Sports

MELBOURNE — Valtteri Bottas is determined to make the most of his “dream” opportunity after being ushered into the Mercedes seat left vacant by the sudden retirement of Formula One champion Nico Rosberg at the end of last season. 

The Finn has proved his pace over 77 races with Williams but knows he will be stepping up into the big leagues when he starts his first race for the reigning constructors’ champions at this week’s Australian Grand Prix.

“It’s a great challenge for everyone, but I think especially for me,” Bottas told reporters in Melbourne.

“This team has been winning the last three years and it’s kind of a dream come true for me to be in a team like this. So, it’s a big year ahead.”

Expectations are indeed high at Mercedes, and if Bottas fails to at least support the team’s charge for a fourth successive constructors’ title with regular podiums and points there will be no shortage of drivers waiting to replace him for 2018.

Although he finished fourth in the drivers’ championship in 2014 and has accumulated nine podiums and 411 points over his career, Bottas has never won a race.

Melbourne has thrown up a few surprises but Bottas is not banking on breaking his duck at Albert Park, however much he would love to.

“That would be the perfect way to start a season and my career with Mercedes, but I’m not thinking about it too much,” he added. 

“Obviously, it’s the only thing I want, but I always want to focus on my job and work as a team and if we do our work perfectly, if I do my job perfectly, it’s possible.” 

“But yeah, definitely, the goal for me is to start a season in a good way and get the results early on and continue from there.”

Bottas has already been welcomed with open arms by fellow Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton but the Briton’s history with former team mates, including Rosberg, suggests the bonhomie would not last long if the Finn was a genuine title contender.

As the winner of 10 of the 21 races in 2016, including the last four, Hamilton is the clear championship favourite this season and expectations are high that he will win the Australian Grand Prix for the third time on Sunday.

Bottas showed off one skill advantage that he almost certainly has over his team mate when he took to the ice hockey rink with players from Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs on Tuesday.

And the 27-year-old made clear he would not be moving over to let Hamilton through if he got in front of the triple world champion on the Albert Park track. 

“I think Mercedes doesn’t have number one or number two driver and that’s pretty much up to me to perform,” he said. 

“That is to perform on the track on the level where the car should be. We’re all good and I know I can do it.”

AMMAN — Jordan hosts Hong Kong on Thursday in a football friendly ahead of the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifiers kicking off on March 28. 

Starting March 28, Jordan will open Group C qualifiers against Cambodia before playing Vietnam and Afghanistan. Jordan is the best ranked team in Group C but head coach Abdullah Misfer said his squad does not underestimate the qualifying matches. “We will seek to lead the group and advance and be competitive in the Asian Cup set for 2019.”

Jordan last played 126th ranked Georgia 1-0 in the first match under the new head coach. The team slid further down to 115th in the latest FIFA Rankings and is still out of the Asian top 10.

Misfer noted 136th ranked Vietnam had played 11 friendlies, 173rd ranked Cambodia had 12 while Jordan, like the 156th ranked Afghan team, only had 7. The coach underlined that Wihdat and Ahli players had a tough agenda with the AFC Cup and local league and cup but that team coaches were trying their best to choose a lineup that would advance now and compete in 2019.

Jordan is slated to play Iraq on June 2 and Hong Kong on June 7 again before their Vietnam qualifier. 142nd ranked Hong Kong is readying for their qualifier against Lebanon in Group B.

The qualifiers which will start March 28 and end on March 27, 2018, will see teams playing in six groups with group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) advancing o the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals as well as the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Teams already having qualified include Australia, China, Iraq, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Uzbekistan and hosts the UAE.

Over the past year, Jordan was plagued with inconsistent results and a change of five coaches as the team was eliminated from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Now, the team aims to get pats Asian qualifiers and advance to the Asian finals. Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972. Jordan reached the championship three times. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th in August 2004, while the lowest ranking was 152nd in 1996. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015.

The Kingdom had the most memorable World Cup qualifying journey in 2013 when they lost a possible chance to play at the World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. They lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times in the qualifiers since 1986.

AMMAN — Following a promising 7s season which culminated in Jordan winning the Bowl event at the Asian 7s tournament earlier this month, the Kingdom will launch its 15s season this Friday, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

And what a start to the season it promises to be with reigning champions Nomads taking on their cross city rivals Amman Citadel, who finished runners-up last year.

The format of the 15s Premiership has been tweaked this season but both Amman sides are expected to face a tough challenge from the Saracens, a team made up predominantly of expatriate players living in Amman.

