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With a dream semi-final date against Liverpool dashed, Al Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez was yet to overcome the disappointment of missing out on a marquee clash at the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar. Sadd went down to Mexican side Monterrey 2-3 in the quarter-finals on Saturday and will now play for a fifth place play-off against African champions Esperance Sportive de Tunis at the Khalifa International Stadium today. On the eve of the match against the Tunisian side, Xavi seemed to be still carrying the wounds from the Monterrey encounter. The Spaniard, while admitting his team would look to end their campaign on a high, said Sadd played better than Monterrey but without much luck. “We were better than Monterrey in the last match, but we didn’t have luck on our side,” Xavi said. “We wanted to reach the semi-finals of this tournament but we couldn’t win the last match so we have to play for the fifth place. But we are still excited to finish this competition in the best way,” he said. Despite dominating possession against Monterrey, Sadd were wasteful in front of the goal. That along with a couple of defensive errors in the first half cost them badly, despite mounting a comeback in the second half. Xavi, however, reiterated his belief in his players and was pleased with their show in the tournament. “I am happy with the performance of my players. I am proud of them. We are at the same level with Monterrey. We were better than them in the quarter-final. I think we are competing really well, we have to adjust some things and we are not far off from other teams,” the Spain and Barcelona great said. Xavi felt Sadd will have to work hard to beat Tunis, who were undone by substitute Bafetimbi Gomis’ stunning goal as Asian Champions League winners Al Hilal snatched a narrow 1-0 win. “They (ES Tunis) have good players like we have at Al Sadd. They are fighters and warriors, and have a very good coach. They are working very well and that is why they are here. They are the champions of Africa and we will have to work hard to beat them,” he said. Sadd will be without goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb, who had to be substituted in the second half after suffering a shoulder injury against Monterrey. Qatar’s under-23 goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham, who filled in for al-Sheeb, is set to start today. On the other hand, Tunis have historically lost to Asian clubs and the African champions would want to set the record straight. The Tunisians have lost to Sadd 1-2 in the only time the two teams played against each other at the 2011 edition of the tournament, while Saturday’s loss to Hilal was another hard pill to swallow for them. “African teams are not winning against the Arab clubs for a long time. The reason may be they each have five to six professional players in the side, and then they have good infrastructure. But, we are looking to break this record against Al Sadd (today),” ES Tunis assistant coach Majdi Traore said. “Al Sadd are a very strong side but we will play for victory. We played this match last time and we won,” he said.  “We played a good last match technically and only lost after a late goal. The players are in good state mentally and are determined to win this match to win fifth place,” said Traore.  ES Tunis goalkeeper Rami Jridi did not see much of a difference between Tunis and Sadd. “Al Sadd are a tough side and it will be a difficult match. Al Sadd have a good history but we are also the African champions,” he said.

Al Sadd were the dark horses going into their FIFA Club World Cup Qatar quarter-final match against Monterrey, and the Qatar giants put on a valiant fight before going down 2-3 in a pulsating encounter yesterday. The Mexican side were too good for Sadd in the first half, but the hosts never gave up as they twice reduced a two-goal deficit in the second half before running out of time at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. Monterrey will now gear up for a marquee semi-final showdown with European champions Liverpool on Wednesday at the Khalifa International stadium, while Sadd will play a fifth place play-off tie against African champions Esperance Sportive de Tunis on Tuesday. Sadd started on a positive note but goals from Leonel Vangioni (23rd minute) and Rogelio Funes Mori (45 +1) gave Monterrey the advantage at half time. While Sadd ignited comeback hopes with a Baghdad Bounedjah header in the 66th minute, Carlos Rodriguez’s strike ten minutes later restored Monterrey’s two-goal advantage. Sadd were back in the contest after a stunner from Abdelkarim Hassan in the 89th minute, but could not force the game into extra time in the six added minutes. “I am very disappointed but proud of the players for what their effort. We made many mistakes that helped the Mexican team. But we deserved more than that and could have taken the game to extra time,” Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez said. “We must learn from our mistakes. But I am happy with most of the players and how they played. But in football the result is most important and we committed too many mistakes to lose today,” he added.  On the match eve, Xavi had urged his players to play without fear and embrace being the dark horse for the clash. While the hosts did put on a much better show in the second half, they weren’t clinical enough in the first even as Monterrey took their chances. Unlike against Hienghene Sport last Wednesday, where they scraped to a 3-1 extra-time win, Sadd were punished by the South American champions for wasting too many chances. Monterrey did go close after just 98 seconds, when Jesus Gallardo hit the bar, but in the next ten minutes Sadd had a chance to take the lead through Akram Afif and Nam Tae-hee. In third minute, Asian best player of the year Afif’s shot was blocked by Marcelo Barovero, and the Monterrey goalkeeper did not do much when South Koream international Nam whipped over the post. On the other hand, Vangioni struck a belter to give the CONCACAF Champions League winners an early lead in the 23rd minute. The defender picked up a ball from 35-yards and unleashed a left-footer, which hit the top of the right-hand post and then slammed into the net. Afif and Hassan did try their luck from outside the box but could not find the target before Sadd captain Gabi’s blunder at the stroke of half time put the hosts two goals behind. The Spanish midfielder played a back pass to Boualem Khoukhi, but could only find a lurking Mori, who squared up Sadd keeper Saad al-Sheeb and calmly put it into the net. Afif had enough time in the remaining seconds of first half to pull a goal back but the forward’s corner from the left was cleared by Barovero. Sadd came in with a lot more intent in the second half but Barovero was again on hand to parry a shot from Hassan al-Haydos. While Xavi’s men did enjoy more of the possession, Monterrey were always a threat. Captain Dorlan Pabon went close a couple of times, but Sadd defenders were able to thwart the danger. Afif did have another big opportunity in the 65th minute, but the 23-year-old once again shot wide. A minute later, however, Bounedjah gave his side a hope when he bundled in a Khoukhi cross. Monterrey were back in control though, when Pedro Miguel lost the ball in the midfield to Jesus Gallardo, who then passed it to Rodriguez to drill into the net. When all the hopes seemed to die down, Hassan’s thunder strike from 25 yards in the 88th minute gave Sadd a slim of a chance. But the Monterrey players were clever in running down the clock as Sadd players ran out of gas.

*FIFA Club World Cup Qatar kicks off A spirited Hienghene Sport gave Al Sadd a scare before the hosts won 3-1 in a play-off match as the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar kicked off Wednesday. At the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Sadd needed extra time to beat Oceania winners Hienghene to seal a place in the quarter-finals against Mexican side Monterrey. Sadd looked for a comfortable win when Baghdad Bounedjah put them in front in the 26th minute, but Hienghene hit back immediately after half time when Amy Roine drew level. Al Sadd's Abdelkarim Hassan celebrates after scoring a goal  Al Sadd's Abdelkarim Hassan (third from left) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal   With Sadd players spurning chance after chance, the game went into 30-minute extra time, where Abdelkarim Hassan scored after a howler from Hienghene goalkeeper Rocky Nyikeine, before Pedro Miguel relieved pressure on coach Xavi Hernandez with a strike in the 114th minute. Qatar league champions Sadd have not been at their best form, having lost three of their last four league matches. And they looked lackluster once again against a Hienghene side, who are made up mostly of part-timers. Sadd manager was not too happy with his players for wasting plenty of opportunities to score. "We had many chances to score. We concede just a little bit. They didn't look like scoring in the second half apart from early on. We suffered too much, we did more than them but we missed too many chances. Monterrey will be very difficult side on Saturday," the Spaniard said. Going into Wednesday’s contest, Hienghene were always the underdogs but they battled hard against one of the best teams in Asia. Felix Tagawa’s men were surprise winners of the Oceania Champions League and are the first New Caledonian side to qualify for the Club World Cup. They are based in a remote part of New Caledonia with a population of just 2,500, five hours away from the country’s capital, Noumea. Hienghene does not possess the quality of Sadd, so it was obvious that they would sit deep and look to attack on counter. While the hosts dominated, Hienghene had their fair share of chances in the first half. Sadd did have couple of chances in the opening minutes but it was Hienghene who had first real shot at the goal. In the ninth minute, forward Jefferson Dahite’s right footed shot hit the side net. Four minutes later, Hienghene goalkeeper Rocky Nyikeine, was called into action with Gabi and Bounedjah both trying their luck. Nyikeine, however, was equal to the task, blocking both the shots easily.  Roine, meanwhile was a constant threat to the Sadd defence, and the forward tested Saad al-Sheeb from outside the box with Sadd stopper diving to his left to make a save. In the 25th minute, Roine should have put Hienghene into the lead. Captain Bertrand Kai played in a perfect cross into the box, with Roine having beaten defender Pedro Miguel to the ball but the forward could not add power to his header as al-Sheeb made a regulation save. Roine was still lamenting his close miss, when Bounedjah made no mistake at the other end to put Sadd ahead. Hassan delivered a cross from the left-hand flank, which was tapped in by Bounedjah. There was a VAR review for the goal with Bounedjah seemed to be offside but a little nick off the defender on the way through meant the Algerian was played onside. In the 39th minute, Akram Afif thought he had doubled Sadd’s advantage when the Qatari forward had slotted the ball into the net after Boualem Khoukhi’s free kick was palmed away by Nyikeine. But the goal was disallowed after a VAR review by Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal, who deemed Bounedjah had obstructed Nyikeine as he looked to save Afif's follow-up shot. Hienghene got the second half under way and they equalised within a minute after the break, but not before the visitors were made to wait for the goal to be given. Roine had slotted the ball to the bottom right corner after nudging Khoukhi just outside the box but the referee ruled a foul by Hienghene forward. Upon watching a VAR review, Ghorbal reversed his decision as Roine went on a celebratory run with his teammates joining him. There was more VAR drama in the 69th minute and Sadd were at the receiving end again. After Nyikeine had denied Bounedjah with a brilliant save, substitute Hassan al-Haydos fierce shot hit the net. But the referee cut short al-Haydos’ celebration after Bounedjah, who had made the pass to his teammates, was offside. Sadd had numerous chances to finish the game with Afif having couple of golden chances. While the 23-year-old’s header whisked past the post, he was also guilty of shooting wide as the game went to extra time. While Hienghene continued to defend stoically, a mistake from goalkeeper Nyikeine undid all their good work. After confusion with defender, while clearing a Sadd attempt, Nyikeine gave a back pass to his teammates. With referee awarding a free kick to Sadd inside the box, Hassan blasted past a wall of defenders from close range. With Hienghene’s spirits crushed, Pedro added another goal with six minutes remaining to keep Sadd in the tournament.

