SPORT07THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019

When you arrive here there is no point in thinking like a

small club. You must think like a big club, to be close to the

big clubs, the way that the big clubs think.

Pochettino, Tottenham

Manager, says club must

act big in new stadium.

The fun stuff’s going to begin next week. You just want a chance. We’re going to do that now and have a lot of fun with it and try to get this thing going: Benn

Indian Premier LeagueDelhi Capitals vs

Sunrisers Hyderabad

la LigaSevilla vs AlavésLeganés vs Real Valladolid

CRICKET FOOTBALL

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Westbrook joins Wilt in NBA history as Thunder beat LakersAP OKLAHOMA CITY

Russell Westbrook became just the second player in NBA history to have 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists in a game as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 119-103 on Tuesday night.

Westbrook clinched the mark with a rebound in the final minute, drawing a large ovation from the home crowd. He fin-ished with 20 points, 20 rebound and 21 assists.

Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player to accomplish the feat. He had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists in a game in 1968.

Westbrook had at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists for the eighth time in his career, tying Chamberlain for second-most all-time. Oscar Robertson had 14 such games in his career.

Westbrook finished 8 of 23 from the field as Oklahoma City won for the third time in its last 10 games.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Lakers with 23 points.

WARRIORS 116, NUGGETS 99

Kevin Durant emphatically showed who is still No. 1 in the West, delivering a pair of jarring dunks late in the first half and finishing with 21 points and six assists before being ejected to

lead the Golden State past Denver in a matchup of the top teams in the conference.

DeMarcus Cousins had a season-best 28 points, on 12-for-17 shooting, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks for the Warriors (53-24), who have a two-game lead and the tie-breaker on Denver (51-26) with five games to go in the chase for the Western Conference’s top seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Stephen Curry added 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Jamal Murray scored 17 points, and Paul Millsap had 11 points shooting 4 of 11 for Denver, which lost for the third time in four games and played the first night of a tough back-to-back with San Antonio vis-iting the Mile High City on Wednesday.

SPURS 117, HAWKS 111 DeMar DeRozan scored 29

points and San Antonio beat Atlanta for the 21st straight time at home.

San Antonio point guard Derrick White added 23 points after scoring 12 total points in his previous two games.

The Spurs remain seventh in the Western Conference at 45-33.

Atlanta led by as many as nine points in the second half, before San Antonio rallied in the

fourth to avoid its second straight loss at home.

Kent Bazemore had 26 points to lead the Hawks, and Alex Len added 21.

ROCKETS 130, KINGS 105 James Harden had 36 points

and 10 assists and Houston matched its season high with 26

3-pointers in a win over Sacramento.

Eric Gordon and Danuel House Jr. each scored 19 points, Kenneth Faried added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and P.J. Tucker scored 13. The Rockets have won 17 of 20.

Houston (50-28) moved a

half-game ahead of idle Portland for third place in the Western Conference. It’s the fifth time in the six years that the Rockets have had at least 50 victories.

Buddy Hield had 20 points and seven rebounds for Sacra-mento. The Kings (38-40) have lost four of six.

Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles up court during a 107-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Westbrook became only the second player after Wilt Chamberlain to score a ‘20-20-20’ triple-double on Tuesday.

Stars clinch 1st play-off trip since 2016AP DALLAS

Jamie Benn gave a brief nod to Tyler Seguin after sharing a big smile with goalie Anton Khudobin.

A trying season for the Dallas captain will continue in the playoffs.

The Stars clinched their first trip to the postseason in three years, getting two goals and two assists from Alexander Radulov in a 6-2 victory over the Phila-delphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

“The fun stuff’s going to begin next week,” Benn said.

“You just want a chance. We’re going to do that now and have a lot of fun with it and try

to get this thing going.” The Stars were just a point

shy of the playoffs and could have made it with an Arizona loss in a later game.

Instead, they left little doubt with four goals in the final 24 minutes, including a pair 10 seconds apart, to secure just their third Western Conference playoff berth in 11 seasons.

Jason Dickinson, Esa Lindell, Tyler Pitlick and Blake Comeau also scored for the Stars, who hold the first wild-card spot with 91 points and are unlikely to get into the top three in the Central Division.

Dallas last made the playoffs in 2016, losing a Game 7 to St. Louis in the second round.

The Stars missed the play-offs a year ago because of an eight-game losing streak late in the season, the first six of those on the road.

This time, they moved to the brink of the postseason by earning seven points on a four-game Canadian swing before coming home to face Philadelphia.

It was a satisfying surge for a club that worked through a tumultuous midseason stretch

after team CEO Jim Lites pro-fanely ripped the play of Benn and Seguin, the high-priced star forwards.

The Stars actually held the last playoff spot in the West in late December when Lites used plenty of profanity along with “terrible” and “embarrassing” to

describe the way both were playing while saying the team was underachieving.

First-year coach Jim Mont-gomery, making the rare tran-sition from college, joined the chorus not long after Lites’ strong words, saying he was trying to end the franchise’s

“culture of mediocrity.” Mont-gomery’s tone was decidedly more positive after the All-Star break, when the Stars won their first four as part of a five-game winning streak and had another solid run in March to set up the decisive Canadian trip.

Kucherov in the running for NHL’s MVP awardAP NEW YORK

Connor McDavid knows better than to risk making end-of-season NHL award projections.

Through no fault of his own, the Edmonton Oilers captain was not included among last year’s three MVP candidates, causing a stir back home.

So McDavid understandably deferred when recently asked to l ist his Hart Trophy

front-runners this year. “After last year, I’m not commenting,” McDavid said, chuckling. “I have no idea who will win it at all.”

McDavid, who won the Hart in 2017 after leading the Oilers to their first playoff berth in 11 years, isn’t likely to be included among this year’s finalists even though he entered the final week of the season second in the league with 115 points.

Trouble is, the Oilers have

already been eliminated from playoff contention, and McDavid and everyone else are being overshadowed by the numbers Nikita Kucherov is putting up with the President’s Trophy-clinching Tampa Bay Lightning.

With 125 points through 79 games, Kucherov has already matched Joe Thornton’s league-leading total in 2005-06. T

he highest total after that is Jaromir Jagr’s 127 points in 1998-99, and the last player to

top 130 points was Mario Lemieux, who had 161 in 1995-96.

“It’s not at all surprising. He was unbelievable last year, and seemed to get no recognition for it,” McDavid said, noting how Kucherov finished third in the NHL with 100 points last season.

“They’re a team that scores a lot of goals. And he’s in on most of them. It’s pretty impressive.” Kucherov is tied for the Lightning lead with seven game-winning

goals and part of a team that became only the NHL’s third to win 60 or more games. Kucherov has also led the points race since Dec. 28, and gone no more than two games without registering a point this season.

