AP NEW YORK

Brooks Koepka should know as well as anyone that nothing in golf comes easily.

His well-documented journey to the PGA Tour took him to remote outposts like Kenya and Kazakhstan. Even after Koepka won a second straight US Open last summer, which no one had done in 29 years, it didn’t seem enough to be the first name mentioned among the next generation of stars.

So he spent three days setting records at Bethpage Black in the PGA Championship - the first player to shoot 63 in con-secutive years in the majors, the lowest 36-hole score in major championship history and a seven-shot lead, the largest ever for 54 holes in the PGA Championship.

And then he endured the toughest day of his career Sunday, which turned into the most rewarding.

“I’m glad I’ve got this thing sitting next to me,” Koepka said as he looked at the shiny Wan-amaker Trophy.

“It’s very satisfying, this one. This is definitely the most satis-

fying of all the ones I’ve won.” Moments earlier, after he

turned a potential meltdown into the kind of clutch play that has defined his career, Koepka draped his muscular arms around the top of the trophy and let out a deep sigh from stress and satisfaction, and then he smiled.

Koepka said at the start of the week that majors are some-times the easiest to win.

This one should have been.It wasn’t.His seven-shot lead was

down to one with four holes to play and the No. 1 player in the world - Dustin Johnson, his best friend in golf - was piecing together the best round of a final day in 25 mph gusts that made

Bethpage Black as fearsome as ever.

Koepka answered with all the right shots. Johnson faded with two bogeys. Koepka closed with a 4-over 74, the highest final round by a PGA champion in 15 years, and he didn’t care how it looked.

His place in history was secure. He joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win back-to-back in the PGA Champi-onship since it switched to stroke play in 1958. He became the only player to hold back-to-back titles in two majors at the same time.

Four years ago, he had one PGA Tour title in his first full season as a full member.

Now he has four majors out of the last eight he has played, a stretch not seen since Woods won seven out of 11 after cap-turing the 2002 US Open at Bethpage Black.

“I just don’t understand why he doesn’t do it more often,” said Rory McIlroy, who won his four majors in a span of 15.

“He obviously gets into these mindsets of the majors, and he really goes and gets into a dif-ferent state. You’d obviously have to ask him. But it’s awesome. It’s great to watch.”

SPORT21WEDNESDAY 22 MAY 2019

I leave now for my next challenge but will never forget

my time at Victory. I wish the club good luck in the future as

they pursue success.

Honda quits Melbourne Victory after one season.

I’m glad I’ve got this thing sitting next to me, It’s very satisfying, this one. This is definitely the most satisfying of all the ones I’ve won: Koepka

ATP events at Lyon,

Geneva; WTA events in

Nuremberg, Strasbourg

Sudirman Cup world mixed

team championships in

Nanjing, China

TENNIS BADMINTON

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Sporting world mourns death of Formula One legend LaudaAFP VIENNA

Legendary Formula One driver Niki Lauda has died at the age of 70, his family said yesterday, triggering an outpouring of praise for a man whose track victories and comeback from a horrific crash enthralled race fans worldwide.

Lauda died at the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland on Monday night surrounded by his closest family members, a spokesperson said.

His death comes eight months after he underwent a lung transplant. An Austrian news report said Lauda -- who also had kidney transplants -- was hospitalised for a dialysis earlier this month in Switzerland.

Walter Klepetko, who per-formed the lung transplant at Vienna’s general hospital last year, said there was no specific cause of death.

“It was a long process, and the patient reached his end.

Niki Lauda fought. He was a great man. But it has been clear for some time that we cannot bring him back to the ‘race track’,” he was quoted by the Austrian news agency APA as saying.

The family said in a statement that Lauda died peacefully, highlighting his “unique achievements as an athlete and entrepreneur... his tireless zest for action, his

straightforwardness and his courage. “A role model and a benchmark for all of us, he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather away from the public, and he will be missed.”

Lauda won the Formula One drivers’ world championship three times, in 1975 and 1977 for Ferrari and in 1984 with McLaren, despite a terrible race crash in 1976.

“Everyone at Ferrari is deeply saddened at the news of the death of our dear friend Niki Lauda,” Ferrari said on its Twitter account as social media exploded with the news of his death.

“Niki will forever be in our hearts and enshrined in our history. #RIPNiki,” his former team McLaren tweeted on their account.

Lauda had been non-exec-utive chairman at Mercedes F1 since 2012 and he was instru-mental in bringing in British driver Lewis Hamilton to spark a run of success that has brought five consecutive world drivers’ a n d c o n s t r u c t o r s ’ championships.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Lauda was “irre-placeable” and that the team had lost “a guiding light”.

“Forever carried in our hearts, forever immortalised in our history. The motorsport community today mourns the devastating loss of a true legend,” Formula 1 said on Twitter.

