AFP

DUBAI: Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan hit punishing centuries to steer an imperious India to a nine wicket win over a listless Pakistan in the Asia Cup match in Dubai yesterday.

Sharma notched 119-ball 111 not out for his 19th one-day hundred while Dhawan made a 100-ball 114 for his eighth century as the pair put on 210 for the opening stand -- second best in all India-Pakistan one-day inter-nationals. That super effort from the openers saw India overhaul the target with 10.3 overs to spare. The Super four win is the second for India over arch-rivals following their easy eighth wicket win in the first round.

The win is India’s highest against Pakistan in terms of wickets, improving on the eight wicket win over Pakistan in Mel-bourne in 1985. Pakistan were

steered to 237-7 by Shoaib Malik who made 90-ball 78 after winning the toss and batting but it proved too little for the strong Indian batting line.

Pakistan could have got Sharma out in the sixth over but Imam-ul-Haq dropped an easy catch off a luckless Shaheen Shah, giving the colourful Indian power to smash seven bound-aries and four sixes.

Sharma, who scored back to back fifties in the last two games, also became the ninth Indian batsmen to complete 7,000 one-day runs in his 187th match when he reached 94, soon after he was dropped on 81 by Fakhar Zaman off Shadab Khan.

Dhawan matches his skipper shot for shot, firing 100-ball 114 with 16 boundaries and two sixes as Pakistani bowlers had no clue to the rasping and flowing strokes of the Indian openers. Pakistan’s pace spearhead Mohammad Amir, brought back in one of two

changes after dropped for the Afghanistan match, went wick-etless for a fifth match in a row, leaving the much vaunted Pakistan bowling biteless.

Even when Dhawan got out in the 34th over with 38 needed it was through a run out.

The best opening stand in Indo-Pak one-day internationals was 224 Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed at Dhaka in 2012.

Earlier, Malik scored a 90-ball 78 with four boundaries and two sixes, but India kept a tight check on Pakistan’s progress. Pakistan lost Imam (ten), Zaman (31) and Babar Azam (run out for nine) in an unim-pressive start to their innings before Malik and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed added 107 for the fourth wicket.

Sarfraz scored a slow 66-ball

44 with only two boundaries before he became one of two Kuldeep Yadav’s wicket who fin-ished with 2-41. Pakistan’s final over score depended on Malik who crucially fell in the 44th over, caught behind off a leg-side edge off Jasprit Bumrah.

Leg-spinner Yuzvndra Chahal took 2-38 in his nine overs.Bumran finished with 2-29 in his ten overs.

SPORT

Boxer Fahad extends unbeaten run to 8THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatari boxer Fahad Al Thani yesterday beat rising Romanian star Adrian Parlogea in their Super Welterweight bout in Spain.

Qatar’s only professional boxer, Fahad remains unbeaten in eight fights in his young but promising career.

The 31-year-old, who trains in Doha, was thrilled with the outcome of his fight.

“This was the third time I fought this opponent. He had great info on my strengths and on the shots that I would use in my fight,” Fahad told The Peninsula yesterday.

“So I had to adapt quickly in the first round to keep my control. So I used the jab and changed direction of the shots that I would throw,” the Qatari added.

“He showed his experience and that was a great learning curve for me. Bit by bit I started to work him down. Alhamdol-lilalh (Thank God) I won in the third round,” Fahad said.

Fahad said he trained in Doha for the fight against Parlogea.

“My training camp in Doha was really tough. My training with Ismael A Salas and with Franck Bohec was good. He is back with me full-time. We

worked a lot on fitness and strength condition with Frank,” Fahad said.

“We worked on building the balance, on improving the movement and feeling out the

ring,” Fahad added. “It was a challenge at times and it was messy at times but I managed to win every round. I kept my com-posure in the fight,” Fahad said.

Fahd said he will be back in

Doha for training from tomorrow. “I fly tonight (Sunday night) and rest for a day and hit the gym next day. My next fight is in Spain on October 20,” Fahad said. The Qatari boxer trains

around four hours a day depending on ‘fight plans and training schedule’.

In a previous interview with The Peninsula, Fahad said he is keen to make boxing history for

Qatar. “I am trying to create boxing history in this country. Qatar has been investing a lot in sports for so long. Qatar pushes boundaries in promoting sports,” he said at the time.

