QNA – DOHA

Qatar national team’s players and staff yesterday took coro-navirus (COVID-19) tests before starting their first training camp of the season ahead of the World Cup 2022 and Asia Cup 2023 qualifiers.

The tested players now remain in quarantine at the team hotel as they await the results before training starts tomorrow.

The camps conclude on July 3. All training will take place with the appropriate precautionary measures set by the Ministry of Public Health in place.

The players will join their clubs afterwards to continue their preparations for the five remaining rounds of QNB Stars League. They will take a second COVID-19 test on June 24 and 25 ahead of group training.

REUTERS – SEVILLE

La Liga returned after a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic as Sevilla beat city rivals Real Betis 2-0 on Thursday with the help of a controversial penalty and a touch of class from Argentine winger Lucas Ocampos.

Ocampos struck the post in the first half before giving Sevilla a deserved lead from the spot in the 56th minute after Betis’ Marc Bartra was harshly judged to have fouled Luuk de Jong.

Ocampos produced an outra-geous backheel assist for mid-fielder Fernando to head home six minutes later to seal a win which consolidated Sevilla’s push for a Champions League place.

Julen Lopetegui’s side are in third place in the standings with 50 points after 28 games while Betis were left in 12th on 33.

Sevilla dominated the derby in an empty and eerily quiet Sanchez Pizjuan which would usually be teeming with colour and noise for the occasion, but the red seats were left bare as fans

were barred from attending for safety reasons.

Television broadcasts sought to re-create the experience of a normal match with fans by using simulated crowd noise and images, while Ocampos still saluted the stand behind the goal after breaking the deadlock from the penalty spot.

“I had never played a derby here before and even though the fans are not here I still wanted to honour them and make it feel like

they were and show that we are working hard for them,” the Argentine said.

Sevilla had been outplaying their neighbours before Bartra was penalised for his challenge on De Jong although the former Barcelona defender was still furious with the decision.

“The penalty was incredible, I was in a position to out-jump De Jong and he jumped into my arms, the Sevilla players weren’t even expecting a penalty,” Bartra said.

SPORT | 05

South Africa's

Van Niekerk

'100% ready'

for return

SP

Sou

Va

'10

SPORTWRC8: Abdulla

in clean sweep

as top drivers

advance

SPORT | 07

SATURDAY 13 JUNE 2020

Formula 1 axes three racesAFP – SINGAPORE

Formula One’s Singapore, Japan and Azerbaijan Grands Prix were cancelled yesterday over logistical problems caused by the coronavirus, officials said, in a new blow to the disrupted season.

Formula One was thrown into chaos in March when the curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix was cancelled hours before practice was to begin, as the virus spread around the world.

With lockdowns being eased in some places, organ-isers last week unveiled plans to start the season with two races behind closed in Austria in July, followed by six other Grands Prix in Europe.

But Formula One said the decision had now been taken to cancel the races in Azerbaijan, Singapore and Japan due to “ongoing chal-lenges presented by COVID-19”.

“In Singapore and Azerbaijan, the long lead times required to construct street cir-cuits made hosting the events during a period of uncertainty impossible,” Formula One said in a statement.

“In Japan, ongoing travel restrictions also led to the

decision not to proceed with the race.”

As well as the Australia race, Grands Prix in Monaco, France and the Netherlands had already been cancelled.

The Singapore F1, a night race around the city’s floodlit waterfront, is a highlight of the calendar.

But organisers said they had not been able to start con-struction of the Marina Bay Street Circuit due to curbs imposed to fight the virus.

Other challenges include a ban on mass gatherings which, if still in place in September when the race was due to take place, would have made it

impossible for large groups of spectators to watch the outdoor event.

Travel restrictions would have also prevented tourists, who make up a large chunk of the F1’s audience, from coming to the city-state for the race.

Singapore, which has recorded the highest number of virus cases in Southeast Asia, has just started easing curbs.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix, originally due to take place in June this year, is also a street

race. It takes place in the capital Baku, with the track running along the shoreline and through the city’s medieval old town.

The country has seen a sharp increase in virus infec-tions since lifting a state of emergency at the end of May.

Japan, whose Grand Prix was due to take place at the Suzuka International Racing Course in October, lifted a state of emergency last month and has suffered a relatively small outbreak.

But it still has tough travel restrictions in place.

F1 got the green light to start when the Austrian gov-ernment sanctioned the season-opening double-header at the Spielberg circuit after organisers “presented a com-plete and professional plan” to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will be brought forward to July 19 before a two-week break, followed by consecutive races in Britain and events in Spain, Italy and Belgium. All will likely be run without spectators while participants must adhere to strict safety protocols.

Regular health tests will be conducted with the number of team members and race staff at the venue also reduced.

