SPORTSunday 28 October 2018

PAGE | 28 PAGE | 29Dhoni dropped from

T20 series against Windies, Australia

Qatar seek Thailand scalp to seal WC spot

Malaysia’s Eain Yow stuns home hero TamimiARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Former world junior champion Malaysia ’s 20-year-old Eain Yow Ng pulled off a stunning win over Qatar’s Abdullah Al Tamimi to seal one of the biggest victories of his career in round one of the 2018 Qatar Classic.

Yesterday at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Eain, who was competing in any PSA World Tour Platinum event for the second time, knocked out the home favourite and World No.24 in 40 minutes on a day that saw all three Qatari players crash out of the tournament.

The Malaysian won 11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 to seal a place in the second round Taking on the talented Tamimi in his own back yard, Eain embraced the underdog role and attacked without fear from the off. Playing with a relaxed, com-posed manner the World No.42 took the game to the local man, forcing errors from the racket of a nervous Tamimi to take the opening game for the loss of just three points.

Tamimi, currently at a career high ranking, looked to have found his rhythm as he levelled the scores. But the errors began to flow once again in the third game, with NG happy to profit and re-establish his lead. He then came from behind in the fourth game to seal the win and book a place

in the second round of a major event for the first time in his career.

“I knew coming into it today it would be tough to play him in his home town so I just told myself that there was no pressure and to relax and enjoy the match,” said Eain, who led Malaysia to a Gold medal finish at the Asian Games Team Championship.

“He’s a very talented and tricky player, so I just had to play basic, keep the ball tight and stay focused. I knew there would be pressure on him and in the first game I could see he was a bit slow of the mark and I tried to take advantage of that and the first game was very important.

“I fought back very well in the third game after being down and I just kept focusing on trying to play good squash instead of getting sucked into his type of game. I believed that I could do it and it paid off for me at the end.

“To win this match means a lot to me as well because I’ve fallen short at the major events previously and have struggled to get to the main draws so wining today and getting into the second round for the first time is big for me. Playing against players like Karim Gawad, who’s someone I have looked up to, is the sort of thing that every player works for so I’m excited to just give it everything I’ve got and see what happens.” Eain

will go up against former World Champion and 2016 tournament winner Karim Abdel Gawad in the second round while Qatari wildcards Abdulrahman Al-Malki and Syed Azlan Amjad also bowed out at the first round courtesy of straight-game defeats at the hands of Australian Cameron Pilley - who yes-terday celebrated his 36th birthday - and Hong Kong’s Tsz Fung Yip.

Earlier, German number two Raphael Kandra was one

of six players to narrowly come through in five games and secure a place in the second round of the PSA World Tour Platinum event, with the 27-year-old coming from behind to see off Mexican Arturo Salazar in a thrilling encounter.

Kandra, playing at a career high ranking of 19, was off the pace to start with but managed to turn the match around and prevail against the dangerous Salazar - who’s brother Cesar saved match

ball to triumph in another five-game battle with Welshman Peter Creed.

Egypt’s World No.45 Karim Ali Fathi also produced a surprise win on the opening day of action as he secured a 3-0 victory over France’s World No.31 Gregoire Marche while Mazen Hesham, Greg Lobban, Adrian Waller, Tom Richards, Borja Golan, George Parker, Mathieu Castagnet, Declan James and Joel Makin were the other winners on the day.

Qatar’s Abdullah Al Tamimi (left) in action against Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng during the first round of the 2018 Qatar Classic at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday. The former world junior champion defeated the home favourite 11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5. PICTURE: IBRAHIM KUTTY

QATAR CLASSIC: YESTERDAY’S RESULTS

FIRST ROUND Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt [WC] Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-7

Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 3-1: 5-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-4

Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 3-2: 5-11, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 11-5

Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Arturo Salazar (MEX) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-3

Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Peter Creed (WAL) 3-2: 7-11, 11-5, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8

Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 12-10

Tom Richards (ENG) bt Mohamed Reda (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6

Borja Golan (ESP) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-2: 10-12, 11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4

Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [WC] Abdulrahman Al-Malki (QAT) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-5

George Parker (ENG) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-1: 12-10, 11-5, 5-11, 11-8

Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5

Joel Makin (WAL) bt Rex Hedrick (AUS) 3-2: 8-11, 11-5, 13-11, 8-11, 11-3

Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-1: 11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5

Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-7

Declan James (ENG) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 11-8

Leo Au (HKG) bt Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3

Simone Biles competes in the women’s balance beam at

Aspire Dome, yesterday.

Kidney stone no botheras Biles shines in Doha

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Legend Oksana Chuso-vitina describes Simone Biles as a phenomenon ‘who is born once in 100 years’, and the reigning Olympic champion from America once again proved that yesterday in Doha.

Less than 24 hours before launching her campaign at the 48th edition of Artistic Gym-nastics World Championships Doha 2018 at Aspire Dome, Biles was in hospital with a kidney stone, yet she marked her inter-national return successfully out-smarting her opponents on the opening day of women’s qual-ification rounds.

The 10-time world champion took a strong lead in All-Around competition and led three out of four individual apparatus besides helping Team USA taking lead with spec-tacular performances particu-larly in vault, marking 15.966.

In All-Around, Biles earned a total of 60.965 to dominate the event with a lead of over 4 points against her team-mate and defending champion Hurd Morgan, who is second with 56.465 points. Japan’s Murakami Mai is third with 55.632. Biles was also leading in individual

Vault, Balance Beam and Floor. “I think tonight went pretty

well overall. I had a little mistake on bars but I kept it going. I think, for the rest, I tried to stay as calm as possible and to relax,” Biles said yesterday.

On competing despite having been diagnosed with a kidney stone on Friday, she said: “I was in the ER last night and came back at around 1am. I found out I had a kidney stone, so we’re going from there. The pain is pretty OK right now, so that’s good.”

“The doctors were asking me, ‘When’s your competition?’

and I was like, ‘Tomorrow. We have practice in the morning. I have to leave.’ They asked, ‘Are you still going to compete?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I’m leaving’.

“We’re calling it (kidney stone) ‘Doha Pearl’ because it’s quite large and I don’t think I’ll pass this one, but we’ll see.”

Defending All-Around champion Morgan was happy with her start in the event.

“I think I did really well and I’m pretty proud of myself. My goal is just to achieve the best I can do. I think it went great.

“(Being a defending champion) I definitely think it

brings a little bit of pressure, but it’s mostly from myself because I have higher expectations for myself. It definitely felt different (from the 2017 Worlds). I felt more confidence and I came with the experience from last year,” said the Team US star.

