THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Asian champions Qatar yesterday mounted a remarkable comeback to beat Argentina 26:24 in their last main round clash at the IHF World Championship in Cairo, Egypt.

Qatar at one stage were 8-13 down before Al Annabi staged a brilliant fightback. The first period ended 13:12 in Argentina’s favour, though the score didn’t reflect the domi-nance of the Argentineans who lost footing towards the end of the period with Qatar recov-ering four goals in the final four minutes.

The second period saw the Qatari side upended their South American opponents who needed just a win to progress to the quarter-finals, as Frankis Marzo’s goalscoring exploits made the difference..

Marzo scored 8 goals to bag Player of the Match award.

Also yesterday, Japan bowed out of the Champi-onship after defeating Bahrain 29:25.

The first period ended with Japan leading their Asian coun-terparts 19:12, with Jin Watanabe scoring six goals and at the other end of the court, keeper Yuta Iwashita saved nine goals to help set the tone

for the tie. Japan kept up the heat on the Bahraini side throughout the period, with the western Asian side not putting up much of a challenge to Japan's superiority although they did narrow the deficit.

Japan’s Tatsuki Yoshino, who scored 9 goals was chosen as Player of the Match.

With this result, Japan fin-ishes fifth in Group II ensuring

a 17th-20th place finish, while Bahrain sit at the bottom of the group and stand to finish any-where between 21st and 24th.

Elsewhere, in Group 1, Spain defeated Hungary 36:28 in their final match of main round at New Capital Sports Hall, Cairo.

Spain and Hungary both have booked their places in the quarter-finals.

The La Roja Furia domi-nated the first period of the game against Hungary with a 21:14 lead.

Spain continued their superb show in the second period as they finished the game with 36:28 victory over Hungary.

Spanish goalkeeper Gonzalo Perez De Vargas claimed the Player of the Match Award after

a superb performance during the game.

Hungary are placed second in Group I ranking with 8 points, while Spain snatched the group’s lead with 9 points after Monday’s victory.

Spain will face Norway in the quarter-finals of the World Championship after the latter placed second in Group III of the main round, while Hungary

will play against France. Spain started their mission in the main round of Egypt 2021 in a high level, beating Germany 32:28, Uruguay 38:23 before claiming a deserved victory over Hungary.

The Magyars defeated Brazil 29:23 in the first game at the main round, before beating Poland 30:26 but they lost to the group’s leaders Spain in the final game at the main round.

Meanwhile, Brazil defeated Uruguay 37:17 in their last match in Group I.

Despite losing hopes to march on in the World Cham-pionship, the Brazilians domi-nated the first period of the game against Uruguay with a 18:7 lead.

Brazil continued putting on their superb show in the second period as they finished the game with 37:17 victory over Uruguay.

Brazil’s pivot Rogerio Moraes claimed the ‘Player of the Match Award’ after a superb performance during the game, scoring 5 goals.

Brazil stayed in the 5th place of Group I ranking with three points and will be ranked between 17th and 20th overall, while Uruguay cemented in the bottom with no points, and will be ranked between 21st and 24th.

IHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Argentina 25-26 Qatar; Bahrain 25-29 Japan; Tunisia 34-29 Angola; Brazil 37-17 Uruguay; Spain 36-28 Hungary

TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2021

Captain Babar Azam hopes to counter tough Proteas in own conditionsI missed the series against New Zealand, but it’s a proud moment for me that I am doing my captaincy debut in my own country. South Africa is a good team. You can’t take them lightly, but conditions suit us more because most of us have played here.

Sport |09Pakistan captain Babar Azam

Sport

Al Kuwari eyes second victory at Qatar RallyTHE PENINSULA – DOHA

Abdulaziz Al Kuwari will be looking to put himself in con-tention to win the Qatar Inter-national Rally for a second time when the opening round of the 2021 FIA Middle East Rally Championship gets underway at Katara on Friday evening.

The 41-year-old Doha-based driver has taken a relative back seat from international competition in the last few years, but backing from the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) leaves the 2012 Qatar International Rally winner hopeful that he can chal-lenge for outright success over the 11 gravel special stages of the series opener.

Al Kuwari will drive a Tok-sport WRT-prepared Škoda Fabia R5 Evo alongside new Irish co-driver James Fulton. His new team-mate will be making his first appearance in the MERC, although the 29-year-old has taken part in numerous FIA European Rally Championship and Irish events with the likes of Callum Devine. He also com-peted in WRC Rally Mexico and won the Michigan-based Sno*Drift Rally outright last year with Barry McKenna.

“I am very happy to be back in the rally car and participating in the Qatar Rally, which is a special event for me," said Al Kuwari.

“I won it in 2012 in the Mini Cooper and that was my first win in the Middle East Champi-onship. It will not be easy this time. I am not the same driver I was at that time, because I stopped racing from 2012 for three or four years in general. I did some rallies, but I stopped a full programme.

“So I lost a lot of my pace but, hopefully, it will not take me a long time to be back and to be fast again. I was second overall (behind Nasser

Saleh Al Attiyah) in 2019. I am sure the stages will be nice. The type of stages around Al Khor are good and not as rough as some of the stages we have used before.

“I also welcome my new co-driver James Fulton from Ireland. I am sure he will enjoy the events a lot in the Middle East. I also thank Marshall Clarke for the past years that he co-drove me. I was very happy with him. This time he could not do the rally because of the travel restrictions and Covid-19. I hope we work together again soon,"Al Kuwari said.

“The entry list is very strong, especially with Kris Meeke in the rally. It is good for the compe-tition and good for the Middle East. For me, he is one of the best three drivers around the world. Sometimes he has been unlucky, that’s all. He is a top driver, very fast and sometimes even the fastest. With Nasser and Khalid Al Suwaidi, I think we will enjoy the competition a lot. Thanks to QMMF for giving me the oppor-tunity to drive again and I wish everyone a safe rally.”

Al Kuwari’s victory in Qatar marked the only success in the MERC for the Prodrive-built Mini John Cooper Works S2000. After that win, the Qatari made his FIA World Rally Cham-p i o n s h i p debut at the A c r o p o l i s

Rally in Greece in 2012. He scored a point for finishing 10th overall and became only the second driver after Sébastien Ogier (Mexico 2008) to score points on his WRC debut. He also finished 10th in Australia and Spain in 2013 and a career-best seventh in Argentina in 2015.

