REUTERS – MELBOURNE

World number one Novak Djokovic yesterday hit back at criticism of his letter to Australian Open chief Craig Tiley in which he suggested easing of quarantine restrictions, saying his good intentions were “misconstrued”.

As many as 72 players are confined to their hotel rooms for 14 days and unable to train for the Feb. 8-21 Australian Open after passengers on three charter flights carrying them to Melbourne tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Djokovic reportedly asked for reduced isolation periods and having players in hard quarantine moved to “private houses with tennis courts”, drawing a backlash from Australians.

Tiley confirmed they were suggestions and not demands.

“My good intentions for my fellow com-petitors in Melbourne have been miscon-strued as being selfish, difficult and ungrateful,” the Serbian, who is isolating in Adelaide along with other top players, said in a lengthy statement.

“This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“... at times when I see the aftermath of things, I do tend to ask myself if I should just sit back and enjoy my benefits instead of paying attention to other people’s struggles.” Tennis coach Daniel Vallverdu told Reuters that players in hard quarantine should get preferential treatment from organisers such as prime practice times and matches scheduled in the cooler hours of the day.

Djokovic, who last year quit as the ATP Players Council chief to launch a breakaway players body, won a record eighth Australian Open title in Melbourne in 2020.

Former Australian Davis Cup player Sam Groth accused Djokovic’s letter as a “selfish political move” while Nick Kyrgios called the Serbian a “tool”.

Djokovic said he “genuinely” cared about fellow players.

“I’ve earned my privileges the hard way ... it is very difficult for me to be a mere onlooker knowing how much every help, gesture, and good word mattered to me when I was small and insignificant in the world pecking order,” he said.

“Hence, I use my position of privilege to be of service as much as I can where and when

needed.” Djokovic also expressed grat-itude towards organisers TA, the Aus-tralian government and the citizens to allow the players to compete amid the pandemic.

“Things in the media escalated and there was a general impression that the players (including myself) are ungrateful, weak and selfish because of their unpleasant feelings in quarantine,” he added.

“I am very sorry that it has come to that because I do know how grateful many are. We all came to Australia to compete. Not being able to train and prepare before the tournament starts is really not easy.

“None of us ever ques-tioned 14 days of quar-antine despite what is being said by media outlets.”

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QBF MEN'S LEAGUE: Al Gharafa (Abdulrahman Saad 27) 89-77 Al Sadd (B Dieng 31); Al Shamal (W Arkaji 26) 97-75 Al Arabi (K Murphy 24)

THURSDAY 21 JANUARY 2021

Egos bruised, beaten Australia ponder next stepMy message to our players will be that we’ve got another opportunity in a month or so’s time. We learn from our errors and our mistakes in this series and we look to get better in the next one.

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Djokovic hits back at criticism over AO quarantine stance

YESTERDAY'S RESULTSAl Kharaitiyat 1-2 Al Gharafa

Al Sailiya 0-0 Al AhliAl Sadd 7-0 Al Khor

Al Sadd's Baghdad Bounedjah celebrates after scoring his second goal against Al Khor yesterday.

Al Sadd players congratulate team-mate Rodrigo Tabata after the latter completed his hat-trick against Al Khor yesterday.

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

Al Sadd are unstoppable this season. ‘The Wolves’ are not just defeating their opponents - they are thrashing them, and yesterday it was another ruthless display of attacking football.

On their home turf, Xavi Hern-andez-coached side crushed Al Khor 7-0 to continue their goal-fest that has seen them scoring 60 goals from 15 matches at an average of 4 goals per match. The closest side to reigning Amir Cup champions in terms of scoring are QSL champions Al Duhail, who have netted 37 times from 15 games.

Veteran Rodrigo Tabata emerged as star for Al Sadd yesterday, completing his first hat-trick of the season with goals in 36th, 49th and 57th minutes. Feared Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah also scored a brace (7th and 33rd minutes) to go top in the list of leading scorers with 17 goals this season.

Spanish star Santiago Cazorla con-verted a penalty in 41st-minute penalty while Ali Asad netted in 71st minute to put their name on the scoresheet.

Al Sadd consolidated their top spot with 41 points, 13 clear of second-placed Al Duhail after their emphatic victory in front of home fans.

In week 13, Al Sadd crushed Al Sailiya 8-0 and week 5, the Wolves hammered Al Ahli 7-1. Three times this season Al Sadd beat their rivals 5-0: Al Kharaitiyat twice and Al Sailiya once.

“We have taken a big step towards winning the title with a 13-point lead,” said Xavi yesterday while expressing

his delight after big victory. “We produced magnif-

icent performance and I am very happy. I am happy with the performance of players, who have not played much before, including Suhail, Musab, Salem and Tabata, who performed more than excellent and deserve to be

praised with the rest of the players,” Xavi added.

“We are enjoying the best moments of the season and we must benefit a lot from them.” he added.

Last night, Al Sadd were in total control against 11th

placed Al Khor, who succumbed to their

ninth defeat. The Wolves dominated their opponents rivals with 61 percent ball possession, unlike their first-leg game against Al Khor when both teams failed to break the deadlock. They were leading 4-0 at half-time and added three goals to complete the rout.

“We entered the match with the aim of

winning and

maintaining lead on the points table. When we put pressure on Al Khor, we had a good time in the first half by scoring four goals,” said Al Sadd’s Ahmed Suhail.

“The great result was achieved by the fact that we respected the Al Khor team and took nothing for granted. We converted the opportunities into goals and team work is the secret of Al Sadd’s strength in all matches in the league,” he added.

Meanwhile, 10-man Al Gharafa retained their third spot after they rallied to edge Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 at Al Ahli Stadium, in yesterday first match.

Captain Moiad Hassan scored goals in 77th and 79th minutes to secure full points for Al Gharafa after Mensah Evans scored for Al Kharaitiyat in the 70th minute.

With the win, Al Gharafa moved to 27 points while bottom-placed

Al Kharaitiyat remained on six points.

Despite an aggressive display by Al Gharafa, Al Kharaitiyat did well to stop their opponents from scoring goals early in the match.

Ivory Coast striker Jonathan Kodjia created the first chance when he fired ball from the edge of the box, but Al Kharaitiyat’s goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy dived to his left to block the move.

Al Gharafa continued to attack in the first session with Sofiane Hanni, Ahmed Al Janehi, Yousef Muftah and Kodjia making attacks at regular intervals.

Al Kharaitiyat’s Rachid Tiber-kanine, however also gave Al Gharafa scare when he sneaked into the box but his shot from close range was blocked by Tameem Al Muhaza.

