SPORT | 19

QREC starts

Al Uqda Complex

operation

in Al Khor

SPORTRizwan impresses

Trott before rain

checks Pakistan's

progress

SPORT | 19

MONDAY 17 AUGUST 2020

Hamilton clinches record win in SpainAFP – BARCELONA

Lewis Hamilton claimed his 88th Formula One career victory and, with it, an outright record 156th podium finish yesterday when he drove his Mercedes to a masterful victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.

It was the world championship leader and six-time champion’s fifth win in Spain and his fourth in consec-utive years, extending his record run of finishes in the points to 39.

Hamilton came home 24 seconds ahead of nearest title race rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull who finished 20 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes.

Hamilton had shared a record 155 podium finishes with Michael Schu-macher whose other records for championships and wins are in the Briton’s sights this year.

His victory increased his lead in the drivers title race to 37 points ahead of Verstappen.

Sergio Perez, back in his Racing Point after missing two races with coronavirus, was fourth ahead of his team-mate Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz of McLaren.

“Wow, I was in another zone then,” said Hamilton.

“I didn’t even know it was the fastest lap. Thank you everyone. I was just in a daze out there - it was good.” Verstappen was satisfied with his

result. To split them was the best we could do today,” said the Dutchman who won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone last week.

Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, in his final season with Ferrari and linked with a move to Aston Martin next year, finished seventh ahead of Alex Albon in the second Red Bull, Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri and Lando Norris who was 10th in the second McLaren.

On another hot afternoon at the Circuit de Cat-alunya, with a track temper-ature of 5 0 degrees

Celsius and the air at 31, Hamilton made a clean start from his 92nd pole position, but behind him Bottas made sluggish progress from second.

Both Verstappen and Stroll took advantage on the ‘drag race’ down to

the first corner, pushing the Finn down to fourth.

All of them were aware of the threat of serious tyre degra-dation in the conditions, a hazard that persuaded Hamilton to control the lead pace with

caution.Bottas was

soon back on pace, passing Stroll into Turn One and

then launching his chase after Ham-ilton and Verstappen.

The champion was soon clear of the Dutchman by 1.5 seconds, but not surging clear as he backed up Ver-stappen towards the Finn.

By lap 12, he was lapping faster and reeling off fastest laps, opening a gap of 1.7, which he increased to four seconds by lap 15 while Bottas, third, closed to within two seconds of Verstappen.

All of the top ten drivers had started on softs, the rest on mediums. This meant pit-stops were inevitable with

tyre-wear and strategy sure to be critical factors.

Albon was the first to blink, taking a set of hard tyres for his Red Bull as the team sought the means for him to make progress and opted, in vain, for a one-stop race. He returned for mediums on lap 43.

By lap 20, a frustrated Verstappen was grumbling about his soft rear tyres.

He pitted two laps l a t e r t a k i n g

mediums in a

remarkable 1.9 seconds stop.This move enabled Bottas to regain

second, ten seconds behind his team-mate with Verstappen rejoining third, adrift by nearly 30 seconds - but on lap 24 Mercedes ‘double-stacked’ their men for mediums in a slower move.

Hamilton was stationary for 4.3 seconds and Bottas for 3.1, a delay that allowed Verstappen to regain second, 4.3 down on the leader.

Behind the leaders, the mixed strat-egies ensured plenty of positional battles including scraps between Lando Norris of McLaren and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for 10th and the two Racing Points for fifth.

Leclerc’s hopes ended on lap 38 when his engine cut out and he spun at the chicane. He re-joined

in 20th before pitting and retiring as black thunder-clouds loomed.

SPANISH GRAND PRIX RESULTS: TOP 101. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1h 31:45.2792. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull-Honda) 24.1773. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 44.7524. Lance Stroll (CAN/Racing Point-Mercedes) 1 lap5. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Racing Point-Mercedes) 1 lap6. Carlos Sainz (ESP/McLaren-Renault) 1 lap7. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) 1 lap 8. Alexander Albon (THA/Red Bull-Honda) 1 lap9. Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri-Honda) 1 lap10. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Renault) 1 lap

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Ducati’s Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso leading the pack during the Moto GP Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Spielberg, Austria, yesterday.

PSG Academy Qatar players, coaches return to trainingTHE PENINSULA – DOHA

With over 220 technical videos produced, a 10-week remote training program delivered, 45 live sessions issued through various digital plat-forms, and a 6-week online summer camp, Paris Saint-Germain Academy Qatar players and coaches have returned to the pitch.

After a long period away from the training grounds, Paris Saint-Germain Academy Qatar is finally back to training. The French academy is currently hosting a football and handball summer term for more than 200 kids running through the month of August (2-29) at Doha sports park in Lusail and College of the North Atlantic in Duhail.

Due to the current pandemic, the renowned academy follows a strict safety protocol before and during each training sessions in order to ensure the safety of all participants.

