SPORTThursday 15 November 2018

PAGE | 28 PAGE | 30Roger Federer

rebounds to keep ATP Finals hopes alive

Smith, Warner absence ‘huge factor’ for India series: Ganguly

Al Attiyah looking to extend record runTHE PENINSULA

LOSAIL: The 2018 Manateq International Rally of Qatar gets underway with a brand new ceremonial start with the backdrop of the hustle and bustle of Souq Waqif in downtown Doha today.

All three regional rally titles were decided in Kuwait two weeks ago and that means that individual pride and outright wins are at stake on this week-end’s revised final round in the northern Qatar deserts.

The Qatar Motor and Motor-cycle Federation (QMMF) have attracted 15 teams on the FIA starting list, plus National Rally entrants, and competitors from eight nations to the final round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC).

This is despite the conclusion of the respective category battles.

Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is still celebrating his record-breaking 14th regional title and the Qatari will also be bidding to break his own record of 13 wins in the Qatar round of the regional series.

Mechanical issues cost him

and French navigator Matthieu Baumel the chance to shine in 2017 and opened the door for Rashed Al Nuami to take his sol-itary MERC win.

Resistance in the R5 category comes from Czech rival Vojtech Štajf in a Škoda Fabia and fellow Qatari Adel Abdulla, who makes his debut in a Ford Fiesta R5 run by Motortune.

The MERC 2 or Group N cat-egory will see the closest com-petition with eight Mitsubishi Lancers and three Subaru Imp-rezas set for battle through Qatar’s northern deserts.

Kuwait’s Meshari Al Thefiri has already clinched the title, but Jor-dan’s Khaled Juma is heading for the runners-up spot in the absence of both he and rival Ihab Al Shorafa.

Abdullah Al Kuwari returns to the hot seat in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. The Qatari’s standout performance so far in the regional rally series was first in Group N and third overall in Jordan in 2016.

Khaled Al Suwaidi is a non-starter but there are further local entries for Mohammed Al Meer and Rashed Al Mohannadi.

Abdullah Al Rawahi heads a six-car entry from the Sultanate of Oman that also includes entries for Zakaria Al Shanfari, Saif Abdullah Al Harthy, Oman-based Shaun McGonigal, Jarah Al Tauqi and Humaid Al Waili.

Saleh bin Eidan returns to the championship and boosts the entry from Kuwait in a car that was being refettled against the clock to ensure that it was ready for FIA scrutineering checks.

There is a further entry for Lebanon’s MERC 3 champion Henry Kahy in a two-wheel drive Škoda Fabia 1.6.

Route changes forced on rally officials by the weather have reduced the competitive distance from 203.40km to 153.82km, but the event still remains within the 75% required by the FIA to make it eligible for full championship points.

Today’s timetable features technical scrutineering in the morning and this precedes over two hours of live footage on the Al Rayyan television network of the official pre-event press con-ference and the ceremonial start at Souq Waqif in downtown Doha.

2018 FIA MIDDLE EAST RALLY

CHAMPIONSHIP – POSITIONS AFTER

ROUND 4:

1. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAT) 146pts

2. Vojtech Štajf (CZE) 93pts

3. Meshari Al Thefiri (KWT) 59pts

4. Roger Feghali (LBN) 38pts

5. Khaled Juma (JOR) 32pts

6. Christos Demostheous (CYP) 25pts

7. Rodolphe Asmar (LBN) 24pts

8. Henry Kahy (LBN) 21pts

9. Eddy Karam (LBN) 19pts

9. Alexandros Tsouloftas (CYP) 19pts

9. Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah (QAT) 19pts

2018 FIA MERC 2 – POSITIONS AFTER

ROUND 4:

1. Meshari Al Thefiri (KWT) 117pts

2. Khaled Juma (JOR) 49pts

3. Savvas Savva (CYP) 37pts

4. Ihab Al Shorafa (JOR) 33pts

5. Costas Zenonos (CYP) 30pts

6. Ahmed Shaban (JOR) 25pts

6. George Englezou (CYP) 25pts

8. Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah (QAT) 24pts

2018 FIA MERC 3 – POSITIONS AFTER

ROUND 4:

1. Henry Kahy (LBN) 127pts

2. Rony Kanaan (LBN) 39pts

3. Panayiotis Xenophontos (CYP) 37pts

4. Asem Aref (JOR) 30pts

4. Matthias Njeim (LBN) 30pts

4. Constantinos Televantos (CYP) 30pts

FIA MERC: Manateq International Rally of Qatar set to flag off at Souq Waqif

Qatari driver Adel Abdulla will make his debut in a Ford Fiesta R5 in the R5 Category.

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is bidding

to break his own record of 13 wins in the Qatar round of the regional series.

Afif’s late goal helps Qatar stun Switzerland in friendlyTHE PENINSULA

LUGANO: Promising striker Akram Afif scored a match-winning goal four minutes from end to help Qatar record a stunning 1-0 win over hosts Switzerland in a friendly yesterday.

Assisted by Karim Boudiaf, Afif made a fast break and beat several players before striking from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.

Earlier, the 21-year-old forward missed a chance to score just before the half-time whistle when he was caught offside after receiving a

through ball from Almoez Ali as both teams went scoreless at half time break.

The win against the eighth ranked Switzerland yesterday, goes to history books as one of Qatar’s biggest wins and will serve as a big boost ahead of the 2019 Asian Cup to be held in the UAE in January next year.

Yesterday’s match which was played at the Cornaredo Stadium in Lugano, was Qatar’s fifth friendly encounter in the lead up to the Asian Cup.

Head coach Felix Sanchez will get another opportunity to check the fitness of his players

when Al Annabi play their next friendly match on Monday against a strong Icelandic outfit.

The clash against Iceland, who took part in the Russia 2018 World Cup, will take place at the Kehrwegstadion in Eupen, Belgium.

In their recent friendly encounters, Qatar beat China 1-0, China 3-0 and Ecuador 4-3 before losing to Uzbekistan 2-0 in the away match.

Al Annabi will play more international friendlies next month when they host Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Algeria and Iran on December 17, 23, 25 and 31.

Qatar’s Akram Afif (left) kicks the ball during the friendly match against Switzerland, played at the Cornaredo Stadium in Lugano, Switzerland yesterday.

