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1 NBA Page 5 Harden hits heights as Rockets soar over Wolves TENNIS Page 6 Sharapova falls to Garcia in Stuttgart first round Sha baan 9, 1439 AH GULF TIMES SPORT FOOTBALL Unstoppable Ronaldo the sole survivor of BBC Page 3 Impressive medal haul for Qatar at Arab athletics Aspire Academy student athletes led Qatar s charge for medals at the 18th Arab Junior Athletics Championships held from April 19-22, 2018, at the Baccalaureate School in Amman, Jordan. The team brought home a total of seven medals on the back of some impressive performances that ensured among other achievements, world junior qualification standard, a new national record as well as individual personal bests. Straight on the back of double gold (Shot Put and Discus) in the recent GCC Championship held in Kuwait, student athlete Mohamed Ibrahim Moaaz maintained his fabulous form to repeat the feat in the same events in Amman. It was a similar tale with rising star athlete, Muhand Saifeldin, who like Mooaz, matched his two gold medal haul from the GCC Championship but this time round also added a 800m win in place of the 1,500m he won in Kuwait. His first gold came in the 3,000m steeplechase. Saoud al-humaidi went one better than his performance at the GCC Championship when his time of sec secured a silver medal, setting a World Junior standard time. On the last day of competition, Rashid al-suwaidi added a bronze medal for his exploits in long jump and Team Qatar picked up their last medal, a bronze, thanks to the blistering pace of Jaber Hilal al-mamari in the 200m sprint. Team Qatar s athletes were among 423 competing at the 18th Arab Junior Athletics Championships that featured athletes from 16 countries across 44 events. Team Qatar s athletes, members of the delegation and other officials at s Hamad International Airport after their arrival from the 18th Arab Junior Athletics Championships in Amman, Jordan. FOOTBALL / EMIR CUP Al-Neel, Pereira shine in Markhiya s win over Shamal Rachid scores a brace in Kharaitiyat s 3-1 win over Shahania After being relegated from the QNB Stars League this season, Al Markhiya had a reason to smile yesterday as they outclassed Al Shamal 4-1 in the Emir Cup first round match. At the Grand Hamad Stadium, Markhiya dominated the game throughout to run away with easy victory. In the second round, Markhiya will take on Al Khor on April 28. The Qatargas League outfit Al Shamal struggled to keep pace with Markhiya, who were led superbly by attacking midfielder Eric de Oliveira Pereira. The Brazilian scored in the 65th minute and he also assisted Mohamed Salah al-neel s opening goal in the 30th minute. Al- Neel was also impressive on the day as he collected his second goal in the 54th minute, before Leonardo Henrik de Souza converted a penalty to complete an emphatic victory for Markhiya. For Shamal, Mohamed Hares equalised in the 50th minute but their hopes for victory was quickly snuffed out by Shamal s attacking display. Markhiya had a point to prove coming into the match. They had finished last in the QNB Stars League this season, and find themselves in the second division. So it was obvious that Adel Sellami s side were keen to make up for their failure in the league with some impressive performance in the Emir Cup. And they did show how lethal they can be yesterday. After coming close on couple of occasions, Markhiya finally found the net in the 30th minute. Pereira played a delicious pass to al-neel, who controlled the ball skilfully and placed his header above Al Shamal goalkeeper Chehab Salah al-deen. Action from the Emir Cup first round match between Al Markhiya (in maroon) and Al Shamal (in white) yesterday. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil Al Kharaitiyat players celebrate a goal during the match against Al Shahania yesterday. Markhiya continued to apply pressure but al-neel and Pereira failed to add to the scoreline. Shamal started the second half brightly and equalised in the 50th minute. Mohammed Hares received a cross from Mubarak Saleh al-rashidi and volleyed it past Markhiya custodian Mohamed Montasser Khrub. However, Markhiya needed only four minutes to restore the lead. Saleh Badr al-yazidi played a through ball to al-neel, who calmly slotted in the ball from four yards. While Shamal went all out for their second goal and equaliser, Markhiya added their third. The impressive Pereira, who had led his team s attack, struck in the 65th minute. In the 85th minute, de Souza made it 4-1 after converting a penalty as he shot to the top right corner. In the second match of the day, Al Kharaitiyat beat Al Shahania 3-1. Tiberkanine Rachid scored a brace, while Mohamed al-yazidi struck a goal for the winners. For Shahania, Vasquez Luciano Vlaudio scored the lone goal. Kharaitiyat will play against Umm Salal in the next round on April 29. On Sunday, Al Wakrah and Mesaimeer had sealed their passage into second round with wins over QNB Stars league sides. Wakrah scripted a sensational comeback to edge out Qatar Sports Club 3-2, while Mesaimeer beat Al Ahli 3-1 on penalties. Wakrah set-up a second round clash with Al Arabi, while Mesaimeer will face Al Sailiya. The Emir Cup is the most prestigious domestic football tournament and brings down the curtains on the nine-month long football season in Qatar. The event offers a chance for lower division teams to test their mettle against the big guns as they bid to qualify for the final at the Khalifa Stadium on May 19. The top four teams in the QNB Stars League Al Duhail, Al Sadd, Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa will kick off their campaigns directly from the quarter-final stage of the competition, where they will be joined by four other teams who will have to work their way up from rounds one and two. CRICKET / ICC WORLD T20 ASIA QUALIFIER A Qatar beat Saudi Arabia for their third victory A disciplined bowling effort followed by cautious batting down the order ensured that Qatar held their nerves in a few edgy moments to register their third victory in the ICC World T20 Asia Qualifier A in Kuwait City yesterday. At the Sulabiya Cricket Ground, Qatar limited Saudi Arabia to 135 for seven in the allotted 20 overs after putting them to bat first. Qatar s Nouman Sarwar and Mohamed Nadeem picked up two wickets each. In reply, Qatar opener Faisal Javid Khan gave a quick start yet again with an eight-ball 18 but fell in the third over with the score at 27. The same over skipper Inam-ul-Haq (8) too was sent back to the pavilion. Kamran Khan was sent back in the fifth over with the scoreboard reading 39 for 3. However, Tamoor Sajjad and Zaheer Ibrahim, both scoring 27- ball 35, stitched together a 60- run partnership before the latter became first three quick wickets that fell for just 10 runs, slowing down the flow of runs. However, an unbroken seventh-wicket alliance between Khurram Shahzad and Sarwar saw them through with seven balls to spare. In other matches of the day, the United Arab Emirates beat Maldives by 43 runs to maintain their position at the top of the standings with four wins in as many matches, while Kuwait defeated Bahrain by 23 runs. Qatar s team manager Gul Khan Jadoun was palpably pleased after his team s triumph. This was a very important match for us. By God s grace, we won by four wickets and are now in line for a No 1 spot playoff against the UAE. The entire team worked hard for the victory. We bowled well to contain Saudi Arabia to a modest total. Our batsmen applied themselves well on the turning track and held off the opponents, he added. Our next match is against Bahrain on Thursday. We ll try to use the rest day (Wednesday) for preparing a good strategy so that we stay focussed and on the track to be either No 1 or 2 in the event, Jadoun said. BRIEF SCORES: Saudi Arabia 135 for 7 in 20 overs (Shahbaz Rasheed 36, Faisal Khan 29; Nouman Sarwar 2 for 21, Mohamed Nadeem 2 for 37) lost to Qatar 136 for 6 in 18.5 overs (Tamoor Sajjad 35, Zaheer Ibrahim 35; Imran Arif 3 for 33) by 4 wickets. Man of the Match: Tamoor Sajjad (Qatar, 1 wicket for 29, 35 runs) Qatar s Tamoor Sajjad (right) was adjudged Man of the Match.