After the opening day of two-day women qualification round, USA was leading the Team event with 174.429 fol-lowed by Japan (162.180) and Germany (161.071).

The only event yesterday where Biles was behind was the Uneven Bars, which was dom-inated by two-time European champion Derwael Nina of Belgium with 15.066 points. Biles followed on second with 14.866.

Also yesterday, Uzbekistan’s 43-year-old Oksana, seeking her 8th Olympics participation, also looked set to qualify for Vault final after finishing the qualification third with 14.200 points.

“I don’t know why, but I was really worried this time,” said the seven-time Olympian.

Qatar’s Jana Elkeky also competed and impressed fans with a good performance.

The women’s qualification ends today with China and Russia to start their campaign.

Qatar’s Jana Elkeky during floor exercise qualification round, yesterday.

PICTURES: SYED OMAR

28 SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER 2018SPORT

QSL: Al Ahli stun Al Sadd 4-1THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Al Ahli defeated Al Sadd 4-1 in Week 10 of the QNB Stars League at the Al Ahli Stadium yesterday.

Omid Ibrahimi led from the front with two goals, in the fifth and 63rd minutes, as Al Ahli cruised to their fifth victory that took their points tally to 15 points.

Abdelrahman Mohammed (21st minute) and Mohammed Muntari (34th-min penalty) were the other scorers.

Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah converted from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute for Al Sadd’s consolation goal.

Al Ahli earned the penalty when Pedro Miguel fouled Omid, while that of Al Sadd was awarded after Majed Mohammed tripped Boualem Khoukhi.

The Brigadiers opened the scoring through an opportunistic strike by Omid who took advantage of a defensive blunder made by Khoukhi.

Al Sadd did not seem to have psychologically recovered from their defeat to Iran’s Persepolis in the AFC Champions League semifinal despite drawing the second-leg match in Tehran 1-1. The Wolves lost out 1-2 on aggregate, having lost 0-1 in

Doha. Meshaal Barshim guarding the Al Sadd goal in place of injured first-choice goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari did not help their cause either.

Moroccan midfielder Mohsine Moutaoli, Muntari, Omid and Ali Qaderi mainly excelled for Al Ahli.

Xavi Hernandez, Gabi Fern-andez, Bounedjah, Hamed Ismail

and all tried hard, but Al Sadd had a bad day out in their campaign.

The defeat dealt a serious blow to Al Sadd’s title hopes as they stayed on 17 points, five behind leaders Al Duhail who moved to 22 points following their 4-1 win over Al Kharaitiyat.

Al Ahli owed it to goalkeeper Ivan Rodrigues who was

standing in for injured regular custodian Yazan Naim.

In the process, Al Sadd slipped to third in the QNB Stars League standings as Al Rayyan moved to third with 18 points after their win over Al Sailiya.

Meanwhile, Al Shahania and Umm Salal played out a 1-1 draw at the Al Arabi Stadium yesterday.

Luciano Vazquez scored for Al Shahania in the 32nd minute, a lead that was neutralised by Umm Salal through Yannick Sagbo’s penalty conversion in the 72nd minute.

Umm Salal moved to 15 points and Al Shahania 11.

Both teams created chances right throughout in the fast-paced game.

Umm Salal had a slight edge in ball possession and Mahmoud Al Mawas then hit wide of the mark.

However, it was Al Shahania who took the lead past the half-hour mark. Luciano rose above the challenge of Mohammed Kassola to nod home a cross by Kesse Amangoua from the right. It was the Argentinian striker’s fourth goal in the campaign.

Al Shahania suffered a setback when Luciano received his marching orders from referee Mohammed Al Shammari for a lunging foul on Adil Rhaili inside the box and they had to play 20-odd minutes with a numerical disadvantage.

Ivorian striker Sagbo con-verted the resultant penalty to take his goals’ tally in this sea-son’s QNB Stars League to seven goals. The stalemate continued in the six-minute stoppage time too.

Hope and Nurse help Windies level seriesAFP

PUNE: Shai Hope’s 95 and a brilliant all-round performance by Ashley Nurse helped West Indies stun India by 43 runs in the third one-day international yesterday as the tourists levelled the series at 1-1.

Skipper Virat Kohli’s record third successive century went in vain as India were bowled out for 240 in 47.4 overs while chasing 284 in Pune.

Nurse took two crucial wickets with his off spin after his 22-ball 40 guided the tourists to 283-9. Hope top-scored for West Indies during his 113-ball knock.

In reply India lost wickets at regular intervals with only Kohli holding the fort during his 119-ball 107 before being bowled by part-time spinner Marlon Samuels.

Samuels took three wickets with his off spin while skipper Jason Holder and fellow paceman Obed McCoy also picked two wickets each to flatten India’s chase.

Holder bowled opener Rohit Sharma for eight and later got Mahendra Singh Dhoni caught

behind for seven as India slipped to 215-6.

Kohli, who came into the match at the back of his 140 and 157 not out in the first and second match, made 107 to become the first Indian batsman to hit three back-to-back ODI tons.

Nicknamed King Kohli, the prolific run-getter carried on from where he left off in Visa-khapatnam when he became the quickest to reach 10,000 ODI runs in his 205th innings.

But after scoring his 38th ODI century in his 214th ODI he saw his stumps rattled by Samuels with India needing another 64 runs.

Samuels soon disposed off the Indian lower-order, returning figures of 3-12 in his 3.4 overs.

Earlier, Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah returned impressive figures of 4-35 to dent the opposition batting with regular strikes but Hopes and Nurse had other ideas.

Dhoni dropped from T20 series against West Indies, AustraliaAFP

NEW DELHI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been dropped from India’s Twenty20 teams for the home series against West Indies and the tour of Australia, it was announced after selectors revealed the squads yesterday.

The 37-year-old Dhoni has been the team’s mainstay after making his mark as a wicketkeeper-batsman and later as leader in all the three formats.

But Dhoni, who led India to its inaugural World T20 triumph in 2007 and the 50-over World Cup title in 2011, finds his name missing in the 16-member T20

squads. Meanwhile, skipper Virat Kohli has been rested for the three T20 matches against West Indies starting November 4 in Kolkata and will return for the Australia series.

Emerging wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have been named in both the T20 squads with a possible eye on grooming Dhoni’s successor.

Dhoni has represented India in 90 Tests, 329 ODIs and 93 T20 matches since making his debut in 2004 in a one-day game against Bangladesh in Chittagong.

The player once dubbed “Captain Cool” retired from

Tests in 2014 and then relin-quished the limited-overs captaincy in 2017.

