SPORTMonday 30 April 2018

PAGE | 28 PAGE | 29Real Madrid

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Hamilton wins action-packed Azerbaijan GPLe

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Fans in for a treat as Diamond League set for Doha returnARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA DOHA: Sports fans from Qatar will get an exclusive, unique and free opportunity to get up and close to some of the world’s best athletes ahead of the May 4 Diamond League season opener in Qatar, it was announced here yesterday.

On Thursday, Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, winner of the World Athlete of the Year, along with Kenya’s 3000m World Champion Hellen Obiri and Greece’s pole vault legend Katerina Stefanidi along with other stars will take ques-tions from the public at the press conference.

Public are invited to join a press conference and panel session with a multitude of Olympic and World medallists on the first floor of City Center Mall, which is open to everyone to attend for free.

The global superstar athletes go head to head in a thrilling Diamond League action at Qatar Sports Club on Friday.

Speaking ahead of the 2018 Doha Diamond League, President of the Qatar Athletics Feder-ation (QAF), Dr Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, said: “We are so excited to welcome so many of the World’s biggest athletics stars back to Doha

for what promises to be a phenomenal Diamond League opening meeting of the 2018 season.”

“The Doha Diamond League is the only IAAF Diamond League meeting in the Middle East and is one of the most exciting and unmissable sporting events hosted annually in Qatar,” the QAF President has said.

Meanwhile, further athlete announcements were made yesterday with a thrilling showdown anticipated in the Men’s 200m.

Reigning World Champion, Ramil Guliyev of Turkey, goes up against Olympic silver medallist Andre De Grasse of Canada, 2017 Diamond League Champion Noah Lyles of the USA, and World bronze medallist Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago. However, the biggest sur-prise could come from Omar McLeod of Jamaica, who is the Olympic and World Champion in the 110m hurdles but will be trying his hand at the 200m in Doha in an intriguing switch.

ARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar’s Abdalelah Haroun is eager to begin this year’s Diamond League campaign on a winning note in the season-opening leg at the Qatar Sports Club Stadium on May 4.

The 21-year old, a bronze medallist at last year’s World Championship in England, said a gold at the home event with be an ideal one as he has embarked on his preparations for the 2019 World Championships in Qatar.

“Gold is the target (at the Diamond League in Doha). It would be good to get one here especially with the 2019 World Championships coming here in Qatar. There is already some amount of nervousness because the work starts now. This year we have to work hard, focus on our dreams, and next year it’s a big chance,” said Haroun, while talking to journalists.

Haroun, who secured the bronze medal at the World Cham-pionship clocking 44.48 seconds in the men’s 400 metres final, said the next two years are important years of his career.

“For 2019 and 2020, the prep-arations and pressure has begun now. These are two very important years for all of us,” said Haroun.

Haroun said he had a ham-string scare a couple of weeks back but has fully recovered.

“Two weeks ago, I had a ham-string problem, but it is ok now. I had been jogging, gym training, and now I have also moved to do track training. The feeling is good,” he said.

He said that he is top form and ready for the season ahead.

“Right now, my form is good. I started the year in Tehran, where I got two golds – 400m and 4x400m. After that I came back to Qatar and I trained here. Then, I left for a training camp in Brazil (for one month). I also had a training camp in Turkey (for another month),” he informed.

The sprinter is happy with his timing, which he said will improve in the course of time.

“I have done 45.41 at the start of the season. It’s ok, not a bad timing to build on. After that I did the 200m in 21.16. But then got a little bit of an injury. But now I am feeling good, I have begun

working hard. Also, this event is at home, in front of my family and friends, so I am looking forward to it. I have a feeling we will perform this season,” he said.

Speaking about his pre-season training he said: “My pre-season training was non-stop and very tough, but it paid off as I started off the year very well by winning the Asian Indoor title for the second time.”

Haroun targets gold

Abdalelah Haroun

Abdulrahman Samba

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Abdulrahman Samba is improving with each passing day. The promising Qatari athlete set a world leading time this month and he feels his best is yet to come as he pursues Olympic and World records.

The 22-year-old hurdler is gearing up to defend his Doha crown as the Qatari capital braces to stage the season-opening meet of the for Diamond League this Friday.

“I have big dreams as I want to win eve-rything,” the star athlete told reporters at Qatar Olympic Committee headquarters in Doha yesterday.

The middle-distance runner, who clocked 47.89 in South Africa to set world leading time earlier this month, said he has the ability to do even better.

“It was a confidence boosting per-formance and I am eager to improve this time,” he said.

“I’ve been training very hard for the new season. I’ve been attending a camp in South Africa since three months. This year I want to win the Diamond League Championship, a gold medal at the Asian Games and the World Cup title. I am targeting those achieve-ments and I hope that someday I would be able to break world records. But it’s

important I go step by step and don’t suffer injury,” Samba said.

In Doha last year, Samba stunned a star-studded line-up to win gold medal at the Qatar Sports Club and he targets the same in the upcoming meet.

“I am ready for the home competition. I love to perform in front of home crowd. It is very special to win a gold medal in Doha and I am looking forward to do that this weekend and start the Diamond League campaign with a victory. It will definitely give confidence for the season.”

The star athlete also shared his expe-rience of the World Championships in London where he suffered a heartbreak and had to content with 7th position despite a blazing start in the final.

“I couldn’t believed the result for three days as I did a lot of training for the World Championships. I was very close to winning but I hit the last hurdle. It was a heartbreak but at the same time it gave me motivation to achieve something. I spoke to myself that I can do something,” he said.

Samba is one of the 16 athletes who will represent Qatar at the Doha Diamond League. The Qatar squad also includes Abdel-lelah Haroun, the 2017 World bronze med-allist and Ahmed Bader, the 2017 Islamic Sol-idarity Games champion in the javelin.

Samba dreams big

Mesaimeer stun Al Sailiyah to reach quarter-finals THE PENINSULA

DOHA: A brilliant first half goal from Ahmed Kano against Al Sailiyah helped Qatargas League side Mesaimeer to continue their impressive run in the Emir Cup and move into the quarter-finals of the prestigious tournament.

The Omani striker struck with five minutes to go for the first half whistle, which turned out to be the only goal of the match.

Mesaimeer now take on Al Gharafa in the last eight clash on May 4.

Coach Dragan Tadic side having defeated QNB Stars League (QSL) side Al Ahli in the first round match were impressive playing with yet another

QSL side and meant business right from kick off.The second division outfit attained success on

the goal front through a combined move initiated by Robert Brito Luciano and Kano.

