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Marlon Modolo Zanotelli and his long-striding horse Extra van Essene clinched their second win of the week after the pair won the feature class of yesterday’s Global Champions Tour. Under the lights at the magnificent Al Shaqab arena, Zanotelli and his 13-year-old gelding Extra van Essene made it two in a row clinching the CSI5* 1.45/1.50m, to go with Thursday’s win in the 1.45 two-phase competition. The pair once again pushed the Netherlands’ Harrie Smolders and Zinius to second palce, who had also finished runner-up the previous day. Lauren Hough of USA and the 14-year-old Waterford, took third spot. Zanotelli was the last to go in the 11-strong jump-off, who made the cut from 40-rider field. The Brazilian had a mountain to climb after the 2017 GCT overall champion Smolders had thrown down the gauntlet with a 50.75secs round with his 13-year-old gelding Zinius. But Zanotelli was immaculate with his jump as Extra van Essene seemed to have taken the liking to the Al Shaqab arena, clearing the hurdles with ease. The winning time was 50.42secs, just .033secs better than Smolders, who had a wry smile after being pipped for the second time in two nights by Zanotelli. “The horse is jumping amazingly. He’s fantastic and so careful, and he can really gallop. He makes my life easier!,” said Zanotelli, who pumped his fist repeatedly in delight after the triumph. “Harrie (Smolders) is one of the fastest riders in the world – to see him go was a chance for me to watch, and then I just hoped for the best,” added the 29-year-old. Qatar’s Olympic rider Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani had a disappointing night, finishing 39th with Armstrong van de Kapel. The big one – CSI5* 1.60m Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Doha will be held tonight, with the feature class carrying a total prize money of €400,000. Despite Smolders’ title triumph, the riders are set for a captivating battle for the overall ranking places in the last stop of GCT season. Only 15 points split the second to sixth-placed rider. Italy’s de Luca is currently in second place on 260 points just three ahead of Germany’s Christian Ahlmann. Italian Alberto Zorzi is two points away on 255 points, while Dutch rider Maikel van der Vleuten and two-time GCT champion Scott Brash of Britain are on 247 and 245 points respectively. GCL set for thrilling finale today Meanwhile, the second season of the Global Champions League team event is set for a nail-biting finish today. With just 17 points difference between the Hamburg Diamonds  and defending GCL Champions Valkenswaard United, the battle for the overall League title has reached a new intensity. On Thursday, the big guns came out in full force for the first round of the GCL at Al Shaqab, with Mexico Amigos taking pole but there was high drama in the battle between championship contenders Diamonds and United. Setting up an unmissable finale to the GCL season, both the Diamonds and United pulled out all the stops to keep their title dreams alive. United rider Bertram Allen - who teamed up with Alberto Zorzi in Thursday night’s first round said: “We’re delighted with our horses’ performance today and knew we had to go double clear to be in with a chance. The Diamonds are strong but for sure we’ll be fighting until the end.” Thursday night’s competition hinged on clear rounds and three teams produced double clears under the lights at Al Shaqab. Mexico Amigos lead the way into today’s finale as the fastest of the faultless trio, with the Paris Panthers and defending champions Valkenswaard United heading the pack of 18 teams. “We are in the best position,” said Henrik von Eckermann of the Mexico Amigos after their pole position. “Both horses jumped really well. If we win, we are third (in the overall championship) so that is what we are trying for.” His teammate Evelina Tovek added: “I’m really happy to produce a clear round for the team.” Coming in to the final leg, it was the Hamburg Diamonds who held the best cards and just need to finish in the top eight today to claim the title. However, a surprise nine-fault total puts them in 11th place with a fight on their hands if they are to soar ahead of their rivals United to be crowned GCL champions of 2017. Bassem Hassan Mohamed for the host team Doha Fursan Qatar, who were sitting seventh in the overall championship, boosted his team’s chances with a clear on the scopey Gunder after Sheikh Ali’s six-fault round on First Devision. They sit one ahead of the Lions in ninth. Results Class CSI5* 1.45/1.50m (Table A: Against the Clock with Jump-Off) 1. Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (Brazil) Horse: Extra van Essene; Time: 50.42secs. Prize money: €30,360 2. Harrie Smolders (the Netherlands); Zinius; 50.75secs; €18,400 3. Lauren Hough (USA); Waterford; 52.22secs; €13,800 Today’s schedule 9am: Hathab National Class 1.20/1.30m Two Phase (QR25,000) 11:30am: Hathab National Class 1.30/1.40m Two Phase (QR35,000) 2pm CSI5* 1.55/1.60m Global Champions League Final (€160,000 to individual class winner + €200,000 to team winner) 6pm CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Doha (€400,000)

A total of nine riders made it to the jump-off after a intense round of competition, which saw 48 riders taking part Dutchman Maikel van der Vleuten and his 15-year-old VDL Groep Verdi TN won the feature event in a thrilling fashion as the Global Champions Tour kicked-off at the Al Shaqab arena yesterday. Van der Vleuten beat the time of his nearest rival Belgian rider Gregory Wathelet with Forlap by just .08 seconds to clinch the 1.50/1.55m CSI5* class. Brazilian Eduardo Menezes with Poden Farms’ Galip finished third. A total of nine riders made it to the jump-off after a intense round of competition, which saw 48 riders taking the field. Van der Vleuten was in right sync with VDL Groep Verdi Tn as the pair took out strides to cross the finish line in 37.73 secs. Wathelet and Forlap quickly found top gear. But a slip on the turn back to the vertical – despite a quick recovery – would mean they would be a fraction behind, finishing on 37.85 and Wathelet ruing his hard luck.  Menezes and Galip put in a strong round, jumping clear but were not quite quick enough to stop the clock on 38.99s. “The first round [Verdi] jumped nice, we had a smooth round and it was quick enough to win the class today. At the moment [Verdi] feels very good, and very happy. I can use his big stride in a big arena like this so it suits him. We put our focus on Saturday for the Grand Prix,” said van der Vleuten, who got richer by 30,360 Euros on the night. In the Global Champions Tour opening event, Brazil’s Marlon Modolo Zanotelli registered a sensational round on the 13-year-old Extra Van Essene to win the CSI5* 1.45m class, which carried a total prize money of 92,000 Euros. In what turned out to be a fast-paced thriller, Zanotelli finished just 0.3s ahead of 2017 overall GCT champion Harrie Smolders (the Netherlands) on Zinius, with Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden taking third on Cantinero. “It was fantastic, I’m very happy with my horse,” said Zanotelli, who took home 30,360 Euros for his effort. “I watched Maikel (van der Vleuten, who finished sixth) and he went fast. My wife said there was one less stride to the last and luckily it worked for me. He’s a fantastic horse, very kind and he’s always fighting for me. It’s a fantastic facility here in Doha and all the support we have here from the crowd is very nice,” the Brazilian added. A magnificent field of elite riders, including 17 of the world’s top 20 riders, lined up for the opening CSI5* class. Great Britain’s Ben Maher took an early advantage with some deadly accurate turns on MTF Madame X in a time of 27.12s, but the leader board immediately reshuffled. Sweden’s Peder Frericson and H&M Zaloubet rocketed home in 26.48s before Dutchman Maikel van der Vleuten and VDL Groep Quatro showed all their agility at high speed to take the lead in 25.60s. But Zanotelli beat the competition with his long-striding 13-year-old Extra Van Essene. The duo showed tremendous team work, scorching home clear in 24.35secs. Smolders, who made history this season by winning the 2017 tour outright at the penultimate leg in Rome, threatened to beat Zanotelli’s time with Zinius. But the pair, despite a blazing round, fell 0.3secs short of the winning time to settle for runner-up spot. Von Eckermann and Cantinero put in some brave manoeuvres, but had to be content with third place finish. GCT Results CSI5* 1.50/1.55m Table A: Against the Clock with Jump-Off 1. Maikel van der Vleuten (the Netherlands) VDL Groep Verdi Tn. Time: 37.73 secs. Prize money: 30,360 Euros 2. Gregory Wathelet (Belgium) Forlap 37.85 secs. 18,400 Euros 3. Eduardo Menezes (Brazil) Galip 38.99 secs. 13,800 Euros. CSI5* 1.45 m Two Phases: A + A, Both Phases Against the Clock 1. Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (Brazil) Extra van Essene. Time: 24.35 secs. Prize money: 8,250 Euros 2. Harrie Smolders (the Netherlands) Zinius. 24.65 secs. 5,000 Euros 3. Henrik von Eckermann (Sweden) Cantinero.  24.83 secs. 3,750. Today’s schedule 10:45: National Class 1/1.15m Against the clock (QR10,000) 13:15: National Class 1.20/1.30m Against the clock (QR20,000) 15:00: CSI5* 1.45m Two Phase (€25,000) 17:30: CSI5* 1.50/1.55m Global Champions League Round 1 (€92,000 individual class winner)

