Ashwin’s six-for gives India massive lead

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TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2016 • 10 MOHARRAM 1438

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Coach Cano names U-19 Asian Cup squad The Peninsula

DOHA: the Qatar Football Association (QFA) confirmed that coach Oscar Cano on Sunday named a 23-mem-ber national squad for this month’s AFC U-19 Asian Cup.

Qatar, the defending champions, are ready for the October 13-30 tournament to be held in Manama, Bahrain, a QFA official said.

Qatar will leave for Bah-rain on Monday morning and will resume training for their Group C matches the same day. The teams in Group C are Japan, Yemen and Iran besides Qatar.

Cano’s boys face Iran on October 14, Yemen on Octo-ber 17 and Japan on October 20 in the preliminary stages of the tournament.

Qatar won the 2014 edi-tion in Myanmar by beating North Korea in the final. The champions in 2014 later qual-ified to play the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in New Zealand.

Fahad Al Shammari is the Director of the team.

Sayed Hassan Issa, Nasser Al-Saadi,

Mohammed Said Ibrahim, Abdul Rah-

man Mohammed Mustafa, Mashaal, Ib-

rahim Faraj, Badr Al-Hamad, Khaled

Mazeed, Munir Ahmad, Bakri Moham-

med, Walid Hassan Bakhit, Hussein Ali

Behzad, Saad Khalifa Khamis, Khaled

Mubarak Al-Nuaimi, Tarek Salman,

Suleiman Abdul, Rashid Ibrahim, Mo-

hammed Ahmed, Hassan Ahmed, Bas-

sam Naeem, Hisham Al-Rawi, Abdullah

Abdul Salam, Ahmed Bakhit, Alohrq

Menhali, Nasser Abdel-Salam Alohrq,

Awad Ahmed Al Muwaffaq and Moham-

med Uday.

Coah: Oscar Cano

Qatar Vs SyriaVenue: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha

Kick off at 7.00pm.

Uzbekistan Vs China Venue: Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent

Iran Vs South Korea Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran

QATAR SQUAD FORAFC U-19 ASIAN CUP

FIFA WORLD CUP 2018ASIAN QUALIFIERS Confident Fossati eyes win as

Qatar prepare for Syria test

By Rizwan RehmatThe Peninsula

DOHA: Coach Jorge Fossati is confident of a Qatar turnaround in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qual-ifying road to Russia, insisting his team is one win away from regaining lost touch.

Under-pressure Qatar host Syria in their fourth Asian Zone qualifying match in the last six weeks. Today’s clash takes place at Al Sadd Stadium where the game kicks-off at 7.00pm.

Fossati, who was brought in as coach just a little over a cou-ple of weeks ago, saw Qatar lose a feisty contest 3-2 against Korea on Thursday.

“We have the quality. We have the players to do it. I repeat it will be a tough match but I am opti-mistic about our performance and that we can take victory,” Fossati said during a pre-match press conference yesterday.

“We cannot change the past but we can change the future,” the former Al Rayyan coach said.

Fossati said Syria team is known for hard tackles on the pitch.

“Tomorrow we have a tough opponent. Their (recent) results speak themselves. They are very strong in physical football. But of course we will try to do our part. We will play with our ideas and strengths,” he said.

“If you heard me in the first press conference, I promised tough work. I didn’t promise results,” Fossati said when asked about expectations from home fans in Qatar who have gone three qualifying games without a win.

“I understand the excitement and nervousness of people about the result. But I am very very sure that we need to focus only on the game,” Fossati said.

“We cannot play the game thinking negatively. The ones who know me they know this is the most important game. If we continue to look back, then we will play with extra pressure.

Fossati said Qatar took the positives from their 3-2 loss against Korea four days ago.

“We got many positives. I can keep 90 positives from the Korea game. The other 10 things are negative. One of the impor-tant things I spoke to the players was that they started the second half thinking too much to keep the partial result,” Fossati said.

Qatar were leading 2-1 at the end of the first half in Suwon.

“In the end the team played

worried or afraid. This is some-thing that happens at the subconscious level. It comes to your head. It is difficult to push those thoughts away.

“If we analyse the last game from my point of view, the 15 mins of second half was bad phase of Qatar. But the other 75 minutes - considering we were playing a strong Korea side - that was the best phase of Qatar football under my coaching,” Fossati said.

“It is essential that we get points. We need to be strong men-tally. Our only focus should be to take a victory,” the Qatar Coach added.

Fossati said his team would deploy a balanced plan of attack and defense.

“I will try to have a side that has balance in defense and attack. It is clear that football have two posts. You need to defend one post and attack the other. Most of the time teams who defend and attack well usually take victory,” he said.

“It (qualifying) seems impos-sible but I believe we have seven games. The situation can change, if we continue to look for points,” Fossati said.

“Don’t misunderstand the sit-uation. Tomorrow is not the end. After tomorrow we will have points,” he said.

“You (media) know me a long time. From my point of view, match tactics involve distribu-tion of players in the game. If we start differently tomorrow, don’t be surprised,” the Uruguayan coach said.

Qatar i for ward Magid Mohammed admitted that the game will not be an easy affair.

“I can’t add to what the coach has said. Our situation is difficult. It will be a tough game. They have good players. We have the home advantage. Hopefully we will have a strong performance,” he said.

“The pressure is there but Qatar players have experienced to tackle the situation. It is clear the morale is high and hopefully we will win,” Magid added.

Qatar coach Jorge Fossati (right) and forward Magid Mohammed listen to a question asked by a journalist during a press briefing held yesterday, ahead of their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Syria which will be played at Al Sadd Stadium in Doha today. Picture by Abdul Basit/ The Peninsula

Syrian coach hopes to ‘deal’ with strong Qatari attack Agencies

DOHA: Syrian coach Ayman Al Hakeem said it was a “historic achievement” for his team to have gotten so far in the tournament con-sidering the civil war back at home.

He was addressing the media ahead of the crunch Asian qualifier for the Russia 2018 against Qatar.

Syria’s three games have only produced two goals and Hakeem predicted another tight affair today.

“We consider Qatar as very, very strong. They have had great perform-ances even if the results do not reflect that,” he said.

“We know they are going to attack, they are going to be on the offensive, we need to deal with this.”

Syria, shorn of stars who cur-rently refuse to represent the national team and playing their “home” matches in Malaysia, have made a solid start.

They have four points from three

games and last week won 1-0 in China. A win today could push them into the automatic qualification spots.

Commenting on their prep-arations against the home team, goalkeeper Ibrahim Alma said that they will be up to the challenge.

“Regarding the preparation, we have been training very well. We are realizing our dreams of doing well

in the qualifying matches. We have 4 points.”

“We want 3 more points. God Willing we will get a positive result. Under the circumstances, we will be up to the challenge.”

“The strength of our defense is the result of our dedication on the pitch. We have faced strong teams. We are no afraid of our opponents,” he said.

Japan to bring courage against Asia’s best: HalilhodzicReuters

MELBOURNE: Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic has shrugged off injury concerns ahead today’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Australia and defended his team’s slow start to the final phase for Russia.

Japan opened their campaign with a surprise home loss to United Arab Emirates and their last-gasp win over Iraq in Saitama on Thursday did little to ease the pressure on the 63-year-old Bosnian, who has endured heavy

criticism from a disgruntled home media. Having already lost forward Yoshinori Muto and attacking mid-fielder Takashi Usami to injuries before the Iraq game, Halilhodzic may be without Shinji Okazaki in Melbourne, with the Leicester City striker missing training on Sunday after hurting his ankle in the Saitama match.

