NBA Page 7 FOOTBALL Page 5. Dier spurs Thunder. England to race past San. victory over Antonio. Minnows Afghanistan stun West Indies to make history

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1 To Advertise here Call: , NBA Page 7 FOOTBALL Page 5 Westbrook, Dier spurs Thunder England to race past San victory over Antonio Germany Jumada II 19, 1437 AH GULF TIMES SPORT CRICKET Kohli knocks out Australia as India make semis Page 2 CRICKET Minnows Afghanistan stun West Indies to make history Afghanistan had lost all of their previous Super 10 matches, but they have won new admirers in India with their aggressive and carefree brand of cricket that has caused some anxious moments for their opponents Afghanistan s players celebrate after winning the World T20 cricket tournament match against the West Indies at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur yesterday. Nagpur Afghanistan downed the powerful West Indies by six runs in a historic World Twenty20 match yesterday, handing the never-say-die underdogs their first ever Super 10 victory. Afghanstan had failed to qualify for the semi-finals heading into yesterday s match, but were determined to take home a consolation victory against the West Indies, who had already made the final four. After being sent into bat, Asghar Stanikzai s side posted a respectable 123/7, with Najibullah Zadran smashing an unbeaten 48 against the 2012 World T20 champions. The West Indies, who had a perfect record heading into the match with three straight wins, warned that they were not going to let up against Afghanistan. But their run chase got off to a shaky start, with opener Evin Lewis dismissed for a duck, and some excellent Afghanistan spin bowling led by 17-year-old Rashid Khan (2-26) meant the wickets kept falling. With the West Indies needing 10 runs from the final over, Najibullah sprinted several metres along the boundary to take a spectacular, tumbling catch and claim Carlos Braithwaite for 13, just when he looked like bringing the West Indies home, as he had done against South Africa on Friday. Samuel Badree and an injured Andre Fletcher could only manage to push the total to 117 in the three remaining deliveries. Despite the loss, the West Indies still finish top of Group One, and will play either Australia or India, who clash later Sunday in Group Two, in the semi-finals. After being sent in to bat, Najibullah top scored for Afghanistan, striking four fours and one six in his 40-ball knock to bring cheers from the small but vocal crowd. Afghanistan had lost all of their previous Super 10 matches, but they have won new admirers in India with their aggressive and carefree brand of cricket SCORECARD Afghanistan Mohd Shahzad c Benn b Badree Usman Ghani b Badree...4 Asghar Stanikzai c Bravo b Badree Gulbadin Naib c Bravo b Sammy...8 Samiullah Shenwari c Sammy b Benn...1 Najibullah Zadran not out...48 Mohd Nabi c Samuels b Russell... 9 Shafiqullah Shafiq c Fletcher b Russell...4 Rashid Khan not out... 6 Extras (lb 2, w1)...3 Total (7 wickets, 20 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Ghani), 2-33(Shahzad), 3-50 (Stanikzai), 4-52 (Shenwari), 5-56 (Naib), 6-90 (Nabi), (Shafiq) Bowling: Russell , Badree , Brathwaite , Benn , Bravo , Sammy West Indies Johnson Charles b Hassan...22 Evin Lewis c Khan b Hamza...0 Andre Fletcher not out...11 Marlon Samuels b Khan...5 Denesh Ramdin st Shahzad b Khan...18 Dwayne Bravo lbw b Nabi...28 Andre Russell run out...7 Darren Sammy c Shenwari b Naib... 6 Carlos Braithwaite c Zadran b Nabi...13 Samuel Badree not out...2 Extras (lb 1, w 2, nb 2)...5 Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Lewis), 2-33 (Charles), 2-34 (Fletcher rtd not out), 3-38 (Samuels), 4-79 (Bravo), 5-89 (Ramdin), 6-98 (Russell), (Sammy), (Braithwaite) Bowling: Hamza , Nabi , Hassan , Khan , Shenwari , Naib Result: Afghanistan won by six runs that has caused some anxious moments for their opponents. Opener Mohammad Shahzad made a confident 24, but was caught off legspinner Badree, trying to heave over the infield, just as he was looking exciting. Asghar Stanikzai also made a handy 16. The skipper shuffled down the wicket to smash a six over long on, but was caught the next ball by Dwayne Bravo off Badree attempting the same shot. BOTTOMLINE Al Rayyan Stadium passes safety milestone By Sports Reporter Doha Al Rayyan Stadium has passed a major safety milestone as it completed 1.3 million man hours without Lost Time Incident (LTI), an industry standard for work completed without accidents. This milestone for the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) came as work continues to progress on the new home of Qatar Stars League champions Al Rayyan, set for completion in Al Rayyan Stadium is a proposed host venue for matches up to the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. The milestone of 1.3 million man hours without Lost Time Incident is very important to us, as we have very stringent site security and rules in place, said Abdulla al-fehani, SC Al Rayyan Project Manager. Safety is always our top priority and we are constantly working to make sure that the highest safety and security practices are in place for any task that is carried out on site. We aim to eventually leave a lasting legacy of safety practices in people s daily lives. The milestone was marked recently with an awards ceremony which featured construction workers from the companies and contractors involved in the SC project, including Bin Omran, Nakheel, Ramboll, Manco International and AECOM. Safety days and awards ceremonies are held on a regular basis across all SC project sites as a top priority is placed on ensuring a safe and secure working environment for all those building the stadiums and facilities for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. Children visit Khalifa Stadium For a former Qatar national team player and a group of 25 children from a local primary school, an excursion to the accommodation of construction workers of the Khalifa International Adel Lamy interacting with schoolchildren at the Khalifa Stadium. Stadium was a special opportunity to express their gratitude to those helping to build the country s future. The school visit facilitated by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) took place recently at the accommodation of MIDMAC company construction workers. This is a fantastic initiative by these kids to meet and thank the workers for their efforts, former Qatar national team player Adel Lamy told www. sc.qa. These kids are the country s future as footballers and citizens. And they are sending a message that labour is appreciated and rewarded. They are saying that no job is small and insignificant and that the workers are doing something really huge for them. The 25 children, aged 9 and 10, were from the Saad Bin Abi Waqas Independent School for Boys, and were visibly excited as they headed to the workers accommodation in their school bus. On the way to the accommodation, three of the school children said that their aspiration was to represent their country in the world s greatest sporting event in And all of them unequivocally stated their objective was to personally thank the people building the venues of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. Safety days and awards ceremonies are held on a regular basis across all SC project sites as a top priority is placed on ensuring a safe and secure working environment for all those building the stadiums and facilities for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar We will tell them of our gratitude for their efforts to give their children back home a better life, and to provide us with a fantastic stadium, said Abdulrahman Mohammed Riaz. In addition to meeting the workers, playing football and volleyball, the children also delivered self-made personalised thank you cards. This is one of the best gifts I have ever received, said Gardev Singh, a 50-year-old construction worker from India. We know the value of making things with our hands.

2 2 CRICKET SPOTLIGHT Brilliant Kohli takes India into CONFIDENT Amla insists current SA stars can still win a global title World T20 semis Star batsman Virat Kohli s powerful 51-ball 82 propels India to a thrilling six-wicket victory as they successfully chase down Australia s with five balls to spare India s Virat Kohli celebrates after victory in the World T20 cricket tournament match between India and Australia at The Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. Mohali India qualified for the World Twenty20 semi-finals and knocked out Australia after Virat Kohli smashed an unbeaten 82 in their do-or-die showdown in Mohali yesterday. Kohli s powerful 51-ball knock propelled India to a six-wicket victory, as they successfully chased down Australia s to keep their dreams alive of becoming the first nation to win two World T20 titles. India, who won the inaugural tournament in 2007, now face the West Indies in the semi-finals in Mumbai on Thursday after finishing second in the Super 10 group stage. But Australia s hopes of winning their first ever World T20 trophy are once again in tatters, with the top-ranked Test side now bowing out of the tournament. New Zealand play England in the other semi-final on Wednesday in New Delhi. Chasing Australia s challenging total, BOTTOMLINE India had looked down and out at 94-4 but Kohli and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (18 not out) put on 67 runs to take the team to the finish line. The 27-year-old Kohli planned his knock to perfection, mixing caution with aggression to smash two sixes and nine fours in a pressure-cooker atmosphere at the packed Punjab Cricket Association ground. Dhoni, who effected three dismissals, hit the winning four with five balls to spare to trigger wild celebrations in the stands. WATSON GETS A SAD GOODBYE Shane Watson s international career ended in disappointment although the retiring all-rounder did well to grab two key wickets and a spectacular running catch. India suffered early setbacks in their chase, with openers Shikhar Dhawan (13) and Rohit Sharma (12) cooling their heels in the dressing room with 37 runs on the board. Watson proved his worth with the ball, accounting for Dhawan and Suresh Raina in consecutive overs. Yuvraj Singh, who had to get his ankle strapped after pulling a muscle, made a valiant 21. Earlier, opener Aaron Finch shared 54 runs for the opening wicket with Usman Khawaja to give Australia a flying start after Steven Smith won the toss and elected to bat. Khawaja, enjoying a purple patch with the bat, smashed rookie fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for four boundaries in the second over of the innings. Finch matched his opening partner in aggression, carting off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for two sixes on the trot as the Aussies raced to 50 runs inside just four overs. The early onslaught stunned the Indian crowd, which only came to life when Ashish Nehra got rid of the dangerous Khawaja for 26 off 16 balls. Ashwin gave India the second breakthrough by having David Warner stumped, and in the process he became the first Indian and 12th player in the world to grab 50 wickets in T20 internationals. Part-time bowler Yuvraj got rid of Smith for two, before Hardik Pandya dismissed Finch to reduce Australia to Bumrah clipped the stumps of Glenn Maxwell who made 31 off 28 balls, capping a fine turnaround for the bowler after he was whacked for 17 runs in his first over. Watson remained not out on 18 while Peter Nevill took 10 runs from the final two balls. Nehra was the standout bowler for India, giving away 20 runs while picking the key wicket of Khawaja. Stanikzai hails historic victory Nagpur Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai hailed his underdog side after their historic six-run victory over the powerful West Indies at the World Twenty20 match in Nagpur yesterday. Afghanistan had failed to qualify for the semi-finals heading into Sunday s match, but were determined to take home a consolation victory against the West Indies, who had already made the final four. Stanikzai paid credit to his never-say-die charges especially batsman Najibullah Zadran, named man-of-the-match, after Afghanistan notched up their first ever Super 10 victory at a World T20. Stanikzai said his side, who had lost three straight group stage matches, had learnt so much at the T20 and would now head home and work on our weaknesses. Afghanistan bowler Gulbadin Naib (L) celebrates after taking the wicket of West Indies s batsman Darren Sammy yesterday. We knew the conditions but the bowlers and fielders played very well. We know about our team s strengths, we have experienced so much at this WT20. After being sent into bat, Stanikzai s side posted a respectable 123/7, with Najibullah smashing an unbeaten 48 against the 2012 World T20 champions. The West Indies, who had a Semi-final Fixtures perfect record heading into the match with three straight wins, warned that they were not going to let up against Afghanistan. But their run chase got off to a shaky start, with opener Evin Lewis dismissed for a duck, and some excellent Afghanistan spin bowling led by 17-year-old Rashid Khan (2-26) meant the wickets kept falling. Wednesday At New Delhi England v New Zealand (4:30pm) Thursday At Mumbai West Indies v India (4:30pm) With the West Indies needing 10 runs from the final over, Najibullah sprinted several metres along the boundary to take a spectacular, tumbling catch and claim Carlos Braithwaite for 13, just when he looked like bringing the West Indies home, as he had done against South Africa on Friday. Samuel Badree and an injured Andre Fletcher could only manage to push the total to 117 in the three remaining deliveries. Despite the loss, the West Indies still finished top of Group One, and will play Indiain Group Two, in the semi-finals. Captain Darren Sammy said the loss would not derail his side s campaign for the title, describing the loss as a banana skid on the road to the finals. Obviously we are disappointed but we are not going to let this dampen our spirits, we played well, we just need to find a way to chase down those small totals, he said. We have two more steps to take, and we just had a slight banana skid in the race, and we just have to regroup Scoreboard AUSTRALIA: Usman Khawaja c Dhoni b Nehra Aaron Finch c Dhawan b Pandya David Warner st Dhoni b Ashwin...6 Steve Smith c Dhoni b Singh... 2 Glenn Maxwell b Bumrah Shane Watson not out James Faulkner c Kohli b Pandya...10 Peter Nevill not out...10 Extras: (lb2, w11, nb1) Total: (6 wickets, 20 overs) Did not bat: Adam Zampa, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood Fall of wickets: 1-54 (Khawaja), 2-72 (Warner), 3-74 (Smith), (Finch), (Maxwell), (Faulkner) Bowling: Nehra , Bumrah , Ashwin, , Jadeja , Singh , Pandya INDIA: Rohit Sharma b Watson... 2 S Dhawan c Khawaja b Coulter-Nile...13 Virat Kohli not out Suresh Raina c Nevill b Watson...10 Yuvraj Singh c Watson b Faulkner Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out Extras: (lb3, w2)... 5 Total: (4 wickets; 19.1 overs) Did not bat: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Dhawan), 2-37 (Sharma), 3-49 (Raina), 4-94 (Singh) Bowling: Hazlewood , Coulter-Nile , Watson , Faulkner , Maxwell , Zampa and come back again. After being sent in to bat, Najibullah top scored for Afghanistan, striking four fours and one six in his 40-ball knock to bring cheers from the small but vocal crowd. Afghanistan had lost all of their previous Super 10 matches, but they have won new admirers in India with their aggressive and carefree brand of cricket that has caused some anxious moments for their opponents. Opener Mohammad Shahzad made a confident 24, but was caught off leg-spinner Badree, trying to heave over the infield, just as he was looking exciting. Asghar Stanikzai also made a handy 16. The skipper shuffled down the wicket to smash a six over long on, but was caught the next ball by Dwayne Bravo off Badree attempting the same shot. As the wickets started to tumble thanks to some strong fielding, 23-year-old Najibullah held his nerve, guiding Afghanistan past the 120 mark and to what proved a winning total. South Africa s Hashim Amla (C) during a training session. New Delhi South Africa batsman Hashim Amla insisted his team s World Cup dream lives on, saying the top Proteas stars are still hoping for glory in the near future. Apart from their Champions Trophy triumph in 1998, South Africa have never won a major International Cricket Council event since their post-apartheid return in Faf du Plessis side have already exited the World Twenty20, even before their final group game against Sri Lanka on Monday, their World Cup jinx striking again. Well listen, this team will win a World Cup or ICC tournament at some stage, I think we have won one in 1998, Amla told reporters at New Delhi s Feroz Shah Kotla. South Africa haven t enjoyed much success of late, with a T20 series loss against Australia heading into the world event, where the side have lost two of their three matches so far. It s an unfortunate situation that we have found ourselves in. Certainly as a team we haven t played our best cricket, admitted Amla. With Amla, AB de VIlliers and WOMEN England, West Indies take semi-final spots Asian rivals India and Pakistan knocked out; England captain Edwards becomes first woman to score 2,500 T20I runs Agencies Chennai Charlotte Edwards became the first woman to surpass 2,500 runs in the shortest format of the game as England topped Group B with a 68-run rout of Pakistan in the ICC Women s World Twenty yesterday. The England captain hit an unbeaten 77 to lift her team to 148 for five after electing to bat, before Pakistan were shot out for 80 in a one-sided contest in Chennai. West Indies also moved into the semi-finals from the same group with a thrilling three-run victory in Mohali that knocked host