26 THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2018SPORT 27THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2018 SPORTSPORTSPORT

Seeking professional help to combat depression saved my life, says Phelps

RIZWAN REHMAT THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Swimming legend Michael Phelps, the greatest Olympian ever, yesterday said the decision to seek professional help to combat deep bouts of depression ‘saved’ his life.

The 33-year-old from Balti-more yesterday even conceded winning an Olympic medal was easy compared to battling depression.

“It wasn’t easy for me (to open up about the issue) but it was nec-essary. The decision I made to seek professional help saved my life,” Phelps, the most decorated Olym-pian with 23 gold medals, said yesterday.

“That’s why I stand here in front of you today. It’s an honour to thank the healthcare commu-nity. I am grateful for the chance (offered to me) to play my part in opening up the conversation about anxiety and depression and removing the stigma over this issue,” the retired American swim-ming giant said.

“To me, self awareness and vulnerability is empowerment. I know it can be a big challenge for people to discuss and to confront mental health challenges. I under-stand it can seem like an insurmountable barrier to getting help and support that is needed,” he added.

“As I started opening up and talking about my mental health challenges, I found strength, not vulnerability. I realised it is okay to not be okay,” Phelps said.

“Four years ago, things were happening in my life which indi-rectly led me to stand on this stage in Qatar in front some of the world’s leading healthcare experts. I was a world champion swimmer. I had been competing for 18 years and I don’t think I would be boasting if I said I had become pretty good at this sport in which I had devoted a huge amount of my life.

“I enjoyed great professional success up until the point. But in 2014, none of that mattered. I was down on myself that I spent five days in my room and frankly I didn’t want to be alive. I saw myself as worthless and some-one who let down so many people that I cared most about. But hav-ing reached rock bottom, I started to ask for help. And it was one of the best decisions of my life,” Phelps recalled.

“When depression hits, it can be debilitating. I can feel that nothing really matters. Some-t i m e s m y g r e a t e s t accomplishment was just getting out of bed. Compare that with winning a gold medal was very easy,” Phelps said.

“As an athlete, I was always thought to be strong and to never show weakness and to push through any obstacle. There was no room for negative emotions and at times my depression would overpower me. In the end I was lucky and thought it was okay that I sit down with a therapist and talk,” he said on day two of the 2018 edition of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation.

“In sharing my journey I want others to know that you are not

alone. You do not need to suffer in silence. It’s okay to not be okay. Thanks to seeking professional help, I have a better understand-ing of myself. I still have tough days but I have the tools and the understanding to manage them now.

“I stand here no less the champion, no less the athlete, no less the person who dared to dream big and to work hard. The medals I have won are very spe-cial. They pale in comparison to the efforts that myself or all of you are doing to save lives, by empowering people to seek the help and support they need in addressing the issues of mental health,” Phelps said.

“Our mind can overpower anything. You know it’s not true. We need help from time to time. I struggled asking for help and I think once 2014 hit, I went through that huge depression spell where I didn’t want to be alive. For me, it was just so easy to open up because I wanted to find a different way. I wanted to find something different to allow myself to grow as a human being,” Phelps said.

A Q&A with Phelps after his keynote speech at Qatar National Convention Centre:

Q: You say after every major Olympics you went into a state of depression. What really happened?

A: As an Olympian we get ready for competition once every four years. Once we are done with that meet, we don’t know what to do. We don’t know where to go. We don’t know who to talk to. We don’t know anything. It’s like ‘we are back to square one and now

what?’. It was almost like we were lost. I was extremely lost. For me as a kid growing up, I’d say I basi-cally lived in a bubble until I was about 30 years old and I decided to learn how to communicate, learn these other lessons that I didn’t have the chance to learn.

Q: How much of an unusual life did you have while you were trying to reach your professional peak at a young age?

A: Going through this process was something I dreamed of. I wanted to be an Olympic cham-pion. I wanted to win gold medals and be a world record holder. That’s what I prepared myself for.

I guess when you are going through that process, you don’t know other challenges and the things that are going to happen along the way. I was taught to focus on what I was doing and not worry about anything else that was happening in my life. So over time, everything just added up inside and I didn’t know how to handle it. That’s what sent me into spiral of depression and it was the toughest time of my life.

Q: Have you got better at helping people with mental health issues?

A: I believe we have made a lot of good changes over the last few years in allowing people to open up and talk about this. I think for a long time it was just so easy to brush issues under the rug. I would be the first one to say there are people sitting in this room that have gone through similar things that I have gone through. That’s what makes us human.

Q: Did it take a while for you to speak about it?

A: I always made the joke that I learned to communicate at 30 but it’s true. I was so laser focused on what I was doing in the pool that I wasn’t paying attention to anything else that was going on in my life.

For a long time I was under the impression that I was being judged if I was showing a weak-ness or if I was not perfect. That was a struggle and I was finally able to reach a point where I said: “You know what? This is who I am. This is how I am gonna

be. I am learning to grow and change and if you don’t like who I am, then sorry”.

Q: Is masculinity an issue with male athletes who may not open up about such issues?

A: There are a lot of male athletes who are struggling with it. You’ll hear me say this a ton of times that it’s okay to not be okay. I think that’s something that everybody should under-stand. I use myself as an example. I have been through a handful of pretty big depression spells.

I know that it’s not just going to go away. These are things I am going to have throughout my life and when they do come up, I have to rise and know how to handle them and manage them. That’s the hardest process to learn. But it has also been one of most powerful processes to learn. For me, it’s about sharpening up those tools that show I can be as prepared as I possibly can be.

Q: Would your successes been any different if you had

known then what you know now?

A: I wouldn’t change anything that happened in my career - the good, the bad or the ugly. I wouldn’t change it because it has made me who I am today. I don’t think my career would have gone as smooth as it did if I had known things I know now.

Q: In short, would you say that you suffered from mental issues?

A: Of course. Without a doubt! It’s something that I still struggle with. I flew to Qatar to talk about this issue so it shows we are mak-ing success in talking about this. Four or five years ago, nobody would have ever brought it up. It’s fun for me to be able to see peo-ple talking about it and see what people are doing to make that change.

Who knows where we can take this but my goal is to save as many lives as we can. For me that’s way more exciting than winning an Olympic gold medal.

I want people to understand that it is okay to not be okay.

