SportFRIDAY 23 OCTOBER 2020

Cycling: Kelderman takes Giro d'Italia leadIt was a crazy day, super hard, the hardest day of my life. It was a super fight. It couldn't be any better for us with Jai getting the stage win and me in pink. We dropped Almeida quite early on the Stelvio and then it was a race -- Ineos was super strong with two guys and I couldn't hold them.

Sport | 15Wilco KeldermanDutch Cyclist

CYCLING : VUELTA A ESPANA STAGE THREE WINNER: Daniel Martin 4:27:49 2. OVERALL RACE LEADER: Primož Roglic 12:37:24 2

F1: Hamilton looks to go past Schumacher's mark of 91 winsAP — LISBON

On a circuit hosting its first Formula One race, Lewis Hamilton can finally stand alone among F1 greats by beating Michael Schumacher’s record for wins.

Victory at the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday would move the British driver onto 92 race wins, and surpass the German great’s mark of 91 that for so long had been con-sidered untouchable.

“I remember sitting at home watching the Grand Prixs and watching Michael win,” Hamilton said.

“I remember going upstairs with my brother afterwards and we would play computer games together and I would be Michael. So it’s very, very surreal.”

A win would also take Hamilton a step closer to matching Schumacher’s record of seven F1 champi-onship titles. He leads the championship by 69 points ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas after winning seven of the first 11 races, and with only five

remaining after Sunday’s contest at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

When Hamilton moved level with Schumacher on 91 wins at the Eifel GP in Germany two weeks ago, Schumacher’s son Mick Schu-macher - who leads the F2 championship - presented a visibly moved Hamilton with one of his father’s racing helmets from his time at Mercedes.

“I was really honored by Michael’s family when they presented me with this helmet,” Hamilton said.

It was Schumacher’s retirement from Mercedes

- and F1 itself - which opened the door for Hamilton

to make what was then considered a

risky move when he left

McLaren to join the S i l v e r Arrows.

Bottas led the Eifel GP after taking pole position, but then ceded first place to Hamilton after a clumsy braking e r r o r . A d e s p o n d e n t Bottas had to retire the car after 12 laps due to a failed electrical component in the engine.

“Seeing Lewis cross the line in Germany and take his 91st victory was a very special moment. Valtteri’s race, however, could not have gone much worse,” Mercedes’ head of motorsport Toto Wolff said.

“But one of Valtteri’s

biggest strengths is his resil-ience and his ability to bounce back.”

Still even a win in Portugal would do little for Bottas’ chances of catching Hamilton, unless his teammate endures some bad fortune of his own in the handful of races remaining.

Portugal’s 4.65-kilometer (2.9-mile) circuit - known as

Portimao - is an undulating one with frequent elevation changes and where over-taking is expected to be dif-ficult. It is the second new race of a coronavirus-hit campaign after the Tuscan GP at Mugello last month.

If Sunday’s race is any-thing as intense as that crash-marred one at Mugello, then F1 fans will be in for a treat.

For Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Mag-nussen it represents a chance to put themselves in the market for a seat next season. The US-owned team with Ferrari engines announced on Thursday that the duo will be replaced next year, having

scored only three points between them so far.

“ T h e l a s t chapter is closed and the book is finished,” said Grosjean, the veteran French driver.

F o r s u p e r s t a r Hamilton, the s t o r y continues.

Victory at the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday would move the British driver onto 92 race wins, and surpass the German great’s mark of 91 that for so long had been considered untouchable.

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Bottas led the Eifel GP aftertaking pole position, but then ceded first place to Hamilton after a clumsy braking e r r o r . A d e s p o n d e n t Bottas had to retire the car after 12 laps due to a failedelectrical component in theengine.

“Seeing Lewis cross theline in Germany and take his 91st victory was a very special moment. Valtteri’s race,however, could not have gone much worse,” Mercedes’ headof motorsport Toto Wolff said.

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Still even a win in Portugalwould do little for Bottas’chances of catching Hamilton, unless his teammate endures some bad fortune of his ownin the handful of racesremaining.

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Al Ahli face Al Sadd test as QSL allows more fansFAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

Points leaders Al Ahli will face their toughest test of the season so far when they host former champions Al Sadd in their fifth round clash of the QNB Stars League (QSL) on Sunday.

The fifth round, which will begin tomorrow with two matches scheduled at the Qatar SC Stadium, will see more fans visiting the venues after QSL decided to increase the quota of fans at the stadiums.

“In line with the continuous reviews of coronavirus pan-demic-related protocols which the Qatar Stars League follows in co-operation with the Min-istry of Public Health, it has been decided to increase the number of tickets allowed to be purchased through the official website (tickets.qsl.qa) to four tickets per person starting from Week 5 of the 2020-21 season

QNB Stars League and Round 4 of the Ooredoo Cup,” QSL said in a statement yesterday.