India out of the tournament. England, winner of the inaugural edition in 2009 and runner-up to Australia in 2012 and 2014, topped the group with eight points. The West Indies finished second on six points. England will face three-time defending champion Australia in a mouth-watering semi-final at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground in Delhi on Wednesday, 30 March. The match will be played ahead of men s semi-final between New Zealand and England, and will start at 14h30. Group A winner New Zealand will clash with the West Indies in the second semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday. Deandra Dottin starred with both bat and ball as the West Indies, restricted to 114 for eight after being sent in to bat on a sluggish pitch, hit back to keep India down to 111 for nine. West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor led from the front with 47 off 45 balls after her team was reduced to 26 for three in seven overs. Dottin chipped in with a 40-ball 45 after sharing a 77-run stand with Taylor. Harmanpreet Kaur claimed four wickets for 23 runs, three of them in the final over, and Anuja Patil finished with three for 16. Dale Steyn, the Proteas have seen the golden generation fail to claim a global title. Amla assures the big boys will hang around for a while. Lot of us feel we have a few more years left in us, so the Champions Trophy is next year and it would be great if we could make to the next World Cup, that will be ideal, said Amla. We take it as it comes. As long as you are fit and healthy, scoring runs and the form is good and you want to perform for the team then you can make it, he added. With the chokers tag hanging around their necks after a series of narrow defeats in the last two decades, South Africa didn t do their reputation any good after going down in crunch games this time around. The Proteas hopes of clinching a first international trophy were dented in their opening match, when England chased down a record 230 runs to win. They survived a scare to beat minnows Afghanistan by 37 runs, but lost a thriller when the West Indies successfully chased 123 with just two balls to spare, and Sri Lanka s defeat to England on Saturday sealed their fate. We haven t had a game where our batting and our bowling has clicked in the same game consistently enough and that has been our biggest downfall, Amla said. Useful contributions from Patil (26), Jhulan Goswami (25) and Smiriti Mandhana (22) left India needing 10 runs with four wickets in hand in the final over that was given to Dottin. The 24-year-old from Barbados yorked Ekta Bisht with the first delivery, ran out Shikha Pandey fourth ball and then had Sushma Yadav caught at mid-off with the fifth with India managing just six runs in the over. Taylor praised Dottin for her all-round prowess, saying she was delighted to pull off a good win. My partnership with Dottin was crucial after we lost those early wickets, but having ended up with 114 we knew we had to bowl tight, said Taylor. The important thing was not to allow India to get away in the first six overs and we managed to pull back well. Indian captain Mithali Raj rued the narrow defeats in the last three matches against Pakistan, England and the West Indies, but said the experience will stand her team in good stead. Though we could not make it to the semi-finals, I am proud of the way the girls played the last three games where there were challenges each time, she said. In Chennai, the 36-year-old Edwards played a captain s knock for England, reaching the 2,500- run mark when she made three. Edwards said that she was more pleased with the team s victory than her own personal milestone. The main aim, of course, was to win the match and confirm a semi-final place, the England captain said. But more importantly, the way we played today... our batting and bowling was clinical. Pakistan captain Sana Mir revealed she was giving up the leadership of the T20I team. This was my last game as T20 captain, she said. I am happy with the way the girls fought during the tournament because we came close to qualifying for the semi-finals. The support we have got in India has been very good. On behalf of the Pakistan team I would like to thank everyone for making our stay so enjoyable.

3 CRICKET 3 SPOTLIGHT Happy dressing room as flawless Kiwis march on As the tournament has gone on, we are winning those crucial moments and putting pressure on opponents. Still a long way to go but it s a pretty happy dressing room... New Delhi Unsung New Zealand have begun to emerge from Brendon McCullum s shadow and are revelling in their success over cricket s big guns, according to veteran Ross Taylor. After they cruised through the group stages of the World Twenty20 in India, winning all four matches, the spotlight is beginning to be shone on a team that is largely devoid of household names. While pre-tournament favourites India and World Cup holders Australia have put in nervy performances, New Zealand have appeared serene even when defending modest totals. After McCullum s retirement on the eve of the tournament, few observers gave the Black Caps much hope in India but their unblemished group stage record has prompted a rethink. Taylor, himself a former captain who was replaced as skipper by McCullum, said the New Zealand dressing room was a happy place to be these days, with players comfortable in their roles. As the tournament has gone on, we are winning those crucial moments and putting pressure on opponents, the 32-year-old told reporters after Saturday s 75-run victory over Bangladesh. Still a long way to go but it s a pretty happy dressing room and obviously we re now looking forward to the final, er, the semi-final, he added to laughter from the assembled reporters. New Zealand s next assignment is that semi-final, in New Delhi on Wednesday, when they are likely to play England. The World T20 final is in Kolkata next Sunday. Taylor admitted New Zealand had been lucky to have won every toss but said the team s unheralded spinners deserved praise for taking advantage of the conditions. FICKLE GAME Twenty20 is a very fickle game and all it takes is a world-class batsman to take it away from you. But the bowlers have to take a lot of credit for the way this team has gone so far in this tournament, he said. We don t want to get too carried away but you have got to enjoy the success of everyone and every bowler has played their part. Mitchell Santner, who has been playing international cricket for less than a year, is the top wicket-taker in the group BOTTOMLINE stages with nine scalps while fellow spinner Ish Sodhi has eight. Their performances have meant pacemen Trent Boult and Tim Southee, New Zealand s premier bowlers in Test cricket, have been kicking their heels on the bench. But Taylor said everyone had bought into the philosophy of playing horses for courses and the selections showed the strength in depth of one of the smallest Test-playing nation. Over the last few years we ve had some pretty good depth in our cricket, he said. Obviously losing Brendon was a big thing at the top of the order but it just shows you the depth of the New Zealand side at the moment and the confidence that it has that whichever eleven go out onto the field are very comfortable in their roles and confident of doing a job for the team. Taylor said captain Kane Williamson, who has gone up the order to open in the T20s, was growing into his new leadership role, partly by absorbing lessons learnt from playing under the famously swashbuckling McCullum. Any time you have an influential captain, there s still going to be a period where his influence is still in, said Taylor. But I think Kane has come a long way and over the next few years he ll develop his own style and I think he already is. There is a little bit of learning from what Brendon did but also doing his own thing as well. I m sure in a few years time we will talking about Kane Williamson as a very good captain as we talk about Brendon as well. Mathews exits World Twenty20 as Sri Lanka s tragic hero Reuters New Delhi Hamstrung, running out of partners and his team s title defence at stake the stage was set for Angelo Mathews to emerge from the Saturday night drizzle and enter Twenty20 folklore but the Sri Lankan captain fell agonisingly short. At 15-4, after England had set them a 172-run victory target in the World Twenty20 match, Sri Lanka s title defence looked all but over inside three overs. Their skipper then engineered a stunning recovery in the tournament s most portentous contest that was key to the semi-final hopes of three teams, including South Africa. But the lion-hearted effort took its toll on his hamstring and Mathews was clearly struggling when he took guard for the final over from Ben Stokes 15 runs separating him from Twenty20 greatness and his team from a place in the last four. As a mild drizzle fell on the File picture of New Zealand s Ross Taylor playing a shot during the World T20 match against Bangladesh. File picture of Sri Lanka s captain Angelo Mathews playing a shot. Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Stokes charged in with a ball in hand and ice in veins to thwart Mathews audacious bid to pull off a heist. Mathews bashed the first delivery to cover and declined a single. Stokes replied with a yorker which Mathews dug out for two runs and two more came Twenty20 is a very fickle game and all it takes is a world-class batsman to take it away from you. But the bowlers have to take a lot of credit for the way this team has gone so far in this tournament, he said in the next delivery when Adil Rashid nearly grabbed his scoop shot at short fine leg. Stokes sealed the contest with three successive dot balls. A dejected Mathews hurled his bat on the turf, his unbeaten 73 doing little more than burnishing his personal reputations. We were just short of a batter in the last couple of overs, the all-rounder rued, confessing they did not deserve to be in the semi-finals. Outside their ardent fans, not many expected them to reach the last four either. Sri Lanka suffered a jolt even before kicking off their title defence with Lasith Malinga handing over the captaincy to Mathews following a slow recovery from a knee injury, which would subsequently rule him out of the tournament. It was a big blow for us, Mathews said of the paceman, who has been instrumental in Sri Lanka s progress to three World Twenty20 finals over the last four editions. He has won us so many games but he had to pull out at the last moment. It was a big blow for the whole team. TRICKY TRANSITION A depleted pace attack put the pressure on their spinners and Rangana Herath was not the force that many expected him to be in a spin-dominated tournament. A misfiring batting order added to the problems for Sri Lanka, who conclude their campaign with Monday s inconsequential group match against South Africa. Their early exit, on the back of a poor Asia Cup, suggests Sri Lanka still remain in the throes of a tricky transition since the retirements of stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene two years ago. Mathews knows the reality and urged for patience. It has been a disappointing few months for all of us. We let down the fans, we let down the whole country, he said. All we can do is stick to one combination, not try and change the team too much. Quick decisions won t solve this matter, we got to try and be patient. IMPRESSED McMillan heaps praise on versatile Kiwi batsmen Reuters Kolkata New Zealand s impressive bowling and fielding in their unbeaten run at the World Twenty20 has captured the attention, yet batting coach Craig McMillan has been most impressed with his side s adaptability when building totals. Having won all four tosses, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has chosen to bat first in each of their games on surfaces that have all differed in pace, bounce and turn. Their bowlers have then exploited the slow, turning wickets to ensure they won their pool and advanced to a semi-final against either England or West Indies in New Delhi on Wednesday. That has been one of the strengths of the guys. They have adjusted really quickly, McMillan said of the batters. It hasn t been the wham, bam...sort of way that T20 cricket has been. They have had to assess it... and have done a really good job of putting the runs on the board to give the bowlers something to work with. That approach was none more evident than Colin Munro s in- England opener Jason Roy and fast bowler David Willey have been fined at the World Twenty20 after emotions spilled over during their win over Sri Lanka on Saturday. Both players gave solid performances during England s nailbiting 10-run victory over Sri Lanka in New Delhi to secure a place in the semi-finals. But Roy was fined 30 percent of his match fee for swearing and then throwing his bat and helmet upon leaving the field, after being given out lbw for 42 off 39 balls. The International Cricket Council said yesterday that Roy had shown dissent at an umpire s decision during an international match. Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza yesterday blamed the ICC s suspension of two of its key bowlers for illegal actions for his side s exit from the World Twenty 20. Bangladesh were bundled out of the tournament after four straight losses in the Super 10 group stage including a crushing 75-run defeat to New Zealand on Saturday. But Mortaza said they were hobbled by the International Cricket Council s (ICC) decision to bar key pacemen Taskin Ahmed and left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny early in the group stages. Bangladesh, whose side finished runners-up to India in the Asia Cup just before the World T20, made a failed frantic appeal to the ICC to have Taskin s suspension overturned. In the last eight matches, Taskin s economy rate was nings on Saturday against Bangladesh. The burly left-hander has a career strike rate in excess of 145 in the shortest form of the game, but tempered his stroke making on the slow Eden Gardens pitch. Munro scored 35 from 33 balls but hit only two sixes and one boundary along with 17 singles in his innings, with his scoring shots mostly concentrated between mid-on and mid-wicket. Williamson s man-of-thematch 42 from 32 balls was also restrained though his characteristic cover-drives brought four of his five boundaries as New Zealand scored in their 20 overs. Their bowlers, like they had against India in their opening game at Nagpur, then mixed their pace and strangled Bangladesh s run chase, eventually dismissing them for 70 in the 16th over. McMillan said he felt the score had been crucial in enabling the bowlers to put pressure on Bangladesh, something that had been evident throughout the tournament. I thought the total we got was just above par, McMillan said. That has been one of the strengths throughout the tournament, we have faced different conditions and managed to get a total just above par every time. England s Roy, Willey fined as emotions spill over at T20 Sri Lanka s press yesterday called for fresh blood in the national cricket side after the reigning champions crashed out of the World Twenty20 at the group stages. Sri Lanka suffered a narrow 10-run defeat to England on Saturday, with the 2014 trophy winners being bundled out of the tournament after a disastrous showing at the recent Asia Cup. The local Sunday Times blamed a selection crisis on the eve of the tournament for Sri Lanka s poor performance, which also saw them badly beaten by the West Indies and scrape home against minnows Afghanistan. Sri Lanka s national selectors were sacked and the new panel, headed by former skipper Aravinda de Silva, stood down injured captain Lasith Malinga shortly before they left for India. Willey, meanwhile, who took 2-26, was fined 15 percent of his fee after giving a colourful send-off to Milinda Siriwardana when the Sri Lankan was dismissed immediately after hitting the seamer for six. The ICC said he breached the code of conduct for actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman on their dismissal. Both players admitted the offences during a meeting with match referee Jeff Crowe, the ICC said in a statement. England will face New Zealand in a semi-final in Delhi on Wednesday, with the West Indies having already qualified from their group. Skipper Mortaza blames ICC ban for Bangladesh T20 exit the best in the world. So it was always difficult to lose him, Mortaza said at Dhaka airport after returning home. The way he was bowling, we had our plan set around him. We had to change the entire game plan. Before the Australia game when he was banned we could not hold our emotions due to this shock. We accepted that Sunny s action has problems. Even Sunny himself accepted it. But Taskin s ban was a complete shock for us, he said. Bangladesh qualified for the group stages after commanding wins over the Netherlands and Oman, and Mortaza said the tournament had been a good learning experience. From now on, whoever we face, if we don t keep making small mistakes, it will not be easy to beat us. This is what I believe. We could not do this in Twenty20 in the past. Sri Lanka press urges fresh blood after team crashes out of World T20 Where on earth would you find the selected squad changed just hours before its departure to an all important tournament? the paper quoted an unnamed former player as saying. This I believe had a huge impact on our performance. The paper warned Sri Lanka could not make an impact at international level with the current team, which have been unable to fill the void left by retiring greats Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene....one believes turning the tide with the current crop of players seems almost impossible, it said, adding that selectors should replace the misfiring cricketers with new blood to inject life back into the game. Now to see what happens.

