both of Italy and 2017 World silver medallist Samantha Michelle Arevalo Salinas of Ecuador.

French swimming team

members training at the

Aspire Academy in Doha.

MotoGP riders visit photo exhibition at KataraMOTOGP.COM

DOHA: Before the sun goes down and the lights go out on Sunday ahead of the first Grand Prix of the season various riders from the MotoGP paddock went to the Katara Village ahead of the QatarGP to explore its fantastic history.

Bradley Smith (Red Bul KTM Factory Racing), Karel Abraham (Angel Nieto Team), Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing), Tom Lüthi (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Lorenzo Baldassari (Pons HP 40) and Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) took a trip to the Katara Cultural Village in Doha to check out the “Speed & Rituals” photo exhibit by MotoGP photographers Gigi Soldano and Mirco Lazzari.

Upon arrival the riders had a photo opportunity with the crea-tive minds behind the exhibition, Gigi and Mirco, and once

formalities were out of the way the riders set off to find their pictures on the walls of the Youth Hobbies Centre. Bradley Smith was happy to spot a photo of himself, grinning.

“There’s a picture of me here, that’s cool! It’s great to be able to showcase the creativity of the pho-tographers in MotoGP and to showcase MotoGP in a different light,” Smith said.

After wandering through the exhibition, the riders then moved on for more photo and media opportunities in the Amphitheatre overlooking the Persian Gulf, before one last photo stop in front of Katara’s famous Pigeon Towers.

The MotoGP season kicks off with the opening race at the state-of-the-art lighting system at the Losail International Circuit. It’s that time of the year to see how well the teams and riders have prepared over the winter at the pre-season

tests in Sepang, Malaysia; Buriram, Thailand; and Losail, Qatar.

Ten years have passed since the desert oasis of Losail International Circuit hosted the first floodlit MotoGP race and 15 years since it hosted the first race of the MotoGP calendar.

For the records, the 2018 rac-ing season will feature a whopping 19 rounds over the course of eight full months of racing, starting with the opener in Qatar.

Defending champion Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, and Dani Pedrosa have all made headlines over the course of the winter and fans are expect-ing the series superstars to make to the podium in several races.

Fans are not ruling out Maver-ick Viñales, Cal Crutchlow, Andrea Dovisioso, and Danilo Petrucci. With a little bit of luck and smart race strategies, these fellas could very well catch up to the top rid-ers, and even dethrone Marquez.

From left: Bradley Smith (Red Bul KTM Factory Racing), Karel Abraham (Angel Nieto Team), Tito Rabat (Reale

Avintia Racing), Tom Lüthi (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Lorenzo Baldassari

(Pons HP 40) and Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) pose for a picture during their trip to the Katara Cultural

Village in Doha yesterday.

MotoGp riders jump in the

air during a photo shoot at

Katara Cultural village in

Doha yesterday.

34 THURSDAY 15 MARCH 2018SPORT

Westbrook registers 100th triple-double as Oklahoma City Thunder post big win

AFP

NEW YORK: Russell Westbrook scored 32 points, recorded a mile-stone triple-double and led the Oklahoma City Thunder to their fourth consecutive win, 119-107 over the host Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

Westbrook had 12 rebounds and 12 assists to complete his 100th career triple-double. Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd are the only other players to have 100 triple-doubles in their careers.

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and sparked a second-half comeback for the Thunder. Jerami Grant finished with 20 points off the bench and made big plays down the stretch. Taurean Prince had 25 points and Dennis Schroder added 18 points for the Hawks, who have lost four in a row.

Cavaliers 129, Suns 107LeBron James had 28 points as

part of his 14th triple-double of the season, and Kyle Korver scored 22 points in his first start since March 4, 2017, as visiting Cleveland blew past Phoenix.

James amassed 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and he made 13 of 15 free throw attempts as the Cavaliers broke a two-game losing streak.

TJ Warren had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Josh Jackson had 19 points and Devin Booker had 17 points and six assists for the Suns, who lost their sixth in a row. They have dropped 16 of 17 and 21 of 23.

Jazz 110, Pistons 79Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 12

rebounds, and five other Utah players scored in double figures as the Jazz earned an easy victory over visiting Detroit.