All equipment is sanitized before and in between sessions, coaches are required to wear masks and gloves, and players are required to have their temperatures taken and sanitize their hands upon entering the field.

“Covid-19 is still very present today, therefore it is extremely important for us to take all the nec-essary measures by coinciding with the ministry guidelines” as stated by Fabien Dilem, General Manager of the PSG regional office in Doha.

Cyril Klosek, academy Technical Director said: “Our training sessions

differ from the usual training format. We modified our structure by really emphasizing on the technical and tac-tical aspect of game, all while con-tinuing to implement the PSG Methodology.

"Each coach has a maximum of 8 players in their group in order to remain safe, and moreover, focus on each players development and understanding of the game. Our coaches have worked diligently to create drills that cater to all skill levels. We’ve taken out the contact aspect and have included challenges, which include skill, accuracy and relay races, just to name a few, in order to keep that competitive atmos-phere throughout training sessions," Klosek said.

Departing Dovizioso wins eventful Austrian MotoGP

AFP – SPIELBERG

Andrea Dovizioso won an eventful Austrian MotoGP for Ducati yesterday just 24 hours after revealing he would leave the Italian team at the end of the season.

Spain’s Joan Mir on a Suzuki robbed Ducati of a one-two by clinching second spot from Australian Jack Miller with a single corner to spare.

“That was really strange,” said the world championship runner up in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“For a whole load of reasons,” added ‘Dovi’, who avoided a string of crashes and narrow escapes notably for Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli and Frenchman Johann Zarco.

In a two way tangle on lap eight at the empty Speilberg circuit Yamaha’s Morbidelli and Zarco hit the deck at high speed.

Zarco’s Ducati carried on without him, cut a corner and narrowly missed the veteran Valentino Rossi, who was clearly shaken by the close shave and who went on to take fifth.

The riderless bike exploded into pieces at a safety barrier scattering debris through the air as the race was

red flagged. Morbidelli was taken away on a stretcher but was later able to walk to an ambu-lance as Zarco appeared unhurt.

Pol Espargaro of KTM then slid spectacu-larly into Portugal’s Miguel de Oliveira, who pursued the limping Spaniard to remonstrate beside the wreckage of their bikes.

Alex Rins of Suzuki then simply fell as he was challenging Dovizioso for the lead.

This was Ducati’s fifth consecutive MotoGP success at Spielberg, and their 50th in the elite division.

The MotoGP standings continue to be led by Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha’s satellite SRT team rider and winner of the coronavirus-cur-tailed season’s first two races in Jerez.

The Frenchman finished eighth in this fourth leg of the campaign.

AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX MOTOGP RESULTS (TOP 10)1. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) 28min 20.853sec2. Joan Mir (ESP/Suzuki) at 1.377sec3. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati-Pramac) 1.5494. Brad Binder (AFS/KTM) 5.5265. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 5.8376. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN/Honda-LCR) 6.4037. Danilo Petrucci (ITA/Ducati) 12.4988. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamha-SRT) 12.5349. Iker Lecuona (ESP/KTM) 14.11710. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Yamaha) 15.276

Halep wins 21st WTA title in PragueAP – PRAGUE

Top-seeded Simona Halep defeated third-seeded Elise Mertens 6-2, 7-5 in the Prague Open final yesterday to claim her 21st WTA title.

The second-ranked Romanian broke Mertens for a 6-5 lead in the final set before converting her first match point to win her second title this year after the Dubai Championships in February.

Before the Wimbledon champion recovered from a foot injury she sus-tained in Dubai, the coronavirus pan-demic forced a five-month break.

It was the eighth title on clay for Halep, the first since she won the 2018 French Open. Among the active players, only Serena Williams with 13 and her sister Venus with nine, won more titles on clay.

The No. 23-ranked Mertens jumped to a 2-0 lead in the opening set before Halep took charge, taking six straight games.

Halep improved her record against her Belgian opponent to 4-1 at WTA tournaments.

After the final, Halep said she would decide on Monday if she is ready to play at the forthcoming US Open.

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium after winning the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya, yesterday.

A young PSG Academy Qatar player in action during a

training session in Doha. INSET: A player sanitizing his hands

upon entering the field.

19MONDAY 17 AUGUST 2020 SPORT

QREC starts Al Uqda Complex operation in Al KhorTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s (QREC) is committed to have its general strategy in place in line with the state’s drive to provide the best available resources to serve horse racing in Qatar as a leader in this sport.

To this end and pursuant to the directives of the Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali to make the use of the facilities of the Al Uqda Complex in Al Khor, as a state-owned horse racing asset, available for the largest possible number of Qatari stakeholders, the Complex will be operated in coordi-nation with the Ministry of Culture and Sports being the authority overseeing QREC.