Al Kuwari tackled the WRC 2 section of the FIA World Rally Championship for four seasons (2013-2016). He finished second in the championship in 2013, after taking category victories in Mexico, Argentina and Aus-tralia, and won again in Argentina in 2015 to add to third-placed finishes in Australia (2015) and Argentina (2016).

His return to the hot seat in 2019 with the Škoda Fabia R5 incorporated second overall in both the Qatar and Jordan rallies, eighth in Cyprus and a pair of fifth places at the Rallye Terre de Langres in France and the Rallye de Tierra Ciudad de Astorga in Spain.

It isn’t just Al Attiyah, Meeke and Al Suwaidi who will be chal-lenging Al Kuwari hard for out-right honours in Qatar. The local duo of Nasser Khalifa Al Atya and Sheikh Suhaim Al Thani will drive their respective R5 ver-sions of the Ford Fiesta and Škoda Fabia and young Omani Abdullah Al Rawahi - last year’s championship runner-up behind Al Attiyah - has a Ford Fiesta R5 at his disposal.

This weekend’s Qatar Inter-national Rally will be held under

the chairmanship of QMMF President Abdulrahman

Al Mannai, senior com-m i t t e e m e m b e r Abdulrazaq Al Kuwari and the QMMF’s E x ec u t i ve D i r e c t o r Amro Al Hamad.

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Gutsy Qatar beat Argentina in thriller

Qatar players celebrate after defeating Argentina in their final match of the

Main Round of IHF Handball World Championship, in Cairo yesterday. TOP:

Player of the Match, Qatar's Frankis Marzo celebrates with team-mates.

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

New signing Michael Olunga fired a hat-trick on his Amir Cup debut as former champions Al Duhail yesterday scored three goals in each half to crush Al Ahli 6-0 and cruise into the quarter-finals of the country’s most popular tournament at Grand Hamad Stadium.

Also yesterday, Second Division side Al Shamal stunned Qatar SC (5-4) on penalties after a 2-2 draw, while Al Kharaitiyat edged Al Wakrah 2-1 to book their last-8 spots.

Kenyan striker Olunga, who joined Al Duhail from Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol, continued his last season’s performance that gave him Golden Boot in J-League to send Nebojsa Jovovic-coached Al Ahli packing. Edmilson Junior was also in out-standing form for Al Duhail yes-terday, scoring two goals while assisting Olunga twice.

Olunga, opened his account by converting a penalty in the 6th minute before scoring his second goal in 42nd minute from an assist by Edmilson Junior. The 6’4” inch tall striker completed his hat-trick by netting a goal in 68th minute, again assisted by Edmilson, who scored his goals in 21st and 90th minutes.

Luiz Junior, who found target in 77th minute was other scorer for the ‘Red Knights’ who dominated the Round of 16 clash with 55 per cent of ball possession.

At the Qatar SC Stadium yes-terday, underdogs Al Shamal put up a gallant fight to defeat hosts Qatar SC, who made exit in the Round of 16 for the second con-secutive year in the tournament after their defeat to Al Ahli last year.

Al Shamal, the runners-up in Qatari Second Division League, stunned Younis Ali-coached Qatar SC with a 5th minute goal through Ivory Coast’s Yannick Sagbo. After dominating the proceedings, ‘The Kings’ struck an equaliser through Khaled Mansour with four minutes left in the first half.

Qatar SC’s aggressive approach paid off with Algerian winger Youssef Belaïli handing them a lead at an hour-mark after Al Shamal were reduced to 10 men following a red card to Jeremy de Nooijer in the 55th minute. But Al Shamal bounced

back in the sea-saw contest with Sagbo scoring his second goal in the 67th minute to level the score, pushing the knockout clash to tie-breaker.

Nothing separated the two sides in the penalties too until Ahmed Fadhil Hesaba struck goal post against diving goal-keeper Babacar Seck, leaving Al Shamal in jubilation.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Osman scored the winner for Al Kharaitiyat in the 85th minute as Al Wakrah made early exit in the tournament after taking a lead. Abdennour Belhocini scored for Al Wakrah in the 44th minute, with Rachid Tiberkanine levelling the score for Al Kharaitiyat with a spot kick in 55th minute before Osman secured victory.

In today’s matches, defending champions Al Sadd will clash with Muaither at

Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium while Al Gharafa and Al Sha-hania will confront at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium. Al Rayyan will square of with Al Markhiya in today’s first Round of 16 match at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

Al Sadd are in such a ruthless form this season that their opening Amir Cup match against Muaither seems like a walk in the park for the Doha giants.

But head coach Xavi Hernandez has cautioned his reigning champions against complacency and urged them to play with their trademark ruth-lessness against the Second Division side in the Round of 16 clash.

‘The Wolves’, who defeated Al Arabi 2-1 in the Amir Cup 2020 final at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium last month, are unstoppable in the ongoing QNB Stars League (QSL) season.

Apart from being the only unbeaten side so far, Al Sadd are enjoying a goal-fest, amassing staggering 60 goals from 15 matches as they sit 13 points clear on top of the standings.

However, Xavi yes-terday urged his players to put their QSL performance aside and focus on their Round of 16 match against Muaither at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, today.

“This championship has a knockout format, and clubs like Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have been knocked out by second division clubs (in their cup competitions),” Xavi said at a pre-match press conference yesterday.

“We must play with all our strength whoever the opponent is, as all the teams want to reach the final,” he said. Xavi said one of his team’s prime targets is to retain the Amir Cup trophy, rated as the most prestigious football title of the country.

“This championship is very important to us. We look forward to competing in this tournament and winning it,” the Barcelona legend said.

“My message to the players is that we must reach the final. They have the motivation and spirit to reach the final. We lost in the Champions League against Persepolis and we com-mitted a small error which saw us go out while we had the best players. I am not thinking about losing. My only thoughts are on the players and their per-formance, and preparing them to get the win and to reach the quarter-final,” he added.

Feared Al Sadd striker

Akram Afif echoed the coach’s sentiments.

“Some people think that the match will be easy but there are many examples from around the world of teams going out to second division sides. Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa lost to Al Markhiya last season,” Afif said yesterday.

“We need to play with full commitment against Muaither. We are in a good period now and there’s an excellent feeling among the players. We need to be play at our 100% in these games and just one mistake can send us out,” he added.

Like a final for us: Muaither coach

Meanwhile, Muaither coach Mounir Al Jaouani said the Al Sadd clash is like a ‘final’ and his team will be ready to give its ‘best’.