The Brazilian beat the challenge of a rival defender and essayed a cross which found an unmarked Kano at the far post. The Omani wasted no time in finishing the move with a brilliantly exe-cuted side volley which beat Al Sailiyah keeper Abdraman Mahamat Aziz all ends up.

In the next five minutes of the first half Al Sailiyah build up the pressure but could not pene-trate deep into the rival defense.

In the second half, Al Sailiyah pressed the panic buttons, but the score continued that way till the end.

Hamad Issa Al Fadalah (centre), Secretary-General of Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) poses for a photograph with QAF officials and some of the star Qatari athletes during a press conference held at Qatar Olympic Committee headquarters yesterday. Picture: Baher Amin/The Peninsula

Mesaimeer’s Ahmed Kano (left) celebrates with a team-mate after scoring the winning goal against Al Sailiyah yesterday.

28 MONDAY 30 APRIL 2018SPORT

QFA President holds discussions with CAF Chief in Doha Five Qatari players set for Chess Olympiad challenge in GeorgiaQNA

DOHA: Qatar Chess Asso-ciation (QCA) yesterday announced that five players will participate in the 43rd Chess Olympiad to be held in September in Georgia.

Q C A P r e s i d e n t Mohammed Al Medaihki (pictured) highlighted the association’s keenness to participate in different international tournaments in order to raise the global ranking as well as giving the players more interna-tional experiences.

Al Medaihki said the Qatari presence in such tournaments is important in many aspects. He also said that only five male participates will be joining the Olympiad, with the participation of grandmaster Mohammed Naser Al Sayed and international master Husein Aziz. The rest of the players have not yet been chosen.

The newly appointed president, Al Medaihki said QCA’s strategy in the upcoming phase will depend on spreading awareness about chess. Last week, the association organized a primary school chess championship for boys and girls which saw the participation of 200 students from 42 schools, he said.

He added that the association will seek to raise awareness of the sport through youth centres.

The Chess Olympiad is one of the most prominent inter-national tournaments and is a series of matches held every two years under the supervision of World Chess Feder-ation and hosted by a country chosen by the federation.

The Qatari team had won first place in the Arab World and 48th in the World Chess Olympiad hosted in Azerbaijan in 2016. The Olympiad was held for two weeks with the participation of 180 countries in the male competition and 140 countries in the female competition.

The President of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani with the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ahmad Ahmad at the QFA Headquarters in Doha yesterday. Discussions during the meeting dealt with several joint topics between the two sides , especially the activation of the cooperation agreement that had been signed at an earlier stage and the emphasis on the continuity of contact between the QFA and CAF at various regional, continental and international levels.

Emir Cup: Fifty One East and Sony MEA in decade-long partnershipTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Fifty One East and Sony Middle East and Africa (Sony MEA) have announced their continued support for the Emir Cup and Qatar Football Association (QFA), with Sony as the Official Sponsor of the Emir Cup 2018 for the eighth successive year.

This year, the festivities for football fans will spill over from the pitch as Lagoona Mall will host competitions to mark Qatar’s most popular sporting event.

This year, the Emir Cup cele-brates its 46th edition as one of the nation’s highly-anticipated events. Since its inception, the tournament has enjoyed a special place in the country’s sports calendar. The chance of receiving the trophy from the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is a dream to bring out the best in every team.

Following last year’s three-year renewal announcement which leads to a 10-year partnership, the consecutive sponsorship from Fifty One East and Sony reaffirms their pledge to the country’s prospering sporting agenda.

Bader Abdullah Al Darwish, Chairman and Managing Director of Fifty One East, said, “Football acts as a universal language across the globe and is the most popular sport in Qatar. We are proud to be partnering with QFA once again to

support the Emir Cup as the nation prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.”

The Emir Cup trophy tour is continuing across the country with great success being Qatar’s most popular football trophy. During his recent visit to witness the trophy tour in Lagoona Mall, Fumiastu Hirai, Managing Director of Sony Middle East and Africa, expressed his delight in the preparations of the Emir Cup.

He also expressed pride that with Fifty One East, Sony Interna-tional is able to reach the com-munity through enhancing the fan experience.

For this, a dedicated fan zone has been created at Lagoona Mall from May 10-12 where fans can participate in a PlayStation com-petition to win fantastic prizes.

In addition, Sony and Fifty One East will continue to honour the ‘Most Valuable Player’ after each

Emir Cup game, leading to the final on May 19. Tickets are available in FNAC at Lagoona Mall and Doha Festival City for the much-antici-pated tournament.

The Emir Cup 2018 final will be held at the state-of-the-art Khalifa International Stadium. The tournament is played by the first and second divisions clubs in Qatar. The cup winner is guar-anteed a place in the 2019 AFC Champions league.

Qatar in group D at Asian Men’s Junior Handball ChampionshipTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The draw ceremony of the 2018 Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship saw the reigning champions Qatar in group D along with Japan, United Arab Emirates and Iran.

The official draw took place in Al Khuwair City, Oman.The participating teams were distributed in four groups,

A includes Bahrain, KSA, China, Oman, group B brings together Jordan, Uzbekistan, China Taipei, Palestine, while group C includes South Korea, Iraq, India and Syria and group D includes Qatar, Japan, UAE and Iran.

Al Annabi defeated Saudi Arabia in the final of the pre-vious edition of the tournament two years ago in Jordan and secured their fifth title in the history of the Championship.

This year’s event will take place from September 14-24, in Jordan. The tournament also acts as a qualifying tour-nament to the Men’s Junior World Handball Championship 2019 scheduled in Macedonia.

Real survive Leganes scare without Ronaldo, RamosREUTERS

BARCELONA: Real Madrid beat Leganes 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday after coach Zinedine Zidane heavily rotated his side in preparation for tomorrow’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, including leaving out top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Wales forward Gareth Bale produced an acrobatic finish from close range on the volley to put Madrid ahead against their neighbours in the eighth minute of the game, narrowly beating the offside trap despite protests from the visiting players.

Borja Mayoral doubled their lead right at the end of the first half by stabbing in from a metre out. Again Leganes appealed for offside but the goal was eventually allowed to stand after the referee consulted with his assistant.

Leganes were unfortunate to go two goals down at the interval after coming to close to scoring on three occasions, including Watford loanee Nordin Amrabat striking the crossbar.

They eventually pulled a goal back in the 66th minute when Darko Brasanac knocked a cutback from Amrabat into an empty net.