Qatar roared back into the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup contention with a thumping 6-0 win over Yemen at the Khalifa International Stadium. The Asian champions bounced back from a shock 1-2 loss to Iraq in their opening match on Tuesday, with a clinical performance Friday. Abdelkarim Hassan started the rout with a brace, before he completed his hat-trick, while Almoez Ali, Abdullah al-Ahrak and Akram Afif found the net once each. Felix Sanchez’s men will now take on the United Arab Emirates in their final Group A match on Monday, in what is now a winner-takes-all showdown. A draw against UAE would ensure a semi-final spot for the hosts as they have a better goal advantage. Qatar's players celebrate their goal  Iraq, who earlier in the day beat UAE 2-0 for their second consecutive victory, became the first team to seal their place in the semi-final. Iraq now can finish as Group A table-toppers with a victory over Yemen on Monday. Before the kick-off, Qatar players stood in unison with a flag in support of their teammate Bassam al-Rawi, who underwent a surgery to his leg, which he injured during Iraq match. Al-Rawi, watching from his hospital bed, would have been proud of his mates. It was a must-win game for Qatar and Yemen, unarguably the weakest side among eight teams in the tournament, bore the brunt of the hosts’ attack. Qatar raided Yemen’s goal from the very first minute, but they were found wanting in the final third. That was until Hassan opened the scoring in the 30th minute after which the goals rained down at the Khalifa Stadium. After a Boudiaf header was not completely cleared by Yemen midfielder Nasser al-Gahwashi, Hassan took full advantage of the blunder to tap in for Qatar’s opener. In the 32nd minute, Boualem Khoukhi spurned an easy chance after he was late to get a touch into Afif’s cross. Hassan, however, got into the scoresheet in the 37th minute with a thunderous left-footed strike from 30 yards, that brushed Yemen goalkeeper Saleem Saeed’s right hand but had enough power to smash into the net. Qatar had couple of chances but went into the break with a two-goal lead. Upon resumption, Yemen threatened a comeback but a dangerous move from Omar al- Dahi was thwarted by Khoukhi inside the box. It was a wake-up call that Qatar needed as they went into overdrive. Almoez, who has struggled in recent matches, got a much-needed boost with a goal in the 57th minute. The Asian Cup MVP exchanged a 1-2 pass from Afif, before unleashing a left-footer past a hapless Saeed. Qatar were awarded a penalty in the 72nd minute, after al-Gahwashi handled a ball from Ismail Mohamed in the box. Afif, Qatar’s designated penalty-taker, generously handed the ball to Hassan, who then completed his hat-trick. Youngster al-Ahrak then made it 5-0 with the substitute scoring from outside the box. Afif, meanwhile, also had enough time for himself to score in the 89th minute and complete a dominating win. Qatar coach Sanchez was a happy man as it was exactly the kind of response he expected after his side’s defeat to Iraq. Against Yemen, Qatar bossed the contest with 20 shots fired, of which 11 was on target. They also enjoyed a whopping 79% possession. Now Sanchez will hope for a similar performance against UAE, as the Qatar eye their fourth Gulf Cup title.

Iraq once again proved they are strong contenders for the title at the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup, with a second straight win Friday. Srecko Katanec’s side showed they are the team to beat after a comprehensive 2-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in the Group A match at the Khalifa International Stadium. Captain Alaa Abdul-Zahara led from the front as he provided an assist for the first goal and scored the second, which was enough for Iraq to seal a straightforward victory. While UAE enjoyed a slightly better percentage of possession, Iraq clearly dominated the contest. They also had five shots on target to UAE’s two. With a game against lowly Yemen to come, Iraq are the favourites to finish as Group A toppers and look a serious threat for their fourth Gulf Cup title. Iraq's forward Alaa Abdul-Zahra celebrates after scoring  Having been forced to field a second string side against Qatar after eight of the Al Shorta club players arrived only on the match eve, Iraq were back to full strength Friday. Katanec even benched Mohamed Qasem, who scored a brace against Qatar, and Al Duhail starlet Mohanad Ali. That only showed how impressive was Iraq’s victory against the Asian champions Qatar and they continued their fine show Friday. It took just six minutes for Iraq to get on the board, as Abdul-Zahara released a perfect ball past two UAE defenders and found Alaa Abbas in the box, with the striker taking one clean swipe to put his team ahead. Iraq were lucky not to concede a penalty in the 18th minute after goalkeeper Mohamed Hameed Farhan brought down a charging Ali Saleh just outside the box. Farhan was only shown a yellow card by Belgian referee Alexandre Boucaut, with UAE players protesting for a penalty in vain. The ensuing free kick, though, almost brought an equaliser for the UAE. Ali Mabkhout, who had scored a hat-trick in UAE’s win over Yemen in the opening match, struck well from the edge of the box from the right side, but Farhan read the ball well, leaping to punch the ball with his right hand. While UAE sensed an opening, Iraq looked more likely to increase their lead. In the 32nd minute, Iraq midfielder Amjad Attwan attempted an ambitious strike from 45 yards but it landed safely into the hands of Mohamed al-Shamsi. Five minutes later, Iraq doubled the lead with UAE defenders once again caught napping. This time it was the turn of captain Abdul-Zahara to get onto the scoresheet. Ali Adnan played a cross into the box with Abdul-Zahara rising between two defenders to head the ball into the net. Iraq started the second half in the same way as they did in the first. Three minutes after the break, Ali Faez Atia’s header missed the target by a whisker. Mohanad Ali, who replaced Abbas in the 62nd minute, had a great chance two minutes after coming in but the Duhail forward, despite having all the time in the world, hit straight to al-Shamsi. While UAE looked for a breakthrough, the only time they troubled Iraq was in the 72nd minute when a Mabkhout shot was parried away by Farhan. Iraq could have sealed the contest with a third goal after being awarded a penalty. Referee Boucaut initially ignored calls for spot kick after Iraq’s Mohamed Reda Jaleel was caught by the high boot of Khalifa Mubarak in the box. But after a VAR consultation and then watching the replay himself, Boucaut awarded a penalty to Iraq. Defender Adnan stepped forward to take the shot but his weak right-footer was easily saved by al-Shamsi, diving to his right.