The blueprint for the rehashed season features further races in Asia -- the Shanghai and Vietnam races have only been postponed for now -- and the Americas in September, October and November before finishing in the Gulf in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in December.

The 2020 season was orig-inally to have featured a record 22 races, but now it is set to be the shortest campaign since 2009.

Tokyo Games

President

says 80% of

facilities lined

up for 2021

AP – TOKYO

About 80% of the facilities needed for next year’s post-poned Tokyo Olympics have been lined up, the president of the organising committee said yesterday.

Two of the largest venues have not yet been secured, however.

“For a significant number of facilities, about 80% of them, we have already gained basic approval for their use next year,” Yoshiro Mori said, speaking at an executive board meeting of the organising committee.

Organizers are still working to secure the 5,000-apartment Athletes Village and the Tokyo Big Sight, a hulking convention center on Tokyo Bay that will be used as the main press center.

The Tokyo Games are set to open on July 23, 2021.

Singapore, Japan and Azerbaijan Grands Prix cancelled as revised calendar unveiled

REVISED 2020 F1 CALENDAR

SCHEDULED RACESJuly 3-5: Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)July 10-12: Styrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)July 17-19: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest)July 31-August 2: British Grand Prix (Silverstone)August 7-9: 70th Anniversary Grand Prix (Silverstone)August 14-16: Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)August 28-30: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps)September 4-6: Italian Grand Prix (Monza)

STILL PLANNEDSeptember-November: Eurasia (Russia), Asia (Vietnam

and China) and Americas (Canada, United States, Mexico, Brazil)December: Middle East (Bahrain and Abu Dhabi)

CANCELLED

Australia, Monaco, France, Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Sin-gapore, Japan

Sevilla win derby in La Liga return COVID-19 tests continue as QSL gears up for restart

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

As part of arrangements for the players’ training ahead of the resumption of 2019-20 season QNB Stars League (QSL), COVID-19 tests for players, technical and administrative staff will continue at the Ali bin Hamad Al Attiyah Stadium today.

The tests are being con-ducted in line with the general plan and protocol, developed by QSL in co-operation with the Ministry of Public Health and Aspetar hospital,

Tests will be conducted for Al Sadd, Al Gharafa, Al Khor, Al Rayyan, Qatar SC and Al Wakrah clubs, in order to ensure the health and safety of everyone.

In the event of a positive

case, the patients will undergo the procedures rec-ommended by the Ministry of Public Health. If the test

result is negative, players and officials will join their respective teams at their team hotels.

Sevilla’s Lucas

Ocampos (right)

celebrates with

team-mates after scoring

their first goal against Real Betis.

The Singapore F1, a night race around the city’s floodlit waterfront, is a highlight of the regular Formula 1 calendar.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix, originally due to take place in June this year, is also a street race and takes place in the capital Baku, with the track running along the shoreline and through the city’s medieval old town.

Qatari players undergo virustests before training camp

This file photo shows a general aerial view of the Singapore Grand Prix Street Circuit and the city skyline during a previous edition of the event.

05SATURDAY 13 JUNE 2020 SPORT

Harold Varner III of the United States plays a shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Varner and Rose share lead as PGA Tour makes return

FORT WORTH — REUTERS

Harold Varner III and Justin Rose both fired seven-under-par 63s to share the lead as the PGA Tour returned to action for the first time in three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the

Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.

Englishman Rose showed no signs of rust

after the long layoff as he waltzed through a

bogey-free round in the morning at the spec-tator-free Charles

Schwab Challenge.Varner followed in the

afternoon with a blistering round under sunny Texas

skies, capping it off with an 11-foot putt on 18 for his seventh birdie of the day to pull even with Rose.

Four players, including world number four Justin Thomas, were locked in a tie for third at six under. World number one Rory McIlroy had an unremarkable round to finish two under and tied for 39th.

“It felt quite subdued out there for sure,” Rose said of playing without fans cheering on the impressive field, which included the top five golfers in the world rankings.

“It kind of feels like a com-petitive practice round. But I think we all know what’s on the line. We all know what we’re playing for.”

Everyone in the field underwent mandatory COVID-19 testing prior to teeing off as the tour ended its longest unscheduled break from competition since World War Two.

“Just being out here is a success, to be honest with you, getting started,” said American Ryan Palmer, who hit the day’s opening tee shot.

“I don’t see anything

holding us back moving forward. I think today was the biggest day, just getting this first day off.”

Palmer (72) began his round about two hours before the 8:46am (1346 GMT) tee time was left vacant as golfers stopped play to observe a moment of silence to honor George Floyd, the black man who died last month after a white police officer knelt on his neck, sparking widespread protests.

It was a solemn scene as golfers and caddies stood with their heads bowed during a time slot selected to reflect how long - 8 minutes and 46 seconds - the officer’s knee was on Floyd’s neck.