As part of QREC’s preparations to fulfill its duty of operating and running the Complex, the stables of the Complex will be allocated for the use of trainers to train horses in favour of QREC subscribers.

This move is aimed to benefit from the complex in realising QREC’s strategy and providing trainers more opportunities to properly train and

prepare horses for, and eventually enhance, racing. It, further, opens the door for more new horse owners to benefit from the Al Uqda Complex stables and, thus, eases the waiting list issue.

QREC Chairman Issa Bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi said, “The Al Uqda Complex in Al Khor is a new sports asset, which will play a part in

the ongoing enhancement of horse racing both at Al Uqda and Al Rayyan Park. The Complex will provide more stables and horse stalls, which will be allocated for the use of trainers according to the regulations in effect, as they are specialised in properly preparing horses for running in races.”

“The use of the Al Uqda Complex horse stalls has already been announced to interested trainers”, added Al Mohannadi.

“In order to train and prepare their horses there as part of the fair com-petition and in a manner, which boosts horse racing. So far, a number of trainers have submitted their appli-cations for using stalls for the horse they will train there. No doubt, the Al Uqda Complex, as a new asset serving horse racing in Qatar, will help create a perfect environment for competition among trainers because each of them will seek to prove the quality of his work in training horses.”

QREC CEO Nasser Bin Sherida Al Kaabi said, “The Al Uqda Complex in Al Khor is a facility, which reflects the state’s considerable interest in to Qatar’s horse racing, especially as it provide an opportunity for holding

races at the racecourse there. In addition, many horse owners in the northern areas of the county will run their horses in such races, which in turn will achieve the goal behind the operation of the Complex as an asset established to serve and enhance racing.”

“It will also help ease the waiting

list issue related to the use of stables and participation in horse racing. In the coming weeks, the Al Uqda Complex will host a horse auction, which will be the first sale ever to be held there, and entries for such auction have already been opened. In the next season, races will be run at Al Uqda as well as at Al Rayyan,” he added.

A view of the Al Uqda Complex in Al Khor.

QREC Chairman Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi

The Al Uqda Complex in Al Khor is

a new sports asset, which will play

a part in the ongoing enhancement

of horse racing both at Al Uqda and

Al Rayyan Park: QREC Chairman Issa

Bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi

One day we will break

this gap to the semis.

The team over last few

years deserve it. Maybe

one day we'll break this

gap.

Manchester City

manager Pep Guardiola

after 1-3 loss to Lyon in

the Champions League

quarter-final.

Rizwan impresses Trott before rain checks Pakistan’s progressAFP — SOUTHAMPTON

Mohammad Rizwan was hailed as a “nuggety player who wants to get stuck in” by England batting consultant Jonathan Trott after the Pakistan wicketkeeper frus-trated the hosts in the second Test at Southampton on Sunday before more bad weather interrupted the match.

Only 10.2 of the fourth day’s scheduled 98 overs had been bowled when the umpires decided no more play was possible on a rain-swept outfield, with England 7-1 in reply to Pakistan’s first innings 236.

Rizwan top-scored with 72 and expertly shepherded the tail when it looked like Pakistan might be dismissed for under 200.

He was eventually last man out after an innings that spanned four days.

Rizwan batted for three and three-quarter hours,

facing 139 balls with seven boundaries during his second fifty in eight career Tests fol-lowing the 95 he made against Australia in Brisbane in November.

“The way he plays, the skill in batting with the tail as well is something that should not be underrated,” Trott told reporters.

“Sometimes that is a challenge in itself, to manoeuvre the ball and field so you are on strike again.”

The former England batsman added: “He looks like a nuggety player who wants to get stuck in which is what you want as a fielder from your keeper and as a batter.”

Pakistan struck with just the fourth ball of England’s reply when left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi had Rory Burns caught by Asad Shafiq at second slip for a duck with a fine delivery that swung and seamed.

Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan plays a shot on the second day of the second Test against England.

India all-rounder Raina follows legend Dhoni into retirementREUTERS — NEW DELHI

Former India all-rounder Suresh Raina has joined ex-skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in quitting international cricket, the 33-year-old said in a statement on Sunday.

Minutes after Dhoni announced his retirement on Instagram on Saturday, Raina posted a message on the same platform, saying “With my heart full of pride, I choose to join you in this journey.”

The Indian cricket board issued a statement on Saturday confirming Dhoni’s retirement but there was no official word on Raina.

“With a lot of mixed feelings, I’m able to make this announcement of my retirement,” Raina, who made his India debut in a one-day match in Sri Lanka in 2005, said yesterday.

“I had multiple surgeries, setbacks and moments when I

felt that this is it... It’s been an incredible ride...” A fluent left-handed batsman and a handy off-spinner, Raina played 18 Tests but impressed more in limited-overs cricket, where his agile fielding made him an asset.

