SPORT

Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires: Qatar’s Barrow, Abdelaziz advance in dominant manner

Monday 15 October 2018

PAGE | 28 PAGE | 30Lakers seek a

turnaround in new NBA season

Pakistan under pressure to win, says Azhar

Füchse Berlin eye third Super Globe title in DohaTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Favourites and last year’s runner-up Füchse Berlin will be looking to secure their third IHF Super Globe title when the blockbuster handball cham-pionship begins in Doha tomorrow.

The German giants will make their fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament.

The team secured their place at their maiden Super Globe, in 2015, as winners of the EHF Cup – the second-tier international European club competition after the Cham-pions League. In 2018, the situ-ation is the same, as the ‘Foxes’ from the German capital raised their second EHF Cup earlier this year and were thereafter the IHF selection as the Wild Card entrant.

“It’s a big honour for us as EHF Cup champions to be part of the tournament. It’s the best-manned tournament of the world for clubs – and for us as Füchse Berlin, it will be a big challenge,” says the club’s Man-aging Director Bob Hanning.

Playing in the toughest

domestic league in the world, Füchse Berlin bring plenty of experience and a well-oiled team to the Super Globe. With the dates of the event falling later in the year than previous Super Globes, the squads have had more time to settle into the season and integrate new players.

Berlin have a strong record in the Super Globe, taking the title on their first participation and defending it one year later. In 2017, Barcelona avenged their one-goal semi-final loss to Füchse at the 2015 edition, winning the final and leaving Berlin with the silver medal.

“It’s a wonderful tournament and our dream is to reach our third title in Doha, since our vic-tories in 2015 and 2016,” says Wiede, outlining the team’s clear goal to reclaim the trophy in 2018.

The Foxes will start their campaign against Brazilian club Handebol Taubate in the quarter-final. The winner of that encounter will take on either Al Sadd or Sydney University Handball Club in the semi-final stage.

Qatar’s Owaab Barrow clears the final hurdle on his way to win the Men’s 110m hurdles Stage 1 - Heat 3 during the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in Argentina on Saturday. The 17-year-old Qatari athlete clocked a personal best of 13.33 secs to qualify for stage two which will take place tomorrow. RIGHT: Qatar’s Mohamed Abdelaziz (centre) winning the Men’s 200m Stage 2 - Heat 3 on Saturday. The Qatari teenager clocked a personal best of 21.10 secs to make it to tomorrow’s second stage.

Al Sadd and Füchse Berlin players in action during last year's IHF Super Globe semi-final in Doha.

Jana Al Kiki performing on the Mall of Qatar stage in this file photo.

Qatari gymnasts gunning to impress home fansTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Coming fresh from the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia, Team Qatar’s Ahmed Nabil, Ahmed Al Dayani and Jana Al Kiki are getting ready compete along with World and Olympic champions during the 48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Doha.

The prestigious event will take place from October 25 to November 3 at the Aspire Dome.

Participating at the recent Asian Games has helped the three young gymnasts to prepare and get used to competing at major events. Right before the Asian Games, both Nabil and Al Dayani attended a training camp in Romania while Al Kiki trained in Portugal.

Al Kiki, the 16-year-old, was exposed to world class environment during her first Asian Games partici-pation, which added to her experience and readiness for the big Championships. She also competed with world class gymnasts during the World Cup in Doha in March 2018. She will be going head to head with many of gymnastics greatest female athletes in the Vault, Balance Beam and Floor exercise events at the World Champion-ships in Doha.

Aspire Academy graduate, Nabil is not a stranger at his very own competition venue. The 18-year-old competed at the Aspire Dome in March 2018 when Doha hosted the 11th edition of the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup. 2017 was a great year for Nabil, he won his first inter-national gold medal in the horizontal bar event at the

Arabian Gymnastics Cham-pionships 2017 in Tunisia and he was the youngest of all competitors at the 47th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Mon-treal. The young gymnast now looks forward to com-peting at the World Cham-pionships and meet his all-time favourite Japan’s Kohei Uchimura.

Al Dayani, who started gymnastics when he was eight years old, has won over 20 gold medals at various GCC competitions and Arab Championships. He is also an Aspire

Academy graduate and competes in all six appa-ratus (floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and hor-izontal bar) but specialises on the pommel horse where he has won most of his medals.

Al Dayani competed in last year’s World Champi-onships in Montreal but competing at the Summer Olympics has always been a dream for Al Dayani. The 25 year old competed at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and made it to the finals.

Ahmed Al Dayani in action on the pommel horse in this file photo.

A file picture of Qatari gymnast Ahmed Nabil competing at an event

in Doha.

AFP

SHANGHAI: The “new” Novak Djokovic warned that he was gunning for Rafael Nadal’s world number one ranking after winning the Shanghai Masters with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Borna Coric yesterday.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion has been imperious all week and barely offered a sniff to the 19th-ranked Croatian, a good friend and sometime-training partner.

The end when it inevitably arrived was anti-climactic, with the Serb winning the champi-onship point after a video review.

Djokovic buried his head in his hand at the absurdity of it.

The 31-year-old will leapfrog Roger Federer into second in the world when the rankings are released today but will not stop there as the season reaches its climax.

Spanish great Nadal, who was not in Shanghai or Beijing last week because of a knee injury, will be just 215 points ahead of Djokovic in the race to finish as year-end number one.

“I could not ask for a better scenario,” Djokovic, who last sat atop the rankings two years ago, said of his late surge to the summit of men’s tennis.

“I am very close now to Nadal in the rankings and put myself in a good position for the last period of the year.”

Red-hot Djokovic has now

been victorious in 18 ATP matches in a row and in recent months won Wimbledon, the Cincinnati Masters, the US Open and now Shanghai for a fourth time.

It is all a far cry from just five months ago, when Djokovic fell to 22nd in the world as he struggled following elbow surgery in February.

He missed the second half of 2017 with elbow and off-court

issues, but said he had adapted his game since the operation.

Djokovic, who has been par-ticularly dominant on his serve, not dropping one service game in Shanghai, said: “I think you’re seeing the new Novak.

“I don’t need to describe him, that’s all I can say.

“I had to reinvent myself and find, you know, (a) proper formula for success.

“I found it and I’m just trying

to hold on to it as long as I can.”Asked if he had a message

for the under-pressure Nadal, the Serb smiled: “I will leave that up to your creative spirit of journalism.”

The 32-year-old Nadal could return from his latest injury for the Paris Masters, which starts at the end of this month.

Djokovic said he could play Vienna or Basel, the week before Paris, in an effort to further rein in his rankings rival.