Varner, who is among only a handful of black players on the tour, called the moment of silence “pretty cool,” a sen-timent echoed by other players.

Varner has long been an advocate for greater racial diversity in the pro game but said right now his focus is on trying to win his first PGA Tour event.

“The reason I have a platform is because I’m really good at golf,” the 29-year-old told reporters.

“I just need to focus on that.”

63 - Harold Varner (US), Justin Rose (ENG)64 - Jhonattan Vegas (VEN), Justin Tho-

mas, Collin Morikawa, Abraham Ancer(MEX)

65 - Adam Hadwin (CAN), Tom Lehman,Jordan Spieth, Daniel Berger, Brian Har-man, Gary Woodland, Bryson DeCham-beau, Tyler Duncan, Xander Schauffele

66 - Vaughn Taylor, Adam Schenk, Ryan Moore, Cameron Champ, Ian Poulter (ENG), Corey Conners (CAN), Sepp Straka (AUT), Matt Jones (AUS), Im Sung-Jae(KOR), Branden Grace (RSA)67 - Alexander Norén (SWE), An Byeong-

Hun (KOR), Jim Furyk, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Kisner, Doc Redman, Matthew Wolff, Brice Garnett, Patrick Rodgers, Mark Hubbard,Keith Mitchell, Lucas Glover, Scott Piercy

FIRST ROUND SCORES

SA's star runner Van Niekerk ‘100% ready’ for returnAFP — PARIS

South African 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk (pictured above) says he is “100% ready” to hit the track again after two years spent on the sidelines with injury.

The Olympic and two-time former world 400m champion damaged knee ligaments in October 2017 while playing in a celebrity touch rugby match that preceded a South Africa-New Zealand Test in Cape Town.

His recovery included time at medical facil-ities in the United States and Qatar, and there were several setbacks, including bruising of the knee.

“There were days when I couldn’t walk,” Van Niekerk told the Paris edition of the Diamond League Call Room in an interview set to air on social media.

The Cape Town native has slowly come back to the track, his most recent outing a victory in the Free State provincial championships 400m race in Bloemfontein in March, his fourth such low-key race.

Van Niekerk said he had learned to differen-tiate between “bad pain when I am on the brink of injuring myself and pain where I just need a day or two of rest and recovery”.

“I had to listen to my body more and I thank my coaches for listening to me when I am in that situation.”

Van Niekerk, who ran the world record of 43.03 seconds when winning 400m gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, added: “My body is feeling good.

“I have had time to allow my knee to get used to that ‘on your marks’ feeling.”

His recent outings had given him a “massive confidence boost to know that I still have my speed”.

“Now I just need to puzzle everything back together again to run the 400m successfully.”

The coronavirus pandemic has played havoc with the track and field season, with a number of elite Diamond League meets cancelled. The Tokyo Olympics were also postponed a year to 2021.

But Van Niekerk argued that it was perhaps easier for him to accept the thought of not competing.

“I have been in a two-year lockdown hiber-nation vibe anyway with my injury!”

India's Marimuthu handed 4-year ban for doping

AP — MONACO

Asian champion runner Gomathi Marimuthu was banned yesterday for four years for doping and stripped of her 800-metre title.

The Athletics Integrity Unit said the 31-year-old Indian runner will be banned until May 2023 and disqualified from all races in a two-month period last year.

Marimuthu tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone at the 2019 Asian track cham-pionships in Qatar in April.

It followed three more positive tests from samples taken in India in the previous month. Those test results were confirmed after she won the Asian title.

Marimuthu can challenge the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

NBA sets 17-player rosters for return, says reportAFP — LOS ANGELES

The National Basketball Association plans to allow as many as 17 players per team when the season restarts at the end of next month, US media reported.

The total will include 15 players with standard contracts and two others per team that are under two-way deals.

The NBA has been shutdown since March 11 due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

Twenty-two of the NBA’s 30 teams are scheduled to resume the season at the end of next month at the Disney Resort sports complex in Orlando, Florida.

The date of the restart is July 31, but ESPN reported that the latest plan was to moved it up to July 30.

Under the revised schedule 14 of the teams will be eliminated within 53 days of arriving in Florida. Only four teams will remain after 67 days, ESPN said.

The league expects the NBA finals to begin by September 30.

Once the play-offs start, teams can replace any player who tests pos-itive for the coronavirus with a sub-stitute player.

The new player would be subject to a minimum seven-day quarantine period.

The league is planning to begin training camps July 9-11. The players will quarantine before beginning formal training camps.

The eight NBA teams left out of the Orlando action are allowed to waive or sign players during a trans-action window in late June.