Halilhodzic declined to comment on Okazaki’s fitness but said his team was in reasonable shape to take on the Asian Cup champions at Dock-lands stadium.

“Yes, we lack two players and that will be a handicap but I will not search

for excuses,” the French-speaking coach told reporters through a trans-lator. We’ll go with courage. I will not be telling you we lack this, we lack that. We are in a difficult situation but men-tally maybe we will be better. We play against the Asian champions, the best team in Asia and we are very moti-vated. Each player is thinking to win this game.”

Since Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006, the teams have developed a fierce rivalry, facing off at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and in the 2011 Asian Cup final, which Japan won.

Japan have not lost to Australia in seven years but have been unable to beat them in their last four World Cup qualifiers, including a 2-1 loss in their last Melbourne showdown in 2009.

Halilhodzic did not hesitate to declare Australia favourites for the match and warned his players to brace for huge pressure from highly physi-cal opponents.

He also said his team deserved more credit for their backs-to-the-wall effort against Iraq which left them third place in Asia’s Group B on six points, one behind leading Australia and Saudi Arabia.

Syrian coach Ayman Al Hakeem speaks

during a press briefing held at

Al Sadd Stadium yesterday.

Picture by Abdul Basit/ The Peninsula

Coach insists his team is one win away from regaining lost touch and plans to deploy a balanced plan of attack against tough opponents

World wants to know if Tiger is ready to

roar in return

23TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2016

World wants to know if Tigeris ready to roar in return

AFP

LOS ANGELES: Tiger Woods, 14 months removed from his last competitive outing, nearing his 41st birthday and in recovery from multiple back surgeries, still ignites interest like no other golfer.

The 14-time major champion will tee it up on Thursday at the Sil-verado Resort in Napa, California, in his first competitive start since a 10th-place finish at the Wyndham Championship on August 23 of 2015.

The normally low-key Safeway Open, start of the USPGA Tour’s 2016-17 season in California’s Wine Country north of San Francisco, is suddenly the centre of the golfing world. Compared to 45 media outlets credentialed in 2015, 106 are creden-tialed for this year, with organizers doubling the physical size of their media center.

A similar jump in ticket sales was expected, with some reports suggesting fans could be treated to a superstar pairing of Woods and five-time major winner Phil Mick-elson in the opening rounds.

Not that Woods needs any help to draw a spotlight, and rampant spec-ulation on just where his game might be after more than a year of pains-taking rehabilitation.

Woods, who will turn 41 on December 30, might settle for steady, with no setbacks.

His agent slammed reports in February that Woods’s rehabilita-tion wasn’t going well, and that his condition had deteriorated.

In May, promoting the National tournament he hosts, Woods insisted he was making progress -- but plunked three shots in the water trying to reach the green of Con-gressional’s par-three 10th.

Woods said then that he’d had to adapt to a new reality, his body no longer able to support eight or 10 hours of practice a day, or daily runs of five or six miles.

Still, he said in June: “I can play with these guys. I know I still can, I just need to get healthy enough where I can do it on a regular basis.”

On Thursday, Woods and the rest of the world will begin to find out if he has achieved that level of fitness. Although he’s been side-lined before by various ankle, knee and leg injuries, not to mention the notorious collapse of his marriage amid revelations of his infidelity -- this 14-month hiatus is the longest of Woods’s career. He hasn’t won since the 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invita-tional, the 79th PGA Tour title of his career leaving him three shy of the record held by Sam Snead.

His most recent major title came on one of those bum knees at the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, and since then he’s looked less and less likely to break the record of 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus.

December 2002: Surgery to remove cyst and flu-

id from left knee.

July 2007: Woods ruptured the anterior cruciate

ligament in his left knee while running. He opted

against surgery and won five of his next six tourna-

ments.

April 2008: Surgery to repair cartilage in left knee

after runner-up finish at the Masters.

June 2008: Reconstructive surgery to repair ante-

rior cruciate ligament and cartilage damage in left

knee, after Woods played through the pain of the

knee injury and two stress fractures in left leg to win

the US Open at Torrey Pines.

2008-09: Injured right Achilles tendon. At the 2010

Masters, Woods revealed that he tore his right Achilles

tendon in December of 2008, and reinjured the ten-

don several times in 2009 while continuing to play.

May 2010: Woods is forced out of final round of

The Players Championship and diagnosed with in-

flamed facet joint in neck.

May 2011: Sprained medial collateral ligament in

left knee and strained left Achilles tendon force

Woods out of Players Championship after nine

holes. Woods misses US and British Opens.

June 2013: Elbow injury that occurred at The Play-

ers flares up at US Open, sidelining Woods until

British Open in July.

August 2013: Back spasms, which Woods blames

on a soft mattress, drop Tiger to his knees during

The Barclays.

March 2014: Lingering back pain and spasms see

Woods withdraw from 13th hole of final round of

Honda Classic. He appears to be in pain through final

round 78 at Doral and skips Bay Hill with continuing

back pain.

August 2014: Woods tweaks his lower back hit-

ting from an awkward lie in a bunker on the second

hole and withdraws midway through final round of

WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

February 2015: Woods withdraws at Torrey Pines

after 11 holes because of back pain.

September 2015: Woods has second microdiscectomy

to remove a disc fragment that was pinching a nerve.

October 2015: Second surgery to treat pinched

nerve in his back.

The 14-time major champion to tee off again following a 14-month absence

Born: December 30, 1975 in Cypress, California

Turned Professional: 1996

Career US PGA Tour wins: 79

Major titles - 14 (Masters: 1997, 2001, 2002,

2005; US Open 2000, 2002, 2008; British

Open 2000, 2005, 2006; PGA Championship

1999, 2000, 2006, 2007)

PGA Tour Player of the Year: 11 (1997,

1999-2003, 2005-2007, 2009, 2013)

PGA Tour Money Leader: 10 (1997, 1999-

2002, 2005-2007, 2009, 2013)

Highest World Ranking: 1 (record 683

weeks)

Hatton clinches maiden Tour title in Alfred Dunhill Links AFP

ST ANDREWS, UNITED KINGDOM: England’s Tyrrell Hatton celebrated a maiden European Tour victory and the likelihood of a first US Masters appearance next year with a com-fortable four-stroke win in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews on Sunday.

Hatton, who turns 25 later this week, posted a final round 66 for a tournament record-equalling low of 23-under par and in relatively calm conditions on the famed Old Course.

It was Hatton’s 83rd European Tour event and he became the 15th different winner in the 16-year his-tory of the Scottish tournament.

However, in receiving the 711,073 euros ($800,000; £612,547) first-prize cheque, Hatton spoke of dreaming of his first pro career triumph since being taken by his father, Jeff, to the 1997 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in Surrey, southwest of London, and a 30-minute drive from the family home at Marlow

“Ever since I was a six-year-old, when my dad took me to Wentworth, I’ve dreamt of this day,” he said.

“My dad has also been my coach since I was 11 years of age, so I have to say a big thank you to him as he’s helped me so much, and he’s got an indoor golf studio back home in Marlow.

“Without his input it would have been impossible for me to be stand-ing here now with this trophy.”

