21FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER 2017SPORTSPORT IPL spend could hit $96m as wage cap rises 20% New Delhi

AFP

The Indian Premier League, one of the world’s richest sports

competitions, will let teams splurge up to $12 m each on player salaries in 2018, an increase of 20 percent.

After a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, the IPL governing council also said teams will have to spend a minimum of 75 percent of the salary cap each season.

The decision means the eight IPL teams are likely to spend anywhere between $72m and $96m on players alone for just eight weeks of cricket action in 2018.

“Whatever changes we have come up with are all in the interest of the players,” IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said.

“We are also looking to increase the prize money for the players in future.”

While most of India’s big name players are already attached to franchises, sev-eral players bagged lucrative deals in the IPL auction in February.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes set a new record for a foreigner by joining the Ris-ing Pune Supergiants for more than $2m.

England pace bowler Tymal Mills went to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1.8m, even though he had only played four Twenty20 internationals before that.

The attractions of last-ball winning sixes, extravagant switch-hitting and rapid-fire centuries have made IPL a favourite of the masses, espe-cial ly the younger generation.

The IPL’s 60 games are valued at roughly $8.5m each, not far off the estimated $9.6m per English Premier League match -- and well over the $6.2m price tag attached to home internation-als in India.

Defiant Bayliss says England need to fight for longer periods of timeAdelaide

AFP

England coach Trevor Bayliss says his team left “a few scars” on Australia in the Adelaide Test, suggest-

ing the home side’s second innings batting performance will have some players feeling “nervous”.

The fighting talk came after England slumped to a crushing 120-run defeat in the second Ashes Test at Adelaide, leaving the tourists trailing 2-0 and on the verge of losing the five-Test series.

Despite succumbing again, Bayliss was upbeat about his bowlers skittling Australia for 138 in the second innings, leav-ing England with a chance of chasing down a record 354-run victory target.

“We have got a few scars there with the Australian team,” he told the BBC.

“There will be a few who have missed out and a few who will be nervous.

“They’ve got four good bowl-ers and we’ve shown we can compete with them for a period of time.”

Bayliss said his players just needed to figure out how to be competitive for longer periods.

“I don’t think there is a real need to panic, the guys have

shown the capabilities we have got. We have just got to find a way to do it for longer,” he said.

“In both Test matches we have competed for a couple of days but to win against Australia in Australia we have to compete for longer than that.

“All of our players have com-peted at different times and showed they can bat but we just have to do it for longer.”

Bayliss clearly does not think that any more practice is the key for England’s batsmen and yes-terday named only Moeen Ali from the side that lost in Adelaide in an England XI to face a Cricket Australia XI in a two-day tour match in Perth.

The rest of the team is made up of the squad members who did not play in the second test and six players from the England Lions team, who are training in the city.

Captain Joe Root was also positive after the game, saying England were “still massively” in the Ashes series.

This is despite England not beating Australia at Perth’s WACA Ground since 1978, where the third Test starts next week.

“We’ve shown throughout the two Tests in periods we can out-perform Australia, but just not over five days,” said Root, who scored 67 in the second innings run chase but failed to stay at the crease long enough

to give his side a realistic shot at winning.

“If we can perform to our ability for longer periods of time we’ll win games. The belief in dressing room is definitely there.”

Bayliss said the team played well in final days of the Adelaide day-night Test, but they needed to make more than 220 runs in an innings to stand a chance in Perth.

“If we do that well we can put more pressure on Australia than we did on this match,” he

said. Australia head into the third Test with all-rounder Mitch Marsh recalled to the squad, with the home side conscious of pro-tecting star fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins with the series still alive and three Tests remaining.

Marsh, brother of Adelaide Test centurion Shaun Marsh, last played a Test on Australia’s tour of India in March and required a full shoulder reconstruction after an injury in the Bangalore Test.

But he is confident he can contribute if selected, with mid-dle-order batsman Peter Handscomb likely to be dropped if Australia opt for Marsh.

“As an allrounder in the Aus-tralian team with our attack I’m obviously not going to be bowl-ing 30 to 40 overs a game,” he said.

“But I’ve worked hard over the last eight months to get my body into a position where I’m now playing again as an all-rounder so that’s really exciting.”

India vs SL: Tired ‘rivalry’ and the empty stands New Delhi

Reuters

The humorous observation that India and Sri Lanka’s cricketers see more of

each other than their respective partners appears to have taken a more serious tone with the Indian board accepting that an overdose of the one-sided rivalry is bad for cricket.