Leganes forward Gabriel was sent off after the final whistle for reacting furiously to the referee for ending the game just as he was shaping to shoot at goal from outside the area.

Real are third in the league on 71 points, 12 behind runaway leaders Barcelona and one behind second-placed Atletico Madrid.

Atletico visit Alaves on Sunday while Barca play at Deportivo La Coruna, where a point will see the Catalans become Liga champions for a 25th time.

Zidane excluded Ronaldo, captain Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane from the squad and left Luka Modric, goalkeeper Keylor Navas and influential left back Marcelo on the bench.

He later brought on midfielder Toni Kroos and winger Marco Asensio, who scored the winning goal in the 2-1 victory at Bayern in Wednesday’s first leg.

Also on Saturday Colombian striker Carlos Bacca scored a first-half hat-trick as Villarreal thrashed Celta Vigo 4-1 at home and moved closer to qualifying for European football again.

The win tightened Villarreal’s grip on sixth place and took them six points above seventh-placed Sevilla who were beaten 2-1 at Levante on Friday, leading the club to sack coach Vin-cenzo Montella the next day.

Real Sociedad won a Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in defender Inigo Martinez’s first game back against his old side since his controversial, 32-million-euro move to fierce rivals Bilbao in January.

Martinez was subjected to constant booing from the home fans, who also waved fake money at him from the stands.

Athletic midfielder Mikel San Jose scored two own goals either side of a strike from Spain Mikel Oyarzabal to put Real Sociedad 3-0 up before Raul Garcia responded for Ath-letic, who have had a miserable campaign under coach Jose Angel Ziganda and are 14th in the standings.

Real Sociedad climbed up to 10th on 46 points and are two points behind Sevilla, who occupy the final European place.

Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale shoots at the goal during the Spanish League football match against Leganes on Sunday.

Rio silver medallist De Grasse struggles in return from injuryAFP

LOS ANGELES: Canadian Andre De Grasse finished fourth in the men’s 100m at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday in his return from a nine-month injury absence.

De Grasse, whose three medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics included bronze in the 100m, made his first 100m start since July 2017, clocking 10.15sec with a favourable wind of 1.9 metres per second.

American Isiah Young won in 10.02sec, followed by compatriot Mike Rogers (10.03) and Britain’s CJ Ujah (10.13).

De Grasse, who took silver in the Rio 200m, suffered a right hamstring injury last summer that forced him out of the 2017 World Championships in London.

He was back in action on Saturday for the first time since winning a 200m in 20.03sec on July 16, 2017 in Rabat.

De Grasse, a 23-year-old touted to emerge as a sprint star in the wake of Usain Bolt’s retirement, resumed training in December. He was targeting a return in time for the Commonwealth Games in Australia in early April, but opted out as a precaution.

“For me, it’s all about coming out healthy,” he said. “Now there are no limits for my next meet.”

World record holder Kendra Harrison ran a wind-aided 12.37 in the 100m hurdles to win her third straight Drake Relays title.

“I’m pleased with it,” said Harrison, who added she’s next headed to the first Diamond League meeting of 2018 at Doha next week. “I think it’s going to set up the rest of my hurdles (season).”

Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Fifty One East and Sony Middle East and Africa (Sony MEA) officials pose for a photographs with the Emir Cup.

29MONDAY 30 APRIL 2018 SPORT

F1: Hamilton wins chaotic Baku battle to lead title raceAFP

BAKU: Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton claimed his first win of 2018 yesterday and took over as leader of the title race when he triumphed in a dramatic, crash-strewn Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The 33-year-old Briton, who had struggled for outright pace, managed to steer his Mercedes through a chaotic race and cap-italize on others’ misfortunes to register his first victory in seven races and the 63rd of his career.

Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari looked set to turn pole position into a victory until a second Safety Car intervention left him lunging to pass Valtteri Bottas and locked up and ran off.

Bottas then seemed sure to win, but suffered a sudden right rear puncture on his Mercedes after running over metal debris on the straight. Hamilton flew past to return to the top of the podium

“That was quite an emotional race, to be honest,” said ham-ilton, who now leads the cham-pionship by four points from Vettel.

“Valtteri deserved to have the win and also Sebastian did a great job. I was very fortunate today so it feels a bit odd to me to be here.”

Vettel managed to continue and finish fourth ahead of his teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Mexican Sergio Perez of Force India.

Carlos Sainz finishing fifth for Renault and Charles Leclerc sixth for Sauber, his first points finish.

Fernando Alonso finished seventh for McLaren ahead of

Canadian Lance Stroll of Wil-liams, Stoffel Vandoorne in the second McLaren and New Zea-land’s Brendon Hartley of Toro Rosso who scored his first point in F1.

The race was heavily punc-tuated by accidents which included one in which the two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen collided while fighting for fourth place in the closing stages, the pair having banged wheels and battled for positions throughout the race.

They ended up among the seven retirements on a chal-lenging day on the second-longest circuit on the calendar.

In cooler conditions with a strong blustery wind, the drama unfolded from the start. As the lights went out, Vettel was away fast enough from his 53rd pole to hold off Hamilton in second, but behind them mayhem erupted.

Raikkonen, starting sixth,

attempted to pass inside Ocon’s Force India, but the Frenchman turned in and as the pair collided he crashed into the wall.

In the surrounding chaos, Sergey Sirotkin was also con-tacted and he went down an escape road while Raikkonen limped back to the Ferrari pits. The luckless Alonso suffered punctured right front and rear tyres.

The multiple incidents required a Safety Car before the action settled and racing resumed, after five laps.

Vettel pulled away to open a three seconds lead ahead of Hamilton and Bottas after 10 of the scheduled 51 laps of the tight and fast Baku street track.

On lap 11, Nico Hulkenberg lost control of his Renault and clipped a wall at Turn Four as Ricciardo began a series of attacks on his Red Bull team-mate, the pair banging wheels to the consternation of their pit

wall. At the front, Vettel was in control and opened up a 3.6 seconds lead despite Hamilton recording fastest laps.

“These tyres are done,” complained Hamilton, who pitted to switch to ‘softs’ after 22 laps, rejoining third behind Bottas, but ahead of Verstappen. Vettel led the Finn by 12.5 seconds after 25 laps.

The Red Bulls con-tinued providing thrills as they fought for fourth, Ricciardo passing Ver-stappen outside Turn One before the Dutch tyro regained the place inside Turn Two.