Raina played 226 ODIs for

India, his last being in 2018 in England. He scored nearly 8000 international runs, having scored a century in all three formats.

“Congratulations Suresh on a wonderful career...” batting great Sachin Tendulkar tweeted.

Suresh Raina played 226 ODIs for India, his last being in 2018 in England.

Former India opener Chauhan dies after virus complicationsREUTERS — NEW DELHI

Former Indian Test opening batsman Chetan Chauhan, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19, died from compli-cations yesterday at the age of 73, the country’s cricket board (BCCI) said.

Chauhan, who played for India between 1969-1981, partnered batting great Sunil Gavaskar at the top of the order where his patience and dogged determination helped the pair stitch together 10 century stands.

Chauhan was admitted to hospital in July when he tested positive for the novel corona-virus and was on a ventilator when his health deteriorated over the weekend.

“The BCCI expresses grief on the passing away of Chetan Chauhan,” the statement said.

“The former India cricketer was admitted to a hospital after being tested positive for COVID-19 and breathed his last on Sunday,” it added.

BCCI president and former cricketer Sourav Ganguly said he was “deeply anguished” by Chauhan’s passing.

“I’ve spent so much time with him when he was the Indian cricket team’s manager,” Ganguly said.

“Not only was he a tough opening batsman but was a person with a tremendous sense of humour and had a tremendous attachment to Indian cricket."

We won the tactical battle: Lyon coachREUTERS — LISBON

Olympique Lyonnais manager Rudi Garcia said winning the tactical battle with Pep Guar-diola’s side had been the key to his team’s surprise 3-1 win in the Champions League quarter-final on Saturday.

The victory sends Lyon, who finished seventh in the French league, into a clash with German champions and tour-nament favourites Bayern Munich in Lisbon on Wednesday.

“With Pep, you can expect anything. We knew that Pep could concoct something to cause us problems. But in the end I think we won the tactical battle in the sense that we’ve mastered our tactical system, even if I changed it (during the match),” said Garcia.

Lyon were able to exploit the space left in midfield by Guardiola’s decision to play an extra defender and when City reverted to their normal, attacking formation, the French side punished them on the break.

“I’m experiencing a lot of happiness right now... when I see the joy in the dressing room, I tell myself that I’m in the right,” he said.

“You can’t stop when you’re on such a good path. It’s not the night to talk about Bayern, but we’re only in the semi-finals, we’ve still got a few steps to go,” he said.

Garcia left striker Moussa Dembele on the bench but the former Celtic forward responded with two goals after coming on in the second half.

“It was a disappointment

for Moussa not to start, but I told him, he was going to be very important when entering. Salvation came from the bench,” he said.

Dembele’s goals prompted wild scenes on the streets of Lyon on Saturday as fans gathered in the city centre, dancing and lighting flares to celebrate their victory over pre-match favourites City.

“It was a complicated game against a very great team. For a player, there is always a little bit of sadness to start on the bench, but I made a difference,” Dembele told French television.

“We made the promise to give everything. The spirit of the group has changed, we know that we are a great team.” Lyon’s surprise victories over Juventus and City came after the French season was halted

in March and, unlike most European leagues, did not resume.

Garcia said they had made the most of that situation.

“We adapted to the sus-pension of Ligue 1, we had eight weeks of pre-season, it’s massive. Our fitness coach really came up with the perfect solution for our players,” he explained, while also conceding that his players tired towards the end.

“We’re developing a taste for things, but our confidence levels are growing in this squad, our results have shown that, but we’ll still be the outsiders, the underdogs against Bayern Munich,” Garcia said.

“We’ll need to pull off a shock result, just as we did against Juventus and tonight against Manchester City,” he added.

Lyon’s French coach Rudi Garcia celebrates his team’s win over Manchester City.

Manchester City midfielder De Bruyne named Premier League Player of the Season

REUTERS — LONDON

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was named the Premier League Player of the Season yesterday, becoming just the third Belgian to win the award for the league’s top performer.

The 29-year-old set up 20 goals in the 2019-20 campaign, equalling the record for most assists in a Premier League season set by Arsenal striker Thierry Henry in 2002-03.

He also scored a personal best 13 goals but was unable to help City defend their top-flight crown, with Pep Guardiola’s side finishing 18 points behind champions Liverpool.

De Bruyne beat Liverpool trio Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Southampton striker

Danny Ings, Leicester City’s Golden Boot winner Jamie Vardy and Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope to the award.

De Bruyne’s former City team mate Vincent Kompany and ex-Chelsea winger Eden Hazard are the two other Bel-gians to win the accolade.

Alexander-Arnold was named Young Player of the Season earlier this week, while Juergen Klopp won the Manager of the Season award.

The 29-year-old set up

20 goals in the 2019-20

campaign, equalling the

record for most assists

in a Premier League

season set by Arsenal

striker Thierry Henry in

2002-03.