Qatar’s Gulf Cup campaign began on a sour note after the hosts went down to Iraq 1-2 in the opening match at the Khalifa International Stadium Tuesday. Mohamed Qasem was the hero for Iraq as he stunned the packed 37,890 crowd with two goals in nine minutes in the first half. Abdelaziz Hatim brought Qatar back into the contest with a strike in the 49th minute, but Felix Sanchez’s men could not find the equaliser. Watched by His Highness The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who inaugurated the 24th edition of the tournament, Qatar started on a bright note. Qatar’s Abdelkarim Hassan (centre) vies for the ball during the Gulf Cup match against Iraq Qatar fans wave flags ahead of the match against Iraq Qatar coach Felix Sanchez However, they were guilty of wasting many chances. Iraq, on the other hand, were highly impressive, well organised and grabbed their chances. In fact they had to start the match with a second string XI, with coach Srecko Katanec choosing not to field any of the eight players who played for their club Al Shorta against Mauritanian side Nouadhibou in Arab Club Championship second round match on Monday. While Iraq was second to Asian champions Qatar in quality on the pitch, they made up for it with their huge physical presence and big heart. Qatar coach Sanchez was clearly disappointed with the result, but the Spaniard was optimistic his men would bounce back in the remaining two Group A matches against Yemen and the UAE. “Of course no one wants to lose, especially in such a game like this. You are playing at home in front of your fans. And it’s the first game in the competition and we know that we are the champions of Asia. But it does not give you the three points before the start of the game. You need to play,” he said. “What we can do is work hard in this strong group and ensure that we are stronger in the next game and take the points. I believe we deserved something from this game because of the chances we created. We tried but as I said we need to be better in the next game,” he added. Sanchez had predicted a difficult match due to Iraq’s physically natured game and that’s what he got. “As I had said before, it was a difficult match. We have always found it difficult against Iraq and credit to them for the way they played today,” he said. Things could have been different, though, for Qatar had Almoez Ali and Abdelkarim Hassan converted the chances they got. Almoez, who has failed to reach the heights of his Asian Cup high, had a bad day in the office. On more than one occasion, he fluffed an opportunity to score. The striker’s, and also Qatar’s, biggest chance came in just the fourth minute, with the Duhail forward needing just Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hasan to beat. But Almoez's strike was way off the mark. Hassan, who was a constant threat from the right flank, also had a great chance but could not find the side net. In defence too, Qatar players struggled to find the rhythm, with Bassam al-Rawi’s blunder gifting Iraq the breakthrough in the 18th minute. After an Iraq corner was cleared by goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb, the ball landed into Qasem, who crossed the ball into the box, intending to find his teammates. But in a shocking case of misjudgment, al-Rawi chose not to intercept as the ball evaded two Iraqi players as a helpless al-Sheeb watched the ball slam the net. Iraq doubled the lead in the 27th minute, but this time it was due to Qasem’s brilliance. The 22-year-old midfielder caught onto a loose ball from outside the box and struck a fierce left-footed which beat al-Sheen comfortably. With their backs against the wall, Qatar went into the half-time with plenty to ponder. Sanchez made a change after the break, bringing in Hatim for Yusuf Abdrisag and the move paid dividends quickly. Just three minutes into the second half, Hatim capitalised on a mistake from Iraq defender Mostafa Mohamed to score from close range. Having pulled a goal back and with home crowd behind them, Qatar came close to finding the equaliser many times, but the resilient Iraqi held on for a famous victory. Now Qatar will turn their attention to Yemen on Friday, which is already a must-win affair for them if they are to keep their hope of a fourth title alive. Iraq, meanwhile, will have all their Al Shorta players ready to face the UAE on Friday.

Iraq coach Srecko Katanec wasn’t a happy man yesterday. With only 13 players, including two goalkeepers at his disposal in training, the Slovenian was frustrated with his side’s preparation ahead of the Gulf Cup opening game against Qatar today. Hammam Tariq and Bashar Resen will miss the tournament with their clubs – Ismaily of Egypt and Iran’s Persepolis – denying them permission to join the Iraq squad. But what has angered Katanec is the unavailability of eight players, who will arrive in Doha today as they were playing the Arab Club Championship second-round match for Al Shorta against Mauritanian side Nouadhibou yesterday. “It is difficult to have so few players, so it is very difficult to predict what will happen. This is a new experience for me and I hope to be successful in any decision I make,” Katanec said yesterday. He was not sure whether he will field eight Al Shorta players against Qatar, saying he would take a decision only hours before the match. “I do not know what I will do, whether they will play or not against Qatar. There are eight players with Al Shorta and I may put them on the bench. I just have to watch the game and tomorrow I will decide what to do,” he said. “I will explain to the players my plan for the match against Qatar. I have new players in the team and playing against one of the best Asian teams is wonderful and the atmosphere here is very wonderful. Tomorrow everything is possible and our situation is difficult, but I have no excuses,” he added Katanec, however, said the absence of key players will present an ideal opportunity for the youngsters to show their quality. “This Gulf Cup is a good opportunity for new players in the national team. All the players are aware that the opportunity given to them was deserved and I expect them to surprise me by playing at a great level,” he said. Regarding the exclusion of forward Justin Meram, who plays for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United, Katanec said: “These are technical matters and only I get to choose the players, no one else. I have my experience and I know very well what the players need and there is nothing personal matter between me and any player. I am not afraid to be dismissed even if I lose all three games, all I need is to work very seriously,” the plain-speaking coach said. The Iraqi team is hunting for its fourth Gulf Cup title, having previously won in 1979, 1984 and 1988. Under Katanec they have usually punched above their weight and can spring surprises this time too. The 55-year-old was appointed as Iraq coach last year with the responsibility of taking the Lions of Mesopotamia to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. They currently lead Group C in the World Cup and Asian Cup joint qualifiers on the back of a dramatic win over early favourites Iran earlier this month.

Among many things, the Doha IAAF World Championships will be best remembered for breaking barriers and giving the Arab world one of its biggest sporting extravaganzas. Qatar will of course host the showpiece football event – the FIFA World Cup in just over three years’ time, but before that the country has showed its efficiency by hosting a spectacular global sports event. Last night, as the curtains came down at the Khalifa International Stadium after ten days of action packed with drama, extraordinary performances, world records and the emergence of new sporting heroes, Qatar’s reputation as a great sporting destination has been enhanced further. IAAF President Sebastian Coe later described the Doha Worlds as the best in history in terms of the quality and depth of performances produced by the athletes of more than 200 nations and lauded Qatar’s efforts in creating best of the conditions. “The world’s athletes have put on the best show in the history of the IAAF World Athletics Championships, according to the competition performance rankings which are used as an objective measure of the quality of international competition. These performances are incredible but credit must also go to the facilities and conditions provided by the host country. Doha has created conditions on the field of play and in the warm up that are unsurpassed," Coe said. (From L to R) USA's Michael Cherry, Wilbert London, Rai Benjamin and Fred Kerley pose with their national flags after winning the Men's 4x400m Relay final at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha on Sunday. On an action-packed all-finals show last night, the United States sealed their dominance in the track by clinching three more gold medals, taking their tally to 14. In total, the US athletes went home with 29 medals, of which 11 was in silver and four in bronze for their best result at a World Championships in 12 years. Kenya, thanks to their middle distance runners, finished second with 11 medals in total and Jamaica was third with 12. The championships ended with 4x400 men’s and women’s relays, where US were comfortable winners. The American women comprising 400m champion Dalilah Muhammad and silver medallist Sydney McLaughlin, Phyllis Francis and Wadeline Jonathas set a world leading time to crusie to an easy win. Francis, starting off the blocks, gave US a comfortable lead, as McLaughlin, Dalilah and Jonathas closed out the race in 3:18:92 seconds. Poland set a national record to take silver, while Jamaica took bronze. The men’s relay played out in a similar pattern as the US team — Fred Kerley, Michael Cherry, Wilbert London and Rai Benjamin — finished more than a second clear of Jamaica in 2:56.69secs, with Belgium coming third. The third gold on the night for US came in the women’s 100m hurdles with Nia Ali recording a personal best time of 12.34secs to edge past compatriot Kendra Harrison. The 2015 world champion Danielle Williams took bronze for Jamaica. Ali, who earned 2016 Rio Olympic silver a year after having son, Titus, earned her first world title a year after having daughter, Yuri. She took a victory lap with both kids with four-year-old Titus running in his own lane. Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, USA’s Allyson Felix and Chinese race walker Liu Hong had all won gold medals within a year or two of giving birth and now Ali has joined the ‘super mom’ list. “It's super special. I have never won an outdoor world title. I am ecstatic. Shelly-Ann, Allyson, all the ladies who have come back from child birth are an inspiration for me and I am so excited to be able to pull of the world title,” Ali said. Williams and Harrison went into the final as top contenders for the gold, but the 30-year-old Ali surprised the field by taking the lead at the half way stage. She then held on even as Harrison and Williams threatened to pass her. Jamaica’s Tobi Amusan was fourth in 12.49. It was just the second time in history, after the 1987 Worlds final, in which four women have bettered 12.50. The men’s 5000m final was lopsided as it can get as Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya stormed into a comfortable win in 3:29.27 secs. Cheruiyot led from gun to tape and finished more than two seconds clear of Algeria’s London Olympics 2012 champion Taoufik Makhloufi. Bronze went to European indoor champion Marcin Lewandowski in a Polish record of 3:31.46. Nia Ali of the US celebrates winning gold with her child in the Women's 100 Metres Hurdles Final at the Khalifa International Stadium Cheruiyot ended a run of silver medals as he had come second at the 2017 world championships and the last two African championships. Last night, the Kenyan knew he was miles better than the rest and ran a race that was beyond all of his rivals. Cheruiyot said he took the initiative to avoid being jostled. "You see that there is a lot of pushing so we were trying to avoid the challenges," he said. "I felt the support of Kenyans in the crowd and it was amazing. The Olympic season is coming so I need to work harder." Meanwhile, Germany's Malaika Mihambo added the long jump world title to her 2018 European gold. The world leader put on a dominating performance, with her winning jump of 7.30m coming in her third attempt. Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk of Ukraine was runner-up with a 6.92m jump, just a centimeter ahead of Nigerian Ese Brume. "That was so amazing," said Mihambo, who added 14 centimetres to her career best. "It was a difficult competition but I'm really glad I came through. In training I don’t remember having managed a jump like that. Today I showed I am capable of such a great jump. I am over the moon. There was a really tight moment for me, that third attempt. The third attempt, it had to work. I told myself, ‘You have to make this one valid no matter what. And it worked,” the 25-year-old added. Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei holds the national flag after winning the Men's 10,000m final at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha In the men’s 10,000m, Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei won his first world title as Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha ran out of steam in the final sprint. Rhonex Kipruto added a bronze to Kenya's tally. Cheptegei, who took silver behind Farah at 2017 Worlds, clocked 26:48.36, the world’s fastest time in five years. In a surprise result, the men’s javelin throw gold went to Grenada's Anderson Peters. Magnus Kirt of Estonia settled for sliver after he injured his shoulder and was unable to take his final throw. Johannes Vetter won bronze for Germany. The 21-year-old, who became Grenada’s second world champion after one-lap star Kirani James, took the lead in his very first throw of 86.89, which was not unsurpassed on the night. World leader and Diamond League Trophy winner Magnus Kirt’s best throw was 86.21, while defending champion Johannes Vetter of Germany’s could only muster 85.37. Peters, who was shocked at his gold medal winning distance, said: “I didn’t think 86m would be enough to win gold. I was up against 90m men throwing high 88s all season. I just believed in my coach and the work we did all season. I want to tell my fellow Grenadians that everybody can do it, if I can do it. It’s possible for everybody to become a world champion. You just have to want it as badly as I do.”