Former NBA player Stephen Jackson (front, left) and friends speak and raise their fists during the protest for Justice for George Floyd outside the Hennepin county Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Hopefully, the owners and the commissioner and the players can all work out a deal that’s fair for everyone, and the players feel safe enough to come back and get back into some sort of normalcy here: Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane

NHL camps to open on July 10 if league, players agree to returnAP — TORONTO

The NHL and NHL Players’ Association gave the go-ahead for teams to open training camp on July 10 in the next step forward toward completing the pandemic-delayed season.

The league and union have already approved a 24-team play-off format but still need to decide on testing and health and safety protocols along with potential host cities for the games. This is no guarantee hockey is coming back amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think we have to be pretty cautious about that,” Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane said.

“Hopefully, the owners and the commissioner and the players can all work out a deal that’s fair for eve-ryone, and the players feel safe enough to come back and get back into some sort of normalcy here.”

Camps are expected to last two weeks, if not slightly longer. Under this timeline, exhibition games could begin as soon as July 24 with playoff games starting roughly a week later.

Setting a July 10 start for camps allows players to make arrangements to return to their home cities in light of quarantine regu-lations in the US and Canada. Commissioner Gary Bettman said recently 17% of the league’s players were overseas.

“It’s obviously very helpful having the dates,” Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly said.

“To go that long without any news or hard infor-mation in terms of a start time, it is tough, but I think it’s rolling now and

hopefully now we can keep going in the right direction.”

Players were allowed to resume small-group, vol-untary workouts and teams could open their training facilities on Monday. Groups of players began skating this week, while others were waiting for a firm timeline to ramp up for games.

Under the format devised by the Return to Play committee, the top four teams in each con-ference advance to the round of 16 and play sep-arate round-robin tourna-ments to determine

seeding. The other 16 teams play best-of-five series.

Djokovic defends packed stands at charity eventAP — BELGRADE

There was no social distancing and few among the thousands of fans wore face masks - and Novak Djokovic (pictured) approved.

The fans filled the make-shift stands yesterday at Djok-ovic’s Belgrade tennis club on the banks of the Danube River for the opening day of his charity tennis tour organized by him and his family. Other top players in attendance included Alexander Zverev,

Dominic Thiem, Grigor Dim-itrov and Jelena Jankovic.

The Serbian government recently lifted lockdown restrictions in the coronavirus pandemic, only recommending people stay 1 meter apart. On Wednesday, there was a 20,000-strong crowd for a soccer cup semifinal in Belgrade.

At the tennis, Djokovic defended the freedoms of the crowd.

“We have different circum-stances and measures so it’s

very difficult to think of i n t e r n a t i o n a l standards,” he said before the c e r e m o n i a l opening of his Adria Tour.

H e s a i d S e r b i a h a s “better numbers” compared to other countries regarding coronavirus infec-tions. Serbia has registered m o r e

than 12,000 COVID-19 cases and 252 deaths, although the

numbers have been rising again since the gov-ernment lifted most of the lockdowns and restric-tions last month.

“You can also crit-icise us and say this is

maybe dangerous but it’s not up to me to make

the calls about what is

right o r

wrong for health,” Djokovic said.

“We are doing what the Serbian government is telling us and hopefully we soon will get back on tour collectively.

“Of course, lives have been lost and that’s horrible to see, in the region and worldwide. But life goes on, and we as ath-letes are looking forward to competing.”

But this week, the top-ranked Djokovic said he was thinking of skipping the US Open -- i f i t i s

played -- because he described precautions put on players as “ e x t r e m e ” a n d n o t ”sustainable.”

These included a 14-day quarantine for foreign players; a limit of one person per com-petitor at matches; limited ability to move around New York; and mandatory lodging near the tournament site in Queens.

Djokovic’s Adria Tour is scheduled to move on to neigh-boring Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

y difficult to think of e r n a t i o n a l

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06 SATURDAY 13 JUNE 2020SPORT

Teenage hotshots break into Pakistan squadAFP — KARACHI

Teenage cricketing sensations Haider Ali and Naseem Shah have been picked for Pakistan’s tour of England next month, continuing the country’s tradition of throwing young players in at the deep end.

Pakistan’s 29-member squad will begin the tour with at least a month of training in a ‘bio-secure’ environment, before the series of three Tests and three Twenty20 interna-tionals gets cracking on August 5.

S e v e n t e e n -year-old pacer Shah will be a star attraction, having become the y o u n g e s t b o w l e r ever to take a T e s t

hat-trick in February after only debuting in Australia last year.

Haider’s inclusion, at the age of 19, will also spark excitement after he scored 107 runs in the Under-19 World Cup this year, followed by 218 runs in the Emerging Teams Cup in Bangladesh.

He also tallied 645 runs -- including a century in the final -- in Pakistan’s premier

domestic tournament Quaid-e-Azam Trophy last

year.Chief selector and

head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said selection of the unusually large team was difficult.

