SPORT - · PDF fileAzam (Captain), Kalith, Dhanitha, Man-ish, Asfhq, Joshua, Ithisham, Krithik, Pasindhu, Chamath, Rahal, Shonil, Ahas, Amaar, Trishane, Shaid, Ravishka

SPORTMonday 12 February 2018

Ronaldo hat-trick as Madrid warm up for

PSG with big win

Johnson in hunt for another win at Pebble

PAGE | 26 PAGE | 27 PAGE | 30Kohli rues missed chances as South

Africa keep series alive Afr

nt for

Qatar’s top teams battle for Asian supremacyARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: QNB Stars League sides Al Duhail, Al Sadd, Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa are embarking on their 2018 AFC Champions League (ACL) campaign with great hope.

Al Duhail and Al Gharafa will play today, while Al Sadd and Al Rayyan will be in action tomorrow. All four teams have it in them to give their group rivals a good run for their money.

Al Duhail and Al Rayyan will play in Doha, whereas Al Sadd and Al Gharafa start the tournament with away matches.

Al Duhail are up against Iran’s Zob Ahan and Al Rayyan play host to Esteghlal, also of Iran.

Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi asserted that his players are ready for the chal-lenge in the AFC champions League against Zob Ahan.

“This is our first match in the champions League with a team that we faced before two years ago and we lost, but now we have experience in this competition where we partic-ipate for the 7th time in it and

we know that we will face a fierce opponent like all the other Iranian teams and we have to be ready in the required way,” said the Alge-rian tactician.

“We are not a complete team and every team have problems and have weakness points and also the Iranian team has weakness points, and the good team is the one which know how to deal with all the negative things and transform it to positive inside the stadium, and we have to score and take advantage of all the chances we have,” he added.

Team captain Youssef Msakni expressed his trust in his teammates and their abil-ity to achieve good results in the competition.

“In our match against the Iranian team we are targeting full points, and I think the players are ready for this con-frontation, and like Belmadi said we have many experi-ences in this confrontation and we will achieve the required result,” Msakni said at the press conference.

“The team’s results until now are good and reflects the big effort everyone is doing,

and I hope the best for the team and to qualify to the sec-ond round, and also to be ready to participate with the national team in the upcom-ing period especially that we will participate in the World Cup,” added the Tunisian.

Elsewhere, Al Sadd will take on the UAE’s Al Wasl at the Zabeel stadium in Dubai. Al Gharafa’s outing is against Abu Dhabi side Al Jazira. They will face off at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in the UAE capital.

Al Duhail, Al Sadd and Al Rayyan qualified directly even as Al Gharafa reached the tournament proper by defeating Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor in play-off in Doha on January 30. The Cheetahs will miss injured defender Almahdi Ali.

Al Gharafa will look to make a strong start and cap-italise on it to qualify for the next round and on to the quarterfinals where they last reached in 2010. Al Ahli and Tractor Sazi are the other teams in Group A.

The Abu Dhabi club have failed to win a game in their past two continental cam-paigns - in 2016 and 2017

- with nine defeats and three draws a poor return from 12 games. Their last victory in the competition, back in 2014, was against Qatari opposition in the form of Al Rayyan.

Al Gharafa’s last appear-ance in the tournament came in 2013 when they reached the last 16, while their best performance was a quarter-final showing in 2010 in a campaign that saw home and

away victories over Al Jazira in the group stage.

The Doha side have attracted plenty headlines ahead of this season’s com-petition with the arrival of Dutchman Wesley Sneijder, while the acquisition of Ira-nian frontman Mehdi Taremi could prove a masterstroke after his superb perform-ance’s in Persepolis’s march to the semi-finals last year.

QSL TEAMS AT AFC CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE

AL GHARAFARound 1: Vs Al Jazira (Today, Abu Dhabi)Round 2: Vs Tractor Sazi (February 19, Doha)Round 3: Vs Al Ahli (March 5, Doha)Round 4: Vs Al Ahli (Tomorrow, Jeddah)Round 5: Vs Al Jazira (April 3, Doha)Round 6: Vs Tractor Sazi (April 7, Tabriz)

AL DUHAILRound 1: Vs Zob Ahan (Today, Doha)Round 2: Vs Al Wahda (February 19, Abu Dhabi)Round 3: Vs Lokomotiv (March 6, Doha)Round 4: Vs Lokomotiv (March 12, Tashkent)Round 5: Vs Zob Ahan (April 3, Isfahan)Round 6: Vs Al Wahda (April 17, Doha)

AL SADDRound 1: Vs Al Wasl (Tomorrow, Dubai)Round 2: Vs Persepolis (February 20, Doha)Round 3: Vs Nasaf (March 5, Karshi)Round 4: Vs Nasaf (March 13, Doha)Round 5: Vs Al Wasl (April 2, Doha)Round 6: Vs Persepolis (April 16, Tehran)

Al RayyanRound 1: Vs Esteghlal (Tomorrow, Doha)Round 2: Vs Al Ain (February 20, Al Ain)Round 3: Vs Al Hilal (March 6, Riyadh)Round 4: Vs Al Hilal (March 12, Doha)Round 5: Vs Esteghlal (April 2, Tehran)Round 6: Vs Al Ain (April 16, Doha)

AFP

DOHA: Little more than a fort-

night since they met in a

scintillating Australian Open

final, Caroline Wozniacki and

Simona Halep are on course

to meet again, this time in the

Qatar Total Open which

begins today.

The two best ranked play-

ers in the world lead a

high-quality field in Doha,

where nine of the top 10

women players wi l l

compete.

As well as the Dane and

the Romanian, the draw con-

tains world number three

Elina Svitolina from Ukraine

and Spain’s Garbine Mugu-

ruza, ranked four.

Last year’s champion in

Doha Karolina Pliskova of the

Czech Republic -- who beat

Wozniacki in straight sets in

the final -- will defend her

title.

Former Australian Open

champion and ex-top ranked

player in the world Germany’s

Angelique Kerber, is also in

Qatar and could meet Woz-

niacki in the quarter-finals.

Only world number eight

Venus Williams is missing in

Doha from the top 10.

But there are also players

just outside those rankings

who will make the field extra

competitive, including Brit-

ain’s Johanna Konta, world

number 11, France’s Kristina

Mladenovic, ranked 13th and

Belgium’s Elise Mertens who

made it to the semi-finals in

Melbourne.

On the back of that run,

Mertens is up to 20th in the

world.

And unseeded is contro-

versial Russian Maria

Sharapova.

The five-time Grand Slam

winner has been granted a

wildcard and could meet

Wozniacki in the last 16.

The world number one

shrugged off a potentially

hard week ahead, claiming

not to have looked at the

draw beyond the first round,

where she plays either Tat-

jana Maria or Carrina

Witthoeft, both Germans.

“I’m excited for the chal-

lenge, and at the end of the

day I think I’m just going to

go out there, have fun and

see what happens,” Wozni-

acki told reporters on

Sunday.

Wozniacki is likely to play

her f irst match on

Wednesday.

The courts are expected

to play much faster than last

year’s rain-affected tourna-

ment where the weather was

so bad. No rain is forecast and

winter temperatures are

expected to reach 29 degrees

celsius (84 degrees fahren-

heit) during the week.

That will provide a con-

trast for Svitolina who said

she had spent time between

the Australian Open and Qatar

in London and Paris.

In France she tried to train

outside but was thwarted by

snow. Kerber, after a disap-

pointing 2017 which saw her

fail to get past the fourth

round in any major, said she

is back to the form of 2016,

which saw her claim two

Grand Slams.

“I’m able to play my game

again, that I can fight,” she

told reporters on Sunday.

“And yeah, having my ten-

nis back, my motivation and

everything what I had like two

years ago.”

The tournament has been

extended this year, with the

final falling on Sunday rather

than the tradit ional

Saturday.

Wozniacki, Halep lead quality field as Qatar Total Open begins

QATAR TOTAL OPEN: QUICK FACTS

Main draw dates: February 12-18, 2018Singles final: Sunday, February 18Doubles final: Saturday, February 17Venue: Khalifa Tennis & Squash ComplexStatus: Premier 5 eventStaging: Tournament’s 16th yearDraw sizes: 56 singles / 28 doubles teams / 32 singles qualifyingSurface: Plexicushion Prestige Hardcourt / OutdoorsTotal prize money: $3,198,000

Caroline

Wozniacki

Simona Halep

Al Duhail players celebrate after scoring a goal in this file photo.