The Global Champions Tour title may have already been wrapped up by the Dutchman Harrie Smolders, but there are plenty of thrills and spills in store in the season finale at the Al Shaqab arena from today. The three-day showjumping championship returns to Qatar for the final stop of the season, with riders set for a captivating battle for the overall ranking places after 13 rounds of action. This year’s event will be particularly special for Al Shaqab, which is marking the 25th anniversary of the prestigious, cutting-edge equestrian facility. A vision of His Highness the Father Emir, Al Shaqab has become an epicentre for the sport in the region. To mark the occasion there will be a special celebration during the event tomorrow.  An all-star cast of 17 out of the world’s top 20 riders will be in action with their horses this weekend. Smolders, who made history by taking the title at the penultimate event in Rome, will lead the pack which consists of Scott Brash, Eric Lamaze, Lorenzo de Luca, Gregory Wathelet, Kevin Staut, Peder Fredricson, and Maikel van der Vleuten. Home heroes Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani and Bassem Hassan Mohamed will be in action in the individual GCT competitions and riding for home team Doha Fursan Qatar in the Global Champions League.  Despite Smolders’ triumph, there is still everything to play for in Doha, as there are just 15 points between the next top five riders. Italy’s de Luca is currently in second place on 260 points just three ahead of Germany’s Christian Ahlmann. Italian Alberto Zorzi is two points away on 255 points, while Dutch rider van der Vleuten and two-time GCT champion Brash are on 247 and 245 points respectively. GCT President Jan Tops said: “You see through the years, and especially this year, that the best riders in the world prepare their horses for these events. Now we are at the final of the season and the riders have their best horses here. The statistics speak for themselves.” Tops was gushing in his praise of Al Shaqab, calling the venue a special one. “It is great to be here at this special place. Qatar works very hard to promote the heritage of the horse and on the development of the sport to a high level, which we have seen on an Olympic level. Al Shaqab is not only a magnificent place, but it is very horse-friendly; the footing is great, the stabling is the best condition – it’s an example for every event. That is why we love to be here in Qatar,” he added. Speaking about the progress of the top Qatari riders like Sheikh Ali, who finished 6th in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Tops said: “If I see the progress made from five years ago it has been incredible and I hope we can make some steps forward again for the next Olympics. And it is important to develop the next generation and give them experience and get them ready for the next four to eight years and more.” Omar al-Mannai, the event director of Al Shaqab, said the successful hosting of GCT and many other top events over the years has made Qatar a sport hub. “As part of Qatar National Vision 2030 we believe Qatar has become a sport hub and GCT supports this by bringing the top riders and horses. We are engaging with the community with our activities and engaging them about our tradition and heritage,” he said. Al-Mannai revealed there will be a special celebration to mark Al Shaqab’s 25th anniversary during the sidelines of the GCT, adding a bigger celebration will be held on Qatar’s National Day, which falls on December 18.  Meanwhile, the Global Champions League, the second season of the team event is intriguingly poised. The teams will be in action with round one to be held today and the final on Saturday afternoon.  Hamburg Diamonds and Valkenswaard United will be going head to head for the overall championship title and five other teams are challenging for the other podium places. 18 teams have competed in the GCL this year tactically fielding top rider and horse combinations to get the edge ahead of their rivals in the championship. Third Hathab leg at Al Shaqab this weekend Meanwhile, the third leg of Hathab, Qatar’s QR1mn national equestrian series, will be held on the sidelines of the GCT and GCL events this weekend. Six events are scheduled for the third of the 12-leg series, with competitions in five categories: Future Riders Program (6-12 years old), Junior (Small Tour 14-18 years old), Young Rider (Medium Tour 16-21 years old) and Senior (Big Tour- over 21-years-old). Hathab is an initiative launched by Qatar Olympic Committee president HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani. THE SCHEDULE Today 10:45: National Class 1/1.15m Against the clock (QR10,000) 13:15: National Class 1.20/1.30m Against the clock (QR20,000) 15:00: CSI5* 1.45m Two Phase (€25,000) 17:30: CSI5* 1.50/1.55m Global Champions League Round 1 (€92,000 individual class winner) Tomorrow 13:45: National Class 1/1.15m Against the clock with jump-off (QR10,000) 16:45: National Class 1.30/1.40 Against the clock with jump-off (QR30,000) 17:45: Al Shaqab 25th Anniversary celebrations 18:40: CSI5* 1.45/1.50m (€92,000) Saturday 09:00: National Class 1.20/1.30m Two Phase (QR25,000) 11:30: National Class 1.30/1.40m Two Phase (QR35,000) 14:00: CSI5* 1.55/1.60m GCL Final (€160,000 to individual class winner + €200,000 to team winner) 18:00 CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Doha (€400,000)

Jonathan Rea might have hoped the 2017 season didn’t end for him. For, the Kawasaki rider not only won his third successive WorldSBK title with two and half rounds to spare, he also smashed many records on his way through a dominating year. Last night at the Losail International Circuit, the Northern Irishman finished the season with another record to his name. The 30-year-old broke American Colin Edwards’ 15-year-old all-time points record with victory in Race 2 of the Qatar round of the WorldSBK championship. Having already won the Race 1 on Friday, Rea needed another 25 points to rewrite the record books and that is exactly what he delivered. It was Rea’s 16th win of the season last night, which meant he ended the season with 556 points compared to Edwards’ 552 set in the 2002 season. It was also Rea’s 16th career double win, which equalled the total of both Troy Bayliss and Carl Fogarty. “I don’t have words to describe. I just want to thank my family, my team and most of all my rivals Chaz (Davies) and Tom (Sykes) because they pushed me to improve, gave me motivation to work better, to get smarter. I’ve really enjoyed it,” said Rea, with his wife and two young sons joining in the celebration on the podium. “I now want to get back home and enjoy the moment because these times don’t come along every day. I want to savour it with my family and my team,” he added. Rea had topped the short warm-up session ahead of the finale, and he was even more lethal in the race despite starting from the third row as per the reverse grid rule. The Kawasaki man was handed the lead on lap four when Chaz Davies experienced a massive near-highside which broke his screen. Rea needed no invitation and swept into top spot. Ducati’s Davies still bagged second in the championship chase as rival Tom Sykes of Yamaha crashed out, losing the front at turn 14 a lap before. Davies did close back in on Rea, but the world champion extended the gap and cruised home by two seconds ahead of Ducati rider. Alex Lowes took the final podium place, bouncing back from his double crash on Friday to pass Pata Yamaha teammate Michael van der Mark with five laps left to run.   Mahias clinches Supersport Meanwhile, Frenchman Lucas Mahias won his maiden World Supersport title last night. The GRT Yamaha rider was in a pole position to win the championship, having gone into the season finale race with a 20-point lead over defending champion Kenan Sofuoglu of Kawasaki. An 11th place finish or better would have been enough for Mahias to seal the title, but he chose to win it in style after a long tussle with Jules Cluzel of Honda. The margin of victory was a narrow 0.023seconds. The Frenchman had benefited from five-time champion Sofuoglu’s injury issues throughout the year, but he was consistent enough take advantage of it. Sofuoglu’s return from triple hip fracture delayed Mahias from grabbing the 2017 title in Jerez but there was no stopping the Yamaha rider last night. Federico Caricasulo of Yamaha finished a close fourth, beaten across the line by the gritty Sofuoglu. The Turkish rider was caught up further back in the field, fighting with the likes of Sheridan Morais (Kallio Racing), Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing), Kyle Smith (Lorini) and PJ Jacobsen (Agusta) as he made his way through the pack to fourth and then chased Caricasulo down in the final stages.   WorldSBK Race 2 results (top 10) 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing) 33:39.98 2. Chaz Davies (Racing Ducati Panigale) +1.961 3. Alex Lowes (Crescent Yamaha) +4.185 4. Michael van der Mark (Yamaha) +5.843 5. Xavi Fores (Barni Ducati Panigale) +8.987 6. Marco Melandri (Racing Ducati Panigale) +14.675 7. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia) +16.251 8. Sylvain Guintoli (Kawasaki Puccetti) +19.675 9. Leon Camier (Agusta RC) +20.607 10. Roman Ramos (Kawasaki Go Eleven) +20.628