2 2 Gulf Times FOOTBALL Italy confirm Ancelotti talks, say no front-runner Ancelotti was sacked by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich last September Milan Italian football federation (FIGC) chiefs yesterday confirmed talks had taken place with Carlo Ancelotti concerning the vacant Italy coaching job but insisted there was no front-runner yet. Ancelotti, who was sacked by Bayern Munich last September, met with FIGC commissioner Roberto Fabbricini and sub-commissioner Alessandro Costacurta in a Rome hotel on Monday. It was reported the 58-year-old has been offered a two-year contract, with the only sticking point financial terms which would be less lucrative than his previous deal with the German champions. But Fabbricini insisted the meeting was not an official one. Ancelotti has a fairly serious family problem, and that s why he was in Rome, Fabbricini said. Costacurta, having a strong friendship with Ancelotti, met him and I also took part in that meeting. We talked about a future scenario though, but we still have a coach (Luigi Di Biagio) under contract. I don t think a coach can a priori rule out a prestigious job like leading Italy. The Azzurri bench is always an objective for any coach. But of course there are other factors which affect the decision the desire to work every day for example. No-one is in pole, we want to respect the date of May 20 because the national team will play on May 28 (friendly against Saudi Arabia). Italy have been without a permanent coach since Gian Piero Ventura was sacked after the four-time champions failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years after losing to Sweden in a two-legged playoff in November. Costacurta who was coached by Ancelotti at AC Milan in the 1980s was appointed to find a successor to Ventura and insisted the deadline remained May 20. Among the other names being touted are Zenit St Petersburg coach Roberto Mancini, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte and former Leicester coach Claudio Ranieri, now in charge of French club Nantes. Carlo was in Rome for personal reasons, the chosen hotel was the one where I always stay myself and we found ourselves there at the same time, Costacurta said. We didn t talk about the Italy bench, we only joked about the opportunity, we could not talk about the programme and the financial part. We are loyal to the rules. If there will be an official meeting? Yes, but I still do not know when. We need people to make themselves available, we can t get close to contracted coaches. Ancelotti, who has also managed Chelsea, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus, Roma and Paris Saint-Germain, has three Champions League titles to his name as a coach. He has also won the league in Italy, France, Germany and England. The FIGC budget for a new coach and his staff is five mn euros ($6.1mn) per year, which would be a big drop from the reported 12mn euros plus bonuses that Ancelotti earned at Bayern Munich. Ancelotti joined Bayern in 2016 and won the Bundesliga title in his first season but was sacked following a 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Costacurta was reported to have offered Ancelotti, who has also been linked with former club Chelsea and the soon-to-be-vacant manager s job at Arsenal, a free hand in choosing his staff. Ancelotti s son Davide, who was his assistant at Bayern, could play a role as well as former stars such as Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon and Paolo Maldini. Italy s under-21 coach Di Biagio has been filling the position on an interim basis. Carlo Ancelotti is set to be given the job of reviving the fortunes of Italy s national team. () Panathinaikos banned from Europe for three seasons Athens Former Greek champions Panathinaikos have been banned from European competition for three seasons after failing to meet financial requirements, European football s governing body UEFA said yesterday. Panathinaikos, former European Cup finalists, have fallen on hard times in recent years. The club has undergone several changes of ownership structure and suffered dire financial problems. UEFA said the club had been given a March 1 deadline to settle issues with creditors but had failed to do so. The Adjudicatory Chamber confirmed that Panathinaikos FC is excluded from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the next three seasons, UEFA said in a statement. The Adjudicatory Chamber also ordered that the amount of 100,000 euros as part of the total fine of 200,000 euros is no longer suspended and is due immediately. Panathinaikos are currently in 10th place in Greece s official Superleague standings and have no hope of competing in Europe next season. Panathinaikos were found in December to be in breach of the overdue payables requirement of UEFA s club licensing and financial fair play regulations and were fined. That fine was suspended, pending the March deadline. The Greek championship has this season been tarnished by crowd violence involving several clubs and there have also been investigations by prosecutors into corruption. Play was even suspended for weeks after PAOK club boss Ivan Savvidis stormed onto the pitch with a gun in his belt during a league game against AEK Athens last month. FIFA has threatened to exclude Greece from international competition. SERIE A Buffon blasts talk of Benatia rift Milan Gianluigi Buffon yesterday blasted talk of a row with Juventus teammate Medhi Benatia as invented gossip to try and unnerve the champions in the title race. Buffon, 40, was reported to have let rip at centreback Benatia after Kalidou Koulibaly scored in the final minute in Turin as Napoli beat Juventus 1-0 on Sunday, cutting Juve s lead to just one point at the top of Serie A with four games to play. It was also a foul by the Moroccan defender which resulted in the controversial late penalty which gave Real Madrid a place in the Champions League semi-finals at the expense of the Italians. It s the kind of gossip, patently invented, that comes after the defeat of teams like Juventus who don t have an Achilles heel, Buffon said. They try to destabilise the environment and undermine the certainty and the union of the group, he continued. No-one, at least in my 17 years at Juventus, is allowed to point the finger at someone and blame an error for a defeat. What s more, as long as I m captain of this team that will never happen. I d like to add that Medhi is an extremely respectful lad and that he s tied to our cause with an education and way of being in an exceptional group. I m sorry to be forced to point it out, but I have to because in the face of news which is, if not defamatory at least false, I think a clarification is needed to protect the group and Medhi, who is a splendid lad. Goalkeeping legend Buffon insisted his side were united as they push for a seventh consecutive Serie A title and a fourth straight Italian Cup. We ve dropped five very important points in recent days, but we re still first with a very small advantage, said the Italian. FRENCH FOOTBALL COLOSSUS HENRI MICHEL DIES Paris: Former France football coach Henri Michel, who led Les Bleus to the 1984 Olympic title, has died at the age of 70, the French players union announced yesterday. Henri Michel, a colossus of French football, left us this morning, the UNFP wrote on Twitter, adding their sincere condolences to his family and friends. Born in Aix-en-Provence, Michel played in midfield for Nantes and earned 58 international caps between 1967 and He was a three-time winner of the French league title. He took over France s Olympic men s squad in 1982, guiding them to the 84 gold medal in Los Angeles where they beat Brazil in the final. Michel then took over a France team containing Michel Platini which had just won the European Championships under the management of Michel Hidalgo. Aside from his extensive career Henri was an exceptional man, said Platini, who played alongside Michel for the national team between 1976 and A faithful friend with a rare sense of loyalty. Someone with whom you could go to the end of the earth without ever doubting his support or presence. What terrible news, Hidalgo said. I knew he d had health problems but I hadn t realised how serious they were. He was a great friend, a true professional, a great guy in every respect. Under Michel, France made it through to the 1986 World Cup semi-finals where they lost 2-0 to West Germany. Michel s time at the helm came to an unhappy end when his team failed to qualify for Euro 1988 and then drew 1-1 with Cyprus in a 1990 World Cup qualifier. Following his time with France, Michel had a brief spell as coach of Paris Saint- Germain at the start of the 1990s, before managing a host of African teams, going to three further World Cups with Cameroon (1994), Morocco (1998) and Ivory Coast (2006). His last post was a stay of a few months with Kenya in ROUND-UP Salah s prolific season at Liverpool surprises Roma President Liverpool s star forward Mohamed Salah s prolific season since leaving AS Roma has come as a surprise to the Italian Serie A club s President James Pallotta. Salah, who returned to the Premier League last year, has scored 41 goals in all competitions for Liverpool this season and was looking to add to his tally against his former side in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals late last night. Pallotta said Salah s exceptional numbers were a revelation. The reason is probably because we utilised him differently than Liverpool have. They figured out the best way to utilise him, Pallotta said. At the time, we had him as a winger and you got (Edin) Dzeko in the middle and Dzeko s scoring 36 goals himself last year, so it s not like we didn t have someone in there tearing up the league last year. Where I m surprised, is how great he (Salah) is finishing... now you get the ball near his feet and it just seems like he s figured a way to put it in the net. Liverpool reportedly paid 34mn euros ($41.5mn) to sign Salah, who returned to England two and a half years after leaving Chelsea following an unproductive 12-month spell in London. Pallotta said the deal for the Egypt international, who was named Player of the Year by England s Professional Footballers Association, was a bargain for Liverpool. When you look at it now, you can say it s an unbelievable bargain, Pallotta said. The issue at the time was that when (director of football) Monchi came in, Salah wanted to leave, he had a year left on his contract so in another year you d get nothing. He wanted to go back (to the Premier League) and prove himself, which he certainly has done. LEIPZIG S FORSBERG BANNED FOR REST OF SEASON RB Leipzig will be without playmaker Emil Forsberg in their battle for a Champions League spot in the remaining three Bundesliga matches after he was banned following a red card, the German Football Association said yesterday. The World Cup-bound Sweden midfielder was handed a three-game suspension after being sent off in Leipzig s 5-2 home loss to Hoffenheim on Saturday for hitting an opponent in the neck as he tried to break free from a challenge. Leipzig, last season s surprise runners-up, only have a slim chance of a top-four finish, lying in sixth place on 47 points, four behind Bayer Leverkusen in fourth. The top four clubs qualify for the lucrative Champions League group stage. Leipzig travel to struggling Mainz 05 this week before playing VfL Wolfsburg and Hertha Berlin. ARGENTINE BIGLIA S WORLD CUP IN DOUBT AFTER BACK INJURY AC Milan midfielder Lucas Biglia could miss the World Cup this summer with Argentina after suffering a severe back injury during the Italian club s defeat to Benevento at the weekend. The 32-year-old was forced off the pitch after 72 minutes in Milan s shock defeat to 10-man Benevento and the club confirmed Biglia has fractured two vertebrae in his back. The former Anderlecht midfielder moved to the San Siro this season on a 17-million-euro deal after four years with Serie A rivals Lazio. GERMANY LODGES BID TO HOST EURO 2024 FOOTBALL Germany handed in its formal bid to host the 2024 European football championships yesterday, firing the gun on a race with the only other contender Turkey. German Football Federation president Reinhard Grindel was accompanied by Germany s 2014 World Cup-winning captain Philipp Lahm, the bid ambassador, when the papers were handed in at UEFA headquarters in Nyon. The now-retired Lahm said: I played in the 2006 World Cup in Germany and I m sure that we will once again feel that great enthusiasm and create a new spirit of solidarity at Euro We are a cosmopolitan organiser and we have modern stadiums and good infrastructure. Football is at home in our country. Turkish officials are expected to lodge their bid tomorrow. The host nation will be chosen by UEFA s Executive Committee on September 27. Germany last hosted a Euro in 1988 when the country was still divided into East and West. The Netherlands beat the Soviet Union 2-0 in the final. The next Euro, in 2020, will take place in 12 cities across Europe. LEEDS UNITED PLAN TO TOUR CRISIS-HIT MYANMAR SPARKS CRITICISM Leeds United will play two friendlies in Myanmar next month as the Championship side looks to build a fanbase in the troubled Southeast Asian country. The tour, which will also see Leeds hold football clinics and PR visits to landmarks including Yangon s Shwedagon pagoda,already stirred controversy. Myanmar is in the eye of a storm of criticism over its treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority, around 700,000 of whom have been driven into Bangladesh since August last year in what the UN says amounts to ethnic cleansing. But that has not deterred the end-of-season tour by the storied Yorkshire club, who are currently mid-table in English football s second tier. In a statement the club said it will play a Myanmar All-Star IX on May 9 in Yangon, then a game against the national team two days later in Mandalay. Amnesty International was quick to criticise the move. Leeds were relegated from the English Premier League in 2004 and suffered years of financial woes. The club has since struggled to gain promotion back to the top flight.