Hatton kick-started his season by finishing runner-up in July’s Scottish Open before then sharing fifth place a week later in his first appearance in the British Open.

“My second-place result in the

Scottish Open was an important week, as it not only got me into my first Open a week later but also two weeks later into the PGA Champion-ship,” he said.

“That result just kick-started my good run of events.

“Also I was 53rd in the world coming into this week and I’ve been told, should I move to No. 35, and if I can stay inside the top-50 by the end of the year, that then means playing in my first Masters next April.

“So I’m very excited at that pros-pect as it would fantastic but more importantly I want to improve my ranking in what events I have left this season.”

South Africa’s Richard Sterne (66) and England’s Ross Fisher (67) shared second place on 19-under par, while double Major-winner Martin Kaymer, the 2010 Dunhill champion, could only manage a 69 to finish sixth at 15-under par.

There was some joy for reign-ing US Masters champion, Danny

Willett after an indifferent fortnight either side of the Atlantic for the Englishman.

Willett, who had badly missed the cut over the opening three rounds, teamed with his regular caddy and amateur partner, Jonathan Smart, to post a combined 12-under par 60 over the last day and win the pro/amateur prize by a shot at 30-under par.

Smart had caddied when Wil-lett won at Augusta and to celebrate Willett’s win had worn his ‘Augusta

National’ white boiler suit to greet workers at his parents’ security busi-ness in Yorkshire.

“I have to thank John as he car-ried me all week,” said Willett, a member of the Europe team that lost away to the United States in the Ryder Cup.

Willett, in the absence of near-est rivals Henrik Stenson and Rory McIlroy, remained top of the Race to Dubai money list, while Hatton has moved up from ninth to fourth place.

265 - Tyrrell Hatton 67 70 62 66

269 - Ross Fisher 65 68 69 67, Richard

Sterne (RSA) 69 69 65 66

271 - Joakim Lagergren (SWE) 66 68 69 68

272 - Marc Warren 72 66 67 67

273 - Martin Kaymer (GER) 71 68 65 69

275 - Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 71 68 67 69,

Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 73 66 69 67, Flo-

rian Fritsch (GER) 68 71 65 71, Renato

Paratore (ITA) 71 70 66 68

276 - Lasse Jensen (DEN) 71 69 66 70, Alex

Noren (SWE) 64 71 73 68, David Horsey 72

69 66 69, Bradley Dredge 69 72 68 67

277 - Graeme McDowell 74 67 67 69, Jbe

Kruger (RSA) 68 68 75 66, Tommy Fleet-

wood 72 67 70 68

278 - Richard Bland 70 69 70 69, Jordan

Zunic (AUS) 70 71 67 70, Romain Wattel

(FRA) 78 66 68 66, Mikko Ilonen (FIN) 73 71

67 67, Shane Lowry 72 68 72 66, Niclas

Fasth (SWE) 72 69 68 69, Gregory Havret

(FRA) 76 67 70 65

279 - Craig Lee 69 73 69 68, Jaco Ahlers

(RSA) 70 71 69 69, Paul Dunne 72 72 66

69, George Coetzee (RSA) 72 69 69 69,

Graeme Storm 71 72 69 67, Pablo Larraza-

bal (ESP) 71 73 66 69

ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES

TIGER WOODSINJURY TIMELINE

WOODS FACTFILE

England’s Tyrrell Hatton celebrates after winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with the trophy at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland on Sunday.

Brady back with a vengeance, Broncos suffer first loss

AFP

LOS ANGELES: New England’s star Tom Brady quickly shook off the rust in his season debut, while the Denver Broncos discov-ered just how much quarterback Trevor Siemian means to them in their first loss on Sunday.

Brady returned to the NFL in vintage style, passing for three touchdowns in the Patriots’s 33-13 drubbing of the Browns in Cleveland.

Brady, playing for the first time this season after serving his four-game “Deflategate” sus-pension, threw for 406 yards, connecting with tight end Mar-tellus Bennett on three touchdown passes.

The Patriots, who won three of four with Brady absent, improved to 4-1 while the Browns, the only winless team remaining, fell to 0-5.

Even worse, Cleveland saw yet another quarterback go down to injury.

Cody Kessler, the third quar-terback to start for the Browns this season, was knocked out of the game with chest and rib inju-ries late in the first quarter when he was drilled by Patriots line-backer Dont’a Hightower.

Robert Griffin suffered a bro-ken bone in his left shoulder in the season opener and Josh McCown suffered a broken collarbone in the next game for the Browns.

A week on from their hum-bling 16-0 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots came out firing.

On their first possession they moved the ball 80 yards on eight plays, aided by three runs from LaGarrette Blount that included a one-yard touchdown sprint.

The Browns pulled level on their next possession, but the Pats responded with a drive capped by Brady’s first touchdown pass to Bennett.

In Denver, Colorado, quarter-back Matt Ryan engineered five scoring plays as the Atlanta Fal-cons handed Denver their first loss of the season with a 23-16 win.

Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said they couldn’t contain the Fal-cons’ strong running game.

The Falcons won their fourth straight game as Ryan picked holes in Denver’s vaunted defence and the Broncos offence sput-tered without injured quarterback Siemian.

Siemian, who missed the con-test with a left shoulder injury, was replaced by Paxton Lynch. The rookie quarterback completed 23-of-35 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. He tossed one interception and was constantly harassed by Falcons linebacker Vic Beasley, who had 3 1/2 sacks.

Atlanta kept the Broncos out of the end zone until Demary-ius Thomas caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Lynch with 2:38 remaining.

In other games, the Minnesota Vikings improved to 5-0, seizing an early lead and playing stifling defence in a 31-13 victory over the Houston Texans in Minneapolis.

The Vikings led 24-0 in the sec-ond quarter, scoring on three of their first four drives. Vikings quar-terback Sam Bradford completed 22-of-30 passes for 271 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. In four games with Minnesota he has yet to turn the ball over.

New England 33 Cleveland 13

Detroit 24 Philadelphia 23

Indianapolis 29 Chicago 23

Tennessee 30 Miami 17

Washington 16 Baltimore 10

Minnesota 31 Houston 13

Pittsburgh 31 NY Jets 13

Atlanta 23 Denver 16

Dallas 28 Cincinnati 14

Buffalo 30 Los Angeles 19

Oakland 34 San Diego 31

Green Bay 23 NY Giants 16

NFL RESULTS

Tiger Woods of the United States catches a golf ball on the practice range during the first round of the 96th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky in this August 2014 file photo.

SPORT24 TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2016

Sharapova plans April return to competitions

AFP

LOS ANGELES: Maria Sharapova (pictured), targeting an April return to the WTA after the reduction of her doping ban, will try to start sharpen-ing her game in the friendly confines of a charity event in Las Vegas.

The Russian superstar will play in the World Team Tennis Smash Hits event at Caesars Palace, which is hosted by Billie Jean King and Elton John for the benefit of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Her appear-ance alongside such stars as Martina Navratilova and Andy Roddick will delight her legion of fans, who remain faithful despite the controversy Sharapova stirred last week with her charge that the International Tennis Federation wanted to make an exam-ple of her in her doping case.

“I got a 24-month suspension, but they (the ITF) wanted four years for me,” Sharapova said in an interview with US broadcaster PBS, a claim ITF officials denied. In the same media offensive last week, Sharapova indi-cated to ESPN she wasn’t convinced the drug meldonium, newly banned this year by the World Anti-Doping Agency, enhances performance.