Factfile on Niki LaudaANDREAS NIKOLAUS LaudaAge: 70Born: February 22, 1949Birthplace: ViennaNationality: AustrianFormula One career:World champion in 1975 and 1977 (Ferrari), 1984 (McLaren)Grand Prix started: 171Teams: March (1971-1972), BRM (1973), Ferrari (1974-1977), Brabham (1978-1979), McLaren (1982-1985)Debut: Austrian Grand Prix 1971 (retired)1st win: Spanish Grand Prix, 1974Last win: Dutch Grand Prix, 1985Wins: 25Podiums: 54Pole positions: 24Fastest laps: 24Total points: 420.5Drivers championship positions: 1st (1975, 1977, 1984), 2nd (1976), 4th 1974, 1978), 5th (1982), 10th (1983, 1985), 14th (1979), 17th (1973), unplaced (1971, 1972)

Koepka reaps rewards of another major

Warriors beat Blazers to reach 5th straight NBA FinalsAFP LOS ANGELES

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both posted triple-doubles to power the Golden State Warriors to a 119-117 overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday and into a fifth straight NBA Finals.

The two-time defending NBA champions swept the Blazers in four games in the best-of-seven Western Con-ference finals.

The only other team to reach five straight NBA Finals was the Boston Celtics, when they went to a record 10 in a row from 1957 to 1966.

“I hope it doesn’t go unno-ticed or underrated -- five

straight finals hasn’t been done since the 60s,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

“It hasn’t been done for a reason, it’s really, really difficult and so I just can’t say enough about the competitive desire of the group of guys that we have here.”

The Warriors will battle for the title starting on May 30 against either the Milwaukee Bucks or Toronto Raptors, aiming to become the first team since the Los Angeles Lakers of 2000, 2001 and 2002 to three-peat as champions.

Curry and Green became the first teammates in league history to have triple-doubles in the same post-season game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Curry finished with 37 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, while Green had his second straight triple-double -- posting double digits in three key statistical categories -- with 18 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.Fittingly, Curry and Green combined on the game-winning basket in overtime, Curry feeding Green for a three-pointer that pushed Golden State to a 119-115 lead with 39.6 seconds left in overtime.

“Obviously in that situation we want Steph to have the ball, we want Steph or Klay (Thompson) to take the shot,” Green said.

“But they were swarming them. So I was just talking to them ‘Watch out, watch out.’ “When he passed me the ball, I

just let it go. When I shot it, it felt good.” The Trail Blazers had led 69-65 at halftime, and built the lead to 17 in the third quarter -- the third straight game in which Portland led by as many as 17 only to come up short.

With veteran Andre Iguodala having joined superstar Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins on the injured list, the Warriors pro-duced a total team effort to rally again.Thompson scored 17 points while reserve Kevon Looney added 12 points and 14 rebounds and Alfonzo McKinnie chipped in 12 points.

“Being without Kevin these last five games has put us in a really tough spot and our guys stepped up in a big way,” Kerr said.

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) is called for a foul against Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) during the second half in game four of the Western conference finals of the 2019 NBA Play-offs at Moda Center on Monday.

Australia great Smith calls time on 20-year careerAFP SYDNEY

Wallabies great George Smith announced his retirement yesterday after a stint with Bristol in the England Premiership, calling time on nearly 20 years playing rugby.

The veteran Australian flanker, who made his Super Rugby debut for the ACT Brumbies in 2000 and went on to win 111 Test caps, said it had been an “absolute privilege”.

“Finally the day has come where I officially announce my retirement from professional rugby,” the 38-year-old said in statement on the Rugby Aus-tralia website.

“Rugby has provided and given me so much. The dreams that I had of playing rugby pro-fessionally as a young bloke, I’m fortunate to say that I’ve lived them and experienced so much more during my time.”

Smith singled out former Brumbies and Wallabies coach Eddie Jones, now England coach, for special mention, calling him “a constant sup-porter and mentor”.

“I was extremely lucky in my career to have landed myself in Canberra as a young 19-year-old kid, having the luxury of being tutored by the finest peers and coaches in the game at the ACT Brumbies,” he said.

“Those early years in Can-berra shaped a part of my rugby identity and further encouraged my personal ambitions to better myself as a rugby player.”

Smith played almost 150 games for the Brumbies during a career that also took him to the Queensland Reds, French sides Toulon, Lyon and Stade Francais, along with Japan’s Suntory and English teams Wasps and Bristol.

He twice won the pres-tigious John Eales Medal for best Australian player and was awarded the Brumbies players’ player of the year gong 10 times in his 12 seasons.

“George belongs in that rare category of player that could turn the course of a game in an instant with a crucial turnover, a powerful run or a big defensive play,” said Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle.