3 Gulf Times FOOTBALL 3 Unstoppable Ronaldo the sole survivor of BBC It s impossible to completely stifle Ronaldo, we can only stop him as a team Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema were once the untouchable trio, but only one of Real Madrid s feted BBC can be sure of their place against Bayern Munich today. Ronaldo has dragged Real into the Champions League semifinals with, even by his standards, an astonishing goal glut that includes 22 in 12 games, and at least one in each of his last 11 matches in Europe. It s impossible to completely stifle Ronaldo, we can only stop him as a team, Bayern defender Jerome Boateng said on Monday. An attacker can not be more complete than him left foot, right foot, head, he controls everything and in front of the goal, he s a machine. But while Ronaldo has enjoyed a fresh spurt in his new role of predatorial centre-forward, his two partners have found their responsibilities reduced ahead of the first leg at the Allianz Arena. Bale s decline began first. After returning from injury earlier this year, he was on the bench for both legs against Paris Saint- Germain and the first leg against Juventus. In the second leg, he did start, only to endure the humiliation of being taken off at half-time. Benzema s fall has been more surprising given the striker had been Zinedine Zidane s preferred partner for Ronaldo, his work rate and supply highly valued despite the Frenchman s lack of goals. But Benzema s link-up play has slackened, thrusting that dry patch one goal in 10 games and only four in 24 more clearly into view. He does suffer a little bit, when he misses chances he suffers but the solution is easy, Zidane said. He has to keep working. It is just a little blip he is in at the moment. Bale and Benzema s dip has coincided with Ronaldo s golden run, a parallel that may not be entirely coincidental. Ronaldo in a Real team centred on playing to his strengths is nothing new, but as the Portugese has grown narrower in his scope, perhaps his team-mates have had to sharpen their focus in providing service to him. Zidane has often deployed Heynckes lives for the here and now against old foe Zidane Munich Jupp Heynckes recalled yesterday his fond memories of leading Real Madrid to a Champions League win 20 years ago but Bayern Munich s great manager was adamant he had no interest in looking back as he prepared to tackle old foe Zinedine Zidane again. On the eve of Bayern s first leg of their Champions League semi-final against the club who once sacked him, the 72-yearold reflected only briefly on coaching Madrid to a 1-0 win over a Juventus side featuring Real s current manager Zidane in I have many memories in my head from the Amsterdam Arena against Juve with Zinedine Zidane, (Filippo) Inzaghi, (Didier) Deschamps and it was a nervous finale with five minutes of added time, Heynckes told a news conference in the biggest games this season, with Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio preferred on the flanks for their defensive discipline and willingness to send crosses into the box. Bale is not viewed as conscientious enough in the wide midfielder role while Benzema s key selling point was his link-up play. When that broke down, his appeal diminished. I don t see anyone looking sad, Zidane said. I said to the pair of them the other day, they would both like to score more goals but everyone is working well. It is always going to happen in a side like ours, there are players in good form and in the team and playing well. Even if Isco is selected, it means Real are likely to line up with one of their more modestlooking attacks for a crunch Champions League tie. I m not worried, Zidane said last week. It s true that in the last two games we have had chances and we have not taken them but now we are going to have a game on Wednesday away from home. We are going to try to score and what we have to do is to think positively and realise that this is football anything can happen, no matter who is playing on the pitch. It was a fantastic feeling when the whistle went and Real were European champions again for the first time in 32 years. Yet that was Heynckes only nod to nostalgia as the man who was sacked by Real eight days after that match, paying the price for their domestic failures that season, said: I really live in the here and now. Today s game should be Heynckes s last European night at the Allianz Arena, although that s a dangerous assumption with a man who has become like a reliable heavyweight champ, tempted out of retirement and into the red corner for just one more bout. In 2013, he said farewell after guiding Bayern to another Champions League win, something that eluded his otherwise much-lauded successor Pep Guardiola, and could say goodbye again with the same treble of Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League. Not that this quiet high Bayern are better than last season, warns Real s Zidane Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane warned yesterday Bayern Munich are better than they were last season when the Spaniards beat them en route to the Champions League title. Bayern, five-time European Cup winners, host 12-time champions Real in a mouth-watering semi-final first leg today. The Spaniards have won back-to-back titles but the treble-chasing Bavarians are in sensational form ever since manager Jupp Heynckes took over from Carlo Ancelotti in October. Bayern have already secured the Bundesliga title and have reached the German Cup final as well. They have been transformed under him, Zidane said of the 72-year-old Heynckes. I have maximum respect for him. He has done big things. It is remarkable. Heynckes is on a record 12-game winning run in the Champions League stretching back to 2013 when he won the title with Bayern before retiring. He will leave the club again at the end of the season. We will need a big performance against a strong opponent. Bayern are a great club with great team spirit, Zidane said, adding last season s victory in the quarter-finals over the Germans meant nothing now. I don t think there are any favourites. It is a semifinal and it is completely different to last season. It is a different match, we cannot compare the two, the Frenchman said. He may have become the first coach to lead a team to consecutive Champions League crowns but Zidane knows he must win it a third time in order to salvage what will otherwise be regarded as a disappointing season for the La Liga side Bayern Munich s German head coach Jupp Heynckes during a press conference in Munich. () achiever ever dwells on that Wembley final win over Borussia Dortmund in I had a successful playing career and as coach but I never looked back, the man who scored many goals for Borussia Moenchengladbach said. I never watched games when I was a player, nor the wins in the Champions League in 1998 or I don t know if I don t like it, but I never did it. Heynckes, one of the game s gentlemen, never did hold a grudge publicly at least against Real for what, from the Real Madrid s forward Cristiano Ronaldo takes part in a training session on the eve of the UEFA Champions League semi-final first-leg match against Bayern Munich in Munich. () with no silverware. In the league, you have to be consistent every three days and we weren t at the start of the season and that s the difficulty we have, he said. I have no doubts that mentally we will be at 150 percent tomorrow. outside, looked a familiarly unjust dismissal, always shrugging that it was an honour to manage the Spanish aristocrats. When his Bayern side beat Real in the 2012 semi-finals, he was adamant there was no sense of personal revenge for him. It seems fitting, though, that his old club, whose lost lustre of the 1960s he did so much to restore, should provide the opposition on what promises to be an emotional night for the prolific striker-turned-master manager. Today, Heynckes, who will be replaced as manager next season by Niko Kovac, reiterated: I think that Real is a worthy opponent for every coach and player. It was not on purpose for me to be on this stage, because I had already ended my career. So, for a coach who s old, it is something exceptional for me to come back on the football stage and to have the privilege of another semi-final. Then, to play against Real as well is great. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Bayern wait on Alaba for Real semi-final Munich Jupp Heynckes says Bayern Munich are waiting on the fitness of left-back David Alaba for today s crunch Champions League semi-final, first-leg, at home to Real Madrid. Alaba, a free-kick expert, sat out Bayern s final training yesterday with a thigh strain, but Heynckes hopes the left-back will be fit. Corentin Tolisso also needs to shake off a bruised shin to compete for a midfield place. We ll make a decision about them both early tomorrow (Wednesday) as to whether they will be in the squad, said Bayern head coach Heynckes. If Alaba drops out, Brazilian defender Rafinha will start. Tolisso is expected to start on the bench, if he is fit, with Javi Martinez in the defensive midfield. James Rodriguez and Thiago Alcantara are competing for a central midfield berth. Heynckes says Bayern are relishing a home semi-final against a Real team bidding to lift the Champions League trophy for the third straight season. The Bavarians main task is subduing Cristiano Ronaldo who has scored 15 Champions League games and netted in each of Real s ten European matches this season. Real s goal-scoring superstar has hit the net 42 times in all competitions. He scored five goals over two legs in Madrid s 6-3 aggregate win over Bayern in the 2017 quarter-finals. Of course, he s a big topic for us in the game analysis, said Heynckes when asked about Ronaldo. But don t forget we have Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 39 goals. So you have to ask, how can you stop Lewandowski? Heynckes says there is no clear favourite for the Allianz Arena clash, but Real have won five of their last six matches against Bayern. The Spaniards inflicted the Bavarians heaviest European home defeat when Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos both scored twice in a 4-0 thrashing in Munich in The duel against Real has a great tradition, said Heynckes who has coached both clubs to the Champions League title, Real in 1998 and Bayern in Of course, the semi-final offers a great stage. There are worldclass players on both sides. Defender Jerome Boateng said defeats in the knock-out stages to Real in both 2017 and 2014 will play no role. It s not an issue for me, it may have been a bit unfair, but you should not quarrel too much with the past, said Boateng. Bayern failed to finish either of last year s quarter-final defeats to Real with 10 men. Javi Martinez was sent off in the home leg, which Bayern lost 2-1, and Arturo Vidal saw red when the Germans went down 4-2 in Madrid after-extra time. Both were for double yellow cards. The Germany defender can expect a busy night marking Ronaldo. He is an unbelievable athlete, you can see that when he scores goals and pulls off his shirt, said Boateng. He is a top player who has almost no weaknesses. Real are especially dangerous on the counter attack, especially up front. We can only stop him as a team. Bayern Munich s players warm up during a training session in Munich yesterday. () EPL Walcott downs Newcastle to boost under-fire Allardyce Liverpool Theo Walcott did his best to boost Sam Allardyce s approval rating as the Everton winger clinched a 1-0 win against Newcastle United in the Premier League on Monday. Allardyce has been under fire for Everton s dour style of play since he was hired in November and fans called for his dismissal following a draw at struggling Swansea City in their previous match. The pressure on the former England manager was increased by his own club last week when Everton took the curious decision to send a survey to a group of supporters asking them to rate his performance on a scale of zero to 10. Toffees chairman Bill Kenwright apologised for a gaffe that added to the perception Allardyce is on borrowed time with Everton. Against that troubled backdrop, Allardyce who has lifted Everton away from the relegation zone in his brief reign couldn t afford to see his side s winless run extend to four matches against the club that sacked him 10 years ago. Walcott ensured Allardyce wouldn t hear a chorus of disapproval for one night at least as the former Arsenal star netted in the second half at Goodison Park to lift Everton into eighth place. It wasn t all plain sailing for Allardyce, who had to endure a banner reading Our survey says...get out of our club being unfurled before kick-off. But he came out fighting after the match, saying: What was wrong with our style today? We dominated the game. You have to be patent. You can t knock our football. You can knock some of the passing that goes astray but you can t knock me for that, I don t pass the ball. I think eighth in the league compared to fifth from bottom tells you we re getting better. Rafael Benitez s 100th match as Newcastle boss marked the end of their four-game winning run as the Magpies remain in mid-table. Allardyce s team could have taken the lead when Michael Keane guided Wayne Rooney s cross towards the far post, but Phil Jagielka couldn t keep his lunging effort on target. Ayoze Perez was having a night to forget and after he shot wide from a good position early in the second half, Everton made the breakthrough in the 51st minute. Yannick Bolasie swung a cross to the far post and when Newcastle failed to clear, Walcott pounced on a fortuitous deflection and smashed into the roof of the net for his first goal since January. Islam Slimani was anonymous in his first league start since joining on loan from Leicester and the Newcastle striker was replaced by Dwight Gayle, who should have snatched an equaliser moments after coming on. Jamaal Lascelles headed down and Gayle was in position to strike from close range, but instead fired over as Benitez shook his head in frustration.