26 MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2018SPORT

QCA U-16 : Stafford Sri Lankan School Doha enters finalTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Stafford Sri Lankan School Doha, entered the Qatar Cricket Asso-ciation (QCA) Under-16 Schools cricket final after beating DPS Indian School in the semi-finals.

Stafford had a consistent run in this year’s championship regsitering wins against Ideal Indian School, Birla Pub-lic School and Pakistan International School in the first round.

The semi-final was a closely fought match where batting first, Stafford scored 109 runs in the 20 overs. But with amazing bowling and excellent fielding, the Stafford cricketers defended their score to get the oppo-nents all out for 102. The Sri Lankan school displayed a complete team effort with everyone contributing. Joshua De Silva won the man-of- the-match in the semifinal for his three wickets and two catches. Manish

Fernando also supported with the ball by taking three wickets.

Commenting on this win, Kumudu Fonseka, the Chairman of the School said: “ We are proud of the way our boys played the game. Irrespective of the result, the important thing in cricket is to play the game in the proper spirit and I am happy that the Stafford team has displayed that in this tour-nament so far. The school emphasizes a balanced education for our children and we support sports to complement the education that the children receive,”

The Stafford team members are : Azam (Captain), Kalith, Dhanitha, Man-ish, Asfhq, Joshua, Ithisham, Krithik, Pasindhu, Chamath, Rahal, Shonil, Ahas, Amaar, Trishane, Shaid, Ravishka

The Sri Lankan School Cricket team is coached by Mahesh Abhayapala and assisted by Darshana.

Kohli rues missed chances as South Africa keep series aliveAFP

JOHANNESBURG: Indian captain Virat Kohli lamented two crucial errors which effectively cost his team a chance of wrapping up the series in the fourth one-day international against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium on Saturday.

“You have to take your chances in this game,” said Kohli after David Miller escaped twice in one over at a time when India seemed to have taken control.

South Africa chased down a rain-reduced target of 202 in 28 overs with five wickets and 15 balls to spare to keep alive their hopes of sharing the six-match series after losing the first three games.

But the home team’s chances looked slim when returning star AB de Villiers was fourth man out with 100 runs still needed and only 67 balls remaining.

In the next over David Miller, on six, was dropped by Shreyas Iyer at deep square leg off leg-spinner Yuzv-endra Chahal. Back on strike in the same over he missed a sweep and was bowled -- only to be recalled when a replay showed Chahal had sent down a no-ball.

Miller went on to hit 39 and shared a quickfire stand of 72 with Heinrich Klaasen, whose 43 not out off 27 balls earned him the man of the match award.

Two weather interruptions played a key role. India were 200 for two, with Shikhar Dhawan on 107 not out when the threat of lightning caused a stop-page after 34.2 overs.

Dhawan added only two runs after the resumption and India lost five wickets for 89 runs to finish with a slightly disappointing 289 for seven.

South Africa were 43 for one after 7.2 overs when lightning, followed by rain, caused a lengthy delay. They came came back needing another 159 runs off 20.4 overs.

“It basically became a T20 game,” said Kohli. “We did not grab our chances so we did not deserve to win.” Indian spinners Chahal and left-armer Kuldeep Yadav, who took 21 wickets between them in the first three matches, conceded a combined 119 runs off 11.3 overs on Saturday as they struggled to control a wet ball against aggressive batting.

“It was nice to put some pressure

on the Indians. The message today was to put fear aside,” said South African captain Aiden Markram.

Kohli, the star of a series in which India hold an unbeatable 3-0 lead, played another valuable innings, hit-ting 75 in a second-wicket stand of 178 with Dhawan. His 83-ball innings took Kohli to 393 runs for a series in which he has only been dismissed twice.

It was the third successive big

partnership between Dhawan and Kohli. They put on an unbeaten 93 in chasing down a small target in the sec-ond match in Centurion and added 140 in setting up a win in the third match in Cape Town. This time, though, it was the left-handed Dhawan who made the biggest contribution, hitting his 13th ODI century in his 100th match in the format. His 109 runs were scored off 105 balls, with ten fours and two sixes.

Nissan 370Zki brings new meaning to ‘winter sports’THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Nissan is getting into the winter sports spirit this month with a specially constructed, one-off 370Z Roadster “snowmobile.”

Dubbed the “370Zki” – pro-nounced “370-Ski” – the 332-horsepower 370Z Roadster is ready to tackle ski slopes and backwoods trails alike with its front skis and rear snow tracks replacing the iconic sports car’s usual high performance tires. The Nissan 370Zki makes its world debut this week at the 2018 Chi-cago Auto Show.

“The Nissan 370Zki contin-ues our recent tradition of

bringing imaginative winter vehi-cle concepts to the Chicago Auto Show. With the Nissan Z’s long heritage of motorsports compe-tition, the 370Zki seemed like a natural combination,” said Michael Bunce, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America, Inc.

“Prior to its debut here in Chi-cago, we put the 370Zki through its paces on the slopes in Wyo-ming where its performance heritage really came through.”

Transforming the factory stock 370Z Roadster to the snow track-carving 370Zki presented a few understandable obstacles.

By comparison, the cosmetic part of the conversion was rela-tively easy. The custom body wrap was created and applied by Icon Image Graphics and the headlights were tinted yellow to resemble ski goggles.

The Nissan 370Zki will be on public display at the 2018 Chi-cago Auto Show, which runs Feb. 10th through Feb. 19th at Chica-go’s McCormick Place. Also on display will be a custom Nissan Armada Snow Patrol SUV.

For more information on the Nissan 370Zki and the complete lineup of 2018 Nissan vehicles, please visit www.NissanNews.com.

Pakistan gears up to host PSL final in KarachiAFP

KARACHI: Foreign experts yesterday inspected security arrangements in Kara-chi, which is scheduled to stage the final of Pakistan’s Twenty20 league next month -- the city’s first international match in nine years.

The third season of the Pakistan Super League starts in the United Arab Emir-ates on February 22. The tournament will move to Pakistan for two play-offs on March 20-21 and the final in Karachi on March 25.

Security experts Reg Dickason and Richard Dennis witnessed a full dress rehearsal for the final in Karachi. They were also briefed by Pakistani security and government officials on the arrangements.

“Whatever we have witnessed today, it’s as good as I have seen in all my years of work but I can’t say a final word (on hosting the final) now and will submit my report within the next seven days,” Dick-ason told media.

The team’s report will be integral to paving the way for the final.

International cricket in Pakistan was suspended after a 2009 militant attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore killed eight people and injured seven visiting players.

Pakistan’s national team has since played nearly all its home matches in the UAE. The country has been battling Islam-ist militants for over a decade, and insurgents have carried out several high-profile attacks across the country.

Authorities have been trying to grad-ually return international cricket to Pakistan.

The final of the PSL last year was played in Lahore. Some foreign players made the trip, but many stayed away because of concerns about security.

That was followed by three T20s against a World XI in September, and one T20 against Sri Lanka in October -- all in Lahore.Pakistan made unprecedented security arrangements for these matches, with 20,000 military and police officials guarding the visiting players and the stadium.

The 332-horsepower 370Z Roadster is ready to tackle ski slopes and backwoods trails alike with its front skis and rear snow tracks replacing the iconic sports car’s usual high performance tires.

Indian captain Virat Kohli (centre) and Indian bowler Hardik Pandya (left) celebrate the dismissal of South African batsman AB de Villiers (not pictured) during the fourth One Day International cricket match at Wanderers cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Saturday.

Stafford Sri Lankan School Doha

AFP

LONDON: Matt Ritchie condemned Manchester United to a shock 1-0 defeat at strug-gling Newcastle, while Huddersfield climbed out of the relegation zone after a 4-1 win against Bournemouth yester-day.

United’s second defeat in their last three Premier League games leaves them 16 points behind leaders Manchester City.

Jose Mourinho’s second placed side, beaten by Totten-ham in their last away game, were rarely at their best at St James’ Park and paid the price in the 65th minute.

United defender Chris Small-ing was booked for diving inside his own half and from the result-ing Jonjo Shelvey free-kick, Dwight Gayle latched onto a header and played a backheel towards Ritchie.

Ritchie’s run was completely untracked by United’s sloppy defence and the Newcastle winger fired low past David De Gea.