“He was universally respected by his teammates and opponents and has been a huge presence in the clubs he has represented all over the world, as well as on the international stage with the Wallabies.”

Brooks Koepka of the United States poses with the Wanamaker Trophy during the Trophy Presentation Ceremony after winning the final round of the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale, New York on Sunday.

Former Austrian Formula One driver Niki Lauda (right) awarding former German driver Michael Schumacher with the Deutscher Fernsehpreis media prize in Cologne, western Germany, in this file picture of September 29, 2007.

22 WEDNESDAY 22 MAY 2019SPORT

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Archer picked in England World Cup squadAFP LONDON

England selection chief Ed Smith hailed fast bowler Jofra Archer as an “outstanding” talent after including him in the tournament favourites’ World Cup squad yesterday.

Barbados-born quick Archer only qualified for England in March and has played just three one-day internationals for the host nation of the showpiece event.

But he has now made it into the 15-man World Cup squad that Smith unveiled at Lord’s.

He edged out left-arm quick David Willey, a veteran of 46 ODIs, after both pacemen fea-tured during England’s 4-0 series win at home to Pakistan, which concluded on Sunday.

There was also no place in the squad, captained by Eoin Morgan, for back-up spinner and batsman Joe Denly, with Hampshire slow left-armer Liam Dawson recalled as cover for Adil Rashid, who is nursing

a shoulder problem. Both Denly and Willey were named in England’s provisional squad, as was opening batsman Alex Hales.

But James Vince, who fea-tured against Pakistan, came in after England decided against selecting Hales following his ban for recreational drug use.

England, bidding to win the World Cup for the first time, reduced their qualification period from seven years to three, a move they insisted was solely to bring them into line with the rest of the world rather than advance the selection of Archer, whose father is English.

“We’ve seen Jofra Archer play against Pakistan and we’ve seen the skills he has,” Smith told Sky Sports News.

“It’s pretty straightforward. He’s an outstanding talent, that’s clear to all of us. He has pace, bounce, skill.”

Archer said he was ready for the challenge of a World Cup despite his lack of international experience.

“I’ve put it in my head I would have to wait seven years, back in December they changed it a little but I was always pre-pared to wait,” the 24-year-old told Sky Sports.

“I think I’m ready. I’ve played a lot of cricket, I know how to deal with pressure, crowds, I think I’m ready.”

Even though Willey offered a different angle of attack as the only left-arm quick in con-tention, Archer’s ability to bowl

England’s Jofra Archer during fourth ODI against Pakistan in this May 17, 2019 file photo.

at 90 miles per hour (145 kilo-metres per hour) and his variety of slower balls has seen him get the nod.

Willey was among those who questioned the prospect of Archer playing for England at this year’s World Cup when the Sussex bowler became eligible.

But Smith, who told Willey he had missed out on Monday, said:

“I spoke to David, he’s an out-standing man. He’s very honest, dignified. He’s a very impressive man and cricketer.”

England now have two warm-up matches, against Aus-tralia on Saturday and Afghan-istan on Monday, before launching the tournament against South Africa at the Oval on May 30.

Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, capt), Moeen Ali

(Worcestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex),

Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler

(Lancashire, wkt), Tom Curran (Surrey), Liam

Dawson (Hampshire), Liam Plunkett (Sur-

rey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (York-

shire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Dur-

ham), James Vince (Hampshire), Chris

Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Dur-

ham)

ENGLAND SQUAD

Fans should expect plenty of runs in UK summer, says KohliAFP MUMBAI

Cricket fans should expect a run bonanza at the ICC World Cup in England and Wales starting this month, India captain Virat Kohli said yesterday.

Ahead of India’s departure for the tournament, Kohli said local seaming conditions would likely favour batsmen.

“In ICC tournaments the pitches are going to be very good and it’s summer in the UK. We expect high-scoring games,” Kohli told a press conference in Mumbai.

England beat Pakistan 4-0 in a five-match warmup series with nearly every game seeing innings of 350 plus on grounds that will be used for the World Cup.

Kohli insisted, however, that World Cup pressure will bring down the totals.

“A bilateral series compared to a World Cup is very different, so you might see lot of 260-270 kind of games and teams suc-cessfully defending it because of the pressure factor,” said the skipper of India -- one the favourites alongside England and Australia.

Two-time winners India, who start against South Africa in Southampton on June 5, feel they have a strong chance with a potent pace bowling attack

led by in-form Jasprit Bumrah.“We go into the World Cup

feeling very balanced and a strong side. You saw in the IPL (T20 series), all the players that are in the squad are in great form and playing really well,” said Kohli.

India have some worries over their spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who were less impressive in the IPL.