Sifan Hassan is in a league of her own. The Dutch star completed an unprecedented double after she cruised to victory in the 1,500 metres, to add to the 10,000m title she had won a week ago at the IAAF World Championships in Doha. No woman or man had won 1500 and 10000 double before in the history of the World Championships or Olympics. But that was until Sifan put on a masterful run at the Khalifa International Stadium last night. During the course of her stunning run, Sifan repeatedly looked behind to see how close her rivals where to her. But she didn’t have to bother as the 26-year-old was clearly way ahead before posting victory in a championships record time of 3:51.96 seconds. Sifan’s dominance was such that defending champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya was a distant second in 3:54.22, with Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay in third in 3:54.38. The winning time was the sixth-fastest 1500m run in history and just two seconds shy of the 3:50.07 world record set by Genzebe Dibaba in 2015. “This is amazing for me. This is such an honour,” said Sifan. “I am showing what you can do with the hard work. It was amazing when I crossed the finish line and saw that time. I am so happy as this was a hard win for me. I felt very good after 10,000m so I decided to go for 1,500m. I have been working hard for 1,500m this season. It looked this was easy for me but it took so much hard work,” she added. Sifan was the overwhelming favourite with Kipyegon, making a comeback from the birth of her first child, poised to give her a tough fight. But as it turned out, Sifan ran her own race, jumping onto the lead after 300m and never even ceded an inch as she stormed to the finish. Shot Put The men’s shot put final was no short of a world class as championships records tumbled like nine pins. In the end, American Joe Kovacs won arguably the greatest shot put competition in history with the joint-fourth-best throw of all time — 20.91 meters. Kovacs’ victory margin over Rio Olympic champion Ryan Crouser and 2017 world champion Tom Walsh was a mere one centimetre. It was Kovacs’ second world title after he had won in 2015 in Beijing. He had won silver at the previous Olympics and Worlds. The 30-year-old’s winning throw came in his last attempt. Joe Kovacs of the US celebrates winning gold in Men's Shot Put Final at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha “It is a time to celebrate,” said Kovacs. “Coming to this competition, I was hoping for a new PR and then I saw Ryan throwing far, the others throwing far, I just cannot be happier to get the gold medal. This everyday hard work, it just paid off. This is definitely the final which made the history,” he added. Defending champion Walsh had set the bar high in the final with his very first throw of 2.90m, which was the championship record, but Crouser also saved his best for last, matching New Zealander’s mark. Crouser walked away with silver ahead of Walsh, who had only one legal throw in the competition. “It was an unbelievable competition with a lot of fireworks in the round six. This final was crazy and I am so happy to be part of. I am really happy with my season. Every meet except for one was over 22 metres, which is a standard for shot putting. I wanted gold but to see Joe (Kovacs) throw a personal best in the last throw, I can't complain,” Crouser said. TRIPLE JUMP Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas won her second consecutive world title in the triple jump. The 23-year-old’s second jump of 15.37m was enough for her on the night to clinch the gold medal. “It’s been a long and successful year,” said Rojas, who became the fourth back-to-back winner. “I came out to break the world record -- I tried in the first three rounds but then I felt tired and my legs didn’t respond as I wanted. But I am super happy and grateful.” Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas celebrates winning the Women's Triple Jump final at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships  Jamaican star Shaneika Ricketts, who upset Rojas to take the Diamond League title in Zurich in August, had to settle for silver with a jump of 14.92m jump. Veteran Catherine Ibarguen showed she still can compete with the best as the 35-year-old won bronze after leaping a distance of 14.73m. Meanwhile, there were plenty of shocks in the qualifications of the 100m hurdles and javelin throw as the three Olympic champions were dumped out. Brittney Reese, long jump champion in 2012; Brianna McNeal, 100m hurdles champ in 2016; and Thomas Rohler, javelin king in 2016, all failed to progress to today’s final. Reese was knocked from 12th to 13th place overall from the two groups of long jump qualifying. The American was only able to produce a best of 6.52m. In the men’s javelin, Germany’s Thomas Rohler and 2018 Diamond League champion Andreas Hoffman failed to hit the 84m qualification mark, with only four of them earning the automatic entry. Hofmann could only muster 80.06m, while Rohler had a best of 79.23m. Their compatriot Johannes Vetter hurled the javelin at 89.35 and will be the overwhelming favourite to win the title.