Former champions Al Gharafa

were dominant in the second half as well but the advantage went to Al Kharaitiyat after Al Gharafa’s Saeed Alhaj was sent off in the 67th minute. Majed Aman set Evans for the game’s opening goal.

After getting a neat lob from Aman, Evans charged into the box and fired a shot that caught a slight deflection of a dive by Al Muhaza and went into the net giving the keeper no chance to stop the ball.

However, the lead didn’t last for long as Hassan curled a clinical kick to score an equaliser, two minutes before scoring the winner off a Yousef Muftah cross.

In other match yesterday, Al Sailiya and Al Ahli played out a goalless draw at Al Ahli Stadium. Al Ahli remained on 6th position with 23 points while Al Sailiya also retained their 8th spot with 19 points.

'Big step towards title' as Al Sadd thrash Al Khor 7-0

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Jockey Ronan Thomas yesterday guided Al Shaqab Racing’s Lauded (GB) (Acclamation x Thatsallim-saying) to the Marmi Cup win at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club's (QREC) racetrack at Al Rayyan Park.

The Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki-trained 3YO colt won the feature event of the 27th race meeting by half-a-length to pick up QR100,000 in prize money.

Ali Bin Khatam Al Mehshadi, Chairman of Al Gannas Society presented trophies to the winning team at the end of the event des-ignated for 6f Class 2 run for 3YO Thoroughbreds.

Earlier, Khalifa bin Sheail Al Kuwari's Shakour (IRE) (Declaration Of War x Another Storm) clinched a Class 2 Thoroughbred Condi-tions on dirt when JP Guillambert rode the Zuhair Mohsen-trained 6YO horse to a 1½-length win in the 1800m run.

Meanwhile, Osama Omer Al Dafea-owned & trained Baker De Saularie (FR) (Kerbella x Babiche De Saulari) also was among yesterday’s winners. Baker De Saularie was a clear winner in the Pure-bred Arabian Conditions. Alberto guided the 7YO horse to a 3¼-length win in the 1800m run.

The Abdullah Saeed Abdullah Al Mesnad-bred & owned Ghannam (QA) (AF AlBahar x Bedur ASF) won a P/A Handicap (0-90) with Alberto Sanna in the saddle.

Sanna rode the Wasim Al Sahn-trained 5YO horse to a 1¼-length win in the 6f run.

Earlier, in the Thoroughbred Handicap (70-90) race, Hassan Ali Alabdulmalik’s Catch A Wave (IRE) (Approve x Casablanca Jewel) emerged victorious.

Sanna guided the 7-year-old Bay Geld-ing to win the Class 3 race following a keen

tussle with Hamad Al Jehani -trained I Am Thunder (IRE).

Sanna rode the Debbie Mountain-trained 7YO gelding to a ¾-length win in the 6f run.

In the Thoroughbred Handicap (Class 3) race, Mansoor Ebrahim Al Mah-moud's Roman Legend (IRE) (Holy Roman Emperor) stormed to a clear 3-length win with JP Guillambert in the saddle. Roman Legend is trained by Jassim Ghazali.

Meanwhile, Injaaz Stud’s Rodeyna (QA) (Intense Focus) completed a double winning a Local TB race on dirt. Khalid Al Balushi rode the Mohammed Ghazali-trained 6YO mare to a 4¼-length win in the 1700m run for 4YO+ fillies & mares.

In other races, which took place at the Al Rayyan Park, Mansoor Ebrahim Al Mahmoud's Burano Boy (IRE) (Footstep-sinthesand) and Khalid Nasser Hamad Al Naimi-owned & trained Rajab (QA) (Harran ASF x Fiha) emerged victorious.

11THURSDAY 21 JANUARY 2021 SPORT

IHF World Championship: Qatar face defending champs Denmark THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Asian Champions Qatar will meet the reigning Olympic and World Champions Denmark today when Al Annabi kick off their campaign in the main round of the 27th IHF Men's World Championship in Cairo, today.

The match will kick off at 10.30pm Qatar time at the Cairo International Stadium.

In the main round, Qatar's other Group 2 counterparts include Croatia, Japan, Argentina, and Bahrain.

The two teams ranked first and second in each group, qualify for the quar-terfinals at the start of the elimination rounds in the tournament.

Qatar made it to the main round of the 32-team event after finishing second in Group C in the preliminary round in which they defeated Angola (30:25) and Japan (31:29). They went down fighting to Croatia in their third match on Tuesday.

Qatar coach Valero Rivera hailed his team's perform-ances despite the loss in the final preliminary round match.

On Tuesday, Croatia got in front in the first period with a 13:11 lead over Qatar, in a tense 30 minute period before snatching a 26:24 win over the Asian giants.

Rivera said that he accepts the defeat, adding that "it’s a

game you will win a day and loss in another day.''

“Croatia is a great team as they are the runners-up of European Championship,” Rivera said.

“We performed well during the game as secured a place in the main round after competing in a tough group,” the Spanish coach said.

"All the teams that we faced during the last stage

were strong, so I feel satisfied with the results we achieved and our success in qualifying for the main role and getting second place in the group," Rivera added, noting that the next stage will be more pow-erful as all the teams strive to defend their chances of qualifying.

Qatar captain Ahmad Madadi said that they played a tough game against Croatia,

confirming he is proud of his teammates’ performance.

“We will concentrate on the coming games in the main round of the World Champi-onship,” Madadi said.

Meanwhile, the organ-isers of the Egypt World Championships have informed the International Handball Federation that all new COVID-19 PCR tests have returned with negative results.

Several more positive COVID-19 tests were recorded few days ago in addition to the Danish case and the confirmed cases were immediately isolated.

"The outcome confirms that the main risk for positive COVID-19 cases to occur was upon arrival, when the teams entered the bubble," the organisers announced yesterday..

Qatari horses shine in Paris QNA – PARIS

The opening race of the day at the French seaside racetrack of Cagnes-sur-Mer was won by Yardan in the colors of H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani.

The Prix de Fabron, a new-comers race over 1,500 meters on the all-weather, reunited 9 colts and geldings. The 3-year-old colt Yardan, ridden by French Champion jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot, was sharply away before settling in 5th position with plenty of cover.

In the final turn, the pace-setter Grace Bay held his lead with Yardan coming to the rail.

Once in the straight, the Henri-Pantall trained colt looked to be blocked in behind the leaders with plenty of running and nowhere to go.

The leader came under pressure from all sides and, moving slightly off the rail, left the opportunity for a decisive move from Boudot to take Yardan up a small gap that briefly opened up on the rail.