“I think the one thing that I’d love to see -- and if anyone could show me -- is evidence on the perform-ance-enhancing effect that it has,” she told the US sports network.

Sharapova’s initial 24-month ban

for testing positive for meldonium was cut to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week.

That CAS decision divided opin-ion among her peers.

“I can’t believe it actually,” Aus-tralian Samantha Stosur said at a tournament in Hong Kong, calling it “remarkable” that Sharapova’s ban was reduced on the argument she didn’t realize a drug she’d long used had been added to the banned list. Stosur, in comments reported in Ten-nis Magazine, said she thought most WTA players felt the same.

“So I wouldn’t imagine there’s a

whole lot of support from the play-ing group,” the Aussie said.

But five-time Grand Slam cham-pion Sharapova can likely expect a warm welcome in Las Vegas, where she’ll arrive after a stop-off in Hend-erson, Nevada, to promote her candy company Sugarpova. “Important to put this behind us for tennis and Maria,” King tweeted after Sharapo-va’s ban was reduced. “Look forward to her return to the WTA Tour@wta.”

Navratilova added on Twitter: “A big price to pay for a big mistake, it will still be hard to come back for her. But we know how tough she is...”

The five-time Grand Slam champion is to serve 15 months of her ban as fans remain faithful despite the controversy

Murray targets toppling

number one ranked Djokovic

AFP

BEIJING: Andy Murray took Novak Djokovic’s China Open crown at the weekend, but that’s not all that the Scot is after as he closes in on the Serb’s number one ranking.

The second-ranked Scot is looking to close the points gap to Djokovic and cap a career-best sea-son by topping the rankings for the first time.

Murray made a convincing start to that campaign in Beijing, storm-ing through the tournament without dropping a set.

He beat Grigor Dimitrov to claim his fifth title of the year, and take him 1,000 points closer to Djokovic’s long-held number one spot.

“It’s very positive leading into Shanghai, and hopefully I can fin-ish the year strong,” Murray said in Beijing.

Djokovic wasn’t in the Chinese capital to defend his China Open crown, having pulled out with an elbow injury, but both are playing at this week’s Shanghai Masters.

The Serb also won in Shang-hai last year -- another trophy in what was one of the best seasons in tennis history -- and so now has to defend those ranking points whereas Murray only has points to bank to further reduce the 3,005-point gap to Djokovic.

In a year that also saw him

become a father for the first time, Murray bagged both his second Wimbledon crowns and Olympic gold medals.

He also reached the final of the Australian and French Opens, but missed out on a second consecutive Davis Cup win when Great Britain lost to Argentina in the semi-finals.

As Murray aims to become the first British man to reach number one, he is already writing history with Johanna Konta.

The 25-year-old Sydney-born Briton broke into the top 10 with her run to the final at her maiden appearance at the China Open -- the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1984 to achieve that feat. It is also the first time since computerised rankings were introduced that a British man and woman are ranked in the top 10 at the same time.

Konta is now in Hong Kong to try to cap a stunning rise over the last 15 months from 146th to ninth with her first appearance at the WTA Finals in Singapore, which fea-tures the season’s top eight players.

“She finished last year extremely well and kind of showed that she had the potential to get there with the wins that she was having.

“But it’s not easy to do it over a 12-month period,” Murray said of Konta.

“It’s exciting to see kind of how far she’s going to be able to go.”

Kuznetsova breezes into Tianjin round twoAFP

BEIJING: Russian two-time Grand Slam champion and second-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova breezed through her opening match at the

WTA Tianjin Open yesterday, beating France’s Pauline Parmentier 6-1, 6-3. Meanwhile, China’s Wang Yafan -- listed 125th in the world by the WTA -- clinched a surprise upset, elimi-nating sixth-seed Yulia Putintseva 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, despite the Kazakh ranking 91 places above her.

The other Chinese players fared less well. Zhang Kai-Lin lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to Croatia’s Donna Vekic, while Tianjin native Duan Ying-Ying was defeated 6-4, 6-3 by Montenegrin Danka Kovinic.

2010 Wimbledon doubles winner Vania King of the US was knocked

out by Chang Kai-Chen of Taiwan. Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hla-vackova, the tournament’s two Czech players, partnered up in doubles to win the 2013 US Open, but in Tian-jin they faced off against each other, with Hradecka beating her compa-triot 7-5, 6-4.

Rosberg still alert of Hamilton’s threat despite closing in on title Reuters

SUZUKA: Nico Rosberg is refusing to get carried away by thoughts of celebrating a maiden Formula One title triumph at the end of the season, despite getting one hand on the championship crown with victory in the Japanese Grand Prix.

The German eased to a maiden win from pole position at the Suzuka circuit on Sunday, chalking up his ninth win of the year, to lift himself 33 points clear of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamil-ton in the overall standings.

Such is Rosberg’s margin that, with just four races to go, the 31-year-old can take the title without needing to win another race.

“I don’t feel relief,” said Rosberg, only the fifth driver to win nine races in a season. “I’m just happy to win the Suzuka race.”

“Rosberg’s comments are in keep-ing with the approach the German has adopted this year, focussing on each race as it comes rather than the campaign as a whole.

Runner-up to Hamilton in the over-all standings in the last two years, he is not planning to change it now that the title is within reach. “The best reasoning is that it’s actually working quite well,” said Rosberg. “So why change something if it’s going quite well?

“The approach that I have at the moment is just coming here, focussing on the weekend and trying to get that win.”

Never has a driver who has won eight or more races in a season gone on to lose the title. Rosberg also currently appears to have the psychological edge over Hamilton, who cut a distracted and withdrawn figure in Suzuka.

But Rosberg, who can equal Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s

record of 13 wins in a season if he tri-umphs at the remaining races, knows how quickly fortunes can turn. Hamil-ton has not won since the German Grand Prix at the end of July while Rosberg has won four of the five races since.

Nevertheless, the Briton had been on course to take back the overall lead until his engine blew in Malaysia. Rosberg also knows that in Hamilton he faces a formidable competitor, who earlier this season converted a 43-point deficit to the German into a 19-point advantage with a streak of six wins from seven races.

“You can see how quick it goes in Malaysia, you’re in the lead and if the other guy wins its 25 points lost and then the gap is down to eight,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

“Remember when Nico won eight races in a row and then Lewis had that winning streak? I think its going to go down to the end.”

Champion Buemi

wins Formula E

season-openerReuters

HONG KONG: Reigning champion Sebastien Buemi (pictured) won an incident-packed opening race of the Formula E season in Hong Kong on Sunday for the Renault e.dams team.

The Swiss, who started fifth, made the most of an earlier than scheduled pitstop while the safety car was deployed to tri-umph in the first ePrix to be held in Hong Kong.

Brazilian Lucas Di Grassi, for Audi Abt, made up 17 places after starting from the back row of the grid to finish second while Germany’s Nick Heidfeld was third for India’s Mahindra team.

The podium was a repeat of last sea-son’s opener in Beijing.

Formula E, the world’s first all-electric car racing series, is now starting its third season with several new venues, teams and drivers.

Newcomers Jaguar, returning to the glo-bal stage in open-wheel racing for the first time since pulling out of Formula One in 2004, had Britain’s Adam Carroll finish 12th in the 45 lap race.Organisers said 30,000 spectators attended the event.