4 4 FOOTBALL RACE AGAINST TIME Rooney faces battle to regain spot in Euro team Reuters London Outstanding performances by three attacking players in England s 3-2 comeback win over Germany on Saturday has sparked renewed debate about where injured captain Wayne Rooney fits in for the Euro 2016 finals. After Roy Hodgson s team fell 2-0 behind to the world champions in Berlin, the Premier League s two leading scorers this season, Tottenham Hotspur s Harry Kane and Leicester City s Jamie Vardy, brought England level with superb goals. Many observers, including Germany s former World Cup-winning captain Lothar Matthaeus, made teenager Dele Alli the man of the match in what Hodgson called his best night as England manager. Alli, 19, played in the No.10 role just behind the main striker, which is arguably Rooney s most effective position. When playing as a lone striker, the Manchester United captain has often looked isolated and become frustrated by a lack of involvement, tending to drop too deep to seek the ball. Before injuring a knee against Sunderland on Feb. 13 Rooney was on a good run, but still has only seven league goals this season like Alli compared to Kane s 21 and Vardy s 19. I am a big fan of Wayne Rooney, but today we didn t miss him in the game, Matthaeus said during live television coverage. Geoff Hurst, whose hat-trick won England the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany, believes Vardy could be a surprise package in the European Championship finals in France. He s come from nowhere, a very good level-headed guy who s very sensible, very intelligent, Hurst told the BBC yesterday. Either Harry Kane or Vardy definitely deserve their place with the season they ve had. And Alli has made an impact not just at club level but in internationals. Under-achievers at recent international tournaments, England have often been criticised for taking players who were not 100 per cent fit including Rooney at the 2006 World Cup. Trevor Brooking, the FA s director of football development from , told the BBC the most important thing for Rooney was to be fully fit this time. The starting point is get himself fit because he s not an automatic choice to come back in, with the side as they have done without him, he said. He s not quite cracked tournaments for England. You ve got three warm-up games in May and June and Wayne s got to prove he s worth his place, added Brooking. It s very tempting to have Kane and Alli as automatic choices if they stay fit and continue playing like they are. Then you ve got the option to bring Jamie Vardy on. With 51 international goals, Rooney is England s record scorer and his 109 appearances make him the country s fourth most capped player. Solutions to the selection dilemma could include playing him on the left of the midfield three, where he has sometimes operated for United, or dropping Alli deeper, which might limit the Tottenham man s effectiveness. Suddenly, however, the prospect of Rooney catching Steven Gerrard (114 caps) and David Beckham (115), let alone goalkeeper Peter Shilton (125) looks less than a formality. SPOTLIGHT New England offer hope after years of disappointment England team has underachieved for years but a new generation is showing promise and a nation could be daring to dream once more ahead of Euro 2016 in France Eric Dier celebrates after scoring the third goal for England in their 3-2 win over world champions Germany in a friendly in Berlin on Saturday night. (Action Images via Reuters) Coach Hodgson stays humble, as Kane hails special night Berlin Roy Hodgson (pic below) insists England are still a work in progress, but goal-scorer Harry Kane hailed a special night after the Three Lions stunning 3-2 fightback win away to Germany. Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez had put the world champions 2-0 up at Berlin s Olympic Stadium on Saturday with an hour gone before the game turned England s way. The Three Lions roared back with three unanswered goals from Kane and Jamie Vardy, then Eric Dier headed the winner on 91 minutes to stun the World Cup winners. It s important to remain humble in these moments. We have an awful long way to go before we can claim to be like the Germans, after what they have achieved in the last few years, said England manager Hodgson. But it was a good performance and we can take a lot of pride and encouragement from it. It was good to see the players play their way back into the game. It showed character to come from 2-0 down. What pleased me most was quality in our passing and movement, we ended up scoring three goals from an awful lot of chances. I am pleased to have been able to pick up from where we left off in November having played well against France. Nevertheless, Hodgson conceded this was his best night so far with England since taking charge in May England s goal-scorer Kane was thrilled to have beaten the world champions in Berlin. It s a special night. When you re 2-0 down to the world champions, to then turn it around in their backyard shows character, said the Tottenham Hotspur striker. We dug in and got the goals. It will be a night many of us won t forget. You dream about scoring against teams like Germany on the big stage, but to have gone and won makes it all the more special. We have a great mentality about us, we never stopped playing and things were working. It was about staying focused, not just kicking long balls, and staying patient enough to wait for our chances. Hodgson played down expectations on England, who host the Netherlands on Tuesday, before their opening Euro 2016 match against Russia, having also drawn Wales and Slovakia in Group B. But he was pleased with the performances of inexperienced wingbacks Danny Rose, who was making his debut, and Nathaniel Clyne, who won his 10th cap. The result won t do any harm, but it s a friendly match and you have to be careful of attaching too much importance to it, he said. I m pleased with the progress the young lads are making. It was a good step forward in terms of the work we are doing, but there is an awful lot we can still do better. We still have four more friendlies and two months of work before we play the first game which will count which is the group game against Russia in Marseille. Jamie (Vardy) and Harry Kane have had wonderful seasons with their clubs and are playing with confidence. But Clyne and Danny Rose are also playing with a degree of confidence. I ve felt for a while that this is the start of something. Let s keep these players feet on the ground and more importantly, I want them to stay hungry to learn. DPA London Optimism is a dangerous word when it comes to the England national team with years of disappointments still fresh in the memory. But their 3-2 win over world champions Germany in Berlin on Saturday has breathed new life into a team used to the hype of expectation and the pain of failure on the world stage. Hope should be tempered by the fact that it was only a friendly but England played with a real freshness which can only bode well for the future. Bookmakers reacted by slicing a fraction of England s price to win this summer s Euro 2016 in France. That might be far-fetched, given England s abject record in the European Championships, with just one semi-final in 1996 to show for their efforts since But in Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Eric Dier, who scored their goals in Berlin as they came from 2-0 down, and the likes of Dele Alli in midfield, England have enough players unscarred by previous failures to believe they can make their mark in France. Kane, who set England on the comeback path with their opening goal, described it as a great night for England. 2-0 down against the world champions and coming back shows what kind of a team we are, he said. Their next assignment is a friendly at Wembley on Tuesday against the Netherlands, who failed to qualify for this summer s finals. We just need to keep doing what we are doing, there s another important game on Tuesday and we go from there, Kane said. We played brilliantly and I thought we fully deserved the win. We had a lot of chances and on another day we probably could have scored a few more. Kane and Vardy, the Premier League s two leading scorers this season, showed critics they could yet be the striking pair come the summer. Tottenham s Kane scored England s first and Leicester s Vardy, on as a second-half substitute, levelled with a neat flick before Dier headed the winner. When you start off as sub you want to come and try and make an impact if possible, Vardy said. I have done that in the first few touches and we have gone on to win the game. I just wanted to get across the near post and get something on it, I tried the little backheel and luckily it has come off. Hodgson refused to get carried away with the result but was understandably delighted with what he saw. You don t beat Germany every day, he said. It was a good follow up from the performance against France. Albeit that was a few months ago, but I thought we picked up from where we left off. At half-time it was very unjust we came in 1-0 down. To go 2-0 down was even more unfair but to come back and score three goals is tremendous and the players will take enormous heart from that. Hodgson will use Tuesday s game to test out a few more combinations but will be without goalkeeper Jack Butland, who went off injured in the first half against Germany. It s an ankle injury but we don t know the extent, Hodgson told reporters. When you re talking about ligaments, there s always some kind of worry but we ll assess him. With number one Joe Hart missing the game through injury, Fraser Forster, who came on against Germany, is likely to start against the Dutch.

5 FOOTBALL 5 ROUND-UP Dier spurs England to German victory; Russia, Poland win We played brilliant today. I thought we fully deserved the win. We had a lot of chances that on another day we probably could have scored two more. We re all buzzing. We never gave in London Eric Dier scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner as England rallied from two goals down to stun world champions Germany 3-2 in Saturday s international friendly in Berlin. Elsewhere, Russia and Poland stepped up their preparations for Euro 2016 with thumping victories over Lithuania and Finland, while Austria overcame tournament newcomers Albania 2-1. In Berlin, a minute s silence was observed in memory of the victims of the Brussels terror attacks, with both sets of players wearing black armbands in honour of Dutch great Johan Cruyff who passed away on Thursday at the age of 68. Toni Kroos gave Joachim Loew s men a 43rd-minute lead at the Olympic Stadium with a crisp leftfooted drive that beat Jack Butland, who was then immediately stretchered off with a leg injury, at his near post. After seeing a first-half effort incorrectly ruled out for offside, Mario Gomez doubled Germany s advantage on 57 minutes by heading home a Sami Khedira cross for his first international goal in almost four years. But Harry Kane halved the deficit four minutes later as the Tottenham striker produced a piece of skill befitting the late Cruyff to fire beyond a helpless Manuel Neuer. Substitute Jamie Vardy made an immediate impact after replacing Danny Welbeck, with the Leicester City forward superbly flicking home Nathaniel Clyne s right-wing cross on 74 minutes. England should have gone ahead after Vardy pounced on a loose pass inside the Germany area, only for Dele Alli to blaze over with the goal gaping. But Dier ensured Roy Hodgson s side weren t left to rue that miss as the Tottenham midfielder powered home a header from Jordan Henderson s corner in the 91st minute to complete a remarkable turnaround. We played brilliant today. I thought we fully deserved the win, Kane told ITV. We had a lot of chances that on another day we probably could have scored two more. We re all buzzing. We never gave in and what a night. Asked about the result raising expectation levels in France, Kane replied: Everyone needs to stay calm, it s a friendly. It s a great night for England, it s a great night for our nation. 2-0 down away from home to the world champions and coming back shows what kind of team we are. We just need to keep doing what we re doing, another important game on Tuesday (against the Netherlands) and we ll go from there. Earlier Russia, who will face England in their opening match of the European Championship, cruised to a 3-0 victory over Lithuania in Moscow with goals from Fedor Smolov, Aleksandr Golovin and Denis Glushakov. Poland have again been drawn alongside title frontrunners Germany at this summer s finals, having already faced them in qualifying, and strolled to a morale-boosting 5-0 demolition of Finland in Wroclaw. Rennes midfielder Kamil Grosicki and Verona winger Pawel Wszolek both netted twice apiece with Filip Starzynski also on target as star striker Robert Lewandowski came on for the final 27 minutes. Austria co-hosted the 2008 finals with Switzerland and booked their place at this year s edition after dropping just two points during qualifying in a group that also featured Sweden and Russia. In Vienna, Marcel Koller s side England players celebrate their 3-2 friendly win over world champions Germany in Berlin on Saturday night. (Action Images via Reuters) defeated an Albania team heading to their first major tournament courtesy of early strikes from Marc Janko and Martin Harnik, with Ermir Lenjani pulling one back for the visitors. Hungary will also travel to France in June after a 30-year finals absence, and Balazs Dzsudzsak struck 11 minutes from time in Budapest to cancel out Mario Mandzukic s first-half opener in a 1-1 draw with Croatia. Crowd trouble mars CAN qualifier in Kenya The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Kenya and Guinea-Bissau was held up just before full-time due to chaotic scenes at the Nyayo National Stadium yesterday. Guinea-Bissau were leading 1-0 in the 83rd minute when crowd trouble forced play to be stopped. Angry Kenyan fans threw missiles onto the pitch after the goal scored by Sanchez Semedo was flagged off by assistant referee Edgar Rumeki, who later allowed it to stand. Players from both sides were forced to leave the ground after the incensed fans invaded the pitch, throwing flares and fireworks. One fan was seen ripping out a corner flag before disappearing into the crowd. Riot police were forced to fire tear gas and use water cannons to disperse the crowd and restore order before the match was allowed to resume for the final five minutes. Kenya are likely to be heavily punished by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a result of the incident. Kenya, who suffered a 1-0 loss in the first meeting in Bissau in midweek, were in a commanding position before the goal was scored. Skipper Victor Wanyama and Jesse Were missed two good first-half chances to put Kenya ahead after dominating possession. The defeat leaves Kenya at the bottom of Group E with one point from four matches, with their hopes of reaching next year s finals in Gabon all but over. Cash-strapped Chad fined $20,000 for Nations Cup pullout Cash-strapped Chad were fined $20,000 yesterday for pulling out of the Africa Cup of Nations on the grounds they could not afford the trip to play a qualifying game. Chad had been due to travel to Tanzania for today s game in Dar El Salam but their football federation said the coffers were almost empty due to a financial crisis. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said Chad would be fined and banned from the next edition. Our country is suffering the effects of the global economic crisis and, as a consequence, our participation in various competitions has taken a serious blow due to financial shortages, said a Chad federation statement. Chad had been playing in Group G for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations to be staged in Gabon. Their withdrawal leaves Egypt, Nigeria and Tanzania to fight for the lone qualifying spot for the finals. Euro 2016 fan zones as safe as stadiums, says French PM F rench Prime Minister Manuel Valls insisted yesterday that fan zones at the June 10- Juky 10 Euro 2016 will be as safe as the tournament s stadiums despite fears they may be soft targets for terror attacks. Fan zones, which will be based in each of the 10 host cities, are expected to welcome between 10,000 and 100,000 supporters during matches. These fans zones will be secure, closed, bags will be searched and at the same time the party will take place, Valls told France 2 television. There will be seven to eight million people expected during the tournament, mostly in the fan zones. The interior minister has discussed it with the mayors of the cities which will organise the Euros. France is a great, modern country which is capable of assuring the security of its citizens in the face of the terrorist menace. BOTTOMLINE Loew tries to remain calm as Germany struggle DPA Berlin Coaches the world over are accustomed to dismissing defeats in friendlies as meaningless by claiming the performance was more important. But losing and playing badly into the bargain is undeniably a poor outcome over 90 minutes and Germany coach Joachim Loew must now lift his squad for the next friendly against Italy tomorrow after Saturday s 3-2 loss to England from two goals up. Such a defeat in a friendly is not quite so difficult to cope with he said. We now have a game on Tuesday when a really strong opponent in Italy is coming to us. We will analyse the (England) match although we can live with it. But of course you are annoyed. Loew will wonder just what happened in the midfield, without injured captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, which allowed England to flow forward so freely in the last half hour and turn the game in Berlin. Full-backs Jonas Hector and Emre Can, deputising from his usual place in midfield, also failed to impress. We know where we have to work after such a game, Loew said. It was clear our combinations and runs did not always work out as I had imagined. Especially in the second half we were not well organized or compact. We gave up an incredible amount of room. The fact is that World Cup champions Germany have now lost three of their last four matches in qualifiers and friendlies with only a solitary win over Georgia brightening defeats against Ireland, France and England. Italy in Munich is the next step on the road to the Euro 2016 in France but Antonio Conte s team is not one the Germans have traditionally relished meeting. The Italians have never lost to Germay in a major finals and eliminated Loew s side from the Euro 2012 semis. Germany s last friendly win over Italy came way back in We played well for an hour (against England), Sami Khedira, captain in place of Schweinsteiger, said. We need to play well for 90 minutes against Italy and in the European Championship. One of the few players who can be truly happy with his performance in Berlin is striker Mario Gomez, who claimed his first international goal since 2012 with a second-half header and had a firsthalf strike wrongly disallowed. Personally, I am happy that I am back and been able to have another chance, he said. I am looking to help the team more now rather than worrying about whether or not I score goals. Germany have played without an out and out goalscorer since Miroslav Klose retired following the 2014 World Cup. Gomez, after a poor spell in Italy, has rediscovered his goal touch with Besiktas and could well be an option in France. He has the nose for goals again, Loew said. In Italy he was injured a lot and never had a good competitive run. In Turkey he nearly always plays and you see that. Bruised Germans face Italy tomorrow DPA Rome Italy take the confidence gained from a 1-1 draw with Spain into another tough pre-euro 2016 test away to world champions Germany tomorrow. The Azzurri s dynamic showing Thursday against the European champions soothed pessimistic fans and helped coach Antonio Conte quench the brooding that followed his decision to leave, most likely for Chelsea, after the continental tournament ends in July. In Munich, La Nazionale can expect true grit from the four-time world champions after their 3-2 loss to England, who on Saturday rallied from two goals down in a Berlin friendly. With Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini still missing in defence, Conte called AC Milan s Mattia De Sciglio for the game at the Allianz Arena, where offensive tactics are likely to be his main focus. Italy have been waiting for a world-class striker since Paolo Rossi s six goals helped them lift their third World Cup in beating West Germany 3-1 in the final - and relied on a solid defence to win their fourth in 2006, when star centre-back Fabio Cannavaro also won the Ballon d Or. Everyone is important here and no one is indispensable, winger Emanuele Giaccherini said. We may not have a Messi or a Cristiano Ronaldo in our squad, but we have good players who can stand up when needed. We also always put in a strong team effort on the pitch. Against Spain, the Azzurri s attacking package switched gears with the second-half introduction of Simone Zaza and Lorenzo Insigne, who scored off Giaccherini s assist before Aritz Aduriz s equalizer. Zaza, a reliable reserve at Italian champions Juventus, now expects another brisk performance from the Azzurri. We are aiming to win in Munich, said the 22-year-old. We want to prove to everyone that we are a very strong team, one that can focus well. The explosive striker said he expects a competitive Italy at Euro 2016, where he sees no team starting as obvious favourites, and added a personal remark about Juve s recent elimination in the last 16 of the Champions League. This friendly will be an opportunity to get revenge after losing to Bayern Munich; despite not facing them (personally), that defeat still hurt a lot, he said. As supporting striker Giacomo Bonaventura may remain sidelined with the flu, Stephan El Shaarawy should have a chance in Munich, possibly next to the in-form Insigne, while Federico Bernardeschi could be confirmed in the team following his positive debut against Spain.

6 6 FOOTBALL FOCUS Underwhelming results are becoming alarmingly routine for Klinsmann s USA The United States 2-0 loss to Guatemala in Friday night s World Cup qualifier showed a team that seems to exist in a permanently provisional state By Graham Parker theguardian.com The most alarming thing about the USA s 2-0 loss in Guatemala City might not have been the result though that in itself will have ramifications that will ripple through at least the rest of the year. It was how routine it has come to feel for the USA, under Jürgen Klinsmann, to underwhelm when they need a result. Instead of revealing new talent, or new combinations for existing talent, Klinsmann s post-world Cup experimental selections and formations (seemingly in pursuit of an endlessly deferred first-choice team) have become the default mode for the USA. The team feels as if it exists in a permanently provisional state. That s true even in the competitive scenarios (a Gold Cup semi-final, a Concacaf Cup playoff, a World Cup qualifying road game) where you d feel a team should at very least know itself. Down 2-0 in Guatemala on Friday night, and needing to impose themselves on a compact home defense, the USA didn t seem to know what they were trying to impose indeed, who they were trying to impose. It s not to say that run fast, try hard (to paraphrase Matthew Doyle s take on the historic ethos of US Soccer) is an adequate ambition for an international team that wants to punch their weight at the levels the USA aspires to. And Klinsmann came in with a mandate to transform not just the team but the system that produces the team, and to be fair to him, there have been myriad interventions that he has made within the bureaucracy of the national game that needed to happen, even if they re not the type of actions that make for sensational headlines. But the team drifted into a pattern of late losses in the immediate aftermath of the World Cup and even allowing for eye-catching friendly wins in the Netherlands and Germany last year, they appear to have stayed in that state of drift since. There s a paradox here. Klinsmann s ideal schedule for preparation for the 2018 World Cup included participation in the Confederations Cup, Olympics, Copa America and ideally, qualification for the Hex prior to the latter two. He had a definite vision of how and when he wanted to cycle new players into the team to peak perfectly for the World Cup against ideal opposition. Yet he has not put the teams in place to win the games to make that schedule happen. Asked to cohere on demand, the USA have instead fallen apart against notionally inferior but betterorganised opposition. Guatemala on the road was always going to be a tricky game, though few anticipated a scenario worse than a physical battle and maybe a scrappy draw. But Klinsmann elected to experiment again. Granted, the injuries to John Brooks and Matt Besler may have forced his hand in selecting Omar Gonzalez and Michael Orozco at center half (he may have looked wistfully at Tim Parker and Matt Miazga s performances for the U-23s in Colombia earlier in the day). But knowing he d be trying out another unfamiliar centre back pairing, not to mention giving Edgar Castillo his first start since 2014 outside them, Klinsmann decided to partner Michael Bradley with Mix Diskerud in midfield, rather than the trusted physical presence of Kyle Beckerman, who would at least have shielded the defense as his primary duty. USA players leave the field in dejection after their 2-0 defeat at the hands of Guatemala in a Concacaf World Cup qualifier, in Guatemala City on Friday. () Diskerud ended up concluding a difficult week in which he was named the most overrated player in MLS in an ESPN poll of his peers with a poor half of soccer. He stumbled horribly to gift Guatemala their opener, and asked to perform in a holding role when Bradley stepped up, at best he looked anonymous. He was replaced by the lively Darlington Nagbe at half-time and could have no complaints. He s started the season well playing in the centre for NYCFC, but could soon be shunted out wide to accommodate the returning Frank Lampard. For the USA too, Diskerud s yet to find a comfortable position for his talents. But he s hardly alone. In mitigation for Diskerud, he wasn t set up to succeed by his coach. The basic errors that gifted Guatemala their goals were not Klinsmann s fault, but the incoherent team that tried to recover was. And yes, a US optimist, or a head coach, might argue that but for better finishing past an inspired Paulo Motta in the Guatemala goal, that all this might be moot, but the fact is that there s a sense of inevitability about these sorts of results at the moment. Had the USA drawn, or even won in Guatemala, it would have been possible to kick the can down the road a little with this team, but you get the feeling that a performance and result like this would still have been waiting, and probably when it mattered most. So now there are more obstacles to avoid. A win on Friday night and again in Columbus tomorrow would have assured the US of qualification for the Hex. Instead, with Guatemala ahead of them in the group, the Columbus game becomes a must win, just to keep the USA s destiny in their own hands. The US could feasibly end up playing Trinidad and Tobago in their final game, with both sides needing a win to advance. Would you bet on the current US team in that scenario? AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS QUALIFYING Wonder goal for Kekana, dream debut for Renard The 2-2 draw with Cameroon lift South Africa off the bottom of Group M standings, but they still trail Cameroon by five points with three rounds left. The 13 group winners and best two runners-up qualify Limbe South African Hlompho Kekana struck a wonder goal and French coach Herve Renard made an instant impact with Morocco in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on Saturday. Kekana scored from inside his own half five minutes after halftime as South Africa drew 2-2 with Cameroon in Atlantic town Limbe after leading twice. Spotting Cameroonian goalkeeper Guy Roland Ndy Assembe off his line, the recalled South African midfielder thumped the ball from close to the touchline. And to the horror of the capacity 20,000 predominantly Cameroon-supporting crowd, the ball sailed over the goalkeeper and dropped into the middle of the net. Kekana has scored spectacular long-range goals for leading South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, but none to match the one that gave Bafana Bafana (The Boys) a 2-1 lead. Cameroon recovered to equalise for a second time midway through the second half when defender Nicolas Nkoulou nodded a free-kick past hesitant goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune. Striker Tokelo Rantie shrugged off rustiness after injuries and a lack of game time with English Premier League club Bournemouth to put South Africa ahead on 17 minutes. Midfielder Sebastien Siani levelled in the final minute of the first half with a shot that flew into the corner. A draw lifted South Africa off the bottom of the Group M standings, but they trail Cameroon by five points with three rounds left. The 13 group winners and best two runners-up qualify for the 2017 Cup of Nations in Gabon. Spain-based striker Youssef El Arabi converted a first-half penalty to give Morocco a 1-0 away win over top-ranked African team Cape Verde in their first match under Renard. Although the Frenchman failed to save one Ligue 1 club from relegation and was fired by another, he has been highly successful in Africa. The 47-year-old former Paris garbage collector led no-hopers Zambia to the African title in 2012 and repeated the feat with perennial underachievers Ivory Coast last year. Egyptian Hassan Shehata and the late Ghanaian Charles Gyamfi each won three Cup of Nations titles as a coach, but only Renard has succeeded with different countries. He replaced Badou Zaki last month after indifferent Moroccan results and another win over Cape Verde in Marrakech on Tuesday would virtually clinch a finals slot. Morocco top Group F with nine points followed by Cape Verde with six, Sao Tome e Principe have three and Libya none. Cedric Bakambu, the leading African scorer in the Spanish La Liga this season with 11 goals, put the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead in a 2-1 win over Angola in Kinshasa. Victory lifted the 2015 bronze medallists from third to first in Group B with six points, Angola and the Central African Republic have four each and Madagascar two. Traditionally difficult to beat at home, Burundi slumped 3-1 to previously winless Namibia in Group K with Benson Shilongo, Peter Shalulile and Hendrik Somaeb scoring for the visitors. Burkina Faso replaced Uganda as Group D leaders thanks to a 1-0 win in Ouagadougou through a Jonathan Pitroipa penalty on the hour. Although Indian Ocean islanders Mauritius and Seychelles have virtually no chance of reaching Gabon, they celebrated rare victories after beating Rwanda and Lesotho respectively. A Francis Rasoloforinasa goal gave the Mauritians a 1-0 Group H win and Gervais Waye-Hive and Dean Suzette scored as the Seychellois triumphed 2-0 in Group J. Spain-based striker Youssef El Arabi converted a first-half penalty to give Morocco a 1-0 away win over top-ranked African team Cape Verde in their first match under French coach Herve Renard. Court orders Egypt football federation board to be dissolved Cairo Egypt s top administrative court yesterday ordered that the board of Egyptian Football Federation be dissolved following allegations of rigging during the 2012 election of its members. The judgement, which is final and can not be appealed, ordered Egypt s minister of youth and sports to dissolve the board. Two candidates who had participated in the October 11, 2012 election for the federation s board had filed a case alleging that the results were rigged at that time. Election for the federation s next board is scheduled for September The same court also ordered the dissolution of Cairo-based Al Ahly club s board over similar reasons. In November, a lower court had ordered Al Ahly s board be dissolved, but an appeal was filed against that order. The higher court upheld the earlier verdict yesterday. POLL French public want Euro 2016 to go ahead Paris The French public is strongly against any cancellation of this summer s Euro 2016 football championships due to the fear of further terrorist attacks, an opinion poll has shown. The poll was carried out by the Odoxa institute for RTL and Winamax two to three days after the bomb attacks in Brussels that killed 31 people and left 340 others wounded. Asked whether, in the context of the terrorist threat, it would be better to cancel Euro 2016, due to be held in France from June 10 to July 10, 79% of those questioned replied no. On the matter of fan-zones, special areas set up around the country in front of giant screens for matchviewing, 58% replied no to the question of whether they should be scrapped with 41% saying yes. The French government has already made it clear that there is no contingency plan to call off the Euro 2016 tournament, although Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said that the fan-zone situation will be closely monitored. Fears that the Euro 2016 championships, involving 24 teams playing at 10 city venues across France, could be a terrorist target were heightened with the jihadist attacks on Paris on November 13 which left 130 people dead, including suicide bombers outside the Stade de France during a friendly match between France and Germany.