Chahal claimed 18 wickets for Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore, but Yadav struggled with his left-arm wrist spin for Kolkata Knight Riders.

“In hindsight if you look at it, like Kuldeep, who has had so much success, it’s important to see a period where things don’t go your way. And I am glad it happened during the IPL, rather than the World Cup,” said Kohli.

“He has time to reflect and correct things and come into the World Cup even stronger. We know the skill set he possesses along with Chahal. They are two pillars of our bowling line-up.”

The 10-team World Cup returns to a round-robin format and Kohli said consistency was the only way to make the semi-finals.

“Everyone has to be at their best game intensity from the first match onwards and you don’t have any room for complacency.”

Virat Kohli gestures during a news conference, yesterday.

Selection a dream comes true for Pakistan’s RiazAP LAHORE

Wahab Riaz (pictured) says he dreamed about being selected for Pakistan’s Cricket World Cup squad about 10 days ago.

This, despite not being in the 23-man preliminary squad, and not having played a one-day international since the 2017 Champions Trophy triumph in England.

But Riaz’s dream came true when the fast bowler was chosen for the 15-man squad, along with batsman Asif Ali and left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir for the tournament in England next week.

“I had a dream that Inzi bhai (chief selector) gave me a call and told me that I have been selected and this is my last chance,” Riaz said yesterday.

“Exactly the same thing happened when he (Inzamam-ul-Haq) called me to inform about my selection.”

Inzamam believed Riaz’s experience of reverse swing with the old ball will be handy on English pitches. He has taken

102 wickets in 79 ODIs at an average of 34, but he took no wickets in the 2017 Champions Trophy and only one in three matches in 2016 against England.

“With the conditions dry and wickets hard in England, there will be reverse swing... I have expertise over reverse swing so I will try to restrict the flow of runs in the last overs,” Riaz said.

Pakistan bowlers struggled to stem the flow of runs while losing to England 4-0 in the recent ODI series, which caused the selectors to drop fast bowlers Junaid Khan and allrounder Faheem Ashraf.

“There’s a lot of pressure,” Riaz said, “since Inzi bhai has said that I have been brought back on the basis of my experience.”

Inzamam is counting on Riaz to reproduce the kind of fiery spirit he showed against Shane Watson in their 2015 World Cup quarterfinal in Adelaide. Watson was on the winning side, but Riaz’s bowling to him made the lasting impression.

“Since the pitches are placid and con-ditions are batting conducive it becomes necessary to have an aggressive approach otherwise the batsmen will dominate you,” Riaz said.

“If a batsman demeans me, I will do what I did that day.”

Riaz sympathised for Junaid Khan for losing his place after taking only two wickets in two matches against England.

“He will be saddened and very much frustrated, and he must be thinking being treated unfair,” Riaz said.

Riaz was right. Junaid reacted on Monday by posting a picture on his Twitter account of a black tape over his mouth, and a message: “I don’t want to say anything. Truth is bitter.” He deleted the tweet.

Archer sets sights on Kohli’s scalpAFP LONDON

Jofra Archer marked his call-up to England’s World Cup squad yesterday by setting his sights on taking the prized wicket of India captain Virat Kohli.

“I’d quite like to get Virat Kohli out because I wasn’t able to in the IPL,” Archer told Sky Sports.

“Chris Gayle as well,” added Archer, mentioning the big-

hitting West Indies batsman.And for all his lack of

England experience, Archer believes the time he has spent in the IPL has been good prep-aration for the pressure of a World Cup.

“I think I probably have a bigger advantage over some of the other guys in our team,” he said.

“We play (these guys) twice a (season) in the IPL, so you know their weaknesses, you

know their strengths, you know if they can’t run between the wickets... it gets you an extra bit of inside information.”

He added: “To be honest, I think international cricket is probably the same intensity as the IPL. I think the only thing that changes is the amount of overs (the IPL is a Twenty20 competition).”

England are set to face the West Indies at Southampton on June 14 and India at Edgbaston

on June 30. But for all the threat posed by the likes of Gayle and Kohli, Archer was in no doubt about the most difficult batsman he had bowled at -- Rajasthan and England team-mate Jos Buttler.

“The best player I faced was Jos Buttler in the nets. He is a 360 (degree) cricketer. He can hit you straight down the ground or over the ‘keeper’s head. I don’t think anywhere is safe with him.”

Potentially doubles, but I’m not trying to get ready for singles just now. The thing I said before was that, if I wasn’t feeling good, there was more chance that I would play and then stop after Wimbledon; Andy Murray

23WEDNESDAY 22 MAY 2019 SPORT

Al Rayyan go down fighting to Lokomotiv in five-goal thrillerTHE PENINSULA TASHKENT

Fans at Lokomotiv Stadium were treated to a fine display of attacking football as PFC Loko-motiv came from two goals down to defeat Al Rayyan 3-2 of the 2019 AFC Champions League Group B yesterday.