The first of three T20 matches in Australia will be played in Brisbane on November 21 before the teams move to four Tests and four one-day internationals.

The Indian selectors have included batsman Rohit Sharma and opener Murali Vijay for the Test matches starting December 6 in Adelaide.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel is also part of the 18-member Test squad while injured all rounder Hardik Pandya has still not recovered to feature in the team.

Finch named Australia’s new ODI skipperAFP

SYDNEY: Aaron Finch was named Australia’s new one-day captain yesterday ahead of their upcoming series against South Africa, with Test skipper Tim Paine and his deputy Mitch Marsh axed.

The explosive batsman is already in charge of the Twenty20 team and takes over from Paine who averaged just 7.2 in Australia’s 5-0 ODI series rout by England in June.

Spin veteran Nathan Lyon was another notable omission, although Shaun Marsh kept his place despite a dire recent Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

Alex Carey and Josh Hazlewood were appointed joint vice-captains in a 14-man squad that sees the return of fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.

“It’s very exciting. I’m very humbled, very honoured to lead the side and lead Aus-tralia,” Finch said, welcoming having a bowler as his deputy.

“I think it’s really important to have the voice of the bowlers there as well... a lot of the time batters are in leadership roles and bowlers are neglected in terms of that and it’s almost an ‘us versus them’ at times.”

National selector Trevor Hohns said the leadership decisions were based on pres-entations the players made, their vision for Australian cricket and their actions on and off the field.

“We expect Aaron, Josh and Alex to lead the side through a big Australian summer... they’ll also be driving our standards and values as we prepare our defence of the World Cup, which is only seven months away,” he said.

“We believe the squad we have selected will give us a great opportunity to not only be competitive at home this summer, but it also allows us to start to build continuity leading into next year’s tour-nament.” Finch, Marsh, Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell spearhead the batting.

West Indies bowler Ashley Nurse celebrates after taking the wicket of India batsman Shikhar Dhawan during the third one-day international (ODI) match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, yesterday.

India’s squad for T20I series against the

West Indies:

Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan,

Lokesh Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey,

Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper),

Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzven-

dra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar

Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed,

Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem

India’s squad for T20I series against

Australia:

Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-cap-

tain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Shreyas

Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh

Pant (wicket-keeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzven-

dra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pan-

dya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah,

Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed

India’s Test squad for series against Aus-

tralia:

Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Ra-

hul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya

Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rohit

Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper),

Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin,

Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed

Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit

Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

INDIAN TEAMS

Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni successfully stumps out West Indies Shimron Hetmyer in Pune, yesterday.

Action from the QNB Stars League match between Umm Salal and Al Shahania in Doha yesterday.

Eriksson takes Philippine manager’s jobAFP

MANILA: Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has been hired to lead the Philippine football team following the surprise departure of Three Lions football great Terry Butcher earlier this year.

Philippine team manager Dan Palami said the Swede would coach the Azkals in next month’s AFF Suzuki Cup and the Asian Cup in January.

“One of the legendary coaches of all time, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson will be coaching the Azkals for the Suzuki Cup and the Asian Cup,” Palami said in a video posted on the team’s Twitter page.

“He will be a great addition to the team and I’m sure the players will learn a lot from him.” The contract terms of Eriksson, 70, have not been disclosed.

He fills a void left by the abrupt departure of Butcher, who resigned as head coach in August without ever taking charge of a single Azkals match.

Butcher lasted less than 50 days in the job.

West Indies:K Powell c Sharma b Bumrah ........................ 21

C Hemraj c Dhoni b Bumrah .......................... 15

S Hope b Bumrah ............................................95

M Samuels c Dhoni b Ahmed ...........................9

S Hetmyer st Dhoni b Yadav .......................... 37

R Powell c Sharma b Yadav .............................4

J Holder c sub (Jadeja) b Kumar ...................32

F Allen c Pant b Chahal .................................... 5

A Nurse lbw b Bumrah .................................. 40

K Roach (not out) ............................................ 15

O McCoy (not out) .............................................0

Extras (B1, LB4, W5) ..................................... 10

Total (9 wkts) .................................. 283Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-38, 3-55, 4-111, 5-121,

6-197, 7-217, 8-227, 9-283

Bowling: Kumar 10-0-70-1 (w2), Bumrah 10-1-35-

4 (w2), Ahmed 10-0-65-1 (w1), Chahal 10-1-56-1,

Yadav 10-0-52-2

India: R Sharma b Holder ............................................8

S Dhawan lbw b Nurse ....................................35

V Kohli b Samuels .......................................... 107

A Rayudu b McCoy ...........................................22

R Pant c Hope b Nurse ...................................24

MS Dhoni c Hope b Holder ............................... 7

B Kumar c R Powell b McCoy ......................... 10

K Yadav (not out) ............................................ 15

Y Chahal c sub (Paul) b Roach ......................... 3

K Ahmed st Hope b Samuels ........................... 3

J Bumrah c Holder b Samuels ..........................0

Extras (LB1, W5) ..............................................6

Total (all out) ................................... 240Fall of wickets: 1-9 (), 2-88, 3-153, 4-172, 5-194,

6-215, 7-220, 8-225, 9-237, 10-240

Bowling: Roach 10-0-48-1, Holder 9-0-46-2 (w3),

McCoy 5-0-38-2 (w1), Nurse 10-0-43-2 (w1), Allen

10-0-52-0, Samuels 3.4-1-12-3

SCOREBOARD

AFP

LONDON: Sadio Mane scored twice as Liverpool took advantage of their title rivals’ inactivity to go three points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 4-1 win at home to Cardiff yesterday as Bournemouth and Watford both continued their fine starts to the season.

Liverpool were the only club who started the weekend among the top five in action on Sat-urday, with reigning champions Manchester City not facing Tot-tenham Hotspur until Monday.

Meanwhile midweek European commitments also meant that Chelsea, like City and Liverpool yet to lose in the Premier League this season, were playing Burnley on Sunday, when in-form Arsenal travel to Crystal Palace and Manchester United welcome Everton to Old Trafford.

Mohamed Salah, now putting a stuttering start to the season behind him, fired Liv-erpool into a 10th-minute lead.

From a cross into the Cardiff box, Mane’s shot was blocked by Sean Morrison but Egypt forward Salah pounced on the rebound for his 33rd goal in 35 games at Anfield.

But as long as the lead was just 1-0, Cardiff were still in the game.

Mane, however, doubled Liverpool’s lead in the 66th minute when, running on to an

Alberto Moreno pass, he smashed a shot into the top corner.

But Liverpool’s hopes of a club record 10th successive home clean sheet were dashed in the 77th minute when Callum Paterson turned in a cross deflected by Reds defender Virgil van Dijk.