“We have seen how football and handball have developed in this country. The same could be said of swimming and tennis. I want to emulate that and do something for boxing in Qatar. I want to achieve some-thing big in boxing, something that Qatar deserves,” Fahad said.

“I am competing in Europe but I obviously would love to have a pro card organised in Qatar,” he said in his last interview.

Fahad has taken to the ring against Gheorghe Ghiompiric (twice), Adrian Parlogea (thrice), Marius Racaru, Ionut Bogheanu and Bela Sandor since 2016. The Qatari boxer remains unbeaten in his eight bouts so far.

It was a challenge

at times and it was

messy at times but

I managed to win

every round. I kept

my composure in the

fight: Fahad Al Thani

PAGE | 25 PAGE | 26Joshua

retains world heavyweight titles

Marquez holds off Dovizioso to win in Aragon

Qatari boxer Fahad Al Thani poses for a picture with his trainers after the Super Welterweight bout in Spain. Inset: Fahad gets ready for the bout.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma (left) and his team-mate Shikhar Dhawan run between the wickets during the One-day International (ODI) Asia Cup match against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, yesterday.

Monday 24 September 2018

Schumacher claims five straight F3 victoriesAFP

BERLIN: Mick Schumacher, the teenage son of Formula One legend Michael Schu-macher, is living up to the famous family name in Formula Three by domi-nating the drivers’ champi-onship after picking up his fifth straight win yesterday.

The 19-year-old Schu-macher claimed the second of back-to-back wins on the Red Bull Ring at Spielberg, Austria.

He now has a com-manding 49-point lead with three races left this season and later just missed out on a hat-trick of victories in the third and final race when he came second after starting in pole position.

Young Schumacher’s dual wins this weekend in Austria came after claiming a hat-trick of wins on Ger-many’s iconic Nuerburgring circuit a fortnight ago to seize control of the drivers’ championship for his Italian team Prema Theodore Racing.

Having already won the first race of the weekend in Spielberg on Saturday, Schu-macher Jnr started in pole position on Sunday and never relinquished his lead to finish ahead of Prema team-mates Marcus Armstrong of Italy and Russia’s Robert Schwartzman.

Ton-ups Rohit and Dhawan help India crush Pakistan in Asia Cup

Pakistan:Imam-ul-Haq lbw b Chahal ........................... 10

Fakhar Zaman lbw b Yadav ........................... 31

Babar Azam run out .........................................9

Sarfraz Ahmed c Sharma b Yadav ............... 44

Shoaib Malik c Dhoni b Bumrah ....................78

Asif Ali b Chahal ..............................................30

Shadab Khan b Bumrah ................................. 10

Mohammad Nawaz not out ........................... 15

Hasan Ali not out ..............................................2

Extras: (LB5, W3) ............................................8

Total: (for 7 wkts) .............................237Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-55, 3-58, 4-165, 5-203,

6-211, 7-234

Bowling: Kumar 9-0-46-0 (2w), Bumrah 10-1-29-2,

Chahal 9-0-46-2, Yadav 10-0-41-2 (1w), Jadeja

9-0-50-0, Jadhav 3-0-20-0

India:R Sharma (not out) ......................................... 111

S Dhawan run out .......................................... 114

A Rayudu (not out) .......................................... 12

Extras: (W1) .......................................................1

Total: (for one wkt) .......................... 238Fall of wickets: 1-210

Bowling: Amir 5-0-41-0, Shah 6-0-42-0, Hasan

9-0-52-0, Nawaz 7-0-35-0, Shadab 8-0-54-0, Malik

4.3-0-14-0

Result: India win by nine wickets

SCOREBOARD

26 MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018SPORT

MotoGP: Brilliant Marquez holds off Dovizioso to win Aragon GPREUTERS

ALCANIZ: MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez moved a step closer to retaining the title after winning the Aragon Grand Prix for Honda yesterday to extend his lead at the top of the standings to 72 points.

Marquez, who started third on the grid, outfought Italian Andrea Dovizioso after pole-sitter Jorge Lorenzo crashed out on the opening turn to claim his first victory in five MotoGP races.

Marquez changed to a soft rear tyre just before the start of the race and took control in the last three laps, fending off the Ducati rider Dovizioso to win his home Grand Prix.