Mourinho responded by pull-ing off Paul Pogba after another underwhelming display from the

France midfielder.And United should have

equalised soon after, but when Newcastle failed to clear a cor-ner, Anthony Martial saw two shots blocked on the line by Gayle.

Newcastle had kicked off in the relegation zone, but a first win in five league games -- their

first success against United since 2013 -- lifts them to 13th place.

At the John Smith’s Stadium, David Wagner’s team took a sev-enth-minute lead as Alex Pritchard took Mounie’s pass and drilled in his first Huddersfield goal since his January move from Norwich.

Junior Stanislas equalised for

Bournemouth with a cool finish from Ryan Fraser’s cross seven minutes later.

But Mounie restored Hud-dersfield’s advantage with a 27th-minute header and the Benin striker netted again from Aaron Mooy’s pass to put the hosts in control in the 66th minute.

Rajiv van La Parra converted a stoppage-time penalty to lift Huddersfield out of the bottom three after they had sunk to five consecutive league games.

The Terriers are one point above the relegation zone, while Bournemouth remain in mid-table.

Huddersfield’s first league win in nine matches was marred by an injury to Australia mid-fielder Mooy, who was stretchered off with a knee prob-lem 15 minutes from time.

27MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2018 SPORT

Ronaldo hits hat-trick as Real and Atletico winREUTERS

BARCELONA: Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 in La Liga on Satur-day to warm up for their Champions League clash with Paris St Germain in style.

Atletico Madrid saw off Malaga 1-0 in a tight game to provisionally close the gap on leaders Barcelona to six points.

Real’s big victory over Socie-dad took them third above Valencia but they trail Barcelona by 16 points as they turn their attention to the defence of their Champions League title against PSG at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Zinedine Zidane rested Casemiro and Gareth Bale with one eye on that, but the Welsh winger’s replacement Lucas Vazquez took full advantage when he headed home Ronal-do’s cross after 49 seconds.

Karim Benzema struck the post with a low effort as he failed to break his scoring drought, the French striker is now without a league goal since November, as Real pressed to add to their advantage.

They did just that after 27 minutes when a brilliant turn by Asensio unlocked Sociedad’s defence and Marcelo crossed for

Ronaldo to slam home from close range. Toni Kroos curled home the third from outside the area and Ronaldo headed home Luka Modric’s corner in a four-minute spell before the interval. The Portuguese forward com-pleted his treble after Geronimo Rulli beat away substitute Bale’s long-range effort. Jon Bautista and Asier Illaramendi netted consolation goals for Real Sociedad.

“Today from the first minute the team came out to play foot-ball, to keep the ball, to press the opponent and steal it high up, and there was a big difference,” Real captain Sergio Ramos said.

“Then in front of goal we were more accurate (than in recent games). I’d be lying to you if I said that we weren’t think-ing about PSG.

“Against them we play for our season, (here) we could have continued to press but we couldn’t keep up that rhythm for

90 minutes. We knew how to rest ourselves.

“The objective was to gain confidence and that is what we did today.” In Malaga, second-placed Atletico went ahead almost instantly when Antoine Griezmann capitalised on Saul Niguez’s deflected strike falling at his feet close to goal.

Jan Oblak saved a Roberto Rosales free kick in the second half as Atletico kept their oppo-nents at bay to earn a narrow victory in typical fashion.

Malaga, rooted to the bottom of the table, have picked up two points in their last eight games.

“We started very strongly, taking advantage of our oppo-nent being off balance and we could score a goal which put us ahead,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone told reporters.

“It was an intense game, we were always putting the work in. We take with us a very impor-tant victory.

Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring during the Spanish league football match against Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on Saturday.

EPL: Chelsea slump not all my fault, insists ConteAFP

LONDON: Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes blame should be shared for the dramatic slump that has the Italian fighting for his job as West Brom visit the English champions today.

A 4-1 thrashing at Wat-ford on Monday followed an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Bournemouth in Chelsea’s last home game to leave the blues in serious risk of failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Conte has repeatedly complained this season about his lack of input into the club’s recruitment policy as tensions have risen with the Chelsea hierarchy.

But the former Juventus coach accused his players of performing “with fear” and lacking “personality” as they surrendered meekly by con-ceding three times in the final 10 minutes at Vicarage Road.

“When you have this period with such poor results, you have to divide the responsibility between me, the players and the club,” said Conte.

“As you know very well, because we are talking about football, a lot of times - I don’t agree with this - the coach depends on the results.

“For this reason, we have to pay great attention.” The next few weeks will be deci-sive in Chelsea’s season.

West Brom’s visit is followed by an FA Cup 5th round tie against Hull City before a trio of hugely demanding fixtures as Barcelona travel to Stamford Bridge in the last 16 of the Cham-pions League before Chelsea visit Manchester United and Manchester City in back-to-back Premier League games.

If Conte he fails to secure a response against the Bag-gies today, he could join the long list of Chelsea managers sacked mid-season under Roman Abramovich, “We realise it’s a difficult task when you see the fixtures we have coming up, hence why I say it will probably define our season,” said Chelsea captain Gary Cahill.

“Coming out of the end of February it’s important that we’re in a good position in these competitions but it’s all still there for us to play for.” - Rested and refreshed - In a bid to turn the tide, Conte changed his usual practice and gave his squad three days off this week to recharge their batteries.

Wenger fears Arsenal’s top four chances are in perilAFP

LONDON: Arsene Wenger (pictured) conceded Arsenal’s hopes of ending their Champions League exile are in severe danger after Harry Kane condemned them to a damaging 1-0 defeat against bitter rivals Tottenham.

Kane’s second half header at Wem-bley on Saturday left Wenger’s sixth placed side languishing six points adrift of the Premier League’s top four.

Worryingly for Wenger, that gap could grow even bigger on Sunday when fourth placed Liverpool play their game in hand at Southampton.

Failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish would be another hammer blow for beleaguered Arsenal boss Wenger, whose team had to settle for a berth in the far less attractive Europa League this term.

Wenger acknowledged that depress-ing fate is staring Arsenal in the face again following Kane’s latest act of vengeance against the club that rejected him as a youngster.

“It’s a game we couldn’t afford to lose, it makes it much more difficult,” Wenger said.

“We have to fight, there was more at stake than just the derby, that’s why it’s so disappointing.

“It’s very disappointing because the priority is to be in the Champions League

via the top four. “I’m not a big fan of the Europa League winner getting into the Champions League. It’s not right, but if it is an opportunity we have to take it.” It was a frustrating afternoon for Wenger, whose side were out-played for long periods as new signings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan failed to shine in their first taste of the north London derby.

Arsenal’s wretched away record against teams in the top five -- they haven’t won their last 16 of those fix-tures -- left Wenger cursing a lack of cutting edge and a defence that wilted when Kane rose to head home from Christian Eriksen’s cross.

“We missed chances on the coun-ter attack that are not acceptable at this level. Then at the start of the second half we should have lost the game by more,” he said.

“At the top level you have to be men-tally strong enough to take the chances.

“We can only look at ourselves at the goal, but I don’t think we lack hunger in defence.

“We were caught by a super striker, he is one of the best in the world. he scores against everyone.

“The away record is very poor. we don’t score enough goals away from home.” In contrast to Wenger’s woes, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochet-tino was searching for fresh ways to praise Kane.

The England star’s 32nd club goal of the season means he has now scored seven times in seven leagues games against Arsenal.

Not for the first time, Pochettino made it clear Kane deserves to be ranked among the world’s best strikers.

“Of course Harry is one of the best in the world. I have repeated that for the last few years,” he said.

“Sometimes you believe that he is my player and I try to boost him. I’m tell-ing you and I tell again, in my experience in football, he is one of the best.

“He deserves to be one of the best. It’s so good to have him in our side. Harry every game he has the same energy.” In the first north London derby at Wem-bley for 25 years, Tottenham extended their recent mastery over Arsenal, who have won only once in the last eight league meetings with their hated neighbours.

Tottenham are unbeaten in their last nine league matches and remain in a good position to qualify for the Cham-pions League.

Damaging Arsenal’s hopes was an added bonus and Pochettino added: “If you analyse the game, we created many chances.

“My players were fantastic, they deserve the full credit, now keep going.

“We are doing a fantastic job. It’s important for the belief of the team and confidence.”