“We are in a phase of development for the 15s game in Jordan so it will be interesting to see how teams fair this season,” said Zu’bi Al Zu’bi, secretary general of Jordan Rugby.

“We are looking to build a bigger base of 15s players with the league followed by two cup competitions over the next couple of months.

“We have enjoyed a very fruitful 7s season where we undoubtedly showed how much the game has moved on here and we look forward to picking up from where we left off later in the year.

“But first we have some exciting matches coming up in the 15s version of the game starting with a real battle of the top two ranked sides this Friday.”

Aqaba Sharks will also be playing their part in the 15s season and will also host the Aqaba Cup next month. They are looking to spring a few surprises on home soil.

The match this Friday will kick off at 2pm at Petra University on the airport road.

AMMAN — Some of the best players from across the region have confirmed that they will compete in this weekend’s Jordan Golf Open being held at the Ayla Golf Course in Aqaba, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Over 70 players are expected, including the top ranked players from Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon, who will come up against the best players from Jordan, as well as a sprinkling of top notch expatriate golfers that are based in the region.

Moving the event to the Greg Norman-designed par-72 course and extending the gross event to three days has paid dividends with organisers hailing this edition as potentially the most competitive in its 27-year history.

“We are very pleased with the quality of the players that are expected to take part,” said Hani Abdallat, president of the Jordan Golf Federation. 

“It promises to be a very competitive weekend. There are some top players flying in so our three-time reigning champion Amer Radee [of Iraq] can expect some very tough competition.”

Thirteen-year-old rising star Shergo Kurdi will lead Jordan’s chase for the top prize along with teammate Riyad Al Majali.

Palestine’s Bilal Al Attaya, Lebanon’s Namer Sa’ed and Rasheed Aqel and the USA’s Mike Hoover are expected to provide big challenges too.

The Jordan Open was moved to the Aqaba-based Ayla course in October for the first time, and the tournament has been brought forward to March this year to take advantage of better regional scheduling, which appears to have paid off. It is hoped the course will host a number of future big regional golf events.

The Open tees off on Thursday with the gross event to be held over the three days, while the net event will be held on Friday and Saturday.

AMMAN — The upcoming Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku is one of those rare opportunities when Paralympic athletes can compete at the same multi-sport event as their so called able bodied counterparts, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service. 

From May 12-22, hundreds of athletes with a disability will be joining thousands of their fellow compatriots for a celebration of sport that is as inclusive as they come.

Jordan will be sending just the one athlete to compete in the Paralympic sports but he is aiming to make his mark as Jordan bids to bolster its growing reputation in disability sports.

Amer Al Abbadi is competing in the discus and knows that a medal will prove that the Kingdom has much more than powerlifting and table tennis when it comes to the disability side of sport.

“It is an important event for me and it provides a great opportunity to demonstrate to the mainstream sports fans just how competitive we can be,” said Abbadi, 41.

“We did very well last year at the Paralympic Games in Rio when we won four medals and the team did great at the Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai last month, so I want to continue the form out onto the field events too.”

Abbadi is currently training every day and will be heading to Tunis for a camp prior to Baku.

“We believe we can medal in Baku,” said his coach, Ahmad Adam. “Amer has a great will to reach the top and this event will provide a tough test for him but we are confident of doing well.”

Jordan is sending around 70 athletes to Baku who will be competing across 11 sports.

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-23 squad left to Dubai on the weekend, for a training camp and eight nation tournament from March 20-28 in the final phase of preparations for qualifiers for the 3rd Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship in 2018.

The tournament in Dubai will see Jordan play alongside Saudi Arabia, China and Malaysia in Group 2 while Group 1 includes the UAE, Thailand, Singapore and North Korea. 

The matches will provide team coaches a good opportunity to assess preparedness ahead of the qualifiers after Jordan was drawn in Group E with Palestine, Tajikistan and Bangladesh. 

The U-23 qualifiers which will be held July 19-23 will include 40 teams playing in 10 groups. The top team from each group, in addition to the top five second-placed teams will move to the championships finals. Titleholders Japan will play alongside championship hosts China in Group J while runner up South Korea got an easy draw in Group I.

The teams include:

Group A: Iran, Oman, Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka.

Group B: Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Afghanistan.

Group C: Qatar, Syria, India and Turkmenistan.

Group D: UAE, Uzbekistan, Lebanon and Nepal.

Group F: Australia, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei.

Group G: North Korea, Laos, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Group H: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mongolia.

