SPORTThursday 21 December 2017

Gatlin agent says doping claims ‘just big talk’

England will have to think about

changes: Johnson

PAGE | 30 PAGE | 31 PAGE | 32-33 Ronaldo trailing in Messi’s wake after mimicking celebration

s E

The Peninsula

Rarely does Al Gharafa coach Jean Fernandez express his emotions.

Win or lose, his face is as impassive on the pitch as it is at the pre-match or post-match Press conferences.

However, on Tuesday, as his wards lifted the QSL Cup to end their long title drought that dated back to 2012 when they won the Emir’s Cup, the Frenchman sported a delight-ful look, acknowledging the cheers from well-wishers.

Fernandez very well knew that they had brought the smile back on the faces of passionate Al Gharafa fans whose morale was at a low ebb having gone through a long phase without a trophy.

In the process, Al Gharafa became the first team in the history of six editions of QSL Cup to win it for a second time.

“Ours is a good unit which can fight till the very end. Our defence was good. So was our offence. (Luis) Jimenez played the captain’s role to perfec-tion and we were on top of our opponents in every stage of the final,” said Fernandez.

“Al Rayyan are a big side. There’s a huge difference between us in the QNB Stars League standings. I had said that we fully deserved to reach the final. We had beaten formidable opponents in our group and overcame the challenge from Umm Salal in the semifinal.

Cup glory

delights

Al Gharafa

coach

Doha fans set for stargaze as PSG head for winter break

Fawad HussainThe Peninsula

Global football icon Neymar Jr will lead the star cast when European giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)

land in Doha today for their annual mid-season Qatar Winter Tour training camp, it was announced yesterday.

The Brazilian striker, who signed for the French giants just before the start of the new foot-ball season in August, is expected to be joined by Uruguayan for-ward Edinson Cavani and French star Kylian Mbappe as the team spends time in Qatar.

The French champions, who are currently leading Ligue 1 and

have also qualified for last 16 stage of Champions League

after a remarkable run in group stage, will be

arriving following their game against

SM Caen which was played last night.

PSG’s Qatar Winter Tour is yet another opportu-

n i t y f o r f o o t b a l l

fans in Q a t a r to meet

and greet the superstars of

the club, owned by their country.

During the short camp which will culminate on

December 23, PSG will

hold training at the world-class Aspire Zone facilities while sev-eral of French club’s players are also expected to try spearfishing which is a popular local sport.

Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has also arranged the team’s visits to Msheireb Muse-ums; as well as safari to country’s magnificent Inland Sea.

Nasser Al Khelaifi, Chairman and CEO of PSG, hoped his team will benefit from the tour as always.

“We are excited to return to Qatar for this new winter tour. The team wants to benefit from training in the country’s warm winter weather and its remarka-ble facilities in Aspire Zone. Our team always enjoy visiting Qatar, experiencing first-hand the cul-ture, visiting various sites and witnessing the developments in

its infrastructure and offerings since our last visit,” Al Khelaifi said in a statement released yesterday.

Hassan Al Ibrahim, Acting Chairman at QTA, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the Paris Saint-Germain squad in Qatar once again. We hope the players will enjoy exploring what our country has to offer, from state-of-the art sport facilities to authentic tourist experiences.”

Since 2012, QTA and PSG have worked on a strategic partner-ship to promote Qatar’s sport and leisure tourism offerings. QTA has hosted several tours for PSG teams, including the Qatar Hand-ball Tour 2014 and 2015, the Qatar Ladies Tour 2015 and the Qatar Winter Tour in 2013 and 2015.

A further aspect of this part-nership affords QTA the continuous presence at PSG’s home stadium in Paris where thousands of football fans expe-rience a flavour of Qatari culture and hospitality through interac-tion with Qatari cultural and heritage offerings.

“Our partnership with Paris Saint-Germain has been invalu-able to our promotion efforts, helping us spread understanding of Qatar and its offerings in France and even beyond our tra-ditional markets,” Al Ibrahim said.

“This year in particular we are looking forward to leverage the team’s growing following to spread our message of welcome to the world, following the deci-sion to grant visa-free entry to 80 nationalities,” he added.

Fawad HussainThe Peninsula

lobal footbaNeymar Jr wthe star casEuropean gianSaint-Germa

land in Doha today foannual mid-season QatarTour training camp, announced yesterday.

The Brazilian strikesigned for the French giabefore the start of the neball season in August, is eto be joined by Uruguayward Edinson Cavani andstar Kylian Mbappe as thspends time in Qatar.

The French champioare currently leading Lig

have also qualified fostage of Champions

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PSG’s Winter Toanother o

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December 23,

This is the fifth time that PSG will hold their winter camp in Doha.

PSG acquired Neymar from Barcelona in a world-record €222m move during the summer transfer window.

The winter break in France is a short one and lasts only for two weeks till the first week of January. The top-flight clubs then swing back to action with the French Cup.

The Peninsula

Qatar’s charge at the Gulf Cup will be headed by feared striker Hassan Al Haydos

who was named as the chief for-ward in the 23-man squad announced by interim coach Felix Sanchez.

Al Haydos, who plays for Al Sadd, has been the pillar of the national team in recent times and finds his name before veteran for-wards Rorigo Tabata and Sebastian Soria. Tabata and Soria have not been considered recently.

Al Haydos, 27, is likely to be joined by Mohammed Muntari in the attack at the Dec 22-Jan 5 event to be held at two venues in Kuwait.

Experienced midfielders Asim Madibo and Musab Kheder are also part of the squad. Al Duhail central defender Karim Boudiaf is expected to hold fort at the centre.

Saad Al Sheeb will be the first-choice goalkeeper for Sanchez.

Qatar, the defending champi-ons of the Gulf Cup, are placed in Group B with Yemen, Iraq and Bah-rain. Qatar open their campaign against Yemen on December 23 fol-lowed by games against Iraq (Dec 26) and Bahrain (Dec 29).

Qatar beat hosts Saudi Arabia

in the 2014 final of the Gulf Cup. It was the third title win for Qatar who had won the title in 1992 and 2004 also.

The 23rd edition of the Gulf Cup - the region’s most popu-lar football tournament for national sides - has attracted

eight teams including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and hosts Kuwait who form Group A.

Gulf Cup: Coach Sanchez names Qatar squad

Saeed Al ShaebYousuf Hasan

Mohamed Al KubriPedro Miguel

Assim MadiboAkram Afif

Hassan Al HaydosAlmoez Ali

Abdullah Al HarqBassam Al Rawi

Al Mahdi AliAbdulkarem Salim

Ahmed FatehiHamad Al Obaidi

Mohammed MuntariAhmed Yasser

Ali FaredonAbdulkarem Hasan

Musab KhederIsmaeel Mohammad

Karim BoudiafOthman Al Yahri

Ahmed MoeinCoach: Felix Sanchez

QATAR SQUAD FOR GULF CUP

Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, Dani Alves and Kylian Mbappe .

Qatar coach Felix Sanchez

30 THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER 2017SPORT

League Cup: City join Arsenal in semis after penalty dramaLondon

AFP

A much-changed Man-chester City held off a spirited challenge from Leicester on Tuesday to reach the

League Cup semi-finals follow-ing a dramatic penalty shootout, as Arsenal also progressed.

Pep Guardiola showcased the riches at his disposal by mak-ing nine changes as his runaway Premier League leaders held their nerve to edge through 4-3 on spot-kicks after the two sides were locked at 1-1 following extra time.

Arsenal beat West Ham 1-0 to keep alive the prospect of two mouthwatering semi-finals fea-turing four of English football’s “Big Six”.

In an ironic twist at the King Power Stadium Jamie Vardy -- who had earlier scored a penalty deep into time added on to keep the tie alive -- missed his spot kick in the shootout and Riyad Mahrez had his effort saved by City keeper Claudio Bravo.

“The way we had to react was not easy, we were tired, we had a lot of young players, Danilo was playing at centre-back for the first time in his life,” said Guardiola. “It’s not easy because Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez were there.