American swimming legend Michael Phelps addressing the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) at the Qatar National Convention Center in Doha yesterday.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Michael Phelps is greeted by his mother Deborah Phelps and sister Hilary Phelps after he won a gold medal as photographers try to capture the special moment during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China in this August 17, 2008 file photo.

Sometimes my greatest accomplishment has been getting out of bed.

I flew to Qatar to talk about this issue so it shows we are making success in talking about this. Four or five years ago, nobody would have ever brought it up. It’s fun for me to be able to see people talking about it and see what people are doing to make that change. Who knows where we can take this but my goal is to save as many lives as we can. For me that’s way more exciting than winning an Olympic gold medal. I want people to understand that it is okay to not be okay: Phelps

MICHAEL FRED PHELPS II

NICKNAMES: The Baltimore Bullet, Flying Fish

NATIONAL TEAM: United States

BORN: June 30, 1985 (age 33) in Baltimore,

Maryland, USA

MEDAL RECORD

MEN'S SWIMMING

EVENT 1ST 2ND 3RD

Olympic Games 23 3 2

World Championships (LC) 26 6 1

World Championships (SC) 1 0 0

Pan Pacific Championships 16 5 0

Total 66 14 3

BY RACE

EVENT 1ST 2ND 3RD

100m butterfly 8 3 0

200m butterfly 10 2 0

200m medley 9 2 0

400m medley 6 0 0

200m freestyle 4 2 1

200m backstroke 0 1 0

4×100m freestyle 7 2 2

4×200m freestyle 11 2 0

4×100m medley 11 0 0

Total 66 14 3

PHELPS’ MEDAL HAUL AT OLYMPIC GAMESGold medal – 2004 Athens 100 m butterfly

Gold medal – 2004 Athens 200 m butterfly

Gold medal – 2004 Athens 200 m medley

Gold medal – 2004 Athens 400 m medley

Gold medal – 2004 Athens 4×200 m freestyle

Gold medal – 2004 Athens 4×100 m medley

Gold medal – 2008 Beijing 200 m freestyle

Gold medal – 2008 Beijing 100 m butterfly

Gold medal – 2008 Beijing 200 m butterfly

Gold medal – 2008 Beijing 200 m medley

Gold medal – 2008 Beijing 400 m medley

Gold medal – 2008 Beijing 4×100 m freestyle

Gold medal – 2008 Beijing 4×200 m freestyle

Gold medal – 2008 Beijing 4×100 m medley

Gold medal – 2012 London 100 m butterfly

Gold medal – 2012 London 200 m medley

Gold medal – 2012 London 4×200 m freestyle

Gold medal – 2012 London 4×100 m medley

Gold medal – 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m butterfly

Gold medal – 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m medley

Gold medal – 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m freestyle

Gold medal – 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×200 m freestyle

Gold medal – 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m medley

Silver medal – 2012 London 200 m butterfly

Silver medal – 2012 London 4×100 m freestyle

Silver medal – 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m butterfly

Bronze medal – 2004 Athens 200 m freestyle

Bronze medal – 2004 Athens 4×100 m freestyle

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) is an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF). The American swimming legend Michael Phelps was a keynote speaker at its fourth global summit which took place at Qatar National Convention Center on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In sharing my journey I want others to know that you are not alone. You do not need to suffer in silence. It’s okay to not be okay. Thanks to seeking professional help, I have a better understanding of myself. I still have tough days but I have the tools and the understanding to manage them now: Michael Phelps

Winning Olympic medals was easy compared to battling depression.

Michael Phelps on the cover page of Sports Illustrated magazine, wearing all 23 of his Olympic gold medals.

28 THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2018SPORT

Switzerland’s Roger Federer returns against Austria’s Dominic Thiem during their men’s singles round-robin match on day three of the ATP World Tour Finals in London on Tuesday.

Federer rebounds to keep ATP Finals hopes alive

REUTERS

LONDON: Roger Federer rediscovered

his verve in the nick of time to

outclass Austrian Dominic Thiem

6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday and maintain

his hopes of reaching the last four

at the ATP Finals. The 37-year-old’s proud record of always reaching the semi-finals at the season-ender since it moved to London in 2009 looked in peril after a surprise loss to Kei Nishikori in his opening round-robin match on Sunday.Another defeat would have made it impossible for the Swiss to reach the semis but the six-time champion rebounded in style to post a classy win in which he lost only six points on serve.

There is still work to do for the second seed, however, espe-cially as giant South African Kevin Anderson, who he plays at the conclusion of the group on Thursday, is in red-hot form.

Anderson, the first player from his country to qualify for the ATP’s blue riband tournament since 1995, leads the Lleyton Hewitt group with two wins after trouncing Nishikori 6-0, 6-1.

The inspired 32-year-old won the first 11 games but was denied only the second ‘double bagel’ in the event’s 48-year history after Federer’s 2005 rout of Argentina’s Gaston Gaudio.

“I hope it is not a match like

Kevin Anderson played this afternoon!” Federer, who lost their Wimbledon quarter-final clash this year, said on court.

“It feels good (today). I am very happy that I showed a reaction after the last match. It’s not something I’m used to -- losing then coming back to play,” he said.

Federer was erratic and grumpy in his straight sets defeat by Nishikori, but he returned 48 hours later with a majestic display which delighted the sell-out O2 Arena crowd.

“I don’t know what happened against Nishikori. Maybe it’s the round-robin format that got to me,” Federer said.

“So for me it was really important to remind myself what a thrill it is to play here at the O2. I love playing in London, always have, always will.”

He certainly looked back in the groove, making only 11

unforced errors, compared to the 34 against Nishikori, and surren-dering just six points on serve.

Thiem, who lost his opener to Anderson, saved a break point in the first game but Federer kept him under constant pressure and broke at 1-1 when the 25-year-old sent a forehand long.

Two tame volley errors by Thiem gave Federer another break for a 5-2 lead as he cruised to the opening set.

Federer turned the screw to break again immediately in the second set.

Thiem did let rip with some stunning backhands but with the world number three back in the groove they made little impression as the Swiss sealed a 56th match win at the tour-nament he has qualified for a record 16 times.

Anderson looks almost certain to reach the semi-finals even if he is beaten by Federer today.