The 21-year-old Coric said that he had no complaints about losing to “one of the best in the history of tennis”.

In what was the biggest match of his life, he wore heavy strapping on one thigh and has been troubled by a stiff neck that

saw him ponder pulling out before the tournament.

But he refused to blame those for defeat to the man he considers something of an idol.

“He was the much better player on the court. I was playing good, really, I was really happy how I played,” he said.

“I felt even if I was serving a little bit better, he’d still return my serves, so there is nothing I can do.”

Coric, the 13th seed, was chasing only the third title of his career and defeated top seed Federer in the semi-finals to underline his rich promise.

He also dispensed of three-time Grand Slam winner and Federer’s fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in his opening match.

SPORT 27MONDAY 15 OCTOBER 2018

Kuwait vs AustraliaCroatia vs Jordan

Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina

FOOTBALL YOUTH OLYMPICSIt can be a frustrating profession when you sit on the re-serve bench like he did in four test matches in England.

He got his opportunity here and he grabbed it with both hands... He’s given us a (selection) headache and it’s a

very good headache.

I think you’re seeing the new

Novak. I had to reinvent myself

and find, you know, (a) proper

formula for success. I found it and

I’m just trying to hold on to it as

long as I can: Djokovic

Dominant Djokovic wins Shanghai Masters

Garcia takes Tianjin trophy over PliskovaAP

TIANJIN, CHINA: Second-seeded Caroline Garcia won her first tournament of the year with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win over top-seeded Karolina Pliskova in the Tianjin Open yesterday.

It was the 16th-ranked Garcia’s first title since she won back-to-back trophies at the Wuhan and Beijing tournaments in Asia just over a year ago.

The Frenchwoman’s two titles at the end of last season earned her a spot into the year-end WTA Finals in Singapore.

This year, the victory in Tianjin is not enough to put Garcia into a second consecutive year-end final appearance.

Pliskova’s failure to take the title also kept her from confirming a berth in the WTA Finals.

Currently in eighth place in the race to Sin-gapore, the Czech will have to wait out the results from next week’s tournaments in Luxembourg and Moscow to see if she qualifies for one of the three remaining spots. Pliskova is scheduled to play in Moscow.

American Sloane Stephens, Ukrainian Elena Svitolina and Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens are the other remaining contenders for Singapore.

Garcia was down 1-5 in the first set tiebreaker before she rebounded. She saved a set point for Pliskova at 5-6 to go on to win the hour-long first set.

In the second set, Garcia raced to a 5-0 lead, and first served for the match at 5-1, but had to wait for her victory to come three games later.

She secured the title with her sixth ace of the match.

Yastremska claims maiden WTA titleAFP

HONG KONG: Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska said yesterday she was dreaming of a Grand Slam after she crushed Chinese number one Wang Qiang 6-2, 6-1 at the Hong Kong Open to claim her first ever title.

The 18-year-old comprehen-sively outplayed the world number 24 to win the tournament without losing a set all week, walking away with a cheque for $163,265 and more than doubling her career winnings at a stroke.

Wang -- who has been touted by some as a potential successor to Chinese tennis icon Li Na -- was chasing her third title but was never in the match, which was over in little more than an hour.

Despite chants of “Keep going Wang Qiang!” ringing out in Can-tonese round the Centre Court, the 26-year-old appeared curiously listless, the day after she had put both world number five Elina Svi-tolina and former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza to the sword.

Until yesterday, Yastremska’s chief claim to fame had been 2016 Wimbledon girls singles finalist, but earlier this year she became the first player born this mil-lennium to break into the WTA top 100 rankings.

She did not appear over-whelmed appearing in her first final, despite saying she had woken up so nervous she could not eat.

“I thought it would be more difficult,” she said.

“But if before the match you think it’s going to be really difficult you up your focus, and when you go on court you stay more dedi-cated to each point, that’s what helped me to stay that calm during the whole match.”

She instantly put her opponent under pressure by forcing two break points in the opening service game, eventually breaking Wang to go 4-2 up, and claimed the set with a blistering backhand return.

Yastremska started the second set in much the same style, imme-diately breaking Wang with a forehand winner.

But the Ukrainian’s nerves were on display in the long final game of the match, serving a total of three double faults.

She won her maiden title with a heavy serve, and stood on court for a moment looking dumbfounded.

The world number 102 said she was not “a star yet”, adding she had no time to celebrate as she flies out of Hong Kong to prepare for her next tournament in Luxembourg.

Wang blamed fatigue for her flat performance after a frenetic summer and autumn which seen her claim two titles, a host of big name scalps and a gold medal at the Asian Games.

“I think I was really tired after the last two months,” she said.

“It was really tough to play against (Yastremska) -- she played really aggressive, not too many mistakes, good serve, good return.”

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates with the trophy after winning the the Shanghai Masters final against Borna Coric of Croatia.

The 14-time Grand Slam

champion closes in on

Rafael Nadal’s world

number one ranking

with a 6-3, 6-4 victory

over Borna Coric.

Djokovic will leapfrog

Roger Federer into

second in the world

when the rankings are

released today .

Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine serves during her

women’s singles final match against Wang Qiang of China

at the Hong Kong Open tennis tournament yesterday.

TO

DAY

’SA

CTIO

NIndian coach

Ravi Shastri on Umesh Yadav

AFP

LOS ANGELES: LeBron James embarks on the latest and possibly final chapter of his glit-tering career with the basketball world watching and wondering if the greatest player of his generation can deliver a Hollywood ending.

Ever since James confirmed his blockbuster move to the Los Angeles Lakers in July, sceptics have asked whether the 33-year-old’s move to California was motivated by basketball or his budding entertainment industry portfolio.

If James was truly deter-mined to add more champi-onship rings to his collection of three titles, the theory went, a more logical destination would have been Houston or Phila-delphia, where his arrival might have elevated either franchise to potential super-team status.

Instead he opted for the Lakers, mired in mediocrity after the worst five-year period in club history and failing to make the playoffs since 2013.

“Strictly a business decision,” was the withering verdict of TNT commentator Charles Barkley on James’ move.

“He’s on the downside of his career. He wants to be a big Hol-lywood mogul. He’s going to be driving by the beach every day.”

James and those familiar with his reasons for choosing the Lakers have dismissed the sceptics out of hand.

“My decision was based solely on my family and the Lakers,” James said.

“I’m a basketball player. I play ball, that’s what I do. That’s what I live by, and when I do it the way I do it, everything takes care of itself.”

And as James points out, his successful forays into the enter-tainment world, which have included movie roles and docu-mentary and television pro-ducing, were well-established before his arrival in Tinseltown.