That’s not to say there aren’t others worthy of mention.

Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau, with a career-best 97 points already, has played a key role in helping the Flames clinch their first division title in 13 years.

Gallo’s hard 2-run grounder pushes Rangers past Astros 6-4AP ARLINGTON,

Slugger Joey Gallo has played a key role late in all three wins by the Texas Rangers this season, and with more than the long ball.

Gallo grounded a hard single through the right side of the infield, a tiebreaking two-run hit in the seventh inning that went between two diving infielders as the Rangers beat the Houston Astros 6-4 on Tuesday night.

“He’s putting himself in very good situations and trusting his swing, controlling the moment,” new manager Chris Woodward said.

“A lot of guys are, pretty much everybody in big spots. I think that’s why we’re getting it done late in games because everybody’s kind of committed to this idea... and having a game plan for those big moments.”

The Rangers (3-2) are already over.500 for the second time this season after not having a winning record at any point last year.

In their first win Saturday night against the Chicago Cubs, Gallo hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning. He finished that opening series with a ninth-inning double, then scored the game-ending run on a wild pitch.

Asdrubal Cabrera, the new Texas third baseman after Adrian Beltre retired, homered for the third time. Cabrera’s two-run shot in the second tied the game at 2 against Justin Verlander, the Astros opening-day starter who didn’t make it out of the fifth inning in his second game.

Duration of tennis matches shortened at OlympicsAP LONDON

The men’s tennis singles final at the Olympics has been shortened to a best-of-three-sets match as part of format changes designed to reduce the workload of players competing in multiple events.

It means all matches across the men’s and women’s singles are now best of three sets with tiebreakers.

In another alteration, the men’s and women’s doubles matches will have a Champions Tiebreak to 10 points when the score is 1-1 in sets, like in mixed doubles.

The International Tennis Federat ion announced the changes yesterday, saying they “reduce concerns of overplay for players who reach the latter stages of all three events - singles, doubles and mixed doubles.”

They will come into effect for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. The multi-sport event is scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August in Tokyo.

08 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019SPORT

US chase maiden HK Sevens victory, Tokyo 2020 berthAFP HONG KONG

A surging United States are “confident” of taking home their maiden cup at this weekend’s Hong Kong Sevens, with the unexpected series leaders eyeing a guaranteed Tokyo 2020 berth for the top finishers at the flagship tournament.

The Eagles have enjoyed a stratospheric rise in this year’s competition with victory in Las Vegas and four other finals appearances in the six rounds played so far.

“We’ve had a good year so far and we’re looking to keep it going,” captain Madison Hughes said.

“We’re confident. There’s a lot of good teams here, especially a lot of the top ones that are coming for us. We’re excited for that and we believe in ourselves and we’re going to give it every-thing we’ve got.”

Coach Mike Friday said his squad were still finding their feet after vaulting ahead of the tra-ditional rugby power houses.

“We’re working hard, keeping our heads down and trying to be the best we can,” he told reporters yesterday.

“We’ll take every oppor-tunity in every game where it comes and see where it takes us. But we’re in a decent place at the moment, we’re confident. We’ve got a few injury issues like

everybody else but the next the next man in is stepping up for us.”

A favourable draw will see the Americans take on fifth-ranked England in the round robin, while reigning Hong Kong champions Fiji first face New

Zealand, Australia and 2018 finalists Kenya in the weekend’s “group of death” pool.

Fiji coach Gareth Baber said he expected an especially fierce tournament with teams chasing a top-four finish and a ticket to Tokyo next year. “Obviously an

Olympic year is huge for eve-rybody. I’ve certainly noticed an increasing intensity,” he said, adding that the boost in funding for national rugby programmes since the debut of Sevens at the Rio Olympics had raised the stakes in the world series.

Fiji have won the Hong Kong tournament a record 18 times and took home the cup for the past four years. Forty teams are competing in this year’s event, with more than 120,000 spec-tators forecast for the three-day spectacle.

Captains of teams competing in the annual Hong Kong Rugby Sevens pose with the winner’s trophy in front of a view of the skyline in Hong Kong yesterday, during a promotional event ahead of the tournament.

Letting Larkham go was tough decision, says CheikaREUTERS SYDNEY

The decision to sack Australia attack coach Stephen Larkham (pictured) in February was a tough one but it was a choice that had to be made if the Wallabies are to have a shot at winning this year’s Rugby World Cup, head coach Michael Cheika has said.

Larkham, who won the 1999 World Cup and played more than 100 times for the national side, had been part

of Cheika’s staff since 2015. He took up a role with Rugby Australia after leaving the team.

The Wallabies endured their worst test campaign in 60 years in 2018, winning just four of 13 tests and slumping to sixth in the world rankings.

“It’s been very difficult, obviously,” Cheika said yes-terday at a Australia-Japan diplomacy event in Tokyo.

“But looking at some of the changes that I think we needed to make, on and off the field, going into this year

to get the best possible outcome come November 2019, sometimes you have got to make those hard decisions.”

With the World Cup only five months away, Cheika said he would finalise his coaching staff after the Super Rugby season has ended.

Cheika also said the Sep-tember 20 to November 2 World Cup would be a unique tournament and teams would have to get used to playing in Japan.

“It is going to be an open

World Cup for sure. I think not just because of the teams and how they have performed up until here but also because it is here,” he said.

“I think it is going to be very different, different atmos-phere at the games and we are so looking forward to it.

“We have got a bit to do before then but the players - the lucky ones - can’t wait to get on the plane.”

Australia reached the final of the 2015 World Cup in England, where they lost to New Zealand 34-17.

Prize money in women’s golf nothing to complain about: DaviesREUTERS LONDON

Prize money in women’s golf pales in comparison to the riches on offer for men, but Laura Davies thinks the $70m up for grabs on the LPGA Tour this year represents success by any reasonable measure.

Never mind that the PGA Tour will distribute about $500 million to its players in 2019. Women’s professional golf is doing just fine, according to Davies.

At 55, the Englishwoman, who has more than 30 years on the tour, remembers the days when only a couple of dozen elite LPGA players made a decent living, while the vast majority scraped by with barely enough to cover their expenses.

It is a different story now.Last year 14 players had

more than $1m in official LPGA earnings, while 101 players cracked six figures. That does not take into account off-course earnings from sponsors and commercial endorsements.

“I think we’re doing great,” Davies told Reuters ahead of next month’s US Senior Open at Pine Needles in North Carolina.

“At the US Women’s Open this year, we play for $900,000 to the winner. Alright, the guys are getting two million, but who cares?

“If you’d told me back in my day when I was a genuine chance that if you win you’re going to get $900,000, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

While Davies has 20 LPGA victories, including four majors, she has not won since 2001, but finished in a tie for second at the Founders Cup lat year and

believes that she could win again, which is why she plans to keep playing for as long as she can.Davies still hits the ball further than many peers half her age, flying it some 260-270 yards with her driver and sometimes not even using a tee when she wants to hit a fade, but acknowl-edges her short game often lets her down.