The QSL added basic pre-cautionary measures including green status of the Ehteraz App, use of masks during games and maintaining a safe distance in

addition to ban on all kinds of food inside the stadiums will be continued.

Top of the table clash Meanwhile, Sunday’s match

between Al Ahli and Al Sadd will determine the top spot after the Brigadiers had a perfect start to the new season with four consecutive victories.

The Nebojsa Jovovic-coached side defeated Al Wakrah (2-1), Al Arabi (2-0), Al Khor (1-0) and Al Sailiya (2-0) for a dream start in the new QSL edition.

On the other hand, giants Al Sadd, who are placed second with 10 points, are high on con-fidence after they outwitted reigning champions Al Duhail in their deferred match on Wednesday. Al Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez said the away win over Al Duhail, gave a good momentum to his side that will be important in the coming matches.

“The team’s situation was difficult before the start of the match, especially as our striker Baghdad Bounedjah is not with us because of injury, but all of the team’s players gave their best,” said Xavi.

“We are now in a good moment and we must take advantage of this in the next matches. I am happy with the victory and I hope that we will benefit from this good per-formance in the upcoming matches,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sunday will feature another blockbuster game with former champions Al Rayyan taking on Al Duhail at Al Gharafa Stadium.

Last season’s runners-up Al Rayyan are placed fourth with seven points while Al Duhail are fifth in the standings.

Tomorrow 5:30pm: Al Wakrah vs Al Arabi

at Qatar SC Stadium7:45pm: Qatar SC vs Umm Salal

at Qatar SC StadiumSunday

5:30pm: Al Ahli vs Al Sadd at Al Ahli Stadium

7:45pm: Al Rayyan vs Al Duhail at Al Gharafa Stadium

Monday5:30pm: Al Sailiya vs Al Gharafa

at Al Ahli Stadium7:45pm: Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Khor

at Al Khor Stadium

QSL: ROUND 5 FIXTURES

Al Ahli's players celebrate a goal during their QSL match against Al Sailiya last week.

Lewis Hamilton

I regret US Open and Roland Garros failures: Djokovic

REUTERS — BELGRADE

Novak Djokovic has played some of the best tennis of his life in 2020 but he regrets the failure to win either the US Open or the French Open in his bid to become the world’s most trophy-laden player, the world number one said yesterday.

Having won the Australian Open in January, Djokovic was disqualified at the US Open after inadvertently hitting a line judge in the neck with a petulant swipe of the ball during his fourth-round clash with Pablo Carreno Busta.

He was then blown away by Carreno Busta’s Spanish compatriot and world number two Rafael Nadal in straight sets at Roland Garros.

“There is a lingering regret that I didn’t win either the US Open or the Roland Garros this year,” a bearded Djokovic told reporters in drenching sun at his tennis academy in downtown Belgrade by the Danube river.

“I was in outstanding form at both events but having reached the French Open final, I was beaten by a player who was much better on the day.

“I was below par and that’s it. As far as the US Open is concerned, I got myself into an unfortunate situation and was dis-qualified, but I won several other big tour-naments. The US Open disqualification notwithstanding, I have only lost one match all season and I’ve played some of the best tennis of my life.”

UMM BAB CUPAl Naama (FR), Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle, Soufiane Saadi

PUREBRED ARABIAN MAIDEN PLATE Veverka Py (FR), Mohammed Nasser Al-Naimi, Killian Leonard

LOCAL PUREBRED ARABIANS (3-Year-Old Fillies Only)AJS Beirut, Rashid Al Ali, Alexander Reznikov

THOROUGHBRED NOVICE PLATE (Class 5) Damon Runyon (GB), Mohammed Hamad Al Attiya, Alberto Sanna

THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 4)Jabalaly (IRE), Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim Al Malki, Soufiane Saadi

LOCAL PUREBRED ARABIAN HANDICAPDalilak (QA), Mohammed Riyaz Ibrahim Kasim, Alberto Sanna

THOROUGHBRED PLATE (3 Year Olds) (Class 2) Think Big (IRE), Georges Mikhalides, Tomas Lukasek

THOROUGHBRED CONDITIONS (Class 2)Dominus (IRE), Stefano Ibido, Luca Maniezzi

Umm Bab Cup: Soufiane guides Al Naama to glory

UMM BAB CUPYesterday’s Winners (Horse, Trainer, Jockey)

Soufiane Saadi guiding Al Shaqab Racing’s homebred Al Naama to victory

in Umm Bab Cup during fourth race

meeting of the season at QREC's Al Rayyan Park,

yesterday. It was sixth victory for

Alban de Mieulle-trained 6-year-old

mare. RIGHT: Saadi receiving the

winner's trophy after the victory.