“We know that the match is almost impossible for us, but inside the green rectangle, there are 11 men against 11 men. We have great confidence in our youth and we are ready for the match,” Al Jaouani said yesterday.

“Al Sadd have great players and have a very good coach. They are a well-known team but we are not feeling pressure,” he added.

The match will kick off at 7:15pm.

11TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2021 SPORT

Ebraz eyes hat-trick of victoriesTHE PENINSULA – DOHA

Quality abounds among a massive 306-horse entry for the six inter-national races at the biggest event on the Qatari racing calendar, the $4.34m Amir Sword Festival, which will be held at Al Rayyan Racecourse in Doha from February 18-20.

The Festival’s two centre-pieces are a pair of $1m races, the 58-entry Amir Trophy (Presented by Longines), for thoroughbreds, and The Amir Sword (Sponsored by Al Hazm) for purebred Arabians. Both will be run over a mile and a half (2400m) on Sat-urday, February 20.

The Group 1 winners Aspetar and Lord Glitters, together with Berkshire Rocco, beaten by just a neck when runner-up in the Group 1 St Leger last September, spearhead an eight-strong British entry for The Amir Trophy, while another top level scorer, Intell-ogent, features among five French-trained hopefuls alongside Royal Julius, runner-up in this race two years ago.

Two of the very best purebred Ara-bians in the world, Ebraz and Tayf, trained in Qatar by Julian Smart and Alban de Mieulle respectively, are set to renew their heated rivalry in The Amir Sword.

Both are sons of the legendary stallion, Amer, and Ebraz has landed the last two renewals of this prestigious event, getting the better of Tayf on both

occasions. But Tayf gained revenge in October when beating Ebraz into third place in the Group 1 Qatar Arabian World Cup at ParisLongchamp.

This mouth-watering contest is likely to be much more than a two-horse race as there are a number of other top class entries, most notably Lady Princess, trained on the Atlantic coast of France by Thomas Fourcy. She boasts a fantastic record of six victories and two second places from eight career starts and last month scored a decisive victory in the Group 2 Qatar Derby.

Last day's card features three further international races, each worth $250,000. They are a pair of thor-oughbred events - the 38-entry Dukhan Sprint (Sponsored by Breeders’ Cup) over six furlongs (1200m) for three-year-olds and up, and the Al

Biddah Mile, over one mile (1600m) for three-year-olds only – plus the Qatar International Cup, for four-year-old and older purebred Arabians, also over a mile (1600m), which has attracted 58 entries.

The Dukhan Sprint is set to be a fierce battle between some of the top sprinters from Qatar, Britain and France. The home side is led by X Force, winner of five of his nine starts since arriving in the Gulf 14 months ago, while the seven British entries include the Stewards Cup hero,

Summerghand, while the Group 3 winner, Air de Valse, is part of a six-strong French contingent.

Last month’s Al Rayyan Stakes, over seven furlongs of this track, may prove the key to the Al Biddah Mile as the first 12 home, including its runaway Mohammed Afroz-trained winner, Sol-dierpoy, are all entered.

However, Homeryan, trained in France by Francis Graffard, has posted some very strong efforts in his homeland, not least a close second in the Group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon, and

could make a successful Doha debut.

Methgal is set to defend his title in the Qatar International Cup where he could have most to fear from the 2019 runner-up, Al Naama, who was a disappointing sixth 12 months ago but has bounced back to form with two recent wins.

The sixth international race, the $200,000 Irish Thor-oughbred Marketing Cup, takes place 24 hours before the other five on February 19.

This one mile (1600m) event for four-year-old and up thor-oughbreds is set to be the Festi-val’s most cosmopolitan event as its 59 entries hail from seven dif-ferent countries. The hugely con-sistent Pazeer, a regular in some of the top Al Rayyan races over the past four years and not out of

the first two in his last six starts, would be a popular local winner while the international challenge features three inmates of the County Dublin yard of Irish trainer, Ado McGuinness, most notably the recent Listed scorer, Saltonstall.

In total, the six races have attracted 75 entries from overseas: 29 from Britain, 23 from France, 15 from Oman, three from Ireland, two from Bahrain, and one each from Spain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Cautious Al Sadd set to begin title defence against Muaither

$4.34m prize bag on offer as stellar line-up set for Amir Sword Festival

Al Duhail's Michael Olunga shoots to score against Al Ahli during the Amir Cup Round of 16 match played at the Grand Hamad Stadium yesterday.

This championship has a

knockout format, and clubs like

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid

have been knocked out by second

division clubs (in their cup

competitions). We must play with

all our strength whoever the

opponent is, as all the teams

want to reach the final: Al Sadd

coach Xavi Hernandez

Olunga fires hat-trick in 6-0 rout of Al Ahli; Al Kharaitiyat edge Al Wakrah

Amir Cup: Al Duhail storm into last eight as Al Shamal stun Qatar SC

ROUND OF 16 Yesterday’s Results Al Duhail 6-0 Al Ahli

Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 Al Wakrah Al Shamal 2-2 (5-4p) Qatar SC

Today4:30pm: Al Rayyan vs Al Markhiya at

Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium 7:15pm: Al Sadd vs Muaither at Jassim

Bin Hamad Stadium 7:15pm: Al Gharafa vs Al Shahania at

Hamad Bin Khalifa StadiumTomorrow

4:30pm: Al Sailiya vs Al Khor at Grand Hamad Stadium

7:15pm: Al Arabi vs Umm Salal at Qatar SC Stadium

Qatar SC captain

Alejandro Jimena (left)

vies for the ball with Al

Shamal's Yannick Sagbo

during their Amir Cup

Round of 16 match played

at Qatar SC Stadium. Picture:

Hussein Sayed

Ebraz, winner of the Amir Sword in 2019 and 2020, in action during an earlier

edition of the hugely popular event.

10 TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2021SPORT

Chelsea sack Lampard after New Year slumpREUTERS — LONDON

Chelsea dismissed manager Frank Lampard after 18 months in charge yesterday after the man at the heart of much of their greatest success as a player failed to deliver as coach despite spending over £200m in the summer transfer window.

Former Paris St Germain manager Thomas Tuchel is the favourite to replace Lampard, British media reported.

Lampard, who led the club to a top-four finish and the FA Cup final in his man-agerial debut 2019-20 cam-paign, leaves with Chelsea ninth in the Premier League after a run of five defeats in eight league games.

“This was a very dif-ficult decision for the Club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for h i m , ” C h e l s e a o w n e r R o m a n A b r a m -ovich said i n a statement on the club’s website.