4 4 Gulf Times CRICKET INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE Bowlers lead SRH to 31-run win over Mumbai Indians Sunrisers bowlers fired in unison as Mumbai crashed to an embarrassing loss at home IANS Mumbai Sunrisers Hyderabad produced a superb bowling performance to outwit Mumbai Indians by 31 runs in a tricky low-scoring encounter here yesterday to condemn the defending champions to their fifth loss in six games in the Indian Premier League. On a day for bowlers, Mumbai bowled out Hyderabad for 118 in 18.4 overs but the hosts were then bundled out for 87 in 18.5 overs at the Wankhede. Hyderabad ended their two-match losing run and are third in the points table with eight points from six matches. Hyderabad bowlers hunted in pack, with medium pacer Siddharth Kaul picking three wickets, while leg-spinner Rashid Khan and pacer Basil Thampi picking took two wickets each. Sandeep Sharma, Mohamed Nabi and Shakib al-hasan picked a wicket each. Earlier in the first innings, put in to bat, the Sunrisers failed to recover from the dreadful start, of being reduced to 46/4 inside the powerplay, with Shikhar Dhawan (5), Wriddhiman Saha (0), Manish Pandey (16) and Shakib (2) all back in the hut inside the first six overs. Skipper Kane Williamson waged a lone battle with a fighting 21-ball 29, laced with five hits to the fence before veteran Baroda batsman Yusuf Pathan (29 off 33 balls; 4x2, 6x1) took on the mantle, despite losing his partners at regular intervals. Dhawan, who returned to the playing XI after missing the previous game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), looked uncomfortable after being hit on his thigh and was bowled by Mitchell McClenaghan the very next ball. One ball later, Saha perished for nought after being caught behind by Ishan Kishan off McClenaghan. With the team struggling at 20/2, Manish joined Williamson for a brief 24-run third wicket stand before Hardik ended Manish s stay with a wide delivery, comfortably caught by skipper Rohit Sharma at cover. Mumbai could not have asked for a better start, with Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib falling prey to confusion, and Suryakumar Yadav s direct throw at the stumps was enough to reduce the visitors to 46/4. Pathan then joined Williamson, who looked fluent with his strokes but lost concentration on the very first ball after the Sunrisers Hyderabad s Rashid Khan (right) gestures as Mumbai Indians Hardik Pandya walks by during their Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday. () strategic time-out to be caught behind by Kishan off Hardik Pandya. With Williamson back in the dug-out, Mohammed Nabi (14) joined Pathan for a brief 23-run sixth-wicket stand before legspinner Mayank Markande s googly clipped the top of middle and leg of the Afghanistan allrounder. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah then came back to jolt the visitors with the wicket of the other Afghan Rashid Khan (6) caught behind before Markande knocked off the off-stump of Basil Thampi (3) to reduce the Sunrisers to 106/8. Sunrisers fell prey to yet another confusion in the middle, this time losing the wicket of tail ender Siddharth Kaul (2), comfortably run out by Hardik. With Sandeep Sharma (0 not out) in company, Pathan s ploy of playing the waiting game only resulted in a monstrous six off Mustafizur Rahman, but the Bangladeshi came back in style to pack back the right-hander the next ball, and restrict Sunrisers for a meagre 118. During the chase, Mumbai too began on a horrendous note. Ervin Lewis (5), Ishan Kishan (0) and Rohit Sharma (2) fell soon as the hosts were reduced to 21/3 in 5.2 overs. Suryakumar and Krunal Pandya then shared a handy 40-run partnership to keep Mumbai on track. Legs-spinner Rashid Khan got a LBW decision against Krunal to break the partnership, with Mumbai needing 58 from 8.2 overs. Rashid struck again to dismiss Kieron Pollard (9) in the first delivery of the 14th over to increase the visitors s hopes - which grew further when Suryakumar was caught by Rashid off Thampi in the following over. At this juncture, Mumbai were 77/6, still needing 42 off 5.1 overs. In the following over, medium pacer Siddharth Kaul got two LBW decisions against Mitchell McClenaghan (0) and Mayank Markande (1) as Mumbai tottered at 80/8 at the end of 17 overs. Amidst all this, India allrounder Hardik Pandya had scored just three runs off 16 deliveries and was Mumbai s sole hope. But Kaul made him his third wicket when he was caught by Thampi at third man in the fourth delivery of the 18th over. Thampi then had Mustafizur Rahman (1) caught by Deepak Hooda at midwicket to complete Mumbai s annihilation. Flying high on confidence, Chennai Super Kings will be eyeing to keep their winning momentum flowing when they face Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium today. The Mahendra Singh Dhoniled Chennai side, who staged a comeback in the cash-rich league after two years, have yet again shown why they are considered the the IPL s most successful team. The yellow brigade have won four of their five games and most of their batsmen have fired on more than one occassion, guiding CSK home. With the likes of in-form Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo and the skipper himself, CSK has the ability to put a massive total on board or chase any challenging target. In the bowling department, young Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur have been impressive with each bagging six wickets from five and four games respectively. BRIEF SCORES Sunrisers Hyderabad 118 in 18.4 overs (Kane Williamson 29, Yusuf Pathan 29; Mayank Markande 2/15, Hardik Pandya 2/20, Mitchell McClenaghan 2/22) bt Mumbai Indians: 87 all out in 18.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 34; Siddharth Kaul 3/23, Basil Thampi 2/4, Rashid Khan 2/11). Tendulkar fans fume over CA s birthday wish for Fleming New Delhi Fans of Sachin Tendulkar were left fuming yesterday after Cricket Australia poked fun at the little master revered as a quasi-god in India on his 45th birthday. The board posted a video of retired Australian paceman Damien Fleming who shares a birthday with Tendulkar bowling the Indian great with a quick delivery. gold from the man himself happy birthday, Damien Fleming! Cricket Australia quipped in its tongue-in-cheek message. But the humour was lost on Tendulkar s millions of fans on the subcontinent, who seemed to either miss the joke or baulk at the perceived slight on such a hallowed day. No matter how many bans, Australians will never change, wrote Shashank, a Tendulkar fan, dredging up the recent bans handed to top Australian players over a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. Hi, could you please check the full footage of that match to know got swing because of any sandpaper or sugar????? wrote Arjun, another fan, also alluding to the affair that saw Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft suspended. Tendulkar who is followed by almost 26 million fans on Twitter and worshipped by many more in India has not commented on the video. His birthday was celebrated across the country, with many of his ardent followers cutting cakes in rituals given airtime on Indian television. Tendulkar, the highest runscorer of all time in both Test matches and one-day internationals, retired after playing in 200 Tests in which he scored 15,921 runs. India s WC opener against S Africa on June 5 In a bid to maintain the Lodha Committee recommendation, which says a mandatory 15-day gap is required between the Indian Premier League (IPL) final and any international match, India will have to open their 2019 ICC World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 5, At the ICC Chief Executives Meeting yesterday, it was decided that Virat Kohli and Co. will take on the Proteas three days later than what was originally planned as the IPL now has a separate window and was included in the Future Tours Programme as a global event last year. OPINION The 2019 World Cup will be held in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14. Meanwhile, it was also decided that India will play a maximum of 309 days of international cricket in this cycle across formats which is a reduction of 92 days from the previous cycle. The number of home Tests will be increased from 15 to 19. It was also decided that India won t take part in any Day/ Night Test match, which was expected against the West Indies later this year. The reason being, the ICC World Test Championship matches won t be D/N tests. ODIs, T20s will help India adjust to England: Shastri Mumbai Playing limited overs cricket ahead of their test series in England will serve as the ideal platform for the Indian team to get used to conditions away from home, coach Ravi Shastri said. India begin their tour of England in July with three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals. They then take on the hosts in a five-test series starting in August. We will be there (in England) almost a month before the first test match. That gives us that much more time (to prepare), former India all-rounder Shastri said. India will come into the contests against England high on confidence after beating hosts South Africa 5-1 in ODIs and 2-1 in T20 competition earlier this year. India had earlier bounced back after losing the first two tests against the Proteas to finish the series 2-1. What our boys did in South Africa makes me proud as a coach because there were 21 days of cricket and on each one of those 21 days, India competed, Shastri added. The one-day series we won after 25 years. And so, from a coach s point of view, you have to just stand up and say well done, guys. Simply magnificent. You have raised the bar. India lost the five test series 3-1 when they visited England four years ago, but prevailed 3-1 in the ODI competition. The hosts won the sole T20 match. England s Root backs plans for 100-ball format London England captain Joe Root says controversial plans for a domestic 100-ball competition could attract a new audience to Test cricket. The England and Wales Cricket Board s proposal to introduce a new format, tentatively titled the Hundred, with 15 regular six-ball overs and one 10-ball over, has proved divisive since an announcement last week but the England skipper is on board with the idea. One of the fundamental aims of the ECB is to simplify the game for a fresh audience, specifically women and children, and Root thinks if the format takes off it could lead to interest in the longer forms of the game. It s going to appeal to a completely new audience and I think that s great, Root told the i newspaper. The more people and kids we can get into sport, the better. We ve got to be very careful we don t measure it against the other formats... it s something to gather a new audience and gain interest, not a threat to other formats. As players, working with the ICC (International Cricket Council), we ve got to make sure the other formats don t suffer but it has a place in the game and, hopefully, we ll see that over time. There will be people that compare it to Twenty20 and worry it might take away interest from Test cricket, but it s important to remember it will bring new people to the game. It might be someone who didn t know much about the game before and then goes on to watch a Test match and gets immersed in that. That s the way I d like to look at it. Root s predecessor as England captain, Alastair Cook, described the format as another interesting step for cricket. If you went back to 2003 when the ECB first launched T20 cricket, if social media had been around then I m sure quite a few people would probably have kicked up the same amount of fuss as they have here, he told Sky Sports. It s different, it s exciting. How it all works with the County Championship and Test matches and when it s played, a lot of that (planning) is still to be done. But I think it s another interesting step for cricket. Cricket has made huge changes over the years and since I ve started in T20 being one of them. Let s see how it all pans out. Whether I ll be there to play I don t know. Snubbed Root holds no grudge for teammates in IPL England test captain Joe Root is not bitter about his exclusion from this year s Indian Premier League (IPL) and believes his teammates playing in the Twenty20 tournament will hugely benefit from the experience. The 27-year-old led England on their gruelling tour of Australia, where they suffered a 4-0 Ashes defeat, followed by another test series loss in New Zealand in March. Root went unsold in the IPL players auction in February but does not grudge several England players who are in India to showcase their talents in the ongoing tournament. It s not frustration watching the other guys, Root told Sky Sports Cricket.... I went into the IPL auction to get a bit more exposure to T20 cricket, it didn t materialise, it would have been nice to be involved in that but I ve got no bitter feelings towards the other guys, I think it s great. Root is instead watching his England team mates, including all-rounder Ben Stokes and wicketkeeper batsman Jos Buttler, play in the eight-team league and believes their experience would only strengthen the team. They ll benefit hugely from it and we, as a side, will benefit hugely from it. Look at the way Jos and Ben and a few guys came back from it last year and what it has brought to their games... Root said. Hopefully that can happen on a wider scale with more and more players going out there from English cricket, playing under scrutiny and in the high-pressure situations that that tournament brings, it can only be a good thing for us in the long term. Root has completed a little over a year in his captaincy role and following the underwhelming results over the last few months, the skipper is predicting significant changes to his team. Looking forward, there will be changes, especially long-term and then it is up to guys to come in and take the opportunities, Root said.... I want us to keep searching for ways to be a really effective side in a number of different conditions. England take on Pakistan in a two-match Test series beginning next month.