With 20 laps to go, Vettel finally pitted and passed the lead to Bottas, but rejoined 8.5 seconds ahead of Ham-ilton. A frustrated

Hamilton complained about back markers, but began clawing back time, recorded a fastest lap and then saw Bottas go eight-tenths quicker.

A tense and high-speed con-clusion was clearly in prospect before, after their pit-stops had reversed positions, Ricciardo rammed into Verstappen under braking for Turn One on lap 41.

The Safety Car was deployed again and the leaders pitted for new ultra-soft tyres to set up a charging 10-lap finale.

The action resumed with four laps remaining and promptly delivered even more twists as Vettel lunged to take the lead from Bottas, but locked up and fell to fourth. Then, with two laps remaining, Bottas suffered a right rear punctured after running over debris.

“Oh my God, it just blew up on me,” he said as Hamilton took the lead ahead of Raikkonen and Perez.

Australia, Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 58 laps, 1:29:33.283Bahrain, Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 57 laps, 1:32:01.940China, Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 56 laps, 1:35:36.380Azerbaijan, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 51 laps, 1:43:44.291

Team positions in AzerbaijanDriver Team Time Points1 Mercedes 1:43:44.291 252 Ferrari +0:02.460 183 Force India +0:04.024 154 Ferrari +0:05.329 125 Renault +0:07.515 106 Sauber +0:09.158 87 McLaren +0:10.931 68 Williams +0:12.546 49 McLaren +0:14.152 210 Toro Rosso +0:18.030 111 Sauber +0:18.512 012 Toro Rosso +0:24.720 013 Haas +0:40.663 0R Mercedes Retired (48) 0R Haas Crashed (42) 0R Red Bull Crashed (39) 0R Red Bull Crashed (39) 0R Renault Retired (10) 0R Force India Crashed (0) 0R Williams Retired (0) 0

Bjork’s ‘best round ever’ 65 seals maiden winAFP

BEIJING: Alexander Bjork won his first European Tour title in stunning fashion after carding a seven-under 65 to emerge from a packed China Open field in a dramatic final round yesterday.

“I can’t describe the emo-tions. I’m really, really happy,” said the Swede, who entered the day a shot off the pace and was part of a six-way tie for the lead at one point before winning by two strokes at 18-under par.

“I’m really proud of the way I played today,” added the world number 112.

“It’s probably one of the best rounds I’ve ever played, I would say the best round, given the sit-uation. I didn’t make pretty much any mistakes today so I’m super happy.”

The 27 year-old will now leap into the top 10 in the European Tour Race to Dubai and as high as 72nd in the world on Monday after receiving a bumper cheque for $525,000 at the $3.2m event co-sanctioned by Asian Tour on his 44th European Tour start.

Jordan Smith earlier signed for a brilliant 64 to set the clubhouse target at 16 under par, but Bjork took the lead on his own for the first time with a birdie on 15 after a classy up-and-down from a sand trap.

Spaniard Adrian Otaegui joined him in top spot but another birdie on the 17 left Bjork with an nervous clubhouse wait at 18-under par 270. A three-putt on the 17th from Otaegui left him two behind and when he and fellow overnight leader Matt Wallace both failed to make eagles at the par-five 18th Bjork was able to celebrate.

Spain’s Otaegui did make a birdie at 18 to take second place on his own at 17-under. Fellow Spaniard Jorge Campillo shared third at 16-under par with the English pair of Smith and Wallace.

The 27-year-old Bjork first hit the front with a stunning approach to the opening hole and further birdies on two par-fives, the fourth and eighth, plus another at the 11th left him one behind Smith who stormed to the top of the leaderboard after a flawless round fea-turing eight birdies. Otaegui holed a brilliant downhill sweeping 25-foot left-to-righter on the second to get his final-round 67 going. Wallace was level par for his round after 10 holes as he overcame a double-bogey on the fourth but a tremendous back nine with birdies on the 11th, 12th, 15th and 17th kept his hopes alive.

Emir Cup final: Tickets go on sale from todayTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: As the countdown for the Emir Cup final begins, the Qatar Football Association is releasing the first batch of the final match tickets for sale at 12 locations starting today.

The Emir Cup final will be played at the Khalifa International Stadium on May 19.

The first batch of tickets for the final are available at the following ticket sales centres across the country: Qatar Mall, Villaggio, Landmark, Al Khor Mall, Lulu Airport, Souq Al Wakrah, Souq Waqif, Lagoona Mall, Qatar Sports Club, Festival City and Qatar Fnac (Lagoona Mall/Festival City).

A total of 10,000 tickets will be made available to the public before the release of the second and third batches.

The QFA has set up a new mech-anism in the way of issuing tickets in which the organisers will provide more tickets to centres which sell the final tickets quickest.

The Emir Cup tickets will be different this year with the use of the bar code in each ticket. This year smart tickets will be issued to help the purchaser to their parking spot at the iconic Khalifa International Stadium.

The bar code details on the tickets could also be used on the phone app to look for more details on seating locations and other final-related information.

The final on May 19 will signal the end of the football season in Qatar.

Earlier on Saturday, the much-awaited Emir Cup trophy tour kicked off in grand fashion at Al Bidda Tower, the home of football in Qatar.

An annual affair, the trophy tour will make numerous stops around the country as it builds up a football frenzy ahead of the Emir Cup final to be played on May 19.

Officials of QFA headed by Ahmed Al Buainain, member of the Executive Committee of QFA, Mansoor Al Ansari, Secretary General of QFA, Abdullah Al Saai, Director of Competitions and Players Department, Hamad Al Mannai, Chairman of the Competitions Com-mittee, and Khalid Mubarak Al Kuwari, Director of Mar-keting and Communication Department, and a large

number of staff were present to kick off the trophy tour at Al Bidda Tower.

The trophy tour will include visits to the Cultural Heritage Center Al Wakra Park, Aspire Park, Sealine Zone and Souq Waqif. This is the first time that the pres-tigious Cup has been promoted with the participation of ‘Tawaf Qatar’ bus.

Alexander Bj �ork of Sweden plays a shot during the final round of the

China Open in Beijing yesterday.

The race winners in 2018

Race winner Mercedes’ British

driver Lewis Hamilton (right)

shakes hands with second-

placed Ferrari’s Finnish driver

Kimi Raikkonen as they celebrate

on the podium of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit

in Baku yesterday. BELOW: Hamilton gets out of his car after winning the

Azerbaijan GP.