“What I liked the most is how we reacted and overcame that situation. It’s a good indication for the future.”

City and Leicester have won the League Cup seven times

between them but Guardiola and Foxes boss Claude Puel showed their priorities lie elsewhere with almost all of the big names miss-ing from the two starting line-ups.

Despite the changes in per-sonnel, City -- featuring England teenage star Phil Foden -- dom-inated the early stages of the contest, twice going close to scoring through Ilkay Gundogan.

Leicester -- without the likes of Vardy and Mahrez, who were on the bench -- began to stretch City’s defence through the lively Kelechi Iheanacho, formerly of City, but just when they appeared

to have a foothold in the game, the visitors struck.

Gundogan, one of only two players to keep their places fol-lowing Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Tottenham, surged forward from the centre of midfield and fed Bernardo Silva, who finished coolly through the legs of Ben Hamer in the 26th minute.

Leicester started the second half brightly while City struggled to regain their earlier fluency and Puel threw on Vardy and Mahrez after about 11 minutes to the delight of the home crowd.

As they continued to press, the manager also introduced Demarai Gray and Leicester

were given fresh reason to hope when a match official held up a board announcing there would be eight minutes of added time.

With the seconds ticking down, Gray burst into the box and went down under a chal-lenge from City substitute Kyle Walker and the referee pointed to the spot.

Vardy slotted home under intense pressure to take the tie into extra time, in which neither side could break the deadlock.

The match went to penalties and it was Leicester’s star pair who blinked first. “We were unlucky,” said Puel.

“We have had most chances.

It was a fantastic game between two good teams.”

City, already being hailed as one of the finest sides of the modern era, are on a record-breaking run of 16 straight Premier League victories and are through to the Champions League knockout stages.

Arsenal booked their place in the semi-finals courtesy of a Danny Welbeck strike shortly before half time.

Manager Arsene Wenger fielded an entirely changed start-ing eleven from the side that beat Newcastle at the weekend against David Moyes’s West Ham, who have been on a good recent run.

Manchester City’s Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo (foreground) celebrates after saving the final Leicester penalty to win the penalty shoot out after extra time during their League Cup quarter-final in Leicester on Tuesday.

Quarter-finalsArsenal 1 (Welbeck 42) West Ham 0

Leicester 1 (Vardy 90+7) Manchester City 1 (Bernardo Silva 26) -- aet, Manchester

City won 4-3 on penalties

LEAGUE CUP RESULTS

Tomas Rosicky

Rosicky ends professional career Prague

Reuters

Former Arsenal mid-fielder and Czech national side playmaker

Tomas Rosicky – dubbed “Little Mozart” for his vision and pinpoint passing -- ended his professional career yes-terday after years of injuries often kept him off the pitch.

Rosicky, 37, retired at Sparta Prague where he began his career before mov-ing to Borussia Dortmund in 2001 and to Arsenal in 2006 where he played for a dec-ade. He returned to Sparta in 2016 but only appeared 12 times due to injury.

“My body was telling me for a long time that it does not want (to do it) any more,” he told a news conference.

“I would probably have nothing to offer my team mates and Sparta.”

The attacking midfielder, who made his international debut at age 19, started 105 games for the national team, making him the third most-capped player in the country’s history.

Rosicky won a Bundesliga title with Dortmund and two FA Cups with Arsenal, for whom he appeared in 246 games and scored 28 goals.

“I lived through beautiful moments but unfortunately also terribly negative ones,” he added. “Without even thinking about, I would immediately do it again.”

FIFA turns to China for yoghurt and ice cream to soothe sponsor Beijing/Zurich

Reuters

China’s number two dairy company will be the official supplier of

drinkable yoghurt and pre-packaged ice cream at next year’s World Cup after sign-ing an agreement with global soccer body FIFA yesterday.

China Mengniu Dairy Co became the fourth company from the country to sign a deal with FIFA after Dalian Wanda, Hisense and Vivo.

Chinese firms have increasingly been backing high-profile world sports events, especially in soccer, even though the country’s own team failed to clinch a spot in the tournament scheduled to kick off next June.

FIFA said in a statement that Mengniu would be “the official drinkable yoghurt and pre-packaged ice-cream of the FIFA World Cup and the official milk and powdered milk of the FIFA World Cup for Greater China.”

“Mengniu is one of the biggest dairy producers in the world and is a strong brand in the Chinese market. Grow-ing the game worldwide is one of our key priorities,” said FIFA’s chief commercial

officer Philippe Le Floc’h.Wanda is a so-called tier one partner, meaning they receive the highest sponsorship rights, including rights to all FIFA competitions and corporate activities up to and including the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Mengniu, Vivo and Hisense are so-called tier-two partners who have sponsorship rights for the tournament in Russia.

FIFA is trying to recover from the worst corruption scandal in its history and has been struggling to sign up sponsors since several dozen football officials, including several in senior FIFA posi-tions, were indicted in the United States in 2015 on cor-ruption-related charges.

FIFA offers a maximum of 36 sponsorship slots and it still has around half of those open six months before the tournament in Russia.

FIFA needs sponsorship to help reach its target of a $100m surplus for the four-yearly cycle ending at the 2018 World Cup.

It is also under pressure to increase its revenue after president Gianni Infantino, elected last year, promised to increase payouts to its 211 member federations to develop the sport.

Ronaldo trailing in Messi’s wake after mimicking celebration Barcelona

Reuters

The defining image of the previous ‘Clasico’ in the league last April was the

sight of Lionel Messi defiantly showing the back of his shirt to the baying Real Madrid crowd after burying the winning goal to settle a thrilling contest 3-2 for Barcelona.

The goal, also the Argentine’s 500th strike for his club, proved futile in Barca’s pursuit of Madrid, who still won a first La Liga crown in five years, but has had a surprising knock on effect on the current campaign.

Cristiano Ronaldo (pic-tured), locked in a compelling battle with Messi for the title of being the best player in the world, replicated Messi’s cele-bration four months later when he scored for Real against Barca in the Nou Camp in the Spanish Super Cup, but his actions had unintended consequences.

Ronaldo incurred an auto-matic booking for removing his shirt to celebrate the goal in Real’s 3-1 win and two minutes later was sent off for a second yellow card, this time for diving.

Incredulous at the decision, he pushed referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea and was sub-sequently slapped with a

five-game ban, missing Real’s opening four Liga games.

By the time Ronaldo made his first league appearance of the season in an eventual 1-0 defeat by Real Betis on September 20, Messi was already on a remark-able nine goals, while Madrid were seven points adrift of Barca at that stage.

The champions host their bitter rivals on Saturday sitting fourth in the Liga standings, 11 points behind Barca, although they have a game in hand. No side has ever won the Liga after falling eight points behind the leaders.

Not helped by his lack of match practice, Ronaldo did not open his account in the league until his fourth league game, striking the winner against Getafe, while his second goal did not come until his ninth appearance, against Malaga.

His two goals in the last league outing against Sevilla took him to four for the sea-son, his worst campaign so far in nine years in Spain.

Twenty one players have scored more than the usu-ally prolific P o r t u -g u e s e

in Spain’s top flight this season, with Messi leading the way with 1 4 goals.

Ronaldo has com-pensated for his poor domestic form by maintaining his usual high standards in international com-petitions. He is the

top scorer in this season’s

Cham-pions

League with nine goals and last weekend struck the only goal in the Club World Cup final against Gremio to help Real sign off 2017 with a club record five trophies.

His floundering league dis-plays have not affected his self-confidence, either.

“There is not a more com-plete player than me and I believe I am the best player in the history of football, in the good and the bad moments,” Ronaldo told France Football this month after winning the Bal-lon d’Or and tying Messi in being named world player of the year a record fifth time.