Three months after subject-ing hosts Sri Lanka to a 9-0 whitewash across all formats, captain Virat Kohli’s men pre-vailed 1-0 in the latest round of a duel between the neighbours to seal their record-equalling ninth consecutive test series win.

Three of those triumphs have come against an unsettled and inexperienced Sri Lankan side in the throes of a tricky transition period following the retirements of batting stalwarts Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara in 2015.

India’s six other series wins in this period includes home tri-umphs against South Africa, New Zealand, England, Bangla-desh and Australia, as well as a victory over West Indies in the Caribbean.

While it makes financial sense for Sri Lanka to play India, the game’s economic engine, the home board (BCCI) said the lat-est series, an underwhelming prospect for fans, was unavoid-able as it had to honour its commitment to the calendar.

“The back-to-back series resulted from what had been committed in the past in the cur-rent FTP (Future Tours Programme),” BCCI acting sec-retary Amitabh Choudhary told reporters on the sidelines of the third and final Test in Delhi.

“The observation of the cap-tain of the team will be a

substantial basis of further dis-cussions on FTP.”

Indian captains seldom talk about scheduling issues but Kohli has expressed concerns that the frequency of certain contests might result in plenty of empty seats in the stands.

“It definitely has to be taken into consideration because you don’t want fans going away from the game or not watching,” Kohli said ahead of the back-to-back series against Sri Lanka, who have managed only one win in the last nine Tests against their neighbours.

“We have to find a balance between how to engage the fans and, at the same time, keep players fresh, keep cricket excit-ing and have very competitive

going throughout the year.” India also played five one-day-ers in Sri Lanka this year, against an opponent containing many regulars in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“This analysis has to be done over a period of time, by asking fans who watch the game,” Kohli said.

“For someone watching the game, it is very different than someone playing the game. For us, there is no room for saying that I don’t want to play this game.

“I don’t know if too much cricket is being played, or (it’s) repetition of the same series... That point will definitely be dis-cussed (with the Indian board) in future.”

‘Circus’ fears as Stokes is back in England ODI squad Sydney

AFP

Suspended all-rounder Ben Stokes was included yesterday in England’s squad for their one-day series against Australia, with coach Trevor Bayliss bracing for “a circus” if he is cleared

to play.Stokes is currently banned from international cricket while

British authorities probe his alleged involvement in a late-night fight outside a Bristol nightclub, and it remained in doubt whether he would play.

Batsman Alex Hales, who was caught up in the same fracas, was also named in the 16-man squad for the five-game series, starting in Melbourne on January 14.

Selectors said in a statement they were advised to name their strongest squad, and picked the pair accordingly.

“Both Alex Hales and Ben Stokes are included, though their involvement remains subject to any relevant legal or disciplinary developments in relation to the incident in Bristol in September,” they said. Bayliss admitted Stokes’ potential appearance in Aus-tralia could be a distraction for the team.

“Whenever he comes back that’s going to be a bit of a circus for sure,” he told reporters after England lost the second Test in Adelaide on Wednesday. “Whether it’s any more of a circus than it’s already been, it’s hard to say. If it happens, let’s just get on with it and take it on the chin.”

He added: “We’ve got to adjust to that at some stage.”New Zealand-born Stokes did not travel to Australia with the

rest of the squad for the Ashes Test series, and has missed the first two in Brisbane and Adelaide, with England losing both.

But speculation that he is preparing for a dramatic call-up was fuelled by his decision to sign with New Zealand provincial side Canterbury as their overseas player in late November.

In his first limited overs match for his birth province against Otago, he was bowled for two. He did better against Auckland on Wednesday, hitting 34 from 41 deliveries as he shakes off the rust.

Stokes could yet return mid-series to the Ashes if police decide not to charge him.

In addition to Stokes and Hales, Kent batsman Sam Billings and Durham seamer Mark Wood were added to the squad that beat the West Indies 4-0 in the one-day series held in England at the end of the British summer.

“With around 18 months to the start of the 2019 World Cup, our ODI side continues to make solid progress with series wins over the West Indies and South Africa last summer and a semi-final berth in the Champions Trophy,” said selector James Whitaker.

“The forthcoming series against Australia presents another significant opportunity for this group to showcase their skills and talent against a quality side away from home.”