The unstoppable Jonathan Rea ticked another box in his glittering career when he won the Race 1 of the Qatar round of the WorldSBK Championship last night. The three-time World champion Rea, who had wrapped up the 2017 title in France with two and half rounds to spare, had never won at the Losail International Circuit before last night. And he brought an end to that drought in spectacular style under floodlights on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR. The Northern Irish rider is seeking to better American Colin Edwards’ record points tally of 552 set in 2002. After the Race 1 victory last night, Rea has 531 points, and another 25 points tonight in Race 2 will smash the 15-year-old record. Rea was in a class of his own at Losail, getting away brilliantly from pole to dominate the penultimate race of season. He completed the 17 laps in 33:41.021 seconds, 4.944secs ahead of second-placed Chaz Davies on Ducati. Davies’ teammate Marco Melandri completed the podium. The 30-year-old Rea, who also achieved Kawasaki’s maiden victory at Losail, has now chalked up 53 World Superbike victories in his career – 38 with Kawasaki – and is only six wins behind the all-time record held by Carl Fogarty. He has also become the second most successful rider ever, moving ahead of Australian great Troy Bayliss, who won 52 races during a chequered career. Rea had made his intentions clear earlier as he had set a new Losail lap record in the Superpole. In the race that followed, Rea pushed his Kawasaki ZX-10RR to the limits around the 5.380km track to snatch his 15th win of the season. Davies did his best to chase Rea down but would eventually finish a lonely second despite his best efforts – still a good result in his bid to secure the runner-up spot in the championship. His teammate Melandri crossed the finish line a further five seconds behind him. Eugene Laverty finished fourth ahead of his Aprilia teammate Lorenzo Savadori, while Tom Sykes completed the top six on the second of the KRT machines. Yamaha’s Alex Lowes who was the closest challenger to Rea in the Superpole, coming in second, had a disappointing end to the night. With seven laps to go, Lowes, who was involved in a feisty duel with Davies, crashed at the last corner with a podium spot in his sights. Lowes picked up his Yamaha YZF R1 to go in search of valuable championship points but went down again in the final stages. Lowes’ teammate Michael van der Mark also crashed out of the race, touching the rear of Sykes’ bike at Turn 7.   leader Mahias on pole for WorldSSP showdown In the Supersport class, Lucas Mahias of GRT Yamaha put on a lightning lap to clinch the pole position for tonight’s season-finale. The Frenchman has a 20-point lead going into the final race of the season and he strengthened his title aspirations by smashing the Losail Supersport lap record last night. His championship rival and defending champion Kenan Sofuoglu of Kawasaki was fourth fastest, and it will need a huge effort from the Turkish rider to win the title tonight. Sofuoglu was passed fit prior to third practice to race despite suffering three fractures to his pelvis at Magny-Cours in France just over a month ago. France’s Jules Cluzel of Honda and Finnish rider Niki Tuuli of Kallio Racing also qualified on the front row, timing the second and third fastest time in Superpole 2. Mahias set a new lap record of 2:00.738 secs as the championship leader bids to secure the world title in style tonight. Cluzel qualified 0.546s behind his fellow Frenchman, whilst Tuuli was delighted to grab third on the grid, with a lap which was 0.654s off the pole-setter. Sofuoglu is riding through the pain barrier during this final weekend of the season and is receiving medical check-ups after each session as he bids to prevent Mahias from taking his crown. Sofuoglo needs a top-two finish and hope Mahias misses the top 10 to win a sixth world title. Qatar’s Saeed al-Sulati was 18th fastest on his Kawasaki ZX-6R, while his QMMF Racing compatriot Mashel al-Naimi was 22nd. The duo will be hoping for a much better performance tonight in front of the local crowd.   WSBK Race 1 results (top 10) 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 33:41.021 2. Chaz Davies (Ducati) +4.944 3 Marco Melandri (Ducati)  +10.405 4. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia)  +12.052 5. Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia)  +12.339 6. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)  +15.587 7. Jordi Torres (BMW)  +16.789 8. Sylvain Guintoli (Kawasaki)  +17.869 9. Leon Camier (MV Agusta)  +18.494 10. Roman Ramos (Kawasaki)  +22.660 Today’s Schedule 17:00-17:15    WorldSSP - WUP 17:30-17:45    WorldSBK - WUP 19:30    WorldSSP - Race 21:00    WorldSBK - Race 2

Jonathan Rea had to wait for seven years to win his maiden World Superbike championship (WSBK) title. A switch in 2015 to Kawasaki from Honda, where he had won 15 races but had failed to crack the championship, has done wonders for the Northern Irish rider’s career. Having finally realised his dream of winning the WSBK title in 2015, Rea has not looked back since. He repeated the feat in 2016, becoming the first champion of this millennium to win a back-to-back title. This season has been no different for Rea. In fact, he has gone out and decimated the field to become the first rider to clinch three successive Superbike titles. Rea, 30, seems to be only getting better with age. The Ulsterman has been at his dominant best this season, as he wrapped up the title in September in Magny Cours, France, with two and a half rounds to go. He didn’t slow down after his historic feat, as he scored a double in Jerez, Spain, claiming his 14th win of 2017 and 52nd of his career. That took him level with three-time world champion Troy Bayliss and just seven behind Carl Fogarty’s record of 59. The win also sealed the manufacturers’ championship for Kawasaki. Now in Doha for the last round of the WSBK season, which will be held at Losail International Circuit tomorrow and Saturday, Rea has one more record in his sights. The Kawasaki rider will need to take a double win in Qatar this weekend if he is to beat Colin Edwards’ long-standing 15-year-old points’ record of 552 set by the American in 2002.  Rea currently sits on 506 points and he has been on the podium in every race he has finished this season. On the eve of the last round of WSBK championship, Rea looked relaxed as he sat down for an interview at the Ritz-Carlton yesterday. A modest and a complete family man, Rea, who hops from one circuit to other with his wife and two young sons, credited his total domination of WSBK to being consistent and said he has been living a dream the last three years. “In the last three seasons, the opening three races of the calendar have suited my style of racing. So after two-three races, I have had a small gap in the championship. And I have been the most consistent too,” Rea said yesterday. “Of course the other guys have been really fast, like Tom Sykes and Chaz Davies. But Chaz especially has made many mistakes throughout the year. Tom has had a problem with injury and some other issues. For me consistency has been the key, not building a good lead at the start. I don’t know maybe next season I will have a lot more pressure, we have to see. But these last three years are like a dream because the bike and the team have been working really good. Next year maybe it will be someone else’s turn. So we have to be ready to face difficult moments,” Rea added. With the challenge of winning the title off his shoulders, Rea said he will go out and enjoy his ride under the floodlights of the Losail circuit this weekend. Should he manage to take away a perfect 50 points tomorrow and Saturday, Rea would set a new all-time points scoring record in WSBK. “After I won the championship in France three weeks ago, last weekend in Spain I had a double win. So for me it’s less pressure. I can really enjoy the race and not worry about the points,” the champion explained. “It’s difficult all the year to try and manage and think about the championship. Now I’m free of all that. I can be 100 percent. If I make a mistake or crash, it’s not a big problem. So this is how I raced in Spain and it was really nice. I hope to do that in Qatar too,” he said. In recent times, there have been talks of Rea switching to the more popular and glamorous world of MotoGP. The Northern Irishman has had a brush with MotoGP in 2012, when he replaced the injured Casey Stoner for the Honda team. He finished 8th and 7th in two races, before returning to World Superbike duties. Rea dismissed a move to MotoGP next year, since he is contracted with Kawasaki till 2018. But said he has kept his options open for a switch to MotoGP, adding he would only do so at the right opportunity and with a good manufacturer. “Superbike has been incredible for me since 2009. I’m only thinking about next season. Also it would be nice to have an opportunity to go to MotoGP with a top bike. I have no interest to go there with some satellite machine or private bike,” he said. “I am sure with a really good bike, I can do a very good job. Unfortunately, Kawasaki are racing only in Superbike. But I feel at home. They have given me a great opportunity and I feel really valued there. In 2019 and 2020, I have no idea what I will do,” he said. One was tempted to ask if there had been any feelers from the top MotoGP teams. “I am sure all the teams understand the situation I am in. I am one of the top riders right now in the world. They know the situation. Next season 90 percent of riders in MotoGP and Superbike are under contract. So during the middle of the season there will be lot of talking between teams, management and riders. Until then no one knows. It’s too early to say anything,” he said. Rea, however, was quick to add that he was very happy at Kawasaki, calling the team a family. “I am very happy where I am. That winning feeling every weekend with Kawasaki is incredible no matter what championship it is, whether it is crossing the line here in the Qatari Superbike race or whether in MotoGP. The winning feeling wants to keep you wanting more,” he said. Rea was also surprised how far he has come in his WSBK career, having started slow. “I am surprised because in the last race I equalled Troy Bayliss’ record. And for me Troy was a legend, one of my heroes. So I never thought I would be in the same bracket. When somebody said it, I was quite surprised. When you are living in the moment, enjoying your work, it’s hard to take stock of situation. Maybe in 10 years’ time I can look back and understand what I have achieved,” he said. Before rushing off to join his family in the swimming pool, Rea opened up on his life away from racing, and said it was rewarding to share his success with his wife and two young sons. “I’m really happy because I am one of the last guys going to race circuits with my family, my wife and two kids. And we do all of it together, travelling and other things. It’s really difficult. If anyone has kids, they will understand how difficult it will be,” said Rea, who as a child was exposed to racing as his father was a road racer, specialising in Isle of Man TT race. “It’s really rewarding as well because when you win, it’s not just for yourself but also for your family. These are the best moments of my career and to share it with my family is really nice. So that’s something I can look back on in the future and really be happy that we did all together.” Paddock entertainment set to light up Qatar experience There is plenty of entertainment in store for the fans heading to the Qatar Round of the Superbike World Championship at the Losail International Circuit this weekend. Other than getting to watch three-time world champion Jonathan Rea of Kawasaki Racing Team make history on track, there is even more to keep one excited off track. With every ticket purchased, there is free access into the paddock, which gives a chance of meeting the riders out and about in between sessions. One even can make it a family affair as children under the age of 11 can gain free access, with free parking available at the circuit.  As the paddock is open to everyone, there will be plenty to do inside the travelling WorldSBK village over the weekend. From today till Sunday, one will be able to enjoy some chill out time in the Arabic tent. Show your support for your favourite rider, or even the WorldSBK series as a whole with the official merchandising tents, which one can sport while cheering on the riders on track.  There is also a motorbike exhibition or a ride in the Red Bull Car Simulators to fuel that need for speed.  The star of the 2017 show will no doubt be the paddock show stage, which will be full of action from tonight till Saturday evening.