“My business took care of itself way before I became part of the Lakers franchise,” James said.

There is also plenty of evi-dence to refute the suggestion that James, who turns 34 in December, is a fading force.

During last season’s run to the NBA Finals, he frequently demonstrated that he remains capable of putting a team on his back, at times dragging Cleveland single-handedly over the line as they reached the NBA Finals for a fourth consecutive year.

Whether the component parts of the Lakers roster can give him enough support to provide a credible challenge this season remains to be seen, but certainly the oddsmakers in Las Vegas aren’t ruling it out.

Within hours of James announcing his decision to move to Los Angeles, the Lakers were

installed as second favourites to win the NBA championship, with only the Golden State Warriors ahead of them.

Statistically, the odds favour James. In a 15-year career his teams have won 50 or more games in 11 seasons. His arrival should be good enough to take the Lakers, who finished with 35 wins last year, into the postseason.

Young talents such as Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma will surely benefit from James direction and on-court savvy.

James, however, has been careful to rein in early expecta-tions about what the Lakers can achieve this year, warning that any challenge to Golden State’s domination of the league remains a distant speck on the horizon.

“We’ve got a long way to go to get to Golden State,” James said.

“They can pick up right where they left off, starting with training camp. We’re picking up from scratch. So we have a long way to go.

The early evidence of a James-inspired Lakers renewal have been encouraging however.

James put up 15 points, 10

rebounds and five assists in a 123-113 pre-season victory over the Warriors on Wednesday. A Lakers line-up without James then repeated the feat in a 119-105 win on Friday.

Lance Stephenson, who like James arrived in the off-season, is in no doubt about the four-time NBA MVP’s impact on the franchise.

“The focus and communica-tions skills with everyone starts with LeBron,” Stephenson said. “His communications skills are incredible, and it’s contagious and it helps the whole team.” James, meanwhile, has cautioned that the Lakers remain a work in progress.

“We’re a new ball club trying to get better. We’re all new to each other. We have to take our bumps and our bruises, there’s going to be good times and bad times. That’s what happens with a team that’s new,” he said.

28 MONDAY 15 OCTOBER 2018SPORT

We’re a new ball club

trying to get better.

We’re all new to each

other. We have to take

our bumps and our

bruises, there’s going

to be good times and

bad times. That’s what

happens with a team

that’s new: James

James-inspired Lakers seek a turnaround in new season

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates

on the bench against the Golden State Warriors during

the fourth quarter at SAP Center on Saturday.

Pastrnak hat-trick leads Bruins in rout of WingsREUTERS

NEW YORK: David Pastrnak scored his second career hat -trick, Jake DeBrusk added two goals and Patrice Bergeron had three assists as the Boston Bruins cruised to an 8-2 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

Anders Bjork had a goal and an assist, Charlie McAvoy and Sean Kuraly also scored goals and Brad Marchand, Brandon

Carlo and David Krejci each had two assists for Boston, which has won four in a row since a season-opening 7-0 loss at defending Stanley Cup champion Washington. The Bruins have outscored their opponents 22-6 during the streak.

Tuukka Rask had 32 saves for the Bruins, who improved to 15-1-1 in their last 17 games against Detroit, including seven wins in a row.

Filip Hronek scored the first

goal of his NHL career, and Dylan Larkin added a short-handed goal for Detroit. Jonathan Bernier had 31 saves for the winless Red Wings, who are off to their worst start since beginning 0-5 in the 1980-81 season.

Golden Knights 1, Flyers 0 Cody Eakin scored with 1:25

remaining in the third period, and Vegas ended a three-game losing streak with a win at Philadelphia.

Eakin fired a shot from the left circle for his second goal of the season on a pass from Ryan Carpenter.

The Golden Knights needed a spectacular save by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who sprawled across the crease to get his glove on a shot by Philadel-phia’s Claude Giroux with 38 seconds left.

Oilers 2, Rangers 1 Connor McDavid scored a

power-play goal 6:23 into the third period and added an assist as Edmonton picked up its first win of the season at New York.

McDavid has either scored or assisted on all of Edmonton’s five goals this season. He recorded the secondary assist on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ first goal of the season in the opening period. McDavid scored the tie-breaking goal when he put a backhander -- after getting a cross-ice pass from Leon Drai-saitl while positioned at the left side of the net -- in the low slot off Henrik Lundqvist’s left leg.

Senators 5, Kings 1 Chris Wideman enjoyed his

first career two-goal game, scoring in the first and third periods for host Ottawa in a rout of Los Angeles. Wideman’s multi-goal effort came in his 161st career game and one day shy of the anniversary of his last goal.

Detroit Red Wings defenceman Joe Hicketts (2) and Boston Bruins right wing Chris Wagner play for the puck during the second period at TD Garden in their NHL games on Saturday.

Cavaliers bullish on future without JamesAFP

LOS ANGELES: Life without LeBron James won’t be easy for the rebuilding Cleveland Cavaliers, who are expected to take a significant step back after their native son’s departure to California.

After carrying the Cavs to four consecutive NBA Finals appearances, including a memorable first champi-onship win in 2016, James joined the Los Angeles Lakers to create a gaping hole in the team he left behind.

Yet James’ former team-mates are adamant that they can step up to fill the void.

Kevin Love thinks Cleveland are going to sur-prise a lot of people.

“Losing the best player in the world, we’re going to have a fresh start,” Love said.

“We have first- and second-year guys who have to make an impact, and then veteran guys who have playoff experience under their belt.” Tristan Thompson also believes any team under-estimating the Cavs will be making a mistake.

“We’re a playoff team. That’s realistic,” Thompson said after Cleveland suffered a 129-110 loss to Detroit.

“Everyone that says playoffs is overachieving doesn’t know our squad and doesn’t believe in our squad. For us, we’re a playoff team.

“We just have to go out there, be ourself and prove the naysayers wrong, which we will.” Maybe James simply outgrew the Cavaliers when he left the first time. But this time around Cavaliers’ fans aren’t burning jerseys for taking his talents to Hol-lywood. Who can fault someone who brought the city its first title in 52 years, took them to the finals four straight seasons and built a school for special needs youth that will serve as a big part of James’ legacy for years to come.

Turkey’s Onur Balkan poses for a photo after he won Turkey’s Beauties classification for the second time in his career within the 54th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey, yesterday.

Madsen wins time-trial battle of the big DanesAFP

LES HERBIERS, FRANCE: Dane Martin Toft Madsen won the prestigious French time-trialling event the Chrono des Nations yesterday, edging his compatriot Mikkel Bjerg by seven seconds.