England one-day squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Cur-ran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Schedule:1st ODI - Sunday, January 14, Melbourne Cricket Ground2nd ODI - Friday, January 19, Gabba, Brisbane3rd ODI - Sunday, January 21, Sydney Cricket Ground4th ODI - Friday, January 26, Adelaide Oval5th ODI - Sunday, January 28, Optus Stadium, Perth

Since becoming England Test captain, Joe Root (pictured above) has

passed 50 in nine of his 16 innings but has converted just 2 into centuries - 190 at Lord’s in his first knock as captain and 136 against West Indies at Edgbaston.

“It’s a monkey on his back and it will continue to grow with so many fifties

not being hundreds. I’m still convinced it’s because he’s

had the captaincy put on him. I wish they hadn’t, I wish he didn’t have the

burden and could just be our best-ever batsman but

that decision has been made and this tour will be tough

on him because that pressure will build and build,” SAYS FORMER ENGLAND SPINNER

GRAEME SWANN.

Indian team captain Virat Kohli gestures during the fifth day of third Test cricket match between India and Sri Lanka at the Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Stadium in New Delhi on Wedesday.

Australia’s captain Steve Smith (right) shakes hands with England captain Joe Roor after the second Ashes cricket Test in Adelaide.

22 FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER 2017SPORT

23FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER 2017 SPORT

Spain’s Garcia named Europe’s best golfer of the year

London

Reuters

US Masters champion Sergio Garcia was named the Euro-pean Tour’s Golfer of the

Year for the first time yesterday, capping an excellent year in which

he also triumphed in the Dubai Desert Classic and the Andalucia Valderrama Masters.

The 37-year-old, who beat Englishman Justin Rose in a play-

off back in April to capture his maiden major in Augusta, is the third Spaniard to win the award

after Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.

“This is an amazing honour,” Garcia said in a news release. “I think both on and off the golf course it has been a unique and

unbelievable year, and one that I will definitely remember my

whole life.“I am so happy to receive this

award...against the calibre of players

that were in contention, (it) is incred-ible. Tommy (Fleetwood), Justin,

Tyrrell (Hatton) and Jon (Rahm) are all amazing players, and all had unbe-lievable years themselves.”

Sergio Garcia of Spain tees off

during the third round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic

at the Emirates Golf Club, in this February 2017

file photo.

Tiger still a major threat, say Calcavecchia and Janzen New York

Reuters

The show that Tiger Woods put on last week in his latest

comeback from injury was enough to convince a pair of major winners that he may still be able to triumph in golf’s blue riband events.

Woods swung freely and with no sign of back pain at the Hero World Challenge, finishing tied for ninth in the 18-man exhibition which featured eight of the world’s top 10 golfers.

Mark Calcavecchia saw enough to know it would be foolish to write off the former world number one.

“His name is Tiger Woods after all. You don’t just forget that he has won 14 majors and 79 (PGA Tour) tournaments,” the former British Open winner told a conference call to promote the Diamond Resorts Invitational.

“I watched most of last week and I was very impressed with a lot of things. He’s going at it full speed, he’s certainly not holding back trying to pro-tect what we all thought was still going to be a tender back.”

Following spinal fusion surgery and a lengthy layoff, Woods arrived at the Baha-mas event ranked 1,199th but after posting a 31 on his opening nine holes, his odds to win the US Masters in April dropped to 15-1, according

to one Las Vegas bookmaker.

In August, he had opened at 100-1 odds to win the year’s first major.

Calcavecchia said

Woods, who remains four majors behind Jack Nick-laus’s record of 18, would be well served to play in more events than usual to get into a groove.

While Woods drove the ball as well as he had in a decade, he was rusty when it came to chipping, but that was no concern for twice US Open winner Lee Janzen.

“Tiger Woods has a var-iable that is unmeasurable that you can never count him out,” said Janzen.

“He always has in his pocket somewhere the abil-ity to do something dramatic and to pull off the right shot at the right time.

“His putting looked really good. But if he regains that touch with chipping I would be surprised if he wasn’t in contention in a major.”

Woods will turn 42 on December 30 and the com-petition he faces from the game’s younger players is deeper than in his prime.

But just as Nicklaus came out of nowhere to win the 1986 Masters at the age of 46, Janzen felt the same could be in store for Woods.

“That is the biggest ques-tion, can he win a major now because he is playing against a bunch of Tiger clones, basi-cally,” he said.

“All these young guys are playing like he used to play and it isn’t just one of them.

“So he has to beat the younger version of himself now and there’s a handful of them, at least.

“But just like Jack Nick-laus, when they tried to write him off he showed everybody that he wasn’t done yet,” he said.