With five goals in his last four games in all competitions, Ronaldo heads into the ‘Clasico’ in prolific form, and it would be

no big surprise if he inspired Madrid to victory over

Barca. But even if he does, Real will still face a huge

task in chasing down the Catalans, who

marched into an early lead

while Ronaldo was shack-led by his ban, partly due to mimicking M e s s i ’ s i c o n i c celebration.

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By the time Ronaldo madehis first league appearance of theseason in an eventual 1-0 defeatby Real Betis on September 20,Messi was already on a remark-able nine goals, while Madridwere seven points adrift of Barca at that stage.

The champions host theirbitter rivals on Saturday sittingfourth in the Liga standings, 11points behind Barca, althoughthey have a game in hand. Noside has ever won the Ligaafter falling eight pointsbehind the leaders.

Not helped by his lackof match practice, Ronaldodid not open his account in the league until his fourthleague game, striking thewinner against Getafe, while his second goal did not comeuntil his ninth appearance,against Malaga.

His two goals in the lastleague outing against Sevilla took him to four for the sea-son, his worst campaign so far in nine years inSpain.

Twenty oneplayers have scored more than the usu-ally prolific P o r t u -g u e s e

in Spain’s top flight this season, with Messi leading the way with1 4 goals.

Ronaldo has com-pensated for his poordomestic form by maintaining his usualhigh standards in international com-petitions. He is the

top scorer in this season’s

Cham-pions

League with nine goals and lastweekend struck the only goal in the Club World Cup final againstGremio to help Real sign off 2017with a club record five trophies.

His floundering league dis-plays have not affected his self-confidence, either.

“There is not a more com-plete player than me and Ibelieve I am the best player inthe history of football, in the good and the bad moments,”Ronaldo told France Footballthis month after winning the Bal-lon d’Or and tying Messi in being named world player of the yeara record fifth time.

With five goals in his lastfour games in all competitions, Ronaldo heads into the ‘Clasico’in prolific form, and it would be

no big surprise if he inspiredMadrid to victory over

Barca. But even if he does, Real will still face a huge

task in chasing downthe Catalans, who

marched into an early lead

while Ronaldowas shack-led by hisban, partly due tomimicking M e s s i ’ s i c o n i ccelebration.

31THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER 2017 SPORT

Save the Dream, Qatar Airways fly high at Pisa Marathon Doha / Rome

The Peninsula

Save the Dream - the global non-profit movement that aims to promote and pro-tect the values and

integrity of sport in young people – and Qatar Airways joined forces at the 19th Pisa Marathon this week to engage and inspire young people around Italy through the pos-itive values of sport.

Building on previous joint activities in Italy – including Save the Dream Week 2017- and internationally, Save the Dream and Qatar Airways united once again to conduct a range of activities that pro-moted the positive role that sport can play in educating and inspiring young people, as well as how the positive values of sport can empower society and encourage inclu-sivity and integration within local communities.

With over 4,000 runners from Italy and over 60 other foreign countries taking part, the Pisa Marathon provided a platform for a diverse range

of children and sportspersons to come together under the banner of Save the Dream.

In particular, through its

activities at this year’s Pisa Marathon, Save the Dream will support the efforts of local organisations in favour of both able-bodied and para-athletes by bringing young people of all ages and abilities and giv-ing them the opportunity to train, compete and achieve their Olympic and Paralym-pic dreams together.

Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Marketing and Cor-porate Communications, Ms. Salam Al Shawa, said: “It is truly inspiring to see so many people joining together to take part and support the 19th Pisa Marathon and Save the Dream. It has become a firm sporting fixture on the Italian calendar and every year grows in popularity.

“Sport is such a powerful unifying force for good, so we are delighted to promote this amazing endeavor and sup-port the aspirations of athletes of all abilities with Save the Dream. Qatar Airways will continue to be a proud sup-porter of sports that bring people together.”

Massimiliano Montanari, Executive Director - Save the Dream said:

“Building on the activities that took place in Italy during Save the Dream Week 2017, we are delighted to land at the Pisa Marathon to complete our campaign in Italy and help empower and give more chil-dren with mental and physical impairments better access to sport.

“Sport provides joy and educational opportunities to all children regardless their physical or social condition. This was the vision that inspired our campaign, which was implemented jointly with Qatar Airways and Save the Dream Ambassador and Par-alympic athlete, Giusy Versace.

“As part of our participa-tion in the Pisa Marathon, Save the Dream is delighted to help raise funds to support a number of local children’s charities and to enable and empower them to support more children and disabled young people to play sport.”

To support Save the Dream, information can be obtained at savethedream.org.

With over 4,000 runners from Italy and over 60 other foreign countries taking part, the Pisa Marathon provided a platform for a diverse range of children and sportspersons to come together under the banner of Save the Dream

A participant takes part at 19th Pisa Marathon earlier this week.

IOC sanctions Slovenian from Vancouver Games re-testsBerlin

Reuters

Slovenian biathlete Teja Gregorin (pic-tured below) was sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee

yesterday after re-tests of samples showed she had used banned substances during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

The IOC said the athlete, who did not win a medal, was disqualified from those Games and all events she competed in, along with the entire 4x6km relay team of which she was part.

Gergorin’s best finish was fifth in the 12.5km mass start.

“The re-analysis... followed an intel-ligence-gathering and risk-assessment process that started in January 2017,” the IOC said in a statement.

“The process is now completed, ahead of the statute of limitations for the sam-ples collected, expiring in February 2018.”

The IOC regularly re-tests samples of past Games in order to catch cheats using new methods of detection of banned sub-stances or testing for ones that were not known at the time of the competition.

Re-tests from the Sochi 2014 winter Olympics, triggered by allegations of sys-tematic doping and tampering of samples of Russian athletes, led to the ban of Rus-sia from next year’s winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Russians who are cleared to compete will do so as independent athletes under the Olympic flag.

Russia to learn 2018 Paralympic fate in January, says IPC London

AFP

The International Para-lympic Committee (IPC) yesterday maintained

Russia’s doping suspension with a decision on their par-ticipation in the 2018 Paralympics to be made in January.

In a statement IPC pres-ident Andrew Parsons said they had extended the ban as the Russian Paralympic Com-mittee (RPC) had not made sufficient progress to justify their reinstatement.

”The RPC is making headway with the IPC on three of the five remaining reinstatement criteria.

“However sadly, and much to our growing disap-pointment and frustration, there is a lack of progress regarding an official response from the Russian authorities specifically and adequately addressing the McLaren find-ings and evidence.”

Russia were suspended by the IPC in August 2016 fol-lowing revelations of widespread state-sponsored doping uncovered in a report by Richard McLaren on behalf of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The IPC established a taskforce to monitor and assist the Russian Paralym-pic Committee (RPC) in a process of reforming.

Parsons added: “The IPC Taskforce still has significant concerns as to the lack of any material progress regarding the provision of an official response from the Russian authorities that adequately addresses the findings made by Professor McLaren.

“This is a requirement of the WADA roadmap for the reinstatement of RUSADA and a reinstatement criterion for the RPC.”

He concluded that it was “keeping the door open” for Russia to compete at Pyeongchang for as long as possible but warned that “January’s deadline is fast approaching”.

Russian Sports minister Pavel Kolobkov said he was “surprised” at the IPC’s deci-sion and suggested the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) “had met all its obligations”.

The RPC said it was regrettable that “the hos-tages” of the IPC’s demands were the athletes “whose faults haven’t been proved”.

The 2018 Paralympics are being staged in South Korea from March 9-18.

Gatlin agent says doping claims ‘just big talk’ London

AFP

The agent at the centre of a investigation by a British newspaper into world 100

metres champion Justin Gatlin’s entourage said on Tuesday he invented a story about obtain-ing banned drugs to impress undercover reporters.

Robert Wagner, who has occasionally represented Gat-lin, and Gatlin’s coach Dennis Mitchell were secretly filmed by the Daily Telegraph newspaper claiming they could obtain and administer human growth hor-mone and testosterone for $250,000.