With Sydney McLaughlin breathing down her neck, Dalilah Muhammad knew she had to better her best. And that is precisely what the Olympic champion produced at the Khalifa International Stadium last night. After having had to settle for silver at the 2013 Moscow and 2017 London Worlds, Dalilah bagged that elusive 400m hurdles gold medal by breaking her own world record at the IAAF World Championships in Doha. It was the 29-year-old’s second world record in the space of three months and it couldn’t have come at a better time for her. McLaughlin, long anointed as Dalilah’s heiress apparent, gave a tough fight to her American compatriot but had to settle for silver in a personal best of 52.23, just .03 off Dalilah’s old record. Jamaica's Rushell Clayton took bronze with her own PB of 53.74. “This means so much. It is difficult to describe. I just wanted the world title so much but to break the world record again is fantastic,” said Dalilah. “I just decided to go for it from the start and I felt Sydney coming at me around hurdle nine, then I just gave everything I’d got. It hasn’t really sunk but it feels good,” she added. After the race, Dalilah was still coming to terms with her world record feat. “I did not expect to break the world record today, I was definitely just trying to win that race. Two world records, that sounds quite crazy, now that it is done. My coach told me that it is possible and I just had to go there and believe in it. I believe that we can drop under 52s, the race was so tight, that was anybody's race tonight. It was so close, we will continue to push each other. It is definitely possible,” she said. USA's Dalilah Muhammad celebrates after winning and poses next to the screen reading the new world record in the Women's 400m Hurdles final at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships in Doha  Dalilah knew she was under pressure from the U-20 champion and was off the blocks quickly, but McLaughlin was not far off either at the 200 mark. However, around the top bend, Dalilah raced to the lead and further increased it in the straight line before the prodigious young talent McLaughlin made a last-ditch effort from the 100m to catch her senior rival. Dalilah though held on to win, after which McLaughlin was the first one to congratulate her compatriot. “I knew it would be fast but I didn’t think it would be that fast, said McLaughlin. “I did everything I could and at least US got one-two. I gave it everything I had, I’m still young, and every day is a new experience for me,” the 20-year-old added. In another stunning race which sent the packed crowd into raptures, Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto defended his 3000m steeplechase title. Kipruto had his heart in his mouth as he crossed the line with Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma in photo finish, but as the big screen flashed his name as a world champion, the Kenyan climbed on top of a hurdle as he celebrated his dramatic win. Kipruto’s winning time was 8:01.35, with Girma just 0.01 seconds behind. A Kenyan or a Kenyan-born man has won every Olympic and world title in the steeplechase since the 1988 Seoul Games. “I said I’m going to win, I’m going to take the victory to Kenya,” Kipruto said. “That’s what I promised the nation before we came to the start line.” Kipruto joined Moses Kiptanui, Saif Saaeed Shaheen and Ezekiel Kemboi as multiple steeplechase gold medallists at the Worlds. “It was a very strong competition. The Ethiopians really pushed hard because they knew I was kicking. They had their plans before the race started. But I had made my own plan and wanted to go in front to control the race, but it was not possible. But in these big championships experience matters a lot. I set my mind and my heart very well. When I got to the start line, I told myself, ‘I’m going to do it’. This strong mentality helped me win the race,” he added. The 18-year-old Girma had powered into the lead with about 120m go, but Kipruto gave a final push and stole the gold from the Eithopain’s feet. Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco was third in 8:01.36. Meanwhile, Yaime Perez of Cuba won the women’s discus after a 69.17m throw, which came in her penultimate attempt. Her countrywoman Denia Caballero took silver in 68.44m, while former champion Sandra Perkovic has to settle for bronze, which was her fourth successive Worlds medal. The 28-year-old Perez finished fourth at the two previous World Championships and no-marked in the Olympic final having led the qualifiers. But she exorcised those demons with a composed performance. “I am very happy and grateful to my physio Abdel Kurgia. I was injured three days ago and I thought I would not be able to recover. My life could not be enough to thank him for this medal,” Perez said, “This is my fourth World Championships and I always arrived in top shape but left without medals. It shows that you should never give up. I would like to thank my coach Hilda Elisa Ramos for supporting me,” the Cuban added.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s twitter bio, says: ‘Chronically indecisive so I’ve adopted two surnames & the heptathlon.’ But at the Khalifa International Stadium on Thursday night, there was no sign of any indecisiveness from the British athlete, as she finally put an end to the heartaches she suffered at multiple World Championships and at the Rio Olympics. The 26-year-old set personal bests in four of the seven events in a mentally and physically draining heptathlon over the course of two days, to finally land a world title in Doha. Johnson-Thompson not just had to overcome her own demons but also had to beat Nafissatou Thiam, the Belgian defending world and Olympic champion, who was undefeated since the 2016 European Championships. In the end, the gap between Johnson-Thompson and Thiam was a huge 304 points, the biggest winning margin of victory at a World Championships for 32 years. Such was her dominance that she also climbed to sixth in the all-time lists and set a new British record with a total tally of 6,981 points. Thiam had to settle for silver with 6,677pts with Austria’s Verena Preiner taking bronze with 6,560pts. “I’m just speechless. I can’t believe it. It’s been such a long time coming for me. I’ve been chasing this since 2016, slowly, slowly trying to make improvements, and now I’ve finally done it,” a delighted Johnson-Thompson said. “And I broke the British record. I was there on the sidelines when Jess (Jessica Ennis-Hill) set that record so to say it is now mine is unbelievable. This is my fourth World Championships and at the first one, I was just 20 years old, then, at the other two, I was not doing well.  “So I was so happy to compete here and I have to thank all the team standing behind me and believing in me. It all goes to my family, friends and the people who were helping me in the past. My mum - I think we are going to cry in the mixed zone. Now for Tokyo Olympics. I just need to be at my best like I was here,” she added. After the disappointment of 2015 Worlds and 2016 Rio Olympics, Johnson-Thompson had to make some tough life decisions. She changed her coach and moved her base from Liverpool to France. But she suffered another ignominy, this time at home, when she finished fifth at the 2017 London Worlds.  “Everyone’s got their journey,” she said. “It’s not been very straightforward for me. It’s not been easy for me. I had to move coach. I had to move country, I had to learn a new language and settle in. I tore everything up and started again and it’s worked. “The last two World Championships have been heartbreaking for my mum and I. Mid-heptathlon, I’ve gone back to my hotel and cried and cried for hours when things have gone badly. It was after the high jump in London in 2017 and after the long jump in 2015 in Beijing. Those were the low points of my career. Rio Olympics, as well. I’ve had a lot of bad years. I’m just so happy that I came out in front for a change,” she added. In Doha, Johnson-Thompson started her quest for gold with an impressive performance in the 110m hurdles, where she shaved off 0.20 seconds from her previous best to win her heat in 13.09s.   “The hurdles was the biggest surprise. I never dreamt I could run that fast, 13-zero, when I’ve been stuck at 13.3 for as long as I can remember. That set me up for the heptathlon as soon as I saw the clock stop at that time. The most challenging event was the 200 because of the tight schedule and we didn’t get a chance to warm up properly,” she said. Johnson-Thompson was in touching distance of going past 7000 mark as she began the final event of the heptathlon – the 800m. A time of 2:06 seconds would have enabled the world indoor pentathlon champion to achieve the 7k landmark, but she crossed the finish line in 2:07.27, which was enough to erase Ennis Hill’s seven-year-old British record. “I love the 800m, funnily enough. It is one of my strongest events,” as Johnson-Thompson explained her approach towards her final event. “I have been training very hard for it this year. The light show before it got me psyched to go. I train very hard week in, week out for it so all that has to be for something. It’s a good way to finish off a heptathlon for me, to just go out and put it all on the line. Seven thousand points wasn’t meant to be but hopefully I am on a roll now for the future.”

Dina Asher-Smith was presented with a golden opportunity and the Briton grabbed it with both the hands as she clinched the women’s 200m title at the IAAF World Championships in Doha. The 23-year-old was a clear favourite going into last night’s final at the Khalifa International Stadium, after reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson was forced to pull out of the competition due to Achilles injury. Earlier, defending champion Dafne Schippers had abandoned her title defence after the Dutch strained an adductor muscle. It left Asher-Smith with a chance to create history by becoming the first British woman to win a World Championships individual sprint title. And she achieved the feat in style by shaving off her personal best by 0.01 seconds to win in 21.88. She got off to a flying start and established a healthy lead, generating speed around the bend, before cruising home. American Brittany Brown took silver after pulling away through the straight line and finished with her own personal best of 22.22 seconds, while Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji blitzed through the final 50m for bronze in 22.51. Asher-Smith reunited with her mother after the race as the sizeable British crowd at the Khalifa Stadium roared in approval. “Normally, I’m quite chatty and everything but I’m lost for words,” she said, as the tears rolled down her face. Poland's Pawel Fajdek celebrates after winning the hammer throw at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha  “I just don’t know what to say. I don’t think it’s properly sunk in. Between now and the last World Championships, I knew I could do it but it’s a different thing actually going and doing it,” she added. Asher-Smith had won the 100m silver earlier on Sunday and will be hoping for another medal in the relay with the British team. “It’s a different thing with everybody being like, ‘ah, you’re the favourite’. But you’ve still got to go and do it. You’re only the favourite if you perform as people expect you to. So, I was just really focused on putting together a great race. I dreamed of it but now it’s real,” she added. The men’s 100m hurdles final had all the drama on the night, with Grant Holloway of the US grabbing the world title in 13.10 seconds after defending champion Omar McLeod stumbled to the finish line to come last. The Jamaican, Omar McLeod, who is also the Olympic champion, took the lead at the half-way mark but tripped on the hurdle as he came tumbling down before the finish line. Later McLeod was disqualified for disrupting the run of Diamond League champion Orlando Ortega in the next lane, with the Spaniard forced to settle for a fifth place after being in the second position for most of the race. Holloway, however, was over the moon as he celebrated his victory on his Worlds debut by continuing his sprint for a further 100m before collapsing on his back. Russian Sergey Shubenkovm running as a neutral athlete, took silver in 13.15, while European champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde of France finished third in 13.18. “I am speechless, it’s my first major championships and a lot of people were counting me out because I’ve been off my game in the last month or so. But when you have motivation you never lose. I kept believing in myself, I kept focused and I stayed healthy,” Holloway said. “I came here to win every round and that’s what I did. When you step on the line no one cares what you’ve done before. It’s all about here and now. I just took it one hurdle and one round at a time and tried to stay calm. I came out here for the final stress free. At no point in the race was I trying to figure things out,” he added. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Asian Games Champion Ashraf Amgad El Seify finished the hammer throw final in ninth place with a best throw of 75.09. Poland’s Pawel Fajdek collected his fourth world gold medal in the event – the first man in history to achieve the feat in the hammer throw. Fajdek hurled the hammer at a distance of 80.50m. The silver went to France's Quentin Bigot (78.19m), who beat Hungarian Bence Halasz by a single centimetre. In a huge surprise, the men’s 400m favourite Michael Norman failed to qualify for the final. The American made a quick start in the first 100m but slowed down considerably, choosing to just jog till the finish line as he finished seventh and last in the third semi-final. Later, Norman did not specify what was plaguing him. "My body was giving me warnings, and I listened to those warnings," he said. “I had a great warm-up, felt good, but did not balance the things for a while. It is kind of devastating to come out here, work for 330 days and not make it to the final. It has been a bit up and down for a while. I am very disappointed,” he added. Norman owned the fastest time in the world coming into the championships and won the Diamond League title just a few weeks ago. In Norman’s absence, Bahamas’ Steven Gardiner is the frontrunner for the gold, after he finished ahead of 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James in the semi-final. In the women’s heptathlon, Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson finished the day one of the combined events with a lead of 96 points over Belgium’s Nafissatou Thaim. Wednesday, athletes competed in the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m. Today they will be in action in the long jump, javelin and 800m. Johnson-Thompson points tally was 4138, while Thiam has 4042. In third place was Kendell Williams of the US with a score of 3855, with her compatriot Erica Bougard a further two points behind. “I am really happy about my season bests and my performance today,” Johnson-Thompson said. “I never think of these things like where I am after the first day. I know I am in a good shape, I am where I needed to be and the way I competed. Gold - why not? I am in shape and position to do it but you never know what can happen on day two. But I have worked hard on my second day, so anything is possible,” she added.