7 SPORT 7 NBA Westbrook, Thunder race past shorthanded Spurs We come out every night and play for ourselves. We don t worry about other teams and what they re doing DPA Los Angeles Despite resting five of their top players, the San Antonio Spurs jumped out to a surprising lead on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then Russell Westbrook went to work. Westbrook scored 20 of his 29 points in the middle two quarters and added eight assists Saturday night, and the host Thunder raced past the shorthanded Spurs, , for their seventh straight victory. Kevin Durant had 31 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who have not lost since a setback at San Antonio on March 12. Oklahoma City (51-22) is the only team to have beaten San Antonio (61-12) twice this season. We come out every night and play for ourselves, said Westbrook, who made 10- of-18 shots. We don t worry about other teams and what they re doing. They did what they were supposed to do, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. In the end, they kicked our butt. As he often does, Popovich decided to rest his star players. Given the night off were All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan, French Flash Tony Parker and Argentine supersub Manu Ginobili. In addition, All-Star Kawhi Leonard sat out with a bruised quadriceps. The starting lineup included Serbian rookie Boban Marjanovic and little-used secondyear forward Kyle Anderson. But David West made four jump shots in a 19-3 run that gave the Spurs a lead early in the second quarter and had the sellout crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena groaning. They re a good team, regardless of who they play, Westbrook said. They have a good system. Westbrook, who scored eight points in the first quarter, found another gear. He scored 12 points in the last eight minutes of the half as the Thunder regained a lead. Oklahoma City broke open the game in the third quarter. Westbrook found New Zealand s Steven Adams and Congo native Serge Ibaka with nifty passes for powerful dunks, then added his own flying slam for a lead with 2:37 remaining. I just tried to stay in attack mode, Westbrook said. They do a good job of packing the paint. I just tried to take what the defense was giving me. A three-pointer by Durant pushed the margin to late in the third period, and San Antonio got no closer than 17 points thereafter. The Spurs were outscored, 59-37, in the middle two quarters. I thought (Westbrook s) offence kind of answered and stopped some runs, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. That second and third quarter he really played well. Turkey s Enes Kanter had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Ibaka added 15 and eight for the Thunder, who shot 52 percent (44-of-85) and held a advantage on the boards. West and rookie Jonathan Simmons scored 17 points apiece for the Spurs, who shot 43 percent (37- of-86) and lost the second of back-to-back contests for the first time in 15 tries this season. Elsewhere: Cleveland Cavaliers 107, New York Knicks 93: LeBron James had his second triple-double of the week with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the visiting Cavaliers kept their 2 ½-game lead atop the Eastern Conference. Toronto Raptors 115, New Orleans Pelicans 91: DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points to lead seven players in double figures for the visiting Raptors (49-23), who tied a franchise record for wins in a season. Atlanta Hawks 112, Detroit Pistons 95: Paul Millsap scored 23 points to lead eight players in double figures for the Hawks, who have won eight of nine. The Pistons fell to 5-2 on their league season-high nine-game homestand. Brooklyn Nets 120, Indiana Pacers 110: Brook Lopez scored 23 points as the host Nets rallied past the Pacers, who remained seventh in the East, a percentage point ahead of Detroit. Orlando Magic 111, Chicago Bulls 89: DeWayne Dedmon had a career-high 18 points and season-high 13 rebounds as the host Magic dealt a third straight loss to the Bulls, who remained two games out of the East s final playoff spot. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (R) drives to the basket in front of San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports Charlotte Hornets 115, Milwaukee Bucks 91: France s Nic Batum scored 25 points for the visiting Hornets, who are 12-3 in March and handed the Bucks their fifth straight setback. Utah Jazz 93, Minnesota Timberwolves 84: Gordon Hayward scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Jazz moved into the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Boston Celtics 102, Phoenix Suns 99: Former Sun Isaiah Thomas scored 28 points for the visiting Celtics, who won their fourth straight game. Portland Trail Blazers 108, Philadelphia 76ers 105: CJ McCollum scored 25 points for the Trail Blazers, who have won four in a row at home and handed the 76ers their eighth straight loss. RESULTS Detroit...95 Atlanta New York...93 Cleveland Orlando Chicago...89 Phoenix...99 Boston Portland Philadelphia.105 Minnesota...84 Utah Oklahoma San Antonio Milwaukee...91 Charlotte New Orleans.91 Toronto Brooklyn Indiana NHL Los Angeles Kings hold off Oilers to end slide By Helene Elliott Los Angeles Times The Los Angeles Kings punched their ticket to the playoffs more than a week ago, but they re still not in a playoff frame of mind or playing the tight style that s associated with consistent postseason success. They barely held off the draft lottery-bound Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night, surviving the frantic final minutes for a 6-4 victory at Staples Center that ended a three-game losing streak. But it was closer than it needed to be, and the Kings knew it. As of late, we need to clean things up defensively and stuff like that, said left wing Milan Lucic, who tied a career mark with three assists. I know it s great we got six tonight, but getting four against is kind of unacceptable. We ve got to clean that up here, with seven games before the playoffs start, because you can t just flip a switch and expect it to just happen once the playoffs start. The Kings had separated themselves from the young but erratic Oilers by scoring three times in the second period, but Edmonton scored twice in the third and swarmed around Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick as tension overtook fans exultation. It took an empty-net goal by Jeff Carter for the Kings to subdue the Oilers and maintain their three-point lead over the Ducks atop the Pacific Division. RESULTS Toronto...1 Boston...3 Montréal...2 NY Rangers...5 Ottawa...3 Anaheim...4 Tampa Bay...2 Florida...5 Washington.0 St. Louis...4 Carolina...3 NY Islanders 4 Calgary...1 Chicago...4 Nashville...5 Columbus...1 Arizona...2 Philadelphia...1 Los Angeles 6 Edmonton...4 Detroit...2 Pittsburgh...7 San Jose...2 Dallas...4 Colorado...0 Minnesota...4 Buffalo...3 Winnipeg...2 I think we let some things go a little bit, but for the most part we scored goals at the right time and made big stops, said Tyler Toffoli, who scored twice to help the Kings extend their home winning streak over the Oilers to nine games. The penalty kill was pretty good. We ve got to move on and focus for San Jose. That game will be Monday, giving the Kings another chance to clean up their act, this time against a division foe. We want to get our game 100 percent going into the playoffs, Toffoli said. And playing the right way. It s a good sign we re scoring big goals but at the same time we ve got to tighten it up a little bit and just get better. The Kings swept the season series, 5-0, but Edmonton has great individual skill. Rookie Connor McDavid, who scored a goal in the frantic first period and set up the fourth goal, appears to be all that he was advertised. But the Oilers still have many defensive shortcomings, and the Kings capitalized on several. The Kings struck 16 seconds into the game, when Toffoli converted the rebound of a shot by Brayden McNabb. But Jordan Eberle, who had an active first period, made a fine move to the outside to dodge Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin and rifled a wrist shot home at the 38-second mark. The Oilers took a 2-1 lead at 9:53, after McDavid poked the puck off the stick of veteran centre Vincent Lecavalier and flicked a rapid shot past Quick for his 15th goal this season. The Kings pulled even at 10:20, on a play the Oilers challenged on the basis of goaltender interference. And they seemed to have a good case, as replays showed Lucic clipped the leg of goaltender Laurent Brossoit and hampered his ability to stop a shot by Carter. However, the goal was reviewed and allowed to stand. The Kings scored three times in the second to build a 5-2 lead and pull away. Toffoli s second goal of the game, at 3:11, was set up by Lucic. Andy Andreoff, in the midst of a scrum in the slot, poked the puck as Brossoit tried to cover it at 13:07. And Trevor Lewis continued the scoring spree with a short-handed goal at 17:26. Patrick Maroon scored a powerplay goal from the left circle at 9:22 of the third period to cut the Kings lead to 5-3, and he was set up by McDavid at 16:50 to trim the lead to 5-4. Los Angeles Kings center Tyler Toffoli (R) and Edmonton Oilers right wing Iiro Pakarinen battle along the boards in the third period of the game at Staples Center. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

8 8 SPORT BASEBALL Cubs glad to give rivalry with Cardinals face lift By Paul Sullivan Chicago Tribune Hating the Yankees is part of your DNA when growing up in Boston, passed down from generation to generation like a family heirloom. So when Theo Epstein got his dream job as general manager of the Red Sox in 2003, he already had the prerequisite loathing in his blood. After that it was just a matter of finding a way to conquer the Evil Empire and ending one of the most storied droughts in sports history. Check, and check. Now Epstein has put his hatred of all things Yankees on the back burner while he tries to find a way to knock the Cardinals off their lofty perch and end the longest drought in sports history. Like the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry before Epstein s arrival, the Cubs- Cardinals wars have been one-sided for most of their existence. The Cubs were always the ceremonial pinatas, and the Cardinals were always the big stick. How long did it take Epstein to build some real, unfiltered, deep-seated hatred for the Cubs archrivals? It didn t take that long, he said with a laugh. All it took was a couple of road trips they were really good and we weren t to feel the proper amount of loathing. I mean, I respect them. I ve said before, respect and contempt aren t mutually exclusive. So I definitely respect them. Look at them as a franchise, year in, year out, decade in, decade out, century in, century out.... It doesn t feel good to have (Tony) La Russa and those guys (beat you). And that s exactly what the Cardinals did during the first four years of The Plan, going to the playoffs every season and winning National League Central titles the last three years. They took 10 of 17 from the Cubs in 2012, 12 of 19 in 13, 10 of 19 in 14 and 11 of 19 last year. That s a combined.581 winning percentage over four seasons. But something different happened last October, and five months later the Cubs 3-1 triumph over St. Louis in the Division Series still resonates on the North Side. Was it a turning point or a mere a blip in the 124-year-old rivalry? Definitely it was a watershed moment for us to beat our rivals in the postseason for the first time ever, Epstein said. Granted, there are obviously reasons why we haven t played them much in the postseason. But still, to beat them in the postseason in that manner was transformative. I hope it transformed the rivalry and not just our organisation. Now the Cubs are at the point where they not only can compete with the Cardinals on the field, they can hang with them off the field as well. Luring free agents Jason Heyward and John Lackey not only improved the Cubs World Series hopes, it weakened the Cardinals at the same time. I never read too much into that, Epstein said. That s not why we got those guys. Perhaps, but after all those heated offseason battles over free agents with the Yankees when he was Red Sox GM, Epstein had to relish stealing two Cardinals stars. Or maybe not. We tried to have discipline not to worry if (the Yankees) were trying to take our player or if we were competing over the same player, he said. On (Mark) Teixeira we drew a line in the sand (on his $180 million demand), and they got him. Great. And then we went and got Adrian Gonzalez. That part of (the competition) was overblown for me. It s not like the Cardinals are not going to go out and get good players to replace (Heyward and Lackey). I m really glad we signed them. I think they re perfect fits, but it had very little to do with them being Cardinals. It had more to do with the fact we wanted those guys. Regardless, the Cardinals haven t conceded the division, despite the nonstop hype of the Cubs from the national media. They immediately went out and signed free-agent pitcher Mike Leake to replace Lackey and will use promising 25-year-old Stephen Piscotty, who hit three home runs off the Cubs in the postseason, in right field. The next chapter of the classic rivalry begins April 18 in St. Louis when the teams meet for the first time. Only then will we start to know if the tide is actually turning after all these years, or it s just another mirage. St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs fans display their teams logo. NFL Panthers aware that Super Bowl runner-up rarely returns I can t report if I haven t signed anything so I don t feel as if I m at the point where I m ready to get back to working right now By Joseph Person The Charlotte Observer Wait til next year has long been the rally cry for fans whose teams fell short of a championship. But next year hasn t been kind to the Super Bowl runner-up. It s been 23 years since a team that lost the Super Bowl made it back the following season. The Buffalo Bills became synonymous with Super Bowl futility in the early 1990s, losing four consecutive years. The 93 Bills were the last Super Bowl runner-up to return to the game the following year _ a fact that a reporter mentioned to Panthers coach Ron Rivera last week at the NFL annual meetings in Boca Raton, Fla. Rivera, who found motivational chips to play throughout the Panthers 15-1 regular season in 2015, perked up when he heard about the curse of the Super Bowl loser. It s a challenge. And I think you may have just given me my next challenge as we go forward something people say we re not going to be able to do and we can t do because it hasn t been done, Rivera said. Why don t we try? Seriously, that s the way I look at it. Rivera was a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears team that won 15 regular-season games and steamrolled through the playoffs for a Super Bowl title. The 86 Bears went 14-2 and looked to be on their way to back-to-back championships. But behind the tough running of running back George Rogers, Washington beat Rivera s Bears in the divisional round to end Chicago s hopes of repeating. There are a number of reasons why only two teams besides those Bills squads the 1974 Minnesota Vikings and 1987 Denver Broncos went back to the Super Bowl a year after losing it. Not the least of which is the emotional hangover inherent in enjoying a dominant regular season only to have the rug pulled out from under you on the world s biggest stage. Nearly two months after the Panthers loss to Denver in Super Bowl 50, general manager Dave Gettleman still hasn t brought himself to watch the game. I will eventually. But not yet. It s hard, Gettleman said last week and the annual meetings. You re devastated. You ve got 125 people, 150 people working their asses off and you re this close. And then, wham! It s hard. It sucks. Gettleman compared it to pageant contestants who have to remain on stage until the winner is announced. There s two gals there. Then they announce who the first runner-up is. Just imagine you come in second, Gettleman said. Coming in second sucks. Ask quarterback Cam Newton, whose distaste for losing was on display for millions to see when he sulked his way through his post-super Bowl press conference in Santa Clara, California. Newton s reaction makes it fair to question how the reigning league MVP will bounce back from the toughest loss of his career. Knowing him, Rivera said, he s going to savour it as his driving motivator. A look at several other potential stumbling blocks for the Panthers on the way to Houston, site of Super Bowl 51: The Josh Norman situation: Norman s contract standstill appears to be headed toward a dark place, to borrow one of Norman s favorite expressions. The Pro Bowl corner and the Panthers are nowhere close to a long-term contract, and Norman has yet to sign the franchise tag the Panthers put on him March 1. The tag is worth a guaranteed $13.95 million for 2016, but Norman and his agent want the security of a long-term deal. Norman doesn t have a ton of leverage: If he doesn t sign the tag by Week 10, he ll miss the entire season and won t have made a dime from the Panthers. Gettleman said last week he s not worried about Norman s contract situation becoming a distraction. But Norman, who s looking for a deal in the neighbourhood of $16 million a year, applied public pressure on the Panthers during a couple of national TV appearances last week. I can t report if I haven t signed anything so I don t feel as if I m at the point where I m ready to get back to working right now, Norman told NFL Network. Missing OTAs and minicamp won t necessarily set Norman back from a skills standpoint. But it would be a bumpy start for a team that had remarkably little drama during its Super Bowl season. Two of the Panthers key players are coming off surgeries. Both Kuechly (torn labrum in left shoulder) and Kelvin Benjamin (torn ACL in left knee) are progressing well, according to team officials. But the Panthers can t afford to have either player suffer a setback in his recovery. Carolina was able to overcome the loss of Benjamin last season until the Super Bowl, when Jerricho Cotchery had three drops and the rest of the receivers (with the exception of Philly Brown) had a hard time getting open. Benjamin is a big-time weapon, particularly in the red zone, who has Newton s complete trust. The Panthers won three games early last season when Kuechly was sidelined with a concussion. But they wouldn t want to go without Kuechly, whose picksix vs. Seattle s Russell Wilson was the playoffs tone-setter, for a long stretch in The Panthers will play a firstplace schedule for the third consecutive season, and will load up on frequent flier miles in the process. Carolina has three West Coast trips (Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland), as well as a Super Bowl rematch at Denver. The Panthers will face six teams that made the playoffs last season, including their seventh game in five years against the Seahawks. After the Panthers only other Super Bowl appearance, they went 7-9 in 2004 and missed the playoffs. Such a slide seems unlikely with this group, which boasts the MVP, an elite defense and playmakers on both sides of the ball. The Panthers still look like the team to beat in the NFC South, although it s tough to envision another 15-win regular season given the slate of opponents. (The NFL will release its full schedule, with times and dates, next month.) But there s a reason why the 1972 Dolphins are the only team in the past 43 years to win the CAROLINA PANTHERS HEAD COACH RON RIVERA Super Bowl a year after losing in the game. Rivera told his players after Super Bowl 50 they could find inspiration in the Broncos, who beat the Panthers two years after getting crushed by the Seahawks in the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl. But despite what the past 23 years might suggest, Rivera isn t conceding anything in Rivera said several players, principally Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil, indicated they ll have a better sense of what to expect if there is a next time. It s like, OK, we get it. We know what it s like to be here. We understand. Now all of a sudden the great unknown is no longer the great unknown, Rivera said. We ve got to get past where we were and get back to where we need to start from.