The newspaper’s reporters had gone to meet the pair at Gat-lin’s Florida training base and had posed as producers inter-ested in making a film about a sprinter -- the drugs were meant to help the film’s lead actor get into shape.

But in a statement given to Britain’s Press Association by a British-based public relations company, Wagner said the Tel-egraph’s story was “deeply flawed” because it was based on false comments he made up to impress people he thought were in the film business.

“It was just big talk -- I did not actually source or supply the substances the reporters asked for but stupidly claimed I could,” the US-based Austrian said.

“I apologise to Mr Gatlin, his

management and family for say-ing completely false things about him and I apologise to other completely innocent athletes also wrongly implicated by my words.”

Wagner said he reported his meeting with the reporters to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and would assist the investiga-tion it had started “in every way I can”.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gatlin posted a statement on his Insta-gram account, saying he was “shocked and surprised” when he learned Mitchell had alleg-edly offered to supply performance-enhancing drugs.

“I am not using and have not used PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs),” wrote Gatlin, who has twice served doping

bans during a controversial career. The 35-year-old Amer-ican sprint star, who beat Usain Bolt in the final of the 100m at the London world athletics championships this year, said he had sacked Mitchell after hearing of the claims.

Anti-doping officials have launched an investigation into the claims while International Association of Athletics Feder-ations (IAAF) president Seb Coe said athletics needed to do more to tackle the scourge of doping that has long tainted the sport.

“We are looking at who we want in our sport,” Coe, a two-time 1500m Olympic gold medallist, said in a statement.

“Focusing on the influences that surround athletes is a crit-ical area of work,” he added.

Rio Games silver medallist Justin Gatlin

Former champ Vinokourov to face corruption trial Brussels

AFP

Former Olympic cham-pion cyclist Alexander Vinokourov is to face

trial for corruption in Belgium over allegations he paid a rival to let him win a major race.

The 44-year-old Kazakh, who won Olympic road race gold in London in 2012 hav-ing served a two-year doping ban from 2007-09, is accused of having paid Russian Alex-ander Kolobnev 150,000 euros ($178,000) to let him win the 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege prestigious one-day classic. He will stand trial in Liege on March 13, 2018, the Belgian public prosecutor said on Tuesday. Kolobnev will also stand trial.

The two riders are accused of having come to an agreement to let Vinokourov win the Liege race in April 2010 after they had broken clear of the pack and looked set to contest the victory.

The investigation is based on emails between the pair and two bank transfers -- one of 100,000 euros and the other for 50,000 euros, in July and December 2010. At the time, the two rode for rival teams -- Vinokourov for Kazakhs Astana, where he is the current general manager, and Kolob-nev for Katusha of Russia.

Cuttack, IndiaAFP

Opener Lokesh Rahul’s attack-ing half-century and four wickets by leg-spinner Yuz-

vendra Chahal powered India to their biggest ever Twenty20 win, outplaying Sri Lanka by 93 runs in the first match yesterday.

Chahal returned impressive fig-ures of 4-23 to help dismiss Sri Lanka for 87, in 16 overs, while chasing 181 as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

India’s previous biggest T20 tri-umph in terms of runs was their 90-run win over England in the 2012 World Cup group match in Colombo.

Rahul smashed 61 off 48 balls as India posted a challenging 180-3 after being invited to bat first.

But it was Dhoni (39) and Man-ish Pandey (32) who set up India’s big win with their unbeaten 68-run stand for the fourth wicket that lifted the team from 112-3 to put up a chal-lenging total.

Dhoni hit 4 fours and a six dur-ing his 22-ball blitz while Pandey also hit the bowlers to all parts of the ground during his 18-ball stay.

Earlier Rahul, who replaced Shikhar Dhawan in the XI, put on a crucial 63-run stand with Shreyas Iyer, who made 24, after India a lost an early wicket.

Angelo Mathews got skipper Rohit Sharma caught at mid-on for 17 to check India’s surge after the openers gave the team a brisk start.

Rahul, who hit 7 fours and a six, carried on with his attacking play as he reached his second T20 fifty in 34 balls, prompting skip-per Thisara Perera to rotate his bowling options.

The ploy worked as Sri Lanka took two quick wickets including that of Rahul and also managed to stem the flow of runs. Perera bowled Rahul on a well-disguised slower delivery.

But Dhoni and Pandey finished off the innings with a flurry of fours and sixes as India got 66 runs in the last five overs.

In reply, the Sri Lankan batting faltered against the Indian wrist spinners as Upul Tharanga top-scored with 23.

Fast bowler Hardik Pandya claimed three wickets while left-arm unorthodox bowler Kuldeep Yadav picked two.

The second match is scheduled for tomorrow in Indore.

32 THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER 2017SPORT 33THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER 2017 SPORT

P aceman Starc cleared ofserious injury Sydney

AFP

Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc has been cleared of a major foot injury, but remains in doubt for the Boxing Day Test, reports said

yesterday.Scans confirmed he only has a bruised heel after

he was seen hobbling on crutches as he left Perth after Australia claimed the Ashes by beating England by an innings and 41 runs in the third Test this week.

The injury was assessed in Sydney on Wednes-day and the paceman was “cleared of serious injury”, cricket.com.au said, adding that he would link up with Australia’s 13-man squad later this week in Melbourne.

But local reports said Starc still remained a doubt to play, with Jackson Bird likely to replace him should he fail to recover.

“We’d love to win 5-0 and have the big three (Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood) going all the time,” skipper Steve Smith said after the Perth win.

“But we’ve also got an important tour to South Africa after this series, which we’d love to have him (Starc) available for.”

Meanwhile, the BBC said seamer Craig Overton was also a doubt for Melbourne, where England will be desperate to salvage some pride.

Overton, who made his debut in the second match of the series in Adelaide, is still struggling after being hit in the ribs by a Cummins bouncer.

“We’re going to assess it over the next couple of days,” he told the broadcaster.

“Melbourne might be a push, but it’s still an option to play at the minute.”

Hathurusingha takes charge of struggling Sri Lanka ColomboAP

Chandika Hathurusingha took charge as Sri Lanka cricket coach yesterday, looking to replicate the success he found with Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka has been without a coach since Graham Ford resigned six months ago. Fielding coach Nick Pothas had been interim coach since then.

Sri Lanka Cricket authorities hope Hathurusing-ha’s arrival will change the national team’s fortunes after a string of losses in recent months.

“My plans with Bangladesh, New South Wales, Sri Lanka A and Moors have all been successful. I will be implementing a similar plan,” Hathurusinghe told reporters.

“This team has the potential to go two or three steps higher if we go along with a plan.”

Hathurusingha, who was contracted with Bangla-desh until the 2019 World Cup, resigned to take up the job in his native country.

He played 26 test matches and 35 one-day inter-nationals for Sri Lanka.

Bracewell stars on return as New Zealand win first ODI Whangarei, New ZealandAP

Doug Bracewell took Chris Gayle’s wicket with his first delivery for New Zealand

in 16 months, helping the home side to a five-wicket win over the West Indies yesterday in the first of three one-day matches.

Man-of-the-match Bracewell ended a lengthy exile from inter-national cricket by dismissing Gayle (22) and Shai Hope (0) in his first over. He went on to take 4-55, including the first and last wick-ets of the innings, as the West Indies were held to 248-9 in 50 overs after losing the toss.

An untried partnership between George Worker (57) and Colin Munro (49) put on 108 for the first wicket and Ross Taylor was stranded on 49 not out as New Zealand reached its winning tar-get with four overs remaining to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Taylor was denied his 39th ODI half century when the win-ning run came from a wide.

The second match is in Christchurch on Saturday.

Bracewell’s absence from the New Zealand team since he played in a one-day international against India in Dharamsala in October was partly due to a knee injury but more the result of his latest disci-plinary lapse. He was sentenced to community service in May for his third drink-driving offense. In his defense, Bracewell said he chose to drive home from a party to comfort his partner who had phoned to say their parrot had died.