30 MONDAY 30 APRIL 2018SPORT

Second edition of Royal Air Maroc League concludes in DohaTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Experienced rider Fergal McCool from Velostar team won the Men’s A category of the hugely popular Royal Air Maroc (RAM) League that ended with a great flourish at Al Bidda Park over the weekend.

Sponsored by Royal Air Maroc, the last round of the league saw 113 riders take part in the final round of what was the second edition of the cycling race.

A huge crowd was present to witness the end of the final race that covered a distance of 18kms (5 laps).

McCool accumulated 405 points over the season to clinch the issue in the Men’s A class. Julie Melville (Andy Brown Pro Racing) clinched the Women’s A class after managing an impressive overall tally of 600 points.

In the Men’s B category, Andrew Tangonan (Pinoy Roadies Qatar) grabbed the first-place with an overall points tally of 552 points. Shawna Garrett (TriClub Doha) sealed the deal in the Women’s B category

In the Men C’s, Qatar’s national rider Zaid Hamza won the title with an overall tally of 555 points.

President of the Qatar Cycling and Tri-athlon Federation (QCTF), Dr Mohammed Al Kuwari, himself an avid cyclist, said the 2017-18 season proved to be a big success

“The Royal Air Maroc League con-tinuous to develop and grow,” Al Kuwari

said. “We are seeing

increased number of partic-ipants in our events.

“We have divided our competitions into various age brackets and we can see how new cyclists are taking part in our races,” Al Kuwari added.

“We have a long-term development plan and our goal is to have a strong inter-national competition like Tour of Qatar in the future,” Al Kuwari said.

“We hope to see profes-sional cyclists on the streets of Qatar one day. As well as having many other plans, we also seek to train local coaches by providing training courses from the International Cycling Union (UCI). As of now, we have more than 20 trainers holding international licenses.

“Now we are engaged hand in hand with the development of triathlon sport and we hope to attract many sponsors in the future,” he added.

Adel Khalloufi, Regional Director of Royal Air Maroc, said that the Moroccan Airlines takes pride in supporting an event like RAM League.

“We are happy with this association. In coordination with the Qatar Cycling and Triathlon Federation, we launched this league for cycling fans in Qatar.

“We are encouraged with the kind of

response we have got in these two years,” Khalloufi said.

“It’s worth mentioning that the Royal Air Maroc supports several sports and activities in Qatar such as golf,” he said after the final round.

“I take this opportunity to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Qatar Cycling and Triathlon Federation for their cooperation through a successful and meaningful partnership between the two parties,” he said. The next cycling season will kick off in October.

Cyclists seen in action during the final round of the Royal Air Maroc (RAM) League near Al Bidda Park in Doha. BELOW: President of the Qatar Cycling and Triathlon Federation (QCTF) Dr Mohammed Al Kuwari and Adel Khalloufi, Regional Director of Royal Air Maroc, are seen with cyclists during the award ceremony held after the final round of RAM.

Swansea City’s Bony at Aspetar to recover from injuryTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Swansea City’s Ivorian striker, Wilfried Bony (pictured), has been receiving treatment at Aspetar, Qatar’s world-renowned orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, as part of his rehabilitation programme from a knee injury.

Utilising an evidence-based model, Aspetar’s experienced practitioners aim to return patients to their pre-injury life-style as quickly and safely as possible and has a proven track record of treating regional and international athletes.

The Swansea City striker and the Ivory Coast international ruptured his cruciate ligament in his right knee when he landed awkwardly just moments after coming on as a second-half sub-stitute at Leicester City in

February fixture. Bony, who helped the Elephants, as Ivory Coast are known by their loving fans, win the 2015’s African Cup of Nations, spoke to Aspetar team during his stay at the hospital and sounded positive about his return to play soon.

“I am here to experiment and I can see it is going very well. I am very happy here with the way they are working. I’ve heard a lot about (Aspetar) from my friends, and I’ve spoken to my colleagues from the Ivory Coast, Lacina Traore and my coach who advised me to come to Aspetar. It is an ideal destination because of the facilities, the way they exercise and (how they provide) treatment. The medical staff are really skilful and this is really helpful for athletes to recover”, Bony said.

Speaking on the African

players who are currently doing very well in the English Premier League, and whether it suits the African footballers more than other leagues, the Swans, which is Swansea City’s Premier League nickname, forward said: “The Premier League is different and has a lot of technique and rhythm and is aggressive and fast paced. I am very happy about the African players’ standard in the league. You can see Mo Salah, Mane, Mahrez there are also players in other top-flight leagues who are doing really well.”

With the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ fast approaching, where Africa is represented by five teams, Bony said he wishes to see all African teams go through the final stages.

“We have been close to do that in the last few tournaments.

Senegal and Nigeria have good teams as well as Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. There is a chance to go forward into the knockout stages. We need to see the players recover from their present league duties and try to rest up to be fresh for the

tournament in Russia. That’s the most important thing.”

Speaking about Qatar as a host nation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup™, the Ivory Coast international player said: “I’ve been here a few times now and they certainly have quality

facilities to organise and host a successful FIFA World Cup™ in 2022. I am sure they will do well and will exceed expectations, and I would love to think I could be here [at the time of compe-tition] either as a player or fan.”

In 2009, Aspetar became the first hospital in the Middle East to be accredited by the FIFA Medical and Research Centre (F-MARC) as a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence. Currently, there are only 41 FIFA-accredited medical centres worldwide.

Aspetar had previously pro-vided medical support to the Ivory Coast and Algeria national football teams that took part at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, and has recently screened the Tunisia national football team players, who will participate at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™.

Froome to lead Team Sky at Giro as he plots Grand Tour trebleAFP

LONDON: Chris Froome will lead Team Sky in this month’s Giro d’Italia as he targets victory in a third straight Grand Tour event despite an ongoing probe into an adverse doping test, the team has announced.

The British rider is taking part in the event, which starts in Jeru-salem and runs from May 4 to 27, for the first time since 2010.

Froome admitted there was a risk in making a serious assault on the Giro so close to his expected attempt to retain his Tour de France title, but said he would regret it for the rest of his career if he did not attempt it.

He completed an historic Tour de France-Vuelta a Espana double in September.

“I’ve had a different start to the season as I’ve obviously been aiming to try and reach my peak quite a bit earlier than usual,” Froome said in a team statement.

“But the target of going for a third consecutive Grand Tour has given me new motivation.

“Of course there is an element of risk involved in targeting the Giro before the Tour, but I think I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t give this race a go.”