Joe Ingles added 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Jazz. Jonas Jerebko chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds as Utah notched its seventh straight victory and won for the 19th time in the past 21 games.

Luke Kennard scored 18 points and Andre Drummond added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit. Blake Griffin also scored 13 points as the Pistons lost for the 11th time in 14 games.

Spurs 108, Magic 72LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24

points in three quarters of action and paced five teammates in

double-figure scoring as host San Antonio dumped hapless Orlando.

The Spurs snapped a three-game losing streak but still have lost five of their past seven outings. The win was just San Antonio’s fourth in its past 15 contests.

The loss was the fifth straight for Orlando and 12th in its past 14 games. The Magic got 10 points each from Nikola Vucevic and Jonathon Simmons. Vucevic also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Clippers 112, Bulls 106Milos Teodosic and Lou Williams

hit key hoops to stall a Chicago run in the fourth quarter, helping visiting Los Angeles earn the win.

Williams finished with 26 points, while DeAndre Jordan ran up a 29-point, 18-rebound double-double for Los Angeles. The Clippers won for the fifth time in six games.

Bobby Portis had a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Bulls, who have alter-nated losses and wins in their past seven games.

Pelicans 119, Hornets 115Anthony Davis had 31 points and

14 rebounds, and host New Orleans defeated Charlotte.

Jrue Holiday added 25 points as the Pelicans ended a two-game losing streak. E’Twaun Moore and Emeka Okafor scored 14 points each, and Rajon Rondo had 12 points and 17 assists.

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Kemba Walker scored 22, Frank Kaminsky had 21 and Nicolas Batum 20 for the Hornets, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Lakers 112, Nuggets 103Los Angeles extracted a measure

of revenge on Denver and Jamal Murray, rallying in the fourth quarter for a home victory.

The win came four days after Murray drew the ire of Lakers players and coaches while celebrating Den-ver’s 125-116 home win over Los Angeles. Lakers fans booed Murray every time he touched the ball early in the rematch, but the 21-year-old was able to overcome it on an 18-point night.

Kyle Kuzma and Julius Randle had 26 points apiece and Isaiah Thomas added 23 for the Lakers. Kuzma and Randle completed double-doubles

with 13 rebounds apiece. Wilson Chandler led the Nuggets with 26 points and 10 boards.

Timberwolves 116, Wizards 111Karl-Anthony Towns scored 37

points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead visiting Minnesota to a come-from-behind victory over Washington.

The Timberwolves trailed by eight points entering the fourth quarter. Minnesota’s Nemanja Bjelica had 17 points and made a couple of key 3-pointers in the fourth period.

Markieff Morris had a season-high 27 points for Washington, hitting 10 of 15 shots from the floor.

Pacers 101, 76ers 98Myles Turner led six players in

double figures with 25 points to lift visiting Indiana past Philadelphia.

Thaddeus Young had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Cory Joseph added 13 points for Indiana.

Joel Embiid had 29 points and 12 rebounds but committed eight turn-overs for the Sixers. Ben Simmons registered his seventh triple-double of the season with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Raptors 116, Nets 102Jonas Valanciunas carried Eastern

Conference-leading Toronto on an off night for stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry as the Raptors won at Brooklyn for their ninth straight victory.

Valanciunas had a team-high 26 points and 14 rebounds. DeRozan fin-ished with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting while Lowry had 11 while going 4-for-13 from the field with 11 assists as the Raptos won for the 16th time in 17 games.

D’Angelo Russell scored a game-high 32 points to pace the Nets. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 19 points and Caris LaVert contributed 11 points and seven assists for Brooklyn, which has dropped six of seven.

Mavericks 110, Knicks 97Harrison Barnes scored 30 points

as Dallas defeated host New York, which dropped its eighth game in a row.

Dennis Smith Jr. had 17 points for the Mavericks, and Dirk Nowitzki scored 13. Knicks reserve forward Michael Beasley scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 19 points for New York.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ guard LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Phoenix Suns’ forward Marquese Chriss (0) and forward TJ Warren (12) during their NBA game at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Pastrnak’s heroics lift Bruins past HurricanesAFP

NEW YORK: David Pastrnak scored three goals in the third period to complete a huge Boston comeback as the Bruins took down the Carolina Hurricanes 6-4 on Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Pastrnak notched a power-play goal with 3:30 remaining to give the Bruins their first lead since it was 1-0.