“He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics . However, under current circum-stances we believe it is best to change managers.”

Lampard, a former midfielder who won three Premier League titles and the Cham-pions League and is the club’s record scorer,

becomes the 12th Chelsea manager to be fired since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took over in 2003.

The 42-year-old was hired in 2019 following a stint with Championship (second-tier) club Derby County and won praise last season, giving several youngsters a chance, after inheriting a squad that could not

be strengthened due to a FIFA-enforced transfer ban which was eventually lifted.

His dismissal was criticised by former England international Gary Lineker.

“Utterly ludicrous after his first bad run,” Lineker said on

Twitter. “It was always going to

need time given so many new signings feeling

their way into a new club. Patience being a virtue is seldom rec-ognised in this sport. They never learn.” Former Liverpool

and England striker Michael Owen described

the decision as “madness”.“Absolutely staggering

decision from Chelsea to sack Frank Lampard,” Owen said.

“Where do you begin? Against the odds made top four last season and qualified impressively to the knockout stages of the Champions

League this season.“Bought some good

players who will settle in given time. Madness. I’m convinced there’s been plenty of politics going on in the background for some time at Chelsea. Hardly a surprise as it’s always been that type of club.”

Lampard beat off strong opposition to sign some of the game’s most sought-after emerging talents in the close season but most have struggled to make an impact.

The biggest outlay was for German duo Kai Havertz (£71m) and Timo Werner (€50m) but both have remained somewhat peripheral.

Werner has worked hard enough and could yet develop into a top Premier League player but after a bright early few weeks, little has gone right for him - topped off by having a penalty saved near the end of Sunday’s win over Luton.

Havertz has made almost no impact, leaving fans checking if he really cost that much. Moroccan Hakim Ziyech (£38m) has also failed to establish

himself after an injury-hit first season.

Ben Chilwell (£50m) has also failed to bring the attacking verve that elevated him to the England team.

SMALL PLAYERS Alongside Mason Mount and

Christian Pulisic, Lampard seems to have decided to rely for his creativity on a collection of small, lightweight players, hoping their skill would flourish amid the physicality of the Premier League.

When the team ran to join lanky striker Tammy Abraham in celebrating his hat-trick on Sunday he looked like a teacher surrounded by primary school boys at playtime.

Torn between trying to give the new men game but needing to find someone to actually create and finish chances, Lampard has never been able to settle on a preferred lineup and seemed to rely almost entirely on Mount and full back Reece James to create chances.

His best signing was

probably Thiago Silva on a free transfer, but even his calming influence from the back has not been able to help generate con-sistent, probing attacking play from those in front of him.

It all looked so different at the end of last year as a 17-match unbeaten run in all competitions appeared to rein-force Lampard’s credentials as Chelsea qualified for the Cham-pions League knockout stages as group winners, while sitting third in the league and even being talked about as potential champions.

But Chelsea’s form began to implode midway through December and they have plum-meted down the standings after two wins in their last eight league games, underlined by Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat by Leicester City.

Chelsea, who are ninth in the standings on 29 points from 19 games, 11 points behind leaders Manchester United, host Wolverhampton Wanderers tomorrow.

Former PSG manager Tuchel favourite as replacement: British media

Reaction: ‘Very difficult decision for the Club’Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

“This was a very difficult decision for the Club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him. He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.”

Former England striker Gary Lineker “Utterly ludicrous after his first bad run. It was always going to need time given so many new signings feeling their way into a new club. Patience being a virtue is seldom recognised in this sport. They never learn.”

Former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot“It took him a little bit too long to get his team playing the way he wanted it, and I think the price tag he had on it really was one of the crucial decisions for the club.”

Former England striker Michael Owen“Absolutely staggering decision from Chelsea to sack Frank Lampard. Where do you begin? Against the odds made top 4 last season and qualified impressively to the knockout stages of the Champions League this season. Bought some good players who will settle in given time. Madness.”

Former England defender Gary Neville“I think the minute that the club spent the money that they did in the summer, and brought the players in that they brought in, it was always going to bring a lot more expectation and we know what happens at Chelsea with expectation.”

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson“It saddens me. I thought he did an excellent job last season. I was rather hoping that the idol of the fans and Chelsea legend that he is, he’d get a longer shot than 18 months.”

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Asian Champions League, AFC Cup group stages to be played in centralised venues

REUTERS — KUALA LUMPUR

This year’s Asian Champions League and AFC Cup club competitions will be played in centralised group stages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said yesterday.

Asian soccer’s governing body said the Asian Champions League group stage matches in the west region will be scheduled between April 14-30, while the east region games are planned for April 21-May 7.

The second-tier AFC Cup will kick off in south, central and east zones on May 14, before the west zone matches begin on May 23, with ASEAN zone scheduled to take place from June 22-28.

The Asian Champions League, which will feature 40 teams for the first time, will stage its two-legged final on Nov. 21 and 27, while the AFC Cup final will take place on Nov. 26.

"Once again, the AFC will put the safety and welfare of all its stakeholders as its overriding priority,” confederation general

secretary Windsor John said in a statement.

Bidding invitations and hosting details will be provided

to the participating member associations after the group stage draws, which will take place tomorrow. The 2020 edition of the Asian Champions League was suspended in March due to the pandemic. All the knockout stages matches after the restart were played in Qatar, including the final at the Al Janoub Stadium.

The AFC has also decided to cancel AFC U-16 Championship Bahrain 2020 and the AFC U-19 Championship Uzbekistan 2020 due to the risks posed by the pandemic.

The next editions of both competitions will be allocated to the same hosts in 2023. Uzbekistan will host the AFC U-20 Asian Cup and Bahrain will host the AFC U-17 tournament.

The start of qualifying for the women’s Under-17 and Under-20 Asian Cup tourna-ments in 2022 was also pushed back from March this year to August.

Ulsan Hyundai FC’s Junior Negao (left) celebrates with team-mate Bjorn Johnsen after scoring their second goal against Vissel Kobe during their AFC Champions League semi-final at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, in this December 13, 2020 file photo.

Tottenham's Bale must earn game time, says MourinhoREUTERS — LONDON

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho said he would not just give Gareth Bale (pictured) playing time and that the Welshman must earn minutes by showing consistency in training.

Bale’s return on loan from Real Madrid was greeted with much excitement at Spurs but his impact has been minimal. The 31-year-old has spent most of his time on the bench, starting only one Premier League game and featuring mainly in the Europa League.