He won a recall to the New Zealand squad for the current

series only because regular all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme had to return to his native Zimba-bwe due to his father’s death.

“It’s been a bit of a tough road back but I’ve done a lot of hard

work over the winter rehabbing, so it’s nice to be back now,” Bracewell said. “I’ve been out of the team through unfortunate cir-cumstances but it’s good to be back in the mix.”

Bracewell grasped the oppor-tunity of a more permanent return when he dismissed an out-of-sorts Gayle with his opening delivery. He hit a length which forced Gayle to play and the batsman flicked a

fine edge to wicketkeeper Tom Latham. Two balls later Shai Hope was also undone by Bracewell’s awkward length and provided Latham with another catch from the finest inside edge.

Hope challenged the decision unsuccessfully and that ultimately cost the wicket later in the innings of the West Indies’ top-scorer Evin Lewis who made 76 in partnerships of 40 with Gayle and 62 with

Shimron Hetmyer (29). Lewis was given out lbw to leg-spinner Todd Astle, who took 3-33 on his one-day international debut, although replays made it clear Astle’s wrong-un was turning past off stump.

With no reviews remaining, Lewis was forced to accept the decision of umpire Chettithody Shamshuddin and his innings came to an end after 35.2 overs in a major setback to the West Indies. The tourists were 177-6 and looked unlikely to set New Zealand a chal-lenging total until Rovman Powell hit 59 from 50 balls with two sixes and four fours before being the last man out.

Powell, who reached his first ODI half century from 47 balls, with a six and a four off the bowling of Trent Boult, put on 45 in a valua-ble ninth-wicket partnership with Kesrick Williams, who ended 16 not out. Worker and Munro’s century stand in 16.4 overs set up the New Zealand run chase. Worker reached his half century from 59 balls and went on to his highest score in his five ODI appearances while Munro fell one run short of his fifth half century.

Ashley Nurse bowled Worker, caught Munro off Kesrick Williams, and dismissed Tom Latham (17) to finish with 2-55 with his skidding off breaks. Captain Jason Holder took 2-52 on a difficult pitch at Cobham Oval.

Gayle limped from the field early in the New Zealand innings but didn’t appear to be seriously injured.

“It was a tough start to the series,” Holder said. “We lost wick-ets at crucial stages of the game and never really got any momentum.”

Zimbabwe seek to end underdog tag Paarl, South AfricaAFP

Zimbabwe cricket coach Heath Streak said on Tuesday he wanted his players to play “winning cricket” when they meet South

Africa in a one-off day-night Test next week.“We’d rather lose trying to play a winning

brand of cricket than just compete,” said Streak of a Test South Africa are expected to win comfortably.

“The main thing is belief and shaking off that underdog mentality we had,” he said in Paarl, the western Cape town where Zimbabwe began a three-day warm-up match against a South Afri-can Invitation team yesterday.

Zimbabwe have played just 10 Tests since they last met South Africa in Harare in August 2014, losing nine and drawing one.

“It’s well documented how little Test cricket we play,” said Streak. “I think for us it’s less about the type of cricket than about playing at interna-tional level.

“Whether it’s playing Tests or one-day inter-nationals, it’s the gaps in between that are the biggest challenge for us.”

The contest with South Africa will be Zimba-bwe’s first day-night Test and captain Graeme Cremer admitted: “We haven’t played with a pink ball and we haven’t played a lot under lights.”

Cremer said this week’s day-night match at Boland Park was a crucial part of his team’s prep-aration for the Test.

“We’ve had two sessions under lights to see how it (the pink ball) reacts,” said Cremer.

“At twilight, when it’s starting to get dark a little more seems to happen off the wicket.

“This warm-up game will give us a good idea of what to expect and there will be lots of discus-sion before the Test.”

Both Streak and Cremer are looking forward to playing in the first scheduled four-day Test in more than four decades.

“The so-called bigger teams will probably have to score a bit quicker and give the lesser teams more opportunities to take wickets. The game will move a lot quicker, I think,” said Cremer.

Streak said that with 98 overs a day instead of the usual 90, there would be plenty of time to achieve results.

“With 98 overs a day, it makes it a four-and-a-half day Test and the twilight conditions will be more challenging for batters,” he said.

England will have to think about changes: Johnson Perth Reuters

Nathan Lyon’s wish to see the end of some England careers after another Ashes whitewash could easily come true if the

tourists’ struggling senior players fail to lift quickly, former Aussie paceman Mitchell Johnson (pictured) has said.

Johnson captured 37 wickets in the 5-0 sweep of Alastair Cook’s Eng-land in 2013/14 which sparked the exits of a number of senior players and staff.

England spinner Graeme Swann promptly retired after the third Test of that ill-fated series, while batsmen Michael Carberry and Kevin Pietersen were never seen again in Test whites.

With Joe Root’s team having given back the urn and 3-0 down heading to the fourth Test in Melbourne, John-son said selectors should make hard decisions now rather than wait until the end of the series.

“Going to the next Test I think England will have to think about changes,” the 36-year-old told Reu-ters after training with Big Bash side Perth Scorchers at the WACA.

“I’m not sure if (paceman) Stuart Broad is up to it at the moment. There will be some question marks around him, (as) a senior player.

“(Opener) Alastair Cook is some-one who I think has been thinking about retirement.

“I just wonder now with the scoreline being 3-0 whether that will take a bit of pressure off him and he’ll just go out there and score runs. I’m not sure.

“I think the scars are there from the last series.”

Cook, who will be 33 when the Boxing Day Test starts, scored 766 runs in England’s 2010/11 triumph Down Under but struggled with the bat as captain during the 2013/14 series.

He has managed only 83 runs in the current campaign at a paltry aver-age of 13.83.

Broad has only five wickets from the three matches at 61.80 runs apiece and came off his worst ever Test fig-ures in the third match at the WACA.

With England’s lack of pace exposed on Australian wickets, J o h n -s o n doubted t h e y could win in Melbourne or Sydney with-out a genuine quick, and urged selectors to recall Durham seamer Mark Wood.

“I look forward to him playing if he gets the opportunity, they should pick him even if he’s slightly underdone,” Johnson said of 10-Test Wood, who recovered from an ankle injury to bowl in the tour match in Perth.

“From a pace point of view, some-one bowling over 140-145 (km/hour) can definitely change the game.”

Root, meanwhile, was a “great”

player that had failed to stand up for his team with the bat while being sad-dled with a series of off-field distractions, said Johnson.

The left-armer recalled his own wayward bowling during the 2009 Ashes in England when tabloids were awash with reports of a rift with his mother.

He felt England’s boozy indiscre-tions during the current tour had probably taken a similar toll on their

s k i p p e r ’ s o n - f i e l d performance.

“For me ‘09 was a struggle when you have off-field things happening, per-sonal things that have happened and they’re out in the public,” he said.

“Because it’s the Ashes you’re def-initely under the microscope a lot more. He’ll learn and he’ll definitely get better.”

Johnson was naturally more gen-erous in his praise of the home side and their captain, with Steve Smith lead-ing brilliantly with a double-century in

Perth and 426 runs for the series.The Ashes had been disappoint-

ing from a “fan’s point of view” but that was of little concern to Johnson, who enjoyed a number of fiery on-field exchanges with England players

during his international days.“As an ex-player,

I’d love to see a 5-0 (whitewash), I’m not

really that fussed on what happens

out in the mid-dle. I don’t like seeing close games when it’s against England, I

just want to see them get

thumped.”