Yardan, showing a profes-sional attitude on his first start in competition, quickly took the lead from Grace Bay, who fought back bravely.

They ran neck and neck to the line, but Yardan proved the stronger, holding on to his lead to win by a nose.

MARMI CUP

Horse: Lauded (GB), Trainer: Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki,

Jockey: Ronan Thomas

THOROUGHBRED CONDITIONS (Class 2)

Shakour (IRE), Zuhair Mohsen, JP Guillambert

PUREBRED ARABIAN CONDITIONS

Baker De Saularie (FR), Osama Al Dafea, Alberto Sanna

LOCAL PUREBRED ARABIAN HANDICAP

Rajab (QA), Khalid Nasser Al Naimi, Francois Herholdt

THOROUGHBRED MAIDEN PLATE (Class 6)

Burano Boy (IRE), Gassim Ghazali, Soufiane Saadi

LOCAL THOROUGHBREDS (Fillies & Mares)

Rodeyna (QA), Mohammed Ghazali, Khalid Al Balushi

THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 4)

Roman Legend (IRE), Gassim Ghazali, JP Guillambert

THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 3)

Catch A Wave (IRE), Deborah Amanda Clare Mountain,

Alberto Sanna

PUREBRED ARABIAN HANDICAP

Ghannam (QA), Wasim Al Sahn, Alberto Sanna

Britain’s Peaty wins ticket to Tokyo Olympics

REUTERS – LONDON

Britain’s world and Olympic 100 metres breaststroke champion Adam Peaty said he was hopeful the delayed Tokyo Games would go ahead after his place on the plane was confirmed by Team GB yesterday.

The 26-year-old, who is also the 100m world record holder, was the first British athlete to win gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, his Olympic debut.

Peaty was one of four swimmers named on an initial short-list, the others being double Olympic relay silver medallist Duncan Scott and Olympic first timers James Wilby and Luke Greenbank.

Others will be confirmed after the British championships scheduled to take place in London in April, with possible addi-tional discretionary selections in June.

“I’m very happy to make the Olympic team. It’s always a huge pride and honour to represent my country in what I do best,” said Peaty.

“There is a lot of work to do from now until then, but I’m very hopeful the Olympics will go ahead and it’ll see con-tinued success for Team GB.” Peaty has been able to train and compete despite the pandemic and smashed the 100m breast-stroke short course world record at the International Swimming League (ISL) finals in Budapest in November.

Some other Olympic hopefuls have had a tougher time, however. Team GB swimming leader Chris Spice said he felt ‘desperately sorry” for those whose training environments had been “compromised” as a result of the pandemic.

“We continue to work hard to ensure our current elite athlete group can train, but our thoughts are also with those who cannot access water at the moment,” he added.

“We are hoping that with the extension of the Olympic qualifying window we can, at least in part, alleviate some of their concerns.”

Marmi Cup: Thomas guides Al Shaqab Racing's Lauded to brilliant win Two new ATP 250 events

added to 2021 calendarREUTERS – LONDON

The men’s ATP Tour yesterday added two new ATP 250 events in Singapore and Spain to the 2021 calendar to increase playing opportunities that have been curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An indoor hardcourt event in Singapore will be held from Feb. 22-28, after the Australian Open ends on Feb. 21, while the second tournament, an outdoor clay event, will be played in Marbella from April 5-11, straight after the Miami Open.

The Hungarian Open claycourt tournament, which usually takes place in Budapest in April, will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, the hometown of current world number one Novak Djokovic.

This year’s U.S. men’s claycourt championships in Houston have been called off, however.

“The ATP continues to assess opportunities for additional single-year licenses to fill any gaps in the calendar and will com-municate any additions in due course,” the ATP said in a statement.

All other events in the 2021 calendar are unchanged, the ATP said, adding that it had increased the size of the main draw at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to 48 from the current 32.

Ducati sign up with MotoGP until end of 2026REUTERS – LONDON

Italian manufacturer Ducati announced yesterday its continu-ation in MotoGP until at least the end of the 2026 season.

Ducati won the top category with Australian Casey Stoner in 2007, ending a 32-year Japanese manufacturer domination of the sport.

The Bologna-based company also secured the MotoGP con-structors’ title last season following a 50 point deduction for Yamaha. Suzuki took the rider and team titles with Spaniard Joan Mir.

The factory Ducati team has a new lineup for 2021 with Aus-tralian Jack Miller and Italian Francesco Bagnaia.

Ronan Thomas guiding Lauded towards victory in the Marmi Cup.

Qatar's Frankis Carol Marzo attempts to score against Croatia during their IHF Handball World Championship Preliminary Round Group C match on Tuesday.

Ali Bin Khatam Al Mehshadi, Chairman of Al Gannas Society, posing for a photograph with the representatives ofLauded (GB) after Al Shaqab Racing's colt won the Marmi Cup, the feature event of the 27th race meeting at Al Rayyan Park yesterday.

REUTERS – MELBOURNE

Two more Australian Open players tested positive for COVID-19, an official said yesterday, as the government confirmed it would send the quarantine bill for the tour-nament to Tennis Australia’s desk.

Victoria state police minister Lisa Neville said two players and a non-playing Australian Open participant comprised three new infections reported yesterday.

A total of 10 people associated with the Grand Slam, including four players, have now tested positive for the virus.

The has been confusion over the exact numbers, with several test results later reclassified by author-ities as “viral shedding” from pre-vious infections.

The viral shedders are not contagious.

Neville said authorities were “very confident” one of the two new player infections was a case of viral shedding.

“Of the other two, it’s less clear that they’re shedding. That will be worked through, and that’s one player and one support person,” Neville told reporters.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said two players reported to have tested positive on Tuesday were also viral shedders.

More than 70 players and their entourage are confined to their hotel rooms for 14 days and unable to train for the Feb. 8-21 Australian Open after passengers on three charter flights returned positive tests.

Authorities have shelled out huge funds to fly over 1,200 players, coaches and officials on 17 charter flights to Australia to

put on the year’s first Grand Slam.Tennis Australia (TA) boss Tiley

told radio station 3AW quarantine costs may exceed A$40m, part of which would be covered by the state government of Victoria.

The huge expense and effort to fly in the players during the pan-demic has angered some Australians, with thousands of the country’s cit-izens stranded overseas due to travel restrictions.

Neville was adamant taxpayers would not be footing the bill for the quarantine costs, prompting TA to row back and issue a statement saying tournament organisers would pick up the tab.

A number of players have com-plained about the hard quarantine, raising concerns they may be at a disadvantage to better-prepared rivals.