It was a double delight for Hamad Nasser al-Qadi as the impressive rider clinched both the first and second place in the feature class of the second leg of Hathab Equestrian series yesterday. At Al Shaqab’s indoor arena, Hamad was in great form as he piloted two of his horses to podium finishes in the Big Tour 130/140 class. Riders were allowed to compete with two horses and Hamad grabbed the opportunity with both the hands. First, in the company of 12-year-old gelding SIEC Lonnie, Hamad flew around a tricky course to stop the clock in 44.67 seconds. Then he returned with St. Lucia, a 15-year-old grey mare, to snatch the second place as well, clocking 45.21 seconds. To make it a grand celebration for al-Qadi family, Hamad’s brother Saeed completed the podium, taking the third place with Daydreamer, the pair coming home in 45.41 seconds.  It was an excellent two days for Hamad, who leapfrogged the overall leaderboard. He had also finished second and third in two separate events on Friday. “I’m very thrilled with my results today,” said Hamad, who scooped a combined prize money of QR 15,300 for the double finish. “I was first and second today. Also yesterday I finished second and third, which has put me on the top of points table. All the riders today were very strong competitors and were well prepared. I am really honoured to compete against with such riders,” he added. Hamad praised Hathab series for giving an opportunity to riders like him to gain valuable experience. “All the riders were really strong and ready to compete. Someone like Faleh al-Ajmi (who finished fifth and seventh) has a great experience in such championships and I admire him. This competition gave a great opportunity to exchange experience with well-established national riders. I am looking forward for the next leg of Hathab,” the Qatari noted. Al-Qadi family dominated in the Medium Tour 120/130cm class too, as Saeed emerged triumphant with Jessico 4. Mohamed Sultan al-Suwaidi (Numero Uno T) came second, while Bandar Mansoon al-Hoban (Tagfart 111 Z) was third. In the Dressage competition, women riders excelled as five of them finished on the podium in two events. In the Level 1 class, Amana Ahmad al-Saffar (Drum Mousse) topped the score sheets with 69.792 points. Iris Nijboer (Wait and Seeze, 68.958) and Jessica Waldon (Jacquard, 68.750) took the second and third place respectively Amana was delighted with her win. “I am very happy with my results. I would like to thank the organising committee for this great opportunity as this is the first national dressage event in Qatar,” she said. Meanwhile, Saad Ahmed al-Saad (Toberlina T) bagged the first place in the Level 2 class. He was followed by Mennatallah Hesham Mourad (Quick Dance) in second place and Aisha Ahmed al-Ahmadi (Juste D’adaelle) in third.   Amana al-Saffar poses with her trophy after winning the dressage competition yesterday. PICTURE: Mohamed Tinakicht Results Big Tour Table A, Special two phases 130/140cm Prize money: QR 30,000 1. Hamad Nasser al-Qadi (SIEC Lonnie) Time: 44.67 seconds. Prize money: QR 8,4000 2. Hamad Nasser al-Qadi (St. Lucia) 45.21 secs. QR 6,900 3. Saeed Nasser al-Qadi (Daydreamer) 45.41 secs. QR 5250 Medium Tour: Table A, One round against the clock 120/130cm 1. Saeed Nasser al-Qadi (Jessico 4) Time: 64.36 seconds. Prize money: QR 5,000 2. Mohamed Sultan al-Suwaidi (Numero Uno T) 62.27 secs. QR 4,000 3. Bandar Mansoon al-Hoban (Tagfart 111 Z) 68.18 secs. QR 3,000 Dressage level 1 1. Amana Ahmad al-Saffar (Drum Mousse) 69.792 score. Prize money: QR, 2,800 2. Iris Nijboer (Wait and Seeze) 68.958. QR 2,300 1. Jessica Waldon (Jacquard) 68.750. Q 1,750 Dressage Level 2-Results 1. Saad Ahmed al-Saad (Toberlina T) 2. Mennatallah Hesham Mourad (Quick Dance) 3. Aisha Ahmed al-Ahmadi (Juste D’adaelle)

Lina Batuleviciute of Lithuania emerged as the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) Champion of Champions, winning the women’s title at the Qatar Foundation Recreation Centre and Al Shaqab Arena yesterday. Batuleviciute topped in the swimming and riding events, while finishing a creditable fourth in the combined (shooting and running) event. She was a distant 14th in the swimming, but the 28-year-old tallied 1273 points to clinch the title.  Italian Alice Sotero, one of the contenders, came second with 1266 points, seven behind the winner. The 2016 Olympic silver medallist Elodie Clouvel of France took the final podium spot with 1261 points. The result continued an intriguing season of transition in women’s pentathlon, with a number of athletes claiming their first major titles such as world champion Gulnaz Gubaydullina of Russia and World Cup Final gold medallist Tamara Alekszejev of Hungary. Yesterday, in the absence of Gubaydullina, the Olympic champion Chloe Esposito of Australia and her celebrated compatriot Laura Asadauskaite, Batuleviciute seized her chance to scale the top of the podium. Batuleviciute was delighted having won her second individual title of her career in Doha. “I am surprised that I won,” said the beaming  28-year-old. “This is the second title of my career and the first was last month in the World Military Championships. I know that I am a good fencer but I am surprised that my riding went so well after a bad day yesterday at the jumping test. The facilities are very good here in Doha, probably the best of anywhere I have competed. It’s is a very high level of completion in Doha. There are some strong competitors out there, so I am glad I could win the title,” added Batuleviciute. The Lithuanian had already claimed victory in one UIPM Category A competition this year when she won gold at the CISM World Military Championships in Drzonkow, Poland. She also finished 14th in the World Cup Final in Vilnius in her homeland, where the 2012 Olympic champion Asadauskaite was the star attraction. Only three of the 17 participating athletes managed a clean round in Riding, but one of them was Batuleviciute  whose perfect round kept up her momentum in the race for gold. Sotero could have snatched the title from Batuleviciute if the Italian had finished higher than the Lithuanian in the combined event, but she could only manage a fifth spot. Sotero performed consistently well in all her events yesterday but never managed to take a top spot in any of the five Olympic disciplines. The Italian’s best finish came in swimming, where she was second. Clouvel, meanwhile, was delighted to have come third. The Rio Olympic silver medallist too had a chance to grab the winner’s trophy. But the Frenchwoman could only manage 12th place in the combined shoot and run using a laser pistol. Clouvel started Laser-Run in first place 15 seconds ahead of Sotero and 16 more than Batuleviciute. Clouvel protected her lead until the second shooting range, where Sotero and Batuleviciute stole the initiative. Batuleviciute proved she had the greater composure on the day as she edged ahead of Sotero to win by seven seconds, with Clouvel crossing the line five seconds later. Clouvel, however, was content to have finished in the podium. “It was a very good competition. I love Qatar, it’s an amazing place. I had just a one week of training for this event. I wanted to finish in podium this year because it’s my second time in Qatar. I want do much better next year,” Clouvel said. “Having said that, I am happy with my performance here. My fencing was good today, swimming was ok. I loved competing with my horse. I want to come back here again win gold,” she added. The 28-year-old Clouvel has already set her sights on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. “Now I have to start preparing for the next season. My main goal is to do well in the 2020 Olympics. I want a gold medal this time as I have won silver in Rio Games,” she noted. Meanwhile, the men’s competition will be held today, with another strong field of 18 athletes battling for the honours. The 2016 Olympic champion Alexander Lesun of Russia will be the star attraction, who will look to dethrone last year’s champion Patrick Dogue of Germany. The 29-year-old Lesun has also won gold at the World Championships in Rome (2012) and Warsaw (2014). Frenchman Valentin Belaud, who is currently ranked No. 9, will also be seeking his revenge from Dogue, having finished second to the German last year. Qatar will have no representation this year as Khalid al-Nuaimi, who had participated in the last edition, is out with a shoulder injury. Qatar is hosting the event for the fourth consecutive year. This is the first time the Qatar Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon Federation will organise the event after both the bodies merged earlier this year. Top 10 Results 1. Lina Batuleviciute (Lithuania) 1273 points; 2. Alice Sotero (Italy) 1266; 3. Elodie Clouvel (France) 1261; 4. Shino Yamanaka (Japan) 1241. 5. Janine Kohlmann (Germany) 1237; 6. Ekaterina Khuraskina (Russia) 1236; 7. Anna Maliszewska (Poland) 1226; 8. Ronja Steinborn (Germany) 1217; 9. Sophia Hernandez (Guatemala) 1205; 10. Gloria Tocchi (Italy) 1182.