“If my short game was better I’d be really competitive,” she said. “But my chipping is not as good.

“And I don’t hole as many putts as I used to, and these young girls are phenomenal now so I’ve got my work cut out, but I’m still trying.”

It is what keeps her on the LPGA Tour, when she could be well excused for choosing instead to tend to her vegetable garden at home in Surrey and enjoying her career earnings of more than $9m.

“If I start shooting 77-plus every round then obviously I’ll be gone,” she said. “But while I can still shoot under par and feel like I’ve got a chance, if I wake up on Thursday morning and feel like I can win the event, I’ll keep going.”

It has been tough going so far this year with four missed cuts in four starts, but at the 50-and-over senior level she is in a class of her own.

Last year she won the inau-gural US Senior Women’s Open by 10 shots over Juli Inkster at Chicago Golf Club and will defend her crown at Pine Needles from May 16-19.

And, no matter what, will be back again next year.

“I want to play 20 more (Senior Opens),” she said.

“I have no plans to retire.”

Qatar down Chinese Taipei in ITF World Junior Tennis eventQNA KUALA LUMPUR

The Qatari U14 tennis team defeated Chinese Taipei 2-1 in the Asia-Oceania Final Quali-fying event for ITF World Junior Tennis Competition.

The Qatari team, which arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sunday will finish their engagements on April 7.

Qatar is represented by

Nasser Al Yafei, Rashed Nawaf and Meshari Nawaf.

The event features the par-ticipation of China, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Qatar, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Syria, New Zealand, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka.

The four top teams will qualify to the ITF World Junior Tennis Competition to be staged in Czech Republic in August 2019.

Rachel Heck tees off on the 15th hole during the first round of the US Women’s Open golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, US in this July 13, 2017 file picture.

A Qatari player in action during the Asia-Oceania Final Qualifying event for ITF World Junior Tennis Competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Dismal Fulham condemned to EPL relegationAFP LONDON

Fulham were relegated from the Premier League as a 4-1 thrashing against Watford on Tuesday brought a fitting end to their turbulent one-season stay in the top flight.

Scott Parker’s side had to avoid defeat at Vicarage Road to stave off their inevitable demise for a few more days.

But second-bottom Fulham, 16 points from safety with five games remaining, slumped to a ninth successive loss that con-firmed their relegation to the Championship.

Abdoulaye Doucoure put Watford ahead in the 23rd minute before Ryan Babel’s equaliser 10 minutes later briefly gave Fulham hope.

Fulham’s fate was sealed in the second half when Will Hughes, Troy Deeney and Kiko Femenia all netted for Javi Gra-cia’s men in the space of 12 minutes.

On Saturday, bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield became only the second team after Derby in 2008 to be relegated from the Premier League in March with six games left.

Three days later, Fulham followed Huddersfield through the trapdoor in what ranks as the third earliest relegation in the Premier League era.

Despite a close-season investment of over £100m on new signings -- the most ever spent by a promoted Premier League club -- the Cottagers went down with a whimper.

Fulham have lost all five matches under caretaker manager Parker, but they were already destined for relegation long before he took over as the club’s third boss this term.

Slavisa Jokanovic was sacked in November as Fulham owner Shahid Khan tried to lift his team out of their wretched run. But his replacement Claudio Ranieri fared even worse and was axed in Feb-ruary after Fulham fans turned on the Italian following seven defeats in eight league games.

It was fitting that Fulham’s futile stay in the Premier League ended on the road as they have been historically bad in away fixtures.

They have lost their last seven consecutive away matches and have not won away in the league for almost a year.

09THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 SPORT

Kohli in IPL crisis as RCB suffer fourth straight lossAFP JAIPUR

India’s superstar captain Virat Kohli admitted that Royal Chal-lengers Bangalore’s IPL fate looks “really bad” after his side crashed to their fourth straight defeat.

England’s Jos Buttler made 59 and Rahul Tripathi hit the winning runs with a six from the penultimate ball as Rajasthan Royals made 164-3 to secure their first win of the season by seven wickets.

While India top the Test rankings and Kohli is the leading batsman, he has become increasingly frustrated at his side’s Indian Premier League performances.

He has never won the IPL title and Bangalore are now rock bottom in the eight-team league -- the only outfit without a win.

Kohli bemoaned Bangalore’s failure to set a more challenging target against Rajasthan as well as dropped catches in the field.

“If we make that many mis-takes then you are going to fall on the losing side,” said Kohli after the game.

“In a tournament like the IPL, when you have no momentum then these things can happen.

“The team hasn’t got off to a good start and these things look really bad but we have to keep believing that we can turn things around.”

Kohli acknowledged that the injury-hit team may need changes as he said: “We will sit down and talk to see how we can balance our team.

“Hopefully we will get fresh guys in and they can give a match-winning performance,” he said.

But Bangalore now need a radical improvement to reach the playoffs, and questions are already being asked about Kohli’s leadership and the failure

to get an IPL title in what is now the tournament’s 12th season.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir said the India batting great was “very lucky” to be retained as captain by his franchise.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan ridiculed Ban-galore’s tactics.

“They look in shambles, the strategy they had pre-tour-nament has all been ripped. They are just picking tactics out of the hat as they go along,” Vaughan told the Cricbuzz website.

Vaughan said IPL front-runners like reigning champions Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders stick to winning strategies.

Supporters have also been disappointed with Kohli, who has scored just 78 runs from four innings. He made 23 against Rajasthan.

“Please ban Virat Kohli from IPL, please. Can’t see him going to the World Cup with such

mental torture,” one Indian fan said on Twitter.

Bangalore have ended the last two editions in sixth and eighth spot despite having top players like Kohli, South African AB de Villiers and the big-hitting Chris Gayle.

The side were undone by an umpiring error last week when Mumbai Indians paceman Lasith Malinga got away with a no-ball on the last delivery of the match with Bangalore needing six to tie.

The giant screen on the ground later showed Malinga overstepping the line and a fuming Kohli lashed out at the “ridiculous call” that cost his team a chance of victory.

But on Sunday they went down by 118 runs to Sunrisers Hyderabad in what Kohli called one of Bangalore’s “worst losses ever”.

“We were outplayed in all departments by a quality side,” the Indian captain said after watching Jonny Bairstow hit 114 off 56 balls to guide Hyderabad

to a stunning win. Despite having Kohli and talismanic South African AB de Villiers in their ranks, Bangalore’s batting has failed twice in four matches.