Group I: South Korea, Vietnam, Timor-Leste and Macau.

Group J: Japan, China, Cambodia and Philippines.

In 2016, Jordan was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship in Qatar. The Kingdom failed to make it to the top four and a possible Olympic slot with the continent’s top three advancing to the Olympic Games football tournament in Rio de Janeiro later won by Brazil. 

In the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship in 2014 (now renamed the AFC U23 Championship), Jordan took third place when they beat South Korea while Iraq won the title after defeating Saudi Arabia.

In 2015, Jordan’s U-23 squad was eliminated from the 1st West Asian U-23 Championship and in 2014 the line-up represented Jordan at the Asian Games where they made to the quarter-finals.

The Kingdom’s younger squads are also training for their respective Asian qualifiers. The U-19 team, which qualified to the Asian Championship four times and previously reached the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007, was last eliminated from the qualifying rounds of the 2016 Championship. Jordan finished fourth in 2006, but exited the group stages in 2008 and 2010 and reached the quarters in 2012. Jordan failed to qualify to the 2014 Championship as well.

Similarly, the U-16 team is now preparing for their Asian qualifiers. In 2015, the U-16 squad failed to advance to the 2016 AFC U-16 Asian Championship.

Khris Middleton scored 30 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists, helping Milwaukee defeat the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night at Staples Centre in a game that featured a scuffle between both clubs. 

Antetokounmpo made 11 of 16 shots from the floor as the Bucks (34-34) won for the eighth time in the last nine games. 

Jordan Clarkson had 21 points and Ivica Zubac added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers (20-49), who lost their fourth in a row. Nick Young had 16 points and D’Angelo Russell finished with 14 before both were ejected late in the third quarter along with Bucks center Greg Monroe. 

Tempers flared with 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter with the Bucks leading 83-73. Bucks rookie guard Malcolm Brogdon fouled Young on a drive to the bucket. 

Young took exception and pushed Brogdon. Monroe, who had 12 points and six boards before being sent to the locker room, shoved Young as players from both teams became involved in the scrum.

Wizards 112, Bulls 107

John Wall set a career high with 20 assists and Bradley Beal scored 24 points, as Washington rebounded from a rare home loss with a win over Chicago on Friday night. 

The Wizards (42-26) let most of a 19-point halftime lead slip away thanks to their latest suspect defensive performance but ultimately held on to snap a two-game losing streak. 

Otto Porter and Wall each made two free throws inside the final 19 seconds after Jimmy Butler’s 3-pointer made the score 108-107 with 39.7 seconds left. 

The Wizards (42-26) let most of a 19-point halftime lead slip away, but ultimately held on to snap a two-game losing streak. 

Otto Porter and Wall each sank two free throws inside the final 19 seconds remaining after Jimmy Butler’s 3-pointer made the score 108-107 with 39.7 seconds.

Heat 123,
Timberwolves 105

Miami, who started the season 11-30, continued their amazing turnaround, drawing to within one game of .500 with a victory over Minnesota at AmericanAirlines Arena. 

Miami, who are 23-5 in their past 28 games, was led by reserve guard Tyler Johnson, who had 23 points, and centre Hassan Whiteside, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds. 

Heat point guard Goran Dragic had 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 10 assists. Miami shot a season-best 58.8 per cent from the floor. 

The Heat win was marred by an injury to Dion Waiters’ left ankle. Waiters, Miami’s starting shooting guard, left the game with 3:24 left in the second quarter and did not return, although the Heat said X-rays were negative.

Pelicans 128, 

Rockets 112

Forward Solomon Hill scored a career-high 30 points, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and Anthony Davis added 24 points and 14 rebounds to lift New Orleans to a victory over Houston at the Smoothie King Centre. 

Hill entered the game averaging 6.5 points per game, but he exploded for 16 first-quarter points as New Orleans took a 36-23 lead. The Pelicans played without centre DeMarcus Cousins, who was rested with a sore left knee and bruised right rib. 

The Rockets got a game-high 41 points from James Harden, but even though they cut a 23-point deficit to 114-103 with 5:27 left, they got no closer.

Celtics 98, Nets 95

Jae Crowder collected a season-high 24 points and 12 rebounds and Boston overcame the absence of star point guard Isaiah Thomas and held on for a victory over Brooklyn. 

The Celtics played without Thomas, who sat out due to a bone bruise in his right knee. With Thomas missing his fifth game of the season, it was a struggle at times for the Celtics. 