Tiger Woods hits his bunker shot on the 17th hole during the final round of the Hero

World Challenge in Albany on December 3.

His name is Tiger Woods after all. You don’t just forget that he has won 14 majors and 79 (PGA Tour) titles: Calcavecchia

Durant powers Warriors; James dominates Kings

Los Angeles AFP

Kevin Durant finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his ninth career triple double

on Wednesday as the under-manned Golden State Warriors defeated the Charlotte Hornets 101-87.

The Warriors won their fifth straight and the seventh in their last eight games despite playing without superstar Stephen Curry and forward Draymond Green.

Durant had 16 points in the first quarter, quickly setting the tone for the game at the Spec-trum Center arena. He finished 13 of 28 from the field and hit three three-pointers.

Durant said his team-mates did a good job of picking up the slack with Curry and Green out.

“I think everybody just ral-lied around each other, from the coaches to the players to the trainers, everybody,” Durant said. “The defense was on point tonight and we got off to a good start.”

Golden State coach Steve

Kerr was impressed with the way Durant carried the team to victory.

“What a luxury to be able to just throw him the ball, espe-cially with Steph out,” Kerr said. “He took over. It wasn’t really scripted, it was just a natural

product of Steph being out, Draymond being out.

“He was attacking from the start. It was like a ‘I’ve got this’.”

The Warriors cruised to a 48-22 lead in the second quar-ter and never trailed, improving to 20-6 on the

season. Charlotte pulled to within seven points halfway through the fourth quarter, but the Warriors built the lead back up to 16.

The Warriors also got 22 points from Klay Thompson and 10 points from Nick Young.

Curry sat out the contest after suffering a sprained ankle in New Orleans two nights ago. Green was a late scratch because of a shoulder injury.

Charlotte was without their coach Steve Clifford, who missed his second game with an illness.

Kemba Walker had a team-high 24 points for the Hornets, who dropped to 9-14. Nicolas Batum scored 15 and Dwight Howard had 14.

Golden State led 26-18 after one quarter, 53-38 at halftime, and 79-68 after three quarters.

Elsewhere, LeBron James nailed a clutch three-pointer with 16 seconds left as Cleveland won a record-tieing 13th straight game with a 101-95 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

James finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as the win equaled a Cleveland franchise record.

There were about five sec-onds left on the shot clock when time was called with 20 seconds left and Cleveland clinging to a two-point lead.

Coach Tyronn Lue said he intended to call a different play in the huddle, but James wanted “Chicago,” a play named for James’ turnaround jumper at the buzzer in game four of the 2015 conference semi-finals against the Chicago Bulls.

Minnesota 113 LA Clippers 107

San Antonio 117 Miami 105

Golden State 101 Charlotte 87

Milwaukee 104 Detroit 100

New Orleans 123 Denver 114

Boston 97 Dallas 90

NY Knicks 99 Memphis 88

Cleveland 101 Sacramento 95

Indiana 98 Chicago 96

Orlando 110 Atlanta 106

NBA RESULTS

Kevin Durant (centre) of the Golden State Warriors shoots over team-mates Treveon Graham (left) and Dwight Howard of the Charlotte Hornets during their NBA game at Spectrum Center on Wednesday.

NFL: Goodell

signs $200m

contract

extension

New York

Reuters

Roger Goodell has signed a contract extension to

remain the commis-sioner of the National Football League, accord-ing to a letter from the league’s compensation committee that was sent t o o w n e r s o n Wednesday.

Financial terms of the contract for Goodell, who has been commis-sioner of the most popular US sports league since 2006, were not dis-closed but multiple media reports said the two sides agreed to a five-year deal worth $200m.

The contract ends weeks of hostilities dur-ing which Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones threatened to sue the NFL and the six own-ers on the compensation committee. According to the six-person compen-sation committee, there was a nearly unanimous consensus among the ownership in favor of signing the contract extension now.

Goodell has overseen significant revenue growth for the NFL but has also been the subject of major scrutiny in recent years for his han-dling of sensitive issues such as domestic vio-lence and concussions.

Capitals thrash

Blackhawks

as Maple Leafs

edge FlamesNew York

Agencies

Alexander Ovechkin scored his league-leading 21st goal,

Nicklas Backstrom ended a 21-game goal-scoring drought, and Tom Wilson scored twice as the Washing-ton Capitals cruised to a 6-2 victory over the sliding Chi-cago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

Brett Connolly and Evg-eny Kuznetsov also scored for the Capitals, who have won six of seven to move into a tie for second place in the Met-ropolitan Division.