Brad Marchand, Matt Grzelcyk and Danton Heinen also scored for Boston. Riley Nash and Marchand each provided two assists while Pastrnak and Grzelcyk had one apiece.

Carolina’s goals were scored by Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Tera-vainen, Justin Williams and Brock McGinn. Elias Lindholm and Justin Faulk both had two assists.

Predators 3, Jets 1Goalie Pekka Rinne stopped

32 of 33 shots, and Nashville pulled away for a win over vis-iting Winnipeg.

The Predators earned their 11th win in 12 games to increase their lead atop the Western Con-ference’s Central Division.

The Predators reached 100 points, which is tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for most in the NHL.

Kevin Fiala, Austin Watson and Viktor Arvidsson scored for Nashville. Kyle Connor scored in a losing effort for Winnipeg, which lost its third game in a row.

Avalanche 5, Wild 1J T Compher scored two goals

while Semyon Varlamov stopped 33 shots as Colorado started a brief, critical late-season road trip with a win over Minnesota.

Nikita Zadorov, Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Jost also lit the lamp for Colorado, which tied Dallas for the two Western Conference wild-card positions at 82 points apiece.

Mikko Koivu scored the only goal for Minnesota.

Canadiens 4, Stars 2Artturi Lehkonen had a pair

of goals and Alex Galchenyuk and Jonathan Drouin recorded two assists each as Montreal defeated visiting Dallas to snap a five-match losing streak. Canadiens goalie Antti Niemi made 36 saves.

The Stars have lost two straight matches, are 1-3-1 in their past five games and 4-6-2 in their last 12. Radek Faksa and Jamie Benn scored for Dallas.

Senators 7, Lightning 4Ryan Dzingel and Mike

Hoffman both hit the 20-goal mark, and goalie Mike Condon stopped 42 shots as visiting

Ottawa handed Tampa Bay its first regulation loss in 11 games.

Hoffman, who scored twice, has compiled 20 or more goals in all four of his full NHL seasons. Dzingel, Marian Gaborik, Erik Karlsson and Tom Pyatt each had a goal and an assist for the Senators.

J.T. Miller responded with

three goals for the Lightning, his first career hat trick. Ryan McDonagh added a goal for Tampa Bay.

Flames 1, Oilers 0Johnny Gaudreau scored the

lone goal early in the second period and goalie Mike Smith pitched a 28-save shutout as Calgary blanked visiting Edmonton.

Gaudreau tallied at the 5:18 mark of the middle frame. Cal-gary’s Micheal Ferland won a board battle with Adam Larsson, then gave the puck to Sean Monahan, who faked a shot before feeding a wide-open Gaudreau at the doorstep. Gaudreau roofed a backhander over the shoulder of Oilers goalie Cam Talbot (31 saves).

Gaudreau’s goal was his 80th point of the season, a career high.

Coyotes 4, Kings 3 (SO)Alex Goligoski’s goal in the

fifth round of a shootout gave Arizona a win over visiting Los Angeles.

Arizona led 3-0 midway through the second period before Los Angeles rallied to force extra time. Rookie Coyotes goaltender Adin Hill stopped 34 shots for his first career NHL win. Nick Cousins led the Coyotes with a goal and an assist. Clayton Keller and Christian Dvorak also scored for Arizona in regulation.

Jeff Carter led the Kings with two goals, while Tanner Pearson supplied Los Angeles’ other goal. Los Angeles goaltender Jack Campbell recorded 26 saves.

The Calgary Flames mix it up after the whistle with the Edmonton Oilers during their NHL

game at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta.

35THURSDAY 15 MARCH 2018 SPORT

Tennis: Del Potro dumps Ferrer as Cilic crashes out in Indian Wells

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus returns a backhand against Dudi Sela during the BNP Paribas

Open at the Indian Wells Tennis

Garden in Indian Wells, California. Baghdatis won

7-6, 6-4.

AFP

INDIAN WELLS: Juan Martin Del Potro continued his dominance over David Ferrer to book a spot in the Indian Wells fourth round as second seed Marin Cilic suffered a shock loss.