Spanish La Liga result on Sunday:

Sevilla 1 (Sarabia 46) Girona 0

Playing today

Deportivo v Betis (2000)

Played on Saturday

Villarreal 1 (Bacca 77) Alaves 2 (Rodrigo Ely 39,

Ibai Gomez 71)

Malaga 0 Atletico Madrid 1 (Griezmann 1)

Leganes 0 Eibar 1 (Ramis 90+4)

Real Madrid 5 (Lucas Vazquez 1, Ronaldo 27, 37,

80, Kroos 34) Real Sociedad 2 (Jon Bautista 74,

Illarramendi 83)

On Friday

Athletic Bilbao 0 Las Palmas 0

LA LIGA RESULTS

English Premier League results on Sunday:

Huddersfield 4 (Pritchard 7, Mounie 27, 66,

Van La Parra 90-pen) Bournemouth 1 (Stanis-

las 14)

Newcastle 1 (Ritchie 65) Manchester United 0

Played on Saturday

Everton 3 (Sigurdsson 46, Niasse 51, Davies

75) Crystal Palace 1 (Milivojevic 83-pen)

Stoke 1 (Shaqiri 68) Brighton 1 (Izquierdo 32)

Swansea 1 (Ki 81) Burnley 0

Tottenham 1 (Kane 49) Arsenal 0

West Ham 2 (Hernandez 38, Arnautovic 78)

Watford 0

Manchester City 5 (Sterling 3, Aguero 48, 53,

77, 90) Leicester 1 (Vardy 24)

Playing Monday

Chelsea vs West Brom (2000 GMT)

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Newcastle rock Man United

Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey (right) comes across to block Manchester United midfielder Antonio Valencia during the English Premier League match at St James’ Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England, yesterday.

28 MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2018SPORT 29MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2018 SPORT

Elina Svitolina

of Ukraine

Train with a champion on National Sport DayTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The 2018 National Sport Day (NSD) will be the perfect day for anyone who wants to train with Qatar’s sporting heroes and the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) is ready to provide the unique opportunity for the public.

The public can train with Qatari stars at the Team Qatar Village in Doha’s Aspire Park tomorrow. Over 14 different sporting activi-ties will be on offer from 8.30am-4pm with Team Qatar athletes on hand to provide tips, advice and demonstrations.

NSD was first estab-lished in 2012 with the aim of uniting the nation in a shared celebration of sport and inspiring people to lead active and healthy lifestyles, and since then has grown in strength and numbers year upon year. This year’s NSD is set to be the biggest and best so far with a total of 72 events taking place across multiple locations in Qatar from early morning until late afternoon, with thou-sands of people expected to turn out to participate and enjoy sport.

Speaking ahead of NSD, Secretary General of the QOC, Jassim Al Buenain, said: “National Sport Day is all about seizing the oppor-tunity to try new sports, kick-start a healthy and active lifestyle and gener-ally share and spread the fun and enjoyment of participat-ing in sport with friends and family. There are no better people to inspire and encourage budding athletes of any age and ability than our sporting heroes and we invite everyone to come down to the Team Qatar Vil-lage, meet our athletes and join in our activities. Whether you have ambitions to be a future Olympic champion, or simply want to find a new sport to enjoy, there will be something on offer for everyone. We can’t wait to set Qatar alight through the spirit of sport once again this year!”

Key athletes in attend-ance will include members of Qatar’s 2018 Asian Cham-pionship winning handball team, Kamal Mallash, Abdulrazzaq Murad and Ahmed Maddady, gymnas-tics superstars Ahmed Nabil who competed in last year’s World Championships and 2014 Youth Olympian, Nadine Wahden, 3x3 basket-ball legend and 2014 World Champion, Yassin Ismail, and two-time World Junior Champion and senior world silver medallist in weight-lifting, Fares Ibrahim, plus many more.

Commenting on why people should try handball, Kamal Mallash said: “Always try out new sports! Handball is one of the fastest sports in the world and I encourage everyone to give it a shot!”

Meanwhile, Fares Ibra-him said: “I invite everyone to try out weightlifting on National Sport Day this year! It is a fantastic sport that made me who I am today - an Olympic finalist, a world silver medallist and a two-t ime World Junior Champion!”

The QOC has partnered with its National Federations to organise many different sporting activities in order to showcase the very best of each sport and encourage people to get involved on a regular basis. The Team Qatar Village will feature coaching, demonstrations and competitions in gym-nastics, athletics, fencing, weightlifting, wrestling, box-ing, taekwondo, judo, basketball, tennis, squash, sailing, kayaking, volleyball, hockey, rugby, cricket, table tennis, golf and school sports.

Elsewhere in Qatar, the public are able to try out shooting at an open day at Lusail Shooting Range, visit Katara for a range of activ-ities including handball, equestrian, rowing, cycling, triathlon, air sports, karate, chess and rugby, participate in a swimming open day at Hamad Aquatic Centre, find out more about para-sport at the Qatar Paralympic

Committee headquarters, visit the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee for a range of activities at its premises in Al Waab, and try eques-trian at Al Shaqab. A full schedule of events can be found at the end of this article.

The NSD activities will also provide an opportunity for the public to learn more about the sports that have major upcoming events in Qatar, including the 2018 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships tak-ing place at the Aspire Dome in October and the 2019 IAAF World Champi-onships in Athletics, which will take place one year later in Khalifa International Stadium.

Both events will be com-ing to the Middle East for the first time in their history and will see the world’s sporting superstars competing in Qatar’s capital. Qatar resi-dents will get an early opportunity to welcome some of the world’s best gymnasts in March as the Aspire Dome will host the Gymnastics World Cup event for the 11th consecu-tive year, which will also act as a test event for gymnas-tics’ flagship event later in the year.

Anyone can keep up to date with all news and infor-mation on the Team Qatar social media channels, as well as by signing up to the Team Qatar Club by visiting w w w . o l y m p i c . q a / e n /teamqatarclub.

Qatar’s 2018 Asian Championship winning handball team.

A young gymnast trains few moves with a coach during the

National Sports Day activities in this file photo.

Muguruza excited to tie up with MartinezTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: World No.4 Garbine Muguruza (pictured) is excited on rekindling her work-ing partnership with 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez.

This week the 45-year-old would be join-ing Muguruza team for the next four hardcourt tournaments starting with the Qatar Total Open which begins in Doha today.

“It’s a little bit of a new experience for me,” Muguruza told reporters.

Martinez, who reached a career-high ranking of No.2 in 1995 and finished her career with 33 WTA singles titles, served as Spain’s Fed Cup captain from 2013 until the fall of last year.

“Conchita and I, we’ve known each other since I was little, and she’s always been a little bit in the shadow, you know, helping me here and there. And of course, every-body saw me and her in Wimbledon and we had the best success possible,” she added.

Martinez temporarily stepped into reg-ular coach Sam Sumyk’s shoes for 2017’s Wimbledon championships, which the Span-iard won.

Although she withdrew from the Mugu-ruza camp after the success last summer, Martinez has returned to the team to work alongside Sumyk “I always got along with her very good and I thought that it might be a good idea to have her in the next couple of tournaments, into Miami. Just to share

more and have this new experience. I was looking for this experience. Sam is contin-uing as my main coach, but I think it’s going to be interesting,” the 24-year-old said.

Muguruza has a bye into the second round and will open against either Ons Jabeur or a qualifier. The Spaniard is look-ing to find some traction in the Middle East. Her best result in Doha came with a quar-terfinal run in 2016.

Although she withdrew from the Mugu-ruza camp after the success last summer, Martinez has returned to the team to work alongside Sumyk “I think she’s a very calm person. And she has a lot of experience. This is not easy to find and it isn’t easy also to be in this difficult competitive environment and to get along with somebody very good.

“I feel I have an amazing team and I think I have one of the best coaches in the tour, which is Sam. And now [I have] also some experience that is going to help me, ‘the Con-chita mind’. So yeah, I think it’s good.”

Muguruza will be looking to get her 2018 season on track in Doha, after a frustrating start of the season in Australia.

Muguruza was forced to retire from her first match of the season in Brisbane due to cramping but was able to shake off the scare to earn her first win of 2018 in Sydney, defeating Kiki Bertens in straight sets. After a disappointing second-round exit from the Australian Open at the crafty hands of even-tual quarterfinalist Hsieh Su-Wei, Muguruza refused to let the dust gather on her racquet

bag. Scorching tennis balls for a few hours was the only therapy she needed.