“I cannot give players minutes - minutes on the pitch is not something I can give,” Mourinho told reporters yesterday.

“We all know the diffi-culties that he had for a couple of seasons... The most important thing is to be con-sistent in training... when a player is consistent in training

then he is ready, not to be given minutes but to earn minutes.

“He is working every minute like everybody else at a good intensity and let’s see the way that he reacts... It is also about his confidence. If he feels that the week has had a positive impact on him and, on his confidence, he will play.”

Mourinho will take a full squad for the trip to Wycombe.

It is also about his

confidence. If he feels that

the week has had a

positive impact on him

and, on his confidence, he

will play.

Jose Mourinho

Tottenham Hotspur Manager

Djokovic and Nadal to begin 2021 campaigns next weekREUTERS — MELBOURNE

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will start their 2021 seasons on February 2 when they

lead Serbia and Spain respectively in the team-based ATP Cup ahead of the Australian Open.

The top two men’s players will be joined by world number three Dominic Thiem and Russian No. 4 Daniil Medvedev on the opening day of the tournament at Mel-bourne Park, which will also host the year’s first Grand Slam from February 8-21.

Reigning champions Serbia, led by Australian Open holder Djokovic, will begin their title defence against

Canada on Rod Laver Arena and will also play Germany in the group stages.

Austrian Thiem, who lost to Djokovic in last year’s final in Mel-bourne, will play the early session on the John Cain Arena against Italy.

World number two Nadal, part of the team that finished runners-up to Serbia, and ATP Finals winner Medvedev will highlight the evening sessions when they play against opponents from hosts Australia and Argentina.

The ATP Cup debuted last year with 24 teams and was held across three cities in Australia but there will be half the number of teams in this

year’s edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The start of this year’s tour-nament has been pushed back by a day to allow more time to train for 72 players confined to their hotel rooms after some pas-sengers on the three charter flights that brought them to Australia tested positive.

Russia are the only team with two top 10 players in their side in Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, while Argentina and Japan are led by No.9 Diego Schwartzman and Kei Nishikori, ranked 41st.

The winners from each group of the event will advance to the semi-finals.

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AP - KARACHI

Babar Azam will make his Test captaincy debut today against a tough South Africa team that is touring Pakistan for the first time in more than 13 years.

Azam has recovered from a thumb injury that kept him out of the two-test series in New Zealand, which Pakistan lost 2-0.

“I missed the series against New Zealand, but it’s a proud moment for me that I am doing my captaincy debut in my own country,” Azam said yesterday.

“South Africa is a good team. You can’t take them lightly, but conditions suit us more because most of us have played here.”

South Africa last toured Pakistan in 2007 because the country was forced to organize its “home” Test series in the United Arab Emirates following a terrorist attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in 2009.

The second Test will be played in Rawalpindi from Feb 4, followed by the three-match Twenty20 series in Lahore from Feb 11-14. Pakistan is out of the race to qualify for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June while South Africa has only a mathematical chance to make it with India, New Zealand, Australia and

England among the top contenders.Azam was well aware of Pakistan’s poor

Test record against South Africa, winning only four of 26 against the Proteas. One of Pakistan’s 15 losses came at the National Stadium - the venue for the first Test - when South Africa toured in 2007.

“We should not think about past, we should focus on what’s ahead of us,” Azam said. “It’s a fact that we don’t have a good record against them, but we have prepared well and we hope to give our best against them this time.”

Pakistan has included six uncapped players in a 17-man squad. Opening batsman Imran Butt and left-arm spinner Nauman Ali could make their test debuts on Tuesday.

Azam also said Pakistan might go with an additional spinner along with Yasir Shah.

“We have practiced here for a week now and the wicket looks a bit slow,” Azam said yesterday.

Only South Africa coach Mark Boucher has previously played red-ball cricket in Pakistan, while the experienced Faf du Plessis has twice toured Pakistan over the

last four years but played only in the Twenty20 format.

Du Plessis led a World XI team to Pakistan for three Twenty20s in 2017 and then last year represented Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League playoffs.

“I’m sure this Pakistan team is going to be tough,” South Africa captain Quinton de Kock said when the team arrived. “I think our biggest challenge is the conditions that we could face, the unknowing of the things that we have to deal with.”

SQUADS

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abid Ali, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Yasir Shah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Tabish Khan.South Africa: Quinton de Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Kagiso Rabada, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Anrich Nortje, Wiaan Mulder, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Kyle Verreynne, Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde, Daryn Dupavillon, Marco Jansen.

09TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2021 SPORT

Opener Sibley sparkles as England win second Test by six wicketsREUTERS - GALLE

Dom Sibley scored an unbeaten half century as England chased down a target of 164 to secure a sweep of the series yesterday, beating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second Test on a day of drama at Galle International Stadium.

England scored 164-4, with Sibley 56 not out and Jos Buttler unbeaten on 46 as they overcame jittery moments to complete a 2-0 series triumph.

The tourists overturned a 37-run deficit after the first innings to win a sixth successive Test in Sri Lanka.

England earlier dismissed Sri Lanka for 126 in their second innings, giving themselves a confidence boost ahead of next month’s start of a four-Test series in India.

England’s run chase began nervously as they lost their first

four wickets for 89 runs, including a tired-looking Joe Root, with Sri Lanka’s dan-gerous spinner Lasith Embuldeniya threatening with the new ball and taking three wickets for a match tally of 10.

But an unbeaten 75-run partnership between Sibley, who had previous failed with the bat on tour, and Buttler carried England home as they showed the application their hosts lacked in their batting.

“I was pleased to be able to spend time at the crease and get the boys over the line,” said Sibley.

“I had a bit of a stinker at the start of the series,” Sibley told the host broadcaster shortly after hitting the winning runs yesterday.

“I'd worked hard during the winter months in England, so you start to doubt yourself a little bit before today.

“I had felt really confident coming into the series, of what I’ve done to play spin. So to doubt that, and try and change things mid-series, was some-thing that took a little bit of courage. Working with Jacques in the nets were really tough sessions actually. But luckily it paid off a little today.

“I hadn’t given myself a

chance in the first three innings of the series, but to start against spin with a new ball, that's something I’ve never really faced in England,” Sibley told the host broadcaster.

England, who added only five runs to their overnight tally before being dismissed for 344, took just over a session to turn the match on its head as Dom

Bess and spin partner Jack Leach claimed four wickets each in Sri Lanka’s second innings.