9 SPORT 9 SPOTLIGHT Spieth loses match, top ranking, but BOXING Amir Khan claims he was offered 10mn for Kell Brook fight is still confident I ve been in that position. He s going to learn very quickly what works for him and didn t. But Jordan Spieth will be just fine, I can tell you that File picture of British boxer Amir Khan. By Kirk Bohls, MCT Austin, Texas Jordan Spieth cleared up one big myth. He was not undefeated in Austin. Apologies for the double negative, but for the first time in a while, something negative cropped up in Spieth s formidable golf game. In common folklore, the former Texas Longhorn was thought to have had a perfect record inside these city limits. He was 3-0 in high school state championships, counting a tie for first in And he was 1-0 in the Morris Williams Intercollegiate although technically he tied fellow Longhorns Dylan Frittelli and Julio Vegas, and Texas coach John Fields chose not to play it off for true medallist honours. I was following the ol Harvey Penick philosophy, said Fields, invoking the name of the former Texas coach and Austin Country Club legendary teacher. I d rather have three champions than one. So I didn t let em play it off. Fields, who followed Spieth around in his fourth round Saturday, wasn t positive about Spieth s overall record in his second hometown. It s safe to say he won 98 percent of them, Fields said. There may be a little junior tournament here he didn t win. Spieth confirmed as much Saturday and, unfortunately for his loyal following that showed up in throngs and even shouted out encouragement from the 20-odd boats and barges populating Lake Austin, can now add another tournament he didn t capture in Austin. He failed to advance to Saturday s final eight after a bad day with three bogeys and a double-bogey in the Round of 16 for an emphatic loss to South African Louis Oosthuizen, who reached the quarterfinals of this event for the third consecutive year. So Spieth won t be adding a trophy from the World Golf Championship-Dell Match Play Championships to his growing collection although he does receive credit for a top nine finish here. He also won t retain his No. 1 world ranking that he s held for 21 weeks, thanks to No. 2 Jason Day s advance to Sunday s semifinals against Rory McIlroy and his new ascension to the top spot. But he doesn t consider that a bad thing. To be honest, Spieth said, it could be a good thing for me going into the Masters. And why s that, he was asked as he walked off. More (attention) on other people, he said. Less on me. Ranking notwithstanding, the focus likely won t shift far from the 22-yearold wunderkind who won two majors last year, including the Masters, and flirted with completing the Grand Slam in a Jordan Spieth of the United States loses his club after his second shot on the 16th hole at the Austin Country Club. single summer. But any time he flinches and shows even a hint of being a mortal, it sends alarms in this social mediacrazy, what s-wrong-with-spieth environment. He didn t play well Saturday, but golf can be cruel sport, and it d be a stretch to suggest Spieth won t be ready for the Masters in two weeks. Local golf architect Roy Bechtol, who worked closely with Pete Dye to design the Austin Country Club course three decades ago, said this week, I call Pete the most clever masochistic architect ever invented. He said golf is a game for masochists, and I intend to make em all very happy. Spieth wasn t happy with his day but took solace in the fact he had 17 birdies and an eagle among his 62 holes this week and, had this been stroke play, would have come in at 13-under par. Until Saturday, he had never trailed in this tournament but was ragged all day, a trend that continued when he landed in a fairway bunker on No. 9 that flabbergasted him. Oh, my God, can they put any more sand in here? he asked caddie Michael Greller before blading his shot into the lip of the bunker and coming up way short of the green to lose the hole. He got one back on No. 10 with a 26-foot birdie putt but gave it right back with an 8-iron that landed in the water on No. 11 and lost the next two holes to basically end his tournament. Before the WGC-Dell tourney began, Day worried that Spieth might be burning himself out by playing in so many events around the world. McIlroy, who closed out 54th-ranked Chris Kirk 4 and 3 to reach the semifinals, pooh-poohed that idea. I ve been in that position, he said. He s going to learn very quickly what works for him and didn t. But Jordan Spieth will be just fine, I can tell you that. He seemed fine after his match when he fell 4 and 2 to Oosthuizen. He was perplexed because he was slicing his irons all day, a pattern he fell into on the practice range and failed to solve on the course. But he didn t seem disturbed and playfully signed two golf balls and bounced them across the parking lot to an eager pair of youngsters. I d say he s probably a little upset right now, Spieth confidante Ben Crenshaw said. But it will fuel his desire. He relishes (Augusta) and he knows how to play it. It suits him. I ll say there s no doubt he ll be right in there at the Masters. Spieth s institutional knowledge of Augusta National, along with his win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii by eight strokes and three other Top 25 finishes, should keep his spirits high. He s played Augusta twice since last April, working in a round over the winter and another with his father, Shawn, before the Florida golf swing. He doesn t appear worried. From Tuesday to now, I feel much more confident than I did about Augusta, Spieth said. I played very, very solid the last few days, and most importantly I made a lot of birdies. You feel the nerves on almost every swing out here. I have this entire week. So that s certainly good for me. So maybe it s fine if he doesn t win every single tournament, juniors or otherwise. James Riach, The Guardian London Amir Khan has claimed Eddie Hearn offered him 10mn to fight Kell Brook, before cutting that figure significantly during negotiations. Khan will instead challenge the middleweight champion Saúl Álvarez in the defining fight of his career. Khan shocked the boxing world this week by announcing he will face Álvarez for the WBC world middleweight title on 7 May in Las Vegas. The Bolton fighter had been in negotiations with Brook but will instead step up in weight and face a man who has lost only once in his professional career, and that against Floyd Mayweather. Brook, meanwhile, will make the third defence of his IBF welterweight title against Kevin Bizier. Khan s team had been in negotiations last year with Hearn, Brook s promoter, regarding a potential Battle of Britain between the pair. In January, Hearn wrote in a tweet, since deleted, that Khan had asked for an 80% share of the purse but the 29-year-old claims an original offer of 10mn was cut. I was offered by Eddie Hearn 10mn, when I was at a fight in Liverpool. That s what I stuck to and as soon as I said: That s what I want for the fight, everyone turned against me and said I was overvaluing myself. He said: You can make 10mn if you take the fight against Kell Brook. Coming back to negotiations, they said: We can t offer you that much. It was nowhere near that number. In January, Hearn tweeted: He [Khan s lawyer] asked for a 10m guarantee with upside to fight Brook with Kell getting approx 2-2.5mn. After I spat my coffee out we said no thanks. Enough of the insults. We will make this easy for you: in your favour (Kell is world champ) and you have it. Álvarez, known as Canelo, is regarded as the next boxing superstar and the 25-year-old has knocked out 32 of his 48 opponents. The fight, promoted by Oscar De La Hoya s Golden Boy, is Álvarez s first defence of the title he won in November against Miguel Cotto. Khan believes he will have to draw on the underdog spirit of his Athens Olympics breakthrough 12 years ago, stepping up from welterweight to a catch weight of 155lb against Álvarez, and said he would be calling on those Olympic memories against the Mexican. Obviously Canelo is one of the best fighters in the world, one of the most dangerous fighters in the world that not many people would say yes to fight. That s the type of guy I am, I ll fight whoever they put in front of me and whatever makes sense. I think it will bring out the best in me, whenever you go into a fight as an underdog you want to prove people wrong, said Khan. This reminds me of the Olympics when I was 17 and a lot of people said I was going to get beaten up and not get through the first round. I went and proved everybody wrong and just fell short in the final. When Oscar asked me if I wanted to take the fight, I said: In a heartbeat. I ve got a lot of advantages on my side, I ve got the speed and I m going to bring a lot of power. I ve got too much pride to go into a fight thinking that someone is going to beat me, or going in to a fight just for the money. I d never do that, that s not the type of guy I am. I really believe I can make history. De La Hoya said: It s taking boxing back to the roots of what it should be, fighting for pride and fighting for history. He [Khan] wants to show that he s the very best, that s what boxing was when I was fighting, when Tyson was fighting, when Mohammed Ali was fighting. The 155lb catchweight is eight pounds heavier than Khan s weight for his last fight against Chris Algieri in May last year, and if he wins he will be only the fourth Briton to secure the middleweight title. On the challenge of moving up in weight, Khan said: I think the weight issue is going to add excitement. It is two different size guys and I ve seen in boxing many times where the smaller guy has come through and won the fight. I m at my peak now and I m going to show the world how good Amir Khan is. I m going to be at a good weight, I m working on the strength side. I m going to be happy and comfortable at the weight. I m going into the fight with no pressure, not killing myself making the weight. It s a fight for me to prove myself. BOTTOMLINE Heat see no issue with LeBron as friend and foe MCT Miami At some point before or even during Wednesday s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwyane Wade will share a personal, heartfelt moment with Kobe Bryant. The same likely will be the case the following game, when the opposition is Caron Butler and the Sacramento Kings. Just as he did a week ago with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. As for what anyone outside of those circles of friendship thinks? Couldn t care less. People just don t know a lot about it, Wade said as he looked ahead to the Miami Heat s upcoming three-game western swing. To me it s tough. I can talk hours about it. Because I don t understand why people don t understand friendships. And you can set limits to it. And you know how not to cross those bounds. That his interactions with James a week ago at AmericanAirlines Arena became fodder for questions about James focus both amused and annoyed Wade. That s just disrespectful to the File picture of LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers. player, to say I m going to give up this and that because we re friends, Wade said. I use the analogy, it s just like growing up with my brothers. I love em to death, but I want to beat them every time. That s the same thing. I love Bron. My respect for Kobe, my friendship with all these guys, I love em all. But I want to beat them every time, and vice versa. This, of course, from a player on a team lorded over by Pat Riley, who back in his days of New York Knicks antipathy and even in his early Heat years made helping a fallen opponent a fineable offense. That was then, before the AAU and USA Basketball systems brought opposing players together at a young age and has kept such rivals together. Amid the increased movement in NBA free agency, players now can go from opponent to teammate back to opponent, as with the James-Wade dynamic. Before James and Wade shared their moments amid the Heat s blowout victory, James shared a pregame embrace with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who was alongside James for four Heat trips to the NBA Finals and two championships. For me, personally, Spoelstra said, if I ve coached somebody and I ve been through the wars and the battles and the competition of an NBA season and deep into the playoffs, to me those relationships are for life. The only thing that matters is in between the four lines. This is a business of competition, but it also is a business of relationships and those relationships are dear to me. And it would be disingenuous that I wouldn t show that. Spoelstra said he finds it offensive that Wade or James would be viewed as something less than passionate. If Dwyane is in a close, competitive game and one of his friends on another team is going for a layup, I know in my heart of hearts that is going to be challenged with a fierceness and a physically that transcends any kind of friendship, Spoelstra said. Wade said relationships endure because of the respect shown amid play. I think it s very underrated how much you want to win against your friends, how much you want to play in those games, Wade said. My best-focused moments have always been against those guys that I To me it s tough. I can talk hours about it. Because I don t understand why people don t understand friendships. And you can set limits to it. And you know how not to cross those bounds. have respect for, that I have friendships with. And those games, they probably hurt a little more when I lose, and they probably feel a little better when I win just because of those relationships. If last weekend produced any type of controversy, Wade said that is for someone else to resolve. Do you get to the case, he said, where people start to tell you how to live your life, telling you who to be friends with, telling you how to be friends with em, how you can talk to somebody, where to talk to somebody? You can t allow someone to run your life that way, because they don t have those kinds of relationships, so they don t know how those things can work. So LeBron is going to be LeBron. Dwyane is going to Dwyane. And we re going to do what we feel is right for our friendship. And when we compete against each other, we re going to compete.