Daniel Vallverdu, coach of three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, said organisers needed to give preferential treatment to players unable to train for two weeks.

Kazakh women’s world number 28 Yulia Putintseva complained again of mice in her quarantine hotel room. Police minister Neville promised more pest control but urged players not to feed the rodents.

AP – KOLKATA

Robbie Fowler is doing his best to keep his name and the sport of soccer in the news in cricket-mad India.

The legendary striker for Liverpool and former England international has made more headlines and waves since his arrival as a coach in the Indian Super League (ISL) than his more experienced counterparts on the subcontinent.

The 45 year-old Fowler, who scored over 180 goals for Liv-erpool, took over East Bengal in October and has taken fans of one of India’s biggest and oldest clubs for a roller-coaster ride so far.

On the field, after collecting just a single point from the opening five games, the Kolkata team is now unbeaten in seven matches to raise hopes of a top-four finish and a place in the playoff finals series.

Off it, Fowler has not missed an opportunity to make contro-versial points. The latest came after Monday’s 0-0 draw against Chennaiyin in which Fowler was less than happy about a first-half red card for Ajay Chhetri.

It was, Fowler said, just the latest in a long line of bad decisions.

“It is bordering on the dis-graceful, some of the decisions by the referee,” Fowler said on Indian television after the game.

“I am mentally exhausted because I am fighting battles with the referees every single game. It’s an absolute joke. We can’t keep doing this, having arguments with the referees as they are spoiling the game.”

Fowler declared that the next fixture, against Mumbai City, leader of the 11-team league that came into existence in 2014

and, in 2020, became India’s top tier, will be more of the same.

“We know what to expect as we won’t be getting any deci-sions again because that’s what it’s like. Some of the decisions are awful. I’m not calling them cheats or anything like that but it is bordering on the cheating for us and it’s not right.”

It is not the first time that Fowler, who had mixed results in his previous coaching spells in Thailand with Muangthong United and Brisbane Roar in Australia’s A-League, has made headlines for controversial comments.

After a 3-0 loss in the second game of the season to Mumbai, Fowler caused controversy in post-match comments about local players.

“We will coach the players because in all fairness few of them have probably never been coached before and that is what we are doing,” Fowler said. “We will try and make our Indian players better and that takes good coaching and I don’t think they had that in the years gone by."

He later said his remarks had been taken out of context.

United’s rise shows I’m the right man for the job, says Solskjaer

10 THURSDAY 21 JANUARY 2021SPORT

We will coach the players

because in all fairness few

of them have probably

never been coached before

and that is what we are

doing. We will try and

make our Indian players

better and that takes good

coaching and I don’t think

they had that in the years

gone by: Robbie Fowler

A total of 10 people associated

with the Grand Slam, including four

players, have now tested positive

for the virus.

More than 70 players and their

entourage are confined to their

hotel rooms for 14 days and

unable to train for the Feb. 8-21

Australian Open after passengers

on three charter flights returned

positive tests.

Leicester to go top with win over ChelseaAP – LONDON

Five years after achieving the unthinkable, Leicester is back atop the Premier League and making another improbable run at the title.

For big-spending Chelsea and its under-pressure manager, Frank Lampard, any ambitions of winning the league already appear to be dashed.

Leicester beat Chelsea 2-0 on Tuesday to jump above the two Manchester clubs, United and City, and reach the midway stage of its league campaign in first place.

Even if its latest time at the summit lasts just one night - City and United are both in action on Wednesday, after all - Leicester is showing it means business again. Just like in the 2015-16 season, when the team managed by Claudio Ranieri famously delivered one of the biggest underdog triumphs in sporting history to win the league at odds of 5,000-1.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said it was “still too early” to talk about his team as a title contender.

“We’re at the top of the league because we work hard, we’re not there by fluke,” said James Maddison, who scored Leicester’s second goal. “We’ll do our business in the back-ground, let them talk about Liv-erpool, Man United and Spurs, we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing.”

Wilfred Ndidi and Maddison scored in the first half as Leicester extended its unbeaten run in the league to six games, the last three all being wins.

Chelsea was carved open time and again at the King Power Stadium and fell to a fifth loss in its last eight games in the league, a run of results that leaves Lampard’s position pre-carious after the club’s spending spree of approaching $300 million ahead of this season.

“It intensified for me a while ago,” Lampard said. “Because the expectations at this club, whether they are right or wrong, are always high.

“It’s not my decision (about whether he’ll stay as manager). That’s something that will always be there.”

Lampard’s side dropped to eighth place, nine points behind Leicester, which is a point ahead of United.

“Yeah, I’m worried,” Lampard said. “From the form

we were in to get so quickly into the form that we are now in ... we should be better than that.

“It takes character to turn from that.”

As it stands, West Ham is heading into the second half of its Premier League campaign with just one senior striker.

Fortunately for manager David Moyes, that striker is in-form Michail Antonio.

Antonio scored a match-winning goal for the second time in four days, his 66th-minute volley earning West Ham a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion.

His winner against Burnley on Saturday came on his first league start since recovering from a hamstring problem, the latest fitness issue to affect an injury-prone player who was

one of the league’s best players after lockdown last summer.

If Moyes can keep Antonio fit - and that’s always a big if - it isn’t too fanciful to see West Ham remaining in the vicinity of its current position of seventh. West Ham sold its other senior striker, Sebastien Haller, to Ajax this month.

West Brom stayed in next-to-last place, five points from safety.

Southampton set up a fourth-round match at home to Arsenal in the FA Cup after beating third-tier Shrewsbury 2-0.

Goals by Dan N’Lundulu, one of the many fringe players who started for Southampton, and James Ward-Prowse guided the Saints to victory at its St. Mary’s Stadium.

Fowler takes Indian football to new levels of publicity

Two more AO players test positive for COVID-19Tennis players undergoing mandatory quarantine ahead of the Australian Open train in a restricted area in Melbourne, yesterday.

Don’t feed the mice, minister tells quarantined playersREUTERS – MELBOURNE

Australian Open players have been told not to feed mice at their quarantine hotel in Melbourne after world number 28 Yulia Putintseva complained she could not sleep for the rodents scurrying around her room.

The Kazak swapped rooms earlier this week after finding a mouse but said her new room was also infested. She shared a video of a mouse jumping out from behind a closet on social media.

Victoria state police minister Lisa Neville said yesterday authorities would take care of pest control but suggested there might be more to the story.

“As I understand there may have been some feeding going on,” she told reporters, without revealing the source of her information.

“I’d just encourage them to minimise inter-action with the mice, we will keep doing pest control if we need to, but hopefully that pest control work that was done this week will have fixed the problem.” More than 70 players and their entourages are confined to their hotel rooms for 14 days and unable to train for the Feb. 8-21 Australian Open after passengers on three charter flights returned positive tests for the novel coronavirus.

Putintseva said her new room had more mice than the old one. She added that reception had told her the hotel was full and that they could not help her. “Its a joke,” she said.

A number of players have complained about the conditions, drawing a fierce backlash from Australians, with thousands of the nation’s cit-izens remaining stranded overseas due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. However, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley on Tuesday said “the vast majority” of players were supportive of the strict protocols.

Manchester United

manager Ole Gunnar

Solskjaer.

REUTERS – MANCHESTER

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said their improvement this season has shown he is the right man for the job and urged his players to maintain the momentum in the Premier League title race.

Solskjaer has faced heavy crit-icism during his two years in charge but the Norwegian appears to have turned the club around, guiding them to the top of the table with a 12-game unbeaten run in the league before Leicester City moved above them on Tuesday.

“Hopefully I have proved I can help the club going forwards,”

Solskjaer told reporters ahead of yesterday’s league clash against Fulham.

“Personally I have felt very strong backing and leadership from the club, which has made the journey that we’ve been on -- ups and downs -- clear.” At the halfway stage of the campaign, Solskjaer said United must not take their foot off the pedal.

“It is not about getting there once -- that is the easy bit to go up the league,” he added.

“Staying there is the challenge and that is the challenge we are looking forward to -- focusing on every game and building this squad and hope that in the end we can lift the trophy.”

Former Liverpool striker Robbie

Fowler.

Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi scores their first goal against Chelsea at King Power Stadium, Leicester, Britain, on Tuesday.

09THURSDAY 21 JANUARY 2021 SPORT

West Indies innings

Sunil Ambris lbw b Mustafizur ........................ 7

Joshua Da Silva c Liton b Mustafizur ..............9

Andre McCarthy b Shakib ............................... 12

Jason Mohammed st Mushfiqur b Shakib .... 17

Kyle Mayers c Liton b Mehidy ....................... 40

Nkrumah Bonner lbw b Shakib .......................0

Rovman Powell c Mushfiqur b Hasan ..........28

Raymon Reifer lbw b Hasan ............................0

Alzarri Joseph b Shakib ....................................4

Akeal Hosein c Liton b Hasan ...........................1

Chemar Holder not out .....................................0

Extras (lb 3, w 1) ..............................................4

Total (all out; 32.2 overs) .....................122

Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Ambris), 2-24 (Da Silva), 3-45

(McCarthy), 4- 56 (Mohammed), 5-56 (Bonner),

6-115 (Powell), 7-115 (Reifer), 8-121 (Mayers), 9-122

(Akeal Hosein), 10-122 (Alzarri)

Bowling: Rubel 6-0-34-0, Mustafizur 6-0-20-2

(w1), Hasan 6-1-28-3, Shakib 7.2-2-8-4, Mehidy 7-1-

29-1

Bangladesh innings

Liton Das b Akeal ............................................ 14

Tamim Iqbal c Da Silva b Mohammed ......... 44

Najmul Hossain c Mohammed b Akeal ...........1

Shakib Al Hasan b ............................................ 19

Mushfiqur Rahim not out ............................... 19

Mahmudullah Riyad not out ............................9

Extras (b 2, lb 10, w 4, nb 3) ....................... 19

Total (four wickets; 33.5 overs) .......125

Did not bat: Soumya Sarkar, Mehidy Hasan, Hasan

Mahmud, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

Fall of wickets: 1-47 (Liton), 2-57 (Najmul), 3-83

(Tamim), 4-105 ( Shakib)

Bowling: Joseph 8-3-17-0 (w3), Holder 3-0-26-0

(nb2), Akeal 10-1-26-3 (w1), Mohammed 8-0-19-1,

McCarthy 2-0-10-0, Bonner 2.5-0-15-0 (nb1)

Result: Bangladesh win by six wickets

Toss: Bangladesh

Umpire: Sharfuddoula Saikat ( BAN), Masudur Rah-

man (BAN)

TV Umpire: Gazi Sohel (BAN)

SCOREBOARDStand-in captain Rahane was always thinking of a victoryAP — BRISBANE

Against all odds, interim captain Ajinkya Rahane managed to lead an injury-affected India to victory in the fourth cricket Test and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India was forced to make four changes for the series finale after salvaging a draw in Sydney, and a draw in Brisbane would have been good enough to retain the trophy.

Turns out Rahane had a plan for victory all along.

“We knew if we wanted to win the Test and series then five bowlers would be the key,” Rahane said.

“That’s why we opted for five bowlers. Washington Sundar got that balance for us. Mohammed Siraj had played two Test matches, (Navdeep) Saini one, (Shardul) Thakur one, Natarajan also on debut. All credit to them.”

India’s bowling attack was

decimated by the loss of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin, who could easily have been chosen as man of the series ahead of Pat Cummins if he played the final Test.

But debutants Sundar and Thangarasu Natarajan played key roles at the Gabba, while recalled paceman Thakur starred with bat and ball, top-scoring for India in the first innings with 67 runs and taking seven match wickets.

Rahane also praised Rishabh Pant’s match-winning total of 89 not out. Pant’s pro-motion to No. 5 in the order was a clear signal of India’s intention to complete a venue-record

chase of 328, rather than bat for a draw.

“Rishabh was brilliant,” Rahane said.

“I don’t know how to describe this victory. I’m just proud of all the boys, each and every individual showed character.”

A captain’s century from Rahane for an eight-wicket win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, after the visitors lost by eight wickets in the day-night Test at Adelaide, started the series comeback.

India lost regular captain Virat Kohli, who returned to India for the Jan. 11 birth of his daughter, and Mohammed

Shami with a broken right arm, after being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide, India’s lowest ever total.

“After Adelaide, we didn’t discuss anything about what happened in Adelaide,” Rahane said.

“We decided we would fight very hard, we just wanted to give our best and not think about the result. We just wanted to express ourselves as a team.”

Next up for India is a four-Test home series against England beginning February 5 in Chennai, when Kohli, who has been named in India’s squad for the series, will return to the captaincy.

India’s Ajinkya Rahane (left) celebrates after reaching his century as his team-mate Ravindra Jadeja looks on during day two of the second Test match between Australia and India in Melbourne, in this file photo.

Egos bruised, beaten Australia ponder next stepREUTERS — MELBOURNE

While Australia emerged with few injuries from the epic Test series against India, the players’ egos suffered heavily in defeat and may take time to recover from their bruising.

Pace spearhead Mitchell Starc will head to Sydney for scans on his right hamstring, while opening batsmen David Warner (groin) and Will Pucovski (shoulder) will look to recover from their injury issues before the yet-to-be-confirmed tour of South Africa next month.

Other players will return to their teams in the domestic Big Bash League but their welcome will be muted compared to a year ago, when they arrived as

winners after whitewashing Pakistan and N e w Zealand in successive

T e s t series.

T h e 2-1 series

defeat to A j i n k y a

Rahane’s India, a side stitched together with debutants and net bowlers by the time of the Brisbane finale, hammered home an uncomfortable truth for home fans: Australia are simply not as good as they

thought.“I’m quite shocked that Aus-

tralia weren’t quite good enough to win this series,” former captain Ricky Ponting

said on a Cricket Aus-tralia website in the

wake of the three-wicket defeat in the Gabba decider.

“The cold hard facts of it are pretty much that was the India A team that played this Test match and

(India) still won. “That’s a real concern

for Australia.”

Pundits tipped a whitewash for Tim Paine’s side after they bowled India out for 36 in winning the Adelaide opener.

Yet Australia ended up embarrassed after their vaunted attack proved incapable of dis-missing India twice in Sydney and Brisbane, despite ample time to do so on fifth-day pitches.

Questions will be asked about selectors’ faith in Starc after the left-armer managed only 11 wickets at an average of over 40.

Spinner Nathan Lyon also had a forgettable series, with his 100th Test at the Gabba spoiled. He finished with nine wickets at an average of 55.11 and fell one short of 400 Test victims.

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith topped the batting in the series but had little help from the other specialist batsmen. Selectors have a

middle order problem, having dropped Travis Head mid-series and got little out of Matthew Wade.

Paine’s captaincy is also under scrutiny but there are no credible alternatives.

The selectors remain uncomfortable about rein-stating former captain Smith, who fell from grace during the

Newlands ball-tampering scandal.

For all their problems, team Australia did not leave the series empty-handed. Young all-rounder Cameron Green showed plenty of promise with the bat, if not yet the ball.

A late arrival due to con-cussion, Pucovski shone with a half-century on debut in the Sydney Test before injury struck again.

Australia have always proved quick to regenerate and tend to rebound quickly when their pride has been stung.

“My message to our players will be that we’ve got another opportunity in a month or so’s time,” said Paine.

“We learn from our errors and our mistakes in this series and we look to get better in the next one.”

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Shakib returns with 4-8 as Bangladesh defeat West IndiesAP — DHAKA

Shakib Al Hasan (pictured) claimed 4-8 on his return to international cricket as Bang-ladesh made a winning start to the three-match ODI series by beating West Indies by six wickets in the opening game yesterday.

All-rounder Shakib was back after being given a two-year ban by the International Cricket Council in October 2019, with one year suspended, for failing to report approaches from a bookmaker.

Thanks to his wily left-arm spin, Bangladesh bowled the tourists out for 122 in 32.3 overs before reaching 125-4 with 97 balls to spare in reply.

Debutant Hasan Mahmud and fellow fast bowler Mus-tafizur Rahman also played key roles for the home team, taking 3-28 and 2-20 respectively.

Rain held the players up for about an hour after Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal won the toss and asked West Indies, fea-turing six ODI debutants, to bat.

Shakib, in his first game for Bangladesh since the 2019 World Cup, bowled seven overs in a row and ripped through the middle order as West Indies lost three wickets for 11 runs.

Debutant Kyle Mayers and Rovman Powell, who hit two sixes, provided some resistance with a partnership of 59 for the sixth wicket.

Mahmud picked up his first wicket by having Powell caught behind for 28 and fol-lowed up by trapping Raymon Reifer lbw for naught with his next ball.

Mayers top-scored with 40 before being undone by a Mehidi Hasan delivery that spun sharply.

Tamim, captaining the side for the first time after b e i n g a p p o i n t e d last March, then gave Bangladesh a flying start to its reply by hitting 44 b e f o r e b e i n g stumped off West I n d i e s

captain Jason Mohammed. Leg-spinner Akeal Hosein also clean bowled Tamim’s fellow opener Liton Das for 14 to claim his first wicket on his debut.

But Mushfiqur Rahim, who finished 19 not out, ensured victory with a reverse-swept boundary past third man. Hosein finished with 3-26 from his 10 overs.

It was Bangladesh’s first match after a nine-month layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The series is part of the ICC World Cup Super League which will determine which teams qualify for the 2023 World Cup in India.

A host of West Indies players, including ODI captain Keiron Pollard and Test captain Jason Holder, have skipped the tour.

The squad was also affected when fast bowler Romario Shepherd and leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr., Tested pos-

itive for COVID-19.The teams

p l a y t h e remaining ODIs on Friday and Monday, fol-lowed by two Test matches in

February.

rovided some resistance partnership of 59 for the

wicket.hmud picked up his first t by having Powellbehind for 28 and fol-

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All-rounder Shakib was back

after being given a two-year

ban by the International

Cricket Council in October

2019, with one year

suspended, for failing to

report approaches from a

bookmaker.

South Africa rest leading players for Pakistan T20 seriesREUTERS — CAPE TOWN

South Africa have selected a much-changed squad for their three-match Twenty20 series in Pakistan to allow members of the Test side to prepare for a home series against Australia that is scheduled to start in April.

The T20 matches will be played from February 11-14 in Lahore and will feature very few of South Africa’s leading players in the format, with the likes of Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje all returning home after the two-match test series.

The squad will instead be captained for the first time by Heinrich Klaasen, with uncapped seamer Okuhle Cele, wicket-keeper Ryan Rickleton and batsman Jacques Snyman all included.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has com-pelled sporting bodies to find innovative ways of ensuring tours and sporting events take place as planned or with as little dis-ruption to revised plans as possible,” South Africa director of cricket Graeme Smith said in a media release on Tuesday.

“We are not exempt from that, and have had to do a bit of outside-of-the-box thinking to ensure that we are fully pre-pared for a home test tour against Australia, while having an exciting T20 series to com-plete in Pakistan.”

Heinrich Klaasen (captain), Nandre Burger, Okuhle Cele, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, George Linde, Janneman Malan, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Ryan Rickle-ton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, Jon-Jon Smuts, Pite van Biljon, Glenton Stuurman, Jacques Snyman

SOUTH AFRICA SQUAD

England's Joot Root in action during nets ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka, yesterday.

Rajasthan release captain SmithREUTERS — MUMBAI

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals have released captain Steve Smith ahead of the 2021 IPL auction, the team said yesterday.

The Australian is one of eight players released by Rajasthan and will be replaced as skipper by wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson.

The Royals retained the England trio of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Jofra Archer, while West Indies quick Oshane Thomas and Englishman Tom Curran have also been released.

Smith played all 14 league matches in last

season’s IPL, scoring 311 runs at a strike rate of 131, including three half-cen-turies, but the Royals fin-ished last in the eight-team league.

“We would like to thank all of the players for their effort through the course of the previous seasons, and for always maintaining the Rajasthan Royals values,” the team’s lead owner Manoj Badale said in a statement.

“I would especially like to thank Steve Smith for everything that he has done as a leader and captain of the Royals. His contribution on the field and his contribution off the field... has been immense.”

Elsewhere, Royal Challengers Bangalore released Australia’s lim-ited-overs skipper Aaron Finch and England all-rounder Moeen Ali.

Finch, 34, scored 268 runs, including a half-century, in 12 matches last season, while Moeen scored 12 runs and bagged one wicket in three games.

Kings XI Punjab released Australia’s Glenn Maxwell after the all-rounder scored 108 runs and picked up three wickets in 13 games last season.

The Punjab franchise also let go of West Indies bowler Sheldon Cottrell and New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham.

08THURSDAY 21 JANUARY 2021SportMitchell scores 28 as Jazz register sixth straight win AP — SALT LAKE CITY

Donovan Mitchell had 28 points and seven rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the New Orleans Pelicans 118-102 for their sixth straight victory.

Mitchell also made four of Utah’s 21 3-pointers. Jordan Clarkson added 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and reserve Joe Ingles scored 15 points. Rudy Gobert had 13 points, 18 rebounds, and three blocks.

“The biggest thing is we’re shooting our shots,” Mitchell said.

“We’re not passing up 3s.” Improved defensive play has keyed Utah’s surge on the perimeter, and it continued against New Orleans. The Jazz disrupted shots, crashed the boards, and sprinted up the court on numerous possessions to stay a step ahead of the Pelicans.

“Defending creates those shots and defending keeps us in the game if they’re not going in,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder

said. Zion Williamson scored 32 points for New Orleans, and Brandon Ingram had 17. The Pelicans trailed the entire second half after allowing the Jazz to make more than 20 3-pointers for the fourth time in six games.

“We couldn’t stop them on anything,” New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy said.

“Obviously what stands out is the 21 3s. But they also didn’t have any trouble getting to the rim. So, you know, they got whatever they wanted we didn’t take anything away from them.” Williamson gave the Pelicans an early lift in the first half. He converted all five of his

first-quarter field goal attempts and capped a 7-0 run with a layup that put New Orleans up 20-18.

Mitchell matched his effi-ciency. He powered the Jazz offense in the first quarter, scoring 15 points while going 6 for 7 from the field. He con-verted a three-point play to punctuate an 11-2 run that gave Utah a 29-22 lead.

Mitchell also had a key stretch in the second quarter. He scored and threw a one-handed wraparound pass as he was falling out of bounds out to Bojan Bogdanovic to set up another basket. The two plays bumped Utah back in front

55-49 before halftime. The Jazz carried that momentum into the third quarter. Utah made 3-pointers on four straight pos-sessions to extend its lead to 73-55.

Utah made eight total 3-pointers during the quarter. Clarkson and Ingles scored the final two on back-to-back pos-sessions to push the Jazz lead to 91-69 heading into the fourth quarter.

“They continued to put the pressure on us, breaking us down on the defensive end with their driving and kicking in,” Ingram said.

“That’s usually just how they play."

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell goes to the basket past New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball (2) during the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

Mitchell also made four of

Utah’s 21 3-pointers. Jordan

Clarkson added 18 points, six

rebounds, and six assists, and

reserve Joe Ingles scored 15

points. Rudy Gobert had 13

points, 18 rebounds, and three

blocks.

Woods to miss at least two events after fifth back surgery of careerREUTERS — NEW YORK

F i f t e e n - t i m e m a j o r champion Tiger Woods (pictured) is going to miss time after he underwent the fifth back surgery of his career.

Woods announced the surgery via a statement on Twitter.

“Tiger has recently undergone a microdiscectomy procedure to remove a pres-surized disc fragment that was pinching his nerve after expe-riencing discomfort following the PNC Championship (in December),” the statement read.

“His doctors and their team have determined it to be successful and expect him to make a full recovery.”

The PNC Championship was a 36-hole event that Woods played with his 11-year-old son, Charlie.

Woods’ statement also said he would be missing the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines (South) in San Diego on Jan. 28-31, a n d The Genesis Invitational at The Rivier-

Country Club in Pacific Pal-isades, Cali-fornia, Feb-ruary 18-21. W o o d s ,

however, expects to still serve as tournament host at The Genesis.

Woods could miss more than two months, but he is hopeful he can return for The Masters in April, according to Golf Digest.

The 45-year-old Woods last underwent a back pro-cedure when he had spinal-fusion surgery in April 2017. He also had microdiscectomy surgery three times in 2014 and 2015. He played just one event from August 2015 through December 2017 because of his back issues.

A holder of 82 PGA Tour victories, Woods tied for ninth at the Farmers to start 2020, but struggled to contend the rest of the summer. He finished tied for 38th at The Masters in November.

to make a full recovery.The PNC Championship

was a 36-hole event thatWoods played with his11-year-old son, Charlie.

Woods’ statement also said he would be missing theFarmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines (South) in San Diego on Jan. 28-31, a n d The Genesis Invitationalat The Rivier-

CountryClub in Pacific Pal-isades, Cali-fornia, Feb-ruary 18-21. W o o d s ,

summer. He finished tied for38th at The Masters in November.

Rory McIlroy hoping for ‘close to normal’ Ryder Cup in September

REUTERS — LONDON

Rory McIlroy (pictured) said he is hopeful that a near-capacity crowd will be able to attend the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in September.

McIlroy said organisers had made the right call by deciding not to stage the event without fans last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m excited for the Ryder Cup,” McIlroy told the European Tour’s website.

“Hopefully, with how the vaccine is being rolled out, we are starting to see some light at the end the tunnel with this pandemic.

“It may not be the full, full capacity that a R y d e r C u p usually is, but hopefully it will be very close to what a

normal Ryder Cup is and I am excited for that.”

McIlroy, who is playing at the Abu Dhabi Champi-onship this week, said he was in a good frame of mind.

“I’m raring to go after the Christmas break, I’ve done some good practice and you come into the new season with renewed optimism and a lot of goals,” McIlroy said. “I guess that has translated into some good golf here.

“I keep getting myself into contention and someone

goes out and has a really good Sunday but I

need to take the initiative and have one of those really good Sundays myself to get over the line.”

The Ryder Cup will be held from

S e p t e m b e r 24-26.

“Hopefully, with how the vaccine is being rolled out, we are starting to seesome light atthe end thetunnel with this pandemic.

“It may notbe the full, fullcapacity that a R y d e r C u p usually is, buthopefully it will be very close towhat a

good Sunday but I need to take the initiative and have one of those really good Sundays myself to get over the line.”

The Ryder Cup will be held from

S e p t e m b e r24-26.

Penguins edge Caps on Sidney Crosby’s goalREUTERS — TORONTO

Sidney Crosby swept in a rebound 1:11 into overtime for his third point as the Pittsburgh Penguins overcame a pair of two-goal deficits to top the visiting Washington Capitals 5-4.

Crosby notched the 17th OT tally of his career, tying Ilya Kovalchuk for third in NHL history. He trails only Alex Ovechkin (23) and Jaromir Jagr (19).

Pittsburgh won consecutive games between the clubs in Pittsburgh, the first a 4-3 decision in a shootout Sunday.

Jake Guentzel and Teddy Blueger each had a goal and an assist while Colton Sceviour and Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Penguins. Kris Letang and Crosby each had two assists.

Pittsburgh goaltender Casey

DeSmith made 22 saves and picked up his first career assist.

Tom Wilson scored twice,

Lars Eller and Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored, and Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves

for Washington. The Penguins played the scoreless third period with four defensemen after Marcus Pettersson and Juuso Riikola got hurt.

Eller opened the scoring off the rush, putting a shot over DeSmith’s glove for a 1-0 Cap-itals lead at 4:55 of the first.

Pittsburgh tied it at 16:52 of the first when Kasperi Kapanen, in his Penguins debut, blew into the Washington zone. Sceviour scored on the rebound of Kap-anen’s shot.

Six seconds later, Wilson put the Capitals up 2-1 with a shot that popped off DeSmith’s shoulder.

Wilson struck again with 16.3 seconds left in the first when he drove to the net and converted a pass from the left-wing boards by John Carlson to make it 3-1.

Pittsburgh’s special teams had a special second period,

logging a five-on-three goal, a three-on-five short-handed goal and a conventional man-advantage goal.

The sequence started with Guentzel, who swept the puck past Vanecek after a pass across the top of the crease from Bryan Rust while the Penguins had a two-man advantage to cut it to 3-2 at 5:45.

Kuznetsov scored off a rebound of a shot by Daniel Sprong to restore Washington’s two-goal edge, 4-2, at 8:16.

With the Capitals on a two-man advantage, DeSmith lobbed a clearing pass into the neutral zone, springing Blueger on a breakaway.

Blueger put the puck under Vanecek’s pads at 15:07 to make it 4-3.

The Penguins tied it on Mal-kin’s slapshot from the top of the right circle during a power play at 17:15.

Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby (left) celebrates his game winning goal in overtime with defenseman Kris Letang.

New Falcons coach excited to work with Matt RyanREUTERS — LOS ANGELES

Taking over as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Smith knows one person he can rely on for stability: quar-terback Matt Ryan.

After sparking quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s career as offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans the past two seasons, Smith now gets to work with a former NFL Most Valuable Player at QB.

“(Matt) is a great leader and obviously there’s a lot of things he can do, but I don’t get into comparisons because we did something with Ryan,” Smith told AtlantaFalcons.com on Tuesday.

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to do the same things with Matt.

“We’re going to play to Matt’s strengths just like we tried to play to Ryan’s strengths.”

Ryan, 35, is coming off a season in which he led the NFL in pass attempts (626) and completions (407) while throwing for 4,581 yards, which ranked fourth in the league.

He fired 26 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

As for how the rest of the roster will shake out, Smith said, “We’re going to con-stantly look to innovate and adapt, regardless of who are personnel is,” Smith said.

“We’re going to play to the strengths of the team, and we’re going to be flexible. But we’re going to do it in all three phases. And we’re going to have guys that are great team-mates and understand how to adapt week to week....

“We’re going to look for guys that are great teammates and we’re going to hold our best players accountable. And so whether that’s Matt or Grady Jarrett, they are all going to be held to the same standard.”

Smith will be part of a new power structure in Atlanta, teaming with newly hired general manager Terry Fontenot.

“We share the same vision,” Smith said.

Asher-Smith takes on Swoboda, Del Ponte and Pinto in Karlsruhe

WORLD ATHLETICS — BERLIN

Almost three years since her last 60m race, world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith will line up for the short sprint at the Indoor Meeting Karl-sruhe, the first World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting of 2021, on January 29.

The 25-year-old has raced in Karlsruhe on three previous occasions, winning in 2015, placing third in 2016 and fin-ishing second in 2017. She set her lifetime best of 7.08 when finishing second at the 2015 European Indoor Champion-ships in Prague, and she matched that time in Glasgow in 2018 in what was her most recent indoor appearance.

Later that year she went on to win gold medals in the 100m,

200m and 4x100m at the European Championships in Berlin. Along with her 200m gold medal in Doha, she also earned silver medals in the 100m and 4x100m.

Asher-Smith’s opponents in Karlsruhe will include European indoor champion Ewa Swoboda of Poland, Ajla del Ponte of Switzerland and Tatjana Pinto of Germany.

Swoboda won in Karlsruhe in 2019 en route to taking the overall 60m title in that year’s World Athletics Indoor Tour. She set her lifetime best of 7.07 as a teenager in 2016, breaking

the world U20 record in the process. Her 7.08 clocking in Karlsruhe in 2019 was just 0.04 shy of the meeting record.

Del Ponte opened her 2020 campaign with a second-place finish in Karlsruhe and went on to enjoy a breakthrough season outdoors, winning at the Diamond League meetings in Monaco and Stockholm.

Pinto won in Karlsruhe in 2018 with 7.10.

Two weeks later, she clocked a lifetime best of 7.06, which makes her the fastest woman in the field for this year’s race.

Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith poses as she celebrates after winning the women’s 200m race at Diamond League in Doha, in this May 3, 2019 file photo.

World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold29 Jan – Karlsruhe,

Germany9 Feb – Lievin, France13 Feb – Boston, USA

17 Feb – Torun, Poland24 Feb – Madrid, Spain