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15FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER 2020Sport

Horses are put through their paces by the handlers at Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) Outdoor Arena ahead of the start of the second round of the Longines Qatar Equestrian Tour Hathab. The second round will have competitions in three categories with riders battling for honours in Small, Medium and Big Tour events. The 12-round series will end in March next year. The series is supported by The Social & Sport Contribution Fund. Competitions today and tomorrow will commence at 3:00pm.

Vet check at QEF'S Outdoor Arena

Lowe rewards Rays’ faith with homers in Series-levelling winAFP - ARLINGTON, UNITED STATES

Brandon Lowe had the backing of his Rays teammates and manager Kevin Cash, but even so his post-season struggles at the plate were weighing on him.

“To say that my mind wasn’t going different places during that struggle would be lying,” Lowe said yestersday, after breaking out of his slump with two home runs in Tampa Bay’s World Series leveling 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The All-Star second baseman had a regular-season batting average of.269 with an on base percentage of.361. He belted 14 home runs in 56 games in the pandemic-shortened campaign.

But the 26-year-old had been dismal in the post-season, going 6-for-56 with 19 strikeouts. But Cash never gave up on

him. “With Brandon in particular, we’re not here if it wasn’t for him,” Cash said when asked before Wednesday’s game if it was faith, hope or sheer stub-bornness that had him opting not to shake up his batting order as Lowe and others struggled.

“We all wanted to see him get hot,” Cash said. “And it’s getting magnified simply because it is Brandon Lowe, and what he did throughout the season.

“But we’ve got a number of guys throughout this lineup that we would like to see get hot and (we) continue to have confidence that they will.”

Lowe certainly did. Batting in his usual Number Two spot in the order, he homered with one out in the first off Dodgers rookie starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin. He added a two-out, two-run homer off Dodgers reliever Dustin May in the fifth inning, becoming the 55th

player with multiple homers in a World Series game.

“I think B-Lowe set the tone,” said Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell, who pitched 4 2/3 innings of no-hit ball. “When he hit the first home run, it kind of got everyone juiced up. From that point you felt the momentum leaning our way for the rest of the game.”

The Rays’ pleasure in Lowe’s break-through was palpable. Shortstop Willy Adames’ congratulatory greeting was particularly enthusiastic.

“The second one he about toppled me over,” Lowe said.

That kind of support, however, comes as no surprise to Lowe.

“There were times I wasn’t feeling too good,” he said. “That’s what’s so great about this team -- as soon as I started dragging my feet there was someone there to lift me up.”

Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe celebrates with teammates after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in game two of the 2020 World Series at Globe Life Field.

Team Sunweb rider Netherlands’ Wilco Kelderman crosses the finish line at the end of the 18th stage of the Giro d’Italia 2020 cycling race, a 207-kilometer route between Pinzolo and Laghi di Cancano, yesterday.

Cycling: Kelderman takes lead as Stelvio climb blows Giro apartREUTERS - ROME

Dutchman Wilco Kelderman took over as leader of the Giro d’Italia as the fearsome Stelvio climb blew the race apart during a brutal and mesmerizing stage 18 battle yesterday.

Kelderman (Sunweb) began the day 17 seconds behind long-time race leader Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) whose hopes of wearing the maglia rosa all the way to Milan were shattered.

Portuguese Almeida cracked halfway up the steep and twisty 24km Stelvio and although he dug deep he had lost three minutes before the summit as Kel-derman took over as virtual leader with a 20km descent and another tough climb still to come.

Kelderman was also distanced as he picked his way around the 48 hairpins, leaking 47 seconds to eventual stage winner Jai Hindley (Sunweb) and Briton Tao Geoghegan Hart, led brilliantly up the climb by Ineos Grenadiers team mate Rohan Dennis.

After a freezing descent through the snowfields and ahead of the day’s final climb to the finish of the 207km Queen’s stage, Kelderman looked to be going backwards as he desperately snacked on gel bars to recover some energy.

But he had just enough left in the tank up the final 9km Torrri di Fraele to take over the maglia rosa.

His lead looks fragile, though, with tomorrow’s 20th stage to Sestriere still looking tough, despite the Colle dell’Agnello and the Col de l’Izoard climbs being scrapped because of the French authorities barring the race from crossing the border because of tightening COVID-19 restrictions.

While Kelderman hung on grimly, up the road his Australian teammate Hindley powered to the stage win just ahead of Geoghegan Hart, both of whom finished two minutes and 18 seconds ahead of Kelderman to launch themselves firmly into contention for the overall victory in Milan.

Kelderman will take a 12-second lead into stage 19 with Geoghegan Hart 15 seconds behind.

The sight of Hindley leaving team-mate Kelderman to fend for himself was odd, but it paid off.

Spain’s Pello Bilbao (Bahrain McLaren) finished strongly to move into fourth place overall, one minute and 19 seconds back, with Almeida, race leader since stage three, now in fifth spot, having lost almost five minutes on Thursday.