It was a second straight victory for experience over youth in the event. The 19-year-old Bjerg, recently crowned world under-23 time trial champion, could not gain revenge for last year, when he

also finished second to Madsen.Bjerg led at the interme-

diate time check but the 33-year-old Madsen was stronger in the closing stages.

French veteran Sylvain Chavanel, 39, finished fifth in his last race. He won the Chrono in 2014. Vincenzo Nibali, who had replaced world champion Alejandro Valverde as the event’s headliner, and was racing a day after finishing second in the 241km Tour of Lombardy, finished eighth almost three minutes behind.

29MONDAY 15 OCTOBER 2018 SPORT

Sri Lanka Navy brace for tough game in DohaCHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Rugby fans in Qatar will be in for a treat when Sri Lanka Navy rugby team takes on Doha Rugby Football Club (Doha RFC) in an friendly encounter on Friday.

The Navy team was ranked second in Sri Lanka’s 2017-2018 Club League and has emerged league and ‘Clifford Cup’ cham-pions on multiple occasions. The club has also produced a number of international players and fields several stars in the current Sri Lankan team, ranked fourth in Asia.

However, coach Mothilal Jayathilaka is not ready to take the Doha challenge for granted and admitted that Doha RFC will be robust and no push over, posing a competitive challenge at their own backyard.

“Doha will be strong at home and after last week’s loss to Colombo they will be all fired up with a point to prove,” Jayat-hilaka said.

“They play a physical game and will want to dominate us especially around the ruck.

That’s fine by us as long as we are firm in our game plan we won’t have any problems” he said.

“I understand we have a big following in Qatar and we will be using their energy as fire power. It’s important we not only

entertain them but make them proud of us” the Navy coach added.

The Lankan Sailors will be the second foreign rugby team to compete in Doha this month.

Earlier this month, one Sri Lanka’s prominent teams, CH

and FC toured Doha the crunch tie received a wide attention among rugby fans in Qatar.

Commenting on Navy’s visit to Doha and the rise of rugby in Qatar, Lion’s Media Executive Samuel Rico said: “This is a great result for Qatar, the DRFC, fans

of rugby and the continued growth of international club relations. Many people and partners have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this happen”.

The pre-season match is the first for the SL Navy and second for Doha who are reeling off a close loss after hosting CH and FC on October 5.

Last year’s Sri Lanka League runners-up will be looking at going one better this year using the Doha match as a platform to the Dialog Premier League title.

Navy Chairman, Rear Admiral, Desapriya Hetti-arachchi said he was looking forward to his side being tested by the top Qatar rugby club.

“This is an exciting trip for us. It’s an important game for both clubs and our future relations”.

“We expect a tough contest as we know Doha will not be easy at home. Our players will use their aggressiveness as inspi-ration to rise to the occasion”.

The top brass later praised Lions management who with the Doha RFC has worked closely to bring both teams

head to head. “The Lions RFC President,

Nimo Amit and his team have been tremendous. Their dynamic energy and dedication to make this game and future matches a success is noteworthy.”

Club Secretary, Commander, Thusitha Abysundara reiterated the Chairman’s words and acknowledged the Sri Lanka Rugby Federation for their unwavering support.

“Being able to offer this his-torical game is thanks to the coordinated efforts of all involved, those in Qatar and Sri Lanka, in particular our Union whose role is just as vital as the commitment of our players to prepare and compete in Doha”.

Commenting about the team’s performance whilst trav-elling, team Manager Menaka Suranga said,

“Our national players will be available for this match meaning well be at full strength giving us the good chance to defend and maintain our away from home winning streak”.

Further details on the encounter can be found at www.doharfc.com.

Sri Lanka Navy rugby team in action in this file picture.

Crawford stops Benavidez late in last round to keep WBO beltAP

OMAHA: Terence “Bud” Crawford had one last retort to all the insults Jose Benavidez hurled his way.

His right hand delivered it.Crawford used an uppercut

to Benavidez’s chin to knock him down the first time in the 12th and final round and then con-secutive rights to put him down a second, prompting referee Cel-estino Ruiz to stop the fight with 18 seconds left.

“It feels so good to shut somebody up who has been talking for so long,” Crawford said. “I’m at ease.”

Crawford, a three-division champion who was making his first defense of his WBO welter-weight belt, stuck out his tongue at his fallen opponent at the con-clusion of what amounted to a personal grudge match.

“I gave him a good fight,” Benavidez said.

“I don’t think he thought I was going to give him a good fight. But he’s the best of the best. We gave the fans a good show.”

Next up for Crawford could be a unification bout with IBF champion Errol Spence Jr., something promoter Bob Arum has said he would like to make happen sometime in 2019. The only problem is that Spence is promoted by Al Haymon, but

Arum has said that would not be an insurmountable problem.

“Hear me now: I’m ready to make that fight next,” Arum said.

“We’re prepared to sit down and get that fight done, but I can’t force the other people into doing it.” The 31-year-old Crawford (34-0, 25 knockouts), ranked first or second on the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter lists, put on a workmanlike per-formance for the first half of the

fight in front of a hometown crowd of 13,000 that included Crawford friend and billionaire Warren Buffett. Benavidez (27-1, 18 KOs) began tiring in the seventh after taking body shot after body shot.

“I take nothing from him,” Benavidez said.

“He’s the best of the best. I feel like I did a good job.” Benavidez, 26, was plenty frisky, motioning for Crawford to keep

coming toward him even as it became apparent Crawford had taken control of the fight, and he showed renewed life in the 10th when he landed a couple shots.

The crowd was on its feet for the 12th round, and “Craw-ford!” ‘’Craw-ford!” chants echoed through the arena. Crawford kept coming in the 12th, and Benavidez could take no more of the steady punishment.

“Oh man, it was coming,” Crawford said of his finishing flurry.

“It was just a matter of time. He slowed down tremen-dously. He was tired. That’s when I saw my opportunity to take my

best shot.” This was more of a stay-busy

fight for Crawford but he was eager to take the bout after being called out by Benavidez, who is only the 10th-ranked 147-pounder by the WBO.

Benavidez confronted the champion at a boxing event in Corpus Christi, Texas, in Feb-ruary, accusing Crawford of ducking him repeatedly. The fighters’ camps traded barbs at

a media workout Wednesday and the bickering continued Thursday at a news con-ference. Insults were lobbed both ways during the weigh-in Friday, with Benavidez shoving Crawford and Crawford taking a swing that narrowly missed.

In the co-main event, 2016 US Olympic silver medalist and top featherweight prospect Shakur Stevenson of Newark, New Jersey, stopped Viorel Simion of Romania just before the bell ending the first round. Stevenson (9-0, 5 KOs) delivered a powerful left-right combi-nation to the head to send Simion (21-3, 9 KOs) to his knees for his third knockdown.