“Today, I took a risk, a gamble,” Marquez said. “I put the soft rear tyre because during the weekend every time I put the hard I felt okay, but I didn’t feel good.

“Sometimes I put the hard to be safe, but today I said, ‘okay, I’ll take a risk’. I was riding really good, really smooth in the beginning.

“I was able to follow Andrea in a good way, and we were fighting in the end, a great fight. Really top movement at the limit, I was one time in the green, was

completely at the limit, but I enjoyed a lot.”

Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone briefly threatened to make it a three-way fight for first place but settled for third ahead of Alex Rins. Lorenzo crashed for the second race in a row after drifting wide in the first corner, and was left with a dislocated toe. Dovizioso, who started second on the grid, had a slender lead over Marquez after Lorenzo’s crash, with a bunch of riders close behind, but the two leaders began to pull away after the halfway mark.

Marquez took the lead on the 14th lap, but Dovizioso regained the upper hand two laps later before Marquez made the decisive move with three laps remaining.

“Marc is very strong here,” Dovizioso said. “The real surprise is we’re fighting with Marc, so I’m so happy about the work we did during this season, to come here in this moment of this champi-onship very strong.

“We were fighting for victory on a bad track for us. This is good for this championship and also for the future.”

Dovizioso now has 174 points to Spaniard Marquez’s 246 with five races remaining.

Aragon Results MotoGP1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda)

41min 55.949sec, 2. Andrea

Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) at 0.648sec,

3. Andrea Iannone (ITA/Suzuki)

1.259, 4. Alex Rins (ESP/Suzuki)

2.638, 5. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Hon-

da) 5.274, 6. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/

Aprilia) 9.396, 7. Danilo Petrucci

(ITA/Ducati Pramac) 14.285, 8. Val-

entino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 15.199,

9. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati Pramac)

16.375, 10. Maverick Vinales (ESP/

Yamaha) 22.457

Overall Standings1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 246

points, 2. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/

Ducati) 174, 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA/

Yamaha) 159, 4. Jorge Lorenzo

(ESP/Ducati) 130, 5. Maverick Vinal-

es (ESP/Yamaha) 130, 6. Cal

Crutchlow (GBR/LCR Honda) 119, 7.

Danilo Petrucci (ITA/Ducati Pramac)

119, 8. Johann Zarco (FRA/Yamaha

Tech3) 112, 9. Andrea Iannone (ITA/

Suzuki) 108, 10. Alex Rins (ESP/Su-

zuki) 92

Moto21. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM)

39:59.247, 2. Francesco Bagnaia

(ITA/Kalex) at 1.526, 3. Lorenzo

Baldassari (ITA/Kalex) 2.055

Moto31. Jorge Martin (ESP/Honda)

37:49.030, 2. Marco Bezzecchi

(ITA/KTM) at 5.984, 3. Enea Bas-

tianini (ITA/Honda) 6.045

REUTERS

TOKYO: Former world number one Karolina Pliskova utilised her big serve to full effect to ease to a 6-4 6-4 victory over home favourite and US Open champion Naomi Osaka in the Pan Pacific Open final in Tokyo yesterday.

Osaka, supremely con-fident and in top form coming into the contest on the back of 10 consecutive wins, appeared uncertain throughout the match as her Czech opponent broke serve once in each set to triumph in 64 minutes.

Prior to the final, Pliskova had spent 419 minutes on court, more than any other player and almost twice as long as Osaka, but the Japanese player soon wilted and was unable to match the brilliance that secured her a first Grand Slam title.

Pliskova, meanwhile, was more than happy to take advantage of Osaka’s slop-piness, converting both her break point opportunities and reeling off the last 11 points to secure a second WTA title of the campaign.

“It was important for me to

play just two sets and not go to a third one. I needed a match like this,” the 26-year-old world number eight told reporters.

“Also confidence gets higher and higher with every match that you win and I won a lot of tough matches here, a lot of tough sets against tough opponents, so I’m proud of this.”

The usually aggressive Pliskova said she had adjusted her game plan based on her previous two meetings with world number seven Osaka, which the pair had split.

“I didn’t want to try to overpower her because I think she just has more power than me. So I just wanted to be patient and wait for my chances,” Pliskova added after capturing her 11th career WTA title without offering up a single break point.