He produced a near-perfect display against Nishikori who he lost to two weeks ago in Paris.

“It’s amongst t h e b e s t (matches) I’ve played,” world number six Anderson told reporters.

“I did a really good job con-stantly applying the pressure and not letting up.

“I felt I did a fantastic job throughout really.”

The Swiss star was

erratic and grumpy

in his straight sets

defeat by Nishikori,

but he returned 48

hours later with a

majestic display which

delighted the sell-out

O2 Arena crowd.

Diaz-Figueroa banned for match-fixingAP

LONDON: Guatemalan player Christopher Diaz-Figueroa has been banned from tennis for two years for match-fixing.

The Tennis Integrity Unit, which handles corruption cases in the sport, says the 28-year-old Diaz-Figueroa admitted to match-fixing at an ITF tournament in Prague in 2017.

Diaz-Figueroa also had an extra year ban and $5,000 fine suspended for three years. Diaz-Figueroa hit a career-high ranking of 326th in 2011 but is now down in 723rd.

He has won five ITF singles titles in the lower-level Futures events and is the most successful Davis Cup player ever for Guatemala, with a career 41-21 record.

Federer fumes over scheduling rowAFP

LONDON: Roger Federer has hit back at claims he gets pref-erential treatment from tennis tournaments due to his status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

Federer was responding to controversial comments from French veteran Julien Ben-neteau, who said the 20-Grand Slam champion was able to use his reputation to secure favourable scheduling.

Benneteau offered Federer’s matches at the last two Aus-tralian Opens as evidence, sug-gesting the Swiss star was granted his preference to play in the evening session to avoid the blistering Melbourne heat.

“Over the last two Aus-tralian Opens, he played 14 matches, because he was champion and finalist. And he played 12 or 13 of them in the night session,” Benneteau told

France’s RMC Sport recently.“On the same day Federer

played Jan-Lennard Struff, Novak Djokovic played Gael Monfils.

“Any tournament director would put Djokovic-Monfils on the night session at 7:30pm, right? But no. They played at 2:30pm, in 104 degrees. And Federer-Struff played at night.

“It’s normal that he gets preferential treatment, with everything he’s done. But, in some tournaments, there are big differences in the condi-tions. He has no idea what that’s like.”

But Federer was supported by world number one Novak Djokovic on Monday, with his rival suggesting the six-time Australian Open winner had actually earned the right to “special treatment” for all the good he has done for the sport.

Australian Open tour-nament director Craig Tiley also

released a statement saying the scheduling of Federer’s matches for the evening was a response to fan demand to watch a “once-in-a-generation athlete”,

rather than any desire to cater to tennis’s biggest star.

Tiley is an investor in the Laver Cup, a Ryder Cup-style annual tournament promoted by Federer and his management group Team8, but denies a con-flict of interest.

Asked about the contro-versy, former world number one Federer said that while he does speak to tournament chiefs about scheduling, he doesn’t believe he gets special favours.

“I get asked ‘would you like to play Monday or Tuesday’ sometimes. Sometimes I get asked, ‘Do you want to play day or night?’ Sometimes they go ask my agent,”

Federer told reporters after his win over Dominic Thiem at the ATP Finals on Tuesday. “Sometimes they ask me, you know, Asia wants you to play at night. Yes, sometimes we have our say. But I asked to

play Monday at the US Open and I played on Tuesday night.

“It’s all good, you know. I’ve had that problem for 20 years in the good way. Sometimes I get help, sometimes I don’t. I think there you have it.

“Yeah, sometimes they come ask, sometimes they don’t. But a lot of the facts are not right, just to be clear there, from what I heard.”

Federer is bidding to win his 100th career singles title at the ATP Finals and he made it clear he wanted to draw a line under the favouritism issue.

“I don’t really in feel the mood during a World Tour Finals to discuss that topic, to be honest,” he said.

“The radio interview that happened over a week ago that surfaces now in French, Julien, who is a nice guy, I know him since the junior times, I think all of this has been totally taken out of context.”

Federer is bidding to win his 100th career singles title at the ATP Finals and he made it clear he wanted to draw a line under the favouritism issue.

Federer was responding to controversial comments from French veteran Julien Benneteau, who said the 20-Grand Slam champion was able to use his reputation to secure favourable scheduling.

NBA: Durant stars as Warriors bounce backAFP

OAKLAND: Kevin Durant scored 29 points as the Golden State Warriors set aside their off-court discord to post a 110-103 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

The NBA champions went into the game at the Oracle Arena against a backdrop of controversy, with power forward Draymond Green sus-pended following his bust-up with Durant 24 hours earlier.

Durant and Green had a heated off-court exchange during Monday’s 121-116 overtime defeat to the Clippers in Los Angeles.

That spat prompted War-riors management to take the unusual step of imposing a one-game suspension on Green for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

The Warriors looked to be suffering a hangover from the

row in the early stages against Atlanta, trailing 52-49 at halftime against the Hawks, who are 3-10.

The Warriors raised their game in the second half however, taking charge after outscoring the Hawks by 33-24 in the third quarter before closing out the win.

Durant was given offensive support from Klay Thompson, who had 24 points while Quinn Cook had 18 and Jonas Jerebko 14.

The Warriors remain on top of the Western Conference standings with 11 wins and only three defeats.

In Denver, James Harden

had 22 points and 11 assists as the misfiring Houston Rockets knocked off the Nuggets in a 109-99 victory.

Houston, who have been slow to start this season with only six wins against seven defeats, relied on a strong all-round offensive display to polish off Denver, third in the Western Conference on 9-5.

Six Houston players cracked double figures with Clint Capela leading the scoring with 24 points and nine rebounds.

In Cleveland, meanwhile, the struggling Cavaliers bagged only their second win of the season with a 113-89 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (left) shoots the basketball against Atlanta Hawks centre Miles Plumlee during the third quarter of their NBA game in Oakland on Tuesday.

The Warriors remain

on top of the Western

Conference standings

with 11 wins and only

three defeats.

AFP

LONDON: World champion Lewis Hamilton (pictured) has questioned Formula One’s policy of organising races in new countries after this month’s announcement of the Vietnam Grand Prix.

Hamilton told the BBC that he would prefer to see more stops in countries with a genuine racing tradition, rather than expanding to new markets.