Both teams had already been eliminated prior to their last group game with Lokomotiv sitting third with four points, while Al Rayyan were bottom of the group with three points from their 2-1 win in the reverse fixture.

The visitors got off to a flying start, taking the lead within just 57 seconds of kick-off. Loko-motiv players looked shaky in possession as they attempted to build up from the back, allowing Al Rayyan players to apply pressure high up the field.

Goalkeeper Mamur Ikramov failed to deal with a backpass, hoofing the ball into the path of Rodrigo Tabata who intercepted the ball inside the box and fired into the back of the net to hand Al Rayyan the perfect start.

Things looked rosier for coach Gilson de Souza in his final game in charge of Al Rayyan as the Qataris doubled their lead halfway through the opening period. Tabata curled an out-swinging corner that was met by the head of Gonzalo Viera who placed his header into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

A lapse in concentration allowed Lokomotiv a way back into the game as Husniddin Gafurov supplied an outside-of-the-boot pass for Sardor Mir-zayev who found himself in

plenty of space inside Al Rayyan box and curled in his side’s first of the game.

The goal gave the home side a morale boost and Andrey Fedorov’s men came from the halftime break a different side.

Within just two minutes of the restart, Arslanmurat Amanov had advanced down the right and played a cross-field pass to Temurkhuja Abdukholikov who controlled and calmly placed the ball past Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahd Younis from a tight angle to bring the match to square one.

Amanov and Abdukholikov combined again to seal the win for Lokomotiv in the 61st minute in a similar fashion to the side’s second goal.

This time around, Amanov dribbled deeper into Al Rayyan’s box before whipping a low cross that Abdukholikov met first time into the back of the net to com-plete the hosts’ comeback.

The result means Lokomotiv end the campaign with seven points in third place, four points better off than Al Rayyan who finish in last place.

Pain-free Murray optimistic about return to competitive tennisAFP LONDON

Andy Murray is confident he can return to competitive tennis and has hinted at a doubles spot at Wimbledon, inspired by American doubles great Bob Bryan’s return from hip surgery.

The two-time Wimbledon champion, 32, in January announced plans to retire after this year’s Wimbledon due to injury, expressing doubt as to whether he would even make it to the All England Club.

The Scot has all but ruled out an appearance in the singles draw, nearly four months after surgery on a career-threatening hip problem, but he could return by playing in the men’s doubles.

The former world number

one told Times there was “very little chance” he would play singles during the grass-court season.

“Potentially doubles, but I’m

not trying to get ready for singles just now,” he said.

“The thing I said before was that, if I wasn’t feeling good, there was more chance that I would play and then stop after Wimbledon.

“Whereas if it’s feeling good, it makes a bit more sense to give it time to make sure that it’s as good as possible before I try to play singles on it.”

Murray, whose ranking has plummeted to 218 due to his time away from the court, said he was pain-free as he spoke about the example set by Bryan.

“I know from seeing what Bob Bryan has done (he had similar surgery last year) that for doubles it will be absolutely fine. I will need to see from there how

it would work singles-wise.“It has been really good so

far. I’m playing lots of golf. I don’t have any pain walking round the course and swinging clubs. When I’m on the court hitting, it has been perfect. “If I continue to feel good, then I will obviously give it a shot in singles and see what happens. Whereas in doubles I am pretty certain I will be able to play, just based on having an example to look at.

“I can look at Bob Bryan and say, this is what he has done, he is playing top three or four in the world-level doubles. He’s also nine years older than me, so why would I not be able to do the same and hopefully a bit more?”

Murray has an official deadline of June 18 to apply for

a wildcard for this year’s Wim-bledon, where he was the champion in 2013 and 2016, and could also use his protected ranking to enter.

Al Wakrah, Al Arabi to take part in Asian Handball ChampionshipQNA DOHA

The Qatar Handball Association announced that Al Wakrah and Al Arabi’s upcoming partici-pation in the 22nd edition of the Asian Men’s Club League Championship to be held in South Korea from November 9 to 21.

Al Wakrah will participate in the championship as the winner of the Qatari Handball League and Al Arabi as the winner of the the Amir Handball Cup in the 2018-2019 sport season.

In the 21st Asian Men’s Club League Championship held in March in Kuwait, Al Wakrah defeated Al Duhail by a one goal margin, 21-22 in the final.

Al Sadd holds the record for winning the Asian Men’s Club League Championship title five times, with Qatar’s El Jaish SC and Al-Duhail and Kuwait’s Kazma SC and Al Qadsia winning it twice, and Qatar’s Al Rayyan, Kuwait’s Al Fahaheel SC and Al-Sulaibikhat SC, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli, Mudhar, Al Noor and Bahrain’s Al Najma SC all winning the title once.