After winning the IAAF World Championships 200m title on Tuesday night, Noah Lyles sank into the arms of his mother Keisha at the Khalifa International Stadium. It was an emotional moment between the two as they reminisced the hardships they went through when Lyles was a child. Touted as the next big thing in athletics after the retirement of legendary Usain Bolt, Lyles likes to put on a show. In fact, his American teammate Justin Gatlin describes him as ‘a rock star’, and Lyles certainly wears his confidence on his sleeve. But self-confidence was never his forte while growing up in Gainesville, Florida. Born to Keisha Caine and Kevin Lyles, the former a fine collegiate athlete, the latter a 4x400m relay world champion in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1995, the young Lyles had athletics in his genes. But athletics was last thing on his mind as a child. He was hospitalised with chronic asthma when he was still an infant. Later he was diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder and dyslexia, and studied in remedial school classes. He has also spoken about the bullying he suffered as a child, which pushed him into depression. At 22, the world at his feet, all that is past now. But Lyles has never forgotten the hardships he faced that have toughened him up on and off track. “I’ve had a lot of different challenges through life and it’s shaped me into who I am now,” Lyles said, after his dominant victory at Doha Worlds. “I had chronic asthma, I had my tonsels removed at six. I had the learning disabilities ADD (attention-deficit disorder) and dyslexia. I was in the slow class at school because I had to learn to read differently.  Mainstream school just wasn’t my strong suit. I got isolated at middle school. I’ve gone through periods of depression and I used track as an outlet. I tried to work on my character as much as I can, on always staying happy and loving what I do. “In high school I cried because I thought I was going to fail out of college and wouldn’t be able to run. My mum said, ‘You could go pro out of high school.’ And I said, ‘People don’t do that.’ Little did I know that I was going to be the first one,” he recalled. On Tuesday night, Lyles became the youngest ever winner of the men’s 200m at the World Championships, earning his maiden senior global title with a 19.83 run. Having dominated the event on the international circuit over the past two years, it was hardly a surprise. Lyles has lost just once at a meeting since finishing fourth at the 2016 US Olympics trials as a high school student. His latest defeat came at the Rome Diamond League in June, where he finished as runner-up to compatriot Michael Norman. Lyles has been tipped to break Bolt‘s 200m world record of 19.19, which was set at the 2009 world championships in Berlin, but the American claimed surpassing Bolt was the last thing on his mind. “Don’t say I’m the new Bolt,” said Lyles. “I’m me. If you like me, I’ll happily entertain you. It’s my time.” “World records aren’t the thing I’m chasing. I’m chasing to be better each day. World records come when you improve what you’re good at and take away what you’re bad at. I’m still working on my start. I still believe I can get a better top-end speed. There are things I can strengthen. But on the right day, with the right conditions and the right training, hopefully a world record will pop up,” Lyles added. Lyles has now set sights on an Olympic double from the 100m and 200m come Tokyo next year. “I’m definitely going after the 1-2 double. I know everyone is asking that, don’t worry,” he assured. “Tokyo is it. This time we got the gold. We got the gold in the 200, and now we are going to get that double gold.” Meanwhile, for now in Doha, Lyles will bid for his second gold as he is slated to run the 4x100m relay where the Americans are the overwhelming favourites.

“I’m always the favourite,” Mutaz Barshim declared as the Qatari defending champion brushed aside concerns over his return from a serious ankle injury to cruise into the high jump final. There wasn’t an iota of doubt that Barshim would not make it to Friday’s final of the IAAF World Championships, but the manner in which he would seal his place was under the spotlight. At the Khalifa International Stadium, though, Barshim allayed any fears over his form and fitness with a flawless performance in the qualifications that would have sent alarming signs to his rivals. Until yesterday, Barshim had competed in just three events this year with a best of 2.27m at the London Diamond League in July. But as a classic idiom goes: ‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man’, Barshim rose to the occasion with a clinical show. The 28-year-old started with a jump of 2.17m, before going past 2.22m, 2.26m and eventually sealing his spot in the final with his season’s best of 2.29m. The crowd that gathered around the first bend of the track remained buoyant throughout as the local hero showed glimpses of what to expect of him in Friday’s final. In none of his four jumps, he even touched the bar, let alone knocking it down. The 2017 world champion showed no signs of any discomfort in his ankle, which had sidelined him for 14 months, and that should augur well for him in the final. “I am happy with the start, no complaints. Hopefully I can comeback on Friday and do my best,” said Barshim, The 2012 Olympic bronze and 2016 silver medallist was not too concerned about his form this year. “The build up doesn’t really matter. I’m here! It’s not about time, it’s the World Championships. It’s about medals. I don’t care if I jump 2.50 or 2.10, I just want to go out there and hope for gold,” he said. When asked if he fancies his chances of a gold medal, Barshim, without any hint of arrogance, said: “I’m always the favourite. It doesn’t matter where I compete.” Barshim said competing at the Doha Worlds had provided him with extra motivation as he began his long road to recovery from injury. “It is home and I feel really good jumping. Today was very important for me because I was pushing myself whole season to jump well at home. Despite the fact that people are sometimes very critical, I am happy to compete here and hopefully to come back in the final and do the hard job,” he said. “I always want to win; it does not matter where it is. Every athlete wants to compete at home so it is special. It is really great to jump in front of the home crowd when you have your family, wife in the stands and it was very important for me, I just want to do this for them It definitely makes these championships special to me and it gives you extra motivation,” he added. Barshim’s main rivals also made it to the 12-man final field, albeit in contrasting manners. While, Russians Ilya Ivanyuk and Mikhail Akimenko cleared 2.29m with ease, this year’s world leader Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus scraped in with a best of 2.26m. Andriy Protsenko of Ukraine, the fourth-place finisher at the 2016 Olympic Games, failed to make the cut.   El   Seify in final Meanwhile, Qatar’s Asian Games champion Ashraf El-Seify qualified for the hammer throw final. In the qualifications, El Seify hurled his best throw of 76.22m, which was just short of the qualification mark set at 76.50. However, it was enough for him to seal his place in the final as he finished in 12th place overall. The final is scheduled for today at 9:40pm. In the men’s 400m, Qatar’s Abdelalah Haroun finished his heats in sixth place in a time of 47.76secs, which was his season’s best. Haroun, who is also returning from an injury, was clearly not at his best. In the men’s 3000m Steeplechase, Qatar’s Yaser Bagharab finished 14th among 15 runners with a time of 8:25.79. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Mariam Farid registered her personal best in the women’s 400m hurdles heats with a time of 1:09.49 secs. Farid was grateful for the opportunity of competing in a world championship. “I am very proud, it’s a dream come true,” said Farid. “On the track, I wanted to cry, it was just so beautiful. I am very happy to improve my new national record by two seconds. This is the first World Championships for the Middle East and it was great to perform in front of my friends and family,” she added.