They were all out for 70 in the IPL opener against Chennai and bundled out for 113 on Sunday against the Sunrisers, losing by a huge margin of 118 runs. They fared better against Rajasthan, scoring 158-4, but it still proved inadequate.

“This tournament is not that long,” Kohli said. “You have to be on the eight ball. You have to think on your feet. You have to think of the best possible com-bination going forward.”

Kohli, who also skippers India in all three formats, has his work cut out for him if he is to lead Bangalore to a first IPL title after losing their first four games.

“We have 10 games to go. If we start turning things around pretty soon, then we can get on a roll as well.

“We have to keep believing as a side,” he said.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli gestures during

the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match

against Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in this on March 28, 2019, file photo.

RCB have lost four games under captain Kohli in this year’s IPL.

Punter taps Carey as stand-in skipper at World CupREUTERS MELBOURNE

Australia assistant coach Ricky Ponting has backed Alex Carey to be the team’s wicketkeeper at the World Cup and believes the former Australian Rules footballer could also step up to lead the defending champions if required.

Carey was named a co-vice captain of the limited-overs sides captained by Aaron Finch during the home summer, and has impressed with his glovework during recent series against Pakistan and India.

Selector Trevor Hohns has named

Test skipper Tim Paine and the experi-enced Matthew Wade as wicketkeeping options for the 50-over World Cup starting in May but Ponting feels Carey offers the “best package”.

“He’s dangerous at the top of the order or late in the innings because he does score 360 degrees, he’s a decep-tively hard hitter of the ball and for mine, he’s just the right character, he’s the right person that you want to have in your team,” Ponting, an assistant to head coach Justin Langer for the World Cup, told Cricket Australia’s website (cricket.com.au)

“I actually think he’s got really good

strong leadership qualities as well. If anything happened to Finch through the World Cup or leading into the World Cup, then I think he’s really well-equipped to lead the side, even though he’s still relatively inexperienced and never captained Australia before.”

Carey, who captained Australian Football League expansion side Greater Western Sydney before they joined the top flight in 2012, only made his inter-national debut 14 months ago in a one-day match against England.

But the 27-year-old has played another 18 ODIs since and won acclaim for his calm demeanour behind the

stumps and at the crease. Carey has set his sights no higher than ensuring his spot in the 15-man World Cup squad, expected to be announced next week.

“I’d like to be at the World Cup first,” the South Australian said.

“We’ve got lots of leaders around this group.

“Usman Khawaja is playing some really good cricket and he’s taken his game and his leadership to the next level.

“(Fellow vice-captain) Pat Cummins is another one who has lots of respect around the group. We’ve got lots of guys.

“Hopefully Finchy is fine and stays

on the park and we don’t have to worry about that one.

“There might be some big names that might come back to the line-up; the [ones] in the side now are performing really well,” he said.

“So, it’s totally healthy for Australian cricket that the guys that are in the side are playing well. The guys that have done well in the past will definitely put their hands up for selection when they’re available.

“As a player in the Australian cricket side, we’ve been working hard in the past 12-18 months and there are some successes starting to come our away.”

Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey watches from behind the stumps as Pakistani batsman Muhammad Rizwan plays a shot during the fourth one day international (ODI) between Pakistan and Australia at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai in this March 29, 2019, file photo.

New Zealand name untested Blundell in World Cup squadAFP WELLINGTON

New Zealand opted for experience

in a 15-man squad named yesterday

for this year’s cricket World Cup, with

rookie Tom Blundell’s inclusion as

back-up wicketkeeper the only real

surprise.

The Black Caps hope to shed

their tag as valiant losers and claim

the title after exiting in the semi-

finals six times and suffering a heavy

defeat to Australia in their only

appearance in the final four years

ago.

New Zealand are currently third

in the one-day rankings, behind

England and India.

Coach Gary Stead said the Kane

Williamson-led side had repeatedly

excelled at the top level and he was

confident the consistency would

shine through at the tournament in

England and Wales.

“We’ve got a squad here of 15

players that we think can give us a

really, really good chance of going

far into the tournament,” he said.

“If we play close to our potential,

then hopefully we can do New

Zealand proud.”

Wellington keeper Blundell was

selected after Tim Siefert, the regular

back-up to first-choice gloveman

Tom Latham, broke his finger in a

domestic match last month.

While Blundell, who has two

Test caps, will likely make his

one-day international debut at the

tournament, his role will be marginal

if Latham stays fit.

Mitchell Santner will be the New

Zealanders’ primary spinner, with

Ish Sodhi edging Todd Astle to

claim the second slow bowling

position.

The pace attack com-

prises Tim Southee, Trent

Boult, Lockie Ferguson and

Matt Henry, while Jimmy

Neesham and Colin de Grand-

homme add all-round options.

Henry Nicholls is set to

open the batting with

veteran Martin Guptill after

displacing Colin Munro at the top of

the order, although Munro will make

the trip as batting cover. Williamson

and Ross Taylor, in his fourth World

Cup campaign, complete a battle-

hardened batting line up. Wil-

liamson, Taylor and Guptill have col-

lectively amassed 526 ODI appear-

ances between them.

Guptill and Taylor have not con-

firmed their post-tournament plans

but will most likely be looking to exit

cricket’s biggest stage on a high.

The Black Caps will open their

campaign against

Sri Lanka in

Cardiff on

June 1.

‘Settled England favourites to win’REUTERS LONDON

Former captain Alastair Cook believes England have an “outstanding chance” to lift the World Cup on home soil, having built a squad full of proven match winners.

Eoin Morgan’s top-ranked side enter the tournament as the one of the most consistent teams in the format and their quest for a first 50-overs title begins against South Africa at The Oval on May 30.

“England have an outstanding chance,” Cook, who retired last year from international cricket, told Sky Sports. “This is first time going into a World Cup England have such a settled squad. Every-thing looks great from the outside, they have every option covered.”

Since the start of last year, England have come out on top in bilateral ODI series against World Cup holders Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and India.

“They had that blip in the (2017) Champions Trophy, where they lost in the semi-final to Pakistan when they were favourites, but you need those lows to be able to grow as a side,” he added.

“They are favourites. This is a great opportunity for Eoin (Morgan) and the guys to play some fantastic cricket. There are match winners throughout the squad, there are batsmen that can win games on their own, and over the last six or eight months the bowling has really come on. I think they are going to win it.”

NEW ZEALAND SQUAD

Kane Williamson (capt), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de

Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom

Latham, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee,

Ross Taylor

t a squad here of 15

e think can give us a

ood chance of going

rnament,” he said.

close to our potential,

y we can do New

”

keeper Blundell was

m Siefert, the regular

st-choice gloveman

broke his finger in a

h last month.

ndell, who has two

ill likely make his

ational debut at the

s role will be marginal

fit.

ntner will be the New

mary spinner, with

ng Todd Astle to

nd slow bowling

attack com-

uthee, Trent

erguson and

while Jimmy

olin de Grand-

round options.

holls is set to

tting with

Guptill after

The Black Caps will open their

campaign against

Sri Lanka in

Cardiff on

June 1.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson

AFP PARIS

Football legend Pele told Kylian Mbappe on Tuesday that he believes the French World Cup winner can emulate his own achievement of scoring 1,000 career goals.