Maple Leafs 2, Flames 1 Frederik Andersen made

47 saves, and William Nylander scored the decisive goal in a shootout as Toronto defeated Calgary. Mark Giordano scored for the Flames in regulation, and Morgan Rielly replied for the Maple Leafs.

Ducks 3, Senators 0In other game of the day,

Ryan Miller made 29 saves to earn his 40th career shutout, and Adam Henrique regis-tered two goals as Anaheim defeated Ottawa.

The Ducks broke a three-game losing streak (0-1-2) by taking the opener of a three-game homestand.

Anaheim 3 Ottawa 0

Philadelphia 4 Edmonton 2

Washington 6 Chicago 2

Toronto 2 Calgary 1

NHL RESULTS

SPORTSPORTFriday 8 December 2017

Tiger still a threat, say Calcavecchia and Janzen

Durant powers Warriors; James

dominates Kings

PAGE | 21 PAGE |23 PAGE | 23

India vs Sri Lanka: Tired ‘rivalry’ and the empty stands

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Tokyo 2020 unveils

bug-eyed Olympic

mascot hopefuls Tokyo

AFP

Tokyo Olympic organisers unveiled a shortlist of three official 2020 Games mascots yesterday -- from bug-eyed cartoon heroes to cuddly raccoons (two

pictured above).The Olympic and Paralympic designs, which cele-

brate the themes of harmony, diversity and resilience, were unveiled by pupils at a Tokyo elementary school.

After a bungled rollout of the official Olympic logo that led to it being scrapped following accusations of pla-giarism, local organisers have left the selection of the Tokyo 2020 mascots in the hands of schoolchildren.

From December 11 to February 22, pupils at every elementary school across Japan -- and Japanese schools overseas -- will choose their favourite design, with each class casting a single vote. The winner will be announced on February 28.

The competing mascots are instantly recognisable as “Made in Japan”, ranging in appearance from sci-fi cool to a glum-looking fox closer in spirit to the country’s beloved “yuru-kyara” (soft characters).

Design A’s futuristic blue-checked design with pointy ears and oversized eyes evokes Japanese manga, while Olympic organisers revealed it has a “strong sense of jus-tice” and can apparently move faster than light.

Its Paralympic cousin, meanwhile, sports red checks derived from cherry blossoms and possesses the ability, helpfully, to “talk with stones and the wind.”

Design B pairs a cartoon hybrid of a “lucky” cat and a fox draped in a red flame-like cloak with a blue lion-dog of the type seen guarding Japanese shrines -- the common thread between them big round eyes resem-bling disco lights.

Olympic Mascot B also “loves to take naps underneath the sunlight,” said Japanese organisers, adding that it “gives happy energy to people by touching them with its tail.”

The softer appeal of Option C, meanwhile, brings together a fox looking less than overjoyed at being dec-orated in prehistoric “magatama” beads and a red raccoon looking a little bemused by all of the commotion.

Tokyo organisers will hope to make smooth progress on the mascots to build on recent momentum following a series of public relations disasters.

Last month, Tokyo opened its first new permanent venue for the 2020 Olympics -- a welcome boost after plans for the main stadium were torn up by Prime Min-ister Shinzo Abe two years ago over its $2 billion price tag.

Designs for the official Games emblem were then scrapped amid a plagiarism row.

Aspire Academy becomes sponsor for Qatar Fencing GPThe Peninsula

Aspire Academy yesterday signed a sponsorship agreement with the Qatar

Weightlifting and Fencing Fed-eration to become the official technical and logistical sponsor of the 2017 Qatar Fencing Grand Prix Championship, a three-day event which starts today at Aspire Dome.

Some of the world’s best fencers and Aspire Academy’s promising fencing students will be among those taking part at the event.

The agreement was signed between the Deputy Director General of Aspire Academy, Ali

Salem Afifa, on behalf of the Director General of Aspire Acad-emy, Ivan Bravo, and the Secretary General of the Qatar Weightlifting and Fencing Fed-eration (QWFF), Khalid Issa Al Hamadi, a former Qatari fencer.

Director of Education and Student Affairs, Badr Al Hay along with the CEO of QWFF and the Chairman of the Grand Prix Championship, Abdullah Ali Al Ghanim also attended the ceremony.

Speaking on the side-lines of the signing ceremony, Afifa said: “This sponsorship agreement builds on our existing partner-ship with the Qatar Weightlifting and Fencing Federation and

other various Qatari sporting federations.”