On the undercard, 2016 Olympian Mikaela Mayer of Los Angeles won a regional super featherweight belt with a unanimous decision over V a n e s s a B r a d f o r d o f Edmonton, Alberta.

Mayer (8-0, 4 KOs) was the aggressor throughout the eight-round bout and knocked down Bradford (4-1-2) with a right to the head in the seventh.

Also, former WBO welter-weight champ Mike Alvarado (40-4, 28 KOs) of Denver knocked out Robbie Cannon (16-14-3, 7 KOs) of Festus, Missouri, with a right to the chin at 41 seconds of the second round.

50 years on, shockwaves of Olympic protest still rumbleAFP

LOS ANGELES: Fifty years after raising clenched fists in protest during the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, the shockwaves unleashed by John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s salute of defiance are still rippling around the sporting world.

The image of the African-American sprinters standing on the medal podium on October 16 1968, heads bowed while each raising a solitary, leather-gloved fist into the night sky would become one of the most iconic photos of the 20th century.

The protest redefined the concept of athlete activism as the stuffy, antiquated world of the Olympic movement under then president Avery Brundage collided with the political and cultural mael-strom raging across the globe in 1968.

America had already been convulsed by the twin assas-sinations of Dr. Martin Luther King in April and the murder of presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy in June. In between the trauma of those events, deadly rioting erupted in Chicago.

Large-scale protests against the Vietnam War g a i n e d m o m e n t u m throughout a year which also saw civil unrest in France as student-led demonstrations and general strikes plunged the country into chaos.

By the time of the Olympics, the febrile mood sweeping the world had reached Mexico City.

Just days before the Games got under way, Mexican government forces crushed a protest by students and civilians. Independent reports say between 300-500 people were killed, with thou-sands wounded and more than 2,000 arrested.

That bloody crackdown set the stage for an Olympics that will forever be associated with Smith and Carlos’s “Black Power” salute.

On the morning of October 16, Smith won the 200m in a then-world record of 19.83sec, with Carlos taking bronze behind Australia’s Peter Norman.

Swiss IOC member Patrick Baumann diesAFP

LAUSANNE: Swiss IOC member Patrick Baumann, a central figure in the Olympic movement and the sport of basketball, has died at the age of 51.

Baumann suffered a heart attack yesterday during the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

“This is a great shock, which has hit us all very hard. We can hardly believe this terrible news. Particularly since, even today, we have seen him working hard, as we always knew him, for the sport he loved,” said IOC pres-ident Thomas Bach.

“We lose a young and sym-pathetic leader full of hope who was standing for the future of sport. Our thoughts are with his wife, his children and his family.” An IOC member since 2007,

Baumann recently chaired the evaluation commission for the 2024 Olympic Games and was then vice-chair of the Coordi-nation Commission for those Games after Paris were awarded the right to host them. He was also president of the IOC’s Coor-dination Commission for the Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020 and the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.

A former basketball player, coach and referee, Baumann was deputy secretary general (1995-2002) of the International Bas-ketball Federation (FIBA), and then unanimously appointed as Secretary General by the FIBA Central Board in 2002, a role he had held since.

“Under his leadership, FIBA moved forward by leaps and bounds, with the organisation modernising itself to the extent

of becoming a model which fellow international federations followed,” FIBA president Horacio Muratore said in a statement.

Muratore credited Baumann with launching 3x3, basketball’s urban discipline which became a part of the sport’s programme at the Olympics.

“Without doubt we would not be where we are today were it not for everything that he did,” Muratore said.

“His unwavering com-mitment, tireless work ethic and pure passion for basketball mean he will forever have his place in FIBA’s history.”

Trained as a lawyer, Baumann was also a member of the executive committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and president of SportAccord.

International Olympic

Committee (IOC) member

Patrick Baumann speaking during

the 131st IOC session in

Lima in this file photo taken on September 13,

2017.

Josh Conley (in red trunks) and Carlos Adames during their match at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday.

30 MONDAY 15 OCTOBER 2018SPORT

Leishman breezes to Classic triumphAFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Australia’s Marc Leishman unleashed an early birdie barrage as he romped home by five shots to claim top place in the $7m CIMB Classic yesterday.

At the par-72 TPC Kuala Lumpur, Leishman closed with a seven-under par 65 to finish the only PGA Tour event in southeast Asia at 26-under par 262 for his fourth win on the PGA Tour.

His effort was five shots better than Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo (66), and the American duo of Chesson Hadley (66) and Bronson Burgoon (68) -- all of whom fin-ished on 21-under par 267.

Two-time champion and former world number one

Justin Thomas (64) closed with three birdies in his last three holes to surge up the leader-board and finish in tied fifth place at 268, where he was joined by Mexican Abraham Ancer (65), South Africa’s Louis Oosthizen (69) and fellow Americans Charles Howell III (67) and Gary Woodland (71).

The world number 24 Leishman won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the BMW Championship in 2017 and continued his winning streak in 2018 with the CIMB Classic win.

It all would have looked a distant dream when the 34-year-old almost quit the game around the time of the 2015 Masters, when his wife Audrey was diagnosed with and nearly died from acute

respiratory distress syndrome and toxic shock syndrome.

An emotional Leishman, who made eight birdies, including a putt from nearly 50 feet on the par-4 ninth, and a solitary bogey, said it felt

“unbelievable” to win. “It was a very tough time that we went through, but it certainly made us stronger as people, made us appreciate just the everyday things, appreciate our kids more, appreciate friends, family, everything,” he said of his wife’s illness.

“I won’t say it made golf less important, but it made me realize that golf’s not life or death... As long as I give it my best shot, that’s what it’s all about.”

Overnight joint leader Shubhankar Sharma of India started in a shaky manner before coming back strongly with four birdies in four holes from the eighth onwards, but he made three straight bogeys from the 11th to finish on even-par for the day.

Marc Leishman of Australia lifts up the trophy after winning the 2018 CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.

262 - Marc Leishman (AUS) 68-62-67-65

267 - Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 66-68-67-66,

Chesson Hadley (USA) 67-68-66-66, Bronson

Burgoon (USA) 63-69-67-68

268 - Justin Thomas (USA) 66-69-69-64,

Abraham Ancer (MEX) 67-68-68-65, Charles

Howell III (USA) 69-67-65-67, Louis Oosthui-

zen (RSA) 66-68-65-69, Gary Woodland

(USA) 69-61-67-71

269 - Kevin Chappell (USA) 66-67-71-65, Si-

woo Kim (KOR) 67-71-66-65, Shubhankar

Sharma (IND) 67-64-66-72

CIMB CLASSIC SCORES

India sweep series with 10-wicket winREUTERS

HYDERABAD: India thumped West Indies by 10 wickets inside three days to complete a 2-0 series sweep yesterday after Umesh Yadav’s stellar bowling effort set up their comprehensive victory in the and second and final Test.