Bess took 4-49 and Leach 4-59 as the home batting line-up was undone by the turn of the wicket and rash shots.

It included a wild sweep from veteran right-hander Angelo Mathews as he was bowled by Bess for five, and a slog that was top-edged by captain Dinesh Chandimal (9) and expertly caught by James Anderson off Leach.

“There are no excuses from us, we made mistakes and we were outplayed,” Chandimal said.

Embuldeniya, with a quickfire 40 off 42 balls, was the only home batsmen to make more than 20 and his 48-run ninth wicket partnership with Suranga Lakmal helped set England a tougher target.

But he was eventually dis-missed off the part-time bowling of Root, who claimed another wicket with his next ball by bowling Asitha Ferando to wrap up the innings. Root finished with figures of 2-0 off 11 balls.

“It was great to come out on top after losing the toss on a wicket that had u s u n d e r pressure for much of the match,” said the E n g l a n d captain.

E n g l a n d won last week’s first Test by seven wickets in a victorious start to a year in which they will play 19 Tests in all.

Joe Root, the England cricket captain, holds the ‘Moose Clothing Cup 2021’ trophy after England beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second and final Test in Galle yesterday.

Sri Lanka 1st innings 381 (A. Mathews 110; S.

Broad 6-40)

England 1st innings (overnight 339/9)Z. Crawley c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya ....................5

D. Sibley lbw b Embuldeniya ....................................... 0

J. Bairstow c O. Fernando b Embuldeniya ..............28

J. Root run out (O. Fernando) ..................................186

D. Lawrence c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya ................3

J. Buttler c O. Fernando b Mendis ............................. 55

S. Curran c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya.....................13

D. Bess c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya ...................... 32

M. Wood c Thirimanne b Embuldeniya ...................... 1

J. Leach lbw b Perera ..................................................... 1

J. Anderson not out ....................................................... 4

Extras (b8, lb3, nb5) ..................................................16

Total (116.1 overs, all out) ........................ 344Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Sibley), 2-5 (Crawley), 3-116

(Bairstow), 4-132 (Lawrence), 5-229 (Butter), 6-252

(Curran), 7-333 (Bess), 8-337 (Wood), 9-339 (Root),

10-344 (Leach)

Bowling: Lakmal 16-7-31-0, Embuldeniya 42-6-137-

7 (nb4), Fernando 10-2-31-0, Perera 32.1-4-86-1

(nb1), Mendis 16-1-48-1

Sri Lanka 2nd inningsK. Perera lbw b Leach ................................................ 14

L. Thirimanne c Crawley b Leach ...............................13

O. Fernando c Crawley b Bess ......................................3

A. Mathews b Bess .........................................................5

D. Chandimal c Anderson b Leach ............................. 9

N. Dickwella c Lawrence b Bess ...................................7

R. Mendis c Buttler b Leach ........................................16

D. Perera c Crawley b Bess .......................................... 4

S. Lakmal not out .......................................................... 11

L. Embuldeniya c Bairstow b Root ...........................40

A. Fernando b Root .......................................................0

Extras (b3, nb1) ............................................................ 4

Total (35.5 overs, all out) ......................... 126Fall of wickets: 1-19 (K. Perera), 2-29 (O. Fernando),

3-37 (Thirimanne), 4-37 (Mathews), 5-47 (Chandimal),

6-66 (Dickwella), 7-70 (D. Perera), 8-78 (Mendis),

9-126 (Embuldeniya), 10-126 (A. Fernando)

Bowling: Anderson 2-0-6-0, Curran 2-0-9-0, Bess

16-1-49-4, Leach 14-1-59-4 (nb1), Root 1.5-1-0-2

England 2nd innings (target 164)Z. Crawley c Fernando b Embuldeniya ....................13

D. Sibley not out ..........................................................56

J. Bairstow lbw b Embuldeniya .................................29

J. Root b Mendis ............................................................ 11

D. Lawrence c Dickwella b Embuldeniya ................... 2

J. Buttler not out ..........................................................46

Extras (lb4, nb3) ...........................................................7

Total (43.3 overs, 4 wickets) .................... 164Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Crawley), 2-62 (Bairstow),

3-84 (Root), 4-89 (Lawrence)

Did not bat: S. Curran, D. Bess, J. Leach, M. Wood, J.

Anderson

Bowling: Embuldeniya 20-3-73-3 (nb1), Perera 13-3-

1-39-0 (nb1), Mendis 10-0-48-1

Result: England beat Sri Lanka by six wickets

Series: England won two-match series 2-0

SCOREBOARD

Captain Babar hopes to counter tough Proteas in own conditions

Test captains Quinton de Kock (left) of South Africa and Pakistan’s Babar Azam are seen during a series promotional event ahead of the first Test that starts today in Karachi. Pic: @TheRealPCB

England to begin home summer with NZ series

REUTERS - LONDON

England will host New Zealand in a two-Test series in June to kickstart their home summer, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said yesterday.

The matches will take place at Lord’s from June 2-6 and Edgbaston from June 10-14.

England will then play Sri Lanka in a three-match Twenty20 International series starting June 23, which pre-cedes the three-match one-day international series against the same opposition.

England’s summer schedule also features one-day international and T20 series with Pakistan and a five-match Test series against India.

“The prospect of our England Men’s team taking on the world’s two top-ranked Test nations in New Zealand and India this summer is something for us all to savour,” ECB Chief Executive Officer, Tom Harrison, said.

Sri Lanka must learn to bat like Joe Root, says SL skipper after loss

REUTERS - GALLE

Sri Lanka must learn to bat like Joe Root if they are to return to winning ways on home soil, captain Dinesh Chandimal said yesterday after losing the second test to England.

Sri Lanka were beaten by six wickets on the fourth day of the second and final Test at the Galle International Stadium to lose the series 2-0 and suffering a sixth successive home Test defeat to England.

England captain Root was the man of the series after scoring 228 in the first Test and 186 in the second.

“We were outplayed today,” admitted Chandimal, who was stand-in captain after Dimuth Karunaratne broke his thumb earlier this month in the 2-0 series loss in South Africa.

“We did all the hard work over the last three days but as a batting unit we then made the same mistakes as we did on the opening day of the first Test.”

Sri Lanka, who had a 37-run first innings lead, were rumbled out for 126 in their second innings by England yesterday, leaving the tourists to successfully chase down 164 runs to win and complete victory inside four days.

In the first Test, Sri Lanka also won the toss, always an advantage in Galle, but scored only 135 runs in their first innings and went on to lose by seven wickets.