The 78-year-old Brazilian claims to have netted over 1,000 goals in his career, while Mbappe has so far managed 103 in total, with 92 of those coming at the top level.

“It’s possible, I scored exactly 1,025, so 1,000 goals is possible for him,” Pele said.

Mbappe, who last year became only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final after Pele in France’s 4-2 victory over Croatia, played down Pele’s comments.

“I think that even if we count the goals on inter-city pitches and goals on the PlayStation, I won’t be able to

reach the 1,000-goal mark,” said the 20-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward.

“We will try to get as close as we can, but I think I’ll be a long way off it at the end of my career.”

Mbappe has scored 32 goals in all competitions for PSG this season, including 27 from only 24 Ligue 1 appearances.

Pele was only 21 when he won his second World Cup in 1962, adding a third eight years later.

“There’s only one ‘King’ and he’s there,” said Mbappe. “I’m just Kylian, I’m trying to do my best to help my team and my national side.

“The comparisons are flattering but I know very well that I will never do what he did.”

It was not the first time that Mbappe has had to temper compar-isons with Pele, after a rush to crown him a future footballing great during

the World Cup in Russia, where he scored four goals in total.

But the former Monaco striker insists that he is not focused on becoming the best player of modern times.

“When Pele was playing, he didn’t think he wanted to be the best player

in history, he wanted to have fun, help his country and his club, which he did,” he said.

“What I want is to help PSG, the France team and afterwards it will be other people who tell you that you are the best. Everyone says that he is the best, but if you are (the best), there’s no need to say it. It’s not a goal for me.”

Pele spent the majority of his career at Santos in his home country, bar a spell in the United States with the New York Cosmos shortly before his retirement.

He told Mbappe that the key to smashing goalscoring records is playing in the very best teams.

“People tend to say that goals are the most important thing -- I thank God for having scored so many in my career -- but we must know that we need to be well-supported, you can’t score on your own, you need good team-mates, that’s very important.”

‘You can reach 1,000 goals’, Pele tells Mbappe

10 THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019SPORT

When Pele was playing, he didn’t think he wanted to be the best player in history, he wanted to have fun, help his country and his club, which he did. What I want is to help PSG, the France team and afterwards it will be other people who tell you that you are the best: Mbappe

Messi, Suarez late show saves BarcaREUTERS VILA-REAL, SPAIN

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi came off the bench in his side’s hour of need to inspire the Liga leaders to battle back from 4-2 down in stoppage time to snatch a remarkable 4-4 draw at struggling Villarreal on Tuesday.

The Catalans avoided a first league loss since November with a thumping left-foot strike from Luis Suarez deep into added time after captain and top scorer Messi gave them hope with a deadly free kick in the 90th minute.

The draw saw Barca’s lead over Atletico Madrid, who earlier won 2-0 at home to Girona, trimmed to eight points ahead of Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash at the Nou Camp. Barcelona have 70 points to Atletico’s 62 with eight games left.

Even without Messi, Gerard Pique and Ivan Rakitic in their starting lineup, the visitors still strolled into the lead through a Philippe Coutinho goal in the 12th minute, which Brazilian forward Malcom soon doubled with a header.

But Villarreal, who began the game one point above the rele-gation zone, hauled themselves into contention with a strike from 19-year-old Samuel Chukwueze midway through the first half.

Cameroon striker Karl Toko Ekambi took advantage of slack positioning from Barca goal-keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to equalise soon after the interval and Vicente Iborra completed the home side’s remarkable revival just after the hour mark.

Barca’s Argentine talisman Messi was called from the bench to rescue the champions but instead Villarreal increased their lead with a strike from their sub-stitute Carlos Bacca.

Villarreal’s Alvaro Gonzalez was then dismissed for a second booking with four minutes remaining, paving the way for South Americans Messi and Suarez to strike for Barcelona and produce a remarkable finish to an enthralling contest.

Barca seized an early advantage when Brazilian Malcom tore down the right wing and rolled the ball across the goal for Coutinho to tap into an empty net.

Malcom then scored his first goal in La Liga by heading home a cross from Arturo Vidal, while Coutinho should have made it 3-0 but his attempted chip bounced off the far post.

Villarreal got back into the game with the help of veteran midfielder Santi Cazorla, who picked out Chukwueze with an incisive pass, and although the Nigerian shot against the post, he calmly tucked the rebound into the net.

The hosts were galvanised and produced a bold and exciting display of counter-attacking football that made it easy to forget they have been struggling at the foot of the table for most of the season.

But, spurred on by Messi, Barca roared back to life, showing why they enjoy such a generous lead at the top of the league.

Villa heaps praise on former Barca team-mate Messi REUTERS KOBE

Lionel Messi is the best player ever and Barcelona

owe their success to their evolution to a more

direct style from a possession-based passing

game, the club’s former player David Villa has

said.

Barcelona currently have an eight-point lead

in La Liga over Atletico Madrid ahead of Satur-

day’s showdown between the sides and also face

Manchester United in the Champions League

quarter-final this month.

Messi has been central to Barcelona’s success,

scoring 42 goals across all competitions and

proving the side’s talisman time and again.

He will turn 32 in June but Villa, who played

alongside the Argentine forward at Barcelona

for three years, does not see him slowing down.

“It is difficult to be surprised with Leo,” Villa,

who now plays for Vissel Kobe in Japan, said in

an interview.

“He is the best. He has always shown eve-

rybody in the world that he is the best... Every

game that you can watch him is a pleasure.”

For those who have seen Messi during his

15-year career at Barcelona, there was no

doubting his place in the pan-

theon of footballing greats,

Villa said.

“Obviously (there were)

Pele, Maradona, players like

(Johan) Cruyff. I didn’t

have the opportunity to

watch them like I watched

Messi every day, every

game... But, for me, Messi is

the best,” said Villa.

“He is good in

e v e r y t h i n g

that he

does,” Villa

said.

Stubborn Wolverhampton halt United’s top-four bidAFP WOLVERHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM

Ashley Young’s needless dismissal and Chris Smalling’s farcical own goal sent Manchester United crashing to a damaging 2-1 defeat against Wolves on Tuesday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side blew a chance to move into third place in the Premier League as they squandered the lead in a disappointing display at Molineux.

It was a frustrating night for Solskjaer, who saw United suffer a third defeat in their last four games -- underlining how much work the Norwegian still has in front of him following his appointment as permanent manager last week.