West Indies skipper Jason Holder’s 5-56 limited India’s first-innings lead to 56 in the morning, but their abject second-innings batting left the hosts needing only 72 to win.

Openers Prithvi Shaw and

Lokesh Rahul, both of whom were not out on 33, com-pleted the for-malities in 16.1 overs to inflict on West Indies their second s u c c e s s i v e defeat inside three days.

U m e s h , who was twice on a hat-trick in the match, claimed 4-45 to become only the third I n d i a n

paceman -- after Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath -- to claim 10 wickets in a home Test.

“I felt really happy for him,” India coach Ravi Shastri said of Umesh, who has often had to warm the bench because of the competition in the pace bowling department.

“It can be a frustrating pro-fession when you sit on the reserve bench like he did in four test matches in England.

“He got his opportunity here and he grabbed it with both hands... He’s given us a (selection) headache and it’s a very good headache.”

After India resumed day three on 308-4, Rishabh Pant fell on 92 for the second successive innings and Ajinkya Rahane also missed his century as Holder and Shannon Gabriel restricted India to 367.

Holder surprised Rahane, who made 80, with extra bounce and two balls later trapped a scoreless Ravindra Jadeja lbw.

Rahane featured in a 152-run stand with Pant, who could not reach triple figures thanks to a brilliant catch by Shimron Hetmyer.

The West Indies batsmen, however, could not complement the lion-hearted effort by their bowlers.

The tourists got off to a night-marish start with opener Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell both departing for ducks.

Brathwaite blocked the first delivery from Umesh to deny him a hat-trick spread across two innings though fell caught behind from the very next ball.

Umesh dismissed Roston Chase and Shane Dowrich with

the last ball of his eighth over and the first of his ninth but a hat-trick eluded him for the second time in the match.

Sunil Ambris’s 38 was the top score in a poor batting display by his team.

“Definitely a little disap-pointed with the batting,” Holder said.

“We fought our way back nicely after the first Test. Credit to the way India play cricket.”

India’s spin trio, led by Ravindra Jadeja (3-12), shared six wickets among them, but were, for once, content playing second fiddle to paceman Umesh, who was the obvious choice for the man-of-the-match award.

West Indies 1st innings 311India 1st inningsL. Rahul b Holder ...............................................4

P. Shaw c Hetmyer b Warrican ......................70

C. Pujara c sub (J Hamilton) b Gabriel .......... 10

V. Kohli lbw Holder ..........................................45

A. Rahane c Hope b Holder ........................... 80

R. Pant c Hetmyer b Gabriel ..........................92

R. Jadeja lbw b Holder .....................................0

R. Ashwin b Gabriel ........................................35

K. Yadav b Holder ..............................................6

U. Yadav c sub (J Hamilton) b Warrican ........ 2

S. Thakur not out ...............................................4

Extras (b12, lb2, nb5) ................................... 19

Total (all out, 106.4 overs) ...............367Fall of wickets: 1-61 (Rahul), 2-98 (Shaw), 3-102

(Pujara), 4-162 (Kohli), 5-314 (Rahane), 6-314 (Jade-

ja), 7-322 (Pant), 8-334 (K. Yadav), 9-339 (U. Yadav),

10-367 (Ashwin)

Bowling: Gabriel 20.4-1-107-3 (nb3), Holder 23-5-

56-5 (nb2), Warrican 31-7-84-2, Chase 9-1-22-0, Bi-

shoo 21-4-78-0, Brathwaite 2-0-6-0

West IndiesK. Brathwaite c Pant b U. Yadav .....................0

K. Powell c Rahane b Ashwin ..........................0

S. Hope c Rahane b Jadeja .............................28

S. Hetmyer c Kohli b K. Yadav ........................ 17

S. Ambris lbw b Jadeja ...................................38

R. Chase b U. Yadav ..........................................6

S. Dowrich b U. Yadav .......................................0

J. Holder c Pant b Jadeja ................................ 19

D Bishoo not out ............................................. 10

J. Warrican b Ashwin ........................................ 7

S. Gabriel b U. Yadav ..........................................1

Extras (lb1) 1

Total (all out, 46.1 overs) .................127Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Brathwaite), 2-6 (Powell),

3-45 (Hetmyer), 4-45 (Hope), 5-68 (Chase), 6-70

(Dowrich), 7-108 (Holder), 8-109 (Ambris), 9-126

(Warrican), 10-127 (Gabriel)

Bowling: Umesh 12.1-3-45-4, Ashwin 10-4-24-2,

Kuldeep 13-1-45-1, Jadeja 11-5-12-3

India 2nd innings (target 72)L. Rahul not out ............................................... 33

P. Shaw not out ............................................... 33

Extras (b6, lb2, nb1) .........................................9

Total (0 wickets, 16.1 overs) ..............75Did not bat: C. Pujara, V. Kohli, A. Rahane, R. Pant,

R. Jadeja, R. Ashwin, K. Yadav, U. Yadav. S. Thakur

Bowling: Holder 4-0-17-0 (nb1), Warrican 4-0-17-0,

Bishoo 4.1-0-19-0, Chase 4-0-14-0

Result: India won by 10 wickets

Series: India won the series 2-0

SCOREBOARD

Umesh, who was twice on a hat-trick in the match, claimed 4-45 to become only the third Indian paceman -- after Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath -- to claim 10 wickets in a home Test.

Rain washes out SA-Zimbabwe Twenty20AFP

BENONI: Rain and a wet outfield caused the aban-donment of the third and final Twenty20 international between South Africa and Zimbabwe at Willowmoore Park yesterday.

South Africa won the series 2-0 after winning an one-day series 3-0 which was played earlier.

The matches were largely one-sided and South Africa used them to test the depth of their resources, using 22 players across the five matches.

South Africa travel to Australia later this month to play three one-day interna-tionals and a Twenty20 inter-national, while Zimbabwe depart later this week for Bangladesh where they will play three one-day interna-tionals and two Tests.

Pakistan under pressure to win: AzharAFP

ABU DHABI: Senior batsman Azhar Ali (pictured) admitted Pakistan will be under pressure of expectations in the second Test against Australia starting in Abu Dhabi from tomorrow.

Pakistan dominated much of the first Test in Dubai but failed to get the last two wickets as Australia finished at 362-8.