10 10 SPORT WGC MATCH PLAY Day downs McIlroy to book final against Oosthuizen The Australian will regain the world number one ranking from Spieth today Austin, Texas Newly minted world number one Jason Day edged defending champion Rory McIlroy 1 up yesterday to reach the final of the World Golf Championships Match Play in Austin, Texas. Day triumphed in a heavyweight battle of the past two WGC Match Play champions and was to duel with Louis Oosthuizen in yesterday afternoon s championship match. The South African beat Rafa Cabrera Bello 4 and 3 in the other semi-final. Day s quarter-final victory over Brooks Koepka on Saturday, coupled with Jordan Spieth s round of 16 defeat, ensured the Australian will regain the world number one ranking from Spieth today. Day, the 2014 champion, can join Tiger Woods and Geoff Ogilvy as multiple Match Play winners. He ended McIlroy s bid to join Woods as the only player to successfully defend the title, but the Aussie admitted he found the tense see-saw battle nerve-wracking. It was a hard match today, said Day, admitting he was nervous as he stood over the 13-foot par putt at the final hole, which he rolled into halve the hole and win the match. I would have been a little disappointed to go through all this stuff and not have a chance of winning (the title), Day said. Day took a one-up lead with a birdie at the first, then made a double bogey at the second. The match was all square through 11 when Day drove the green at the par-five 12th, winning the hole with a birdie then winning the 13th with a chip-in birdie. McIlroy drained a 12-foot birdie putt to win the 14th, but couldn t win another hole. Oosthuizen is through to the final for the first time after falling in the quarterfinals each of the past two years. He has yet to play the 18th hole this week. Cabrera Bello, who will move into the top 50 in the world next week and thereby gain entry to the Masters, didn t look as sharp as he had all week. Oosthuizen took the lead with a birdie at the first and never relinquished it, winning the 14th and 15th to close it out as Cabrera Bello bogeyed both. I could see he was not playing well, Oosthuizen said. So I just wanted to hit greens, put pressure on him and make sure I made pars. On Saturday, Day had advanced to the semi-final with a 3 and 2 victory over Brooks Koepka, which meant the Australian will regain the world number one ranking from American Jordan Spieth, who was ousted on Saturday morning in the round of 16 by South African Louis Oosthuizen. McIlroy, seeded third, reached the semi-finals of the elite event for the Jason Day of Australia celebrates his par-saving putt on the 18th green to defeat Rory McIlroy (left) during their semi-final match at the WGC-Match Play in Austin. () third time in his career. He took a quick lead over Chris Kirk with an 11-foot birdie putt at the opening hole, but his three-putt bogey at the ninth let Kirk square the match. McIlroy responded emphatically, with birdies to win the 10th, 12th, 13th and 15th all with putts from within 10 feet. Meanwhile, with his Masters title defence a fortnight away, Spieth was puzzled by the swing troubles that contributed to his early exit. The 22-yearold Texan had never trailed in his three round-robin matches, but was dispatched 4 and 2 by Oosthuizen in the round of 16. I didn t make it very hard on Louis today, which is unfortunate, Spieth said. I was off from when I hit my first 10 shots on the range. By reaching the last 16, Spieth officially finished the week tied for ninth ending a streak of four starts without a top 10 finish. It s his first top 10 since a runner-up finish at the Singapore Open in January and first on the US PGA Tour since he opened the year with a victory at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. Nevertheless, Spieth said he feels more confident about the year s first major at Augusta National after four days of pressure-packed match play. I played very, very solid the last few days and most importantly I made a lot of birdies. That s something I haven t been doing as of late, capitalizing when I do hit those good wedges or iron shots in. Spieth said it might be no bad thing that Day returns to the top of the rankings, putting the spotlight on the Aussie heading into the Masters. The American said he would now turn his attention toward next week s Masters tuneup the Houston Open. He was second in Houston last year the week before he won at Augusta National. Spieth was confident his swing would be sorted by the time he hit the practice range. British boxer in coma after brain injury London: British boxer Nick Blackwell has been placed in an induced coma after losing a domestic title fight. Saturday s British middleweight belt contest at London s Wembley Arena saw Blackwell stopped in the tenth round by Chris Eubank Jr after the ringside doctor ruled a closed left eye meant he could not continue. It was not the first time a member of the Eubank family had been involved in a contest that ended with a boxer being taken to hospital. Michael Watson sustained life-threatening brain injuries after being stopped by Chris Eubank senior after 11 rounds of their 1991 World Boxing Organisation super-middleweight title bout at Tottenham Hotspur s White Hart Lane ground in north London. Watson survived but as there was no ambulance and no doctor at the fight, it was several minutes before he received any treatment. His case sparked major changes in the provision of ringside medical cover which were all in force at Wembley on Saturday. The 25-year-old Blackwell was carried out of the ring on a stretcher and was still in hospital, under observation, yesterday. British Boxing Board of Control general secretary Robert Smith said: I spoke to one of the doctors this (Sunday) morning and he said there is a bleeding of the brain. He s in intensive care, he s in an induced coma and he is resting and being looked after by the experts. It s a very normal procedure. They put you in a coma to get the swelling to go down. There s no timescale. Now it s just a matter of waiting and seeing. World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury tweeted his best wishes to Blackwell on Saturday: Will u all pray nickblackwell02 please ASAP as he has been taken to hospital, God be with him. GOLF ROUND-UP Poulter leads at Puerto Rico Open Reuters Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Ian Poulter, without a win in more than four years, birdied two of the final four holes to grab the third-round lead at the Puerto Rico Open on Saturday. World number 67 Poulter, the highest ranked player in the field, made a late decision to travel to the Caribbean island after missing out on a place in this week s WGC- Dell Match Play event by one spot. But the Englishman is making his trip worthwhile, a 68 giving him an 11-under 205 total with one round left at Coco Beach. Americans Tony Finau, Jonathan Byrd and Steve Marino trail by one stroke. Overnight leader Rafael Campos, seeking to become the first Puerto Rican to win a PGA Tour event since Chi Chi Rodriguez at the 1979 Tallahassee Open, kept his chances alive with a 72 to fall two shots behind. Poulter, 40, is winless since the 2012 WGC-HSBC Championship in China. It s been a while since I ve been right there to have an opportunity to win a tournament, he told PGATour.com. I ve got to take things slowly. I m trying to improve my swing. I m trying to improve my consistency on the course. There has been a lot of good stuff and lot of bad stuff as well. It s about time to not allow the bad stuff to kick in, keep persevering, keep working on the swing and hopefully at some stage the adrenaline will kick in and get me across the line. American George McNeill, who started the day in second place, was disqualified after the round for having used a non-conforming club, the tour announced. KO IN THE DRIVER S SEAT AT KIA CLASSIC World number one Lydia Ko carded a bogey-free 67 to seize a three-shot lead after three rounds of the Kia Classic in southern California on Saturday. New Zealander Ko began the day tied for second with Brittany Lang and one shot behind leader Jenny Shin but surged three clear after shooting a tidy five-under round for a 14-under 202 total. Lang is tied with South Koreans Shin and Park Sung-hyun at 11 under at the demanding Aviara course in Carlsbad. Ko was two-under for her front nine then reeled off three straight birdies from the 11th to put her in a strong position to win her 11th LPGA Tour title. You don t get that many opportunities where you re going into the final round with a three-shot lead, the 18-year-old said. But I ll take it. I d rather be a couple shots ahead than a couple shots behind. Park kicked off a run of five consecutive birdies at the 12th but an errant tee shot on 17 led to a double bogey. She hit back immediately though with a birdie on the final hole to stay in touch. Australia s Minjee Lee provided the highlight of the day when her 5-wood tee shot at the 275-yard par-4 16th landed in front of the green, kicked left and rolled into the cup for the second hole-in-one on a par-4 in LPGA history. The first came earlier this year from South Korean Jang Ha-na in the Bahamas. Just lucky, said Lee, adding that it was her first hole-in-one. I hit a good one shot, though. It s a bit of both. World number two Park In-bee is four strokes off the pace on 10-under with Jessica Korda a shot further back. Ian Poulter of England plays his third shot from the bunker on the 14th hole during the third round of the Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande. () RUGBY Jones braced for rough ride at home London Eddie Jones is expecting a hard time from his Australian compatriots when he returns in June aiming to lead England to more success. But the tough-talking Tasmanian, who led the Wallabies for four years including a home World Cup final defeat by England before being ousted, is relishing the intense atmosphere of a tour down under and trying to build on England s recent Grand Slam success. Jones knows all too well that while getting England to complete a Six Nations clean sweep in his first season in charge was a fairly difficult hill to climb, overcoming Australia in the first-ever three Test series there between the two nations will be considerably harder. Asked if he expects to be targeted by the Australian media as a potential traitor, Jones replied: I am a target here (England) so it is not going to make much difference! That s part of the game. If it does help take some of the pressure off the players then that can only be a good thing. It doesn t bother me. I think they will be respectful about what we have done regarding the Grand Slam. Well, as respectful as Australians can be! It definitely sets things up for a fantastic series on June 11 (the date of the first Test, in Brisbane), and that s very important. Jones, who took over after hosts England were knocked out of last year s World Cup in the pool phase following a defeat by Australia, added: It s nice to go down there with what they will see as a resurgent England team. Australia had France out there two years ago and, to be quite honest, the three Tests were quite morbid. They weren t great. France didn t front up at all. They were pretty poor events and the crowds were poor. But they are going to see an England side full of energy, full of life, that wants to play positive rugby and is going to take it to the Aussies. It is going to be a tough and intense tour but it will also be an exciting one. With his England players back at their respective clubs for the run-in to the English Premiership season, Jones biggest worry is avoiding any sort of injury crisis between now and the end of May when the squad fly out. Despite a first Grand Slam in 13 years, and installing a clinical winning attitude in a short time, Jones will not be happy unless he turns England into the global game s dominant force.