“On the racing side, I don’t know how important it is to go to new countries as such,” said Hamilton who sealed his fifth world title last month.

“If you had the Silver-stone Grand Prix and a London Grand Prix, it would be pretty cool.”

The Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, will hold a Formula One street race from 2020 after signing a 10-year deal.

Formula One has steadily expanded beyond its tradi-tional heartlands, adding races in China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, with mixed

results.At the same time,

historic European races in England,

Germany and Italy have come under threat, while F r a n c e

d r o p p e d

off the circuit for 10 years before returning this season.

“We’ve got a lot of real racing history in England, Germany, Italy and now in the States it is starting to grow,” said Hamilton.

“But you only have one event per year in those places. If it was my business, I’d be trying to do more events in those countries.

He added: “I’ve been to Vietnam before and it is beautiful. I’ve been to India before to a race which was strange because India was such a poor place yet we had this massive, beautiful Grand Prix track made in the middle of nowhere. I felt very con-flicted when I went to that Grand Prix.

“We had a Grand Prix in Turkey and hardly anyone came. Cool track, cool weekend but poor audience.”

Formula One has thrived in Singapore, but it didn’t last long in India and South Korea. Vietnam also has scant racing tradition.

Hamilton said: “If you have the German Grand Prix and you’ve got a Grand Prix in Berlin, I think connecting to cities where a lot of people are is probably a good thing, not necessarily going to countries where they don’t

know so much a b o u t

Formula One.”

29THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2018 SPORT

Hamilton backs ‘more stops in countries with genuine racing tradition’

Calgary Winter Olympics bid dead after ‘no’ voteREUTERS

CALGARY, ALBERTA: Calgary’s hopes of hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics were dashed on Tuesday after citizens voted resoundingly against the western Canadian city’s plan to bid for the Games.

More than 56 percent of voters said ‘No’ in the plebiscite, a surprisingly lopsided margin after both sides had expected a close call in the city which hosted the 1988 Winter Games.

After witnessing a high turnout, with more than 304,000 ballots cast in a reflection of the interest in the poll, the unofficial results had 132,832 opting ‘For’ and 171,750 ‘Against’ Calgary making a bid to host the Games.

The outcome was another blow for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has seen interest in hosting Games fall dramatically as the size and cost of staging the multi-sport event has sky-rocketed.

The Calgary vote leaves Sweden’s Stockholm and an Italian bid involving Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo as the only candidates left in the race.

Swiss city Sion, Japan’s

Sapporo and Graz in Austria all withdrew earlier this year, while Turkey’s Erzurum was last month eliminated from the bidding process by the IOC, which will elect the winning bid in June 2019.

While the Calgary vote was non-binding, the 15-member city council is expected to respect the outcome when it meets on Monday to decide whether to move the bid process forward.

The Calgary 2026 Bid Cor-poration and Canada Olympic Committee (COC) both acknowl-edged that the people had spoken, with the former saying it would wrap up operations in the next few weeks.

“We know that this was very divisive, but it’s time to put that behind us,” Bid Corporation CEO Mary Moran told supporters.

She also released a statement which said, in part:

“This all began with great promise: a chance to bring the Olympics and Paralympics home to Calgary and Canada.

“A chance to re-establish our city on the world stage -- put us back on the map... It all made sense, and it still makes sense.” However, those in the ‘No’ camp were jubilant at the result.

“I think that people had enough of the establishment, telling us what to do, what to think,” local councillor Sean Chu said.

“They tell you to spend mil-lions, billions, it’s good for you.”

The COC, meanwhile, said

the vote represented a missed “unique opportunity” to bring a renewed vision to the Games.

“The Canadian Olympic Committee respects the results of tonight’s plebiscite in Calgary, but we are disappointed with the outcome,” COC said in the statement.

“The opportunity to welcome the world to Canada, where people can experience the uniting power of the Games and within our nation’s culture of peace and inclusion, would have offered countless benefits to all.”

Beijing is hosting the next Winter Games in 2022.

In this file photo taken on February 13, 1988, fans cheer and wave flags as the Canadian delegation (lower right) parades during the opening ceremony of the XVth Winter Olympic Games in Calgary.

More than 56 percent vote against hosting Games.

Vote a setback for International Olympic Committee.

Only two candidates remain for 2026 Games.

The opportunity to

welcome the world to

Canada, where people

can experience the

uniting power of the

Games and within our

nation’s culture of

peace and inclusion,

would have offered

countless benefits to

all: COC statement

Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand lines up a putt during the final round of the Blue Bay LPGA golf tournament in Sanya on China’s Hainan Island last Saturday.

Top-ranked Ariya chases $1m at LPGA Tour Championship

AFP

MIAMI: World number one Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand has captured almost every major LPGA award this season but still chases a $1m bonus prize starting today at the Tour Championship.

The 22-year-old defending champion from Bangkok has

won three titles this year, including her second

major at the US Women’s Open

plus the Ladies Scottish Open and her second

Kingsmill Champi-onship crown in three

years.Ariya has already clinched

the LPGA Player of the Year Award, the season money title, the Annika Award for best results in the majors and the Top 10 prize with 16 top-10 showings. She leads the tour in birdies, under-par rounds, rounds in the 60s and scoring average.

The Vare Trophy for low scoring average is likely Ariya’s as well, needing only to finish within 15 strokes of South Korea’s Ko Jin-young to hoist the hardware.

And she leads the season points chase for the CME Globe season bonus prize of $1m entering the season finale at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.

“It means so much to me this year because I felt like I work so hard,” Ariya said on Tuesday.

“My only goal, I just want to

improve myself every day because I know I have so much room to improve.

Ariya, who could become the first LPGA player to sweep all the major tour awards, says she has learned how to better cope with the pressure of final rounds against intense LPGA rivals.

“It’s not easy at all,” Ariya said. “I mean, I know when I

nervous, when I scared, I worry because I think about the outcome, because I want to play well, I want to hit this shot good because I care about other people, what they’re going to think about me.

“But then I have to come back to myself and know that other people expectation is not my expec-tation. I expect to have a good com-mitment with every shot. I expect myself to have fun, enjoy, and feel free on the course. So I have to come back and work on that stuff.”

Ariya has two wins, two runner-up finishes, a third and a fourth in 14 events starting with the US Women’s Open to hold off South Korea’s second-ranked Park Sung-hyun for the ranking lead.