Set a daunting 462 runs Australia’s fightback was led by opener Usman Khawaja’s 141, ably assisted by Travis Head (72) and skipper Tim Paine (61 not out).

“I can’t say if the pressure will be more on Pakistan or Australia but we are the home side and obviously people expect us to win and so there is pressure,” said Azhar yesterday.

“However, having said that these are favourable conditions for us and we have to make the most of it.

“Pressure is always different

in every match and obviously this is a decider. Being the home team we have to win it and we will enter the field thinking that. We will look to play positive cricket and hopefully the result will go our way.”

Pakistan will be forced to make a change after regular opener Imam-ul-Haq fractured his finger in the first Test and was ruled out, opening an option to bring Azhar as opener.

The 33-year-old held the opening spot since the Oval Test in England in August 2016 and struck a triple century against the West Indies in Dubai and a double hundred against Aus-tralia in Melbourne -- both in 2016.

He went to his customary number three position for the two Tests against Sri Lanka last year and in last week’s first Test against Australia.

Pakistan can also bring in limited over specialist Fakhar Zaman to play his first Test, despite a poor form in the Asia

Cup scoring only 56 runs in five matches with two ducks.

Azhar said he will do it against for his team.

“When playing for Pakistan one has to be ready for every-thing,” said Azhar.

“I have always believed in that and whatever the team management decides or the captain decides, I will be ready to do that.”

Azhar admitted Pakistan players were disappointed at not winning the first Test.

“We are not disheartened but, yes, disappointed, obvi-ously after dominating the T e s t m a t c h throughout and then not winning it,” said Azhar, a veteran of 66 Tests.

“Unfor-tunately we c o u l d n ’ t win but I think we also

have to give credit to the Aus-tralians as well as they showed resilience and kept fighting till the end.” Azhar said he remains focused despite not in the best of form, managing only 95 runs

in the last four Tests.“A batman always

wants to score runs and it doesn’t feel nice when he doesn’t score runs,” said Azhar.

“But the important thing is to stay focused and believe that once you get a good knock things will start rolling

again.”56 runs in five o ducks.he will do it am.g for Pakistan dy for every-r.always t andeam ides in e ”

y ppously after dominating the T e s t m a t c h throughout and then not winning it,” said Azhar, a veteran of 66 Tests.

“Unfor-tunately we c o u l d n ’ t win but I think we also

pof form, managing only 95 runs

in the last four Tests.“A batman always

wants to score runs andit doesn’t feel nice when he doesn’t scoreruns,” said Azhar.

“But the important thing is to stay focusedand believe that onceyou get a good knockthings will start rolling

again.”

I can’t say if the

pressure will be

more on Pakistan or

Australia but we are

the home side and

obviously people

expect us to win and

so there is pressure:

Azhar Ali

Indian team’s players and officials pose with the trophy in Hyderabad, yesterday.

India’s Umesh Yadav shows the ball after completing a 10-wicket haul yesterday.

31MONDAY 15 OCTOBER 2018 SPORT

Young Qatari brigade prepares for U-19 Asian Cup

Qatar U-19 players during a training session in Jakarta yesterday. The young Qatari brigade is preparing for the AFC U-19 Asian Cup to be held from October 18 to November 4 in Indonesia. Qatar reached Indonesia last Wednesday and since then the team is undergoing training sessions daily. The coach Bruno Miguel’s boys face UAE on October 18, Indonesia on October 21 and UAE on October 24 in the preliminary stages of the tournament. Qatar won the 2014 edition in Myanmar by beating North Korea in the final.

Loew expects debate over his futureREUTERS

BERLIN: Germany coach Joachim Loew expects there to be a renewed debate over his future after a 3-0 loss to the Netherlands in the Nations League on Saturday.

“Of course, I have to expect that. It is some-thing I have to live with. For this result we must all take responsibility,” he told reporters after the defeat in the Johan Cruyff Arena left Germany bottom of their group.

Loew’s contract runs until 2022, having been extended for two years in May.

He received a further vote of confidence from the German Football Federation (DFB) in July, despite his side’s shock group-phase exit at the World Cup in Russia, after defeats to Mexico and South Korea.

“Debate is normal, but it is my job to prepare the team properly for the match against France,” he said.

Germany take on the world champions in Paris tomorrow, which will be Loew’s 169th match in charge of the national side, more than any of his predecessors.

He has been in the job for the last 12 years and won the World Cup in 2014.

“It would have been acceptable to lose 1-0 in Amsterdam but what happened in the last 10 minutes was really bad,” he added after goals in the closing stages from Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum added to a first-half finish from captain Virgil van Dijk.

“We had chances so it’s a good question to ask why we didn’t score.”

Joachim Loew

Spain are above England level, says goal-shy KaneREUTERS

LONDON: Harry Kane (pictured) admitted England are not on the same level as pass masters Spain ahead of their Nations League encounter today, as he batted away doubts about his own potency since winning the World Cup’s Golden Boot in July.

“We’re not quite there in the way they keep the ball,” said Kane of opponents, who have scored 10 goals in their past two games.

“We’ve got different qual-ities. We’ve got great pace in the team, great one-against-one ability, and that’s what we’ve got to try to exploit when we play them.

“It will be a tough game, but these are the experiences you want to be in.”

England have just one point from their opening two games in Group 4 and lost to Spain 2-1 at Wembley earlier this month when Saul Niguez and Rodrigo scored to cancel out Marcus Rashford’s opener.

England’s captain has faced criticism after scoring six times in 13 games for club and country since the summer, sometimes struggling to reproduce the form that made him one of Europe’s most lethal strikers with six goals at the World Cup.

Another blank in Seville today would mean seven suc-cessive games without a goal for England -- the longest barren run of his international career -- although his five Premier League goals for Tottenham

make him second top scorer behind Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.

“It’s been tough after the World Cup, not getting much rest, but I think I’ve dealt with it well,” said Kane.

“I’ve stayed fit and stayed healthy. That was my main pri-ority at the start of the season. Now it’s building on that and pushing forward over the winter.

“I set a standard for myself and I want to reach that standard every game I play. I don’t think my game has dipped.”

The 25-year-old touched the ball just once in Croatia’s penalty area during last Friday’s drab goalless draw in Rijeka although he did hit the post with one effort.

He has been accused of dropping too deep for Spurs and England this season, some-t i m e s appearing isolated as a t t a c k s

foundered around him. “I’d like to have scored more for England recently but, as a striker, you go through spells where maybe it goes off the bar, whereas other times it comes off your heel and goes in the back of the net like in the World Cup,” he said.