“I was just trying to serve well, to mix the speed also a little bit, to play lots to her backhand,” she added. “She was missing quite a lot today so it was working, so I didn’t change anything.”

Osaka’s defeat was her second in the tournament final,

having also been runner-up in 2016, as the 20-year-old seemed to finally succumb to the after-effects of her emo-tional US Open triumph earlier this month.

“I have literally never been so tired in my entire life,” she told reporters. “I haven’t really had much time to rest, so I feel tired right now.”

When asked to explain her lacklustre performance, Osaka replied: “If I know I would have fixed it. As I am feeling very tired today, maybe I wasn’t doing the little things well.”

She can still, however, take heart from her recent run of form as she looks to finish the year on a strong note.

“To play the final of the US Open and then to come here, I think I did pretty well,” Osaka said. “So if there is any-thing I can take from this it is that I am proud of myself.”

In clinching the title, Pliskova took a big step towards securing her spot at the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore, the victory putting her just ahead of Kiki Bertens for the eighth and final berth in next month’s field.

Karolina Pliskova (right) of the Czech Republic, flanked by second-placed Naomi Osaka of Japan, after the final of the Pan Pacific Open at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi, Tokyo, Japan, yesterday.

Anderson beats Djokovic for second time in ChicagoREUTERS

CHICAGO: Kevin Anderson (pictured) took down Novak Djokovic for a second straight night as Team World rallied to win the final two matches and reel Team Europe’s lead back to 7-5 after the second day of the Laver Cup in Chicago on Saturday.

South African Anderson led the charge by blasting 17 aces past the Serbian world number three in a 7-6(5) 5-7 10-6 victory that shifted the momentum after the World side had lost the opening two matches of the day to fall 7-1 behind.

“We’ve had some really close matches haven’t gone our way and I really wanted to put us back in there,” Anderson, who lost the Wimbledon final to Djokovic earlier this year, told reporters.

“It’s not easy playing one of the best players of all time, but what an amazing atmosphere. I felt I played a great match - beating Novak on any stage is great and here in Chicago makes it extra special.”

It was another disappointing night for Djokovic, who teamed up with Roger Federer on Friday when the duo suffered a shock doubles loss to Anderson and

Jack Sock. The 14-time major champion again faltered in a third set, firing a forehand into the net to seal the loss.

“Unfortunately, two lost matches,” Djokovic said. “I gave it my best to beat Kevin.

“He was playing fantastic.”

American Sock and Australian Nick Kyrgios combined to win the doubles match f inale, beating Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin of Belgium 6-3 6-4.

Earlier in the day, Federer and German Alexander Zverev sparked Europe by winning t h e i r s i n g l e s matches, the Swiss rolling past Kyrgios 6-3 6-2.

Zverev had to grind out his win against American John Isner, the 21-year-old being forced to save a match point before ultimately pre-vailing 3-6 7-6 (6) 10-7.

Team Europe needs another six points to retain the title they won in the inaugural competition last year heading into Sunday’s final day, when three points are on the line in each of the four matches.

Repsol Honda Team’s Spanish rider Marc Marquez celebrates with supporters after winning the MotoGP race at the Grand Prix of Aragon at the Motorland Circuit in Alcaniz yesterday.

Pliskova serves big, edges ‘tired’ Osaka

Team World celebrates Kevin Anderson’s victory against

Novak Djokovic (not seen) of the Team Europe, at the end of their singles match on day two of the 2018 Laver Cup at the United Centre in Chicago,

Illinois, US, on Saturday.

27MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018 SPORT

Gymnastics event a big hit at Mall of QatarTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: A promotional gymnastics-themed event conducted at Mall of Qatar by the Organising Committee (OC) of the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018 got a huge public response with trampoline and floor exer-cises by gymnasts attracting big applause and loud cheers.

The event was held in the presence of the Qatar Gym-nastics Federation (QGF) Pres-ident Ali Al Hitmi, who is also the Executive Director and Tour-nament Manager of the Organ-ising Committee; Abeer Al Buainain, Director of Operations, Planning & Human Resources, and Maryam Al Mahmoud,

Director of Marketing and Com-munication, as part of prepara-tions for the world champion-ships to be held at Aspire Dome from October 25 to November 3.