However, two goals inside the final 10 minutes from sub-stitute Xherdan Shaqiri and Mane put the result beyond doubt.

Bournemouth closed on fifth-placed Tottenham with a 3-0 win away to Fulham.

Callum Wilson won and then scored a 14th-minute penalty after he was brought down by Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

David Brooks then scored his third goal in four games to double the Cherries’ lead in the 72nd minute.

Minutes later, Fulham’s day went from bad to worse when captain Kevin McDonald was sent off for a second bookable offence following a late chal-lenge on Brooks.

Wilson rounded out Bourne-mouth’s victory when he scored his second goal five minutes from time at Craven Cottage.

Watford were far too strong for Huddersfield in a 3-0 win at Vicarage Road.

They were 2-0 up inside 19 minutes thanks to two well-struck goals.

Roberto Pereyra broke the

deadlock in the 10th minute with a superb solo effort, col-lecting the ball out wide on the left and beating six Huddersfield defenders as he cut inside before shooting from the edge of the area.

The Hornets doubled their lead nine minutes later when

more dire defending by the vis-itors allowed Gerard Deulofeu to dribble past Chris Lowe, beat another attempted challenge and then score from a tight angle 15 yards out.

The aptly-named Isaac Success sealed Watford’s win 10 minutes from time.

Defeat dropped Hudders-field to the bottom of the table after Newcastle, previously propping up the division, managed a point in a goalless d r a w a t h o m e t o Southampton.

Elsewhere, Brighton striker Glenn Murray, fresh from being

taken off after suffering con-cussion against Newcastle last week, returned to score his 100th goal for the Seagulls in a 1-0 win at home to Wolves.

Bruno fired the ball across goal and Murray side-footed in from close range in the 48th minute.

THE PENINSULA

JAKARTA: With today’s AFC U-19 Championship quarter-final between Qatar and Thailand looming large on the horizon, qual-ifying for next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup is providing motivation aplenty according to the Al Annabi’s coach Bruno Pinheiro.

The top four sides in Indonesia will guarantee themselves a ticket to the global extravaganza in Poland, leaving both Group A winners Qatar and Thailand, who finished as runners-up in Group B, potentially just 90 minutes away from the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the game’s finest.

Pinheiro believes the chance to qualify for the event will only spur his youngsters on to succeed.

“We are happy to be still involved at this stage of the com-petition, and of course we want to progress even further, initially to qualify for the U-20 World Cup,” he said.

“Having the chance to go the World Cup will, I hope, be moti-vation enough for my team against Thailand.”

“Sometimes when there is a need to win, players become afraid to do what they are meant to, or

what they are used to doing. As we saw when we played against Indo-nesia, we were playing very well but suddenly we became afraid to play our normal style.

“Such a big game should be a motivation though. Hopefully, we will have the answers and what it takes to both win the match and

qualify for the U-20 World Cup,” Pinheiro said.

After losing their opening group stage fixture to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar responded by winning their next two matches against host nation Indonesia and Chinese Taipei – an upturn in fortune that has pleased Pinheiro.

“We have rebounded well after our defeat in the first match,” declared the Portuguese tactician.

“As you saw in the last game against Chinese Taipei, we had great possession and played without fear, something which can only stand us in good stead ahead of our quarter-final,” Pinheiro said.

29SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER 2018 SPORT

Qatari under-19 players in action during a practice session in Jakarta, Indonesia yesterday, ahead of their AFC U-19 quarter-final match against Thailand which will be played today.

Qatar seek Thailand scalp to seal U-20 WC spot

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Qatar Under-19

coach Bruno Pinheiro

The Money Clasico: Real and Barca’s race to a billionAFP

BARCELONA: Barcelona against Real Madrid is a rivalry that goes back 116 years, to a pitch drenched in horse manure and spectators that cheered players falling over as much as them scoring a goal.

Barca won that first meeting in May 1902, 3-1, but more than a century on the landscape looks rather different.

Two of the world’s greatest clubs are engaged in a battle off the pitch just as fierce: the race to €1bn.

This autumn, their presidents, Josep Maria Bartomeu of Barcelona and Florentino Perez of Madrid, each made clear their desperation to cross the line first.

The revenue milestone is not just financial, it is a mark of status, proof of success, another notch in the debate about which club is bigger.

In five years, Madrid’s turnover has

soared from €521m to a projected €752m for the 2018/19 season. Barca pocketed €490m five years ago. This season they expect to make €960m.

Barcelona will receive from their shirt sponsor Rakuten an extra €1.5m if they win La Liga this season and another €5m if they triumph in the Champions League.

The clubs can target global stars that boost visibility and merchandise sales, by the sheer weight of their talent and profile.

During the 2000s, it was a policy that made its name in Madrid, as the likes of David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo were all signed for hefty fees. In recent years, the club has reined in its spending.

“It can be positive in the short term to have a superstar, they join because of the brand and then help build the brand further,” says Michael Goldberg,

senior vice president at the global credit rating agency DBRS.

“But we don´t believe having a star enhances credit that much over the long-term. Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Madrid will not do much damage unless it´s the beginning of the end and it becomes a regular pattern.”

Instead, the clincher is likely to lie in stadium plans. Barca’s Camp Nou and Real’s Santiago Bernabeu are set to undergo major overhauls from 2019,

with the aim of enhancing commercial advantages.

At a time when clubs like Tottenham in the Premier League are struggling to keep the cost of a new ground below £1bn, the projects of Barca and Real Madrid appear relatively cheap.

For €400m, Barcelona will increase the capacity of Camp Nou from 99,000 to 105,000 and install a roof. Madrid will not increase the 81,000 seats in the San-tiago Bernabeu but will take out a loan of €525m to add a roof and a metal envelope around the current structure.

Perez has indicated they expect the updates to bring in more than €150m of additional revenue per year.

Added to that is the issue of naming rights, which can be a sensitive issue for fans, particularly when stadiums carry a deep sense of history and identity.

Madrid are yet to find a buyer but Barca have said they are “optimistic”

they will agree a title-partner by June next year, in an agreement worth €200m.

“Naming is a crucial issue,” says Calzada, who estimates the rights could be worth €15m to €20m each year.

There is also the need to break new ground internationally. Next year, Barcelona will fly to Asia for their summer tour while the club have expressed support for La Liga’s highly-controversial plan to stage a fixture against Girona in January in the United States.

“The future for commercial is about tapping into worldwide fan-bases,” adds Benjamin Dennis, a writer at DBRS. “Fans in Miami will get to see a competitive match and that could be a difference maker if Barca play more games abroad.”