The Thai star’s nearest rival for the $1m bonus is Australia’s fifth-ranked Minjee Lee, who is trying to set aside thoughts of the bonus prize.

“This is no different to any other tournament,” she said. “I’m always going to try my best and do my best. I’ll put my 100 percent in each shot. So I haven’t really thought about the CME at the end of the week.”

Kuchar, Smith headline as top Australian golfers snub home challengeREUTERS

SYDNEY: Heavy on history but light on star quality, the Australian Open tees off at The Lakes Golf Club this week in somewhat reduced circumstances.

The tournament counts the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player as former winners, with Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth having joined the roll of honour in more recent years.

A lack of financial clout in a golfing world increasingly domi-nated by the two major tours, however, has left the 2018 edition short of the sort of big names who have battled for the Stonehaven Cup in the past.

That has not been helped by the absence of Australian major winners Jason Day and Adam Scott

as well as Marc Leishman, the Vic-torian who kicked off his 2019 PGA Tour season in fine style with a win at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia last month.

The field does at least boast the most recent winner on the PGA Tour, with Matt Kuchar having hot-footed his way across the Pacific from Mexico after winning the Mayakoba Classic on Sunday.

Kuchar, whose triumph at Playa del Carmen was his first on the US Circuit since 2014, is the top-ranked player in the field but he did not sound overly confident of landing back-to-back titles.

“It’s hard to be good every week,” the world number 29 told reporters on Wednesday.

“Certainly the form I’m in, I expect to keep going well, but I also know that like everybody else, you could wake up tomorrow and go what just happened?

Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker are the other Americans from the top 50 in the world who will be out to master the infamous Sydney winds from today.

The absence of Day, Scott and Leishman leaves Cameron Smith as the top-ranked Australian, and he feels he has a point to prove after losing out to Spieth in a playoff when the American lifted the Stonehaven Cup for the second time two years ago.

His near namesake and com-patriot Cameron Davis, who recently embarked on his rookie season on the PGA Tour, is the defending champion after a one-stroke victory at The Australian club last year.

Matt Kuchar

and Turkey, with mixedresults.

At the same time, historic European races in England,

Germany and Italyhave come under threat, whileF r a n c e

d rd o p p e d

and you ve got a Grand Prixin Berlin, I think connecting to cities where a lot of peopleare is probably a good thing,not necessarily going to countries where they don’t

know so mucha b o u t

Formula One.”dd r o p p e d One.

30 THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2018SPORT

Curran and Buttler lift EnglandAFP

KANDY: Sri Lanka’s spinners claimed some big-name England wickets on the first day of the second Test yesterday before Jos Buttler and Sam Curran rescued the innings.

Buttler’s 63 and a crucial 64 from Curran at the end lifted England to 285 all out after they had been struggling on 89-4 on the turning Pallekelle stadium pitch. Curran, fast becoming an England hero, said reaching near 300 was a “massive” achievement.

England spinner Jack Leach then strengthened England’s position, dismissing opener Kaushal Silva in the 12 overs Sri Lanka faced as the home side reached 26 for one at the close.

A day that saw Ben Stokes, batting at the key number three position, become the latest to fail also reinforced Buttler and Cur-ran’s standing lower down the order.

England were in trouble against spinners Dilruwan Perera

who took four wickets, Malinda Pushpakumara (three) and Akila Dananjaya (two) when Buttler came in to counter-attack with five boundaries and a crucial 45-run stand with Adil Rashid who made 31.

Buttler’s 63 off 67 deliveries ensured Sri Lanka did not convert a good position into a dominant one, as he swept and reverse swept furiously and effectively.

He was eventually out top-edging a reverse sweep off left-arm spinner Pushpakumara, playing his first Test for more than a year.

Curran was even more important, taking 50 balls to reach double figures before he tore into the Sri Lankan bowling. He hit six sixes and a four off the spinners and his last wicket part-nership of 60 with Jimmy Anderson was the best of the innings.

“It was crucial. You saw in the evening how much it spun. Getting close to 300 was massive for us,” said Curran.

“Me and Jimmy had quite a bit of fun out there. He was probably the one telling me to calm down and trust him.” Stokes, who batted at number five in his team’s opening win last week, was boosted up the order in the latest bid to find a solid number three. Off-spinner Perera successfully reviewed an lbw decision against Stokes after

the on-field umpire had turned down an appeal. He was out for 19.

England captain Joe Root, who scored 35 and three in the first Test, was bowled by Push-pakumara in the 18th over for 14 and opener Rory Burns (43) soon followed as England lost regular wickets on the dry, crumbling surface.

Curran said the wicket was fast breaking up and the cracks growing so England spinners must be looking forward to the second day. Ten of the 11 wickets to fall yesterday went to spinners.

There were several near misses during the 12 overs Sri Lanka faced, with Karunaratne edging a ball just low and wide

of slip off the bowling of Ali when he was on 12. Leach then made the breakthrough at the other end, getting a ball to break sharply off the surface and beat Kaushal Silva’s forward defence, to rattle off stump - the batsman dismissed for 6.

Nightwatchman Pushpa-kumara then survived the 15 balls he faced before stumps.

England’s Sam Curran (right) plays a shot during the first day of the second Test match against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy yesterday.

Mahmudullah, spinners give Bangladesh edgeAFP

DHAKA: Mahmudullah Riyad scored his first Test century in more than eight years as Bang-ladesh set Zimbabwe a towering 443-run target to win the second Test in Dhaka yesrterday.

The hosts began their victory push, reducing Zimbabwe to 76-2 at stumps on the fourth day after Mahmudullah’s unbeaten 101 off 122 balls helped the side declare the second innings on 224-6.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan broke a 68-run opening stand by removing Hamilton Masa-kadza for 25 after he dropped the Zimbabwe captain on five off debutant pacer Khaled Ahmed.

Mehidy also dropped Brian Chari on naught but fellow spinner Taijul Islam dismissed the opener for 43 soon after Bangladesh got their first breakthrough.

Brendon Taylor and Sean Williams remained at the crease on four and two respec-tively, facing a monumental task to win or avoid a loss as Zimbabwe still trailed the hosts by 367 runs.