I’m not sure if Stuart Broad is up to it at the moment. There will be some question marks around him, (as) a senior player. Alastair Cook is someone who I think has been thinking about retirement, says Australia’s Mitchell Johnson

West IndiesC Gayle c Latham b Bracewell ....................22

E Lewis lbw b Astle .......................................76

S Hope c Latham b Bracewell .......................0

S Hetmyer c Ferguson b Astle ....................29

J Mohammed b Ferguson .............................. 9

J Holder c Taylor b Bracewell ......................... 8

R Powell c Williamson b Bracewell ........... 59

A Nurse lbw b Astle ......................................... 2

R Beaton c Latham b Ferguson .....................3

K Williams (not out)...................................... 16

S Gabriel (not out) ............................................0

Extras (LB6, W18) .......................................24

Total (9 wkts) ............................... 248Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-41, 3-103, 4-117, 5-134,

6-177, 7-182, 8-201, 9-246

Bowling: Southee 10-2-49-0 (3w), Boult 10-2-

48-0 (4w), Ferguson 10-0-49-2 (3w), Bracewell

8-0-55-4 (1w), Astle 10-1-33-3 (1w), Munro 2-0-

8-0

New ZealandG Worker b Nurse .......................................... 57

C Munro c Nurse b Williams ....................... 49

K Williamson b Holder .................................38

R Taylor (not out) .......................................... 49

T Latham lbw b Nurse ...................................17

H Nicholls c Hope b Holder........................... 17

T Astle (not out) ..............................................15

Extras (LB2, W5) ........................................... 7

Total (5 wkts) ................................ 249Fall of wickets: 1-108, 2-118, 3-175, 4-201,

5-230

Did not bat: Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee,

Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

Bowling: Gabriel 10-0-57-0 (1w), Beaton 9-1-

42-0 (2w), Holder 9-1-52-2, Williams 5-0-18-1,

Nurse 10-0-55-2 (1w), Mohammed 2-0-13-0,

Powell 1-0-10-0 (1w)

Result: New Zealand won by 5 wickets

New Zealand lead the three-match series 1-0

SCOREBOARD

Jason Mohammed of the West Indies (centre) is bowled by Lockie Ferguson (right) of New Zealand during the

first ODI cricket match at Cobham Oval in Whangarei yesterday.

Chahal takes four as India thump Sri Lanka in first T20

IndiaR Sharma c Chameera b Mathews ...................... 17

L Rahul b Perera ...................................................... 61

S Iyer c Dickwella b Pradeep ................................ 24

M.S Dhoni (not out) .................................................39

M Pandey (not out) ..................................................32

Extras (B1, LB1, NB1, W4) ..................................... 7

Total (3 wkts, 20 overs) ....................... 180Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-101, 3-112

Did not bat: D Karthik, H Pandya, J Unadkat, K Yadav, J

Bumrah, Y Chahal

Bowling: Fernando 2-0-16-0, Dananjaya 4-0-30-0, Cha-

meera 3-0-38-0 (w2), Mathews 3-0-19-1, Perera 4-0-37-1,

Pradeep 4-0-38-1 (w2, nb1)

Sri LankaN Dickwella c Rahul b Unadkat ............................ 13

U Tharanga c Dhoni b Chahal ...............................23

K Perera c Dhoni b Yadav ...................................... 19

A Mathews c & b Chahal ...........................................1

A Gunaratne st Dhoni b Chahal ..............................4

D Shanaka c Pandya b Yadav ..................................1

T Perera st Dhoni b Chahal ...................................... 3

A Dananjaya c & b Pandya ...................................... 7

D Chameera c Rahul b Pandya ............................. 12

V Fernando c Unadkat b Pandya ...........................2

N Pradeep (not out) ..................................................0

Extras (W2) ..............................................................2

Total (all out, 16 overs) ...........................87Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-39, 3-46, 4-55, 5-58, 6-62, 7-70, 8-76, 9-85, 10-87

Bowling: Pandya 4-0-29-3 (w1), Unadkat 2-0-7-1, Chahal

4-0-23-4 (w1), Bumrah 2-0-10-0, Yadav 4-0-18-2

Result: India won by 93 runs

SCOREBOARD

Sharma hails spinners after India’s biggest T20 win CuttackAFP

Skipper Rohit Sharma yesterday lauded the wrist spinners for their wicket-taking abilities after Yuz-

vendra Chahal powered India to their biggest Twenty20 win, as the hosts outplayed Sri Lanka by 93 runs in the first match.

Chahal returned impressive fig-ures of 4-23 with his leg-spin to help dismiss Sri Lanka for 87, in 16 overs, while chasing 181 as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series yesterday.

Left-arm unorthodox bowler Kul-deep Yadav also chipped in with two wickets while paceman Hardik Pan-dya claimed three to flatten the Sri Lankan batting in Cuttack.

India’s previous biggest T20 tri-umph in terms of runs was their 90-run win over England in the 2012 World Cup group match in Colombo.

“Those two guys (Chahal and Kul-deep), if you look at their careers over the last few months, they have always been a wicket-taking option in the middle,” Sharma said of the spin duo.

“It’s important to understand what the team expects of them and they’ve delivered. They don’t fail to impress us.”

Earlier opener Lokesh Rahul smashed 61 off 48 balls as India posted a challenging 180-3 after being invited to bat first.

But it was Dhoni (39) and Manish Pandey (32) who set up India’s big win with their unbeaten 68-run stand for the fourth wicket that lifted the team from 112-3 to put up a challenging total.

Dhoni hit 4 fours and a six during his 22-ball blitz while Pandey also hit the bowlers to all parts of the ground during his 18-ball stay.

Rahul, who replaced Shikhar Dha-wan in the XI, put on a crucial 63-run stand with Shreyas Iyer, who made 24, after India a lost an early wicket.

“I think KL Rahul at the top was a great move. He wasn’t a part of the ODI squad but he came and showed that he belongs here,” said Sharma.

“He (Rahul) batted magnificently and we felt that he was hitting the ball well. And great finish to the batting innings by MS and Manish,” he added.

Angelo Mathews got skipper Sharma caught at mid-on for 17 to check India’s surge after the openers gave the team a brisk start.

Rahul, who hit 7 fours and a six, carried on with his attacking play as he reached his second T20 fifty in 34 balls, prompting skipper Thisara Per-era to rotate his bowling options.

The ploy worked as Sri Lanka took two quick wickets including that of Rahul and also managed to stem the flow of runs. Perera bowled Rahul on a well-disguised slower delivery.

But Dhoni and Pandey finished off the innings with a flurry of fours and sixes as India got 66 runs in the last five overs.

In reply, the Sri Lankan batting fell like a pack of cards against the Indian wrist spinners as opening batsman Upul Tharanga top-scored with 23.

“Our batting line-up didn’t click. Really disappointed. We are working hard at practice, to handle the wrist-spinners,” said Perera.

“These are the best 15 (players) we have (in the squad) so we have to stand up and do the job in the next match.”

India’s Yuzvendra

Chahal delivers

a ball during

the first T20

international

cricket match

against Sri

Lanka at The

Barabati Stadium

in Cuttack

yesterday.

Mitchell Starc

34 THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER 2017SPORT

35THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER 2017 SPORT

Randolph powers Kings past 76ersPhiladelphia

AP

Zach Randolph and Vince Carter have been playing for so long that some of their teammates were tod-

dlers when they broke into the NBA.

That double dose of experi-ence worked out quite well for Sacramento on Tuesday night.

Randolph scored 27 points and Carter had two key plays late in the game, helping the Kings to a 101-95 victory over the slump-ing Philadelphia 76ers.

Buddy Hield had 24 points and Frank Mason III finished with 16 for Sacramento, which came back from a 16-point sec-ond-half deficit.

“Zach started us out and really carried us for a while,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “He was really, really terrific.”

The 36-year-old Randolph was rejuvenated after he rested during Sunday’s 108-93 loss at Toronto. He made 12 of 19 shots and grabbed five rebounds.

“He’s an amazing low-post threat, for a long period of time,” Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said.

Besides putting up solid numbers — Randolph entered leading the team in scoring and rebounding at 15.2 points and 7 boards per game — he is enjoy-ing his role as veteran leader.

“We get along well,” he said. “These kids are working, they’re playing hard, and it’s showing on the court. We believe in them.”