World No. 8 Del Potro extended his win streak over the Spaniard to five straight matches, winning 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) at the ATP Tour hardcourt tournament here Tuesday.

The 29-year-old Del Potro improved to 7-6 overall against Ferrer and his five consecutive victories date back to the 2013 Wimbledon quarter-finals.

“We always play tough matches. I got lucky,” said Del Potro. “I played really well in the tiebreak and served well in the important moments.”

Del Potro will next face fellow Argen-tinian Leonardo Mayer, who defeated Jap-anese qualifier Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-1.

Del Potro is playing some of his best tennis in years as he improved to 13-3 on the season. In January he returned the top 10 for the first time since 2014.

He is fresh off winning his 21st career title earlier this month in Acapulco when he steamrolled his way into the final by beating three top 10 players in a row.

He capped off his Acapulco run by beating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4 in the championship game.

Del Potro, the 2013 Indian Wells finalist, hammered six aces and won 87 percent of his first-serve points in the one hour, 46 minute match against Ferrer.

He says he is eager to get back to the final and lift the trophy in the California desert.

“It is one of my dreams to win this title. I have been in the final and the semis but I have never held the trophy,” he said.

Elsewhere, world number three Cilic became another top seed casualty, losing in straight sets to Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4.

The 29-year-old Cilic, who reached the finals of two of the last three Grand Slams, dropped to a record of 10-4 on the season.

Kohlschreiber advances to the fourth round where he will play unseeded Pierre-Hugues Herbert who won his third round match when fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils retired in the second set with a lower back injury.

Cilic blasted five aces but couldn’t overcome Kohlschreiber’s strong serving game. The German won 76 percent of his first serve points and broke Cilic’s serve twice, once in each set.

Kohlschreiber said he tried to get the match over as quickly as possible.

“I felt good. I played aggressive. I played well in the crucial moments and on the big points,” Kohlschreiber said. “I think another key factor was that it was a two-set win.”

Kohlschreiber is now 7-4 overall against Cilic. He has won three out of their last four meetings, including a straight set victory in the final in Munich on clay in 2012.

He won their first meeting on hard-court in Moscow in 2007.

In other third round matches, Canadian No. 1 Milos Raonic beat Portu-gal’s Joao Sousa 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 and Sam Querrey of the United States rallied to outlast Yuki Bhambri 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4.

Ken Flach, owner of 6 Grand Slam doubles titles, dies at 54AP

NEW YORK: Ken Flach, who won four Grand Slam titles in men’s doubles and two in mixed doubles, has died, according to the ATP World Tour and International Tennis Federation. He was 54.

The ATP World Tour announced Tuesday that Flach died on Monday night in California after a brief illness.

In a posting on Facebook, Flach’s widow, Christina, wrote that he “passed away after fighting pneumonia.”

“Ken was taken far too soon and his sudden passing comes as a real shock to eve-ryone in tennis,” ATP Pres-ident Chris Kermode said, adding that Flach “will be remembered as one of the great US doubles players in the history of our sport.”

Flach was remembered Tuesday on the main stadium court at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.

His picture was shown on the video board and the announcer mentioned his career highlights during break in play.

Flach reached No. 1 in the men’s doubles rankings and paired with Robert Seguso to form one of the world’s top teams in the 1980s.

They won 28 titles together, including major championships at the US Open in 1985 and Wimbledon in 1987 and 1988. They twice were the runners-up at the US Open.

Flach and Seguso also collected a gold medal for the United States at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

They played together at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and won three Division II national championships, according to the ATP.

Flach finished with a total of 34 men’s doubles titles, including winning the 1993 US Open with Rick Leach. Flach’s Grand Slam mixed doubles trophies came with Kathy Jordan at the French Open and Wimbledon in 1986.

ATP/WTA Indian Wells results Men’s Third Round

Feliciano Lopez (ESP x28) bt Jack Sock (USA x8) 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 6-4

Sam Querrey (USA x18) bt Yuki Bhambri (IND) 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4

Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) bt Dudi Sela (ISR) 7-6 (7/5), 6-4

Milos Raonic (CAN x32) bt Joao Sousa (POR) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG x6) bt David Ferrer (ESP x29) 6-4, 7-6 (7/3)

Leonardo Mayer (ARG) bt Taro Daniel (JPN) 6-4, 6-1

Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) bt Gael Monfils (FRA) 6-2, 3-1 retired

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER x31) bt Marin Cilic (CRO x2) 6-4, 6-4

Women’s Fourth Round Angelique Kerber (GER x10) bt Caroline Garcia (FRA x7) 6-1, 6-1

Simona Halep (ROM x1) bt Wang Qiang (CHN) 7-5, 6-1

Petra Martic (CRO) bt Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4)

Naomi Osaka (JPN) bt Maria Sakkari (GRE) 6-1, 5-7, 6-1

Karolína Pliskova (CZE x5) bt Amanda Anisimova (USA) 6-1, 7-6 (7/2)

Venus Williams (USA x8) bt Anastasija Sevastova (LAT x21) 7-6 (8/6), 6-4

Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP x27) bt Danielle Collins (USA) 6-2, 6-4

Darya Kasatkina (RUS x20) bt Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x2) 6-4, 7-5

Halep and Venus in quarters; Wozniacki fallsAFP

INDIAN WELLS: World No. 1 Simona Halep and Venus Williams punched their tickets to the Indian Wells quarter-finals, while Caroline Wozniacki suffered another exit at the hands of Russia’s rising star Daria Kasatkina.

Halep breezed through her fourth round match with a 7-5, 6-1 win over China’s Wang Qiang and eighth seed Venus Williams faced a stern test from Anastasija Sevastova but held on for a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory.

The 20-year-old Kasatkina, who has beaten all four reigning Grand Slam champions in the past year, continued her giant-killing form with a 6-4, 7-5 shock victory over world No. 2 Wozniacki.

Kasatkina recorded her second straight win over Woz-niacki, having also beaten the Australian Open champ at the St Petersburg tournament last month.

“I’m playing my best matches against the best players,” she said. “But if you want to be on the top, you have to beat the top players. So quite a simple rule.”

Kasatkina improved to 11-6 on the WTA Tour season as she seeks to better her quarter-final appearance here in 2016.

Kasatkina hit one ace, won

54 percent of her first serves and broke Wozniacki’s serve six times in the one hour, 40 minute match.

“She outsmarted me today,” Wozniacki said. “But, you know, at least I tried, and I tried to do what I thought I needed to do out there today.

“I just couldn’t execute as well as I wanted to.”

It was a disappointing exit for Wozniacki, who finally silenced her critics earlier this year with her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne, where she defeated Halep in the final.

Wozniacki had a chance to get the No. 1 back but she needed to win the Indian Wells title to do

it. Kasatkina said she is starting to believe in herself, especially when she faces top 10 players.

“In the beginning it was really tough because I was really nervous going on the big stages against big players,” she said.

“But now with experience and with time I’m getting into it.

“I’m getting pretty confident at this level.” But she added, “I am still young so I have to work on everything.”

Kasatkina next plays 10th seed Angelique Kerber, of Germany, who roared past seventh seeded Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-1.

Meanwhile, Halep, who is one

of two former champions left in the draw, is now 17-1 on the season having already won a title in both singles and doubles at Shenzhen, China.

Halep advances to the quarter-finals where she will face unseeded Petra Martic of Croatia who beat Czech Marketa Von-drousova 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

Halep called for a timeout in the first set so her coach Darren Cahill could come down to the court to discuss strategy.

“It was really important, because he just told me what I have to do. I knew that I had to change something, but I didn’t realize what it was exactly,” she said.

“So it was a good chat. I did exactly what he said after that,” she said.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams survived a difficult fourth round test to beat Latvia’s Sevastova 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 just one day after beating sister Serena in a third round contest. It was the first time Venus has beaten Serena since 2014 in Montreal.

She and Serena usually meet later in the draw in the semis or the championship match.

“It was not an easy match to figure out,” Venus said of her victory Tuesday.

“She has everything in her game. And it was a quick comeback from yesterday, where

you have the emotions of, ‘Hey, this feels like a final. But guess what, you’re only in the fourth round.’”

Williams, who is the oldest female player in the draw at 37,

rallied in the second set against Sevastova to book her spot in the quarter-finals.

Venus next faces Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain who rolled past Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-4.

Daria Kasatkina of Russia returns

a shot to Caroline Wozniacki of

Denmark during their match of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells

Tennis Garden in Indian Wells,

California.

Simona Halep of Romania celebrates after winning a game against Wang Qiang of China during Day 9 of BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.

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36THURSDAY 15 MARCH 2018

Verstappen has definitely got

the potential to be a world

champion We’ve all seen

that, that’s why he’s got a

great following.

Reigning champion

Lewis Hamilton says ahead of the new season

Vettel main hope as Ferrari look for titleREUTERS

LONDON: Sebastian Vettel’s task with Ferrari this season is as easy to say as it is hard to achieve; bring the Formula One world championship back to Maranello and deny Mercedes a fifth in a row.

The oldest, most glamorous and successful team on the starting grid came close last year, with their German driver leading through the opening 12 rounds from Melbourne until Monza before the challenge unravelled.

But 2018 marks a decade since the Italians last won a championship, their 16th con-structors’ crown in 2008, and the pressure -- always intense even at the best of times -- has been ratcheting up.

So too have expectations after Vettel and Finnish team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, whose 2007 title remains the 15th and last won by a Ferrari driver, prepared for the March 25 opener in Australia by lapping fastest in testing.

Such winter times can be misleading, and teams packed up for Melbourne -- a race won by Vettel last year -- with a suspicion that Lewis Hamil-ton’s Mercedes are still in front and that Ferrari might even have fallen behind Red Bull.

But there are also strong signs that the battle will be even closer this year than last, when Vettel won five races to four-times champion Hamil-ton’s nine.

“Overall, I feel we have a good package,” said Raik-konen, now 38 and likely to be leaving at the end of the cam-paign, after his last day of testing the SF71H car.

“The car gives me a good feeling and, even if there are still a lot of things to improve, it’s reasonably easy to drive and it reacts to the various set-up changes,” added the Finn.

Ferrari completed 929 laps of the Barcelona circuit over the eight days of testing, equal

to 4,324km -- or more than 14 Australian Grand Prix dis-tances. Mercedes managed 1,040 laps or 4,841km.

But Ferrari’s fastest laps were set on the new hypersoft tyres, the quickest type available, which Mercedes did not even take to Barcelona.

Ferrari also went quicker than Mercedes on the ultrasoft tyres but slower on mediums, the best for long stints. Add in times set on different days, with a range of track temperatures, and the jury remains out.

The amount of smoke coming from the Ferrari in the pitlane in Spain will also be something to watch, with some suggesting their engine was using more oil than others.

Vettel, a four times champion who won his titles between 2010-13 with Red Bull, played down the testing times.

“We are still working on some things for the first race and it’s not really possible to make any predictions based on the performance of the other teams, because everyone is running a different pro-gramme,” he said.

“However, I’m happy for the guys in the team,” added the German, whose pre-season media engagements have been kept to an absolute minimum.

That has allowed the team to focus on the job in hand behind closed doors, even if some detect something of a siege mentality, and spare Vettel too much focus on his temperament after flare-ups in 2017.

Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne, who has also made headlines by suggesting Ferrari could leave the sport if they feel it is going in the wrong direction, is clear about what he wants to see.

“The best thing I think that could happen in 2018 is for Ferrari to perform up to its true potential and to take on the competition,” he said last month after the company’s fourth quarter results.

Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari during testing in this February 27, 2018 file photo.

Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull hoping to move back into title contentionREUTERS

LONDON: Like many others, Lewis Hamilton sees Red Bull’s Dutch hotshot Max Verstappen (pictured) as a Formula One world-champion-in-waiting. And the Briton also intends to keep it that way for as long as possible.

“Whilst I’m here I’m going to be doing everything I can to stop him from winning,” the Mercedes driver and four-times world champion told reporters during this month’s pre-season testing in Barcelona.

“I’m sure people won’t par-ticularly love that but that’s what we’re here to do, we’re here to battle. So I’m looking forward to having some really positive battles with him, hope-fully this year.”

The evidence from eight days in Spain would appear to indicate that the reigning cham-pion’s task is not about to get any easier, even if he remains the favourite to take another title.