“I’m proud of what I did,” an emotional Almeida said. “I’m happy. On the other hand, I lost the pink jersey. They were just super strong. I’m not at their level.”

He was in good company as former champion Vincenzo Nibali also cracked on the Stelvio to end hopes of an Italian winner when the race concludes in Milan on Sunday.

IANS - DUBAI

An unbeaten 140-run part-nership for the third wicket between Manish Pandey (83 not out) and Vijay Shankar (52 not out) guided SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) to an eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) yesterday and kept their team in contention for play-offs of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

SRH chased down a target of 155 with 11 balls to spare after surviving the early headway made by a fiery early spell from Jofra Archer (2/21) at the Dubai International Stadium yesterday.

Shankar hit a four to take SRH over the line and bring up his half century off the first ball of the 19th and penultimate over of the innings. While Pandey hit eight sixes and four fours while Shankar hit four fours.

Archer gave RR a strong start to their defence, dis-missing SRH openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow in his first two overs. SRH were on 16/2 wickets when Shankar joined Pandey in the middle.

Smith took Archer off the attack after which Pandey went on the counter and shifted momentum back his team’s way.

While Shankar took the role of holding up the other end, he shifted gears after the 12th over and eventually took on Archer himself.

Smith decided to let Archer bowl his last over in the 16th and while the England fast bowler had figures of 2/8 wickets at the start of the over, Shankar hit three consecutive fours off him to all but end RR’s chances of making a comeback.

Earlier, Holder led the way as SRH restricted RR to 154/6 wickets. Brought in as replacement for the injured Kane Williamson, Holder took the important wickets of Sanju Samson (36), RR captain Steve Smith (19) and the dangerous Riyan Parag (20) and ended the innings with figures of 3/33.

Brief scores: RR: 154/6 wkts in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 36, Ben Stokes 30; Jason Holder 3/33) lost to SRH 156/2 wkts in 18.1 overs (Manish Pandey 83 not out, Vijay Shankar 52 not out) by 8 wkts

Manish Pandey of Sunrisers Hyderabad in action during an Indian Premier

League (IPL) match against Rajasthan Royals in Dubai yesterday.

IPL: Pandey, Shankar lead SRH to 8-wicket win over RR

India 'given all clear to quarantine in Sydney'REUTERS - SYDNEY

Cricket Australia have been given the all clear for the India squad to quarantine in Sydney ahead of their blockbuster Test series around the New Year, The Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday.

The tourists had been scheduled to arrive in Brisbane and undergo quarantine there before playing six short-form inter-nationals in Queensland and moving on to Adelaide for the first Test in early December.

With time running out before the arrival of the players next month, and negotiations with Queensland health offi-cials stalling over aspects of Cricket Aus-tralia’s plans, however, the governing body started exploring other options.

The Sydney Morning Herald said the New South Wales government had approved CA’s plans only 72 hours after they were lodged, clearing the way for the tourists to arrive in Sydney and play the short form matches there and in Canberra.

Cricket Australia offered no comment on the report.

The Indian and many of the top Aus-tralian players will be arriving from the United Arab Emirates where the Indian Premier League (IPL) concludes on November 10. An agreement with the New South Wales government would allow Cricket Australia to finally confirm the international schedule for the home season, including the four tests against India in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Meanwhile fears that the COVID-19 pandemic might have a dire impact on women’s sport in Australia have eased in recent months and yesterday 120 of the world’s best cricketers were gathered in Sydney for the 2020 Women’s Big Bash

League. Sports bodies have been hit hard in the pocket by the global health crisis but while international competition remains problematic, women’s pro-grammes and tournaments have largely survived, altered but intact.

The WBBL Twenty20 tournament gets underway on Sunday and will take place entirely in Sydney with the players clois-tered in a bio-secure bubble at the vast sports complex built for the 2000 Olympics Games.

The 2019 edition of the eight-team tournament was the first as a standalone product and attracted good crowds and TV audiences. That fed into the enthu-siasm for the Women’s World Cup, which attracted a crowd of 86,174 to the Mel-bourne Cricket Ground to watch Australia beat India in the final -- just as the first novel coronavirus outbreak hit the country.

“There (are) high expectations for this season off the back of the biggest ever year for the women’s game,” said Cricket Australia’s Alistair Dobson.

Any cricketers not in action on Sunday will be able to hear the cheers of the crowd at the Olympic Stadium for the women’s rugby league final between the double defending champion Brisbane Broncos and the Sydney Roosters.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced last week that the 13th season of the W-League would kick off on Dec. 27 as excitement begins to build towards the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which Aus-tralia will host with New Zealand.

Rugby union also announced its women’s domestic season yesterday with six teams taking part in seven matches in November, giving players from the Wal-laroos national team vital playing time ahead of next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.