5 Gulf Times SPORT 5 NBA Harden hits heights as Rockets soar over Timberwolves We hit the switch that we ve been trying to hit since beginning of playoffs, at both ends of the court Los Angeles James Harden scored 36 points as the Houston Rockets moved to the brink of a Western Conference first round playoff series victory with a rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Harden underscored his status as front-runner for the NBA s Most Valuable Player award after leading a stunning third quarter performance that saw the Rockets explode for an astonishing 50 points. That devastating burst of scoring a franchise record included 22 points from Harden as the Rockets transformed what had been a one-point contest at half-time into a comfortable victory. We hit the switch that we ve been trying to hit since the beginning of the playoffs, at both ends of the court, a satisfied Harden said afterwards. It s pretty scary what we re capable of when we re locked in defensively like that and when we get rolling offensively. The win gave Houston a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, giving the Western Conference leaders a chance to book their place in the second round of the playoffs with a victory at home in game five on Wednesday. The smart money will be on Houston to wrap up the series quickly after Monday s demolition job at Minnesota s Target Center arena. It was a great (third) quarter for us, Harden said. It gave us the belief. Now we go back to the crib and try to finish it off. While Harden s virtuoso third quarter performance ultimately decided the contest, the Rockets will also take heart from an offensive display that saw five players finish with double-digit points tallies. Point guard Chris Paul weighed in with 25 points including 15 in the lop-sided third quarter while Eric Gordon had 18 and Trevor Ariza 15. Center Clint Capela finished with 14 points, and also pulled down 17 rebounds during his 31 minutes on court. The Timberwolves scoring Houston Rockets guard James Harden (right) dribbles in the fourth quarter against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jamal Crawford in game four of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Target Centre. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports was led by Karl-Anthony Towns with 22 points, while Jimmy Butler (19) and Derrick Rose (17) also made significant contributions. Utah on brink Minnesota had looked capable of snaring a series-levelling victory after a close first half, in which the Rockets took a lead at the break. But Houston s scorching 50-point third quarter saw the Rockets head into the fourth quarter with a lead. While Minnesota closed the gap as Houston eased up, the Rockets never looked like surrendering the initiative, keeping the Timberwolves at arm s length as they closed out the win. In Monday s other game, the Utah Jazz moved to within one win of clinching their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a convincing win in Salt Lake City. Rookie star Donovan Mitchell made the decisive contribution for Utah with 33 points as Russell Westbrook and Paul George s Thunder came unstuck. Utah now lead 3-1 heading into game five in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. All five Utah starters made double figures as the Jazz overturned a first quarter deficit to tilt the contest in their favour in the second and third periods, outscoring the Thunder George led the scoring for Oklahoma City with 32 points while Westbrook had 23 points and 14 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony finished with 11 points on a night when the Thunder s offense was effectively contained. Utah s Spanish international Ricky Rubio saluted the performance of Mitchell, who belied his age with a composed performance. He s playing amazing, Rubio said. He doesn t seem like a rookie at all. It s fun to see it, and it s fun to help him get better. The 27-year-old Rubio, who finished with 13 points, also said the collective defense had helped subdue the potent Oklahoma City line-up. We play as a team, Rubio said. We did a pretty good job of containing the ball tonight; but winning is the most important thing. We re here to win games. RESULTS First-round playoff games (all series best-of-seven): Western Conference At Minnesota Minnesota Houston (Houston leads series 3-1) At Salt Lake City Utah Oklahoma City 96 (Utah leads series 3-1) NHL Emotional Leafs force Game Seven with Boston Bruins Toronto The Toronto Maple Leafs earned an emotional victory for their city on Monday night, and they kept their season going in the process. Hours after a van struck and killed 10 pedestrians and wounded many others in Toronto, the host Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 3-1 in Game 6 to force a seventh game in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Mitchell Marner scored the go-ahead goal, his second of this year s Stanley Cup Playoffs, in the second period, and William Nylander (first playoff goal) and Tomas Plekanec (second) also scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen made 32 saves. Jake De- Brusk had his third goal of the playoffs for the Bruins. Boston s Tuukka Rask had 27 saves. Game 7 is today in Boston. The winner of that game will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the conference semi-finals. Toronto trailed the series 3-1 after losing Game 4 at home but rallied for a 4-3 road win Saturday in Game 5. The Maple Leafs are trying to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since the season. Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said, We think we re going to win. We ve thought that all along. We started poorly and crawled our way back. Now, you have the opportunity of a lifetime. This is what we talked about. Tonight, this is fun, this is where you want to be. Boston hasn t played in round two of the playoffs since Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said of heading to Game 7, It s all about one game. It s one game and you ve got to be ready for your best game. After a scoreless first period, DeBrusk put the Bruins ahead 1-0 only 1:02 into the second, beating Andersen with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle. The Maple Leafs answered almost immediately. Nylander sent a rebound past Rask at 1:37 after Nikita Zaitsev threw the puck in from the blue line. Toronto had a goal waved off with 16:56 left in the second after Zach Hyman s skate caught Rask s gear and pulled the goalie out of position. The Bruins challenged for goaltender interference, and the tally was overturned. Marner backhanded in the goahead goal through Rask s five hole with 6:35 left in the middle period. Obviously, I mean the news that we heard when most of us woke up from our (pregame) nap was devastating, Marner told NBC Sports Network after the game. We re wishing all the families, we re giving our love to them. But you want to come in here tonight and make sure we played the game we wanted to, and I think we did. Plekanec scored an emptynetter with 1:14 remaining in the third. The team that scored first had won every game in the series before Monday. Before the game, the Maple Leafs and Bruins came together on the ice for a moment of silent to remember to victims of Monday s tragedy. The crowd joined the national anthem singer in a moving rendition of O Canada. Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs in game six of the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports MLB Angels bounce back with win over hot Astros By Jeff Miller Los Angeles Times Eleven days ago, he was pitching in double-a for a team called the Bay- Bears. Monday, he struck out Houston s Carlos Correa in the eighth inning with the tying run on base to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the reigning World Series champions, 2-0. I thought it was crazy, Keynan Middleton said. The reliever was talking about the stunning big-league debut of his newest teammate, Justin Anderson. But the Angels current closer could have been referencing this entire game, one that was full of unlikely moments that added up to a victory that seemed quite unlikely early on. Coming off a deflating 1-5 homestand, the Angels beat a Houston Astros team that had won six in a row and a starter in Gerrit Cole who was perfect into the fifth inning. They are the defending champs, Middleton said. We know that. So we have to send a message. I feel like we did that tonight. This game was huge for us. The Angels runs were driven in by Kole Calhoun, whose RBI single snapped an 0-for-20 stretch, and Justin Upton, whose RBI double was preceded by two strikeouts and an 0-for-21 tumble. They won because Tyler Skaggs matched Cole pitch for pitch, until he elevated his game even higher. They won because of the relieving of Anderson and Middleton, but only after the final strike was thrown by catcher Martin Maldonado, who cut down Houston s Yuli Gurriel trying to advance on a ball in the dirt with two outs in the ninth. Gurriel originally was ruled to be safe, but the call was reversed by replay, the Angels winning a challenge and a game simultaneously. It s what you live for, Skaggs said of his showdown with Cole. They re a rival team that we want to beat. They were where we want to be. I knew he was pitching well. I had to pitch better. Emphasizing his changeup more than ever, the left-hander shut out Houston on four hits through seven innings. Ten outs came on ground balls. Going back to late last season, Skaggs has pitched 15 consecutive scoreless innings in Minute Maid Park. That s a great game, manager Mike Scioscia said. That s what Tyler can do. In need of relief for their overworked relievers, the Angels (and everyone else) saw what Anderson can do. Having begun the season with double-a Mobile, the 25-yearold right-hander suddenly entered his first big-league game. In his hometown. Against the team for whom he grew up rooting. Throwing a fastball in the upper-90s, Anderson retired the first two Astros and gave up singles to George Springer and Jose Altuve before striking out Correa. I heard the crowd and everything, Anderson said. I was telling myself, Just hush em. Calm them down right here. Get them to be quiet. I felt like that s what I did. RESULTS Angels...2 Astros...0 Giants...4 Nationals...2 Dodgers...2 Marlins...1 Padres...13 Rockies...5 Yankees...14 Twins...1 Reds...10 Braves...4 Indians...2 Orioles...1 A s...9 Rangers...4 White Sox...10 Mariners...4 Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs delivers a pitch during the first inning of the MLB game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