“I went back to Switzerland, and I actu-ally went pretty fast (back on) court,” Muguruza said. “I did a lot of tennis, actu-ally. I wanted to forget a little bit how the first part of the season went, and I felt (I wanted) to just spend hours on the court. I had a lot of training and preparation.”

beIN to bring live action as nine of world’s top 10 stars vie for honoursTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Nine out of the world’s top 10 female tennis players will battle it out for the Qatar Total Open title in Doha, start-ing today. The tournament concludes on Sunday, February 18.

beIN will bring you exclusive coverage throughout the week live from the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.

Australian Open champion and new world number one Caroline Wozniacki headlines the host of stars in action. Her finals opponent in Melbourne, Simona Halep, will also be competing, along with many other top players including Angel-ique Kerber and Maria Sharapova, who joins as a tournament wildcard.

beIN SPORTS HD12 will bring you all the action as it hap-pens day in and day out. Join presenters Andy Kerr and Nicky Crosby, and former tennis star Prakash Amritraj, who will keep you updated on the day’s main talking points in pre-match and post-match studios. beIN coverage gets underway half an hour before the first match begins every day.

More details and latest news will be available on beIN’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube as well as beIN’s main website and mobile application.

Visit beIN.net/subscribe and pick one of numerous pack-ages where you can watch the Qatar Total Open and all of this year’s top action from the world of tennis. That includes the beIN Elite package which brings you free CONNECT sub-scription, beIN’s Over The Top (OTT) offering that allows viewers to watch matches anytime and anywhere.

ARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: After taking a shot at New York Marathon, the next thing which is World No. 1 Caro-line Wozniacki mind is Triathlon.

“I don’t know if I would be good at it, but I think I will try to do a triathlon eventually. After I’m done playing, mostly to keep in shape so I can still eat what-ever I want. I think that’s the main motivation. And I think after doing a marathon, I’ve done that, I did a pretty decent time. So I think triathlon would be fun to do,” the Dane, said while talking to reporters ahead of the Qatar Total Open which begins today in Doha.

Wozniacki said her life has not changed after last month Australian Open win.

“Life hasn’t changed at all. Life is the same. Still the same when I go back on the practice courts. I still have things that I need to work on, and I still get stuff from my dad saying move your feet, do this. So nothing has changed in that regard,” said Wozniacki who could face Simona Halep, the player she defeated in the final in Melbourne.

“People treating me differ-ently, I think the only thing that has changed with people treat-ing me differently is that I have not gotten the question of being No. 1 without a Grand Slam. So that’s a difference, that’s a big difference and that’s a change that I’m very happy about,” she added.

Wozniacki who was the No. 1 in 2010, ‘11 back to the top spot again said she now a much smarter player.

“I think you keep getting experience and you keep learn-ing. And I think the tennis keeps improving, so you need to con-stantly improve your own game to be on top. And I think, yeah, you just get smarter. You know, you learn how to properly train and how to save your body and hopefully try to prevent injuries,

because that’s the main thing,” she added.

Wozniacki is among nine of the 10 best female players in the world who have congregated in Doha this week.

The Dane is seeded number one and if all goes according to plan, she will meet number two seed Halep in next Sunday’s final. The only top ten player missing in the Gulf is Venus Wil-liams, currently ranked number eight in the world.

However, former world number one Maria Sharapova has been handed a wildcard and could meet the Australian Open champion in the last 16.

Wozniacki admitted she missed her trophy -- dubbed Daphne -- which is back at her home in Monaco.

And she also admitted that she was “jealous” of British star Kyle Edmund, a fellow sup-porter of Liverpool, who received congratulations from the football club for his surprise run to the Australian Open semi-finals in the men’s competition.

Asked if she had received any similar congratulations from her beloved team, she said: “I actually haven’t gotten congrat-ulat ions from Liverpool .

“I saw that Edmund did, so I felt kind of jealous a little bit.

“But I guess I’ll have to wait.”The 27-year-old said that

she never looks at the draw. “Yeah. So I never look at the

draw. I know my first-round opponents, and I play either Tat-jana Maria or Carina Witthoeft. And both good players. And I know one is here, one is play-ing Fed Cup. So I’ll play on Wednesday. But I’m excited for the challenge, and at the end of the day I think I’m just going to go out there, have fun and see what happens,” she said.

She is also aware of the new playing surface at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.

“Obviously the courts have changed colour. And they’ve changed the speed, I think. So it’s faster courts this year. And I haven’t really been outside of the complex. I don’t know what they have done for the fans. But yeah, every year I come back, there’s new buildings up and new things happening. So that’s been nice. And the weather, obviously the sun is shining. So we’re back to normal Doha weather.”

‘Future athlete’ Wozniacki ready for Doha TOURNAMENT TALKING POINTS

Nine of Top 10 players in the world are competing in this year’s main draw, including the entire Top 5 (No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, No.2 Slmona Halep, No.3 Ellna Svitolina, No.4 Garbifie Muguruza and No.5 Karolina Pliskova).

In addition to defending champion Karolina Pliskova, four other former winners are competing this week (Halep (2014), Lucie Safarova (2015), Maria Sharapova (2008), Carla Suarez Navarro (2016).

Sharapova is one of four wildcards, the others are Fatma Al Nabhanl, Cagla Buyukakcay and O Jabeur.

Top seed Wozniacki’s WTA World No.1 ranking could come under threat from Halep this week. To regain the No.1 spot, Halep will need to at least reach the quarter-finals and finish one round further than the Dane.Wozniacki and Agnleszka Radwanska have both won 16 matches from their eight previous visits to the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex.

No player has won more than these two in the tournament’s 15-year history.

Wozniacki will become only the fourth player in history to pass $30 million in prize money should she reach the semi-finals - Alizé Cornet will contest her 700th career match when she steps on court for the first round.

Dominika Cibulkova andJulia Goerges could also reach this milestone in Doha

One To Watch- Elise Mertens has made a flying start to the season, defending her title at Hobart and then reaching a maiden Grand Slam semi final, at the Australian Open. Seeded for the first time at a Premier event this week, the 22-year-old starts her challenge against recent Taipei City champion Timea Babos.

The best result by a wildcard at Doha was Victoria Azarenka’s runner-up finish in 2015.

I started this season pretty good, and all the matches, the 10 matches I played they were all on a high level, and I was really enjoying myself on court. And of course, it’s a little bit new because I was playing good tennis and very consistent. And that’s what we have been working on. And that’s what’s new. That’s a good step for me forward. And yeah, we’ll see how it goes but of course it brought me a lot of confidence after the season: Elina Svitolina

It’s never easy to be good after a lose, but for me it was - it needs for sure a few days, but at the end I know that I give everything, and I know how close it is. It’s just one, two points which decide matches. And you know, for me it was more important to see that I’m back and that I’m playing good tennis, that I win matches again. And that was actually the goal for Australia for the first month of the year. And I think that I reach it, the goal which I had for the Australian trip, and that was more important for me than the results and the points and all of this: Angelique Kerber

Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha. Pictures: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki speaks during a press conference

ahead of the Qatar Total Open 2018 at the Khalifa International

Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday. Pictures: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Losail Circuit Sports Club (LCSC) is planning an incredible experience for motorsport fans when Doha hosts the 15th consecutive edition of the Grand Prix of Qatar, the first round of the 2018 MotoGP World Cham-pionship.

The opening round will be held at the Losail International Circuit (LIC) from March 16 to 18.

With the two-year partner-ship that LCSC and Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) signed last year, the circuit hopes to increase the attendance of spectators and attract more international visi-tors from Europe and Asia as well from countries of the GCC region for this event.

Last year, the Grand Prix of Qatar attracted around 30,000 spectators during the four-day event.

For this year, LCSC together with Discover Qatar and Visit Qatar have prepared an amaz-ing experience for all the fans on the occasion of the 15th anniversary.

Following the great success of the past, LCSC wants to encourage not only the fans but also the whole family to enjoy all the activities organized at the Fan Zone Areas.

This year, LCSC is going one step further and has prepared a new experience for the Losail Club ticket holders.

At the Losail Club Arena, there will be a new fan zone with two different types of tickets, Losail Club Grandstand and Losail VIP Club. Losail Club Grandstand tickets holders will have access to the VIP grand-stand and the Losail VIP Club ticket holders, apart from the

VIP Grandstand access, can also enjoy the VIP Club tent with five-star catering service.

There will be giant screens located at turn number 10 and they will have access to a stage with live music, food court, entertainment activities and much more. As a unique expe-rience, the Losail VIP Club tickets holders will have perma-nent access to the MotoGP Paddock whereas the Losail Club Grandstand tickets holders will access the Paddock on request with a guided tour.