Day Five of the IAAF World Championship stuck mainly to it’s script with Qatar’s high jump icon Mutaz Barshim qualifying for the high jump final while Noah Lyles justified his heavy favourite's tag by winning the 200 metres gold. With the home crowd’s focus firmly on him, defending champion Barshim cruised into the high jump final, keeping Qatar’s hopes of a golden glory alive. The 28-year-old, who has barely competed since his 14-month absence due to a serious ankle injury, looked in imperious form as he soared past 2.29 meters and seal his place for Friday’s final. The night at the Khalifa International Stadium ended on a predictable note, as the American Lyles romped to a 200m triumph for his first world title. Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber celebrates winning Women's Javelin Throw gold, at the Khalifa International Stadium, Doha The Diamond League winner took the victory in 19.83 seconds, 0.12 faster than Andre de Grasse of Canada. Alex Quinonez of Ecuador finished third in 19.98. The 22-year-old Lyles has been in a league of his own this year, having lost only once -- to Michael Norman on June 6 in Rome. Britain’s Adam Gemili was the best starter but Lyles took charge with 70 metres remaining and never let his lead slip. He pulled clear of the chasing pack with ease, even as a tiring Gemili missed out on a medal by just 0.05-seconds. Lyles’s celebration was low key, unlike for a man who had won his maiden world title, as he wrapped the US’ flag and just smiled at the cameras. Later, he spoke about how he had dreamed of this moment a million times. “So many times this year I've thought of being world champion, you wouldn't believe it -- I have on my phone, I say it to myself in my car, I think it all the time -- and finally to have done it feels unbelievable. I don't know how many people come to their first World Championships and get the gold, but I've done it,” said Lyles. Noah Lyles of the US celebrates winning Men's 200 Metres gold at the Khalifa International Stadium, Doha “I just knew no matter what position I found myself in I can always find a way to come through. And when I crossed the line I just felt relief. This time last year I'd only just started running. Think of that. Don't say I'm the new Bolt. I'm me. If you like me, I'll happily entertain you. It's my time,” the confident American added. Lyles’ gold was US’ third of the night, after wins for Sam Kendricks in the pole vault and Donavan Brazier in the 800m. The most captivating contest of the night came in the men’s pole vault final, as Kendricks defended his world title. The American was pushed to the limit by 19-year-old sensation Armand Duplantis of Sweden. Kendricks was always the man to beat in the final, and the talented Duplantis came tantalisingly close to doing so in a thriller, which brought the crowd to it’s feet on more than one occasion. Duplantis was aiming to become the youngest world champion in the event since Sergey Bubka, who at 19 years and 253 days won the first of his six world titles in Helsinki in 1983. On the other hand, Kendricks was attempting to emulate Bubka by winning the world title consecutive times. USA's Donavan Brazier celebrates after winning the Men's 800m final at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha Kendricks and Duplantis both cleared 5.97 meters, the best height at a world championship since 2001. However, the 27-year-old Kendricks took the title because he had fewer failures at lower heights, four compared to five for Duplantis. After an exhausting final where they attempted to clear 6.02, the pair embraced each other before collapsing onto the mat. Poland’s Piotr Lisek picked up a bronze as all three went in for a lap of honour. Meanwhile, Olympic champion Thiago Braz of Brazil settled for fifth with a best of 5.70. World record holder Renaud Lavillenie of France was missing from the final after becoming the biggest name to bow out in qualifying. “I am elated, stunned, excited all at the same time. It's almost hard to take it in. To have three men over six all going for it made it such a memorable night. We weren't dueling as enemies, but as rivals and friends,” Kendricks said. The women’s javelin throw too was no short of drama, with Kelsey-Lee Barber final throw of 66.56m making her the first Australian to win a world javelin title. Shiying Liu (65.88) and Huihui Lyu (65.49) of China settled for silver and bronze respectively. Lyu had won 12 successive meets coming into Doha Worlds, but could not replicate her best performance. As the result was thrown on a big screen, Barber collapsed to the ground in disbelief. Meanwhile, Donavan Brazier of the US broke the championship and national record to win the men’s 800m in some style. Brazier took command of the field at the halfway point and ran away with a convincing victory in 1:42.34 seconds, ahead of Amel Tuka of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1:43.47. A late surge gave Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich the bronze medal in 1:43.47. “I've said all season that my goal was to get the gold here and to break this record, and that's what I did. It means the world to me. To be world champion at 22 years old, I can't believe it,” said a delighted Brazier. “The plan was always to take it on with 300 to go and go from there, no matter what the pace was. I really had to dig deep for it. To be the first from US to win a world 800m title feels wonderful. I hope I get some love for it back home,” he added.

It’s been a harrowing last 14 months for Mutaz Barshim. After the high of 2017, when the Qatari became the world high jump champion and was named World Athlete of the Year, Barshim had a nightmarish end to 2018. Just when it looked like sky is the limit for Barshim, he suffered a serious ankle injury in July last year that not just scuppered his chances of breaking the 26-year-old world record but also ruled him out of the action for rest of the year. What’s worse was Barshim sustained injury while he came tantalisingly close to scaling a would-be 2.46m world record at the Gyulai Memorial in Szekesfehervar, Hungary. Since then, it’s not only been a battle to get fit for the 28-year-old but also reclaim his rightful place at the top. Barshim made a winning comeback at Sopot Grand Prix Athletics in Poland in June with a modest jump of 2.27m, before finishing second with the same mark at the London Diamond League in July. But a 2.20m at the Diamond League final in Zurich, where he finished a distant 10th, shows it will take some time before Barshim attains his peak. The later-than-usual scheduling of the World Championships at his home turf has given Barshim an extra time and cushion to defend his title. It will be foolhardy to rule out Barshim winning any silverware this Friday. However, it will be interesting to see how he tackles the qualification today, where the mark to qualify for the final is set at 2.31m. He would also sail into the final if he is one of the 12 best performers on the night. With home crowd rooting for him at the Khalifa International Stadium, Barshim will need no extra inspiration and is ready to soar high again. On the eve of his event, Barshim spoke of his road to recovery. “What was crazy was when I got out of surgery, a few hours ago, I was trying to jump a world record, and a few hours later I couldn’t even walk,” said the Olympic bronze and silver medallist in 2012 and 2016 respectively. Now Barshim is determined to make history at his home turf. “I’m a person that loves sports. I really love track and field. I like to be active. It was a big challenge having to do the most, with the least training. But hey, I’m here though! We’ve got one more target to go, at the World Championships. I hope for the best then,” added Barshim. One thing that will favour Barshim is the overall level of the event at the moment. Nineteen entrants in Doha have topped 2.30m or better this season, but of those, only four have successfully sailed over 2.33m. On only one occasion has a championships-eligible jumper who has topped 2.31m not emerged from a competition victorious. So a jump of 2.30m, or even 2.29m, might be enough for Barshim to reach the podium at the World Championships. But the Qatari will have enough competition to counter this time. Hot on his heels will be this year’s world leader Maksim Nedasekau. The 21-year-old Belarusian improved to 2.35m to win the Europe-USA match in Minsk earlier this month, but that is his only leap better than 2.30m this season. Russians Ilya Ivanyuk and Mikhail Akimenko have chiselled together good seasons, both topping 2.33m and 2.31m. Andriy Protsenko of Ukraine, the fourth-place finisher at the 2016 Olympic Games, topped a 2.31m season’s best to win the Diamond League title last month. Then there’s Bogdan Bondarenko, the 2013 world champion, who topped 2.31m earlier this season despite continuing struggles with injury. Syria’s Majd Eddin Ghazal, the world bronze medallist, is piecing together a season of firsts which he hopes to add to in Doha: jumping at Khalifa Stadium, he took his first Asian title in Doha in April at 2.31m and in July topped 2.30m in London to secure his first career IAAF Diamond League victory. Others to consider include 2018 Diamond League winner Brandon Starc of Australia, who has topped 2.30m twice, most recently in Zurich; China’s Wang Yu, who topped 2.31m and 2.30m for victories in Shanghai and Nanjing; 2016 world indoor champion Gianmarco Tamberi, who is also on the rebound from injury; and 22-year-old Cuban Luis Zayas, who topped 2.30m to take the Pan-American Games crown.