6 6 Gulf Times SPORT TENNIS Sharapova falls to Garcia in Stuttgart This was not the result that I wanted, but I can take a lot out of this match Stuttgart, Germany Maria Sharapova crashed out in the opening round of the Stuttgart Grand Prix yesterday as French sixth seed Caroline Garcia staged a fightback to win 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4. This was not the result that I wanted, but I can take a lot out of this match, Sharapova said. I ve not competed for a few weeks, but I played pretty solid and did all of the right things. I served well in the first set but had a few doubles at the wrong time. Physically, I felt quite strong. The five-time Grand Slam champion, who turned 31 last week, looked to be in control as she made just two unforced errors in winning the opening set. But Garcia, who had never beaten the Russian in four previous meetings they last played in Madrid three years ago rallied in the second set as she came from 4-2 down and and levelled the contest in a tiebreak. The 41st-ranked Sharapova returned to tennis in Stuttgart exactly a year ago after finishing a 15-month doping ban for meldonium and reached the semi-finals. She claimed an early break in the third set, but lost it in the third game as Garcia tightened the screw on the crowd favourite. Sharapova was broken to trail 4-5 and put her opponent under momentary pressure at 0-30 as Garcia tried to serve out the win. But the world number seven succeeded on her second match point as Sharapova struck a return wide to exit after two and three-quarter hours of battle on the indoor clay court. Sharapova said her game might have been compromised by weeks of forearm injury recovery after last playing in Indian Wells six weeks ago. Overall I didn t react as well as I could against a server like her, she got lot of free points, Sharapova said. I didn t get enough balls back. We were both playing fast, and aggressive. I need to be smarter in the winning position. Garcia will next take on Ukrainian qualifier Marta Kostyuk who scored a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Antonia Lottner. The youngster, who doesn t turn 16 until just before the start of Wimbledon, was joined in round two by Czech fifth seed France s Caroline Garcia reacts after defeating Russia s Maria Sharapova during their Stuttgart Grand Prix match yesterday. () Karolina Pliskova, who beat Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens 6-2, 6-2.Kostyuk made a breakthrough with a surprise thirdround showing at the Australian Open as a qualifier, finally losing to compatriot Elina Svitolina. World number 158 Kostyuk has since claimed a second-tier title in Burnie, Australia and reached a final in Zhuhai, China in March. Her defeat of Lottner, ranked 155th, took just under 90 minutes, with the teenager breaking four times while losing serve only once. Pliskova, who has been on site for a week training, is playing Stuttgart for the third consecutive year, after losing to eventual champion Laura Siegemund in the 2017 quarter-finals. I felt the best today and for sure it was not her best match but that was not much to do with me, Pliskova said. The serve was good and I got a lot of free points, my shots were working there was no problem from my side today. The Czech dominated Bertens, with the winner firing six aces and breaking four times. The former world number one Kerber runs into Petra Kvitova, who sealed the Czechs semi-final win with a crushing 6-2, 6-2 over Kerber on Sunday at the Porsche Arena. Kerber was far from her form of earlier the year as she also lost her first rubber in straight sets against Karolina Pliskova. Goerges went down against the two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova Saturday before beating Pliskova to briefly keep Germany s chances alive. The Germans have done well at recent editions of the star-studded home event, with Goerges winning in 2011, Kerber in 2015 and 2016, and Laura Siegemund in Kerber appeared fairly composed Monday when she met the press, saying: The tournament starts as of today. I am fully focused. I was disappointed last night. But I am professional enough to get over it. I want to play my best tennis in front of a home crowd. It is always tough against Petra. Now I have a second chance. I will change a few things and sit down with my coaches later today to prepare the match. The 12th-ranked Kerber is set to play against number 10 Kvitova today, with the Czech leading their series 6-5. SNOOKER Confident Ding brushes aside compatriot Xiao London Chinese snooker star Ding Junhui eased into the second round of the world championships yesterday with a 10 frames to three demolition of compatriot and close friend Xiao Guodong. Ding, who lost to Mark Selby in the 2016 final, rattled off the first four frames of the session to seal victory and will play either Scotland s Anthony McGill or Welshman Ryan Day in the next round. The 31-year-old Ding who ousted five-time champion Ronnie O Sullivan on his way to a semi-final defeat, also by Selby, last year said he felt in the groove in his latest bid to become the first Chinese player to win the title. I scored heavy. I started very strong and just tried to play my CYCLING shots, said Ding, who has 13 top tournament victories to his credit. I am confident with my form and playing well, scoring well and playing good safety. I am happy. Ding s chances of securing the title appear to have improved with Selby surprisingly going out in the first round and another former world champion Shaun Murphy also bowing out. Ding, though, is unconcerned about his rivals fortunes nor whom he plays. I am not worried about my opponent. I think about myself. I try to smile and not worry if I miss chances, said Ding, who has gone beyond the first round at the worlds on nine occasions. Later on Tuesday sees the first shot in anger in this year s edition from Australia s 2010 world champion Neil Robertson, who plays journeyman Englishman Robert Milkins. Matthews wins Tour de Romandie prologue Fribourg, Switzerland Australia s Michael Matthews won the opening prologue of the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland yesterday in Fribourg. Sunweb rider Matthews, who won the green jersey on last year s Tour de France, seized the yellow jersey thanks to a 5min 33sec ride around the 4km route in the Swiss town that finished with a tricky climb. He finished a second ahead of home hope Tom Bohli of BMC and Slovenia s Primoz Roglic, the Lotto NL rider who is one of the favourites. Froome named in Sky team for Giro London Team Sky have named Britain s Chris Froome in their team for the Giro d Italia starting next month despite the ongoing investigation into his adverse doping test. Briton Froome, 32, is fighting to clear his name after an increased dosage of asthma medication at the Vuelta a Espana last year threw up an adverse analytical finding from a urine sample. The four-times Tour de France Michael Matthews of Team Sunweb celebrates after winning the Tour de Romandie prologue in Fribourg. () Matthews fellow Australian Richie Porte, who won the race last year, was 14 seconds off the pace. Today s first stage proper will be a 166.6km ride from Fribourg to Delemont, near Basel. winner s sample showed double the allowed limit of Salbutamol but Froome has denied any wrongdoing and is free to race because he is not suspended. Froome, who has not ridden in the Giro since 2010 and has never won it, will be aiming to become the first rider to complete the Giro/Tour double for 20 years. Italian Marco Pantani was the last man to achieve the feat in The three-week km Giro begins in Jerusalem on May 4. The Tour de France starts two months later. Answer questions! Tokyo 2020 warned by IOC Tokyo Tokyo Olympic organisers were given a sharp reminder yesterday to raise their game after complaints from several international sports federations about preparations for the 2020 Summer Games. IOC co-ordination commission chief John Coates warned that as the spotlight falls on Tokyo after a successful Winter Games in Pyeongchang earlier this year, Olympic stakeholders would become increasingly impatient for answers. You are the next host city so the urgency is quite clear to us, Coates told a news conference in Tokyo. It is very important that when you do presentations, you just have to answer the questions and be forthright in doing so, he added. It might not always be in your nature, but the questions are going to come. More than 200 national Olympic committees will visit Tokyo in November but a handful of sports federations have already expressed concerns over Tokyo s preparations, most recently at a SportAccord meeting in Bangkok earlier this month. Coates played down the extent of those fears, claiming they were limited to judo, sailing and triathlon. Triathlon officials remain worried about high levels of bacteria detected last year at the 2020 Olympic venue, he confirmed. Triathlon was still concerned about water quality, said Coates. We received a presentation about experiments that will take place for better screening of the water. There were concerns expressed by judo as to why their 2019 world championships would not be used as a test event. I think they are going to be used, so perhaps there hasn t been close enough liaison. Gone fishing Coates insisted questions raised by sailing officials boiled down to a potential clash with local fisherman. I think it was to do with the fishermen there and how the fishing would impact on the boats as they were training in that area, he said. I m assured that those matters are under control, or being got under control or certainly receiving attention. Tokyo s Olympic organisers have faced criticism over a series of embarrassing public relations blunders since beating Madrid and Istanbul for the right to host the 2020 Games. Most notable was the bungled rollout of the Olympic stadium in 2015 when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ripped up plans for the venue because of public fury over its $2 billion price tag. After being subsequently ordered to slash costs, Tokyo organisers announced a cut of $1.4 billion in the budget last December, bringing the overall bill to 1.35 trillion yen ($12.5 billion). Pointing to the success of Pyeongchang Olympics, where North and South marched together at the opening ceremony, Coates refused to politicise North Korea s possible participation at Tokyo But he said he was aware of the emotive issue of Japanese abducted by the North. I understand the terrible pain that those who were taken away and those that were left behind have experienced, he said. But there s an obligation on a host government to allow free access to all delegations, athletes and their officials who are accredited for the Games. International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president and chairman of the co-ordination commission for Tokyo 2020 John Coates (left) chats with Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori after their joint press conference on the IOC project review meeting in Tokyo yesterday. 