“This is an important sport-ing event for Qatar and it gives our fencing athletes in Aspire Academy and other local clubs a chance to compete on an inter-national level against professional athletes, including some of the world’s highest ranked players,” he added.

Al Hamadi, said: “We’d like to extend our thanks to Aspire Academy for extending its sup-port for the Qatar Fencing Grand Prix, which is now in its 15th year. It is fantastic that the Acad-emy is committed to supporting so many important sporting competitions in Qatar.”

Al Ahli stun Al Rayyan as Al Sadd claim big victoryRizwan Rehmat The Peninsula

In a spirited performance, Al Ahli yesterday shocked title hopefuls Al Rayyan 2-0 while Al Sailiya held point leaders Al Duhail to a 1-1 draw in

blockbuster QNB Stars League action.

In the third match of the day, Doha giants Al Sadd moved closer to Al Duhail with a clinical 4-0 win over Al Kharaitiyat at Al Khor Stadium.

Two first-half goals by Mohamed Muntari (19) and Ali Ghaderi (39) sealed Al Ahli’s resounding win over Al Rayyan who failed to score despite a number of opportunities created by the strike-force.

Earlier in the day, points

leaders Al Duhail battled with just 10 men for most of the game and still managed to scrape through with a creditable 1-1 draw against a gritty Al Sailiya side.

Coached by Djamel Belmadi, Al Duhail opened the scoring through Youssef El Arabi in the 50th minute via a penalty.

Al Sailiya, coached by Sami Trabelsi, managed their equaliser three minutes later through Wag-ner Rebeiro.

Al Duhail were reduced to 10 men at the half-hour mark. Goal-keeper Khalifa Ndiaye was shown the red card for handling the ball outside the box with Al Sailiya’s Valentin Lazar set to latch on to a loose ball. Despite being down to 10 men, Al Duhail scored through El Arabi in the 50th minute. Soon afterwards, Al Sailiya scored the equaliser through Rebeiro.

Also yesterday, Al Sadd com-pleted a commanding 4-0 win over Al Kharaitiyat at Al Khor Stadium. It was Al Sadd’s 9th win of the 2017-18 season.

Al Sadd opened the scoring in the first half after a strike by Pedro Miguel (40). Hassan Al Haydos (52, penalty and 81) and Hamroun Jugurtha (77) added to Al Sadd’s delightful performance.In the 40th minute, Al Sadd put one into the

Al Kharaitiyat net. Xavi curled in a spectacular free-kick and Miguel headed home with a near-perfect snap-header, jumping higher than his marker Abraman Abdallah to meet the ball.

In the 52nd minute, Al Sadd jumped to a 2-0 lead when star striker Al Haydos scored off a pen-alty kick resulting from an accidental

handball infringement inside the Al Kharaitiyat box by defender Soud Nasser on a back-pedal shot by Al Sadd’s Musab Kedar.

Jugurtha scored Al Sadd’s third goal with a powerful strike into the top of Al Kharaitiyat net in the 77th minute. A similar shot by Al Hay-dos made it 4-0 for Al Sadd in the 81st minute.

Deputy Director General of Aspire Academy, Ali Salem Afifa and Secretary General of the Qatar Weightlifting and Fencing Federation, Khalid Issa Al Hamadi shake hands at the partnership signing ceremony, along with other officials at Aspire Academy yesterday.

Qatar to meet Kiwis in Asian handball opener The Peninsula

Title-favourites Qatar are will take on New Zea-land in their opening match of next month’s 18th Asian Men’s Handball Championship which will

be played in South Korea.According to the schedule of the event announced

by the Asian Handball Federation yesterday, the event will run from January 18-28.

The Asian championship acts as a qualifying tour-nament for the prestigious 2019 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship, which will take place in Ger-many and Denmark.

In their second match, the Qatari team will take on their China before taking on Saudi Arabia in their last match in the group stage.

Qatar handball team’s players during a practice session in this file photo.

Al Ahli bt Al Rayyan 2-0

Al Sailiya draw with Al Duhail 1-1

Al Sadd bt Al Kharaitiyat 4-0

Today’s fixtures

4pm: Al Arabi vs Al Khor at Al Arabi Stadium

6:10pm: Al Markhiya vs Umm Salal at

Al Arabi Stadium

6:10pm: Qatar SC vs Al Gharafa at

Qatar SC Stadium

QNB STARS LEAGUE: RESULTS

Al Sailiya players celebrate a goal against Al Duhail during their QSL match at Al Ahli Stadium yesterday.