Meanwhile, Al Duhail will participate in the 2019 IHF Men’s Super Globe, which will be hosted by Saudi Arabia from August 28 to 31, and will repre-senting Asia after winning the last Asian Club League Cham-pionship in Kuwait.

Qatar’s Medaihki named VC of IMSAQNA HENGSHUI

Chairman of Qatar Chess Asso-ciation Mohammed Al Medaihki has been elected vice-chairman of International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) during the meeting of the General Assembly held on the sidelines of the World Mind Sports Games 2019 hosted in Hengshui, China, which also witnessed the World Chess Championship with the partic-ipation of the top-ranked in players.

Al Medaihki expressed happiness with the great con-fidence of IMSA’s Executive Office during its meeting in China, stressing that the Qatari sport used to register its presence in international forums.

He was recently appointed a representative of the World Chess Federation at the Inter-national Universities Champi-onship in 2020, stressing that this is undoubtedly a great gain for the Qatari chess and will have a positive reflection on the game in the coming period.

Honda quits Melbourne Victory after one seasonAFP MELBOURNE

Japanese superstar Keisuke Honda yesterday announced he will leave Melbourne Victory this week after one season as he pursues new challenges.

The former AC Milan striker, one of the highest profile names in Asian football, was an instant hit with fans, with his early season form drawing rave reviews.However, a hamstring injury kept him sidelined for nine matches mid-season.

“I am proud to have been a Melbourne Victory player and grateful for having the oppor-tunity to play in Australia,” Honda said in a statement.

“I leave now for my next challenge but will never forgot my time at Victory. I wish the club good luck in the future as they pursue success.” He played 23 games across all competi-tions, scoring eight times, with his last appearance today in their AFC Champions League clash with Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

ACL: Oscar hat-trick takes Shanghai into last sixteenAFP SHANGHAI

Former Chelsea star Oscar hit a hat-trick, including a wonderful curling effort from outside the box, to fire Shanghai SIPG into the AFC Champions League (ACL) last 16 yesterday.

The Chinese champions’ 5-0 home demolition of a depleted, but already qualified, Ulsan Hyundai dumped Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale out of Asia’s premier club competition.

Kawasaki thrashed a weakened Sydney FC 4-0 away but SIPG squeezed through by a point in Group H over last year’s J-League winners.

Ulsan still finish top of the group despite the thrashing and will meet Urawa Red Diamonds in the last 16 after their supersub Kazuki Nagasawa scored the opening goal and created another in a 3-0 win over Chinese Super League leaders Beijing Guoan in Saitama.

Vitor Pereira’s SIPG finish runners-up and will play Group G winners Jeonbuk, another Korean side, next month in the knock-out rounds while high-flying Beijing failed to get past the group stage.

Oscar, who joined SIPG for

an Asian-record 60 million euros from Chelsea in January 2017, said: “The (second) goal I scored was very beautiful and my favourite.”

Asked if the exquisite strike was a reminder to European football of his enduring qualities, the 27-year-old Brazilian said: “For players who come to Asia and China, their level is not going down. We keep working hard to improve our level step by step.”

SIPG made light of the absence of injured captain Hulk

and were ahead after just seven minutes when Oscar played a clever one-two with fellow Bra-zilian Elkeson before firing first time past stand-in goalkeeper Moon Jung-in.

K-League leaders Ulsan made wholesale changes from the team that won 3-1 at Suwon Bluewings on Saturday allowing Pereira’s side to dominate at a half-empty Shanghai Stadium.

Oscar’s neat first settled any nerves in the must-win game and the former international

made it 2-0 on 42 minutes with his world-class strike into the top-left corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Man of the match Oscar completed his hat-trick on 76 minutes after striker Li Shen-glong had made it 3-0 and sub-stitute Hu Jinghang made it a five-star night.

Over in Japan, Urawa had an early scare when captain Yosuke Kashiwagi was stretchered off in the 11th minute to be replaced by Nagasawa.

Shanghai SIPG’s Oscar celebrates after scoring a goal during the AFC Champions League matchagainst Ulsan Hyundai in Shanghai yesterday.

Messi, Aguero in Argentina preliminary Copa America squadAFP BUENOS AIRES

Lionel Messi and the returning Sergio Aguero headed a 33-man list as Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni named an enlarged preliminary Copa America squad yesterday.

Paris Saint Germain winger Angel Di Maria was also included but there was no place for striker Gonzalo Higuain, who is on loan at Chelsea from Juventus.

“These are the ones we con-sider to be the best,” said Scaloni, who will have to reduce his list to 23 players next week ahead of the tournament hosted by Brazil, which begins on June 14.