Losail Club Grandstand and Losail VIP Club tickets can be purchased at the Discover Qatar website (www.discoverqatar.qatarairways.com) which also offers special flight fares for the 15th Anniversary.

Tickets can also be purchased from the official circuit website

(www.lcsc.qa), Virgin Megastore Qatar (https://tickets.virgin-megastore.me/qa/sports) and Q-Tickets (www.q-tickets.com).

As previous years, there will be also available the VIP Village tickets, the hospitality area above the pit garages.

For those who want to live the action from main straight and watch the start, finish and podium ceremonies of the races, there will be a three-day grand-stand ticket with access to the Fan Zone area at the grandstand with entertaining activities for all the family (go-karting, camel riding, falcons, Arabic coffee etc).

Children under 11 years old accompanied by an adult will have free access to the grandstand.

The LCSC Vice President and General Manager, Khalid Al Remaihi said: “This year will be the 15th anniversary of the Grand Prix of Qatar and we are very proud of what we have achieved until now. Since 2004, Qatar is the home of motorsport in the region and Losail Interna-tional Circuit is the only circuit to host a MotoGP race in the Middle East and to host a MotoGP night race.”

Al Remaihi added: “We know that motorsport fans always look for new activities during our international events like the MotoGP round. For the next round to be held in March, we have once again sat down and planned an amazing series of activities at LIC. We want the fans - who come to the circuit in their thousands - to have an enjoyable and memorable time during the three-days event.’’

30 MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2018SPORT

This year will be the 15th anniversary of the Grand Prix of Qatar and we are very proud of what we have achieved until now. Since 2004, Qatar is the home of motorsport in the region and Losail International Circuit is the only circuit to host a MotoGP race in the Middle East and to host a MotoGP night race: Khalid Al Remaihi

Johnson in hunt for second successive Tour winREUTERS

CALIFORNIA: World number one Dustin Johnson stayed on track for a second successive victory on the PGA Tour but was joined in the lead by jour-neyman Ted Potter, Jr. after the third round at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California on Saturday.

While Johnson compiled a ho-hum two-under-par 70 at Pebble Beach, Pot-ter flirted with a sub-60 round at nearby Monterey Peninsula, one of three courses used for the event.

The left-hander picked up 11 strokes through 15 holes, only to bogey his final two holes for a nine-under 62.

The somewhat deflating finish left Potter, whose lone PGA Tour victory was in 2012, locked with fellow American Johnson at 14-under 201, two strokes clear of Australian Jason Day and Amer-ican Troy Merritt.

The leaders will be able to keep an eye on each other on Sunday when eve-ryone plays the final round on the Pebble Beach host course.

Johnson missed a chance to put some distance between himself and the

pack when he negotiated the inward half in two-over, but seemed unfazed.

“The couple of bogeys I made the wind was a little bit tricky and I just got on wrong side of the holes, which I knew better,” he said in a greenside interview.

Johnson, who won the Tournament of Champions by nine strokes in Janu-ary, is chasing a third Pebble Beach victory, after previous successes in 2009 and 2010.

Rory McIlroy missed the 54-hole cut as he finished at one-under, but he almost went out in spectacular fashion with what would have been an aston-ishing eagle at the par-five 18th.

After pulling his drive into a water hazard -- the Pacific Ocean -- McIlroy took a penalty stroke and then hit a brilliant third shot from 220 yards.

His ball clattered against the pin but did not drop, a birdie only minor consolation.

The former world number one, however, did not sound too worried about the state of his game.

“I just need a few putts to fall,” he said.

201 - Ted Potter Jr. 68-71-62, Dustin

Johnson 67-64-70

203 - Jason Day (AUS) 69-65-69, Troy

Merritt 67-67-69

204 - Steve Stricker 69-65-70, Patrick

Rodgers 70-65-69, Jon Rahm

67-67-70

205 - Chez Reavie 67-72-66

206 - Kevin Streelman 65-69-72, Brian

Gay 69-69-68, Beau Hossler 65-67-74,

Phil Mickelson 69-65-72

207 - Kevin Na 70-68-69, Paul Casey

(ENG) 67-70-70, Pat Perez 68-70-69

208 - Daniel Summerhays 70-68-70,

Tyrone Van Aswegen (RSA) 67-68-73,

Russell Knox (SCO) 71-70-67, K.J. Choi

(KOR) 69-70-69, Russell Henley 68-70-

70, Aaron Wise 65-69-74, William

McGirt 73-69-66, Bae Sang-moon (KOR)

71-69-68, Peter Malnati 67-69-72, Jor-

dan Spieth 72-66-70, Rafa Cabrera

Bello (ESP) 69-69-70, Shane Lowry

(IRL) 67-73-68, Stephan Jaeger (GER)

68-71-69

PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AM

SCORES

Qatar GP: LCSC set to host memorable show

Losail Training Day to offer moreTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Losail Circuit Sports Club launched at the end of 2016 the Losail Training Day and after one and a half years later, it has turned into a major mass activity.

In partnership with the Qatar Sports Federation for All, Qatar Cyclists and recently Lexus, the Losail Training Days have been drawing about 300 enthusiasts in each session.

During a press conference held at Losail International Cir-cuit, Vice-President and General Manager of Losail Circuit Sports Club, Khalid Al Remaihi said, “The growth of the Losail Training Day has been incredible and we’re very pleased with the increasing popularity of this event.”

Also present during the press conference were Qatar Sports Federation For All President Abdulrahman Masalam Al Dosari, QSFA Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Al Ajme, Qatar Cyclists Director Dr Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and Lexus Senior Marketing Manager Firas Mufti.

“I think what we have achieved here is the mile-stone. The collaboration between different institu-tions and government houses to achieve the same goal because everyone plays their part where they are special-ied. As Losail, we are not specialised in cycling or pre-paring the training programs, but I have the opportunity to be a partner with the right people to deliver this full program to the community.”

“What we would like to see in the future is to encourage more the people and one of our main issue now is the aware-ness for the people to know what we are offering and it is available,” stated Al Remaihi

“Initially, the plan was to have two training days in a month for ladies. But soon it became a very popular activity and as the demands for more such days started coming in, we host it every Tuesday from October last year,” Remaihi added.

QSFA President, Abdulrahman Masalam Al Dosari is also pleased with the increase of the participation of cyclists in Qatar.

“ What we are seeing now in Qatar, this growth of cyclists, encourages the Government to work together with the Minis-try of Transportation and there is a committee headed by his Excellency Jassim Al Sulaiti and members from different Min-istries, MOCS is one of them, to have in all the new road and old road, a place for cycling and walking because we can see now how really it encourages most of our youth and kids that want to participate in this sport. At the moment, more that 45km of cycling routes already exists in Qatar (Salwa Road, Old Air-port, Al Shammal Highway),” Al Dosari said.

Dr. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Director of Qatar Cyclists is very happy with the attendance and participation in the LTD.

“The number of the cyclists attending the Losail Training Days have really increased and it goes up and down depend-ing on the occasion but on most days, we have a very good number, it exceeds 250 up to 300 cyclists, sometimes even more and people from different age group,” Al Kuwari said.

Firas Mufti, Senior Marketing Manager of Lexus is very proud that Lexus is involved in this sport program.

“One of the main reasons why we sponsor events like this is because it adds to the overall objective and strategy of Lexus itself,” Mufti said.

Talking about the upcoming National Sport Day, Remaihi said, “LCSC has planned wide-ranging activities to keep females and kids busy and entertained on February 13. We were astounded last year during the NSD celebration as 1,440 females and children turned up at the track to participate in our event.

“This year, we have planned the NSD event at a grand scale and cover all the age demography and open only to females and kids (only over nine years of age allowed). There will be a variety of activities for ladies as fitness classes, Zumba, kick boxing, karting with Red Bull, healthy workshop, express mas-sage for ladies and more. For the kids, there will be karting, pedal cars, Zumba, bouncy castles, boot camp and more. Activ-ities will start at 8 am and finish at 5 pm,” Remaihi added.

Vice-President and General Manager of Losail Circuit Sports Club (LCSC), Khalid Al Remaihi announcing their preparations ahead of the Grand Prix of Qatar 2018 during a press conference held in Doha.

In 2016, Losail Circuit Sports Club launched the Losail Training Day and after one and a half years later, it has turned into a major mass activity.