On both occasions, their collapse was characterised by some poor shots.

“For the batsmen, there are no excuses,” Chandimal added. “We have to learn how to bat like Root. He was outstanding and we have to also learn to play with patience. That’s the key when it comes to batting.

“We did well in patches but that’s not good enough when you are playing a good team like England.”

Bangladesh completes clean sweep of WIAP - CHATTOGRAM

Bangladesh completed a clean sweep of the West Indies by securing a 120-run victory yesterday in the third and final one-day Cricket international.

Skipper Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah all hit half-centuries to help Bangladesh post 297-6 after West Indies captain Jason Mohammed won the toss and decided to bowl first.

The West Indies, however, were bowled out for 177 in 44.2 overs, with Bangladesh’s bowlers denying them any signif-icant partnerships.

Tamim scored 64 from 80 balls at the top of the order to establish the innings while Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah paced the innings toward the end. All three scored 64.

Shakib hit a patient 51, his first half century since returning to cricket following a suspension imposed by the International Cricket Council for his failure to report corrupt approaches.

ENGLAND FIXTURES AT HOME THIS SUMMER

2 June: 1st Test vs NZ, Lord's

10 June: 2nd Test vs NZ, Edgbaston

29 June: 1st ODI vs Sri Lanka, Durham

1 July: 2nd ODI vs Sri Lanka, The Oval

4 July: 3rd ODI vs Sri Lanka, Bristol

8 July: 1st ODI vs Pakistan, Cardiff

10 July: 2nd ODI vs Pakistan, Lord's

13 July: 3rd ODI vs Pakistan, Edgbaston

16 July: 1st T20I vs Pakistan, Trent Bridge

18 July: 2nd T20I vs Pakistan, Headingley

20 July: 3rd T20I vs Pakistan, Old Trafford

4 August: 1st Test vs India, Trent Bridge

12 August: 2nd Test vs India, Lord's

25 August: 3rd Test vs India, Headingley

2 September: 4th Test vs India, The Oval

10 September: 5th Test vs India, Old Trafford

The conditions aren’t as we thought they would be. Before we arrived, we believed reverse

swing would be a major factor, but now we are not sure how much of a weapon that will be. We have only been able to go to the ground in the last few days because of security measures and there is a luscious outfield, not the abrasive kind we have seen before which aids reverse swing. We will definitely play more than one spinner and we have different options in the squad. If you want to go and win series away from home you have to be prepared to make big calls.Looking at the squad selected, they (Pakistan) are going in with a spin mindset and we have to believe we can do it too in these conditions: South Africa coach Mark Boucher

08TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2021Sport

Former Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant jumps for a rebound against the Denver Nuggets during Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference final in this May 21, 2009, file photo. CENTRE: In this July 27, 2019, file photo Bryant is pictured with his daughter Gianna at the WNBA All Star Game at Mandalay Bay Events Centre. RIGHT: In this January 28, 2020, file photo, a man polishes a mural in memory of Bryant and his daughter Gianna painted on the basketball court of a housing tenement in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines . On January 26, 2020, a helicopter carrying Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others crashed in Calabasas, California, roughly 30 miles north of Los Angeles. Everyone on board the helicopter died.

One year since NBA star Kobe Bryant's death

NBA: LA Clippers post 7th straight winREUTERS - NEW YORK

Kawhi Leonard had 34 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Los Angeles Clippers earned their seventh consec-utive victory with a 108-100 win over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder.

Serge Ibaka contributed 17 points and six rebounds for the Clippers, who defeated the Thunder for the second time in three days. Reggie Jackson scored 14 points, Paul George chipped in 11 and Ivica Zubac added 10 points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Thunder, who lost their third in a row. George Hill scored 22 points and Hamidou Diallo had 14 points. Isaiah Roby collected 10 points and 10 boards.

Portland Trail Blazers 116 - New York Knicks 113

Damian Lillard recorded 39 points and eight assists to lead Portland to a victory over vis-iting New York.

Lillard made six 3-pointers and was 11 of 17 from the field as he scored at least 35 points for the fourth time in the past five games. He also made all 11 free-throw attempts to raise his consecutive streak to 66, breaking his own franchise

mark of 64 set in March of 2018.Rookie Immanuel Quickley

established season highs of 31 points and five 3-pointers for the Knicks. Julius Randle scored 25 points and Alec Burks added 18 for New York, which shot 45.3 percent from the field and made 12 of 29 from behind the arc while losing its second straight contest.Boston Celtics 141 - Cleveland

Cavaliers 103Jaylen Brown scored 33

points in 19 minutes, Kemba Walker added a season-high 21 points and Boston crushed vis-iting Cleveland.

Carsen Edwards scored 18 points, Daniel Theis added 17 and Marcus Smart had 12 with five steals as the Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak. Tristan Thompson had a game-high 12 rebounds.

Collin Sexton had 13 points to lead the Cavaliers, whose three-game winning streak came to an end.

Cleveland turned the ball over 17 times, Sexton respon-sible for six.San Antonio Spurs 121 - Wash-

ington Wizards 101Patty Mills scored 21 points,

and Dejounte Murray racked up 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists for a triple-double as San Antonio halted a two-game

losing streak with a win over visiting, short-handed Wash-ington. The game was the first for Washington since Jan 11 as six players were quarantined because of COVID-19.

Seven San Antonio players scored in double figures as Lonnie Walker IV added 16 points, LaMarcus Aldridge hit for 15, Devin Vassell tallied 14 points, and Rudy Gay and Keldon Johnson had 13 each. Bradley Beal, the NBA’s leading scorer, had 31 points, four below his season average, for the Wizards. Jerome Robinson added 16, and newly signed Alex Len finished with 11 points.Milwaukee Bucks 129 - Atlanta

Hawks 115Giannis Antetokounmpo

scored 27 points, becoming the sixth playe r in franchise history to reach 11,000 points, to lead Milwaukee to a win over vis-iting Atlanta and end its two-game losing streak.

Antetokounmpo was 9-for-13 from the floor and had 14 rebounds and eight assists. He entered the game tied with Marques Johnson in career scoring with 10,980 points. The Bucks also got a season-high 21 points off the bench from Bobby Portis and 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from Khris Middleton.

Atlanta got a career-high 33 points from De’Andre Hunter and 30 points from John Collins, including a career-high six 3-pointers. Danilo Gallinari came off the bench to score 17.Toronto Raptors 107 - Indiana

Pacers 102OG Anunoby had a season-

best 30 points and five steals as Toronto posted a win over Indiana at Indianapolis.