Two-day event will see top athletes compete in five Olympic disciplines Qatar will host the annual International Federation of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM) Champion of Champions event, tomorrow and on Sunday at the Qatar Foundation Recreation Centre and Al Shaqab arena. The tournament, first hosted by Doha in 2013, will see the top 34 UIPM ranked athletes – 17 men and women each – compete to claim the crown for the best modern pentathletes in the world. The women’s competitions will be held tomorrow, while the men will be in action on Sunday. The two-day competition will see top athletes from 16 countries compete in five Olympic disciplines –- Swimming, Fencing, Riding, Running and Shooting. Last year, the Germans dominated the event with Patrick Dogue winning the title, while Annika Schleu emerged as the women’s winner. In fact, Schleu has won the last two editions of the competition. The event is organised by the Qatar Equestrian & Modern Pentathlon Federation for the first time after both the bodies merged earlier. At a press conference yesterday, Ali al-Rumaihi, Event Director of Champion of Champions, said the aim is to stage the event successfully like in the previous years. “We are excited for this fantastic opportunity to host this event in Qatar again, allowing us to build on previous editions of the Modern Pentathlon Champion of Champions competition. Working closely with the International Federation of Modern Pentathlon, we hope to showcase this sport in Qatar and across the whole of the Middle East, supporting Qatar national vision 2030 to develop Qatar into an international sporting hub,” he said. “In addition to being an international world class sports event, our hosting of the COC competition, provides the opportunity for the community to discover and understand the sport, especially those who are not familiar with it,” the Event Director of QEF added. Al-Rumaihi also reckoned the event was an Ideal stage to encourage the youth in Qatar through the sport. “Promotional plans are being put together to encourage the younger generation to attend such a competition, to generate an interest in sports among the young and develop a healthy lifestyle. Through organising such international competitions, we hope to inspire the community and realise more participation from local residents in Qatar,” he added. President of UIPM, Dr Klaus Schormann was effusive in his praise of Qatar for hosting the event successfully in the last three years. “The magical city of Doha is staging this competition for the fourth time and we know that this is always a highlight of the season for our athletes, coaches and fans watching all around the world,” he said yesterday. “One year ago during the 2016 Champion of Champions, we witnessed a very special moment of sportsmanship and also this year I welcome you all to celebrate together wonderful moments through Modern Pentathlon in the spirit of friendship and peace. “For the first time we saw an athlete from Qatar participate at this high level and when he completed his final lap of the Laser-Run, all the other athletes gathered at the finish line to applaud him. This was a true expression of the values of Olympic sport, as established by the founder of the Modern Olympic Games and Modern Pentathlon, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. These values remain central to our sporting movement today,” he added Schormann said the high class field will be in action in Doha. “These are top class athletes of our sport. They all have participated in the Olympics are one of the toughest contenders. We can expect a high-class Modern Pentathlon event amid the high-quality facilities in the Qatar Foundation Recreation Centre and Al Shaqab Arena. Doha is a special pillar of our movement and I thank our hosts for conducting this magnificently over the last three years,” added the German, who has been the head of the global Modern Pentathlon movement since 1993. Schedule Tomorrow Women: Swimming (at QF Recreation Centre 9am) Fencing round-robin  (QFRC 10am) Fencing bonus round (Al Shaqab at 1.15pm) Riding competition (Al Shaqab at 2.55pm) Running & Shooting Combined event (at Al Shaqab, 5pm) Award ceremony (Al Shaqab; 5.45pm).

Qatar sealed their spot in the 2018 AFC U-23 championship after a 1-1draw against Syria in their final qualifying match yesterday. The hosts needed just a point to progress to the next year’s event in China as the Group C toppers, and they achieved it after a gruelling battle against Syrians at the Al Sadd stadium. Sultan al-Breik gave Qatar the lead in the 37th minute with a sublime free kick, before Mohamed Muhtadi gave the Syrian dugout a sigh of relief by scoring through a header in the 61st minute.  Around 300 Syrians who cheered for their side at the Al Sadd were also delirious in the end as Syria too qualified for the main event as one of the five best runners-up across all groups. A loss would have been disaster for Syria but they managed to hung in right till the end. While Qatar were clearly a superior side, the physical nature of the game played by Syrians left the hosts exhausted. The game was interrupted many a time with Syrian players lunging at the Qataris and couple of them had to be substituted after picking injuries. The first casualty was Qatar captain Ahmed Moein, who had to be stretchered off the field in the 20th minute with a shoulder injury. Qatar had more possession and threatened the Syrian defence on a number of occasions. They had their first real chance in the 28th minute, but Akram Afif’s shot sailed well above the post. The breakthrough for Qatar came in the 37th minute after Almoez Ali was brought down just outside the box. Qatar had been poor in set-pieces so far in the tournament, but Sultan al-Breik produced an immaculate free kick to the right of the top post, with Syrian goalkeeper Mohamed Yazan Ourabi’s outstretched hands failing to even come close to the ball.  Syria responded with some quick counter-attack, but Qatar defender Tarek Salman, who was outstanding on the night, cleared the danger on two occasions in the 42nd minute. In the very next minute, Syria had a chance to equalise. Substitute Mohamed Srour played a perfect through ball to Al Rahman Barakat, who only had to beat the goalkeeper. But the midfielder while attempting to control the ball handled the ball, which was spotted by the linesman. After the break, Syria started to press more in search of an equaliser and their wait to came to an end in the 61st minute. Moumen Naji wreaked havoc on the left, catching the Qatari defenders unawares. And one such moment came when Naji lobbed into the box, where Mohamed Muhtadi leapt between Qatar defenders Salman and Tameem al-Muhaza to head the ball into the net.  The Syrians, knowing well that a draw would be enough to confirm their ticket to China, were overjoyed as they joined their supporters in celebration. Understandably, both the teams tightened their defence thereafter and were happy to play out a draw.  Syria, however, still had a chance to snatch the game from Qatar. In the 79th minute, Barakat made a delightful pass to Najii, but the forward failed to react quickly as the ball went out of play. Qatar coach Felix Sanchez was pleased with his team’s qualification. “I am very happy for my team. They worked hard during the tournament. Tonight we were good in the first half, but they came back strongly in the second. I want to congratulate the Syrian team too for their qualification,” he said. The Spanish coach said the next year’s AFC Championship will be a golden opportunity for the Qatar under-23 players to learn and graduate to the next well. “My players are fortunate to play in these kinds of tournaments. It will only make them better players. Most of them are born after 1995, so they are still young and they have a lot to learn by playing at this level,” Sanchez said.

Qatar took a giant step towards qualifying for the Asian Under-23 championship after overcoming a resolute India 1-0 in their Group C qualifying match yesterday. The victory at Al Sadd stadium put Qatar in a pole position to qualify for next year’s championship in China, after Syria were held to a 0-0 draw by Turkmenistan in another Group C match. Qatar and Syria were jointly occupying the top spot after their opening fixtures. But after last night’s win over India, the hosts will just need to draw against Syria tomorrow to book their ticket to China. Only group winners will automatically qualify for the AFC U-23 Championship. The five best runners-up across all groups will also qualify for the finals. However, if hosts China win their group or are among the best five runners-up, the sixth best runner-up will also qualify. Despite the victory, it was a lacklustre performance from Qatar, with the inexperienced but spirited Indian team making Felix Sanchez’s side sweat for victory. Qatar wasted plenty of opportunities, and were especially poor in converting corners and set-pieces. Qatar were lucky to get the breakthrough after a lapse of concentration from the Indian goalkeeper, rather than any individual brilliance. After having kept his composure to thwart the Qatari attack in the first half, Vishal Kaith’s misjudgement resulted in a goal for the hosts in the 53rd minute. After receiving a long ball, Ahmed Mohamed al-Sadi headed the ball into the box, where Almoez Ali was stationed. Kaith at that moment rushed in to collect the bouncing ball but only to miss it completely as Ali positioned himself to slot the ball into an open goal. It was much-needed a strike for Qataris but the game was not over yet. Unlike during their loss against Syria, where Indian players fizzled out in the second half after a competitive first-half performance, Stephen Constantine’s boys did not let their guard down this time. They went on offensive in search for an equaliser and were unfortunate not to find the net on couple of occasions. The last ten minutes were particularly frantic as Qatari defenders were kept on tenterhooks. India came closest in the 80th minute when substitute Manvir Singh’s fierce shot hit the crossbar. As the ball bounced back into the box, Qatar were let off again as Jerry Lalrinzuala’s header just went over the bar. With around 1,000 Indian supporters cheering on vociferously, Indians intensified their attacks but were unable to get past Qatar goalkeeper Mohamed al-Bakari. In the 83rd minute, Golui Sarthak went for a header from a corner but al-Bakari managed to latch on to it. The visitors had a couple of goal-scoring chances in the dying minutes from corners and free kicks but failed to deliver a knockout blow. Despite a resolute show, Constantine’s men will miss out on a qualification after having lost both their encounters, with the match against Turkmenistan tomorrow an inconsequential one. For Qatar coach Sanchez the result was bitter-sweet as his star striker Akram Afif, who had a quiet night, went off in the 79th minute after sustaining what looked like an ankle injury. “It was a tough match but we got all three points,” said a relieved Sanchez after the match. “India played a tough game and we didn’t play our game. In the second half we had some good moments but in the last twenty minutes, we had a tough time. Our aim is to ensure qualification in the next game. Syria have very strong potential and it’s going to be a tough game against them,” the Spaniard added. Constantine, who is India’s senior team head coach but took charge of the young guns for the qualifiers in order to ensure a place in the continental elite, was left frustrated after having come so close to taking a point. “Congratulations to Qatar. They were fortunate to score a goal. I am proud of my players,” said the 54-year-old. The British coach rued a silly mistake, albeit a costly one from his goalkeeper, but took heart from another brave performance from his boys. “Some of the boys were playing international football for the first time and they didn’t deserve to lose this game. We lost because of another silly mistake. Another day it would have hit the crossbar and gone inside. They have shown fantastic determination,” Constantine said.

Despite blowing many chances, Qatar scored a comfortable 2-0 win over Turkmenistan in the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers here yesterday. In sweltering conditions at the Al Sadd stadium, Qatar were off to an impressive start, opening up a 2-0 lead within 15 minutes. But as the match progressed, the hosts wasted plenty of opportunities to score, which would have frustrated coach Felix Sanchez on the night. Qatar’s both goals came from the highly-rated Akram Afif, who showed his calibre with a slick display of technique as he found the net with ease. However, the 20-year-old benefited from some impressive build-up play and passing from his teammates. Afif first found the net in the fourth minute but Qatar were lucky to keep the goal, after the ball had clearly gone out of play. A throw-in from the touchline by Abdulrahman Anad was collected by Moez Ali, who ran past two Turkmenistan defenders into the box. But in doing so the Qatar forward clearly took the ball out of play, which was not picked up by the officials. Ali then picked up an unmarked Afif with a great pass, and the forward slotted home to the right of the top post to give Qatar a head-start. Qatar’s play brimmed with belief, with Afif, Moez Ali and skipper Ahmed Moein troubling the opposition. Moein had a golden chance to double the lead, but the captain fired wide, from just inside the box. The second goal, however, was around the corner and it was gifted by the Turkmenistan skipper Atayev Selim in the 15th minute. Anad intercepted a mistimed pass from Selim and laid it on to Moein, who played a perfect through ball to the waiting Afif, who took a couple of deft touches and found the net with ease. From thereon, it looked like it would rain goals from Qatar. But to the dismay of Sanchez and a sizeable home crowd Qatar wasted numerous chances to increase the lead. Moez Ali, playing as central forward, ran in hard with his speed catching the opposition unaware on many occasions but he lacked the finesse to finish as he glanced his header wide off the post, with plenty of open space available. Moez Ali was also brought down in the box couple of times, but the referee waved off the penalty shouts much to the relief of Turkmenistan.  With just three minutes remaining for the half-time, Qatar’s Bassam Alrawi came close in the 43rd minute but his free kick sailed just wide of the right post. Qatar continued to threaten after the break, with Afif carrying much of the workload. Five minutes into the second half, Afif, who plies his trade for Belgian club KAS Eupen on loan from Villarreal, found Moein with just goalkeeper to beat. But the captain sent the ball wide. Turkmenistan, which played most of the game in their own half, defended stoutly, relying on counterattack to score. And their first real chance came in the 53rd minute, when Rejebov Berdimyrat’s left-footed shot was well saved by Qatar goalkeeper Mohammed Ahmed al-Bakari. Afif, meanwhile, was prowling in the opposition box for his hat-trick and he almost had it in the 58th minute. But his low shot was anticipated by keeper Berdiyev Dovletyar, who dived to the left to make a neat save. In the 66th minute, Afif once again looked dangerous as he ran past Turkmenistan defenders after a nice pass from Abdullah Abdulsalam. But Dovletyar was there to deny Qatar’s talisman his much-deserved hat-trick. Sanchez soon replaced Afif by bringing in Nasser Ibrahim al-Nasr, as the Qatar coach chose to preserve his star striker’s energy from the sapping humidity for future matches. Even in the closing stage, Qatar had slew of chances but failed to find the net, which left Sanchez shaking his head in disbelief at the touchline. Qatar’s next match is tomorrow against India, who lost to Syria 0-2 earlier in the day. While Qatar will go into that match too as the overwhelming favourites, Sanchez will hope his boys will show more clinical display than they did against Turkmenistan.

Stephen Constantine is used to the underdog tag. The Indian football national team coach, presently in charge of the India U-23 team, doesn’t mince words when he says his main focus is to produce fine talent than qualify for the AFC U-23 Championship.  Constantine and his boys are in Doha for the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers, where they will battle with hosts Qatar, Syria and Turkmenistan for a place in the main event in China next year.  Only group winners will qualify automatically, with the five best runners-up across all groups also making it through. But Constantine knows what is in front of him and his boys and says he prefers the ‘long-term goals’ rather than churn out quick results.  “I’ve been a person who have always preferred to build a team for the future. I’m working with this bunch of guys so that a few may come up the ranks and land up with the senior national team in the coming days,” said Constantine ahead of his team’s Group C opener against Syria today at Al Sadd stadium.  Unlike in Qatar, where the Under-23 teams play plenty of matches home and away in preparation for the big tournaments, Constantine only had three weeks to assemble the team. A proposed tour to United States was cancelled and they had to contend with two friendly matches against Singapore, in which they won one and lost another.  Unlike Syria, who appeared at the 2014 and 2016 U-23 finals, India are yet to progress further than the qualifiers. And Constantine was keeping the expectations to bare minimum. “There will be difficult matches for us over the next five days, but these are the games you want to play. We will give everything we have and hopefully we can get some positive results,” he said.  The Englishman has been the bedrock of Indian football in his two stints. Under Constantine’s tutelage, India have risen to 96th spot in the FIFA rankings, which is their best in the last two decades.  India were ranked 171 when Constantine took over for the second time in February 2015 but under the 54-year-old there has been meteoric rise. Still more needs to be done, especially at the age-group level, says the Indian senior coach. “India’s FIFA ranking doesn’t have anything to with Under-23 level. It’s a completely different aspect,” said Constantine as a matter of fact. “The reason India doesn’t do well at U-23 level is because we don’t give importance to age groups as we should. In the league we don’t have too many U-23 players.  “We have players with us here who don’t have teams. We have some players who have played just maybe 5-6 games the whole season,” the Englishman, who has also coached Sudan, Malawi, Rwanda and Nepal national teams, noted.  “So if you don’t give importance to these age groups, then we won’t qualify for the major tournaments. This time we have assembled the boys barely three weeks ago. There are players with whom I have not worked before. So it will be very difficult for our players against bigger teams. From this group I expect one or two players to come into the national team and that will be the objective,” Constantine added. The weather in Qatar has been extremely hot throughout but that hasn’t bothered Constantine much. “I don’t think the weather will be a problem. It has been hot in India and we are physically ready for the games,’’ he stated. India have two or three players to watch out for in the tournament. One such player is forward Lalianzuala Changte. The teen sensation from Mizoram, having trained at Liverpool’s youth academy at Kirkby, made his mark, when aged 18, he became the second youngest Indian to score in an international match against Nepal in the SAFF Championship in 2015.  Changte has already made four appearances for the senior side and has drawn comparisons with the Indian great Baichung Bhutia. Top scorer in his debut season in the U-19 I-League, Changte did, though, suffer a setback with the national side when they failed to qualify for the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship in Qatar. However, with football on the rise in India – headlined by the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup the nation will host in October– a new star to lead the beautiful game’s revolution is needed: Changte could be that man. India’s 23-member squad  Goalkeepers: Vishal Kaith, Kamaljit Singh, Sukhadev Patil Defenders: Salam Ranjan Singh, Lalruatthara, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Davinder Singh, Nishu Kumar, Sairuathkima, Sarthak Golui, Kamalpreet Singh Grewal Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Nikhil Poojari, Nandha Kumar, Germanpreet Singh, Mawihmingthanga, Vinit Rai, Robinson Singh, Lallianzuala Changthe Forwards: Hitesh Sharma, Alen Deory, Manvir Singh, Daniel Lalhlimpuia.

Felix Sanchez looked unperturbed on the eve of the Asian Under-23 Championship qualifier yesterday. The Spanish coach has too many things on his plate these days. Besides managing the Under-23 Qatar team, Sanchez has also been the given the task of overseeing the Qatar national team, albeit temporarily, after Uruguayan Jorge Fossati resigned abruptly last month. Sanchez will prepare Qatar for their remaining 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Syria and China. But before that, the Spaniard has tough task of ensuring his U-23 team qualify for next year’s AFC U-23 Championship in China 2018. With the Group C qualifying matches to be held in Doha over the next five days, starting from today, the pressure will be on Sanchez to deliver. However, on the tournament eve, the Spanish coach was calm and composed, confident his team can deliver on the home turf.  “We have been training for the last few weeks for the competition. All the three matches are going to be tough but we are ready in terms of preparation. We want to win all three matches and qualify for the Asian Cup,” said Sanchez in the press conference yesterday.  Qatar will take on Turkmenistan in their opening match today at Al Sadd stadium today, followed by India on Friday and Syria on Sunday. Only group winners will automatically qualify for next year’s main event. The five best runners-up across all groups will also qualify for the finals. However, if hosts China win their group or are among the best five runners-up, the sixth best runner-up will also qualify. Sanchez, who has been involved with U-23 boys for a long time, having coached them at the U-16 and U-18 level, said his team had the ability to win all three matches and take the direct route to the qualification. “The boys are very motivated to play these matches. A lot of these players played for Qatar in the under-18 and under-16 age groups and they know what they are going to face. And they are looking forward to playing the first game tomorrow,” he said. The Qatar coach said his boys were ready after intense preparations which included a few practice matches.  “We have been preparing for these games for the last few weeks and we are looking forward to the qualifiers. These three games are surely going to be tough, but we’ll try to perform well and we’ll try to reach our first objective which is to qualify for the Asian Championships. We have to stay very competitive for that,” said Sanchez. In the previous edition of the championship held in Qatar, the hosts finished fourth, losing to Iraq in extra-time in the third place play-off. And some of the players who featured in the 2016 tournament, will also be available this time, which will give Qatar much-needed experience of big competitions. Asim Madiboo and Akram Afif again form the core of the team and Sanchez said their experience would be invaluable. “The boys have performed well last edition but this is a new tournament and we’ve to start from the scratch. It’s time for us to execute our plans on the pitch. There are few players who play in the senior national team. While for the rest it’s an opportunity to show they can also represent the senior team,” Sanchez said. Turkmenistan are missing few players to injuries but coach Agamyradov Ahmet was hopeful the available squad can spring some surprises in the tournament.  “We have three difficult matches. We have some players who have not travelled because of injuries. But we will try to do well with the players we have,” said Ahmet.   “Qatar has some good players. I have some information and know some of their players. I know Afif is very a good player but there are others too. It will be a good match. They have players with good mentality and it will be a huge challenge for my side,” added the Turkmenistan coach.   Schedule  Today:   India vs Syria at 5pm Qatar vs Turkmenistan at 8pm  Friday      Turkmenistan vs Syria at 5pm India vs Qatar at 8pm Sunday  India vs Turkmenistan at 5pm Qatar vs Syria at 8pm (All matches at Al Sadd Sports Club)