Impressed by the show and public participation, Al Hitmi said: “We are very pleased with what we have seen from the great public turn-out. The per-formance included special offers that made the public know more about gymnastics. We are inviting the audiences to attend the world championships at Aspire to see the elite global stars compete and dazzle.

“The turn-out of people and the intensity seen here to watch gymnastics is a positive indicator that a large number of people are keen to watch the Artistic Gymnastics World Champion-

ships 2018,” he added.Marketing Director Maryam

Al Mahmoud said that the con-tinuous success of the promo-tional events for the first mega gymnastics event in Qatar and the Middle East also reflects the organisational success and keenness of the Organising Com-mittee to prepare for the cham-pionships in the best possible way.

“We have been keen on making promotional offers to the public in order to give them the opportunity to see the world championships for gymnastics. The event turned out to be popular and the response was

great. We are encouraged to find more such programmes and offers given the demand to repeat the same success,” said Maryam.

“We have seen that there is a lot of interest in the activities that have been undertaken by Qatar gymnasts between the ages of 6 and 12 as a large number of the public have par-ticipated in these shows.

“There will be more such public competitions and the prizes will be free tickets for the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018. Tickets will also be offered to children through various schools and embassies in Doha,” added

Maryam. “Meanwhile those wanting to purchase tickets for the worlds can do so from the Virgin and/or the official website.”

The OC of world gymnastics is also keen on creating a fan zone to run throughout the tour-nament. The zone will also include a variety of restaurants catering various cuisines to suit the tastes of fans from all over the world.

Giving details, Maryam said: “The world gymnastics will see more than 700 players from close to 85 countries, and this leads us to provide restaurants and cafes to suit all tastes. There will also be sale of clothing and

sports equipment at the fan zone.“The hosting of this edition

of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha 2018 is a challenge for us to emphasise Qatar’s image and the country’s organisational abilities which already has a global reputation,” she stressed.

“We aspire to provide unprecedented hospitality that shall assure the whole world that Qatar is strong in hosting major sports events, and that it has the best image at all levels. We promise the Qatari fans and vis-itors from all over the world to provide a distinctive champi-onship with fun activities,” she added.

Paris St Germain’s Neymar with a pitch invader at Roazhon

Park, Rennes, France, yesterday.

Arsenal win as Lacazette’s super strike sinks EvertonAFP

LONDON: Alexandre Lacazette fired Arsenal to a fourth successive Premier League win as the French forward’s superb strike inspired a hard-fought 2-0 success against Everton yesterday.

Unai Emery’s side rode their luck in the first half at the Emirates Stadium as Everton wasted a host of chances to punish a sloppy opening from the Gunners. But Laca-zette ensured that lethargic spell wouldn’t prove costly when he smashed a sublime opener in the second half.

Pierre-Emerick Aubam-eyang doubled Arsenal’s lead moments later when the Gabon forward was allowed to slot home despite being clearly offside.

That controversial effort shattered Everton’s resolve as Arsenal celebrated a flattering victory that lifted them to sixth place in the Premier League.

The north Londoners have now won their last five games in all competitions, yet, not for the first time, this was a far from convincing display.

A first clean sheet of the Emery era was a welcome sight for the Arsenal manager, but he will know there is still plenty of room for improvement in all areas.

Everton, without a win in their last 25 visits to Arsenal, could consider themselves unlucky, but their first half prof-ligacy proved decisive.

Marco Silva’s team have lost their last two matches and have won only one of their six league games this season.

After a laboured start from Arsenal, they finally pieced together an incisive raid when Hector Bellerin’s cross found Aubameyang at the far post.

Aubameyang scuffed the ball back to Nacho Monreal and the Arsenal defender saw his strike pushed away by Everton keeper Jordan Pickford. If that move show-cased the best of the attack-minded Bellerin, Ever-ton’s next chance underlined the Spaniard’s defensive frailties.

A long pass into Richarlison should have been easy for Bel-lerin to subdue, but he allowed the Brazilian forward to turn away from him far too easily, and it took a good save from Petr Cech to spare his team-mate’s blushes.