Former champions Red Bull finished last season strongly and could be pushing Mercedes and Ferrari harder than ever when the lights go out at the season-opener in Australia on March 25.

The body language from Red Bull team bosses certainly suggests hopes are up.

That could make things very interesting indeed -- not just for the fans but also between 20-year-old Verstappen, with his army of orange shirted fans, and smiling but ferociously quick Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo.

“There’s three quick teams and there’s no doubt that Red Bull are going to be the people that we are going to be fighting with this year,” said Mercedes technical head James Allison during the final week of testing.

“There’s still some blur-riness, it’s still not possible to say for sure whether we’ve got our nose in front of them or they’ve got their nose in front of us. But you can say it’s close.

Ricciardo wrote the head-lines last week when he went faster around Barcelona’s

Circuit de Catalunya than anyone since the track was reconfigured in 2007, even if Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel went quicker the next day.

The Australian’s lap was faster than anything done in pre-season last year and also well inside the time Hamilton set for Mercedes during the 2017 Spanish Grand Prix to secure pole position.

“I’m sure Mercedes are still the top dogs at the moment but I don’t feel we are far off,” com-mented a happy Ricciardo.

“If we can keep finding a few more things we can be very good.” Verstappen ended last season strongly with two wins in the last six races, a feat matched only by Hamilton, while Ricciardo was triumphant in Azerbaijan.

Red Bull, winners of four championships in a row between 2010 and 2013 with Vettel, finished the 2017 cam-paign third overall.

“He (Verstappen) has defi-nitely got the potential to be a world champion,” said Hamilton.

“We’ve all seen that, that’s why he’s got a great following. We’ve seen the way he drives, he’s got a great potential as a driver and he’s in a great team. And I think he’s in a perfect place to continue growing.

“I still hadn’t had my first season under my belt at 21 so he’s already further ahead than me and a lot of the drivers.”

The latest odds have Ver-stappen as 5-1 third favourite for the title, after Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, with Ricciardo fourth but at 10-1.

McLaren need to deliver after testing timesREUTERS

LONDON: New engine partners and a happy Fernando Alonso fuelled fresh optimism at McLaren over the winter months -- and then the testing came along.

March has not been kind to the fallen giants of Formula One, who have suf-fered more problems and done fewer laps on the test track than any other team.

The missed mileage may be no more than a minor setback, and Alonso put in some notably quick times right at the end, but the team head to Australia for the March 25 season-opener with some uncertainty.

After a nightmare three years with Honda ended in a parting of the ways

and a new relationship with Renault, McLaren need to deliver. Another season of disappointment would be more than fans could bear.

“There’s no hiding,” executive director Zak Brown had said before the car took to the track for the first time, recognising that McLaren would be in the spotlight, and those words apply now more than ever.

“But this team has won lots of world championships so we’re up for it,” he added.

The past five years do not make happy reading for the sport’s second most successful team, who finished ninth out of 10 in 2017 with a meagre 30 points -- 638 fewer than champions Mercedes.

An outfit with 182 grand prix victories

to their credit, and the team of cham-pions such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton, have not won a race since the end of 2012.

McLaren’s 12th and last driver’s title was provided by Hamilton nearly a decade ago, in 2008, and they have yet to win a constructors’ crown in this millennium.

McLaren lost track time to technical issues on five of the eight days of testing, with a sixth virtually wiped out by snow.

Turbo trouble and an engine change on the final day at the Circuit de Cat-alunya cost Alonso five hours of running, but he then returned to pump out the second fastest time of the day.

The sight of a stricken car returning to the pits on a recovery truck will soon

be forgotten if McLaren come good in Australia and beyond, however.

“There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the car,” said Alonso.

“The issues we have had are under control. Unfortunately we keep discov-ering small things but that is making us in a strong position for Australia because we are strengthening all the small things.”

McLaren’s papaya orange and blue car has caught the eye also for the large expanses of bodywork unadorned by sponsor logos, and a return to form would help fill them.

A top three finish will be a big chal-lenge, with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull taking all but one podium place between them in the last season’s 20 races.

McLaren’s Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne drives at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo in this March 8, 2018 file photo.