Ben Simmons had 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for Philadelphia, which lost for the seventh time in eight games

while playing without center Joel Embiid for the second straight night due to a back injury. Rob-ert Covington led the 76ers with 17 points.

Philadelphia looked out of sync without Embiid and Sacra-mento took advantage.

Hield gave the Kings a 79-78 lead with a 3-pointer with 9:48 remaining. Carter made a

full-court outlet pass to Garrett Temple for a layup that made it 92-86 Sacramento with 4:18 left.

The 40-year-old Carter made another crucial play down the stretch, hustling for an offen-sive rebound that led to Randolph’s jumper with 1:59 to play.

“Coach trusts me to be solid and consistent, not make

mistakes and help our guys when I can,” Carter said. “I’ve been in big situations so I enjoy being on the court.”

Simmons answered with a driving basket that made it 96-92, but he couldn’t convert the free throw after being fouled and the rally fizzled from there.

“I don’t think we’ve been focusing down the stretch

— missing shots, not calling the right plays,” Simmons said. “It’s just little things like that. It comes down to us focusing, and mak-ing sure we’re committed to defense and offense at the same time.”

Meanwhile, Greece’s Gian-nis Antetokounmpo capped a 27-point performance on a three-point play with 5.9 seconds

remaining Tuesday to spark the Milwaukee Bucks over visiting Cleveland 119-116 in an NBA thriller.

The Cavaliers were led by 39 points from LeBron James as Cleveland made a furious fourth-quarter rally only to fall short at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center.

The Bucks (16-13) snapped a three-game losing streak over-all and had dropped their past five meetings with Cleveland, which used a 24-2 run to battle back. Dwyane Wade had 14 points and Jeff Green 13 but each had nine in the fourth quarter.

Eric Bledsoe added 16 points for Milwaukee, which trailed 113-112 after James scored six points in a row late in the fourth quarter.

Milwaukee’s Tony Snell fol-lowed with a 3-pointer and Antetokounmpo added a 3-point play to help deliver the victory.

“You’ve got to play to the last minute. I got the ball in my hands and I was able to do it,” the Green standout said.

“We wanted to play tough defensively and move the ball offensively. That’s what we did and that’s why we got the win.”

Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova returned to Milwau-kee’s starting lineup after missing 15 games with left knee tendinitis.

Sacramento forward Zach Randolph took advantage of the absence of Philadelphia scoring and rebound leader Joel Embiid to produce 27 points as the vis-iting Kings rallied to defeat the 76ers 101-96.

The Sixers fell to 14-16 and 1-6 without Embiid, who is strug-gling with a sore lower back.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives for a shot between Milwaukee Bucks forward John Henson (31) and guard Eric Bledsoe (6) during the second quarter of their NBA game at BMO Harris Bradley Center on Tuesday.

Deslauriers scores twice as Canadiens beat Canucks 7-5Vancouver, British Columbia

AP

Back indoors, the Montreal Canadiens got back on track.

Nicolas Deslauriers had the first two-goal game of his career, Carey Price made 34 saves and the Canadiens beat the Vancou-ver Canucks 7-5 on Tuesday night.

Montreal traveled to the West Coast after losing 3-0 out-doors to Ottawa on Saturday in the frigid NHL 100 Classic.

“It felt like in practice yes-terday and this morning we were sucking dirty pond water when we were breathing,” said Cana-diens captain Max Pacioretty, who had two assists. “It was good to get back (and play inside).”

Jeff Petry, Daniel Carr and Philip Danault each added a goal and an assist for Montreal. Paul Byron and Alex Galchenyuk also scored.

The fourth line of Deslau-riers, Carr and Byron Froese combined for five points as 14

players hit the score sheet for Montreal.

“I’m not here for my points,” Deslauriers said. “But if I can contribute like this and take some pressure off our top line, it means a lot.”

Montreal entered 1-3-1 over its previous five following a five-game winning streak that coincided with Price’s return from a lower-body injury.

“It wasn’t the ideal way to win,” Petry said. “What I liked is when they capitalized and scored it seemed like we pushed back quickly.”

Thomas Vanek had three goals and an assist for Vancou-ver, while Daniel Sedin and Brock Boeser each added a goal and an assist. Anders Nilsson stopped 25 shots, and Henrik Sedin chipped in with two assists.

“There’s nothing sweet about it,” Vanek said after his 10th career hat trick. “We’re really struggling right now.”

The Canucks have dropped six of their last seven in regula-tion by a combined 36-14 score.

But they insisted Tuesday’s game was an improvement over Sun-day’s 6-1 home loss to Calgary.

“Tonight was a lot better,” Vanek said. “It was a step in the right direction.”

Vancouver coach Travis Green agreed with that assessment.

“Had almost 40 shots, scored five goals on a pretty good goalie, played a lot more aggres-sive. Our compete level was a lot higher,” he said.

With the score tied 3-all in a wild second period, Petry gave Montreal the lead for good with 46.1 seconds left when his shot from the point on the power play beat Nilsson cleanly through a screen.

That came three seconds after Vancouver’s Alex Biega was whistled for cross checking — a call that left Green fuming.

Byron made it 5-3 at 1:37 of the third after getting a second chance on a nifty behind-the-back feed from Pacioretty for his 10th.

“You’re not going hear our goalies sit there and say they’re

playing their best hockey of the year,” Green said. “But if you’re trying to get me to throw blame on our goalies, I’m not going to do that.”

Boeser ripped his 18th past Price’s glove to make it 5-4, but Galchenyuk restored the two-goal lead with his eighth.

Vanek and Danault exchanged goals in the final 1:01, with Danault scoring into an empty net.

“There’s games that’s going to be 2-1, there’s games that are going to be like that,” Deslau-riers said. “You want to keep the scoring tight, but we responded well after every goal.”

The injury-riddled Canucks got some good news before the game with Boeser’s surprise return to the lineup after leav-ing Sunday’s loss. The 20-year-old sniper, who entered Tuesday leading both his team and all NHL rookies in scoring, crawled to the bench in agony against the Flames, but tests Monday revealed only a bone bruise.

Panthers linebacker Davis has suspension cut to one gameNew York Reuters

Carolina Panthers line-backer Thomas Davis had his two-game suspension

reduced to one game after an appeal, the NFL announced on Tuesday.

Appeals officer James Thrash, a former NFL wide receiver, heard Davis’ appeal.

Davis will not play Sunday in

Carolina’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he can return to the active ros-ter on Dec. 26. The Panthers conclude the regular season at Atlanta on Dec. 31.

Davis was suspended for his blindside hit Sunday that resulted in a concussion for Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams.

The 34-year-old Panther apologized to Adams over social

media for the hit that followed an interception during the third quarter at Bank of America Sta-dium. Davis was penalized but remained in the game, which Carolina won 31-24.

Adams was left with a con-cussion and couldn’t talk with reporters following the contest because players in concussion protocol are barred from speak-ing to the media until they have been cleared.

That didn’t prevent Adams from speaking out on Twitter, however.

“I’ll never understand it,” Adams wrote. “Game is already dangerous enough and we got Pro Bowl players out here head hunting and saying they ‘didn’t mean to harm me.’

“Somebody please explain to me what I wasnt trying to hurt him means when we nowhere near the play and u lead with ya

head and ear hole a defenseless player....

“Look it’s football but no room for (expletive) like that. We supposed to be in this together n look out for one another not mess with a mans livelihood and hand out unnecessary concus-sions. We all got mouths to feed what if I did that to him and his kids can’t eat.

“Not the type to rant but when u go through this

(expletive) twice in a year it takes a lil toll on u so excuse me.”

Adams’ words prompted an apology from Davis over social media.

“I understand your frustra-tion and I do apologize for the hit!” Davis wrote. “In no way was I trying to hurt you. My first instinct was turn and make a block. In all sincerity I do apol-ogize. I truly respect you as a player and I made a mistake!”