Qatari gymnasts in action during the Arab Gymnastics Championships in Tunisia on Sunday. Qatari gymnastics team maintained their impressive run in the Championship by winning another gold medal and two bronze on Sunday with Ahmed Nabeel claimed the gold medal in the horizontal bar while his team-mate Hossan Abdulaziz clinched the bronze medal in Uneven bar. Ahmed Al Dayyani took the bronze medal in the rings.

Qatar team shine in Arab Gymnastics Championships

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team’s German driver Nico Rosberg jumps from his car, after winning the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix race in Suzuka, Japan on Sunday.

Andy Murray of Britain hits a return to Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in their men’s singles final match of the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, China on Sunday

SPORT 25TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2016

Ashwin six-for gives India lead Hughes’ death ‘inevitable’ after blowAFP

SYDNEY: The death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes was likely ‘inevitable’ after he was struck by a ball, an inquest heard Monday as it raised concerns about on-field sledging and short, fast deliveries.

Hughes, who played 26 Tests, died from bleeding on the brain in November 2014 after being hit on the neck by a rising ball while batting in a domestic match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

“Quite clearly the death was a terrible accident,” Coroner Michael Barnes said at the open-ing of the five-day inquest. “But that does not mean that cricket cannot be made safer.”

The death of the 25-year-old, who had risen through the ranks to play for his country, stunned Australia and the world cricket community, sparking an outpour-ing of grief.

In her opening address, coun-sel assisting the coroner Kristina Stern said Hughes had been excited about playing that day, with his mother and sister in the stands, as he worked to regain a place on the national team.

He had opened the batting for South Australia in the domestic Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales and was play-ing well.

But he tried to hook a deliv-ery from Sean Abbott which hit him in the neck, causing him to step to the side before collapsing to the ground face first.

Footage of the blow and Hughes’ collapse was played in court, with some of his family leaving the room.

Fellow cricketers and medical staff raced to help but Stern noted that the first person to call for an ambulance was unaware of the severity of the injury and that it took about an hour to get Hughes to hospital.

But she said none of that seemed to have had an effect on his death which “appears to have been inevitable from the point of impact”.

Nor did there appear to be any defect in the helmet he was wear-ing, given that the area in which he was hit was unprotected, she said.

AFP

INDORE: Ravichandran Ashwin claimed six wickets to help dismiss New Zealand for 299 and put India in pole position with a 258-run first innings lead in the third and final Test yesterday.

India, who did not enforce the follow-on, were 18 for no loss in their second innings at stumps on day three, with Murali Vijay (11) and Cheteshwar Pujara (1) stretch-ing the lead to 276 in their quest to complete a series whitewash at Indore.

Opener Gautam Gambhir retired hurt on six after aggravating a shoul-der injury, which he first suffered while fielding, as he dived into his crease to avoid a run-out.

Earlier off-spinner Ashwin ensured that India continue their domination of the series at their newest Test venue, Indore’s Holkar Stadium, after recording his 20th five-wicket haul to destroy the New Zealand batting.

Opener Martin Guptill, who struck form with a gritty 72, and James Neesham (71) put up the main resistance against an inspired Indian attack.

The Black Caps, who began the day on 28 without loss, had made a strong start in response to India’s commanding first innings score of 557 for five declared, but then lost five wickets for just 30 runs.

After Tom Latham fell just before lunch for 53, caught and bowled by Ashwin, India turned the screws on the visitors by taking a further five wickets in the afternoon session.

Guptill counter-attacked the Indian bowlers with 10 fours and two sixes during his 144-ball stay but was unlucky to be run out by Ashwin while backing up.

Ashwin’s other victims included New Zealand skipper Kane William-son, who was bowled for eight early on after dragging a turning deliv-ery onto his stumps. It was the third time in a row he had been dismissed by Ashwin.

Neesham and BJ Watling put on 53 for the sixth wicket to raise hopes of a revival, but left-arm spin-ner Ravindra Jadeja broke the stand

by bowling Watling for 23 after the wicketkeeper-batsman had struck four boundaries.

Neesham carried on the good work after tea to register his fourth Test fifty in 10 games but ran out of steam after being trapped lbw by Ashwin, who soon wiped out the tail.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli had played a vital role Sunday with a career-best 211, his second double-century in Tests.

Kohli’s record 365-run fourth-wicket stand with Ajinkya Rahane (188) was the highlight of India’s first

innings after the hosts elected to bat first. India, who took an unassaila-ble 2-0 lead in Kolkata, are looking to complete their second home series whitewash against New Zealand in succession.

India (I innings): 557/5 declNew Zealand (I innings):M Guptill (run out) 72

T Latham c&b Ashwin 53

K Williamson b Ashwin 8

R Taylor c Rahane b Ashwin 0

L Ronchi c Rahane b Ashwin 0

J Neesham lbw Ashwin 71

B J Watling c Rahane b Jadeja 23

M Santner c Kohli b Jadeja 22

J Patel (run out) 18

M Henry (not out) 15

T Boult c Pujara b Ashwin 0

Extras (B-6, LB-5, W-1, Pen-5) 17

Total (all out) 299Fall of wickets: 1-118, 2-134, 3-140,

4-148, 5-148, 6-201, 7-253, 8-276, 9-294,

10-299.

Bowling: Shami 13-1-40-0; Yadav 15-1-

55-0; Ashwin 27.2-5-81-6; Jadeja 28-5-

80-2; Vijay 7-0-27-0.

India (II innings):M Vijay (batting) 11

G Gambhir (retd hurt) 6

C Pujara (batting) 1

Total (for no loss) 18Bowling: Boult 3-0-9-0; Patel 2-0-8-0;

Santner 1-0-1-0.

SCOREBOARDGuptill returns to form with 72 for New Zealand as hosts decide against enforcing the follow-on in Indore

Ravichandran Ashwin of India holds up a ball as he walks back towards the pavilion after the end of New Zealand’s first innings on the third day of the third Test match at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, yesterday. RIGHT: New Zealand’s Kane Williamson is bowled by India’s R Ashwin.

South Africa name uncapped spin duo for Australia tourAgencies

CAPE TOWN: Uncapped spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi were named in South Africa’s squad for next month’s three-match test series in Australia yesterday as the Proteas seek to exploit a perceived weaknesses in their hosts’ batting.

Faf du Plessis will again captain the team in the absence of injured AB de Villiers after leading the side in the two-test series against New Zea-land last month, which they won 1-0.

“Basically, we are following a horses for courses policy as we feel that spinners who turn the ball away

from the right-hander are going to be particularly useful under Australian conditions and against the test bats-men we are likely to face,” selector Linda Zondi said in a statement.

“I am excited about the cover we have in this area with a wrist spinner and a left-arm orthodox spinner with JP Duminy able to offer the right-arm variety as well.”

Although Australia’s vulnera-bility to spin was exposed on their recent tour of Sri Lanka, pace bowl-ing is likely to decide the opening test in Perth, which is followed by matches in Hobart and a day-nighter in Adelaide.

Quick Morne Morkel returns to the squad after missing the New

Zealand series through injury although his selection is subject to his successfully coming through a domestic competition match which starts in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.

Dean Elgar also returns from injury while another uncapped player, Rilee Rossouw, has been added as a specialist batsman. Dane Vilas will again travel as the second wicketkeeper behind Quinton de Kock after making his debut in Bang-ladesh last year.

South Africa and Australia con-clude a fifth-match ODI series in Cape Town tomorrow with South Africa leading 4-0.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza and batsman

Sabbir Rahman were fined 20 per-cent of their match fees yesterday for an altercation with rival skipper Jos Buttler in their team’s victory over England in the second ODI.

The International Cricket Council also gave Buttler an official warn-ing for his reaction to Mortaza and Sabbir’s celebrations following his dismissal after a TV review which proved to be pivotal in Sunday night’s match in Dhaka.

After England made a poor start in their reply to Bangladesh’s total of 238-8, Buttler was threatening to turn the match on its head with a run-a-ball innings of 57 which was ended in controversial fashion.

The on-field umpire had initially

turned down Taskin Ahmed’s lbw appeal against Buttler, but Bangla-desh sought a television review which confirmed the ball hit him plumb in his back foot and left England 123-7.

The verdict triggered lively cel-ebrations in the Bangladesh camp, with several players exchanging words with the batsman as he made his way back to the pavilion, forc-ing the umpires to immediately intervene.

The Bangladesh players over-stepped in their celebration of Jos Buttler’s wicket, which prompted an inappropriate reaction from the dismissed batsman,” match ref-eree Javagal Srinath said in a ICC statement.

ICSS Group CEO delivers inspiring talk on safeguarding sport valuesThe Peninsula

NEW ZEALAND: New Interna-tional Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) Group CEO Michael Her-shman is featured in a new TEDx Talk highlighting the importance of teaching young people positive values through sport.

Recorded at a TEDx Talk in Tau-ranga, New Zealand, Hershman highlighted seven ways that par-ents and adults can support young children and how they can encour-age and safeguard positive ethics and values when young people play sport.

Speaking at the event, Michael Hershman, new ICSS Group CEO, said:

“Sport has the unique ability to unite people, communities and nations. It is a great equaliser. For young or old, rich or poor, your sta-tus, wealth or heritage makes no difference.

“As someone who has spent a lifetime trying to fight corruption and advocating transparency and ethics, it is time we stood up and did something about restoring the val-ues of sport, particularly in children and young people.”

Hershman also highlighted the ongoing work upon the work being carried out in this area by the ICSS and its Save the Dream initiative, as well as other organisations, such as the Sport integrity Global Alliance

(SIGA) and Transparency Interna-tional, who are also committed to safeguarding the values, integrity and the ethics of sport.

He also noted that reform within sport governance at the top of the industry would have a dramatic, flow down effect on the rest of sport and would ultimately help ensure the positive values of sport are protected and preserved for all in the future.

Hershman concluded: “All par-ents and adults have an important role to play in instilling the posi-tive values of sport in children and here is what I want you to do: Attend your kids practices, give encourage-ment to all players not just your own, respect the coaches, consider the

referee as a counsellor, don’t push your child, focus on the excitement and fun of sport and don’t live your dreams through your child.

“Lastly, teach your child to win with humility and lose with dignity.”

Hershman was in June this year unveiled as Group CEO of ICSS. At that time Hershman warned sport risked losing its fan base because of recent corruption, match-fixing and doping scandals. The American said all sports had a duty to convince the public that their games were clean. Sport is probably facing the greatest crisis it has ever faced, it’s an issue of integrity and accountability. The greatest threat to sport is losing its fan base,” he had said.

Michael Hershman Group CEO of Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS).

Qatar Stars League FixturesOctober 13

El Jaish vs Al Khor at Lekhwiya Sta-dium, 7:40pmOctober 14

Umm Salal vs Al Shahaniya at Qatar SC Stadium, 5.30pm

October 15Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Arabi at Al Khor

Stadium, 5.30pmAl Ahli vs Al Wakrah at Al Ahli Sta-

dium, 5.30pmAl Sailiya vs Al Rayyan at Al Ahli Sta-

dium, 7.40pmMuaither SC vs Al Gharafa, Al Gharafa

Stadium, 7.40pmOctober 16

Lekhwiya vs Al Sadd at Lekhwiya Stadium

QSL Standings P W D L GF GA Pts

Lekhwiya 2 2 0 0 9 4 6

Al Sadd 2 2 0 0 6 1 6

El Jaish 2 2 0 0 6 4 6

Al Rayyan 2 1 0 1 3 0 4

Umm Salal 2 1 0 1 2 1 4

Al Ahli 2 1 1 0 5 4 3

Al Arabi 2 1 1 0 4 4 3

Al Khor 2 1 1 0 2 2 3

Al Shahaniya 2 1 1 0 1 3 3

Al Kharaitiyat 2 1 1 0 2 5 3

Al Wakrah 2 0 2 0 2 4 0

Al Sailiya 2 0 2 0 0 2 0

Al Gharafa 2 0 2 0 6 9 0

Muaither SC 2 0 2 0 0 5 0

QOC Secretary-General meets FINA President

Secretary-General of Qatar Olympic Committee Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari (right) during a meeting with the President of International Swimming Federation (FINA) Julio Maglione in Doha yesterday.

QNA/The Peninsula

DOHA: The Secre-tary-General of Qatar Olympic Committee Thani bin Abdulrah-man Al Kuwari met here yesterday with the Pres-ident of International Swimming Federation (FINA) Julio Maglione, who is currently visiting Qatar.

During the meeting, they dis-cussed aspects of cooperation and means to develop them in the future.

The FINA President praised the organization of FINA airwaeve Swimming World Cup 2016 in Doha, which concluded on Sunday

at Hamad Aquatic Center.

M e a n w h i l e , President of Qatar Swimming Associa-tion Khaleel Al Jabir (pictured) has been elected vice president of the Asia Swimming Federation (AASF) during the 12th Asia Swimming Federa-

tion General Congress which was held in Doha on Sunday.

The Asia Swimming Federation General Congress began yesterday at Sheraton Hotel and was opened by Secretary General of QOC Dr Al Kuwari, and chaired by AASF President Sheikh Khalid Al Badr Al Sabah.

SPORT26 TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2016

Immobile rescues Italy,Spain cruise smoothly

AFP

PARIS: Lazio striker Ciro Immobile grabbed an injury-time winner as four-time champions Italy snatched a 3-2 comeback win at Macedonia on Sunday, narrowly avoiding a World Cup qualifying embarrassment.

Italy, who had needed a late pen-alty to salvage a point against Group G rivals Spain on Thursday, were staring at a shock defeat in Skopje against a Macedonia side ranked a lowly 146 in the world.

Torino striker Andrea Belotti had given Italy a 24th-minute lead just four minutes after Palermo marks-man Ilija Nestorokvski had crashed a drive off the crossbar for the hosts.

But Nestorokvski levelled just before the hour mark when he robbed Marco Verratti before tuck-ing the ball past veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Two minutes later, Macedonia were ahead when mid-fielder Ferhan Hasani finished a smart move involving Goran Pan-dev and Nestorovski.

However Immobile put Italy back on equal terms at 2-2 with 15 min-utes left after good approach work from Verratti and Antonio Candreva.

On 90 minutes, Marco Parolo had a header ruled out for offside before club teammate Immobile saved Italy with the winner two minutes into injury time, finishing off a Can-dreva cross.

Italy are second in Group G with seven points but Spain lead the way on goal difference after a deserved 2-0 win over Albania in Shkoder.