Richarlison, back after serving a three-match ban, was a constant menace to the pon-derous Arsenal defence and he went close again with a low curling effort from the edge of

the area. There were plenty of empty seats around the Emirates and, with Arsenal struggling to find any rhythm, those who had shown up were growing restless by the time Lucas Digne’s free-kick was tipped over by Cech.

Theo Walcott scored 56 times at the Emirates during his 12 years with Arsenal and the Everton winger, making his second return to his old club, almost added to that total just before half-time. Sprinting onto

Gylfi Sigurdsson’s pass, Walcott had a clear sight of goal but shot straight at Cech in a familiar sight to Arsenal fans who endured the winger’s erratic dis-plays for so long.

Arsenal lost Greek defender Sokratis to injury, leaving the Gunners even more vulnerable to Richarlison, who immediately seized on Sigurdsson’s pass and unleashed a powerful drive that forced Cech to save. But, having escaped without punishment for their tepid first half, Arsenal seized the lead in the 56th minute.

Lucas Torreira stole pos-session in midfield and quickly recycled the ball to Aaron Ramsey, whose pass found Laca-zette in space on the left side of the area. Lacazette had been anonymous until that point but, taking a touch to size up his options, the French forward guided a majestic curling shot into the top corner for his second goal of the season.

If that was tough on Everton, there was worse to come for Marco Silva’s side three minutes later as Arsenal scored a dubious second to seal the points.

English Premier League Results London: Collated English Premier League results yesterday:

Arsenal 2 (Lacazette 56, Aubameyang 59) Everton 0

West Ham 0 Chelsea 0

Played on SaturdayBrighton 1 (Knockaert 90+3) Tottenham 2 (Kane 42-pen, Lamela 76)

Burnley 4 (Vydra 39, Lennon 41, Barnes 83, 88) Bournemouth 0

Cardiff 0 Manchester City 5 (Aguero 32, B. Silva 35, Gundogan 44, Mahrez 67, 89)

Crystal Palace 0 Newcastle 0

Fulham 1 (Mitrovic 78) 1 Watford (Gray 2)

Leicester 3 (Iheanacho 19, Maddison 66, Vardy 75) Huddersfield 1 (Jorgensen 5)

Liverpool 3 (Hoedt 10-og, Matip 21, Salah 45+3) Southampton 0

Manchester United 1 (Fred 18) Wolves 1 (Moutinho 53)

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin (left) in action with Everton’s Richarlison at Emirates Stadium, London, Britain, yesterday.

Neymar gives jersey to crying boy as PSG beats Rennes 3-1AP

PARIS: Neymar was whistled off the pitch but showed he held no grudge against the Rennes fans, giving his shirt to a young boy who managed to run across the pitch to hug the Brazil star yesterday in the French league.

With PSG leading 3-1, Neymar slowly walked back to the Paris Saint-Germain bench in the 90th minute of the match at Rennes as coach Thomas Tuchel made his final substitution when the boy escaped security and ran toward the striker.

The boy burst into tears when he reached the player and pointed at his shirt. Neymar took the boy under his arm and walked back to the sideline, gesturing toward security guards to make them understand the situation was under control and he did not want them to intervene. Neymar then took off his shirt and gave it to the boy as he was taken away by stewards.

Neymar had a mostly anonymous performance before the incident, with a mediocre display in Brittany. Five days after slumping to its first loss this season in a 3-2 Champions League defeat at Liverpool, PSG struggled in the first half but came from behind to win 3-1 and remain perfect in the French league with a sixth consecutive win.

PSG remains five points clear at the top of the standings.Playing without the suspended Kylian Mbappe, the

defending champions faced strong resistance from an inspired home side that defended well and destabilized PSG on the break. PSG conceded early when Adrien Rabiot scored a clumsy own goal. Tuchel’s side managed to turn things around with goals from Angel Di Maria, Thomas Meunier and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting.

SPORTLA Galaxy vs

Seattle Sounders FC Chapecoense vs Fluminense

FOOTBALL FOOTBALL

25MONDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2018

It was a good fight. On the last

two laps I was pushing and

then pushing again, especially

the last lap and I managed to

keep my concentration.

Marc Marquez

MotoGP rider after his win in Aragon T

ODA

Y’S

ACT

ION

Woods leads at Tour ChampionshipAFP

ATLANTA: Tiger Woods is one round away from ending his five-year victory drought after storming into a three-shot lead on day three of the Tour Cham-pionship here on Saturday.