Vegas Golden Knights left wing David Perron (57) celebrates a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Forward LeBron James (23) drives for a shot between Milwaukee Bucks forward John Henson (31) and guard Eric Bledsoe (6) during the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center on Tuesday.

36 THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER 2017SPORT

Paris

AP

Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon champion, says she is coming out

of retirement and returning to the tennis tour next season.

The 33-year-old French-w o m a n m a d e t h e announcement via a Twitter post on Tuesday.

“Hi, guys. I have something to tell you: I am coming back. ... It’s going to be a huge chal-lenge,” Bartoli said in a video she put on Twitter. “I have still a lot of practice ahead of me, but I am hoping to be ready for March and the Miami Open.”

Bartoli mentioned three events she is particularly look-ing forward to: the French Open, the Fed Cup and, of course, Wimbledon.

She surprisingly won her only Grand Slam title while seeded No. 15 at the All England Club four years ago. Less than

two months later, after losing a match at another tournament, she abruptly retired from pro-fessional tennis.

Bartoli was an original player — and personality — dur-ing her playing career.

She hit two-fisted shots for forehands and backhands, just like her idol, Monica Seles, whom Bartoli recalled admir-ing as early as at only 7½ years old.

Bartoli was coached by her father, a doctor, and they came up with other unique elements.

She would cross her arms before serving, never bouncing the ball before a toss. She would stand well inside the baseline to receive an opponent’s serve. And she would hop in place or take practice swings between points.

Her first big breakthrough came in 2007, reaching the Wimbledon final before losing to Venus Williams.

Then came the magical two-week run to the champi-onship there six years later.

Bartoli never dropped a set and capped her fortnight with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Sabine Lisicki in the final, closing the match with an ace.

A year later, Bartoli became the first woman in 17 years who declined to try to defend her Wimbledon title.

At a news conference before the 2014 tournament, Bartoli tugged at the collar of her white top to reveal strips of blue tape providing support for her right shoulder and explained: “Literally, I can’t even lift my arm every morning.”

That, she said, was why she harbored “definitely no regrets at all” about walking away from tennis back then.

She since moved on to other pursuits, including TV commentary, launching a shoe line and designing jewelry.

2013 Wimbledon champ Bartoli says she’s coming back

France’s Marion Bartoli celebrates beating Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, in the Wimbledon final in this July 2013 file picture.

Kyrgios going it alone for 2018 ATP tour

Melbourne

Reuters

Nick Kyrgios has sacrificed his love of basketball for more time in the gym to get fit for the Australian Open but sees no imme-

diate need for the extra discipline of a full-time coach.

The 22-year-old Australian worked with Frenchman Sebastian Grosjean on a part-time basis this year but has yet to find a candidate with his “best interests” at heart, he told reporters in Brisbane yesterday.

“I haven’t got a coach and I think I’m just going to go about my thing the same way that I did this year,” he said.

“I’ve pretty much done it all alone the last three years to get to a career high of 13.

“To bring someone on, it’s tough to know whether they’re just doing it for the sake of getting a bit of cash or rather have best interests at heart.

“I’m not looking for someone who has a big name or anything,

it’s more trying to find some-one who has my best

interests and I can confide in.

“So far I haven’t really met anyone that meets those requirements. I don’t think I’m ready for a full-time coach just yet

either.”The mercurial talent’s world

ranking has slipped to 21 after a sea-son blighted by problems with his hip but said he was doing everything in his power to be in prime shape for Melbourne Park in January. That has extended to less time playing his beloved basketball, which he blamed for causing a knee injury in the leadup to the 2017 tournament where he crashed out in the second round.

“I was playing a lot (of basket-ball) through the off-season but I know it’s not great on my body,” said Kyrgios.

“Especially training for tennis and playing that, it’s not the smart-est. But you know, I’ll live.”

Kyrgios will warm up for the year’s first grand slam at the Bris-bane International before heading to Melbourne to play in Tie Break Tens with Novak Djokovic, an exhi-bition of 10-point tiebreak matches.“I feel like I’ve taken care of my body a bit more than last year,” said Kyrgios.

“Last year I wasn’t doing any-thing, I was kind of playing too much basketball.

“I had so many niggles going into the Australian Open. I feel like I’ve done everything I can. I’ve still got a lot of time to kind of find my feet.”

Serena sorts out baby teething issues, hints at returnMiami

AFP

Serena Williams says she has struggled with her baby daughter’s teething pain

even as she tweeted a photo hinting she might be working on a comeback to defend her Aus-tralian Open title.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and former world number one drew sym-pathetic replies to Sunday tweets about baby daughter Alexis Olympia’s teething issues, complete with a photo, then posted another picture Monday of an empty tennis court look-ing set up for the start of a workout.

The next Australian Open

begins on January 15 at Mel-bourne, which would be barely beyond four months after Wil-liams gave birth to her daughter on September 1.

Williams began her latest tweets on Sunday with a plea for help on how to ease the torment of teething.

“Teething- aka the devil - is so hard,” tweeted Williams. “Poor Alexis Olympia has been so uncomfortable. She cried so much (she never cries) I had to hold her until she fell asleep. I’ve tried amber beads... cold tow-els.... chew on mommies fingers.... homeopathic water (lol on that one) but......

“Nothing is working. It’s breaking my heart. I almost need my mom to come and hold

me to sleep cause I’m so stressed. Help? Anyone??”

Among the advices she received -- “try a wet washcloth for the baby let her chew it.”

On Monday, there was no mention of teething but a photo of the open court, a rac-quet bag leaning on a stool with towels and a bicycle nearby serving notice that Wil-liams might have found a cure for herself with the next Grand Slam tournament only four weeks away.

Williams has said she intended to defend the crown she won earlier this year while unknowingly pregnant but has not confirmed any firm plans to play in Melbourne since the birth of her daughter.

Serena Williams celebrates after winning the Wimbledon Championship in this July 2016 file picture.

Djokovic to launch new tennis formatSydney

AFP

Former world number one Novak Djokovic will warm up for a tilt at a record seventh Australian Open crown by playing in an inno-vative quickfire event at the Melbourne venue.

Djokovic, who has been sidelined since July with a right elbow injury, is making his long-awaited return to the game at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi from December 28-30.

The Serbian world number 12 and volatile Australian Nick Kyr-gios will headline the eight-man Tie Break Tens tournament at Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park on January 10.

Each match will last for one tiebreak, with the first player to 10 points winning.

The entire tournament will be completed on the night, and the winner will pocket $250,000.

The Australian debut of the novel format comes after three pre-vious events in London, Vienna and Madrid.

Kyrgios, who brought an early end to his season in October because of a long-standing hip injury, said the tournament “really suits my game style”.

“I am looking forward to having some fun with it and I reckon the crowds will really get into it,” he added.

The Australian Open’s tournament director Craig Tiley said he was “absolutely thrilled” the format would feature in Melbourne, adding that it was “fast, its flashy and heaps of fun for everyone”.

The Australian Open begins at Melbourne Park on January 15.Meanwhile, suspended Polish player Piotr Gadomski has

received further punishment for breaching the terms of his ban for corruption offences when he attended the Wimbledon qualifying tournament, the Tennis Integrity Unit said in a statement on Tuesday.

Gadomski, who in September 2015 was fined $15,000 and given a seven-year ban after being found guilty of charges involving match-fixing, has received a further 18-month suspension.

The 26-year-old Gadomski admitted attending the Wimbledon qualifiers at Roehampton in London in June 2016, violating the terms of his earlier suspension that prohibited him from attending any pro-fessional tennis event.

The breach, investigated and revealed by the Integrity Unit, increases Gadomski’s ban but the 18-month extension is suspended providing he does not commit any further violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme.

Gadomski reached a career-high singles ranking of 338 in April 2014.

Coach lookoutThe 22-year-old Australian is yet to find a candidate with his ‘best interests’ at heart,

Melbourne

Reuters

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Nick Kyrgios of Australia reacts during his Davis Cup world group quarter-final match against John Isner of the US at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane.