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Wednesday, April 24, 2024 | Daily Newspaper published by GPPC Doha, Qatar.

Sport

Kuwait players celebrate after their win over Malaysia in the Group D match at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakra yesterday.

Uzbekistan prove too hot for Vietnam, Kuwait win 2-1

Uzbekistan showed they will be a team to be reckoned with in the knockout stage of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 after an emphatic 3-0 win over Vietnam at the Khalifa International Stadium yesterday.A first half surge saw Uzbekistan hit the back of the net three times as the 2018 champions concluded their Group D campaign with a perfect nine points.They meet defending champions Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals tomorrow while Vietnam, who also advanced despite the defeat, will go up against Iraq.Having already clinched their respective quarter-final spots with a match to spare, Vietnam rotated their squad with head coach Hoang Anh Tuan making eight changes to his starting lineup, while Uzbekistan included Abdukodir Khusanov and Ibrokhimkhalil Yuldoshev, the players having been released by their French and Russian clubs respectively.It didn’t take long for Uzbekistan to assert their supremacy, with the Central Asian side taking the lead as early as the fourth minute.The play unfolded with Jasurbek Jaloliddinov delivering a well-timed pass to Ibrokim Ibragimov, who beat the offside trap to set up Alisher Odilov, who tapped home from close-range.Vietnam looked to hit back and had a chance of a counter attack in the 20th minute but Nguyen Minh Quang, after intercepting a pass from Muhammadkodir Hamraliev, opted to shoot rather than pass to Vo Nguyen Hoang, with his shot going wide.The 2018 runners-up kept pressing but were undone in the 36th minute when Ruslanbek Jiyanov sprinted past the defence to receive the ball from a long-range free kick, finishing with a superb shot into the bottom-left corner.Four minutes later, Odilov doubled his tally by heading home Saidazamat Mirsaidov’s cross, giving Uzbekistan a comfortable lead going into the break.Hoping to spark a second half comeback, coach Hoang introduced four fresh players, but Vietnam remained on the defensive, struggling to withstand the relentless pressure from Uzbekistan.Vietnam became more assertive as the match progressed but it was Uzbekistan who came the closest to scoring with Ibragimov and substitute Diyor Kholmatov denied by the upright in the 74th and 84th minutes respectively.Winning finish for KuwaitKuwait secured their first-ever win at the after defeating Malaysia 2-1 in their final Group D match yesterday.Both teams had already been eliminated prior to the match but the win for Kuwait allowed them to leave on a high while Malaysia go home without a point for the second successive edition.Malaysia started on the front foot and fashioned two opportunities before the 20-minute mark with Luqman Hakim finding the back of the net only to be judged offside, with Daryl Sham then forcing Kuwait defender Khalid Alfadhli into a block to deny his side footed attempt.Kuwait withstood the early pressure and started to pose questions to the Malaysian defence as the half wore on with Salman Mohammed’s free-kick after half an hour requiring Malaysian goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel to be sure with his handling of the ball.A minute before half-time, the tide turned when Sikh Izhan was shown a straight red card after barging into Salman in his attempt to clear the ball.Things got worse for Malaysia in the 14th minute of added time when referee Alexander King, after a VAR check, awarded Kuwait a penalty for Umar Hakeem’s foul on Talal Alqaisi with Salman converting with ease past substitute custodian Firdaus Irman. Despite playing with a man down, Malaysia started the second half the brighter of the two sides, using the pass of Haqimi down the right to get behind Kuwait’s defence but Faisal Alshatti made a superb last ditch clearance before the ball reached Mukhairi Ajmal.Kuwait increased their lead on the hour mark when substitute Sultan Alfaraj, on the pitch for mere seconds, delivered the perfect cross for Alqaisi to thump home. Malaysia reduced the deficit three minutes later when Nooa Laine sent a long diagonal pass to Haqimi with the Kuala Lumpur City FC forward slamming his low shot past Abdulrahman.Kuwait’s numerical advantage was taken away in the 84th minute when goalscorer Salman was shown a straight red for a rash challenge on Umar but were able to fend off Malaysia until the final whistle to secure the win.?the-afc.com

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Damage in Israeli air base after Iran attack

Israeli army footage of what it says is the damage caused by the Iranian attack on the Nevatim Air Base, which was launched late Saturday in retaliation for a deadly air strike widely blamed on Israel that destroyed its consular building in Syria's capital early this month. AFP

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Six months of bloodshed: The toll on Gaza’s children

The bloodiest ever Gaza war which broke out over six months ago has taken an appalling toll on children. NGO Save the Children estimates that some 26,000 children have been killed or injured in the war, 17,000 have been orphaned, according to UNICEF, and 1 in 3 children under two years old in northern Gaza is suffering from acute malnutrition. In total, at least 33,207 people have been killed in the besieged Palestinian territory in Israel's retaliatory campaign for the October 7 attack, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. The unprecedented Hamas raid on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,170 Israelis and foreigners, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. AFP

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Steven Gardiner

Gardiner hopes to build confidence at Doha Diamond League

Olympic 400m champion and former world champion Steven Gardiner of Bahamas will return to Qatar for the Doha Diamond League meeting on May 10.Gardiner clocked a national record of 43.48 with victory at the World Athletics Championships in Doha 2019. It was an impressive upgrade to the silver he’d won in London two years earlier and a performance that made him the sixth-fastest man in the history of the event.In the lead up to the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, the 28-year-old – who owns the fastest indoor 300m time in history (31.56) – had been in fine form. He was unbeaten over 400m and recorded the second-fastest performance of his career one month out from the global showpiece (43.74). He cruised through the opening round but was injured in the semi-final and failed to finish. He returned to competitive action with a 31.99 300m in Florida in March 2024 and will race in front of a home crowd at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas (4-5 May) ahead of the Seashore Group Doha Meeting.“This is an exciting year for me with the prospect of my third Olympic Games,” said Gardiner, who was a 4x400m Olympic relay bronze medallist in Rio 2016 and is also the Bahamian record holder for the 200m and 4x400m mixed relay.“I was heartbroken to suffer an injury in Budapest last summer which ended my season, but I want to run fast when it matters and when you train this hard, working towards those big moments, injuries happen. I’m working on my fitness and being healthy and my training is coming along. I’m looking forward to competing in the 400m in Doha. The warm conditions will suit me, so it’s a perfect opportunity to build my confidence with a strong early season performance.”Doha meet will see many stars in action with reigning Olympic, world and Asian Games javelin champion Neeraj Chopra set to return. World champion Mary Moraa of Kenya and World Indoor Championships silver medallist Jemma Reekie of Britain will compete over 800m at the Doha Diamond League Meeting at the Qatar Sports Club on May 10.Meanwhile, Olympic and world pole vault champion Katie Moon (USA) will take on fellow world champion Nina Kennedy (Australia) and newly-crowned world indoor champion Molly Caudery (Britain) at the Doha Meeting.Moon – ranked fifth all-time with a best height of 4.95m – famously shared global gold with Commonwealth champion and Australian record holder Kennedy (4.91m) at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest after an enthralling contest failed to separate them. They were subsequently shortlisted for the 2023 International Fair Play Award as a result of their actions.The Doha leg is the third meeting of the 2024 Diamond League. The series comprises 15 meetings in total across four different continents and started with Xiamen (China) on April 20. It concludes with a single final across two days in Brussels (13-14 September).

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