Scott McTominay’s first goal for United was negated by Diogo Jota before the interval, but the game’s turning point proved to be a second yellow card collected by Young with just 57 minutes gone.

United finally caved to Wolves’ pressure 20 minutes later, when Raul Jimenez rose above Phil Jones and headed a Joao Moutinho cross goalwards.

The awkward attempt saw Smalling and goalkeeper David de Gea become entangled, with the former making the final touch as the ball rolled over the line.

McTominay’s memorable first ever goal in professional football had come after just 13 minutes and a solid, controlled start by Solskjaer’s team.

A patient left-wing build-up ended with Jesse Lingard playing the ball centrally to Fred, with the Brazilian quickly moving it sideways to Scotland interna-tional McTominay.

The 22-year-old unleashed a brilliant, right-foot finish from 25 yards that beat the diving Rui Patricio and nestled in the far left-hand corner.

The goal lead was just reward for a strong start by United, with Lingard surging

forward directly from kick-off and unleashing the game’s first shot with just five seconds gone.

There was also a promising attack which saw Fred spray the ball wide to Diogo Dalot whose hanging cross found Lukaku,

only for the Belgian to guide his header directly at the keeper from six yards.

However, United succumbed to the first period of pressure placed upon them by the home side, who had already beaten

them in the FA Cup just weeks ago.

First, an unfortunate rebound off Dalot allowed Willy Boly to play through Jimenez who hurried a 24th-minute shot.

Just seconds later, United

were not so lucky after a poor clearance from De Gea, and even worse control by Fred, saw him lose the ball to Moutinho with Jimenez pouncing on it and playing in Jota.

The Portuguese forward did not need a second invitation to advance and calmly beat De Gea for the equaliser.

United looked shaken and an error by Luke Shaw, in mis-directing a header, soon played in Matt Doherty, who pulled the ball back for Leo Den-doncker to blaze over from the corner of the six-yard area.

United threatened after the restart, with a Lukaku cross flicked on by Paul Pogba for McTominay, who stooped low and saw his diving header well saved by the outstretched hand of Patricio.

But United’s task was hardly made easier when Young col-lected two yellow cards in the space of five minutes for fouls on Jota, the second after a par-ticularly unpleasant high challenge.

his place in the pan-

footballing greats,

ously (there were)

adona, players like

Cruyff. I didn’t

opportunity to

em like I watched

very day, every

But, for me, Messi is

” said Villa.

is good in

h i n g

he

a

David Villa

Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi shoots to score during the Spanish League football match against Villarreal CF at La Ceramica Stadium in Vila-real, on Tuesday.

Manchester United’s Chris Smalling scores an own goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers during their Premier League match played at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, Britain, on Tuesday.

Pele undergoes treatment in Paris hospitalAFP PARIS

Football legend Pele was taken to a Paris hospital as a precaution yesterday after suffering from an “infection” but is “doing well”, according to members of his entourage.

The 78-year-old Brazilian three-time World Cup winner was being treated for “a light fever” prior to the long flight back to his home country, the sources told AFP, confirming earlier reports by French radio station RMC.

The sources indicated that he was still in hospital last afternoon.

Pele, who won the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970, was in Paris for a promotional appearance for Hublot watches alongside France star Kylian Mbappe.

The declining health of the player known as ‘O Rei’ has been a cause for concern in recent times, and the planned meeting with Mbappe had already been postponed last November.

Previously, Pele had admitted to not being up to the task of lighting the flame at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Before that, Pele spent time in intensive care in Brazil in late 2014 fol-lowing a kidney complaint.

On Tuesday, he spent the entirety of his encounter with Mbappe sitting down, but appeared on good form.

Mbappe last year became only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final, following in Pele’s footsteps, in France’s 4-2 victory over Croatia when he was still just 19.

Pele achieved the feat as a 17-year-old in 1958 and claims to have gone on to score over 1,000 goals in his career, during which he starred at club level for Santos and the New York Cosmos.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and French national team forward Kylian Mbappe (right) and Brazilian football

legend Pele during a meeting in Paris, on Tuesday.

It gives us great pleasure

to announce that some

of the leading names in

the track and field world

will be seen in action on

May 3, 2019. Qatar feels

proud to host the names

that matter in the track

and field world: Qatar

Athletics Federation

President and

Secretary-General

of the Qatar Olympic

Committee,

Dr. Thani Al Kuwari

11THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2019 SPORT

Diamond League: Global starsget ready for Doha challenge

THE PENINSULA DOHA

Exactly one month remains before Doha once again welcomes the world’s best athletes - including IAAF Female Athlete of the Year Caterine Ibarguen from Colombia - for the first stage of the 2019 IAAF Diamond League which takes place at the state-of-the-art Khalifa International Stadium on May 3.

Ibarguen is one of six reigning world outdoor and Olympic champions to be con-firmed across the first three events - long jump, pole vault and 100m hurdles - with more top names to be unveiled in the weeks leading up to the one-day spec-tacle which will be held under the lights next month.

Doha’s iconic stadium will launch the outdoor season in earnest and will also draw the curtain this year when the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 will be hosted at the same venue from September 28 to October 6, the first time the IAAF World Championships will be staged in the Middle East.

The Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) President and Secretary-General of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Dr. Thani Al Kuwari said: “It gives us great pleasure to announce that some of the leading names in the track and field world will be seen in action on May 3, 2019. Qatar feels proud to host the names that matter in the track and field world.”

The QAF President said: “We welcome all sports fans to come to Doha enjoy the best of athletics in what will be a memo-rable year for us. Qatar is the sports hub of the region and we can’t wait for the action to begin at our special sports venue - the Khalifa International Stadium.”

One of the standout clashes of the meeting will be the long jump which fea-tures two reigning Olympic champions: Caterine Ibarguen and Tianna Bartoletta

from the United States. Ibarguen is the reigning Olympic champion in the triple jump but the Colombian had the beating of the long jump specialists at both the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels last year and the IAAF Continental Cup in Ostrava. Ibarguen will be looking to begin the new season in the form she concluded her 2018 campaign.

“I am thrilled to launch my season in Qatar,” said Ibarguen. “It is a country where athletics is popular and I am con-fident I can perform to the best of my abil-ities at the start of the season.”

Not since May 2012 has Ibarguen faced Bartoletta when the Colombian came out victorious for the third time in their three competitions but since then, the American has won three Olympic titles - two in the 4x100m relay and one in the long jump - as well as the IAAF World Championships in Beijing in 2015.

The line-up also features Great Brit-ain’s Shara Proctor, who won silver behind Bartoletta at the 2015 World Champion-ships, and Australia’s Brooke Stratton who leads the 2019 world list with 6.74m.

The pole vault also features two

reigning global outdoor champions: world champion Sam Kendricks from the United States and Olympic champion Thiago Braz from Brazil who returned to form during the indoor season with a 5.80m clearance.