Chelsea star Diego Costa tucked away the first on 55 minutes past goalkeeper Etrit Berisha who had pulled off a series of fine saves in the first half. Nolito hit the second of the night just three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Vitolo.

The only downside for Spain was seeing key defender and skip-per Sergio Ramos suffer a left knee injury which could sideline him for three matches with his club side, Real Madrid.

In Group D, Southampton’s Dusan Tadic scored the winner as Serbia beat Austria 3-2 in Belgrade.

Newcastle’s Alexsandar Mitrovic had scored Serbia’s first two goals in the opening half as his side went top on seven points.

They lead the way on goal dif-ference from the Republic of Ireland who beat Moldova 3-1 in Chisinau.

Wes Hoolahan fed Shane Long to score after just two minutes for Ireland but Moldova, beaten 3-0 by Serbia at home on Thursday, levelled in injury-time when Igor Bugaiov scored his first goal in five years.

West Brom’s James McClean was on target twice after the break to give Ireland the three points.

Euro 2016 semi-finalists Wales were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Georgia in Cardiff as their push to reach a first World Cup since 1958 hit a roadblock.

The draw followed a 2-2

stalemate against Austria four days ago as Chris Coleman’s side were left to regret not making the most of a host of chances in the first half.

Real Madrid star Gareth Bale headed Wales into a 10th-minute lead but Georgia hit back after the break, equalising through Tornike Okriashvili’s 57th-minute header.

Georgia nearly won the game late on when Valeri Kazaishvili struck the crossbar.

In Group I, Croatia won 1-0 in Finland at Tampere with Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic scoring the only goal after 18 minutes when

Finland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky allowed a cross from Andrej Kra-maric to slip from his grasp.

Croatia have seven points and lead on goal difference from Iceland who followed up their come-from-behind 3-2 win over Finland with an impressive a 2-0 victory over Turkey in Reykjavik.

Turkey defender Omer Toprak put through his own goal in the 42nd minute before Alfred Finnbogason added a second just before the break.

Ukraine are third, two points back, after a 3-0 win over Kosovo in a game played at Krakow in Poland.

Albania’s Naser Aliji (left) and Spain’s Isco in action during their World Cup 2018 Qualifiers match at Loro Borici Stadium, Shkoder, in Albania on Sunday.

Must-win for Chile in ‘Clasico del Pacifico’AFP

MONTEVIDEO: Chile face a must-win showdown with fierce regional rivals Peru today as the South American champions aim to make up lost ground after a stumbling start to their 2018 World Cup qual-ification campaign.

After a 3-0 thrashing by Ecua-dor in Quito on Thursday, the Chileans limped back to Santiago a full five points adrift of the qual-ifying places in South America’s marathon battle for World Cup berths.

With nine games left, anything less than a win against Peru on Tuesday risks leaving them with a mountain to climb if they are to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.

The only upside for Chile is that Peru, who have not won in Santiago since 1985, have barely performed any better.

The high stakes nature of Tuesday’s meeting adds fuel to the “Clasico del Pacifico” one of South America’s most potent foot-balling rivalries, with the Andean neighbours having a long histor-ical enmity that dates back to the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific.

Football has often been a bone of contention, with differences of opinion remaining to this day over which country was responsible for the invention of the bicycle kick.

Chileans insist they invented it in a 1914 match, christening the overhead volley as “La Chilena.” Peruvians maintain it was fact first attempted in the port city of Callao in the late 1800s, being given the name, “La Chalaca.”

Elsewhere today, Brazil travel to winless Venezuela the pressure firmly on group leaders Uruguay, who face fourth placed Colombia.

The Argentinians, who will be without injured captain Lionel Messi once more, host Paraguay in Cordoba.

Pique to quit Spain in 2018

AP

MADRID: Gerard Pique says the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be his final tournament with Spain because he feels he is not wanted in the national team.

The Barcelona defender made the announcement after Spain’s 2-0 win at Albania on Sunday in Euro-pean qualifiers for the World Cup, topping group G..

“I always give everything I have on the field, but there are people who think it’s better if I’m not here,” Pique said. “After Russia, a stage will have ended for me.”

The player is often jeered by many Spaniards because of his pro-Catalonia stance. He recently appeared to support a pro-independence move by the Catalan region, upsetting those who opposed it.

Pique stirred a social media controversy during Sunday’s match by cutting the sleeves of his soccer jersey instead of changing into the short sleeves which have the colors of the Spanish flag. He said the long sleeves were bothering him.

Pique said his decision to retire had already been made before this latest controversy. “It’s not a ‘heat of the moment’ decision, I’ve given a lot of thought to this.”

Goals from Diego Costa and Nolito, send Spain to top of group G as Wales hit a roadblock after second consecutive draw

Future stars looking forward to join their idols at Men’s Junior ITT

SPORT 27TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2016

The Peninsula

DOHA: As the UCI Road World Championships Doha 2016 takes place, there has been increased awareness and concern for the safety of both the cyclists and pedestrians, alike.

As the week has progressed, an increased number of professional cyclists have been training around the West Bay and other nearby areas to The Pearl-Qatar.

A closed-door session was held yesterday, involving senior officials of Qatar Olympic Committee, LOC, UDC, The Security Committee, ASO,

and UCI. Dr Thani Al Kuwari, Secre-tary General of QOC was quoted as saying “cyclists must obey the rules of the road.”

He went on to say “motor-ists in Qatar must take due care to ensure the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.”

The UCI was specifically asked to brief all cycling teams about the cul-ture of Qatar and the rules of Qatar’s roads.

Qatar Cycling Federation Presi-dent Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Thani said “the Organising Committee and UCI have worked hand-in-hand to make this a magnificent event,” and he expressed confidence that the closed-door session would lead

to a safer environment for the pro-fessional cyclists. Dr. Mohammed Al Kuwari, Vice-Chairman of the UCI RWC Local Organising Committee stated: “For cyclists, no road is safe. We need cyclists to take care when they are on the roads, because it is a real risk.”

He also urged drivers on Qatar’s roads to be extra careful when near-ing a cyclist.

Among those who attended, Eng. Ibrahim Jassim Al Othman, President and CEO of UDC was quoted as say-ing “feedback in The Pearl, frankly, is better than we anticipated. Thus far we have had no major showstop-pers, and it is business as usual at The Pearl-Qatar.”

The Peninsula

DOHA: First Individual Time Trials of the UCI World Cham-pionships Doha 2016 were held yesterday.

The Pearl circuit thus revealed all its secrets to the competitors. Now, everybody knows about its tricky roundabouts, the dra-matic 180º turns and how curvy its “straight” lines actually are.

Today, it will be the time of the truth for Junior Men and Women Elite. Both are going to face The Pearl circuit twice to complete a total of 28.9 kilometres that will tell who the best is each category. It is not just a matter of being the strongest. Skills to handle the bike in good fashion and a good pacing in order to administer the energy in the best possible way will also be deciding factors.

Men’s Junior ITT is the first race on schedule. Young male cyclists aged 17 and 18 will start competing at 9:00, trying to prove themselves in the event that pre-viously that once lauded current stars such as Marcel Kittel or Fabian Cancellara.

The main favourite this year is Brandon McNulty, an amazing talent from the USA that took the bronze medal at this race in Rich-mond 2015 and has dominated this category this season by win-ning every UCI registered ITT he has taken part in.