Argentina will play in Group B alongside Colombia, Par-aguay and guests Qatar, the 2022 World Cup hosts and current Asian champions.

Messi, who only returned to the Argentina squad in March after an eight-month absence following the World Cup in Russia, will turn 32 during the competition. Di Maria, like Messi, made his post-World Cup return in March ahead of friendlies against Venezuela and Morocco.

Demare claims maiden Giro stage winREUTERS ITALY

France’s Arnaud Demare won the 10th stage of the Giro d’Italia, his first career victory in the race, a 145-km flat ride from Ravenna yesterday.

Italian Elia Viviani was second and Rudiger Selig of Germany took third place ahead of Australian Caleb Ewan.

“We came to the Giro for this. I really wanted a stage win and I got it,” said Demare.

Action from the AFC Champions league match between Al Rayyan and PFC Lokomotiv at the Lokomotiv Stadium yesterday.

SPORTWednesday 22 May 2019

PAGE | 21 PAGE | 22Warriors beat Trail

Blazers to reach 5th straight NBA

Finals

Fans should expect plenty of runs in UK summer, says captain Kohli

W ct

Resolute Qatar target strong show at FIFA U-20 World Cup THE PENINSULA WARSAW

Qatar will be aiming to deliver a better performance than they did four years ago at the FIFA U-20 World Cup that begins in Poland tomorrow.

Coached by Portuguese manager Bruno Miguel, Qatar have arrived in Poland to face Nigeria, Ukraine and the US in their Group D clashes at the 24-team tournament.

Qatar are set to make their fourth FIFA U-20 World Cup appearance. The Qatari juniors will start their cam-paign with a match against African giants Nigeria on May 24.

Qatar face Ukraine on May 27 followed by their clash against the US on May 30. All matches will be played in Tychy.How Qatari young guns qualified

After losing their opening 2018 AFC U-19 Championship game to the United Arab Emirates, successive wins

over host nation Indonesia and Chinese Taipei saw Qatar

finish on top of Group A by the narrowest of margins. A 7-3 extra-time defeat of Thailand duly followed in the quarter-finals, before Qatar succumbed 3-1 to eventual runners-up Korea Republic in the last four.

After seeing him excel at the 2018 AFC U-19 Champi-onship, Qatar will be looking for a repeat performance from striker Abdulrasheed Umaru. The Al Ahli forward found the net seven times in Indonesia to land the Top Scorer award, two ahead of team-mate Hashim Ali who is also set to appear in Poland.

Highly regarded defender Nasir Baksh is once again expected to lead his country having captained Qatar in Indonesia.

Poland 2019 will be Qatar’s fourth FIFA U-20 World Cup appearance after making their tournament debut in 1981 when they lost

4-0 in the final to West Germany. They went on to host the competition’s 1996 edition but subsequently failed to reach the knockout phase – a fate which also befell the West Asians when they finished bottom of Group C at New Zealand 2015.

On Monday, QFA Pres-ident, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani met with the players and the team staff to offer support. The Qatar squad just recently concluded training camps in Slovakia and France before arriving in Poland.

May 24, 2019 vs Nigeria at Tychy Stadium; 18:00 (local time)

May 27, 2019 vs Ukraine at Tychy Stadium 18:00 (local time)

May 30, 2019 vs USA at Tychy Stadium Kick-off: 20:30 (local time)

Squad Salah Zakaria Hassan, Salah Zakaria Hassan, Nasir Peer Baksh, Ahmed

Alminhali Alminhali, Abdollah Ali Saei, Youssef Ayman Farahat, Nasser

Alyazidi Alyazidi, Abdulrasheed Umaru Ibrahim, Andri Syahputra Syah-

putra, Yusuf Abdurisag Yusuf, Khaled Mohammed Saleh, Abdulla

Nasser Almusuri, Homam Ahmed Ahmed, Ali Malolah Karami, Eisa

Ahmad Palangi, Bahaa Mamdouh Ellethy, Hashim Ali, Mohammed

Waad Albayati, Shehab Mamdouh Ellethy, Ahmed Suhail Alhama-

wende, Ahmad Yasser Sebaie, Marwan Badreldin Badreldin

Coach: Bruno Miguel

FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP: QATAR FIXTURES

The Qatari juniors

will start their

campaign with

a match against

African giants

Nigeria on May 24.

French Open: Qualifiers begin long road to gloryAFP PARIS

Almost three weeks before the world’s best fight it out for the French Open titles, hundreds of players, including grizzled veterans and teenage hopefuls, have descended on Roland Garros for qualifying.

The men’s opening round got under way on Monday, despite the tournament proper not due to start until Sunday, with 128 entrants playing for only 16 spots in the main draw.

Yesterday, 96 women started their bids for just 12 places, with the potential rewards life-changing.