CHI Al Shaqab has always been a go-to event for the riders in the equestrian world. And once again the leading riders of the world are in attendance for the prestigious equestrian competition, which begins today at the magnificent Al Shaqab arena. This year’s event assumes even more significance. This is the 25th year since the inception of Al Shaqab, which has become a leading global centre for equine professionals. So understandably the excitement level is on a high among the organisers and riders. CHI Al Shaqab is itself in just its fifth year but in short time has become a major equestrian event. Six of the top-10 ranked riders will be in attendance over the next three days, with the competition offering three and five-star showjumping, as well as international dressage and para dressage. It is the only para dressage competition in the Arab world. In showjumping, World No.1 Daniel Deusser will be hoping to better his second place finish at last year’s Grand Prix. The German will be one of 50 riders and their elite horses eyeing Saturday’s big money event. The 35-year-old Deusser’s closest challenger will be compatriot and second-ranked Christian Ahlmann, who finished third in Doha in 2016 Grand Prix. The other top 10 riders in the field are Simon Delestre (France), Kevin Staut (France), Marcus Ehning (Germany) and Scott Brash (Britain). Brash, the 2012 Olympic champion, has been to Doha few times and is expecting a high class competition. “All the top quality riders and horses come here, so it will be challenging with some technical courses. I think the Grand Prix will be of high standard. There are some riders in great form and anyone can win,” said Brash, who will be on mount Hello Annie, Hello M’Lord and Ursula XII this weekend. “I find the competition fascinating in Chi Al Shaqab. It provides an excellent opportunity for me to compete with other leading competitors and to test my horses in a rather unique climate. I am fascinated by the venue here and our horses are well taken care of throughout the event,” added the Scottish jumper.   Brash also tipped Qatar’s Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani to be a strong contender. Sheikh Ali has been in fine form recently, having tasted double success with his 11-year-old Mare, Carolina 31. The pair won at the HH The Emir’s Sword International Showjumping championship on Saturday, and had also triumphed at the Al Rayyan Championship in December at the Qatar Equesterian Federation arena. Sheikh Ali, who finished sixth at the Rio Olympics last year, will be hoping Carolina 31 and his other ride First Devision will help his good run continue. The other Qatari riders who will be in action are Bassem Hassan Mohamed, Faleh Suwead al-Ajami, Hamad al-Attiyah and Khalid al-Emadi. Meanwhile, Patrik Kittel of Sweden won both the Grand Prix and the Freestyle test last year, and he will look to repeat the feat this time too. Other dressage riders to watch out include world No. 1 Isabell Werth and Carl Hester of Britain, number five, and sixth-ranked Inessa Merkulova of Russia. Several riders will be defending their 2016 crowns in para-dressage, including 1b winner Nicole Den Dulk, III winner Rixt van der Horst (both from Netherlands), and Philippa Johnson-Dwyer of South Africa, who won the Freestyle III. Claudia Dorpmans, the Belgian Dressage rider, is competing at CHI Al Shaqab for the first time and she was excited for the weekend. “This is my first time attending Chi Al Shaqab. I am excited for the competition to start and to experience competing among the world’s top athletes. I would like to thank Al Shaqab and the competition’s organizers for inviting me here and providing us with such an amazing facility. We are pleased that our horses are being looked after so well,” Dorpmans said. Like last year, Doha Tour will run concurrently with the other international competitions at Al Shaqab. The three star event is part of Qatar Equestrian Federation’s calendar and will competitions will be held in CSI3*. Today’s competition begins at 9:30am in the outdoor arena with jumping 3*. Para-dressage follows at 10:45am in the indoor arena, and riders will compete in classes based on the extent of their physical or visual disabilities. Jumping 3* continues at 12:45pm, and jumping 5* begins at 3 pm, also in the outdoor arena.   Khalifa al-Attiya, Al Shaqab Executive Director, said: “This year’s competition brings together riders from more countries than ever before, and we are expecting the highest levels of sportsmanship to be on display.” Other than watching top riders in action, spectators can look forward to number of exciting activities during the competition.   THE SCHEDULE Today 9:30 am: Jumping CSI 3*, outdoor arena 10:45 am: Para-Dressage CPEDI 3*, indoor arena 12:30 pm: Jumping CSI 3*, outdoor arena 3:30 pm: Jumping CSI 5*, outdoor arena 6:30 pm: Jumping CSI 5*, outdoor arena Tomorrow 8:30 am: Para-Dressage CPEDI 3*, indoor arena 9:30 am: Jumping CSI 3*, outdoor arena 2:30 pm: Jumping CSI 3*, outdoor arena 3 pm: Dressage CDI 5* Grand Prix, indoor arena 4:45 pm: Jumping CSI 5*, outdoor arena 7:15 pm: Jumping CSI 5*, outdoor arena   Saturday 8:30 am: Dressage CDI 5* Grand Prix Special, indoor arena 9 am: Jumping CSI 3*, outdoor arena 10:15 am: Para-Dressage CPEDI 3*, indoor arena 11:30 am: Jumping CSI 5*, outdoor arena 2:15 pm: Jumping CSI 3*, outdoor arena 2:30 pm: Dressage CDI 5*, Grand Prix Freestyle, indoor arena 5:00 pm: Jumping CSI 5*, Grand Prix, outdoor arena Qatar’s Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al-Thani (left) will be one of the strong contenders at CHI Al Shaqab. Picture on right shows Omar al-Mannai (centre), event director of Chi Al Shaqab with para-dressage riders Pepo Puch (third right) of Austria, Claudia Dorpmans of Belgium, British show jumper Scott Brash (right) and other officials. Picture: Lotfi Garsi

In a tournament that was hit by repeated rain interventions, Karolina Pliskova wasted little time as the Czech strolled to her maiden Qatar Total Open title yesterday. The second seed was in sublime form and hardly put a foot wrong, outplaying Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-4 in the one-sided final. Though the rain — that wreaked havoc at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex the whole week — stayed away, the chilly conditions that prevailed meant that margin of error was minimum. Her history in Doha and head-to-head against former World No. 1 Wozniacki was both against Plisokva. The 24-year-old had never gone past the second round in Doha and Wozniacki had won all three of her previous matches against Pliskova. But their last encounter came in 2014 before Pliskova reached last year’s US Open final and became a top-10 player. And Pliskova is a much-improved player right now and Wozniacki found that the hard way. Having showed tremendous mental strength and fitness, while winning both her quarter-final and semi-final match Friday, Pliskova took charge right from the beginning yesterday. The World No.3 was up 4-0 in the first set even before the spectators had taken their seats in the centre court. Her service was on fire during her win over third seed Dominika Cibulkova, with 21 aces powering the Czech to victory in the semi-final, where she set a personal record for most aces in a single match. While it wasn’t on the same level against Wozniacki, she packed a punch with solid forehand and some aggressive game.   After holding serve for the first time, Wozniacki did manage to break Pliskova and then held again to make it 3-4. However, Pliskova nipped the comeback in the bud by holding her serve and then breaking Wozniacki in the ninth game to pocket the first set. Wozniacki did change her strategy by running Pliskova from side to side of the court, forcing her to opponent to move, which is regarded as the weakest point in Czech’s game. But Pliskova played well in the big moments to stay ahead of the Dane. Wozniacki was equal to the task in the second set, but failed to capitalise on a break point. On the other hand, Pliskova grabbed a chance to break in the 10th game and duly wrapped up the match, when Wozniacki buried a lob into the net. “It’s amazing. It means so much to me winning this tournament because it’s not easy beating these two girls (Cibulkova in semis and Wozniacki in the final). You saw last night and even today given the way they fight,” said Pliskova, as she took the falcon trophy and $132,740 in prize money. “Also the weather has been taxing with all the rain and rescheduling of matches. I was trying to play my natural game which is aggressive. Also, the serve was really important and for me it was working, so I was happy about that. I also wanted to win here in Doha since I had been losing in the early rounds the last three years. Finally I won some new fans here,” she added. Pliskova has only lost one match so far in 2017, to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the Australian Open quarter-finals, and won the title in Brisbane prior to her run to the last-eight in Melbourne. If she continues her fine form, she can challenge Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber for the No.1 ranking. However, Pliskova, played down the talk of top spot and said her main target is to win a Grand Slam this year. “I have other goals than being No. 1 right now and it’s to win a Grand Slam. I was in the final (at US Open last year), so now the next step would be to win it,” she said. “Well, there’s just three (Grand Slams) left now. One of them is on clay. It would be really difficult. Then I’ll just prepare myself the best I can for Wimbledon. Then the US Open, it’s going to be difficult. I’m defending a lot of points there. I would love to win a Slam this year. If not, I still think I have a good chance the next few years,” she added. For Wozniacki, it was another loss in the final in Doha, the last time was in 2011. “Well, it’s a tournament I’ve never won. Clearly I’m a disappointed right now. It’s a goal of mine to pretty much have won everything,” said the 26-year-old, who will jump four places to No. 14 in rankings. “But she played really well today. I thought I played well too. I did my best. It’s been a tough week. Yesterday I had two matches late at night. I just tried to recover as well as I could. I feel like I’m playing really good tennis. I can still improve on some things. I’m really feeling positive and confident moving forward,” added Wozniacki, who will be in action in Dubai this week along with Pliskova. Meanwhile, fourth seeds Abigail Spears of US and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia clinched the doubles title, defeating Ukraine’s Olga Savchuk and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 7-6(7) in the final.