Froome, 32, has been embroiled in a legal and scien-tific wrangle with the Interna-tional Cycling Union’s (UCI’s) independent anti-doping unit since he returned an adverse ana-lytical finding for the asthma drug salbutamol at the Vuelta.

The four-time Tour de France winner insists there has been no wrongdoing on his or the team’s part.

Although salbutamol is per-mitted in certain doses, Froome gave a urine reading of twice the allowed limit. The investigation is ongoing and Froome continues to compete.

The top rider told Eurosport that the build-up to the Giro had not been easy, voicing his frus-trations over the drawn-out situation.

“I certainly haven’t been charged (with) anything as of yet and I hope to be fully exonerated of any wrongdoing because I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.

“I get it, when people look at the sport of cycling, they see what’s happened in the past and people think ‘here we go again, it’s history repeating itself’. This case is not that scenario. I do empathise with people but it’s hugely frustrating that this is now being played out in the public domain.”

The other members of Team Sky for the Giro are David de la Cruz, Kenny Elissonde, Sergio Henao, Vasil Kiryienka, Christian Knees, Wout Poels and Salvatore Puccio.

31MONDAY 30 APRIL 2018 SPORT

IANS

JAIPUR: Sunrisers Hyderabad dominated with both bat and ball to defeat Rajasthan Royals by 11 runs and rise to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) table here yesterday.

Electing to bat first, Hyderabad rode on excellent batting by Kane Williamson and Alex Hales to post 151/7 in their 20 overs.

In reply, Rajasthan could only manage to reach 140/6.

The win propelled Hyderabad to the top spot on the points table. The visitors now have 12 points from eight matches.

They rose one rung, dis-placing former champions Chennai Super Kings to the second spot. Kings XI Punjab are at the third position.

Both Chennai and Punjab are on 10 points, with only the net run rate separating the two teams.

Rajasthan’s chase was off to a poor start as opener Rahul Tri-pathi was bowled by Hyderabad pacer Sandeep Sharma in the third over.

Rajasthan skipper Ajinkya Rahane -- the team’s other opener -- led from the front, batting through the innings to remain unbeaten on 65 runs off 55 balls.

He posted a partnership of 59 runs off 44 balls with Sanju Samson to bring the hosts’ innings back on track after Tri-pathi’s departure.

Samson scored 40 runs off 30 balls before holing out to Hales at short mid-wicket while attempting to smash a deceptive slower ball by Siddarth Kaul out of the ground.

That seemed to take the fight out of the hosts as they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.

Kaul returned figures of 2/23 to emerge as the most successful among the Hyderabad bowlers.

Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi, Rashid Khan and Yusuf Pathan also bagged a wicket each.

Earlier, Hyderabad rode on excellent batting by Williamson and Hales to post 151/7 in their 20 overs.

Williamson smashed 63 runs off 43 balls with seven bound-aries and two sixes. Hales scored 45 runs off 39 balls.

The two of them added 92 runs between them to lay the foundation of a big total after Hyderabad opener Shikhar Dhawan was bowled by Krishnappa Gowtham in the third over. New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi brought the part-nership to an end in the 15th over when he claimed his maiden IPL wicket in the form of Williamson.

That triggered a strong comeback by the hosts as the vis-itors’ middle and lower order failed to rise to the occasion.

In other match in Bengaluru, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Royal Challengers by six wickets, following an unbeaten knock of 62 from 52 balls by Christopher Austin Lynn.

Meanwhile, after suffering an eight-wicket defeat against Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be keen to get back to winning ways when they face a resurgent Delhi Daredevils today.

IPL: Hyderabad beat Rajasthan to claim top spot

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 151/7 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 63, Alex Hales 45; Jofra Archer 3/26) vs Rajasthan Royals: 140/6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 65, Sanju Samson 40). Royal Challengers Bangalore: 175/4 (Virat Kohli 68, Brendon McCullum 38; Andre Russell 3/31) vs KKR 176-4 in 19.1 overs (CA Lynn 62, RV Uthappa 36; R Ashwin 2-36)

BRIEF SCORES

Celtic secure another Scottish titleAFP

GLASGOW: Celtic hammered arch Glasgow rivals Rangers 5-0 to secure a seventh successive Scottish title with an emphatic Old Firm victory yesterday.

This win, achieved in front of their own fans at Celtic Park, gave Brendan Rodgers’ side an unassailable 10-point lead at the top of the Scottish Pre-miership table over Aberdeen, who can only take a maximum of nine points from their three remaining league games.

Rangers are three points further back in third place.

Celtic are now just two shy of the record of nine Scottish titles in a row they already share with Rangers.

The Hoops’ title party started early as they went 3-0 up before half-time.

Odsonne Edouard gave Celtic an early lead before Edouard and James Forrest added two more goals late in the opening period.

Two minutes after the break, Tom Rogic made it 4-0 with Callum McGregor scoring Celtic’s fifth goal in the 53rd minute.

Defeat did little for Rangers caretaker manager Graeme Murty’s hopes of

holding onto his job, amid speculation the Gers are set to appoint Liverpool great Steven Gerrard as their new permanent boss.

Rodgers, who was Ger-rard’s manager at Liverpool for the latter part of the celebrated midfielder’s Anfield career, is now unbeaten in 11 games against Rangers since he arrived in Glasgow in 2016 -- a run made up of nine wins and two draws.

The Northern Irishman is also just a Scottish Cup final win over Motherwell away from guiding Celtic to an unprecedented second suc-cessive domestic treble.

“The performance was really pleasing, under the pressure and given the game,” Rodgers told Sky Sports.

“You have to play football and today we did the basics really well,” he added.

“We were outstanding and could have had more goals...It’s been a brilliant season by the players.” Rangers goalkeeper Jak Alnwick made his Old Firm debut in place of the injured Wes Foderingham.

Alnwick made a couple of saves but the writing was on the wall for Rangers, with Edouard opening the scoring in the 14th minute when he

turned in a Kieran Tierney cut-back from close range.

It looked like Rangers might head into the break just a goal behind but that hope was dashed four minutes before half-time.

Rangers’ Graham Dorrans lost possession and Forrest sent Edouard clear into the visitors’ box, where he drove a low shot past Alnwick and into the far corner.

And there was still time for Celtic to extend their lead prior to the end of the first half when

Forrest struck from 10 yards.During the celebrations for

that third goal, Celtic’s Mikael Lustig courted controversy when he stole a policeman’s hat.

“We are disappointed with the player’s action and have spoken to the club who will deal with the matter inter-nally,” said a Police Scotland spokeswoman.