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7 Gulf Times SPORT 7 Olympic Stars to host rhythmic gymnastics event Olympic Stars, a Qatar-based professional centre of Rhythmic Gymnastics and Ballet for girls, will hold its first Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Qatar, it was announced yesterday. The event, which will take place on Saturday at the Olympic Stars facilities in Al Sadd will be sponsored by Ooredoo and will feature 120 gymnasts aged between 4 and 13 years. This competition has been designed to BADMINTON encourage more girls from Qatar and the Arab world to get into Rhythmic Gymnastics, which is currently the only Olympic sport that is only for women. Tatiana Yakimova, head coach at Olympic Stars, said, Our aim is to create the next Olympic champion in Qatar. There are many talented young girls in Qatar and we want to give them the opportunity to become champions. Our coaches are from Russia and Spain, with the best experience in coaching national teams. Manar Khalifa al-muraikhi, director of PR and Corporate Communications at Ooredoo Qatar, said, Ooredoo is proud to be supporting Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Qatar and wish all the girls the best of luck. We believe in sponsoring events like this, as they not only support the current athletes, but hopefully inspire more children to live an active and healthy lifestyle. Olympic Stars chairwoman Haya al- Attiyah said, We have girls from over 15 nationalities in our centre and we want to develop female sports in Qatar and to support the pillars of Qatar National Vision Olympic Stars is accredited by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Qatar and supported by Qatar Women s Sports Committee. Srikanth, Sindhu, Saina set for Asian c ships Men s champ Chen Long and women s holder Tai Tzu Ying open against qualifiers IANS Wuhan, China Top seed Kidambi Srikanth will face Kenta Nishimoto of Japan while third seed P V Sindhu will take on Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei in their opening games of the Badminton Asia Championships here today. Saina Nehwal, who clinched the gold medal in the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, will lock horns with Yeo Jia Min of Singapore in the women s singles match. Top seed and defending champion Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei was drawn to face a qualifier in the first round and so is the second seed and last year s finalist Akane Yamaguchi of Japan. Chen Yufei, World No 5, and He Bingjiao, World No 8, will compete for the women s singles title for the hosts. Apart from Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma will face Suppanyu Avihingsanon of Thailand and Chinese Taipei Chou Tien Chen in their respective matches. Chen Long, the Rio Olympic winner, also the reigning champion, will begin his title defence with an opener against a qualifier, reports Xinhua news agency. But the current World No 3 has been struggling this season as he failed to reach Saina Nehwal celebrates her 2018 Commonwealth Games gold earlier this month. the semifinal phase in any of the three BWF World Tour events he participated, including a first-round exit in the Malaysia Masters in January. Chen s possible rival in the semifinal could be his Chinese compatriot, twotime winner Lin Dan. Widely considered as the best-ever men s shuttler in history, the 35-year-old has inevitably seen a slump in form in recent years. However, the Beijing and London Olympic champion is trying to extend his career as long as possible, and he has proved that he still got something to give out, just like as he did at the All-England Open one month ago, where he finished runner-up to another Chinese player Shi Yuqi. Son Wan Ho of South Korea, the highest-ranked Asian player, is Lin Dan s potential quarter-final opponent. The 2016 champion Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who has just clinched his third gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, will face a tough opener against China s young star Qiao Bin. If Lee enters the semi-final, he could meet Shi, the newly crowned All-England winner. In men s doubles category, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will battle it out with Bodin Isara and Nipitphon Phuanphuapet of Thailand. Defending champions Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen, current world No 4, will face a pair of qualifiers in the first round, while another home duo Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan, will encounter with Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan. The two Chinese pairs will seek to set an all-chinese final in the men s doubles. In the women s doubles category, India will hope impressive performances from Meghana Jakkampudi and Poorvisha S Ram. Two-time defending champions of women s doubles, also the winners at Rio Olympics, Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan will take on qualifiers in first round. Aspire hosts Cote d Ivoire delegation Aspire Academy welcomed a visiting delegation from the government of Cote d Ivoire yesterday afternoon. The delegation was led by the Minister for the Promotion of Youth, Youth Employment, and Civic Service Sidi T Toure and ambassador Toure Vazoumana. The visitors were met and welcomed by Aspire Academy Director of Corporate Services, Ali Sultan Fakhroo, who accompanied the delegation on a tour of the premises. The delegation had a meeting with Aspire Academy Director General Ivan Bravo where they discussed how they can explore areas of mutual interest and co-operation in youth sport development. Speaking after his tour, Minister Toure said, Well this Aspire Academy is a unique academy. What I saw today is some next generation infrastructure that provides extraordinary opportunities to all young talents of different age groups. I think this is an aspiration for the youth people here in Qatar to reach the highest development level in different sports. I congratulate the Qataris for this big project. I had a lot of good images that I caught during this visit that will help us try to think about something like this back in Cote d Ivoire. 1st ISC-Gulf Lights softball cricket event begins Indian Sports Centre (ISC) organised the first ever, ISC-Gulf Light Softball Inter Organisation Cricket Tournament at the Old Ideal Indian School Ground with 12 teams participating in the tournament. The opening ceremony saw the presence of Gulf Lights managing director Sanaullah Abdulrehman, representatives of all the participating teams, ISC s Patron Council chairman and head of Cricket Azim Abbas, ISC general secretary Mohamed Habibun Nabi, tournament coordinator Deepak Shetty, head of Indoor Games Simon D Souza, head of Yoga Nisha Agarwal and other dignitaries. The teams taking part in the tournament include Engineer Forum, Tulukoota, TRAQ, QDC, SKMWA, QTS, Utkalika, KMCA, Medgulf, PAI, MMQ and ICAI. The first two matches of the tournament were won by TRAQ and QDC respectively. The final will be played on Friday. On the same day, the yearly Festival Match Ambassador Cup will also be played between Ambassador XI and Community XI on the same ground from 7:30pm. Spectators and families are welcome to enjoy cricket, while many lucky draw prizes will also be given away on Friday. CRICKET Gulf Lights are Div-II champs The sponsor s team, Gulf Lights, lifted the second division title in the Gulf Lights Cricket Tournament 2018 after they beat Rapidrop by five wickets in the final. After they were put into bat first, Rapidrop lost their first wicket, opener Jeyu, in the third over. However, their batsmen stabilised as they had put on 48 runs on the board by the sixth over for the loss of one wicket. Jiga emerged as the mainstay of the batting line-up scoring a 22-ball 47, a knock that including five sixes and two hits to the ropes. Ravi and Akshay added 25 runs each as Rapidrop put on 174 runs on the board for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Among the Gulf Lights bowlers, Parvez scalped two wickets while Omer, Asif, Maqsood and Sarvar picked up a wicket each. In reply, Gulf Lights too started strong reaching the 50-run mark in the sixth over at the loss of 2 wickets. But then their batsmen pushed the scoring rate at a blistering pace, reaching the 175-run target in the fourth over for the loss of six wickets. Fahad was the top-scorer for his team, hitting four sixes and a boundary in his 30- run knock. Asif s 28-run knock included three sixes and a boundary, while Iqbal Junior assisted with 24 runs (three sixes). For Rapidrop, Jiga took two wickets, while Divyesh, Jayu, Vijay and Ravi scalped a wicket each. Asif s all-round performance earned the Gulf Lights player the Man of the Finals award. Asif s teammate, Sarvar, received the Best Bowler of the Tournament award, while Rapidrop players Sandeep and Jiga were presented with the Best Batsman and the Best All-rounder awards. Al Zaman Exchange s Pankaj was given the Best Wicketkeeper award. At the prize distribution ceremony, Gulf Lights managing director Sanaullah was the chief guest, and he distributed the trophies to the winners and the runners-up, besides giving away over 300 prizes. The ceremony was attended by supporters and well-wishers, and concluded with a lucky draw for the spectators. Gulf Lights managing director Sanaullah and Qatar Veterans members with the captains of champions Gulf Lights and runners-up Rapidrop after the Division II final of the Gulf Lights Cricket Tournament Asia Rugby Championship Div-III West SUPPORT Gulf Incon sponsors 24th floodlit cricket tourney Action from the Asia Rugby Championship 2018 Division III West match between Qatar (in grey) and Iran (in red) at Fouad Chehab Stadium near Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday. Qatar started well with Bader Bakaddouri scoring a try in the third minute before Amin Biabani Zadeh levelling the score with a try and Ramin Najafi converting for a 7-5 lead. Jalal Jahanbakhsh consolidated Iran s lead with another try in the 34th minute. A second half penalty by Andor Benyi cut Qatar s deficit to 8-12, but Zadeh s second try of the match took Iran to minutes into the second half. Iran will take on hosts Lebanon, who beat Jordan 62-3, in the final on Friday, while Qatar will play in the 3rd place playoff against Jordan. (Twitter/AsiaRugby) Gulf Incon signed a sponsorship agreement for the annual floodlit cricket tournament for the 24th consecutive year. Present at the signing ceremony were managing director Adnan al-mannai, Tools and Equipment sales manager Sajjad Ahmed Khan and Qatar Veterans League Committee members. Al-Mannai praised the organizers of this prestigious tournament and confirmed his full support for the same. Khan expressed his confidence that the tournament will be played in the best of sporting spirits and wished luck to all the participants. Division I and Division II will have 12 teams each drawn in four pools. Top two teams from each pool will qualify for the quarter- Finals. The tournament will begin on Gulf Incon-Metabo managing director Adnan al-mannai hands over the sponsorship agreement for the 24th Gulf Incon-Metabo Floodlit Cricket Tournament 2018 to the tournament organiser, MI Farid, in the presence of Gulf Incon sales manager Sajjad Ahmed Khan and Qatar Veterans officials. May 16, 2018, and the finals are scheduled for June 3, The tournament is being conducted at the Old Ideal Indian School grounds near Midmac Roundabout. The matches of 12 overs duration will start at 9pm, and two matches will be scheduled each night.