Kendricks also competed extensively through the indoor season and fin-ished top of the world indoor list with 5.93m alongside Poland’s world silver med-

a l l i s t Piotr Lisek

who will launch his outdoor season in

Doha. In the first track event to be

announced, reigning Olympic 100m hurdles champion and 2018 Diamond League champion Brianna McNeal from the United States will be looking to improve on her runner-up finish from twelve months ago when she finished second to

world record-holder Kendra Harrison - 12.53 to 12.58.

Harrison is absent this year but McNeal, who is the fourth fastest sprint hurdler of all-time with 12.26, will face a typically competitive line-up including Aus-tralia’s reigning world champion Sally Pearson and Jamaica’s Danielle Williams, who preceded Pearson as the world champion in Beijing in 2015.

The field also features European champion Elvira Herman from Belarus,

African champion Tobi Amusan from Nigeria

and Sharika Nelvis who won the US

indoor 60m hurdles title in a world-

leading 7.85.

Olympic Pole Vault champion Thiago Braz

Six reigning world outdoor

and Olympic champions,

including IAAF Female

Athlete of the Year Caterine

Ibarguen from Colombia,

have already confirmed

their participation for the

first stage of the 2019 IAAF

Diamond League which

takes place at the

Khalifa International

Stadium on May 3.

Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Duhail

At Al Ahli Stadium - 6.10pm

Al Khor vs Al Gharafa

At Al Khor Stadium - 6.10pm

Al Sadd vs Al Ahli

At Al Sadd Stadium - 6.10pm

Qatar SC vs Al Arabi

At Qatar SC Stadium - 6.10pm

Al Rayyan vs Al Sailiya

At Al Ahli Stadium - 8.20pm

Umm Salal vs Al Shahania

At Qatar SC Stadium - 8.20pm

QATAR STARS LEAGUE TODAY’S FIXTURES

Qatar Stars League (QSL) CEO, Hani Taleb Ballan (centre) and QSL officials pose for a photograph with Iranian Football Federation General-Secretary Dr. Ebrahim Shakouri and Competition Department Director Mr. Amir Hosein Fattahi during a meeting held at the Al Bidda Tower, yesterday. The meeting was also attended by Ahmed Khellil Abbassi, Executive Director of Competition and Football Development (Acting), at the QSL.

QSL CEO meets Iranian Football Federation delegationAl Ahli determined to spoil Al Sadd’s title celebrationsCHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

Al Ahli coach Ruben de la Barrera considers their QNB Stars League (QSL) Round 21 clash against title-hunters Al Sadd a great new chal-lenge and hopes his team will bring their A-game to the pitch.

Table-toppers Al Sadd are looking forward to seal the falcon shield by winning full points against Al Ahli in today’s fixture.

Al Sadd missed out on their title when they were held to a 2-2 draw by hosts Al Duhail last week.

The Wolves have accumu-lated 51 points with 16 wins this season and a victory today will see coach Jesualdo Ferreira’s men win the title for a record-extending 14th time as Xavi Her-nandez-led team will be crowned champions in front of their home crowd.

“The match against Al Sadd is a great new challenge for me and my team. They are the team closest to the title. It will be a strong game and we will bring out our best,” coach Ruben said during a pre-match press con-ference yesterday.

“We will not focus on Al Sadd. Instead, we will focus on our team and our preparations for a strong match. We will not be easy opponents. We will do our best,” he said.

“Our players’ morale is high following our victory over Al Arabi in the last round. We have to take advantage of it. Even though Al Sadd will be looking only to win, we have our chances and we will try to put up a cred-itable performance.

Al Sadd drew three matches and lost only one. Incidentally, their only defeat was against Al Ahli (1-4) in the first leg. So they will be wary of The Brigadiers.

“I certainly hope to repeat the surprise when we beat Al

Sadd in the first leg,” said Barrera.

Al Ahli have much at stake in the match as they are level on 33 points with fourth-placed Al Rayyan. They have won 10 matches so far, and three draws and seven defeats against their name. Their goal difference is -2 (29 goals for and 31 against).

Al Ahli are tied with fourth-placed Al Rayyan at 33 points, so they will be keen to collect points in their bid to finish in the top-four bracket.

Meanwhile, Al Rayyan Under-23 coach Gilson Souza spoke to the media ahead of their week 21 match against Al Sailiya.

“We want to compensate for our loss to Al Gharafa and our subsequent slip to the third place. We lost to Al Gharafa even though we were not so bad. There are certain things that contribute to winning and losing. If it’s not your day on the pitch…

“Al Sailiya are a good team and Al Rayyan are also improving after every game. We will try to win back the third position.

“Our team focuses on both

defending and attacking. When we go on the offensive to get victory, we expose ourselves in the defence and the rivals score.

“The competition is intense among the top-four teams. We are directly vying with Al Sailiya and the outcome will be important,” said Souza.

Al Ahli coach Ruben de la Barrera during a press conference.

We will not focus on Al

Sadd. Instead, we will

focus on our team and

our preparations for a

strong match. We will

not be easy opponents.

We will do our best.

I certainly hope to

repeat the surprise

when we beat Al Sadd

in the first leg: Barrera

Qatar SC keen to avoid dangerTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar SC coach Sergio Batista yesterday said that his team is aiming for full points against Al Arabi in today’s QNB Stars League clash to get themselves away from the relegation threat.

Qatar SC, positioned 11th with 16 points, are in a must-win situation to ward off danger, so they will throw everything into the game.

“My team will play to collect the three points in order to stay away from the danger zone. We know that we are going through a difficult situation, but we are going to play the game to win and nothing else. I have asked the players to play with great concentration and there will be some caution, so we can achieve the result we are looking for,” coach Batista said during a press conference yesterday.

“The difficulty is that the

opponents will play without any pressure as they are safe from the danger zone. Al Arabi have some very good attackers.

“Our players will do their best to win. We worked partic-ularly during training how not to waste opportunities that we get,” said Batista.

Qatar SC, who lost 0-1 to Umm Salal in Week 20, have four wins, as many draws and 12 defeats against their name. The Kings have a goal difference

of -20 (16 goals for and 36 against).

Al Arabi, who lost 1-2 to Al Ahli in the last round, are placed sixth with 27 points (nine wins and 11 defeats). The Dream Team have a goal difference of -12 (25 goals for and 37 against).

Batista’s counterpart, Heimir Hallgrimsson highlighted that his players did not have enough time to recover after their last match, but will face Qatar SC with great confidence.

“There has not been much time for the players to recover after our last game and we did not do much on the tactical front. But we will play the game against Qatar SC with great con-fidence,” Al Arabi coach said.