For a moment, Abderrahman Samba thought he had missed a world medal by a whisker. The Qatari dropped down to his knees as he looked at the giant screen at the Khalifa International stadium. But as the screen flashed the results of the 400m hurdles, Samba was up in a flash as the crowd joined him in a celebratory roar. The Qatari hurdler, who was laid low by injuries for most of the year, had won a bronze at the IAAF World Championships. And it is bound to be a popular third-place finish in Qatar’s sporting history as it came on home soil. Norway’s Karsten Warholm won gold in 47.42 seconds, while the United States’ Rai Benjamin took silver in 47.66. Samba’s time was 48.03, but at one point it looked like the Qatari athlete would struggle to make it to the podium. Samba was never in the running for gold, but nonetheless ran a well-judged race. The local hero outpaced Kyron McMaster of British Virgin Islands in the final strides to snatch a bronze. “I think I cannot explain this feeling today because it’s amazing,” said Samba as he went for a lap of honour around Khalifa stadium. “I know third place was not my (desired) place but I say thank God because three days ago I was not sure to compete or not. “This season was very hard for me because I had a lot of injuries. I say thank you God because I’m here tonight and I celebrate with this medal,” the 24-year-old said. Samba was already looking forward to the next showdown against his rivals. “Actually, I started to prepare for next season now because I’m happy with the medal but I’m not happy with the place. I’m going to prepare myself for next season now,” he declared. At the half-way point, it was Benjamin who took the lead, but Warholm kept the American in his sights. The World No.1 Warholm pulled away from Benjamin over the final three barriers to defend his world title. Warholm said he was not expecting to win gold, despite carrying the favourite’s tag. “It’s very easy to say that you knew (I would win) afterwards. I want to say it too, but I wasn’t too sure, to be honest. “This was a very tough race. I actually felt my heart was going to stop, it’s no joke! I actually had pain in my chest, thinking I’m going to die but it’s going be worth it. And here I am, world champion and I’m not dead either,” the Norwegian said. “This is only the beginning. I’m very lucky to win. In the future, these guys are going to be even tougher to beat so tomorrow I’ve gotta get up and work again. That’s what I love, always one more,” Warholm added. Meanwhile, Muktar Edris sent Ethiopian fans at the stadium into a frenzy as he defended his 5000m title in a stunning 12minutes 58.86 seconds. With Edris not at his best coming into the event, it was supposed to be a wildly unpredictable race. The 25-year-old had finished 11th and 18th in his two Diamond League races this season, and there was a huge question mark over him finishing even in the top three on Monday. Edris also had the slowest season’s best out of the finalists but the 2017 champion kept his stranglehold in the event with a stunning final 200m run where he outsprinted compatriot Selemon Barega. Canadian Mohamed Ahmed denied an Ethiopian podium sweep as he pushed Telahun Haile Bekele to fourth place and picked up bronze. Even as the lead fluctuated frequently, the Ethiopians ran as a team and it paid rich dividends. Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the European champion, in a rare occurrence competed with his older brothers Henrik and Filip. Jakob stayed in touch with the leading pack before taking a lead momentarily at the start of the final lap, but faded away as the Ethiopians took control. While Jakob finished fifth, Henrik was 13th out of 15 winners, Filip failed to finish the race. In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, Beatrice Chepkoech demolished the field to finally land a world title with a championships record time of 8:57.84 secs. Two years ago in London, the Kenyan had missed the first water jump, having to double back and clear it, then took a tumble and was spent late in the race. Last night, Chepkoech flew to a quick start and established a 20m lead, never to look back as she cruised to the title. The 28-year-old is a world record holder as she lived up to her top billing as she won by a huge margin of five seconds. Defending champion Emma Coburn of United States had to be content with silver medal this time, with a bronze for German Gesa Felicitas Krause, which came in a national record time. “I was excited to be in front and controlled. I am glad to improve the championships record because I knew the time Emma ran in London so I really wanted to break CR today,” said Chepkoech after winning the race. “I want to dedicate this medal to my parents – my dad and mum.” Meanwhile, Halima Nakaayi outsprinted Diamond League champion Ajee Wilson over the home stretch to win the 800m women’s race in a Ugandan record of 1:58.04. Pre-race favourite Wilson of the US tried to dictate the pace from the front. But the Ugandan challenge was coming with Nakaayi and Winnie Nanyondo attacking the long-time leader. Nakaayi soon asserted herself at the front to take gold in 1:58.04 with Wilson losing second to her teammate Raevyn Rogers as Nanyondo faded into fourth. Russian Mariya Lasitskene continued her dominance by becoming the first three-time women’s high jump world champion. In a tense final, the 26-year-old, who is one of only 30 Russian athletes allowed to compete in Doha under the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) banner, took gold ahead of Ukraine's 18-year-old Yaroslava Mahuchikh. Lasitskene, the 2015 and 2017 champion, claimed victory after clearing a height of 2.04m to win on count-back ahead of Mahuchikh. Vashti Cunningham of the United States took bronze. Sweden’s Daniel Stahl, the heavy favourite, won the discus title with a throw of 67.59m. Fedrick Dacres of Jamaica won silver with 66.94 and Austria’s Lukas Weisshaidinger took bronze with 66.82.

Fillipo Tortu finished seventh in a high quality 100m final at the IAAF World Championships final in Doha on Saturday. But the Italian has firmly set his sights of winning a medal at the Tokyo Olympics next year. The 21-year-old is the national record holder in the 100m with a time of 9.99 — the first ever Italian to dip below 10 seconds for the distance. While a medal in Tokyo would be a farfetched thought considering the high-quality field he will come up against, Tortu might just spring a surprise if he follows the advice of a certain Carl Lewis. Yesterday, Tortu was rapt in attention as he sat next to American legend Lewis, who was the centre of attraction at an event organised by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) in collaboration with the Qatar Sports Press Committee at the Torch tower. Lewis, voted in 1999 as the International Olympic Committee’s ‘Sportsman of the Century’, boasts ten Olympic medals — nine of them gold — over four Summer Games during a legendary 17-year career. The 58-year-old, who serves as an assistant track coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston, reminisced about his incredible successes and shared some valuable tips with Tortu. “You can clock the fastest time which you may have targeted before the race but still you may end up losing. Don’t target the medal, focus on your timing, your performance and forget about the rest,” Lewis told Tortu, with the silver medallist at the 2016 World U-20 Championships paying attention to detail. “Focus your goal having it clear and without being afraid to tell it loud. This is your objective and you work with it always in your mind. Think of yourself as a business for your long term career and your training for your short term career; so figure out how you are going to maximise this time. In anything you are going to have to make sacrifices. So now you are in professional track and field you have to think like a professional. Think of what you can do and what you and your manager can do to maximise this moment because you are going to build a brand,” added Lewis. Over the course of interaction, which lasted for one hour, Lewis touched base on many topics, including the need for world athletics governing body, IAAF, to improve in the way it runs the sport. Lewis felt athletics has not evolved like other sports such as football, basketball and cricket. “If you look at the way every single popular sport is run, it’s different. The stadium looks spectacular the presentation is spectacular, they take care of every little detail,” said Lewis, who equalled Jesse Owens’ legendary performance by winning four golds in a single Olympics at the Los Angeles Games in 1984. “Even things like... why are we still putting numbers on our chests? They put numbers with pins? If we were thinking of television, we would take that off so that you will see the uniform on TV. We are just not progressing, we are just doing the same thing over and over. If you go to other sports, every little detail is taken care of and there is entertainment. These sports they become television shows they strived to get better and better,” he added. Lewis also shed his thoughts on today’s sprint events, comparing it to his times. “It’s obviously very, very competitive but I don’t think it’s any more competitive at the championship level than it was back when we were competing. I think it’s just competitive throughout the season. So with all the technology and all the high performance tracks and everything else, we could have had second and third 30 years later,” the American noted. He also complained about the less prize money for the athletes. “My issue is that they pay $60,000 for the winner. We were paid $60,000 for the winner in 1997. So if you look at it in US Dollars - a cost of living increase - it should be 93,000 this year. So they are paying the same prize money and every year the athletes get less. So 30,000 is the value of gold medal now,” he said. Also on the panel, which was moderated by AIPS President Gianni Merlo, was Lewis’ compatriot Leroy Burrell, who twice set the world record for the 100m sprint. Burrell dwelled on the future legacy of athletics. “Well, having been competing thirty years ago with timings that are still among the top three of the world means that athletics is still a human sport. What it’s important to think about, more than focusing on past years mistake is that we leave the sport better than it was and everybody can do this part for this,” Burrell said.