In the race for financial superiority, nothing is off-limits.

Sadio Mane scores Liverpool’s fourth goal against Cardiff City during their English Premier League match which took place at Anfield, Liverpool, Britain yesterday. Mane also became the seventh African player to score 50 goals at Premier League.

Mane nets 50th goal as Liverpool go top

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Seasoned rider Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi yesterday guided Vivaldi K to a flawless routine as the Qatari won the top prize of the second round of the hugely popular Hathab Tour.

Al Rumaihi sealed the Big Tour win with a time of 30.27 seconds at the Indoor Arena of Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) .

The victory made him richer by QR 8,750.

M e a n w h i l e , K h a l i d Mohammed Al Emadi secured both second and third spots on the podium with outstanding performances astride Fiji and Colibri 19 respectively.

Al Emadi guided the eight-year-old gelding in an error-free ride which was completed in 31.06 seconds and went on to clock a time of 33.69 seconds, this time on Colibri 19 to com-plete his double.

Cassander Van Het Bremhof, with Friday’s Medium Tour winner Awad Alqahtani in the saddle, clocked a time of 34.26 seconds to secure the fourth spot.

Desperadito, ridden by Saeed Nasser Al Qadi, finished fifth with a time of 35.64 seconds.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS (TOP 10)

WORLDSBK

Rank: Rider Points Team1: Jonathan Rea 545 Kawasaki2: Chaz Davies 356 Ducati3: Michael Van Der Mark 333 Yamaha4: Tom Sykes 314 Kawasaki5: Marco Melandri 297 Ducati6: Alex Lowes 248 Yamaha6: Xavi Fores 230 Ducati7: Eugene Laverty 158 Aprilia8: Toprak Razgatlioglu 151 Kawasaki9:Lorenzo Savadori 138 Aprilia

WORLDSSP

1: Sandro Cortese 208 Yamaha2: Lucas Mahias 185 Yamaha3: Jules Cluzel 183 Yamaha4: Randy Krummenacher 159 Yamaha5: Federico Caricasulo 143 Yamaha6: Raffaele De Rosa 133 MV Agusta7: Thomas Gradinger 86 Yamaha8: Kyle Smith 72 Honda9: Luke Stapleford 56 Yamaha10: Anthony West 51 Kawasaki

RIZWAN REHMAT THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The final race of the WorldSBK Championship was cancelled last night at the rain-drenched Losail International Circuit (LIC), denying this year’s runaway title holder Jonathan Rea the chance to create a new record.

The Kawasaki giant on Friday equalled the record of most wins in a season when he scorched to victory in Race 1 of the final round. However, yesterday’s heavy downpour in the country forced the WorldSBK Race Direction to tweet that Race 2 was cancelled ‘due to safety concerns’.

Race direction said in a statement: “Following the World Supersport race, the safety commission (FIM, Dorna WSBK Organization and SBK riders) met. Due to an increase of standing water, as well taking into account the difference between power and tyres o f W o r l d S B K a n d WorldSSP bikes, this led us to decide racing would not be safe in these conditions.”

After Race 1 on Friday night, Rea had increased his overall tally 545 points leaving Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Michael Van Der Mark battling for the second spot on the standings. With no race taking place last night at a rain-battered LIC, Davies’ overnight tally of 356 points saw him seal the second spot ahead of Van Der Mark (333).

Before the decision to cancel Race 2 of WorldSBK was announced last evening, there was enough time to stage Race 2 of the WorldSSP Championship.

French star Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) won the final race of the season in dramatic fashion but German rookie Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) sealed the championship by finishing second ahead of fellow title contender Jules

Cluzel (NRT) who crashed on the final lap.

The crash meant that Mahias crossed the line in first for his third win of the WorldSSP season. The top spot in yesterday’s race also allowed him to seal the runner-up spot in the overall standings.

“I am so speechless! I am so happy and I can enjoy this moment,” Cortese, 28, said yesterday. “I have to say thank you to my team, they picked me up after such a difficult winter, I had no ride and they believed in me.

“I think we did the maximum we could this year, we gave everything all year, and the people in my team are great. And a final thank you to my family, they helped me in hard times and I cant wait to get back home,” he added with a smile.

In what was a 12-lap race, Mahias clocked a time of 24’49.552 to win the final battle of the season, fin-ishing the day’s proceedings just 2.000 seconds ahead of plucky Cortese who made the most of Cluzel’s unfor-tunate crash a lap before the end of the race.

Cortese ended the season with a tally of 208 points while Mahias manage 185 points. Cluzel ended with 183 points.

After exciting duels in the 12-lap race, things began to move in Cortese’s favour after race-winner Mahias took the lead with just three laps to go.

After numerous passes among Cortese and Mahias, misfortune struck Cluzel - who in an effort to surge ahead - on Turn 7 slipped and fell allowing Mahias’ GRT Yamaha team-mate Federico Caricasulo grabbing the third spot after a fantastic climb up from seventh position on the grid.

Randy Krummenacher, Corentin Perolari, Hector Barbera, Raffaele De Rosa, Hans Soomer and Peter Sebestyen completed the top in the final race of the season.

BIG TOUR, TABLE A, SPECIAL TWO PHASES , ART. 274.5.6, 130/145

Rank/Horse Rider 1st Phase 2nd Phase

1: Vivaldi K Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi 28.13 30.27 2: Fiji Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi 30.37 31.06 3: Colibri 19 Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi 30.94 33.69 4: Cassander Van Het Bremhof Awad Alqahtani 30.40 34.26 5: Desperadito Saeed Nasser Al Qadi 33.18 35.64

DRESSAGE: LEVEL 1- TEST A

Rank Horse Rider Score

1 Rythm Amna Ahmad Al Saffar 70.6902 Lusso Del Castegno Jessica Waldon 68.9663 Fernhill Friendly Touch Ali Mohammed Al Marri 68.103

DRESSAGE: LEVEL 2- TEST A Rank Horse Rider Score

1 Gin Tonic Van De Kranenburg Mohammed Salem Al Marri 70.9092 Cornet United Ghanim Nasser Al Qadi 69.5453 Juste D'adaelle Shka. Alanoud Al Thani 69.0913 Fanta - Sparta Jassim Mohammed Al Kuwari 69.0913 Champion's Prince Shk. Mohammed bin Talal Al Thani 69.091

30 SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER 2018SPORT

The Podium winners of the Open Class pose for a photograph with Commercial Manager Al Shaqab Omar Al Mannai.

QEF officials attend 8th Global Sports Summit

India’s Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey (left) presenting a memento to the Secretary -General of Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF), Bader Al Darwish, during the FICCI TURF 2018-8th Global Sports Summit held in New Delhi, India on Friday.