“There will be no further police action taken.” It was the closest any Celtic player came to getting into trouble all game.

Barely had the second half got underway before Rogic made it 4-0 from the edge of the box and McGregor added a fifth goal after he was played in by Edouard.

There was still plenty of time left in the game for Celtic to surpass their biggest win over Rangers -- a 7-1 success back in 1957 -- and the only surprise was that they didn’t add to their tally of goals.

Celtic fans, however, were more than happy with a final scoreline of 5-0.

Celtic’s players celebrate after winning the Scottish Premiership title yesterday.

Wenger given Old Trafford send-off by FergusonAFP

MANCHESTER: Outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was warmly greeted by the Manchester United fans and presented with a gift by former United boss Alex Ferguson on his final visit to Old Trafford as Gunners’ boss yesterday.

Wenger and Ferguson were fierce rivals for many years as Arsenal and United battled for Premier League supremacy in Wenger’s first decade of a 22-year reign in charge.

However, the tension between the two has since eased, and Ferguson greeted Wenger on the touchline before kick-off before pre-senting him with a glass momento alongside current United manager Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho has also had his spats with Wenger, most famously decribing the Frenchman as a “specialist in failure” for his inability to win the Premier League since 2003/04.

It was all smiles as the Portuguese and Wenger enjoyed a warm embrace before kick-off while Wenger was applauded by the United support.

“There are some great clubs and some fantastic competition in the Premier League now, but United against Arsenal was great for the game. It made the Premier League,” Ferguson told the United website.

“Virtually every game we played against Arsenal, there was a real edge to the match.”

There are some great clubs and some fantastic competition in the Premier League now, but United against Arsenal was great for the game. It made the Premier League,” Ferguson

Arsene Wenger was honoured by Manchester United on his final visit to Old Trafford as Arsenal manager, but left beaten once more on the field as Marouane Fellaini’s stoppage time header handed the hosts a 2-1 win.

United spoil Wenger’s Old Trafford farewell AP

MANCHESTER: Arsene Wenger endured more agony at Old Trafford as his depleted Arsenal side conceded an injury-time goal by Marouane Fellaini to lose 2-1 to Manchester United in the Premier League yesterday.

Fellaini headed in Ashley Young’s inswinging cross in the first minute of added-on time to deny Wenger a point in his final trip to United’s stadium before he leaves Arsenal after more than 21 years in charge.

This was nothing like the 8-2 loss in 2011 or the 6-1 defeat here in 2001, but it was painful nevertheless for Wenger on a day he was honored with a glass vase before kick-off by former United manager Alex Fer-guson and embraced by the current one, long-time foe Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho had the last laugh against Wenger, as he has so often, and the win moved United five points clear in second place, vir-tually guaranteeing second place behind champion Manchester City.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan marked his return to Old Trafford with an equalizing goal as Arsenal - fielding a largely second-string team in view of the Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday - responded well to conceding a 16th-minute goal from Paul Pogba.

The Armenia midfielder barely celebrated when he scored in the 51st minute. Sanchez set up Pogba’s goal by heading against the post.

Romelu Lukaku crossed to the far post where Sanchez planted his header - via the boot of Hector Bel-lerin - against the post.

The ball rebounded out to Pogba, who sidefooted a volley into an empty net.

Arsenal didn’t collapse, though.

The visitors were given a boost when Lukaku hobbled off in the 49th after being on the receiving end of a kick by Mavropanos,

and then equalised. Almost inevitably, it was Mkhitaryan who collected the ball from Granit Xhaka after United lost possession in midfield, advanced as the home defense backed off, and slammed a low shot into the far corner from the edge of the area.

Marcus Rashford had a goal ruled out for offside moments before Fellaini glanced Young’s cross into the corner.

Arsenal’s French manager Arsene Wenger (centre) is greeted by former manager Alex Ferguson (left) and Manchester United’s Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho during a presentation yesterday.

SPORT2.30PM 10:30PM

Chennai Super Kings vs

Delhi Daredevils

Tottenham Hotspur

vs Watford

CRICKET FOOTBALL

27MONDAY 30 APRIL 2018

We got it done that is the most important thing. Before this

series everybody doubted us. But we believed in each other

and it worked out for us.

Terry Rozier Boston Celtics player after win over Milwaukee Bucks

Celtics win game seven to oust Bucks from NBA play-offsAFP

LOS ANGELES: Terry Rozier and Al Horford scored 26 points each as the Boston Celtics routed the Milwaukee Bucks 112-96 in game seven to book their spot in the second round of the NBA play-offs.

The Celtics’ victory in Satur-day’s deciding game was their fourth win at the Boston Garden as the home teams won all seven games in the Eastern Conference series.

“We got it done that is the most important thing,” said Rozier. “Before this series eve-rybody doubted us. But we believed in each other and it worked out for us.”

The storied Celtics franchise is now 36-0 lifetime when leading a playoff series 2-0, and they will try to make it 37 straight when they face the Philadelphia 76ers in the next round. Game one is today in Boston.

“We got to pay attention to details and take away what they want to do,” Rozier said of the next round.

Jayson Tatum tallied 20 points for the Celtics in the win.

The loss means the elimi-nation of Giannis Antetok-ounmpo from the playoffs. Antetokounmpo, whose blend of size and athleticism has earned him the nickname the “Greek Freak,” finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.

Khris Middleton scored 32 and Eric Bledsoe chipped 23 in the loss.

Boston led 50-42 at the half

despite going one-for-12 from beyond the arc.

Horford had 14 points and seven rebounds at halftime, while Bledsoe led the Milwaukee attack with 12 points.

The Bucks narrowed the Boston lead to three points early in the third, but Boston scored 11 of the last 15 points in the quarter to seize command.

“Wasn’t able to win on the road, but we pushed the series to game seven,” Antetokounmpo said. “A lot of the guys in the locker room have never been in game sevens. It’s a new

experience. Now we know now what it takes to win a game seven.”

In Oakland, Draymond Green posted his fourth career playoff triple double as the Golden State Warriors rolled over the New Orleans Pelicans 123-101 in the opening game of their second round series.

Green finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, and Kevin Durant tallied 26 points and 13 rebounds for the defending champion Warriors who took command of the contest in the second quarter.

“We knew we had to come out and get the ball moving,” Green said. “Make sure everyone was a threat on the floor and we did. We knew we could pick them apart.”

Golden State again played without two-time MVP Stephen Curry. Coach Steve Kerr said it was “very likely” Curry would play game two on Tuesday. Curry has been out since March 23 with a sprained knee.