8 GULF TIMES FOOTBALL QATAR CUP Ferreira and Belmadi go head-to-head again Both Al Sadd and Al Duhail managers are master tacticians who are result-oriented Al Sadd s Jesualdo Ferreira is an experienced coach. The technical duel between Jesualdo Ferreira and Djamel Belmadi will once again catch the attention when Al Sadd take on Al Duhail in the Qatar Cup final on Friday. This is the fourth encounter where Ferreira and Belmadi are going head-to-head this season. While Al Sadd won the season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup, they lost to Al Duhail in both phases of the QNB Stars League. A depleted Al Sadd lost the first-phase league game by a 2-4 margin, but they came up with a much-improved show in the second phase and almost won the match after leading 3-2, but for the two last-minute goals scored by Al Duhail. That defeat effectively dashed The Wolves hopes of winning the coveted shield for a 14th time. Both Ferreira and Belmadi are master tacticians who are result-oriented. They are arguably the best coaches around. Veteran Ferreira is more experienced, having been in the profession since 1981 and coached teams in Spain, Greece and Egypt besides his native Portugal. His most successful period came when he guided Porto to three consecutive Portuguese league titles between 2006 and The 71-year-old took over Al Sadd in November, 2015, and has brought them much success. He is like a father figure and philosopher to the players, and has succeeded in making many youngsters come through the ranks. Many players have acknowledged this fact. There had been a remarkable improvement in their game technically under the Portuguese. We ve qualified for the AFC Champions League s Round of 16 and we re satisfied with our performance even though the knockout stage will be difficult. We go into all matches, especially in the cup competitions, as if we are playing a final. In the Champions League, we have two games and we will work to win them. I pay tribute to the players who have made great progress knowing that the upcoming games will be difficult and require more focus, said Ferreira. Belmadi is much younger than Ferreira, but the former has achieved a lot in Qatar football at both club and country levels.the Algerian is a shrewd tactician, who has consistently been producing excellent results. Belmadi guided Al Duhail to the season QNB Stars League title with an unbeaten record, the only team to do so. They finished with 60 points from 19 victories and three draws. He was at the helm when erstwhile Lekhwiya, who were relaunched as Al Duhail after the merger with El Jaish, won league titles in , and seasons as well. Djamel Belmadi has already led Al Duhail to QNB Stars League title this season. The 42-year-old Belmadi made it big at the regional level when he guided Qatar to the Gulf Cup triumph in 2014, beating Saudi Arabia in the final. Belmadi had made his mark as a midfielder. He represented top teams such as Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique Marseille, Manchester City and Southampton besides donning the Algeria colours 20 times, scoring five goals. Belmadi hunger for title is shared his players as they for treble of titles this season. We still have the same determination to win titles. Our team displayed strong performances despite the busy match schedule. We are ready for the cup fixtures. We have a lot of important work to do because we have decisive matches next month in addition to the Emir s Cup. We reiterate that we enter all tournaments with the aim of winning the title. All matches are important for us and my team proved its potential, he said Al Duhail is the most important stop in my coaching career because the team includes a large group of young players and they are the best currently. I wish to see players such as Bassam al-rawi, Abdulla Abdelsalam and Nasser al-yazidi play in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, added Belmadi. Ali Asad back in Al Sadd training Ali Asad, who missed Al Sadd s Qatar Cup semi-final victory over Al Rayyan due to fitness issues, joined their training on Monday ahead of Friday s final against Al Duhail. The match will kick off at 19:00 at the Al Sadd Stadium. Al Sadd beat Al Rayyan 6-2 on penalties after the regular time ended in a 2-2 draw. The Qatar Cup final is the fourth encounter between Al Sadd and Al Duhail this season. While Al Sadd won the season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup, they lost to Al Duhail in both phases of the QNB Stars League. The players trained under the watchful eyes of Portuguese coach Jesualdo Ferreira. Meanwhile, left-back Ibrahim Majed, who was out of action from the start of this season following a surgery for cruciate ligament repair, returned to the team s training. Al Sadd have the likes of Barcelona great and FIFA World Cup winner Xavi Hernandez of Spain, Algerian ace striker Baghdad Bounedjah, his counterpart and midfielder Jugurtha Hamroun, Iran international defender Morteza Mohammed, Qatar international Hassan Al Haydous, former Villarreal player Akram Afif, Abdulkarim Hassan and Ali Asad. Al Sadd are the holders of Qatar Cup. They beat erstwhile El Jaish 2-1 in last season s final. AL DUHAIL GEAR UP FOR QATAR CUP FINAL Al Duhail started preparations for their Qatar Cup final against Al Sadd. Al Duhail reached the final by defeating Al Gharafa 6-1 and target their second title of the season to add to their QNB Stars League triumph. Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi put his wards through their paces. The only absentee was Tunisian attacking midfielder Youssef Msakni, who sustained a knee injury during their last league match against Al Sailiya and is ruled out for the rest of the season. Al Duhail are doing well in the AFC Champions League as well. They had become the first team to reach the Round of 16 and also had the distinction of being the only side with an all-win record in the group stage. Full house expected for final The elite Qatar Cup is on homestretch, with Al Sadd and Al Duhail setting up a mouth-watering final encounter after winning their semi-finals against Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa respectively. Ahead of Friday s title clash and aside from the battle cries, many off-the-field aspects come to the fore that keep the excitement and interest revving. The fan factor tops them all. Fans are an integral part of the beautiful game. They make or mar matches, the extent of which varies depending on the degree of their passion and intensity. All that makes football the the largest following sport in the world. The Qatar Cup semifinals generated thrills n frills aplenty among all stakeholders, ranging from players, technical staff, administrators, officials to supporters. Not just because the tournament involves the top four teams in the QNB Stars League, but also for the build-up and promotional activities initiated by the Qatar Stars League Management, as always. And excitement will definitely be sky-high for the final. All four semi-finalists Al Duhail, Al Sadd, Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa have solid fan base. They turned up at the venue to cheer their teams on, some dressing up for the occasion in club jersey colours. Al Sadd s die-hard fan Yousef Yaqoub Hassan expressed optimism that they would win the Qatar Cup this time too. I wanted Al Gharafa to win as Al Duhail (new QNB Stars League champions) will pose a greater challenge for us in the final despite the fact that they are without Youssef (Msakni). They re too strong a side in Asia as well. But I hope Al Sadd will win it this season too as all our players are in good shape at the moment. The runners-up finish in the league was a creditable achievement considering the difficulties we faced during the campaign, said Yousef. Al Duhail supporter Zied Ramdan also backed his side to win the final and complete a double. I want Al Duhail to win all competitions. The final against Al Sadd will only do more good to Qatar football. I m expecting a tough battle. We had it easy against Al Gharafa in the semifinal because they left too much space between their lines in the second half and lacked co-ordination, said Zied. The Al Sadd Stadium, the venue of all three games, sported a new look, quite befitting the occasion. The most noticeable change was the teams dugout station which is painted afresh in line with the theme of Qatar Cup. Fans had more to cheer as the lucky ones owned Toyota cars, given away by Abdullah Abdulghani & Brothers, the dealer of Toyota as well as Lexus cars in Qatar and a sponsor of the Qatar Cup. Business class air tickets and a range of electronic devices are also on offer for fans. INTERVIEW Our objective is to keep Qatar Cup: Al Sadd goalkeeper al-dossari Al Sadd fans are eagerly looking forward to their clash with Al Duhail in the Qatar Cup final, scheduled for this Friday. Many questions are doing the rounds, such as whether Al Sadd will retain the cup or whether Al Duhail will build on their QNB Stars League triumph? Al Sadd can indeed rely on many star players and one among them is Saad al-dossari. The tall goalkeeper s performance has often impacted their results, the latest being their Qatar Cup semi-final victory over Al Rayyan on penalties. In an interview to QSL.qa ahead of their Qatar Cup final against Duhail, Saad opens up on a number of topics. Excerpts: What s your expectation for the final against Al Duhail? The season is at its peak, so it ll be tough for both sides. I m not for prediction. May the best team win! How re the preparations going for the much-anticipated match? We re preparing just like we do for domestic and Asian games. The players are fully focused and ready to take the field with full strength to retain the cup. How do you approach this game given that Al Duhail defeated Al Sadd twice in the QNB Stars League this season? It s different from league fixtures. The best team will definitely win the title. What re the strengths and weaknesses of both teams? Each team knows the strengths and weaknesses of the other. Which Duhail player worries you the most? No one. We re focusing on our team performance. Are Al Sadd capable of retaining the Qatar Cup? There s no doubt about that. Our objective is to keep the cup. What s your message to Al Sadd fans? Our fans don t need invitation. Everyone witnessed their presence and impact against Al Rayyan. We re counting on their support in the final, as always. How do you evaluate your club s campaign in the QNB Stars League this season? We can t assess now as the season isn t over yet. We still have two domestic titles up for grabs in addition to the AFC Champions League Round of 16 fixtures against Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia. Does losing the league title to Al Duhail make you approach this game with vengeance? Not at all. Al Sadd players don t believe in revenge of any sort. We only focus on putting up a strong performance and bringing the best out of ourselves. Are Al Sadd players under pressure? No. We ll enter the game with high concentration and team spirit. I wish we can produce yet another exceptional performance and defend the title.