Woods, 42 looked in a class of his own as he carded a five-under-par 65 to leave himself on 12 under for the tournament at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club.

After an opening birdie on the par-four first, Woods went surging clear of the field with a run of five straight birdies from the third hole.

The run came with a mix of superb iron play and rock-solid putting, including a 21-foot birdie putt on the fourth.

There was also a moment of magic from the former world number one on the seventh, when he drilled a 172-yard approach shot to five feet and then tapped in for birdie.

He was denied a bigger lead after bogeys on the ninth and 16th holes.

“I got off to a nice start and made some nice putts. Good Lord,” Woods said afterwards.

“I left myself in good spots, too, so I was able to take a run at some of the putts. Other than number three, every putt was

uphill, so it was nice. I felt like I could free-wheel it, and they went in.”

A Woods victory would be an 80th PGA Tour triumph and take him to within two wins of Sam Snead’s all-time 82 Tour victories.

“I would love to be able to win this event,” he said.

“I’ve got a three-shot lead. I’ve got a bunch of guys behind me that have been playing well

and are playing well, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.” With one round remaining, Woods leads by three from Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose on nine under.

“Simple math says that if I play a clean card, the guys behind me have to shoot 67 to force it into extra,” Woods added.

“So, that helps. I don’t have to shoot 63 or 64 and hope I get help. That’s a big difference.

“This is a spot I’d much rather be in than certainly four or five back.” And having won 106 tournaments around the globe, Woods was quizzed if there was any further room for a 107th victory prize.

“I am sure there would be room somewhere in the house if I happened to go on and win this event,” he said.

Woods’ last victory came 1,875 days ago in August 2013

when he captured the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

The 14-time Major winner is a two-time former Tour Cham-pionship winner and enjoys a remarkable record of winning 54 of 57 PGA Tour events when holding the 54-hole lead.

The 42-year-old returned to golf this season after missing most of the previous two years with a debilitating back injury.

However Woods has pro-gressed steadily during his comeback season, leading the British Open during the final round in July before finishing second at last month’s PGA Championship.

He fired a 62 earlier this month and has also done enough to force himself into the USA team for next week’s Ryder Cup.

Behind Woods, McIlroy is lurking menacingly after carding a four-under-par 66.

Overnight leader Rose remains in the hunt but will look to improve on Sunday after a two-under-par 68.

Kyle Stanley and Spain’s Jon Rahm are a further three shots back on six under, six strokes behind Woods.

Paul Casey, Tony Finau and Billy Horschel are seven off the lead on five under.

Stricker, Jobe joint leaders in Sioux FallsAP

SIOUX FALLS: Steve Stricker and Brandt Jobe topped the Sanford International lead-erboard again on Saturday after another cool and breezy day in the inaugural PGA Tour Champions event.

After matching Jerry Smith and David McKenzie with first-round 7-under 63s, Striker and Jobe each shot 67 to get to 10-under 130 at Min-nehaha Country Club.

“It was a challenge out there today,” Stricker said. “It was gusty, the wind came out of the south, where we played yesterday it was out of the north, so it was a totally dif-ferent golf course.”

Jobe made an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th, and Stricker missed a 6-footer to leave them tied.

“It’s pretty straight-forward off the tee and the greens are what make it dif-ficult at times and you’ve just got to be in the right spot to have good birdie putts at it,” Stricker said.

“If not, then you’ve got to play pretty defensive at times.... It’s a simple game plan, but try to stay out of trouble and keep trying to put pressure on everybody.” Stricker won in Arizona and Mississippi in consecutive starts in May for his first senior victories. Next week in France, he will be one of US Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk’s assistants.

Jobe birdied four of the last five holes. He won last year in Iowa for his lone senior title “I think we kind of got used to what the wind was,” Jobe said.

“Of course, there’s some scoring holes on the back. The front played very difficult. It was just kind of try not to screw up for a while there.” Smith was a stroke back after a 68.

Scott McCarron also had a 68 to get to 8 under. Woody Austin was 7 under after a 64.

McKenzie had a 77 to drop into a tie for 43rd at even par.