Dustin Johnson plays his shot from the third tee during Round Three of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California on Saturday.

Russian medallist’s drug suspension ‘special issue’: IOCAFP

PYEONGCHANG: Russian athletes are a “major focus” for anti-doping tests, a senior Olym-pic official said yesterday, as it emerged that the first Russian medallist in Pyeongchang served a drugs suspension.

Semen Elistratov, who took bronze in the men’s 1,500m short track speed skating on Saturday, was briefly suspended in 2016 after testing positive for meldo-nium -- the same substance that saw Maria Sharapova banned.

The 27-year-old Elistratov is one of 168 athletes competing as a neutral “Olympic Athlete from Russia”, after Russia’s team was suspended as punishment for systemic doping.

Richard Budgett, medical director for the International

Olympic Committee, said mel-donium was a “special issue” and it seemed that Elistratov took the drug before it was banned at the start of 2016.

Russian tennis star Sharap-ova, a former world number one, served a 15-month ban after test-ing positive for meldonium in early 2016.

“Because of the way it’s metabolised, it can stay in the system for many, many months, even nine months after it had been taken,” Budgett said.

“So if the cases were consist-ent with meldonium intake before it was prohibited, then that would not be considered an anti-doping rule violation.

“We have to be realistic -- meldonium was used in a widespread way throughout Eastern Europe and Russia and

was considered to be a tonic, a type of cardiac stimulant that was not prohibited.

“But of course, quite rightly

it was then prohibited and because it was such widespread use there were a large number of cases.”

Elistratov reportedly also took aim at the “hard and unfair” exclusion of many Russian ath-letes, comments that will be scrutinised as the IOC considers lifting Russia’s Olympic ban in time for the February 25 closing ceremony.

Budgett said the Olympic Athletes from Russia had been heavily tested before the Games and remained under scrutiny in Pyeongchang, where about 2,500 doping controls were expected.

The last Winter Olympics at Sochi in 2014 was marked by fla-grant cheating by Russia, who used a “mousehole” in the labo-ratory wall to switch dirty samples.

Budgett promised there would be no repeat in P y e o n g c h a n g , w h e r e

the laboratory is under round-the-clock video surveillance and will be monitored by experts from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the IOC.

Olympic athletes from Russia huddle before their women’s ice hockey preliminary round match against Canada yesterday.

Teen Gerad nails first gold for USAAFP

PYEONGCHANG: Teen sensation

Redmond Gerard nailed a tension-

packed final jump yesterday to win

the slopestyle snowboarding and

become the first Winter Olympic

medallist born this century.

Aged 17 and 227 days, Gerard

handed the US their first gold of the

Pyeongchang Games with his slope-

style win, making him the youngest

US Winter Olympic champion since

1928.

Gerard, born on June 29, 2000,

also set a record for the youngest

gold medallist in any snowboard-

ing event that was held previously

by Kelly Clark, the 2002 women’s

halfpipe champion at age 18 years

and 199 days.

The first medallist born in the

2000’s, Gerard is also the young-

est US man to win Winter Olympic

gold since 16-year-old bobsled

driver Billy Fiske piloted a five-man

crew to the title 90 years ago.

“I cannot believe it,” Gerard

said. “I’m shaking right now, maybe

from the cold, or the excitement. I

don’t know. But I’m ecstatic. I can’t

believe it.

“Just to land a run would have

been plenty for me and to get on

the podium, but to get first is crazy.”

The 17-year-old landed a back-

side triple cork -- a triple-twisting

trick with a flip -- to score 87.16

points on his final run to snatch vic-

tory from Canadians Max Parrot,

who took silver, and Mark McMor-

ris, who picked up a second bronze

after Sochi four years ago.

“I’m super-psyched!” said Ger-

ard, who wants to attend film

school for the next two years.

Gerard was off the pace after

the first and second runs, scoring

43.33 and 46.40, before somehow

summoning up an enormous last

effort.

“After I landed the second jump

I was like, ‘Come on, don’t blow it

on the last one, let’s just make it

through’,” Gerard said.

“The wind was really bad and

the first two runs it was pretty

tough, but we got a nice little break

on the third and I’m just happy I got

it to land.”

The only younger individual

event Winter Olympic champion

than Gerard was Finnish 16-year-

old ski jumper Toni Nieminen in

1992.

Gerard tried

the sport as a

toddler then

took it up with a

passion aged

eight when his

family moved

closer to the

snow. He built his

own snowboarding

training ground with his brother at

the back of his family home as his

ambitions grew. Seventeen family

members are in Pyeongchang sup-

porting him.

Appearing at an Olympics was

top of his career targets after join-

ing the World Cup circuit in 2015.

And it lived up to all his

expectations.

“It was awesome. I just told

myself that I want to land a run and

I was a little bummed on my first

two runs because I fell a cou-

ple of times,” he said.

“I’m just so happy

that it all worked

out.”

31MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2018 SPORT

We have to be realistic - meldonium was used in a widespread way throughout Eastern Europe and Russia and was considered to be a tonic, a type of cardiac stimulant that was not prohibited: IOC Medical Director Richard Budgett

US IOC member suggests joint Korean team for Nobel peace prize

REUTERS

PYEONGCHANG: A senior American member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called yesterday for North and South Korea’s joint women’s ice hockey team to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Angela Ruggiero, a four-times ice hockey world champion and Olympic gold medallist, told Reu-ters she would ask others to nominate the team, which included 12 players from North Korea which is still technically at war with the South. It was the first time an inter-Korean team had competed at an Olympic Games.

“I would love the team to get the Nobel Peace Prize,” Ruggiero, a member of the IOC’s executive board said a day after the unified Korean team competed at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

“Seriously, the team. Something that is recog-nising the sacrifice they made to adjusting their competitions,” she said.

South Korea suggested the formation of a joint team as part of its efforts to use the Games to re-engage with the North and pave the way for talks over the North’s weapons programme.

North Korea is subject to heavy U.N. and U.S. sanctions designed to pressure the reclusive, one-party state to abandon its development of nuclear and ballistic missiles. The team took to the ice for the first time on Saturday, losing to Switzerland but win-ning over the crowd as North Korean cheerleaders and South Korean fans roared the players on.

Dutchman Kramer claims third straight 5,000m goldREUTERS

GANGNEUNG: Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer raced into the record books yesterday by winning his third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men’s 5,000 metres.

Kramer, the first man to win three golds in the same speed skating event at the Winter Games, set an Olym-pic record of six minutes 09.76 seconds, finishing ahead of Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen with Norway’s Sverre Lunde Pedersen claiming bronze.

The 31-year-old, who won silver in the 5,000m at the Games in Turin in 2006 as well as gold in Vancou-ver and Sochi, started well and settled into a steady rhythm as he glided to vic-tory in Gangneung.

Experience made the difference for Kramer, who started in the second-last pair of the evening and adapted his strategy based on how the other skaters were faring.

“To be honest I changed

my strategy a bit because I saw everybody blowing up their legs,” he said, pointing out how he had noticed his rivals, including Bloemen, slowing down in the final laps.

“I started a bit slower... but I really could continue. That brought me a lot in the end. Halfway during the race I was one second slower but I could bring it down to two laps in a posi-tive way.”

Kramer is the second male speed skater to win four Olympic medals in a single event, following in the footsteps of compatriot Bob de Jong, who got four med-als in the men’s 10,000m.

Bloemen, the world record holder in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, edged out Pedersen for sil-ver in a dramatic photo finish.

Dutch-born Bloemen,

who is eligible to race for Canada through his father, switched allegiance in 2014 and is only the second Cana-dian to win an Olympic medal in the 5,000m, after William Logan won bronze in the event in 1932 Olym-pics at Lake Placid.

Kramer and Bloemen will face each other again in the men’s 10,000m on Thursday in what promises to be a fascinating battle.

Redmond Gerard of the US competes in a run during the final of the men’s snowboard slopestyle at the Phoenix Park in Pyeongchang yesterday.

Gold medallist Redmond Gerard of the US poses on the podium during the medal ceremony.

FAST FACTS

This is the first time South Korea has hosted the Winter Olympics. The 1988 Summer Olympics were held in Seoul, South Korea.

The estimated cost of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics is $10bn, five times less than the 2014 Sochi Olympics, which were estimated to be the costliest ever.

The city lost by three votes to Vancouver for hosting duties in the 2010 Olympics, by just four votes to Sochi for the 2014 event.