While former Grand Slam surprise packages Denis Istomin and Dustin Brown were going toe-to-toe in front of a smattering of spectators on Court 7, 23-time major champion Serena Williams was practising on the Philippe Chatrier show-court.

Just two years ago, Istomin stunned Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open second round, but on the Parisian clay he fell to Brown -- the camper-van driving, shock Wimbledon con-queror of Rafael Nadal in 2015.

Serbian Viktor Troicki was ranked 12th in the world only eight years ago and has reached the second week at Roland Garros three times, but found himself having to battle past

267th-ranked German Kevin Krawietz out on Court 9.

The 33-year-old is a lowly 256th in the rankings himself after a severe loss of form and fresh injury problems.

“Last time I was coming back I basically didn’t have a ranking and came back to the top 100 really fast -- in three months -- but it’s much tougher coming back from an injury when I’m a bit older now and my body is responding differently,” Troicki told rolandgarros.com.

Some players just cannot seem to get enough of the sport despite appearing to have little hope of ever returning to its upper echelons.

The 37-year-old Tommy Robredo, a five-time French Open quarter-finalist who has accrued over $13m in career prize money, saw his hopes of quali-fying ended for another year with defeat by Germany’s Rudolf Molleker -- 19 years his junior.

The prize for just reaching the early stages of qualifying cannot be sniffed at, with even the first-round losers taking home 6,000 euros ($6,704) after changes introduced this year by tour-nament organisers.

But that figure is utterly dwarfed by the 40,000 euros on offer for first-round losers in the competition proper, and new rules saw a record-breaking eight men’s lucky losers finding them-selves a windfall last year.

Marco Trungelliti was perhaps the most fortunate of the lot in 2018, having already returned to his base in Barcelona after his qual-ifying exit before finding out there might be a first-round spot on offer as an alternate.

His 10-hour car journey back to Paris, alongside his brother, grandmother and mother, cap-tured the hearts of tennis fans, with his story further enhanced by a surprise victory over former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Bernard Tomic.

This year, though, there was no fairytale for the Argentinian who has only qualified for one ATP event this season, as he was dumped out on Monday by French world number 516 Hugo Gaston in straight sets.

Although the majority of qualifiers would jump at the chance of a possible run to the second round and a big payday like Trungelliti, some do go on to

create shockwaves deep into the big tournaments.

Arguably the most staggering effort by a qualifier came from then-world number 129 Jelena Dokic, as she thrashed top seed Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-0 in the 1999 Wimbledon first round.

The Australian went on to reach the last eight, where she lost to another qualifier, Alex-andra Stevenson.

Timea Bacsinszky could be one to watch this time around when she starts her campaign -- the 29-year-old Swiss is a two-

time French Open semi-finalist.Whether or not any of the

players in France this week can pull off something Dokic-esque remains to be seen, but many will dream of a career-defining match against one of the big guns on a show court -- win or lose.

Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin celebrates after winning his Australian Open match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in this January 19, 2017 file photo.

The men’s opening

round got under way

on Monday, despite

the tournament proper

not due to start until

Sunday, with 128

entrants playing for

only 16 spots in the

main draw.

US star Phillips donates spikes to IAAF Heritage Collection in DohaTHE PENINSULA DOHA

USA’s Dwight Phillips has donated a pair of spikes to the IAAF Heritage Collection which is currently on public display in Qatar ahead of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.

Phillips, the 2004 Olympic and 4-time World long jump champion, has given the shoes which he wore when leaping to bronze at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Champi-onships in Osaka.

The spikes were symbolically handed over to the collection in Doha via the safe hands of Qatar’s best young long jumper, 18-year-old Rasheed Abdullah Al Suwaidi who trains in Aspire under the guidance of coach Al Walid Abdullah.

“My donation of these shoes is all about ‘giving-back’ to the sport which has given me so much,” said Dwight Phillips, who retired in 2013 with a personal best of 8.74m (2009).

“I’m really pleased that my Osaka spikes will now sit in the IAAF Heritage Collection alongside the kit of Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Mike Powell to name but a few.”

“I hope the spikes will be an added attraction for fans and help motivate young athletes like Rasheed to aim high in their careers,” confirmed Phillips, who also took gold at the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

The spikes will be on show until the 7 October in the IAAF Heritage World Ath-letics Championships Exhibition which was opened last month by IAAF President Seb Coe and Dahlan Al Hamad, IAAF Vice Pres-ident and Director General of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 Local Organising Committee.

The exhibition is situated in the City Center Doha, the largest shopping mall in Qatar.

Several other track and field stars have also contributed to IAAF Heritage Collection with their donations.

QFA President, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani meeting Qatar U-20 players during a training session in the build up to FIFA U-20 World Cup.