“We have given many young players opportunity to play. It is difficult for us to end up the tour-nament with a top-four spot. We are sticking to our project of pre-paring a team for the future.

Qatar SC had beaten Al Arabi 1-0 in the first leg.

Qatar SC coach Sergio Batista

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Australia’s reigning world champion Sally Pearson competes in the women’s 100 metres hurdles final 2017 IAAF World Championships in this file photo.

Jumping at Khalifa

international stadium

is a great honour.

It’s exciting to

compete in the

venue hosting

the World

Championships

this year. I know the world

class field of jumpers will

make it a sight not to miss

for the fans in Doha:

Pole vault world champion

Sam Kendricks

CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

The World Champion in high jump, Mutaz Essa Barshim will spearhead the home contin-gent’s campaign at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships which kicks off at Doha’s iconic Khalifa International Stadium on April 21.

Barshim, the IAAF Athlete-of-the-Year in 2017, is one of the most outstanding athletes Qatar has ever produced. He will join a team of 29 in the four-day extravaganza, which will bring together nearly 1,000 athletes and up to 450 officials from 45 Asian countries.

Despite not competing since July due to an injury, the gravity defying star who holds the Asian Record mark of 2.43m, is expected to start with a bang in front of the home crowd.

Before his season was cut short, the Rio Olympics silver medallist, Barshim showed the world that he is the one to beat, clearing a world-leading 2.40-metre mark twice.

Barshim also had four of the five highest jumps recorded in 2018.

Among Barshim’s Qatari team-mates will be Abder-rahman Samba, the most suc-cessful track and field athlete last year, being undefeated in nine races.

Ranked second best behind the 2018 Men’s Athlete-of the-Year Eliud Kipchoge, by Track & Field News magazine, Samba will be looking to continue his dom-inance in his pet event, the men’s 400 metres hurdles.

The 23-year-old became the second man ever to break 47 second barrier last year, and is the clear favourite to win the gold in Doha in another few weeks.

Samba’s 46.98 in Paris last year, leaves him just 0.20 shy of

the all-time best, held by Kevin Young of the USA.

The 400 metre-specialist Abdalelah Haroun is also

expected to impress. The Asian champion and

continental record holder, Haroun

has a personal best of 44.07 s e c o n d s , which makes him a definite

medal prospect for the hosts.

According to the Qatari con-

tingent, revealed by the Qatar Athletics

Federation yesterday, the world 400m bronze medallist will

be joined by Samba, M o h a m m e d

Hamida, Abu Bakr Haider,

Jamal Hairane, and Mohamed Nasir Abbas in the one-lap contest.

Samba, Haroun, Hamida, Haider, Hirane and Abbas will also make the 400m relay team.

Another Qatari star to keep an eye on, is Femi Ogunode, the current co-holder of the Asian 100m record.

At 9.91 seconds, Femi shares the fastest time with China’s Su Bingtian and the duel between the two sprinters will be the one to watch at the Khalifa Interna-tional Stadium track this time.

The four-time Asian Games gold medallist, Femi has won four golds, a silver and a bronze at the Asian Championships, with his last two medals coming from the 2017 edition held in Bhu-baneswar, India, two years ago.

Femi’s brother, Tosin, is also among the top starts who will be in action in Doha.

Tosin clinched the silver medal in the 100m dash behind Bingtian at last year’s Asian Games in Indonesia, clocking a time of 10 secs. He will compete in the 100m, 200m and the 100x 4m with eye on a triple in front of his home fans.

In hammer throw, Qatar will be represented by the Asian Champion Ashraf Elseify and his brother Ahmed Amjad as well as Khalil Adel Badawi.

Moaz Mohammed Ibrahim (Discus throw), Ahmed Saeed Faraj (discus throw), Mohammed Al Amin Hamdi (high jump), Rashed Abdulla Al Suwaidi (High jump), Noah Abdulqader (high jump), Jacob Saeed Al Hassani ( 4 x 1 0 0 m ) , A b d u l a z i z Mohammed Salem (4x100m), Mohamed Zakareya (4x100m), Saeed Osman Absi (4x100m), Mubarak Rabi Mahmoud (800m), Musab Adam Mahmoud (1500m), Hamza Droush (3000m, 5000m), Yasser Salem (3000m, 5000m), Mohiuddin Elmi, Jaber Hilal Al Mammari (100m, 200m, 4x100m) and Obab Barrow (100m, 110m hurdles, 4x100m) are also included in the Qatari con-tingent for the four-day conti-nental showpiece.

SPORTThursday 4 April 2019

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history as Thunder beat Lakers

New Zealand name untested Blundell in Williamson-led World Cup squad

Before his season was cut short, the Rio Olympics silver medallist, Barshim showed the world that he is the one to beat, clearing a world-leading 2.40-metre mark twice.

be looking to continue hiinance in his pet event, the400 metres hurdles.

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IANS MUMBAI

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings tasted their first defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 as they lost to Mumbai Indians by 33 runs yesterday.

Chasing a target of 171, none of the Chennai batsmen were able to show resistance except Kedhar Jadhav, who played a fighting 58-run knock.

For Mumbai, Lasith Malinga and Hardik Pandya rattled the Chennai batting line-up, scalping three wickets each.

Chasing the target, Chennai started on a poor note, losing openers Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson cheaply. While Lasith Malinga accounted for Watson (5), Jason Behrendorff sent back Rayudu on a duck.

Chennai's most dependable batsman Suresh Raina also couldn't do much in the middle after managing just 16.

Jadhav (58) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (12) then anchored Chennai's inning with a 54-run partnership. However, the skipper couldn't stay for much time in the middle as he fell to Hardik Pandya while trying to accel-erate the run-rate. Jadhav tried to keep one end in control but Malinga ended his laborious effort before Chennai lost Ravindra Jadeja (1) and Dwayne Bravo (8) in quick suc-cession as the scorecard read 115/7 in the 18th over.

With 56 needed of the last two overs, Chennai's lower middle order couldn't help their side cross the line as Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur could only contribute with 7 and 12 runs respectively.

Earlier, despite a slow start, it was Hardik and Keiron Pollard's quick-fire play, which propelled Mumbai Indians to 170/5.

Brief scoreMumbai Indians: 170/5 (Suryakumar Yadav 59, Krunal

Pandya 42; Ravindra Jadeja 1/10) beat Chennai Super Kings: 133/8 (Kedhar Jadhav 58, Suresh Raina 16; Hardik Pandya 3/20) by 33 runs

Chennai taste first defeat

The IAAF Athlete-of-the-Year in 2017, World Champion in high jump, Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim

Qatar’s 400 metre-specialist Abdalelah Haroun

Nearly 1,000 athletes representing 45

countries will compete for top honours during

the four-day Championships in the Qatari capital.

Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba, the most successful track and field athlete last year, being undefeated in nine races.