“The selectors have picked a squad which

gives us the b e s t

chance o f

success in England. It was a challenging process as the players have not played for an extended period of time,” said Misbah.

Middle-order batsman Haris Sohail was the only player who pulled out of the tour due to coronavirus fears, while fast bowler Mohammad Amir -- sentenced in a spot-fixing case in UK in 2010 -- withdrew to attend the birth of his second child in August.

Amir was part of Pakistan’s tours in 2016 and 2018 after completing his five year ban

for spot-fixing. Middle-order batsman Fawad Alam, a pro-

lific scorer in domestic events but who has not been given a chance in a Test team since 2009,

made the squad. Wicket-keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed, sacked as captain and excluded from all three formats last year in a sur-prise move, will also tour England and has a chance to play in the Twenty20 series.

Fast bowler Sohail Khan was recalled after playing his

latest Test match in December 2016.

Spinners Bilal Asif and Mohammad Nawaz, opener Imran Butt, fast bowler Musa Khan are named as reserves in case any of the players fail pre-tour coronavirus testing, which will be carried out on

20 and 25 June, said Misbah. Pakistan will play Tests in Manchester (August 5-9) and Southampton (August 13-17 and 21-25).

The three Twenty20 inter-nationals will all be played in Southampton on August 28, 30 and September 1.

Sarfaraz, Alam and Sohail back for England tour

Teenage cricketing sensations Haider Ali and Naseem Shah have been picked for Pakistan’s tour of England next month.

Sarfaraz Ahmed, sacked as captain and excluded from all three formats last year in a surprise move, will also tour England and has a chance to play in the Twenty20 series.

Fawad Alam, a prolific scorer in domestic events but who has not been given a chance in a Test team since 2009, makes the squad.

17-year-old pacer Naseem Shah will be a star attraction.

Azhar Ali (Test captain), Babar Azam (Twen-ty20 captain), Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam- ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, KhushdilShah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mo- hammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, KashifBhatti, Shadab Khan, Yasir Shah

PAKISTAN SQUAD

g‘bio-secure’ environment, before the series of three Tests and three Twenty20 interna-tionals gets crackingon August 5.

S e v e n t e e n -year-old pacer Shahwill be a star attraction, having become the y o u n g e s t b o w l e r ever to take aT e s t

pdomestic tournament Quaid-

e-Azam Trophy last year.

Chief selector and head coach Misbah-

ul-Haq said selection of the unusually large team was difficult.

“The selectors have picked a squad which

gives us the b e s t

chance o f

successchallenplayers extendeMisbah.

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Sarfaraz Ahmed

Sammy: Nickname controversy is opportunity to educate on racismREUTERS — NEW DELHI

Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy (pictured) says he has accepted a former team mate’s explanation of a poten-tially racist nickname he was given at the Sunrisers Hyderabad and hopes the issue can be used to e d u c a t e p layers

about racism. Earlier this week, the 36-year-old sought clarifi-cation from his former team-mates over the nickname used for him when he was part of the Indian Premier League fran-

chise from 2013-14.Sammy said he did not

know the meaning of a Hindi word that some unnamed Sunrisers team-mates would call him and only became aware of its racial con-notations after watching a TV show that discussed

the issue.“I’m please(d) to

say that I’ve had a really inter-

esting conver-sation with

one of the guys and we are looking at ways t o educate rather t h a n

focusing on the nega-

tives,” Sammy tweeted. “My brother reassured me that he operated from a place of love and I believe him.”

Separately in a video, Sammy advocated awareness to fight racism.

“It’s a great opportunity to educate people about certain

things that have been said or done, that even though you don’t mean it in any way to be degrading to someone else, but the fact that it can be perceived to (be) that or it could mean that.”

The Sunrisers Hyderabad and Indian cricket board (BCCI) officials Reuters contacted declined to comment.

Several athletes have spoken out about racism in sport and society after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on May 25 after a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis.

While none of India’s frontline cricketers have com-mented on the issue, soccer captain Sunil Chhetri stressed the need to confront any racist behaviour.

“Racism comes from igno-rance,” Chhetri said in a statement issued by the coun-try’s football federation.

“If I see someone being racist, I would get hold of them and explain to them why what they are doing is wrong,” said the striker.

ywas given at the Sunrisers Hyderabad and hopes theissue can beused to e d u c a t e p layer s

Sammy said he did nknow the meaning oHindi word that somunnamed Sunriseteam-mates would chim and only becamaware of its racial conotations after watchia TV show that discuss

the issue.“I’m please(d)

say that I’ve hareally inte

esting convsation w

one of tguys awe alookiat wateducratht h a

focusing the neg

It’s a great opportunity to educate people about certain things that have been said or done, that even though you don’t mean it in any way to be degrading to someone else, but the fact that it can be perceived to (be) that or it could mean that: Daren Sammy

Coronavirus may force IPL out of India, says league's chairmanAFP — NEW DELHI

The Indian Premier League could be moved out of the country if the coronavirus pandemic does not ease in the next two months, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said yesterday.