Straka heads Web.com Tour leaderboardAP

FLORIDA: Sepp Straka moved into position on Saturday to earn a PGA Tour card in the Web.com Tour Championship, shooting a 7-under 64 to take the third-round lead.

With the top 25 earners in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals getting PGA Tour cards for the final day, Straka birdied the final three holes to reach 18-under 195 - a stroke ahead of Curtis Luck, Lucas Glover and Denny McCarthy at Atlantic Beach Country Club.

“It’s always good to get an extra birdie in late. I got three of them to finish, which was nice,” Straka said.

“It’s very bunched up there, so you can’t really take off, you’ve got to keep the pedal down and see where you end up at the end.”

Straka entered the week tied for 80th in the card race with $2,744.

The 25-year-old former Georgia player from Austria won the KC Golf Classic in August for his first Web.com Tour title. He finished 31st on the money list to advance to the four-tournament series.

“My ball-striking is really good,” Straka said.

“It’s been good all week. It’s been really solid. I really haven’t gotten in a whole lot of trouble and have been able to capitalize on

a good number of chances with the putter. Hit a couple of bad putts today, but some really good ones to make up for it.”

Luck also shot 64. The 22-year-old Australian went into the

week 16th with $41,587.“Obviously, it just comes down to keeping

that momentum going and trying not to change anything,” Luck said.

“That’s the really important thing and I felt like I did that really well. I played really aggressive on the back nine, still went after a lot of shots and I hit it close a lot out there.”

Glover had a 68. The 2009 US Open champion entered the week 40th with $17,212.

McCarthy shot 67. He already has wrapped up a card, earning $75,793 in the first three events to get to 11th in the standings.

The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com regular-season money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings, and non-members with enough money to have placed in the top 200. The top-25 finishers on the Web.com regular-season money list are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals.

The other players are fighting for the 25 cards based on series earnings.

Tiger Woods of the United States reacts on the 16th hole during the third round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday.

Sepp Straka of Austria celebrates his birdie on the 18th green during the third round of the Web.com Tour Championship held at Atlantic Beach Country Club in Atlantic Beach, Florida on Saturday.

Joshua retains world heavyweight titlesAFP

LONDON: Britain’s Anthony Joshua retained his world heavyweight titles by inflicting the first stoppage defeat of Alexander Povetkin’s professional career with a ruthless seventh-round finish at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

A previously close contest turned in Joshua’s favour decisively when he sent the Russian crashing to the canvas with a straight right hand and left hook.

Povetkin gamely beat the count but Joshua piled in before referee Steve Gray stopped the contest at one minute and 59 seconds of the seventh round.

Victory saw Joshua extend his unbeaten professional record to 22 wins from 22 fights, with 21 knockouts, in front of a raucous home crowd.

“Povetkin is a very tough chal-lenger and he proved it tonight,”

Joshua told Sky Sports. “I realised he was strong to the head but weak to the body.

“I got my knockout streak back, I found my right hand again.” Joshua was putting his International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organisation belts on the line against 39-year-old Russian challenger Povetkin.

This fight was the latest in a line of professional heavyweight title bouts, featuring the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman, between two former Olympic cham-pions, with Joshua having won gold in front of his home crowd at the 2012 London Games -- eight years after Povetkin stood atop the podium in Athens.

Joshua, 28, had a significant height and reach advantage of several inches over Povetkin.

Friday’s weigh-in also confirmed

a significant size difference, with Joshua tipping the scales at 17 stone 8 pounds (111.5 kilogrammes) compared to Povetkin’s 15st 12lbs.

This fight saw Joshua returning to the scene of arguably his greatest triumph, an 11th-round stoppage of former champion Wladimir Klitschko last year.

Klitschko was the only man to have previously inflicted a blemish on Pov-etkin’s now 36-fight record, with a points win back in 2013.

Joshua, born in nearby Watford but based in London, had been taken the distance for the first time as a profes-sional in his last title defence -- a unanimous points victory over New Zealand’s Joseph Parker in Cardiff in March.

The undercard of that fight saw Povetkin serve notice of his formidable punching power with a sickening knockout of Britain’s David Price.

Anthony Joshua celebrates his win against Alexander Povetkin during the WBA Super, IBF, WBO and IBO World Heavyweight Titles at the Wembley Stadium, London, Britain on Saturday.