Hathab: Al Rumaihi corners Big Tour glory

Cortese seals WorldSSP title in styleRea misses record as final race cancelled

Team Kawasaki’s Lucas Mahias celebrates after winning the final race yesterday.

I am so speechless! I am so happy and I can enjoy this moment. I have to say thank you to my team, they picked me up after such a difficult winter, I had no ride and they believed in me. I think we did the maximum we could this year, we gave everything all year, and the people in my team are great. And a final thank you to my family, they helped me in hard times and I cant wait to get back home!: Sandro Cortese

Kawasaki giant Jonathan Rea on Friday equalled the record of most wins in a season when he scorched to victory in Race 1 of the final round. However, yesterday’s heavy downpour in the country forced the WorldSBK Race Direction to tweet that Race 2 was cancelled ‘due to safety concerns’.

Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi guides Vivaldi K over an obstacle during the Big Tour of the second round of the Hathab Tour at the Indoor Arena of Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) yesterday.

WorldSSP champion Sandro Cortese celebrates

31SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER 2018 SPORT

Boguinskaia ‘extremely proud’ to be an Ambassador for Doha WorldsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Legendary gymnast Svetlana Boguinskaia is relishing her role as an Ambassador for Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018.

The Olympian from Belarus is ‘extremely proud and hon-oured’ in her role at the Qatari capital where all the big names are competing for top honours.

Boguinskaia remains an essential figure in the soul of Gymnastics. The ‘Belarusian Swan’, Boguinskaia was equal parts athlete and artist.

The Minsk native didn’t just compete, she performed, drawing in the audience with her mesmerising command of movement and musicality.

Boguinskaia, who made her debut for the Soviet team at the 1987 World Championships in Rotterdam, would go on to win five Olympic medals (three golds, one silver, one bronze) and nine World Championships medals (five golds, three silvers,

one bronze). She retired in 1993 but made a comeback in 1995 and competed in her third Olympic Games in 1996. Fol-lowing her retirement in 1997, she has continued to be active in the sport through exhibitions, coaching, appearances, and as a businesswoman.

Following are the excerpts of her interview with the FIG.

Q: What does it mean for you to be Artistic Gymnastics Ambas-sador for the 2018 World Cham-pionships in Doha?

A: I am extremely proud and honoured to be the Artistic Gym-nastics Ambassador for the 2018 World Championship in Doha. The love for this beautiful yet difficult sport will always be in my heart. Knowing how hard athletes train to get to the world-class level, it is my duty to help

them by providing advice, support and by cheering them on. Q: What has this sport brought to your life?

A: The sport of Gymnastics brought to me so many positive and useful lessons that I use in my adult life every day. It has taught me hard work, punctu-ality, respect, teamwork, perse-verance, goal setting and the attitude to never give up on your dreams.

I got a chance to travel rep-resenting my country in compe-titions but most importantly making life-lasting friendships with athletes from all over the world.

Q:If you could relive a moment in your Gymnastics life, what would it be and why?

A: In the team final of the 1992 Olympic Games in

Barcelona, we took the gold medal (as the Unified team) and we stood on the podium one last time all together representing the USSR. At that moment, we realised that it would be almost impossible to be the dominant team ever again.

Q: Of all the advice you were given in your career, is there one thing that has really stuck with you and made a difference for you?

A: Absolutely! As a young gymnast at age 7, I had my first competition thinking I was com-pletely ready. Little did I know when it came to Balance Beam that I would be so nervous that I fell five times, on every skill, jump or turn in my routine. I was so upset I stood crying in dis-belief of my poor performance. My coach Lyubov Miromanova came, gave me a hug and told me it was OK to make mistakes and learn from them. She rec-ommended singing my favorite song during my routine to reg-ulate my breathing as I kept holding my breath for too long. I took her advice back to the gym and few years later it helped me to become European and World Champion on Balance Beam!

Q: What would you tell a young child who dreams of being a World or an Olympic champion in Gymnastics?

A: I would tell a young child whose dream it is to become World and Olympic champion that IT IS POSSIBLE! Hard work, determination, perseverance and passion will take you to your dreams. Just remember 100% in effort = 100% in result. But most important is to never ever give up on your dreams no matter what anyone else tells you.

The love for this

beautiful yet difficult

sport will always be

in my heart. Knowing

how hard athletes

train to get to the

world-class level, it

is my duty to help

them by providing

advice, support and

by cheering them on:

Svetlana Boguinskaia

Svetlana Boguinskaia

Gueisbuhler praises LOC for ‘great work’THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Secretary-General Andre Gueisbuhler (pictured) has been impressed with the way the 48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2018 is being organised in Doha.

This is the first time that the gymnastics world champion-ships are being staged in the Middle East and Gueisbuhler has expressed his delight at the way things have been pro-gressing at the Aspire Dome, a fabulous multi-purpose sporting venue.

An accomplished linguist and a patient negotiator besides being a well-advised busi-nessman, Gueisbuhler expressed his views on the on-going championships saying: “Since the very start, we knew that the event was going to be somewhat different and special being hosted by the Qatar Gym-nastics Federation. Now in the first days of the championships, we have found everything going better than planned and which now makes us wait more to see the developments until the very last of this wonderful event that Qatar has brought to the world through their worthy organisation.

“I would like to congrat-ulate the Local Organising Committee of Doha Worlds and their team, especially the vol-unteers, who are doing great work, especially on the opening day of the tournament, which is usually one of the toughest days of any event.

“The venue -- Aspire -- has distinctive facilities and every-thing is available under the

dome. Its vast expanse and state-of-the-art facilities add to the grandeur of the event. We are happy to be here,” he said.

On Qatar and its sporting trend, Gueisbuhler opined: “Gymnastics is different from football, but it certainly will give a positive fillip and I hope that the organisation of the forth-coming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will boost region further, and not just Qatar.”

On the establishment of the gymnastics worlds for the first time in the Middle East, he said, “Certainly, it contributes to the dissemination of gymnastics in the region. We see that in all countries that organise world championships and we see great interest in the sport of gymnastics in Qatar. Live tele-vision also contributes to the spread of gymnastics in the region.

Gueisbuhler also appre-ciated the handmade medals that the Qatar Gymnastics Fed-eration has designed for the world championships.

Ageless Chusovitina aiming for 8th OlympicsAP

DOHA: Oksana Chusovitina has lost track of how many gymnastics world championships she’s competed in.

That figures. The 43-year-old from Uzbekistan isn’t much into numbers anyway, particularly the one that defines her age.