The trouble is England do not have many alternatives.

Rashford missed two one-on-one chances against Croatia last Friday and J a m i e V a r d y , K a n e ’ s W o r l d C u p

understudy, has since retired from international football. Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and Manchester City’s John

Stones are both suspended for today’s game, which

means probable starts for Spurs’ Harry Winks and Liver-

pool’s Joe Gomez, who missed the World Cup through injury.

Meanwhile, Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has w i t h d r a w n from their squad for tomorrow’s f r i e n d l y a g a i n s t Belgium, less

than 24 hours after scoring in the 3-0

win over Germany in the Nations League.

Van Dijk, 27, is still feeling the effects of a rib

injury suffered playing for Liverpool against Southampton

last month and the Dutch football association said in a statement on Sunday that it had been decided he would only play against Germany.

No replacement will be called up for Tuesday’s friendly in Brussels.

Van Dijk got the opening goal for the Dutch on Saturday, before Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum scored late on as they recorded a morale-boosting triumph over their neighbours.

England’s captain has faced criticism after scoring six times in 13 games for club and country since the summer, sometimes struggling to reproduce the form that made him one of Europe’s most lethal strikers with six goals at the World Cup.

make him second top scorer behind Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.

“It’s been tough after the World Cup, not getting muchrest, but I think I’ve dealt with it well,” said Kane.

“I’ve stayed fit and stayed healthy. That was my main pri-ority at the start of the season. Now it’s building on that and pushing forward over the winter.

“I set a standard for myself and I want to reach that standard every game I play. I don’t think my game has dipped.”

The 25-year-old touched the ball just once in Croatia’s penalty area during last Friday’s drab goalless draw in Rijeka although he did hit thepost with one effort.

He has been accused of dropping too deep for Spurs and England this season, some-t i m e s appearingisolated asa t t a c k s

foundered around him. “I’d like to have scored more for England recently but, as a striker, you go through spells swhere maybe it goes off the bar, whereas other times it comes off your heel and goes in the back of the net like in theWorld Cup,” he said.

The trouble is England do not havemany alternatives.

Rashford missed two one-on-one chances against Croatia last Friday and J a m i eV a r d y , K a n e ’ s W o r l d C u p

unu derstudy, has since retiredfrom international footballLiverpool’s Jordan Hendersonand Manchester City’s John

Stones are both suspended fotoday’s game, which

means probable startfor Spurs’ HarryWinks and Liver

pool’s Joe Gomezwho missed theWorld Cupthrough injury

MeanwhileNetherlandcaptain Virgivan Dijk haw i t h d r a w nfrom theisquad fotomorrow’f r i e n d l ya g a i n sBelgium, les

than 24 hours aftescoring in the 3-0

win over Germany inthe Nations League.

Van Dijk, 27, is stilfeeling the effects of a rib

injury suffered playing foLiverpool against Southampton

last month and the Dutchfootball association said in astatement on Sunday that it hadbeen decided he would only playagainst Germany.

No replacement will becalled up for Tuesday’s friendlyin Brussels.

Van Dijk got the openinggoal for the Dutch on Saturdaybefore Memphis Depay andGeorginio Wijnaldum scored lateon as they recorded a moraleboosting triumph over theineighbours.neighbours.

England’s captain has faced criticism after scoring six times in 13 games for club and country since the summer, sometimes struggling toreproduce the form that made him one of Europe’smost lethal strikers with six goals at the WorldCup.

Dutch see big Germany win as a turning pointREUTERS

AMSTERDAM: Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk hopes their 3-0 win over Germany in Saturday’s Nations League game marks a turning point for the team after barren years.

“Let’s hope that is the case. We haven’t been on this path long but it feels like we are on the right road,” he told reporters after the victory at the Amsterdam Arena, which marked a first success in 16 years over their neighbours.

The Dutch failed to qualify for both the last World Cup and European Champi-onship in a dramatic decline after finishing third in Brazil in 2014.

“No one would have believed you if you had said before the game that we would win by a 3-0 scoreline. We must enjoy the feeling but we are not there yet,” added Van Dijk after the match in which he, Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum scored.

Coach Ronald Koeman took over in February in a bid to get the team back on track after the recent failures and said the victory was a much-needed boost for Dutch football.

“I think everyone needed this win; the players, the staff and all of the Netherlands. You can see it from the reaction of the people. I’m really proud,” he told Dutch television.

“Let’s be clear - we had perilous moments in the game but overall we were really good. It gives so much confidence for the coming months.

Verification of potential progress can come quickly as the Netherlands play two more Nations League clashes next month when they host world champions France in Rotterdam on November 16 and are away to the Germans in Gelsenkirchen on November 19.

I think everyone

needed this win;

the players, the

staff and all of the

Netherlands: Coach

Ronald Koeman

Troisi seeks Socceroos return for Asian Cup defenceREUTERS

MELBOURNE: James Troisi holds a special place in the annals of Australian soccer as the man who sealed the nation’s maiden Asian Cup title in 2015, so missing the Socceroos’ World Cup campaign was a bitter pill to swallow.

Troisi scored the winner in the 2015 final against South Korea and was in most of former coach Ange Postecoglou’s squads for the World Cup qualifiers.

But Postecoglou’s replacement Bert van Marwijk saw no use for the 30-year-old Melbourne Victory midfielder for the

game’s biggest stage, despite naming him in a preliminary 26-man squad.

Three months after Australia were dumped out of the group phase in Russia, Troisi has put that disappointment behind him and sees another chance to shine at the Asian showpiece, which kicks off in the United Arab Emirates in January, under new boss Graham Arnold.

“At the time it’s disap-pointing,” said Troisi, who played the 2014 World Cup under Postecoglou.

“I had four friendly games and I didn’t play once so the opportunity

wasn’t there to impress (Van Marwijk). I’m big enough and grown up enough to move on.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play in the Olympics, Asian Cup, World Cup. Another World Cup would have been nice but it wasn’t meant to be.”

As the Socceroos prepare to kick off a new era in an away friendly against Kuwait on Monday, Troisi will be pre-paring for the first game of Victory’s A-League title defence, a derby against Melbourne City on Saturday.

Like most Australia-based players, he was overlooked for Arnold’s

first squad and training camp in Turkey but he feels there is still time to stake his claim ahead of Asian Cup warmups against South Korea and Lebanon in November.

Familiarity with Arnold, who coached him at Olympic level over a decade ago, might also help.

“He took me to the Beijing Olympics, and I know him. He lives in Aus-tralia and can see us week in, week out,” Troisi told local media.

“That’s fine by me. The most important thing is to perform well, week in, week out and the rest is up to the coach.”

James Troisi