Karolina Pliskova powered her way into the Qatar Total Open final yesterday, the No. 2 seed beating third seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the semi-finals. Pliskova had never defeated Cibulkova in their three previous meetings but the Czech was on fire at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on a damp night. The World No. 3 served an astonishing 21 aces and showed tremendous mental strength and fitness in overcoming the Slovak. While Cibulkova had finished her quarter-final match on Thursday, Pliskova on the other hand was forced to play the quarters and semis on the same day, due to repeated rain interventions. The momentum was clearly with Pliskova as she overcame many a difficult moments, especially in the first set, to seal her place in today’s final. The 24-year-old will either face Olympic champion Monica Puig or former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who were playing the second semi-final late last night, a few hours after winning their quarter-final matches. After rain battered the courts for most of yesterday, the tournament organisers were relieved to see the clouds clear up at night as the players were put on double duty. Today’s forecast is for clear skies, which means the rain-hit tournament will most likely get over on schedule, which didn’t seem the case even till yesterday evening. Earlier, Pliskova had outplayed Shuai Zhang 6-2, 6-0 to set-up a semi-final date with Cibulkova. Zhang, who had shocked fifth seed Garbine Muguruza in the second round, had no answers to Pliskova’s power game. Zhang was broken by Pliskova twice as the Czech took a 5-2 lead, before another rain delay meant that the players again had to scamper for cover. On resumption, Pliskova wrapped up the first set, and broke Zhang again in the opening game of the second set. But heavy downpour ensued that the players had a lengthy break of almost five hours. When they finally returned to the courts, Pliskova was in a hurry to close out the match. Two further breaks put her firmly in charge and she served out to love to put Zhang out of her misery. Earlier, Puig entered the semis, the Puerto Rican’s first since her historic gold in Rio last August.  The 23-year-old has not had a great start to the year, as she bowed out in the first round in Sydney and Brisbane. She did marginally better at the Australian Open, where she reached the second round. But the 47th-ranked Puig’s loss in Melbourne came to 181st-ranked Mona Barthel. Here in Doha, Puig has meant business from day one. After her second-round victory over Yulia Putintseva, where the Kazakh girl had to retire midway, Puig was back in business. Her hard work seems to be bearing fruit. Yesterday, she completed a fighting win over promising Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. The quarter-final was carried over from Thursday, when the match was locked at a set apiece before the players were finally called off court due to rain. On resumption in the afternoon, Puig wasn’t in the mood to hand around for a long time. She was off the blocks quickly, converting her fourth break point to move 3-2 ahead. Puig saved two further break points in her next service game to keep her hopes alive before breaking back to level the match at 4-4. A wayward stroke from Kasatkina, serving at 4-5, handed the 23-year-old a victory. “At our match in Indian Wells I also had match points and lost the match but against her it’s always going to be tough,” Puig said. “We’re both up and coming and she’s such a great player so it was a good match and I loved the fight out there.” Meanwhile, Wozniacki, ranked 18th, beat American qualifier Lauren Davis 7-5, 6-1 in the last quarter-final.

Exactly a week after she landed in Doha, Angelique Kerber finally hit the court at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday. It had been a frustrating wait for the top seed as she waited for rain to relent to play her first match. But the off-court frustration would carry on to the court as the German crashed out of the Qatar Total Open. It was an error-strewn performance from Kerber, failing to get any sort of momentum as she fell to Daria Kasatkina in the second round. The Russian teen won 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 to seal her place in the quarter-finals. It was the second time this year that Kasatkina has won against the former World No.1 after beating her at the Sydney International last month, 7-6, 6-2. Kerber, who lost her No. 1 ranking to Serena Williams after she failed to defend her Australian Open crown last month, was looking at the Middle East swing – here in Doha and next week in Dubai to recapture her form. But the 29-year-old moved gingerly yesterday and was clearly struggling with her movements. “I was not feeling the best today; I’m trying to find my rhythm,” Kerber said. “But she (Kasatkina) plays good. I made too many mistakes in the important moments. I think it was, for sure, not my day.” The 32nd-ranked Kasatkina, on the other hand, is a rising star in the women’s game. The 19-year-old is in her second year on the tour and will be fancying her chances of a maiden WTA title. Kerber missed six break point chances in the first set, and Kasatkina capitalised on it. But Kerber bounced back, blanking the Russian in the second set to get herself back on level terms. Seemingly in command heading into the decider, Kerber couldn’t get the momentum going and fell 6-4 in the third. It wasn’t easy for Kasatkina, who needed four set points to complete the upset. It meant that Kerber’s underwhelming start to the 2017 season only got worse, as she stands at 4-4. And none of her four victories have been over players ranked inside the top 50. Kerber was bewildered by her poor form and was keen to turn her fortunes in Dubai. “Of course, the weather, it can happen like this,” she said. “We have to wait a lot, but this is not a big deal. I have to get ready again and feel good because, I was not feeling very good in the last few days. I think this is the most important thing for me right now. Then, of course, looking forward to doing well next week in Dubai,” she admitted. Kasatkina was playing Olympic champion Monica Puig last night in the quarters, before rain brought a halt to the proceedings. Puig of Puerto Rico was leading 2-1 in the decider after both players had taken a set each. After a lengthy delay, play was suspended for the night, with the players scheduled to return today morning to complete their match. Meanwhile, former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki dumped her close friend and fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland out of the tournament with a straight-sets 7-5 6-3 win. Denmark’s Wozniacki, who has slipped to No. 18, has looked in good rhythm so far in Doha and she was once again impressive yesterday. This was the 16th time the pair had faced off, with the Dane now leading 10-6 in the head-to-head. “We always have great matches. The last two times we’ve played I’ve lost to her,” said Wozniacki. She was back on court in the evening for her last-eight clash against qualifier Lauren Davis and was leading 1-0 before rain forced them indoors. Third seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia got lucky as she escaped rain for the second successive day and booked her spot in the semi-finals. The current WTA Finals champion ousted former World No.4 Samantha Stosur 7-5, 6-4, finally breaking her drought against the Australian. Cibulkova had lost all five of her previous matches against Stosur – all in straight sets, but the Slovak has made vast improvements since their last meeting in 2014. She hit 18 winners to just 10 unforced errors and converted five of the eight break point opportunities throughout the rain-affected match. “She was fighting and really into the match,” said Cibulkova after winning the 400th match of her career. “It came down to a few points here and there; you can see from the scoreline that it was very tight. The conditions are tough here, but I’m happy to have got lucky this week so far.” “I tried to have a new tactic against Sam because I’d never beaten her before, and it was really working hard today. I have to say, I was playing well,” the Slovak added. Up next for the World No.5 is Chinese Zhang Shuai or second seed Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic. The last quarter-final match was to take place last night but now will be played today morning. Earlier, Pliskova had made it through to the last eight, after beating France’s Caroline Garcia 7-5, 6-4. Zhang on Wednesday had upset fifth seed Garbine Muguruza.   Results Quarter-finals 3-Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) beat Samantha Stosur (Australia) 7-5 6-4    Second round Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) beat 4-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) 7-5 6-3     Darya Kasatkina (Russia) beat 1-Angelique Kerber (Germany) 6-4 0-6 6-4      Samantha Stosur (Australia) beat 8-Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic) 6-3 3-6 6-4 2-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) beat Caroline Garcia (France) 7-5 6-4    Lauren Davis (US) beat 6-Elena Vesnina (Russia) 7-5 6-2