She understands her lon-gevity and her remarkable success - a gold and silver spread across seven trips to the Olympics as well as seven more medals in 15 world championship appearances - make her an inspiration of sorts.

All she knows is the drive to get up in the morning and go

through a 2½ hour workout six days a week is still there.

“I love gymnastics so much and that’s why I continue doing it,” Chusovitina said through a Russian translator yesterday after qualifying at the 2018 world championships.

Then, as is for emphasis, Chusovitina added in English: “I have fun.”

It certainly looked like it during her brief cameo at the Aspire Academy Dome. Chus-ovitina put herself in position to make an appearance in the event finals next week after aver-aging 14.2 on vault, her signature event.

Though she lacks the

explosiveness of some of her competitors - almost all of whom weren’t born when Chusovitina made her Olympic debut in 1992 while competing for the Russian unified team - Chusovitina tries to make up for it with her exe-cution. Her combined e-score of 17.9 was tops among early qualifiers.

Yet her scores are almost immaterial at this point. The woman who has talked about retirement for more than a decade simply keeps on going. Her son Alisher turns 19 next month but knows better than to ask mom when to she’s going to retire.

“He is always worried about me but he knows how much I love it so he would never say ‘Mom, stay home,’” Chusovitina said. “He’s just supporting me.”

And Chusovitina is still sup-porting the sport. How else to explain why she volunteered to spray the uneven bars - an event she didn’t compete on - to get them ready for 16-year-old

team-mate Sabina Turobova and 23-year-old Marina Nekrasova of Azerbaijan. It’s the equivalent of Tiger Woods playing caddy for a random PGA

Tour player. “When we compete we all are equal on stage,” Chus-ovitina said. “Even though we have different age we have to perform in the same way.”

Oksana Chusovitina during qualification round at Aspire Dome, yesterday.

I love gymnastics so

much and that’s why

I continue doing it:

Oksana Chusovitina

Elkeky wins hearts with commendable showFAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The opening day of women’s qualification round at 48th edition of Artistic Gymnastics World Champion-ships Doha 2018 yesterday drew the biggest crowd of the competition so far and Qatar’s Jana Elkeky did not let the home spectators down.

The young Qatari gymnast, making her World Champion-ships debut, was impressive on the Floor Exercise showing strong nerves as she competed against global stars including the quadruple Olympic champion Simone Biles.

Elkeky’s twisting routine. 2.5, beautiful full turn, 1.5,

double and just under rotates her last pass earned her a massive applause from fans at Aspire Dome. She ended the floor exercise qualification with 8.633 points, with Biles topping it with 8.633 points. In Balance Beam she earned a respectable score of 8.800.

Elkeky said the per-formance was not her best show but said she was taking a lot of positives from her exposure in the mega event.

“It was not my best per-formance because of injuries to my both ankles, but I am still satisfied with what I achieved,” the Qatari gymnast said.

“I felt a little bit stressed at the start due to the big support and the fact that it is the World

Championships. It was a com-pletely different atmosphere from what I saw before during the World Cups and Asian Games, but the cheering helped me to give my best,” she added.

Elkeky was Qatar’s only female gymnast in the compe-tition as hosts Qatar fielded three athletes including Ahmed Al Dayani and Ahmed Nabil.

On Thursday, the opening day of the event, Al Dayani posted a score of 72.632 while Nabil scored 59.966 in Men’s All-Around qualification which saw several big names in action. However, both the Qatari gymnasts were happy with their overall performance hoping that the experience will benefit them in the future.

It was not my best

performance because

of injuries to my both

ankles, but I am still

satisfied with what I

achieved: Jana Elkeky

SPORT6.00PM 7:00PM

Manchester United vsEverton

Pakistan vsAustralia

FOOTBALL CRICKET

27SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER 2018

We’ve got some ground to

catch up on, so we’re now

going to go through

everything in the debrief and

look at all the details to find

some answers.

Lewis Hamilton

Formula One driver

TO

DAY

’SA

CTIO

N

Svitolina, Stephens to clash in finalAFP

SINGAPORE: A gutsy Sloane Stephens recovered from early embarrassment to storm past Karolina Pliskova yesterday, setting up a mouth-watering WTA Finals decider against in-form Elina Svitolina.

The former US Open champion triumphed against an inconsistent Pliskova 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 55 minutes in Singapore.

A stunned Stephens lost the opening eight games before turning things around to win 12 of the next

15.The hard-hitting Pliskova started

red hot in what loomed as a one-sided contest before Stephens fought back with relentless hustle as the Czech went off the boil.

“I just tried to stay in it and started to feel the ball better,” Stephens said after the match.

“I’m really proud of my fight.” It was an unexpected result after Plisk-ova’s early domination through power and precision to blitz through the first set in 31 minutes.

She pinpointed the lines to totally rattle a flustered Stephens,

who uncharacteristically made a slew of errors.

After surviving an early break point, the one-way traffic continued in the second set with Pliskova breaking in the second game against a dejected Stephens.

The humiliation ended for Stephens when she broke Pliskova’s previously impregnable serve in the third game and then started to find her range.

Pliskova’s first serve deserted her as a composed Stephens forced a decider and her momentum con-tinued by capturing a break to open the third set.

Stephens rolled through against a slumping Pliskova to complete a monumental turnaround, as the former world number one fell in the semi-finals for the second straight year.

Earlier, a determined Svitolina overcame the relentless power of Kiki Bertens, continuing a dogged quest for her first WTA Finals triumph.

Svitolina outlasted the world number nine 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 in two hours and 39 minutes to con-tinue her bid to make amends for a lacklustre early exit last year.

Her defensive prowess wore down Bertens, who blasted 41 winners but made 63 unforced errors.

It ended a fairy tale run for Bertens, who only qualified days before the tournament when world number one Simona Halep withdrew from injury.

“I think physically I was a little bit stronger... pushed myself a little bit more maybe mentally,” Svitolina told reporters.

“I think only a few points decided the third set because we both were playing good tennis.” Bertens said Svitolina’s defensive skills forced her into playing ultra-aggressive.

“I knew that I had to play that kind of game, but that comes also with a lot of mistakes,” she said.

“In the end she was just a more stable player.”

Switzerland’s Roger Federer serves a ball to France’s Gilles Simon in Basel yesterday.

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina hits a return against Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands during their singles match at the WTA Finals in Singapore yesterday.

World champ Marquez grabs pole in AustraliaAFP

PHILLIP ISLAND: Masterful world champion Marc Marquez conquered tricky conditions to storm to a fifth straight Australian Moto GP pole yesterday and maintain his dominance of the sport.