“Let us first see, we will try to stage it in India and if the situation does not allow then we will certainly look at other options,” Patel said.

“We will see how the sit-uation is in the next month or two and then take a call accordingly,” said Patel, adding that options included staging the cash-rich tour-nament abroad.

Pandemic cases have surged in the nation of 1.3 billion people. India now has the fourth highest caseload in the world, concentrated in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai which are cricket hubs.

The UAE and Sri Lankan cricket boards have already shown interest in hosting the tournament this year.

Patel said the IPL is still looking at a window ahead of the T20 World Cup in Aus-tralia, which is scheduled for October-November.

But the International Cricket Council has deferred taking a decision on the fate of the T20 showpiece event because of pandemic worries.

“We are looking at a Sep-tember-October window for the IPL, but it depends on the other tournaments as well,” said Patel, who played 21 Tests for India, said.

“Nothing certain at the moment, but we are keeping our plans in place to make the IPL happen.”

The IPL is usually a seven-week tour-n a m e n t , although BCCI p r e s i d e n t Sourav Ganguly has said he expects it to be shortened this year.

India cancel Zimbabwe tour due to virus fears

REUTERS — NEW DELHI

India will not travel to Zimbabwe for a one-day international series in August due to the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said yesterday.

The move follows the BCCI’s decision on Thursday to postpone India’s limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka, which was originally scheduled for later this month.

India, who last visited Zimbabwe for a bilateral series in 2016, were due to play a three-match ODI series. The BCCI has not confirmed rescheduled dates for either of the tours.

“The BCCI is determined to take steps towards the resumption of international and domestic cricket,” Shah said in a statement.

“But it will not rush into any decision that will jeop-ardise the efforts put in by the

Central and State govern-ments and several other respective agencies in con-taining the spread of the coronavirus.”

England are scheduled to host the first international series since the novel corona-virus outbreak, when they face West Indies in a three-test series without fans in attendance starting on July 8 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

The BCCI said it will conduct a camp for its cen-trally contracted Indian crick-eters only when it is com-pletely safe to train outdoors.

India, who last visited Zimbabwe for a bilateral series in 2016, were due to play a 3-match ODI series. The Indian board has not confirmed rescheduled dates for either of the tours.

Head coach Arthur says Sri Lanka back at match levelAFP — COLOMBO

Sri Lanka are raring to play international cricket again even though India have postponed a tour planned for this month because of the coronavirus, head coach Mickey Arthur (pictured) said yesterday after his team completed a first post lockdown training session.

The “return-to-play” programme begun at the start of this month had been a success, Arthur told reporters as he wrapped up the first residential training for 13 players.

“We have done a lot of conditioning and every day we have upped their bowling,” Arthur said.

“So they are almost ready in the next month, they will be ready to play cricket.”

The next t r a i n i n g s e s s i o n is due i n

about a week even though Sri Lankan team still have no idea when they will play again.

India, who were due to visit Sri Lanka this month for three one-day internationals and three T20 matches, have

called off t h e

tour because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cricket on the island came to a halt on March 13 when England pulled out during a practice match ahead of a two-Test series.

Arthur had customised home-training regimes for many players in the national team after the lockdown was imposed on March 20.

A 24-hour curfew in Colombo was eased on May 27, but a night curfew is still in force.

Skipper Dimuth Karu-naratne said getting back to training after idling during the 24-hour curfew in the capital was not easy.

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SA cricket rift intensifies as supended CEO tries to return

AFP — JOHANNESBURG

The power struggle at the top of South African cricket escalated as Thabang Moroe said he was back in charge, but his board responded yesterday by saying the chief executive was still suspended.

Moroe attempted to return to work on Thursday, saying that a six-month suspension on full pay had expired. He was initially thwarted because the offices of Cricket South Africa (CSA) were in lockdown because of COVID-19, with staff working from home.

CSA responded with a statement in the early hours yesterday saying the sus-pension remained in force until the completion of a forensic investigation into allegations of misconduct. It promised that more “clarity and cer-tainty will be provided by the end of June”.

While Moroe has been suspended, major changes have taken place in the CSA administration under acting chief executive Jacques Faul, with former Test captain Graeme Smith appointed as director of cricket and former Test wick-etkeeper Mark Boucher as head coach, under an arrangement that largely side-lines the board.

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Qatar's champion T2 Rally driver Adel Abdulla (pictured) secured his third consecutive win in the qualifying rounds as he marched into the semi-finals of the Qatar Online Racing Cham-pionship's WRC8 series in a dominant manner.

The former FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies T2 cham-pion, Abdulla was no match for any of the drivers in his group (A) as he maintained over three min-

utes' lead ahead of his closest rival for the third consecutive time in the online rally series.