Development of high-speed rail lines was key to the country’s Olympic bid, as Pyeongchang is rather isolated.

In total, 13 venues, split between Pyeongchang and neighboring Gangneung, will be used during the 17 days of the Games.

Six new venues have been built, and additional venues have been renovated for the Games.

A record 102 medals will be awarded in 15 disciplines.

For the first time, viewers in all US time zones will have access to live coverage of the games, instead of a delayed replay.

Netherlands’ Sven Kramer competes during the men’s

5,000m speed skating event of the Pyeongchang 2018

Winter Olympic Games yesterday.

32MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2018 SPORTI’ve won three slams now in 12 months. I can’t

believe it myself. I just got to keep a good schedule,

stay hungryAl Gharafa vs Al Jazira, in Abu DhabiAl Duhail vs Zob Ahan, in Doha

FOOTBALL

Roger Federer

Sharq Village and Spa to host ‘Swim for a Cause’THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Sharq Village and Spa will host its open water swim-ming challenge for a cause February 16, an official associ-ated with the event said yesterday.

‘Swim for a Cause’ event will be held in collaboration with Qatar Charity, while H2O swim club, MAD triathlon and Tri Club Doha at the Sharq Village & Spa beach are the other partners of the event.

“By hosting such events we hope to raise awareness of pro-viding safe and clean drinking water for the needy in devel-oping countries,” said Sharq Vil-lage & Spa Recreation Manager Asela Jayaweera.

The event, which is expected to attract a large number of swimming enthusiasts, hopes to

impart valuable water safety education tips to both children and parents. “Our aim is also to promote a healthy life style among the residents of Qatar. Sharq Village & Spa takes part also in water safety program for kids in order to minimize drowning incidents in Qatar. The program involves water safety education, how to react for emergency and to raise awareness with the parents for water safety as well,” said Jayaweera.

Jayaweera informed that Sharq Village & Spa is offering Kids Water Open Water Safety training to schools in Doha. This program is launched to mini-mized the water related acci-dents in Qatar.

Swimming experts also will explain ways on how to react during an emergency and to

raise awareness among parents about safe swimming. There will be three contests – one for chil-dren and the remaining two contests, for both men and women, in open category. Par-ticipants may choose to swim a distance of 250m, 500m or 1000m. The first contest is for between the age of 8 to 11.

Parents and swim trainers also took part in the race while others came to support their children, who were contesting in the races. The age of the par-ticipants varied and we’re delighted to say the youngest participant was aged seven,” commented Jayaweera.

Those interested may con-tact Jayaweera for more infor-mation at 4425 6185. It can also be done online at www.six-s e n s e s . c o m / s p a s / d o h a /welcome.

QFA and Mongolian Football Federation sign agreementTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Qatar Football Association (MFF) signed a cooperation agreement yesterday at Al Bidda Tower, Doha, Qatar.

The agreement focuses on various aspects related to football and how to strengthen its role between the two federations to serve the game.

The agreement was signed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the QFA and MFF President, Gan-baatar Amgalanbaatar and attended by Saoud Al Mohannadi, Vice President of the QFA, Mansoor Al Ansari, General Secretary of the QFA, Ali Dawood, Executive Director of the QFA President office, Mushtaq Al Waeli, Executive Director of Strategy and Institutional Development of the QFA, Shijir Ulziikhuu, General Secretary of the MFF, and Enkhjin Batsumber, Mongolia National Team Manager.

The signing of this agreement is an important milestone for the QFA as it is part of its strategy to develop football in Qatar and strengthen its relationship with its’ Asian counterparts.

Signing the agreement showcases both federations’ eagerness to invest in the friendly and bilateral relations between the two countries to further develop football between the two nations.

The agreement focuses on cooperation in several key areas, mainly: technical and professional exchanges, national teams, exchange of expertise (including coach education and youth devel-opment), game development, player development and referee development. It will also focus on the successful and numerous experiences of Qatari football, including Aspire Academy and Aspeter Sports Medicine Hospital.

The Mongolian Football Federation President, Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar said: “I would like to thank Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Qatar Football Asso-ciation for the warm welcome. I am very happy for the signing of the cooperation agreement between the MFF and the QFA and look forward to long-lasting cooperation between the two coun-terparts in the coming period.”

He added: “There is no doubt that Qatar has become a major sports hub in Asia and we are proud to work with a leading fed-eration in the region as such. The cooperation agreement covers all aspects related to football development, and we are very pleased with the content of the agreement, which will allow us to gain the knowledge and expertise developed by the QFA that focuses on topics such as football management, training and education, as well as the use of medical facilities of Aspetar for treatment of our players, and by bringing our talent to train in the Aspire Academy.”

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Qatar Football Association and Qatar Football Association President, Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar sign cooperation agreement towards a better future for football in Doha yesterday

Kvitova leads Czechs into Fed Cup semis

AFP

PARIS: Petra Kvitova led the Czech Republic into a 10th successive Fed Cup semi-final yesterday as Serena Williams was poised to make her long-awaited return to the sport she has dominated.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, playing in her first Fed Cup tie since she was attacked by a knife-wielding burglar at her home in December 2016, eased past Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-4 to give the Czechs an unassailable 3-0 lead over Switzerland in Prague.

Kvitova, 27, had already won her opening singles on Sat-urday, beating Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.

“I’m very happy, I was very calm, relaxed throughout the match. I played a great match, I didn’t lose my serve once,” said Kvitova who announced her return to form with the St Petersburg WTA title last weekend.

“I didn’t expect to stand in for Karolina (Pliskova, down with flu), but it was way above my expectations.” The Czechs, who have won the Fed Cup 10 times, will face either 2017 run-ners-up Belarus at home in April’s semi-finals, or travel to Germany.

In Minsk, the Belarus

against Germany tie was being decided in the doubles after Tatjana Maria downed Vera Lapko 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 and home player Aryna Sabalenka defeated Antonia Lottner 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 to make the score 2-2.

In La Roche sur Yon, the tie between France and Belgium was also going down to the wire after French number one Kris-tina Mladenovic beat Australian Open semi-finalist Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-4 before Alison Van Uytvanck eased past Pauline Parmentier 6-1, 6-3 to pull the hosts level.

Serena Williams is expected to play her first competitive match since winning her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open when she fea-tures in doubles for defending champions United States against the Netherlands.

Williams took a year out to give birth to daughter Alexis Olympia and is expected to play alongside Lauren Davis in the doubles of the tie being played in Asheville, North Carolina.

The US led 2-0 overnight after Venus Williams brushed aside 124th-ranked Arantxa Rus 6-1, 6-4 and CoCo Vandeweghe battled past Richel Hogenkamp 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3. Venus’ win came in her 1,000th career match and her 22nd singles appearance in a tournament she first played in 1999.

Federer chases history in Rotterdam AFP

ROTTERDAM, NETHER-LANDS: Roger Federer (pictured) will target a return to the top of the rankings as the Rotterdam World Tennis tour-nament starts today, with the Swiss aiming to become the oldest number one player in ATP history.

The test begins at the Ahoy stadium when the 36-year-old, who claimed his 20th Grand Slam title a fortnight ago in Mel-bourne, returns to the Dutch port city for the first time since 2013.

Top seed Federer starts in the first round against a quali-fier in an event he has won twice before, lifting the trophy in 2005

and 2012. Should he reach the semi-finals, Federer would pass Rafael Nadal to take over the world’s top ranking.

But his quarter-final oppo-nent could well be long-time friend Stan Wawrinka, seeded fifth as he comes back from 2017 knee surgery.

Federer lies just 155 points behind the injured Nadal in the standings, with a possible 180 points available for making the last four in Rotterdam.

The Swiss would surpass Andre Agassi, who held the top spot in 2003 aged 33 years and 131 days. The evergreen Federer has repeatedly said he has no intention of stopping in the fore-seeable future, but realises that

maintaining his longevity requires his trademark precise planning, of which the decision to compete in Rotterdam is the latest example.

“I’ve won three slams now in 12 months. I can’t believe it myself. I just got to keep a good schedule, stay hungry, then maybe good things can happen.

“I don’t think age is an issue, per se. It’s just a number,” he said after winning the Mel-bourne title for a sixth time.

“But I need to be very careful in my planning, really decide beforehand what are my goals, what are my priorities. I think that’s what’s going to dictate how successful I will be.”

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova celebrates her singles match against Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic during the Fed Cup World Group First Round match against Switzerland at the O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic, yesterday.