U23 Time Trial: Mathis tops in Qatar

The Peninsula

DOHA: Racing will kick off today with Men’s Junior Individual Time Trial, a race where prospects yearn to shine.

Men’s Junior Individual Time Trial

Today: 9:00The Pearl, 28.9 kmThe future stars of male

road cycling will have their first showdown of the week today morning. It just takes a quick look at this race’s palmares to understand its dimension. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) or Fabian Cancellara (Switzer-land) earned their first rainbow jersey in this event before going on to become Elite Road World Champions. Other top riders such as Germany’s Marcel Kittel and Luxembourg’s Bob Jungels also began their run in this Men’s Junior ITT.

The circuit at The Pearl, even with its curvy nature, should make for a competition suited for powerful engines. Those with good legs and the ability to pace themselves should excel.

Defending ChampionLeo Appelt took victory last

year in Richmond, Virginia (USA),

with an amazing performance under the pouring rain, to beat crowd favourites, Adrien Costa and Brandon McNulty from the US.

Both Appelt and Costa, both 19-years-old now, have been pro-moted to the Under 23 category. McNulty, 18, is still competing with the Juniors and seems like the main favourite in Doha, after continuously proving his qual-ity. Indeed, he has won every UCI registered ITT he has taken part in this season!

Who to look out forThe biggest challenger to

McNulty’s dominance is Norway’s Iver Knotten, a powerhouse that has already won three ITTs in 2016 despite being only 17 years old. He didn’t manage to win the Euro-pean Championships, though. He finished thrird in a race where France’s Alexey Brunel, one of the most exciting prospects in road cycling, was the winner. Two rid-ers from Switzerland, Marc Hirschi and Stefan Bissegger, placed 2nd and 4th at the European Champi-onships in Plumelec, confirmed a season-long show of strength.

The last two Men’s Junior ITT UCI World Champions have been Germans. Bastian Flicke (pic-tured below) will try to extend his country’s streak.

The Peninsula

DOHA: Marco Mathis yesterday produced a slick ride to emerge as the U23 men’s world champion in the Individual Time Trial event as German riders secured the top two positions on the second day of the UCI World Championships.

Mathis clocked a time of 34:08.09 to finish ahead of compatriot Maxi-milian Schachmann who was 18.63 seconds slower. For Schachmann, it was a repeat performance from the UCI worlds held in Richmond in 2014.

Australia’s Miles Scotson (37.98 seconds behind Mathis) was placed third to secure the bronze medal. Germany’s Lennard Kamna (42.3 seconds behind) was fourth fastest when the finish came at the Pearl.

Danish rider Kasper Asgreen (50.58 seconds behind) completed the top five riders on what was another warm day for the 71 riders that fea-tured in the men’s U23 individual time trial.

Mathis was lost for words after his impressive run.

“I’m very surprised about this victory but I’m very happy. The weather was crazy, crazy hot, but it was a nice race and nice course here in Qatar so I’m very pleased,” he said at the presentation ceremony.

Schachmann said it was not a surprise to see three German riders in the top four yesterday.

“I guess we Germans are a time trial nation, we’re always good in this discipline. We came here with

a really, really strong squad and we almost did the best result possible by taking all three medals,” Sch-achmann said.

Mathis clocked an average speed of 50.79km/h while Schachmann also impressed with his digits (50.34km/h). Earlier, Karlijn Swinkels grabbed the women’s junior individ-ual time trial title.

The 17-year-old Dutch woman crushed the field finishing in 18:21.77 with an average speed of 44.764 km/h. Italy’s Lisa Morzenti fin-ished second in 18:29.12 and French

Juliette Labous secured the bronze in 18:43.12.

Swinkels, who was sixth in the Individual Time Trial at the Euro-pean Championships, became the first Dutch lady to take the women’s junior title in this event.

Elena Pirrone was the first rider to leave the start ramp at the Pearl in Doha. She finished in 19:05.44 and stayed in the hot seat only until the eleventh starter Franziska Brausse became the first rider to beat the 19-minute barrier on the 13.7 kil-ometre loop when she finished in

18:56.03. Pirrone was quite satisfied with the conditions: “It was not as windy as I expected to be. I improved my position, so I’m generally very happy with how I did today. It was hot, but that was really OK.”

Both Brausse and Pirrone had to make place in the hot seats, when Skylar Schneider clocked 18:51.80.

The American was only outpaced by Swinkels and Morzenti, who had started fourth and second last. With only Labous yet to finish, Schneider seemed to have sealed the bronze, only to be knocked off the podium in

extremis by Labous, who set 18:43.12, to follow up last year’s fifth place with a bronze medal in Doha.

The South American riders were not able to get anywhere near the podium with Pan-American cham-pion Tatiana Dueñas ending up as best South American in 19th place. The Colombian was satisfied how-ever: “I’m quite happy because this is only my second year of competi-tion and first World Championships. I hope my country gives even more support to women’s cycling in the future,” she said.

Karlijn Swinkels (inset right) of the Netherlands crosses the finish line to win the gold medal in the women’s junior Individual Time Trial event as part of the 2016 UCI Road World Championships in Doha yesterday. Inset: Germany’s Marco Mathis stands on the podium after winning the gold medal in the men’s under 23 individual time trial event as part of the 2016 UCI Road World Championships.

Three German riders finish in the top four on the second day of the UCI World Championships

From left: Italy’s silver medallist Lisa Morzenti, gold medallist Karlijn Swinkels of the Netherlands, and France’s bronze medallist Juliette Labous celebrate on the podium at the end of the women’s junior Individual Time Trial event.

Qatar residents urged to give way to cyclists

No more secrets

for Time Trialists

at The Pearl

Quotable Quotes Karlijn Swinkels

(Netherlands)- goldOn being the first Dutch woman to win

the ITT in this category: “I’m very proud. I did not expect it at all. It’s

a dream come true. I can’t describe how I feel.”

On her race tactics: “We came here on Thursday. On Friday we did a very

low pressure training because we had to acclimatise. But the second day we trained on the track and I did every turn at least ten times,

so I knew it perfect. The race’s first kilometres were very hot, because you do the warm-up in a very cold

room, but after two kilometres I just did not think about it, just ride.”

Lisa Morzenti (Italy) - silverOn coming into the race

as European Champion: “I’m very satisfied. I did not know what to

expect from the race. Finishing first is always difficult but I’m happy

with the silver.”

On the Italian secret of time trialing having three Italians in the top-ten: “We have been training together for weeks, both for the European

Championships and the World Championships. We’ve gotten close together and the good relationship we have really helped us perform

well in this race.”

Juliette Labous (France) - bronzeOn having improved on

last year’s fifth place: “My aim was to win, but coming third is also good. It’s a medal and I’m happy with a

medal. Last year I was disappointed, but here I’m happy.”

On race tactics after setting the sixth intermediate time in the first section:

“I went full gas from the beginning, but I knew that at the end it would be very hard with the heat, so that

was mentally hard. I gave everything in the end, because I knew that this was the place to make the

difference.”

On what’s next: “We have the road race. We have a strong team so we want to win this race. My season

is already good, because I signed a contract with Team Liv-Plantur, so I will be a professional rider and that

was my aim of the season.”

Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling Team’s cyclists compete in the women’s team time trial event as part of the 2016 UCI Road World Championships.