Abdulla, who has won all of the stages he competed in the first round, completed Thursday's stages

in 45:17.360, ahead of Mohamad Al Theri who booked the second spot

for the second time in the series. Abduilla was 3:46.633 faster

than Theri who managed to finish four seconds ahead of third placed Patrick Roux.

Group D also saw a clean sweep of victories with Oman Raklly champion Ammar Bulushi winning his third qualifying race in 44:33.120.

His compatr iot ,

Zakariya Al Ofi clinched the win in group C as both of them led their respective groups to advance.

The drivers will now head to the semi-final stage of the series, organised by the Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) where virtual races will take place in Chile (gravel terrain), Spain (asphalt + gravel) and Germany (asphalt) on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

Others who made it to the next stage were, Ahmed Al Kuwari, Khalid Al Maraghi, Misfer Al Hajri, Patrick Roux, QORC Touring Car Series champion Ahmed El Kholay, Ammar Bulushi, the Qatar Touring Car Championship M240 Class winner Abdulla Al Khelaifi, the runner-up in the same class, Hamad Al Sulaiti, Kuwaiti rally champion Mishari Al Thefiri and his Qatari partner Nasser Al Kuwari.

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Mueller, Lewandowski to miss Bayern's potential title-deciderAFP – BERLIN

Bayern Munich could secure an eighth straight Bundesliga title this weekend, but host Borussia Moenchengladbach today without suspended duo Thomas Mueller and Robert Lewand-owski.

Bayern will be confirmed champions with a win on Sat-urday if second-placed Borussia Dortmund lose at relegation-threatened Fortuna Duesseldorf earlier in the day.

That scenario would give Hansi Flick’s side an unas-sailable 10-point lead with three games remaining.

But Bayern are without Lewandowski, the league’s top scorer this season with 30 goals, and Mueller, who is one short of the Bundesliga record of 21 assists in a single campaign.

“It’s annoying, but we can’t do anything about it,” said Bayern coach Flick.

Thiago Alcantara has also been ruled out, for three weeks and needs an operation after struggling with a groin problem, Flick said yesterday.

Joshua Zirkzee, 19, is an option to replace Lewandowski up front while Serge Gnabry could start for Mueller if he is fit after a back injury.

Bayern proved they can score goals without Lewand-owski by thumping Hoffenheim 6-0 in late February when the Polish striker was injured.

They had a scare in Wednesday’s German Cup semi-final win over Eintracht Frankfurt, when Danny da Costa equalised for the visitors before Lewandowski sealed a

2-1 win with his 45th goal this season.

Mueller admitted Bayern were “tired”, “worn out” and scrapped their way to victory in the first of three games in six days.

But they are still in the running to repeat their 2013 treble having beaten Chelsea 3-0 away in their Champions League last-16 first leg before the com-petition was suspended in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fourth-placed Gladbach pulled off a shock 2-1 victory at

Borussia Park when the sides met last December.

But Marco Rose’s side have been erratic of late, crushing Union Berlin 4-1 at home at the end of May before stumbling to defeat at Freiburg last weekend.

Rose hopes to include Swiss forward Breel Embolo, with the 23-year-old fit after an ankle knock.

At the foot of the table, fallen giants Werder Bremen face a crucial game at Paderborn in a battle of the bottom two.

Florian Kohfeldt’s Bremen are six points from safety in 17th

and three off the relegation play-off place following back-to-back home defeats.

Bremen, who were in the Champions League a decade ago, have spent more seasons in the top flight than any other club, but are running out of time.

“We know how much is riding on this game,” said American forward Josh Sargent.

“This club has such a long history, and no one wants to let the team or the city down.” One to watch: Emre Can The Germany international scored

the winner in last weekend’s tense 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin despite playing as part of a back three.

The 26-year-old, who usually plays in midfield, has been a reliable figure for Dortmund since joining from Juventus in January.

He has shown his versatility by adding steel to a sometimes vulnerable side while still pro-viding an attacking threat, having also marked his debut in February with a stunning long-range strike against Bayer Leverkusen.

Romania resumes action without two virus-hit teams

REUTERS – BUCHAREST

Top-flight Romanian football is scheduled to resume today but without two of its teams, after coronavirus cases among their staff, professional league association LPF said yesterday.

With the competition already at the playoff stage, third-placed Uni-versitatea Craiova had been due to host fifth-placed FC Botosani yes-terday, but the match was cancelled after the visiting team’s doctor tested positive for COVID-19.

Later on Friday, Botosani said that a 17-year-old player, who was not included in the squad for the Universi-tatea game, also tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

All 34 players and staff members, who made the 10-hour trip from Craiova, were iso-lated after returning to Botosani, the club pres-ident Valeriu Iftime said.