Fred VanVleet added 21 points for the Raptors, who have won five of their past six games.

Norman Powell had 20 points and Aron Baynes and Chris Boucher each added 12.

Myles Turner collected 25 points and six blocks and Domantas Sabonis had 10 points and 19 rebounds for the Pacers. Justin Holiday added 16 points, Doug McDermott and Jeremy Lamb each had 13 and Malcolm Brogdon had 12.

Charlotte Hornets 107 - Orlando Magic 104 Gordon Hayward scored a tiebreaking basket on a drive into the lane

with 0.7 seconds left to give Charlotte a win over host Orlando and snap a season-worst four-game losing streak.

Hayward finished with 39 points, 13 of them in the fourth quarter, helping Charlotte.

His drive came after Ter-rence Ross hit a 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds left for Orlando to tie the game at 104-104, capping an 11-2 run.

Nikola Vucevic poured in 22 points and Evan Fournier had 21 for the Magic.

New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) has a shot blocked by Portland Trail Blazers centre Enes

Kanter (11) during the fourth quarter of their NBA game at the Moda Centre.

Russia confirms it won’t appeal Olympic team restrictionsAP - MOSCOW

The Russian anti-doping agency confirmed yesterday that it will not file an appeal to further loosen restrictions on its teams at the Olympics and other major sports events.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport last month ruled that Russia’s name, flag and anthem would be barred from the next two Olympics after backing the World Anti-Doping Agency’s finding that doping data was manipulated.

However, CAS halved the duration of the sanctions from four years to two, removed vetting requirements for Russian athletes and allowed them to keep wearing national colors.

The Russian agency, known as RUSADA, had the option to file an appeal with the Swiss supreme court on procedural grounds. It said yesterday that it still regards as “flawed and one-sided” the ruling that doping data in Moscow was modified but it was satisfied that CAS rejected tougher sanc-tions proposed by WADA.

“RUSADA considers that this chapter has now been closed and is looking forward and committed to working with WADA with a view to fully restoring RUSADA’s membership status,” RUSADA said in a statement.

Year on from urging delay, Greece’s Stefanidi supports Games in 2021: Kyodo News REUTERS - TOKYO

Gold medallist pole vaulter Katerina Stefanidi, a vocal proponent for post-poning the Tokyo Games last year, is backing the Games to be held this July, with or without spectators.

Before the International Olympic Committee and Japanese government decided to postpone the Games last year due to fears over the coronavirus pandemic, Greece’s Stefanidi accused organisers of risking athletes’ safety and demanded a plan B. Days later, organisers did postpone last year’s Games, which are now set to begin on July 23.

However, Stefanidi told Kyodo News in an interview published yes-terday, that the Games should now go ahead.

“I think that it’s a very different situation than what we had last year, where we didn’t really know anything about the virus,” the reigning pole vault Olympic champion said. “If we have to have the Olympics without spectators, I would prefer that than not having the Games at all,” she added.

“If we can have the Olympics with some spectators, that will be better, of course... For me the worst case scenario would be to completely cancel.”

Stefanidi, a member of World Athletics’ Athletes’ Commission, said she believed there had been a change of attitude amongst many of the 15,000 athletes preparing to compete in Tokyo.

Welsh union gets £13.5m rescue packageREUTERS - LONDON

Welsh rugby has secured a £13.5m ($18.48m) funding package from the government that will help soften the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Welsh Rugby Union’s (WRU) chief executive Steve Phillips has said.

The grant will be divided equally among the WRU and the country’s four professional regions -- Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets, the BBC said.

“During a challenging time we have found Welsh Gov-ernment and Sport Wales accessible, responsive and sym-pathetic to the plight of our game in Wales,” Phillips was quoted as saying by BBC.

“With the ongoing nature of the pandemic, nobody is able to predict with any certainty when crowds will be back into stadia, allowing our income streams to return to normal. So this £13.5m grant is timely and hugely helpful,” the rport added.

NHL: Six Kings players score in win over BluesREUTERS - NEW YORK

Anze Kopitar scored one goal and assisted on two others as the visiting Los Angeles Kings defeated the St Louis Blues 6-3 Sunday night.

Drew Doughty, Lias Andersson, Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Carl Grundstrom also scored for the Kings, and Adrian Kempe had two assists. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 28 of 31 shots to earn the victory.

The Kings snapped their four-game losing streak against the Blues.

Brayden Schenn scored twice for the Blues, Ryan O’Reilly also scored and Jordan Kyrou had two assists. Rookie Ville Husso made 29 saves in his first NHL start.

The Blues are winless in three games this season in the second game of back-to-back sets.

The Kings doubled the Blues in shots (14-7) and shot attempts (26-13) in the first period while taking a 2-1 lead.

The Blues struck first as Schenn took a crisp cross-ice pass from Kryou and scored from the left circle.

The Kings tied the game with 1:47 left in the first period when Iafallo tucked a power-play goal inside the right post during a goal-mouth scramble.

Just 23 seconds later, Grundstrom put the Kings up 2-1. He burst up the left wing, danced around Blues

defenseman Vince Dunn and snapped a shot past Husso. The Kings generated the first seven shots of the second period while pushing their lead to 4-1.

Dustin Brown stole the puck from Dunn in the Blues’ zone and set up Vilardi’s backhand goal 6:25 into the period. Less than two minutes later, Kempe sliced through the right circle

and fired a shot off Kopi-tar’s leg and past Husso.

Andersson jumped out of the penalty box and made it 5-1 on a breakaway pass from Kopitar. Husso stopped the initial shot, but Andersson jammed home the rebound.

Schenn cut the lead to 5-2 in the third period by converting a con-venient carom off the end boards.

Just 48 seconds later, O’Reilly scored with a long slap shot from the center point. Doughty scored an empty-net goal by firing the puck the length of the ice with 17 seconds left.

Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin (35) makes a glove save against the Nashville Predators during the third period of their NHL game at the American Airlines Centre.

NHL RESULTSChicago 6, Detroit 2

Buffalo 4, Washington 3

Toronto 3, Calgary 2

Las Vegas 1, Arizona 0

New Jersey 2, NY Islanders 0

Pittsburgh 3, NY Rangers 2

Los Angeles 6, St. Louis 3

San Jose 5, Minnesota

Dallas 3, Nashville 2

Anaheim 3, Colorado 1

Edmonton 4, Winnipeg 3