Zimbabwe lead the two-match series 1-0 after last week’s victory in Sylhet -- their

first away Test win in 17 years.A draw in the game would

give them their first Test series win in seven years.

Bangladesh, who must win to square the series, declared their innings at the tea break after Mahmudullah completed his century by pushing leg-spinner Brandon Mavuta towards cover for two runs.

Mahmudullah, whose only other Test ton came against New Zealand at Hamilton in 2010, lifted Bangladesh from a pre-carious 25-4 after Zimbabwe seamers rattled the home side early on day four.

The right-hander shared an 118-run stand for the sixth wicket with debutant Mohammad Mithun, who made

amends for his first innings duck to score 67 off 110 balls. Mah-mudullah hit four fours and a six in an impressive innings, with his last 51 runs coming off only 52 balls.

Zimbabwe had successes against Bangladesh early in their second innings, after the hosts decided against enforcing the follow-on despite their 218-run first innings lead.

Kyle Jarvis removed openers Imrul Kayes and Liton Das in the space of three balls in the fifth over for three and six runs respectively.

First-innings centurion Mominul Haque quickly fol-lowed the openers, edging Donald Tiripano to wicket-keeper Regis Chakabva for one in the next over.

Smith, Warner absence ‘huge factor’ for India series: Ganguly IANS

KOLKATA: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly yesterday said the possible absence of Steve Smith and David Warner in the Australia team for the series against India would be a ‘huge factor’ as it’s like India not having Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in their ranks.

The Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) had made a submission to Cricket Australia at the start of the month to lift the ban on Australian captain Smith and vice-captain Warner.

But indications are that they are not ready to bring the trio (Cameron Bancroft included) back to international cricket early.

Therefore, there seems little hope they will play Test cricket before March 29 when the ban on them ends.

“It’s a huge factor. This is

like the Indian team not having Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli,” Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of health drink Com-plan’s programme of which he is the brand ambassador.

Complan had launched ‘Aro Sapno-Aro Bere Otho (Dream More, Grow More) contest last month, of which the winners were announced here at a plush hotel to celebrate the aspirations of children on Children’s Day.

The contest was held across 100 schools in the city and children were asked to bring their dreams to life through cre-ative expression. Students from classes 2-6 participated in the challenge.

Ganguly went through the created artworks and selected ten winners of the contest. The winners took home Rs 1 lakh prize money each.

Ganguly further said that this is India’s best chance to win

a test series in Australia, keeping in mind their bowling attack.

“It’s a great moment for Indian cricket. This is their best opportunity to beat Australia. India are a good side and have good bowling attack. I have seen in England that they (bowlers) have taken 20 wickets in every test,” Ganguly said.

“But you also have to keep in mind that Australia in Aus-tralia are a different kettle of fish. Many feel that they are a weak outfit but I don’t think so,” the 46-year old added.

India play four Tests starting December 6 at Adelaide Oval. India’s best result Down Under was 1-1 in 2003-04 series under Ganguly.

Asked about Kohli’s ‘leave India’ comment to a fan, Ganguly said, “I would not like to comment on that. It’s not nec-essary to react to each and every comment.”

Bangladesh (I innings): ........522-7 decl.Zimbabwe (I innings): ..................... 304 Bangladesh (II innings): Liton Das b Jarvis ..............................................6

Imrul Kayes c Mavuta b Jarvis ......................... 3

Mominul Haque c Chakabva b Tiripano ..........1

Mohammad Mithun c Chakabva b Raza ......67

Mushfiqur Rahim c Mavuta b Tiripano ........... 7

Mahmudullah Riyad not out ........................ 101

Ariful Haque b Williams.................................... 5

Mehidy Hasan (not out) ..................................27

Extras (B5, LB1, W1) ......................................... 7

Total (Decl for six wkts) .................. 224

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-10, 3-10, 4-25, 5-143, 6-151

Bowling: Jarvis 11-2-27-2, Tiripano 11-1-31-2, Williams

16-2-69-1(w1), Raza 7-0-39-1, Mavuta 9-0-52-0

Zimbabwe (II innings): H Masakadza c Mominul b Mehidy ...............25

B Chari lbw b Taijul .........................................43

B.Taylor (batting)................................................4

S Williams (batting) ...........................................2

Extras (B1, LB1) ................................................ 2

Total (two wkts, ) ...............................76Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-70

Bowling: Mustafiz 3-1-2-0, Taijul 13-2-34-1, Khaled

4-1-15-0, Mehidy 7-2-16-1, Ariful 3-1-7-0

SCOREBOARD

Australia’s Steve Smith (right) and

David Warner seen in this file

picture.

England (I innings)R Burns c de Silva b Dananjaya .....................43

K Jennings c Dickwella b Lakmal ..................... 1

B Stokes lbw b Perera ..................................... 19

J Root b Pushpakumara .................................. 14

J Buttler c Karunaratne b Pushpakumara .... 63

M Ali lbw b Pushpakumara ............................ 10

B Foakes c de Silva b Perera .......................... 19

S Curran c Karunaratne b Perera .................. 64

A Rashid lbw b Perera .................................... 31

J Leach b Dananjaya .......................................... 7

J Anderson (not out) ......................................... 7

Extras (B4, LB 3) .............................................. 7

Total (all out, 75.4 overs) ................ 285

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-44, 3-65, 4-89, 5-134,

6-165, 7-171, 8-216, 9-225, 10-285

Bowling: Lakmal 12-1-44-1, Perera 24.4-5-61-4,

Pushpakumara 23-4-89-3, De Silva 2-0-4-0, Danan-

jaya 14-1-80-2

Sri Lanka (I innings)Dimuth Karunaratne (batting) ................19

Kaushal Silva b Jack Leach ........................ 6

Malinda Pushpakumara (batting) ............. 1

Total (1 wkt) .................................26Fall of Wickets: 1-22 Silva

Bowling: James Anderson 3-0-8-0; Sam Cur-

ran 2-0-5-0; Jack Leach 4-0-7-1; Moeen Ali 3-1

6-0

SCOREBOARD

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad reacts after scoring a century during the fourth day of the second Test match against Zimbabwe at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka yesterday.

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: England’s Daryl Selby won the QSF No.1, PSA Bronze tournament as he beat top seed Omar Mosaad of Egypt in straight games in the final at the Khalifa Inter-national Tennis and Squash Complex here yesterday.