“Those who live alone are isolated at their homes and the others, who have a wife, children... went to a hotel where everyone was accommodated in a single room,” he said.

The match between Dinamo Bucharest and Chindia Targoviste had been postponed on Thursday after a Dinamo official also contracted the virus.

Both virus-hit teams will be out of action until epidemiological investi-gations are completed.

“We want the return of football but the health of the players our first priority,” said LPF general secretary Justin Stefan.

Romania’s football federation suspended all soccer in the country due to the COVID-19 pan-demic in mid-March. As of yesterday, the Black Sea state had 21,404 con-firmed cases of the virus and 1,380 people have died.

Play-offs from among the bottom eight teams scheduled for today will now be the first matches of the re-start, with clashes featuring those of the top six teams still authorised to play taking place tomorrow.

Liverpool thrash Blackburn in warm-up friendlyREUTERS – LONDON

Liverpool cruised to a 6-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in a friendly behind closed doors at Anfield on Thursday as Juergen Klopp’s side stepped up their preparations for the Premier League restart next week.

First-team regulars Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Joel Matip got their names on the scoresheet along with Takumi Minamino and youngsters Ki-Jana Hoever and Leighton Clarkson in a con-vincing win over the Championship side.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and left back Andy Rob-ertson were left out of the squad as a precaution but Klopp was satisfied with how his players responded.

“We didn’t have enough first-team players,” Klopp told the club’s website. “So that’s why we decided to let three players go for 60 minutes.

“That’s OK. It looked really good, pretty much from the beginning.

“In the first game, we don’t have to be football-wise on our highest level, but we need to show that we are ready for compe-tition, that we are ready to defend, that we are ready to find solu-tions.” Liverpool, who are 25 points clear at the top of the standings and on the verge of clinching their first league title in 30 years, will restart their campaign against local rivals Everton at Goodison Park on June 21.

Klopp’s side will have a shot at securing the title by beating Everton if second-placed Manchester City lose to Arsenal on Wednesday.

BUNDESLIGA STANDINGS# TEAM PL W D L PTS 1 Bayern Munich 30 22 4 4 70 2 Borussia Dortmund 30 19 6 5 633 RB Leipzig 30 16 11 3 59 4 M'gladbach 30 17 5 8 56 5 Bayer Leverkusen 30 17 5 8 56 6 Wolfsburg 30 12 9 9 45 7 Hoffenheim 30 12 7 11 43 8 SC Freiburg 30 11 8 11 41 9 Hertha Berlin 30 10 8 12 38 10 Schalke 30 9 11 10 38

ENTRY LIST FOR SECOND ROUND GROUP AAhmed Al Kuwari, Khalid Al Maraghi, Mansour Dbeissy, Misfer Al Hajri, Patrick Roux, Zakariya Al Ofi GROUP BAdel Abdulla, Ahmed El Kholay, Ammar Bulushi, Hamad Al Sulaiti, Mishari Al Thefiri, Nasser Al Kuwari

QORC WRC8: Abdulla in clean sweep as top drivers advanceQORC WRC8 STANDINGS(AFTER THREE RALLIES)

GROUP A# Driver R1 R2 R3 Pts1 Adel Abdulla 40 40 40 1202 Misfer Al Hajri 36 33 31 1003 Patrick Roux 33 31 33 97

GROUP B1 Mansour Dbeissy 36 40 40 1162 Ahmed El Kholay 40 36 33 1093 Nasser Al Kuwari 31 33 31 95

GROUP C1 Zakariya Al Ofi 36 40 40 116 2 Hamad Al Sulaiti 40 36 33 109 3 Ahmed Al Kuwari 30 33 36 99

GROUP D1 Ammar Bulushi 40 40 40 120 2 Khalid Al Maraghi 36 36 36 108 3 Mishari Al Thefiri 31 33 33 97

GROUP A1. Adel Abdulla 45:17.360, 2. Mohamad Al Theri +3:46.633, 3. Patrick Roux +3:51.804 GROUP B1. Mansour Dbeissy 44:35.558, 2. Mohammed Al Attiyah +2:19.589, 3. Ahmed El Kholay +2:40.602

GROUP C1. Zakariya Al Ofi, 2. Ahmed Al Kuwari, 3. Hamad Al Sulaiti

GROUP D 1. Ammar Bulushi 44:33.120, 2. Khalid Al Maraghi +1.213, 3. Mishari Al Thefirib +1:02.243

ARGENTINA RALLY RESULTS

Bayern Munich’s German forward Thomas Mueller reacts during the German Cup (DFB Pokal) semi-final football match against Eintracht Frankfurt in Munich on Wednesday.

Liverpool's Roberto Firmino (centre) vies for the ball against Blackburn Rovers players during their warm-up match played on Thursday.Picture: Twitter / @LFC