“If he comes back he is our guy,” said Green. “He will incor-porate himself back into the offense. We will be ready to roll.”

Anthony Davis paced the Pelicans’ attack with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Jrue Holiday had just 11 points on a disappointing four-of-14 shooting.

Boston Celtics forward Al Horford (42) is surrounded by Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton (22) and forward Jabari Parker (12) during the fourth quarter in game seven of the first round of the 2018 NBA play-offs at TD Garden on Saturday.

Results from Saturday’s NBA play-off games (all se-ries best-of-seven):

Eastern ConferenceFirst Round At Boston

Boston 112 Milwaukee 96 (Boston wins series 4-3)

Western Conference Second Round

At Oakland Golden State 123 New Orleans 101 (Golden State leads series 1-0)

NBA PLAY-OFF RESULTS

Astros trounce Athletics 11-0AP

HOUSTON: Lance McCullers got a lot of longball help, not that he needed much.

McCullers threw seven sharp innings, Jose Altuve had four hits and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 11-0 on Sat-urday night.

Altuve hit a towering home run that left the ballpark and doubled. It was Altuve’s 26th career four-hit game, tying Jeff Bagwell for second most in fran-chise history, eight behind Craig Biggio.

“It means that it’s the 26th time that I helped my team to do something,” Altuve said. “When you get four hits that means you’re going to be on base a lot of times for guys like (Carlos) Correa, Marwin (Gonzalez), (Josh) Reddick.”

George Springer, Derek Fisher and Marwin Gonzalez also homered in the highest-scoring this season for the World Series champions. The Astros scored in every inning but the fifth, chasing Oakland starter Daniel Mengden (2-3) in the third.

“We just controlled the zone, and when he made a mistake a lot of guys didn’t miss it,” Springer said. “He’s obviously been throwing the ball well; he’s good when he’s on. For us to take him out and get to him early was huge.”

McCullers (4-1) allowed two hits, striking out seven without a walk for his third straight win.

“I got my strikeouts when I needed them, I got my strikeouts when they presented them-selves, but I was getting a lot of

outs 1-1 or 2-1 or 2-0 on some changeups,” McCullers said.

“Because the offense did such a great job I was able to throw some 2-0 challenge heaters. They were hit to the warning track sometimes but they stayed in the park, which was the important thing,” he said.

The right-hander was perfect before Mark Canha singled to lead off the sixth inning. McCullers has not given up more than one run in each of his last three starts.

“He had excellent stuff tonight,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. “His ball was moving all over the place, he threw a few changeups, more than probably the entire season. He’s always got the power breaking ball. He did everything right as a pitcher tonight, whether getting out of the gate hot, coming in throwing strikes, seeing that his stuff was (good). It was an excellent performance by him.” Altuve singled and scored in the first, hit an RBI double in the second and had a solo home run in the sixth.

Fisher hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Springer had a leadoff drive in the sixth. Gonzalez, who had a sacrifice fly in the third, hit a solo home run into the second deck in right in the seventh.

Houston got to Mengden early, with three runs in the first on sacrifice flies by Yuli Gurriel and Josh Reddick followed by an RBI double by Alex Bregman.

“For hitters hitting 2-0, 2-1, 3-1 counts is what they dream of, and that’s what I gave them

all night,” Mengden said. “Just didn’t execute very well tonight and didn’t get strike one.”

Mengden was tagged for five runs and six hits in a season-low 2 1/3 innings.

“The ball was up in the zone early on,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “He had trouble getting ahead. They put some good swings on him.”

RHP Paul Blackburn, cur-rently on the 60-day disabled list with a strained right forearm, is throwing out to 90 feet but not off the mound, Melvin said. ... OF Boog Powell (sprained right knee) is doing strengthening and conditioning but no baseball activity, Melvin said.

Plate umpire Tom Hallion took a foul ball off his chest during Marcus Semien’s first inning at-bat. Hallion, who is also the crew chief, immediately fell onto his back. Houston catcher Brian McCann leaned over Hallion, holding his hand while the other umpires and an Astros trainer ran out. After a few minutes, Hallion was helped to a sitting position before standing up and resuming play, staying in for the rest of the game.

Athletics: RHP Trevor Cahill (1-0) will make his third start of the season Sunday after earning a no decision Monday at Texas, allowing three runs in five innings.

Astros: RHP Gerrit Cole (2-1) will look to bounce back after being handed his first loss of the season Monday against the Angels, allowing two runs in seven innings.

Sharks beat Vegas 4-3; Bruins crush LightningAFP

LOS ANGELES: Logan Couture scored his second goal 5:13 into double overtime to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 4-3 win over the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in game two of their NHL play-off series.

Couture beat Vegas goal-tender Marc-Andre Fleury with a wrist shot just inside the post to the upper part of the net as the Sharks levelled the best-of-seven Western Conference series at 1-1.

The series now switches to San Jose for game three on Monday night.

Brett Burns scored the first Sharks’ goal two minutes into the second period, which snapped Fleury’s marathon scoreless streak that included back-to-back shutouts. Fleury came into Saturday’s game with a superb.982 save percentage in the play-offs.

The Sharks lost game one on Thursday 7-0, matching their largest margin of defeat in the postseason in franchise history.

“We were better (game one) everywhere,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer.

Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault appeared have won it for the Golden Knights late in the first overtime but the goal was overturned after the video review officials determined Marchessault bumped Jones’ stick as he skated by the crease.

It was the first loss of the playoffs for the Golden Knights who were a perfect 5-0.

Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said his team “better be ready (game three) because we didn’t show up for 45 minutes.”

Elsewhere, Boston’s top scoring trio combined for 11 points and Tuukka Rask stopped 34 shots despite an equipment malfunction as the Boston Bruins kicked off their second round series with a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Momota stuns Chen to win Asian titleAFP

SHANGHAI: Japan’s Kento Momota shocked Olympic gold-medallist Chen Long to be crowned Asian badminton champion yesterday, a year after his return from a gambling ban.

Momota, who was barred ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics and returned to action last year, floored the Chinese favourite 21-17, 21-13 at the Badminton Asia Cham-pionships in Wuhan.

The 17th-ranked left-hander had never previously won a game against Chen but he dominated the final, reeling off seven straight points to clinch victory when the world number three netted.

Momota clenched his fists in triumph and kissed the Japan badge on his singlet after the win, which caps his recovery from a troubled period.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) delivers a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Minute Maid Park on Saturday.