The super-consistent Honda star clocked a fastest lap of one minute, 29.199 seconds around the demanding 4.4-kilometre Phillip Island circuit on a day of intermittent sunshine and showers.

Maverick Vinales, who finished on the podium last year, was 0.310 off the pace and will begin today’s race from second with fellow Yamaha rider Johann Zarco in third.

Italy’s Andrea Iannone, who dominated the free practice sessions, another Suzuki rider Alex Rins and local hope Jack Miller (Ducati) fill out the second row of the grid.

Veteran Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), and Ducati duo Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso are behind them.

Drops of rain started to fall as the qualifying session began, causing headaches over tyre choice. While it didn’t last long, it meant the riders pushed hard early on to get quick laps in before the weather changed again.

Marquez soon set a benchmark time before Iannone went faster.

The Italian was then ousted by Zarco before the world champion asserted his authority again and no one could catch him as rain blighted the final minutes.

“I was doing quick laps, the corners were really fast and there were small drops of rain on my visor. It was hard and I just tried to take care,” said Marquez.

Results from the WTA Finals tennis in Singapore yesterday

(x denotes seeding):

Semi-finals

Elina Svitolina (UKR x6) bt Kiki Bertens (NED x8) 7-5, 6-7

(5/7), 6-4 Sloane Stephens (USA x5) bt Karolina Pliskova

(CZE x7) 0-6, 6-4, 6-1

WTA TOUR FINALS RESULTS

Verstappen fastest in Mexico practiceREUTERS

MEXICO CITY: Max Verstappen left Formula One title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel trailing on Friday by domi-nating Mexican Grand Prix practice before his Red Bull was halted by an hydraulics problem.

Last year’s race winner looked a good bet to become the youngest driver on pole position in yesterday’s qualifying with the 21-year-old Dutchman impres-sively quick at the high-altitude circuit.

“We have a good car, good downforce, good mechanical grip,” commented the youngster, who appeared unconcerned about the complete power loss 10 minutes from the end of the second session.

Mercedes’ world champi-onship leader Hamilton, who was some way off the pace, would have no quarrel with another Verstappen victory since that would also hand him his fifth title with two races to spare.

Ferrari’s Vettel, now 70 points behind the Briton, has to win to have any mathematical chance of denying Hamilton the crown but he also looked some way off the Red Bull’s pace.

Verstappen led Australian

team mate Daniel Ricciardo in a Red Bull one-two in both ses-sions, lapping with a best time of one minute 16.656 seconds in the morning and then 1:16.720 in the afternoon.

Ricciardo was 0.483 slower in a bright and hot first session, and 0.153 off the pace after lunch.

Renault, also Red Bull’s engine providers, were best of the rest with Spaniard Carlos Sainz third in both sessions.

The thin air of a circuit at 2,200 metres above sea level means champions Mercedes and Ferrari have less of a power advantage than usual.

“The engines are struggling for air, the brakes, the cooling... we’re running the same wing as (slow and twisty) Monaco and we’ve got the same downforce as (high-speed) Monza,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

“I think we are able to run the car in its optimum state and we’ve got a power unit that this weekend looks competitive rel-ative to the others.” Horner said that if Verstappen’s car needed an engine change, the driver still had one left in his pool and should not face any grid drop.

Hamilton, who is set to match the five titles won by late

Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s, was fifth and seventh respectively and com-plaining of heavy tyre wear.

“We’ve got some ground to catch up on, so we’re now going to go through everything in the debrief and look at all the details to find some answers,” said the Briton.

“Red Bull seem out of our reach at the moment, Ferrari are right there with us, but we’re here to try and compete, so we will do the best we can to have a real race.” Vettel was seventh in the morning but moved up fourth in the afternoon.

“I don’t think we had a tidy lap, we should have been in front

of the Renaults,” said the German.

“I think everybody is on the limit with tyres and trying to get them to work in order to slide less, with the exception maybe of the Red Bulls.” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff agreed that the Red Bulls and Renaults were in good shape.

“It will be interesting to see where they are tomorrow,” he said. “I think the Red Bulls with the Renault (engines) made a step forwards.” Toro Rosso’s French driver Pierre Gasly col-lected a 15-place grid penalty after engine partners Honda changed components in the car’s power unit.

Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen, powers his car during the third free practice session of the F1 Mexico Grand Prix, at the Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit in Mexico City, yesterday. Inset: Max Verstappen.

Struggling Federer squeezes into semisAFP

BASEL: Roger Federer struggled into the Swiss Indoors semi-finals on Friday, the top seed eking out an error-filled 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-4 defeat of Gilles Simon.

Federer has not hit top form all week in Basel and he needed more than two-and-a-half hours to hold off the trou-blesome French veteran. “I’m always happy when I win, I’m happy I fought through like this,” Federer said. “There were a lot of breaks, it was all up and down.

“But I kept my cool and got the job done. I feel good right now.” The Swiss crowd favourite was never able to comfortably take command against an opponent whom he had defeated in their last six meetings.

It took a fightback in all three sets to come through for a place in a 14th semi-final at the event where he got his start in the game as a ballboy.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion will have to re-group quickly for the semis, where he will play the winner from Greek breakthrough player Stefanos Tsit-sipas and Daniil Medvedev.

Both young guns have won tournament titles this autumn.

“It will be a challenge but I’m excited to see how I feel tomorrow, playing a young guy,” said Federer.

“You’ve got to win the hard way, but I’m not complaining.

“When you’re in a situation, you find a strategy always. But you don’t want to think too far ahead.

“You have to focus on the match you are playing and hope the next day that you will be fine,” he said.

Results from the ATP tournament in Vien-

na (x denotes seeding):

Quarter-finals

Kei Nishikori (JPN x5) bt Dominic Thiem (AUT

x1) 6-3, 6-1 Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) bt Marton

Fucsovics (HUN) 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4) Fern-

ando Verdasco (ESP) bt Gael Monfils (FRA) 6-4,

2-1 abandon Kevin Anderson (RSA x2) bt Borna

Coric (CRO x6) 7-6 (7/2), 1-2 - retired

VIENNA OPEN RESULTS

Results from the Swiss Indoors ATP tournament in Basel on Friday (x denotes seeding):

Quarter-finals

Marius Copil (ROM) bt Taylor Fritz (USA) 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 Alexander Zverev (GER x2) bt Roberto

Bautista Agut (ESP x8) 7-5, 6-3 Roger Federer (SUI x1) bt Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-4

Semi-finals

Marius Copil (ROU) bt Alexander Zverev (GER x2) 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4

SWISS INDOORS ATP RESULTS