The former World No.9 from England, took 42 minutes to win straight games over the former World No.3 from Egypt.

Selby took the first game at 11-9 and then followed it up by wining the next two at identical scores of 11-6 to wrap up the proceedings.

Earlier in the semi-finals on Tuesday, Top seed Mosaad recovered from a slow start, losing the first game heavily to unseeded Englishman George Parker, but recovered to take the next three games with some comfort.

Selby, also lost his opening game as Scotland’s fifth seed Greg Lobban took a swift lead. Selby struck back, taking the next two

games comfortably, but couldn’t quite overhaul Lob-ban’s 8-4 lead in the fourth as the Scot set up a decider.

After a close opening to the fifth, Selby forged ahead reaching 10-6 and closed it out on his third match ball.

31THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2018 SPORT

QFA cancels Sneijder’s red cardTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Al Gharafa captain and Dutch star Wesley Sneijder has won a reprieve after it was announced that the Disciplinary Committee of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) cancelled the red card he received during his team’s last QNB Stars League match.

On November 8, former cham-pions Al Gharafa beat Qatar SC 2-0 but the win was marred by the marching orders for Sneidjer by referee Abdull Ali Athba. An angry Sneijder was seen storming off the pitch at Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium after receiving the red card.

The next day, the hugely popular Dutchman tweeted: “While playing a football match I reacted in the heat of the moment to a red card I did not deserve. However, to counter any false media speculations: I enjoy living and playing football in Qatar!”

In its weekly meeting under the chairmanship of Hassan Al

Hammadi, the QFA’s Disciplinary Committee yesterday announced the following decisions after reviewing the reports of the match referees.

The Disciplinary Committee decided to cancel the red card of Sneijder on the recommendation in the report from the referees’ from the match played last week, a report on qfa.com.qa wesbite said.

According to Article 85/3 of the Disciplinary Regulations, the com-mittee decided to draw the attention of the player to his unsportsmanlike departure from the pitch after leaving the game against Qatar SC in the 12th week of the QNB Stars League.

In another decision, Al Sailiya’s experienced Moroccan midfielder Tiberkanine Rachid was suspended for two matches

and fined QR 20,000, for his rough play against Umm Salal which took place on November 9th in the 12th week QNB Stars League. The Disciplinary Com-mittee also decided that Al Markhiya player Abdulkarim Ahmed Juma has been suspended for one match and fined QR 2,000 for his poor behaviour in a match against Al-Bidda match in the sixth round of the Second Division.

Show jumping championship: QEF Outdoor Arena set for top eventTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The three-day Al Rayyan International Show Jumping event kicks off today at Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) Outdoor Arena.

The series - which was launched in 2014 - is organised by QEF in cooperation with Al Shaqab, a member of Qatar Foundation.

More than 100 horses will feature in the three-day event with a total prize bag of €61.000. Riders from Qatar, Canada, France, Jordan and Morocco will feature in the event, organisers said. The tournament comes less than a week after the end of the final round of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) which was staged at Al Shaqab.

This week’s event is a two-star tournament with nine com-petitions spread across three days. The feature event on Sat-urday will be the Grand Prix, a qualifier for the World Cup and a round of the Arab League.

The Grand Prix has an overall prize bag of €12,000, organisers said yesterday.

Badr Al Darwish, Secretary General of QEF said: “Al Rayyan International Show Jumping

Championship is a key event on our annual calendar. A top field is ready for action. Young Qatari riders will also feature in the event. We look forward to some

quality action.” Tournament Director Ali Al Rumaihi said: “We have seen good crowds throng the QEF’s Outdoor Arena over the years as we have always

planned family activities for young kids. All in all, this week one again it will be a great show jumping festival that fans wait for every year.”

He added: “The passion for riding is increasing among the youth in the country. We see a high level of competition among the young participants and that

excites us. The Qatar Equestrian Federation is doing its best to promote the sports of equestrian and I would say we are doing well.”

Vet checks being carried out by the technical staff at Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) Outdoor Arena ahead of this week’s Al Rayyan International Show Jumping Championship.

Selby eases past Mosaad to clinch QSF No.1 title

Wesley Sneidjer (left) and referee Abdull Ali Athba in this file picture of November 8.

England’s Daryl Selby (left), winner of the QSF No.1, PSA Bronze tournament, poses with the trophy along with runner-up Omar Mosaad of Egypt at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday. RIGHT: Selby in action.

AL RAYAN INTERNATIONAL SHOW JUMPING

COMPETITION 2018

CSI2*-W Al Rayyan Today

1:30pm Class 1 Two Phases FEI Art. 274.5.3 | Max. 115 cm | 2 Horses per athlete | 350 m/min | €4,000

4:00pm Class 2 Table A, Against the clock FEI Art. 238.2.1 | Max. 120/130 cm | 2 Horses per athlete | 350 m/min | €5000

6:00pm Class 3 Special Two Phases FEI Art. 274.5.6 | Max. 140 cm | 2 Horses per athlete | 350 m/min | €7,000

Tomorrow1:30pm Class 4 Table A, Against the clock FEI Art. 238.2.1 | Max. 115 cm |

2 Horses per athlete | 350 m/min | €5,0004:00pm Class 5 Table A, Against the clock with Jump Off FEI Art. 238.2.2 |

Max. 130 cm |2 Horses per athlete | 350 m/min | €6,000 6:00pm Class 6 Qualifying competition for the FEI World Cup™ competition number.9 | Table A,

Against the clock FEI Art. 238.2.1 | Max. 145 cm | 2 Horses per athlete | 350 m/min | €8,000On Saturday

1:30pm Class 7 Table A, Against the clock FEI Art. 238.2.1 | Max. 120 cm | 2 Horses per athlete | 350 m/min | €6,000

4:00pm Class 8 Accumulator Competition with Joker FEI Art. 269.5 | Max. 135 cm | 2 Horse per athlete | 375 m/min | €8,000

6:00pm Class 9 GRAND PRIX - World Cup™ Competition | Two Rounds FEI Art. 273.3.3.1 & 273.4.3 + 273.2.2 + Annex D FEI World Cup Arab League rules + Annex VIII art 6| Min 145 - Max.

160 cm | 1 Horse per athlete | 350 m/min | €12,000 | LR (Group E)