11 SPORT 11 TENNIS Murray wins but Nadal out in Miami health scare Nadal playing in the heat of the afternoon, feared for his safety and handed 94th-ranked Dzumhur a 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 triumph Miami Britain s Andy Murray moved into the third round of the ATP and WTA Miami Open on Saturday but Rafael Nadal, dizzy as he struggled to cope with heat and humidity, retired from his match. World number two Murray, twice a Grand Slam champion, downed Uzbekistan s 76thranked Denis Istomin 6-3, 7-5 to reach the third round in a night match. That second set was tight but I managed to get through it, said Murray, who next faces Bulgarian 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov in his quest for a third Miami crown. Spanish fifth seed Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion playing in the heat of the afternoon, feared for his safety and handed 94thranked Bosnian Damir Dzumhur a 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 triumph, stopping during a match for the first time in six years. Everything was fine until the end of the first set and I started to feel not very good, Nadal said. It was getting worse and worse and worse. I get a little bit scared to be too dizzy and to lose fluids. I called the doctor a couple of times. I decided I was not safe. I wanted to finish the match but I decided I would not. Two-time Slam winners Stan Wawrinka and Petra Kvitova crashed out of the hardcourt event, although Nadal s exit proved most stunning of all. Hopefully it s nothing, Nadal said. Hopefully it s just the extreme conditions out there, the beginning of a virus combined with the conditions. Nadal, a four-time Miami finalist but never a champion, was also a first-match loser at the Australian Open, only the second Grand Slam opener defeat of his career. Dzumhur, 23, won 22 of the last 29 points as Nadal, 29, repeatedly spoke with a trainer, asking for his blood pressure to be taken after two games of the third set. Can we not check the tension, if it is good or bad please? he said. Told it was good, he said, Continue. After dropping the third game, he sat with his head down as a trainer told him, If you re feeling bad, there s no point to continue. Nadal battled through three more points and finally said he could not go on. Definitely I want Rafa to recover, said Dzumhur. He s one of the best players and I wish all the best for him. World number one Serena Williams ousted Kazak Zarina Diyas 7-5, 6-3, in the match after Nadal and was also tested by the conditions. It was definitely humid, Williams said. Rafa played before me. He was in the most intense part of the sun whereas I was on the tail end of it. Swiss fourth seed Wawrinka, who has won titles this year at Chennai and Dubai, was ousted by Russia s Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-3 while Czech eighth seed Kvitova, the 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon winner, fell to Russian 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 6-4. Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open champion, managed only 16 winners against 37 unforced errors and went 0-for- 8 on break point chances. Kuznetsov, ranked a career-best 51st, avenged a third-round loss to Wawrinka at Indian Wells and made the Swiss his highest-ranked beaten foe. With Nadal and Wawrinka out, the topranked player in their quarter of the draw is Canadian 12th seed Milos Raonic, coming off a Andy Murray hits a forehand during his win over Denis Istomin at the Miami Open. (USA TODAY Sports) runner-up showing at Indian Wells. Raonic beat American Denis Kudla 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 and next faces US 22nd seed Jack Sock, who advanced 6-2, 3-2 when Ukraine s Sergiy Stakhovsky retired with a back injury. The losses also mean highest-rated obstacles to Murray reaching the final are in his quarter of the bracket, Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori and French ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Nishikori advanced to the third round by downing 107th-ranked French qualifier Pierre- Hugues Herbert 6-2, 7-6 (7/4). The 2014 US Open runner-up, coming off a fourth consecutive title at Memphis last month, next meets Ukraine s 27th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov. Australian 24th seed Nick Kyrgios routed Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-1, to set a third-round date with 132nd-ranked US qualifier Tim Smyczek, who outlasted US 13th seed John Isner 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5). RESULTS (x denotes seeded player): Men s 2nd rd Kei Nishikori (JPN x6) bt Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR x27) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-4, 6-4 Milos Raonic (CAN x12) bt Denis Kudla (USA) 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 Jack Sock (USA x22) bt Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 6-2, 3-2, retired, back injury Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) bt Stan Wawrinka (SUI x4) 6-4, 6-3 Gael Monfils (FRA x16) bt Tatsuma Ito (JPN) 6-3, 6-2 Damir Dzumhur (BIH) bt Rafael Nadal (ESP x5) 2-6, 6-4, 3-0, retired, illness Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) bt Thomas Bellucci (BRA x30) 5-7, 6-3, retired, dehydration Pablo Cuevas (URU x23) bt John Millman (AUS) 7-5, 6-4 Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x26) bt Frederico Delbonis (ARG) 7-6 (10/8), 4-6, 6-4 Nick Kyrgios (AUS x24) bt Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 6-2, 6-1 Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP x17) bt Aljaz Bedene (GBR) 7-5, 2-2, retired, wrist injury Tim Smyczek (USA) bt John Isner (USA x13) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5) Adrian Mannarino (FRA) bt Sam Querrey (USA x29) 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x9) bt Santiago Giraldo (COL) 6-3, 6-1 Andy Murray (GBR x2) bt Denis Istomin (UZB) 6-3, 7-5 Women s 3rd rd Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x30) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x8) 6-4, 6-4 Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x15) bt Caroline Garcia (FRA) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x3) bt Madison Brengle (USA) 6-3, 6-2 Heather Watson (GBR) bt Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 Simona Halep (ROM x5) bt Julia Goerges (GER) 6-4, 6-1 Serena Williams (USA x1) bt Zarina Diyas (KAZ) 7-5, 6-3 Timea Bacsinszky (SUI x19) bt Ana Ivanovic (SRB x16) 7-5, 6-4 Elina Svitolina (UKR x12) bt Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x23) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) Sagan triumphs Gent-Wevelgem marred by motorbike accident Brussels: Slovakia s Peter Sagan prevailed in a four-man sprint to claim victory in yesterday s Gent-Wevelgem cobbled classic in Belgium, but the race was overshadowed by a serious crash involving Belgian rider Antoine Demoitie. Sagan, who was second at Friday s E3 Harelbeke, held off Fabian Cancellara, Vyacheslav Kuznetsov and Sep Vanmarcke to record his second Gent-Wevelgem triumph after winning the 2013 edition. I m very happy that I ve won finally in this (rainbow) jersey, said Sagan, after earning his first win as world champion. I m reassured. I showed on the Kemmel (climb) that my legs respond, added the Slovak who will go into next weekend s Tour of Flanders, one of cycling s five Monuments, as one of the favourites. Yesterday s race lived up to its gruelling reputation, with riders battling strong winds as they tackled 10 climbs over a 243km route, including two ascents of the Kemmelberg. The decisive breakaway came just after the final climb of the Kemmelberg, around 35 kilometres from the finish, as Sagan, Cancellara and Vanmarcke reeled in Kuznetsov to form a leading quartet. The Etixx-QuickStep team of three-time winner Tom Boonen and Niki Terpstra launched a bid to chase them down but were foiled as the gap quickly increased, before an inevitable dash to the finish ensued. Meanwhile, Demoitie was rushed to hospital in a serious condition after he was struck by a motorbike following a fall earlier in the race. Antoine Demoitie is in Lille hospital after a serious crash with a motor bike in Gent- Wevelgem, read a post on the Wanty-Gobert team s Twitter account, confirming earlier information provided to by emergency services. The accident occurred in Sainte-Marie- Cappel, northern France, with Demoitie, 25, transported to a hospital in Lille. QUINTANA WINS TOUR OF CATALONIA Colombia s Nairo Quintana won the Tour of Catalonia on yesterday with the final stage a 136km circuit around Barcelona s Montjuic area, the site of the 1992 Olympic Games going to Alexey Tsatevich of Russia. Quintana, head of the Movistar team, took the lead in what is Spain s oldest stage race at the end of the fourth stage at Port Aine and he never looked like losing that yesterday. The Colombian successfully resisted a series of attacks from Chris Froome, Alberto Contador and Dan Martin in a race that featured the majority of this year s contenders for the Tour de France. While Tsatevich edged out Slovenia s Primoz Roglic in a sprint finish, Quintana finished seven seconds clear of Spain s Contador (Tinkoff) overall with Ireland s Martin (Etixx) in third at 17 seconds off the pace. Defending Tour de France champion Froome (Team Sky) was forced to settle for eighth place as he ended 46 seconds adrift. There s a lot of emotion to have been able to beat my rivals. It gives me confidence that we are working well, said Quintana, who, like Froome, was racing for the first time in Europe this season. However, he was mindful not to read too much into the result, adding: I won the Tour of Catalonia by seven seconds, which isn t very much. For Contador, who like Froome is a two-time winner of the Tour de France, his second-place finish marked another near-miss for the Spaniard. It s a pity that I missed the win for four seconds at Paris-Nice and seven here, it would have been to round it off, he said. SQUASH El Sherbini makes history for Egypt with British Open victory London Egypt s Nour El Sherbini (left) and Mohamed El Shorbagy pose with their trophies after winning the British Open squash titles yesteday. Nour El Sherbini became the first Egyptian woman to win the 94-year-old British Open title when she overcome her compatriot Nouran Gohar in five tight games yesterday. Gohar, aged only 18, had been trying to become the youngest women s winner, but after a match full of unusually hard hitting she was beaten 11-7, 9-11, 7-11, 11-6, For the second time in the tournament Gohar suffered a bleeding knee which required treatment, and after a nine-minute delay Sherbini produced a brilliant forehand counter-hit and then two more heavy, accurate forehand drives to close it out. It s really weird to hear that I am champion, said Sherbini, who played in the 2012 final but is still only 20. The last two points depended on such a small margin. I m very proud be the first Egyptian (woman) to win. It s a huge thing and hopefully other Egyptians will make us proud. With the men s final later being between two of her compatriots, that sentiment was certain to be realised soon. Mohamed El Shorbagy, the defending champion, was taking on Ramy Ashour, who became the first Egyptian in almost 50 years to take the title when he won three years ago. In a thrilling final game, Sherbini was warned for a collision early on, and then frustrated by a controversial no let decision which helped Gohar to reduce a three-point deficit to one at 6-7. It was still one point, at 7-8, when Sherbini pointed out that her already badly cut knee had started bleeding again, and she was obliged to leave the court. I am very sad, Gohar said, bravely holding back the tears while still on court. I was so close. But it was my first final and I didn t quite have the experience to win it. FINAL RESULTS Men: Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY x1) bt Ramy Ashour (EGY x5) 11-3, 11-5, 11-9 Women: Nour El Sherbini (EGY x4) bt Nouran Gohar (EGY x8) 11-7, 9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8

12 GULF TIMES SPORT FOCUS China s Long, Shiwen clinch Qatar Open table tennis titles Zhang Jike-Fan Zhendong and Ding Ning-Liu Shiwen win the men s and the women s doubles titles respectively ITTF Doha China s Ma Long and Liu Shiwen won the men s and women s singles titles of the 2016 ITTF World Tour Qatar Open at Ali Bin Hamad al-attyia Arena yesterday. Ma, the current world champion and world number one, raced into a two-game lead before Fan got himself back into contention by taking the third. It proved to be a fleeting moment of success for Fan in an eagerly anticipated clash between the world s top two competitors as Ma went on to secure an 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 13-11, 11-5 victory to reassert his status as the best male table tennis player in the world. He had overcome a dangerous opponent in Germany s Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the last four earlier on the final day of the competition, progressing to the tournament s showpiece contest by virtue of a 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 success. The result means that Long maintains his dominance over Zhendong; they have now met on seven occasions in world ranking events and Long has won all seven. We both played well, there might not have been many fantastic rallies, but we were both fully focused, said Long. It s only been a month since the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, and we didn t have much rest to recover to our best state. It was a very tight match, the first three games that I won were both decided by the minimal two points, said Long. It was not easy at all, the first three games were the most critical in the match. It was Long s 22nd win in his 32nd second ITTF World Tour men s singles final. He is now the most successful of the Chinese male players as he surpasses Wang Liqin, who won on 21 titles. He trails Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus, who has 26 titles but if you add the Grand Finals, he is only one behind. Samsonov has won the men s singles title at the Grand Finals on one occasion, Long has won four times; thus overall Samsonov has 27 men s singles titles and Long is one behind. The women s singles crown also went the way of the top seed as China s Liu Shiwen cruised to a comfortable 4-1 triumph over compatriot and number two seed Ding Ning. Shiwen, who lost out to Ding in the final of the 2015 World Championships in Suzhou, never looked in doubt of claiming the title despite dropping the second game. The 24-year-old ensured she finished top of the pile by recording an 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 win against Ding, who was no match for her team-mate and was forced to settle for second place. Shiwenhad been in confident form throughout the tournament and reached the final by dispatching another Chinese player in Zhu Yuling, the third seed, in straight games 11-6, 11-3, 11-8, Ding also enjoyed a relatively straightforward path to a meeting with Shiwenas she beat Hong Kong s Tie Yana, seeded 14th, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, The two formidable Chinese players were involved in a thrilling women s doubles final before they faced off for singles supremacy as they teamed up to oust Japan s Ai Fukuhara and Mimo Ito 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 4-11, I think the match wasn t as exciting as we had hoped it would be, probably because this is the second consecutive World Tour event, so we were a little exhausted, said Shiwen. It was the fourth time that Shiwen reached the women s singles final in Doha and the third time she had faced Ning in the final. Today s win is a confidence booster for me ahead of the Rio Games, said Shiwen. We are in a crucial period of time where our internal competition is very intense to qualify for Rio, said Shiwen. China s Zhang Jike and Fan Zhendong defeated Japan s Koki Niwa and Maharu Yoshimura (11-8, 11-9, 11-7) in the men s doubles. China s Ma Long (C) celebrates on the podium with secretary general of Qatar Olympic Committee Dr. Thani Abdulrahman al-kuwari (R) and Qatar Table Tennis Association president Khaleel Ahmed al-mohannadi (L) after winning men s singles title at the ITTF World Tour Qatar Open yesterday. PICTURES: JAYARAM China s Liu Shiwen (R) poses with the women s singles trophy yesterday. SPOTLIGHT QIGC helps promote sustainability in community By Sports Reporter Doha Qatar International Golf Club (QIGC), Doha s new world class golfing destination, has shown its commitment to becoming one of the most socially and environmentally sustainable projects in the world by hosting local schoolchildren to take part in a live science lesson at the development. 25 students from the local Qatar Academy Sidra, which is also taking part in the golf club s Pearl Coaching Programme, were invited to the project to learn more about the importance of sustainability. After planting a tree on the 14th hole of the new course and hearing from Darren Smith, Golf Course Superintendent, on how plants and trees are used to help water conservation, students went back to the classroom to take part in educational experiments where they had the opportunity to build a fairway profile and learn more about how golf courses are built. The activity was conducted in support of World Soil Day which helped students understand more about using turf, soil and plants to help reduce water consumption and respecting the natural environment. The activity comes as part of QIGCs aim to become one of the most sustainable projects in the world. It is currently working through the Golf Environment Organisation s (GEO) OnCourse Developments programme to achieve GEO Certified Development status with the aim of maximising the role of the project in enhancing nature, conserving resources and supporting local communities. QIGC is an early adopter of the programme and has been working with GEO, a not-for-profit that is dedicated to supporting the global golf community in sustainable development, since Mohamed al-naimi, Deputy General Manager at Qatar International Golf Club commented: One of the most unique things about our project globally is its commitment to becoming one of the most sustainable projects in the world, not just from an environmental perspective but also socially. As well as making sure we are enhancing the natural habitat and conserving resources throughout every stage of our build and operation, it is also important that a project of this nature supports the local community. The recent schools activity we hosted was a perfect way to bring these objectives together. Local students had an opportunity to learn from the project and the techniques we are using to make sure we are advancing golf course sustainability. The Qatar Academy Sidra is one of three schools already taking part in a dedicated schools outreach initiative, the Pearl Coaching Programme, put in place by the golf club to give the youngest members of the community a chance to learn and enjoy golf with expert coaching and tuition. The programme is another important part of QIGCs commitment to providing benefit to the local community and aims to get golf clubs into the hands of 2,000 local school children to encourage them to keep an active and healthy lifestyle through sport. Qatar International Golf Club is a landmark project for Qatar and the world of golf, offering a revolutionary and holistic approach to growing the game of golf. The cutting edge facility has been designed to support every member of society regardless of age or ability - from complete beginners to the world s leading professionals and focusses on accessibility and enjoyment. It comprises a range of short game formats, a state-of-theart learning and practice facility and an18-hole championship golf course, 6-hole championship course and 9-hole par-3 course all designed by two-time major winner Jose Maria Olazabal. The unrivalled combination of a premium golfing, leisure and sports education facility in one location, Qatar International Golf Club is truly unique to the region and the world. Local school students learn about sustainabilty at QIGC.