Avery Bradley added 16 for the Celtics, who shot 40 per cent from the field. Al Horford contributed 14 despite shooting 6 of 16 while Marcus Smart added 12 in place of Thomas.

Raptors 87, Pistons 75

Serge Ibaka had 17 points and nine rebounds and Toronto rallied from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to down Detroit at The Palace. 

The Raptors finished the game on a 24-3 run. The Pistons scored just three points in the final 9:20. 

Toronto shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, who entered the game as the NBA’s fifth-leading scorer at 27.1 points per game, supplied all of his 14 points in the second half. DeMarre Carroll contributed 12 points, Norman Powell had 11 and Jonas Valanciunas added 10 for the Raptors.

76ers 116, Mavericks 74

Justin Anderson matched his career high of 19 points against his former team as Philadelphia routed Dallas, the 76ers’ most lopsided victory in nine years. 

It was the third time in 11 games with Philadelphia that Anderson matched his career high. He was acquired in a February 23 trade involving centre/forward Nerlens Noel. 

Noel had nine points and five rebounds off the bench for Dallas.

AMMAN  — Wihdat took the lead atop the Jordan Professional Football League standings as teams headed into a short break, while the national team regrouped on Friday for the final phase of preparations for the Asian Cup qualifiers.

Wihdat scored an important 3-0 win over 4th placed Manshieh to take the lead from Jazira as week 16 concluded. Jazira dropped to second after they were held 1-1 with Hussein, while Faisali remained third after a 0-0 draw with That Ras.

Ramtha are fifth after beating Sarih 2-1, while Shabab Urdun are seventh after they beat Ahli 3-0 as the latter dropped to 8th. 

In the lower half of standings, Baqa’a moved from last to 10th after their second consecutive win. They beat 9th placed Sahab 3-1 as That Ras remained 11th joining Sarih who dropped to last in the relegation zone.

Wihdat need to capitalise on their league lead after they also had a successful week in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup. They now lead Group C after beating Oman’s Saham 2-1. They earlier scored a 1-0 win over Lebanon’s Nijmeh and held Bahrain’s Muharraq 1-1.

Representing Jordan in the AFC Cup for the first time, Ahli are now third in Group A after they held Oman’s Suweiq 0-0. They earlier held Iraq’s Zawra 1-1 and lost their opening match 1-0 to Syria’s Jeish. 

This season, four teams are in the battle for the title. Joining the top three is Manshieh who joined the pro league this season alongside Sahab. Former Jordan Cup champ That Ras are going through financial strains and are now in the relegation zone. Baqa’a is up to 10th after they were usually among the upper half of standings.

Jazira’s Syrian pro Mardig Mardigian has maintained his scoring competency and leads the top scorers list with 12 goals, followed by Wihdat’s Munther Abu Amara with eight.

Wihdat, who exited the Asian Champions League, are looking to win their fourth consecutive and 16th overall title, while Faisali have not won the league in the past four years and eyeing their 33rd record title.

Ahli won the first major competition on the 2016/17 football calendar, when they beat reigning league champs Wihdat 2-1 to win the 34th Super Cup. In the Jordan Football Association Shield — back on the calendar after four years — Shabab Urdun scored a major 5-1 win over Faisali. It was Shabab Urdun’s second Shield title after they first won in 2007. In the Jordan Cup, four teams had made it to the semis in which Wihdat will face Faisali, while Ramtha play Jazira on May 12 and 16 before playing the final
on May 20.

Last season, Wihdat retained the title with Faisali, Ahli, Jazira and Shabab Urdun in the top five spots. It was Wihdat’s third consecutive and 15th league title since they moved up to the league in 1975. Faisali beat Wihdat to clinch the Super Cup, while it was Ahli who won their first Jordan Cup final.

Kawhi Leonard poured in 31 points to lead four teammates in double-figure scoring, as the San Antonio Spurs played through a season-high 23 turnovers and defeated the Atlanta Hawks 107-99 at the AT&T Centre.

San Antonio (52-14) moved into a tie with the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the NBA. The Spurs have won nine of its past 10 games overall and nine in a row at home.

Leonard, who had been going through the NBA’s concussion protocol after getting hit in the head on March 9 against Oklahoma City, was cleared to play hours before the game.

Dennis Schroder with 22 points and 10 assists for the Hawks, who saw their three-game winning streak end.

Grizzlies 113, Bucks 93

Vince Carter, making his first start of the season, scored 24 points and Mike Conley added 20 points and 10 assists to lead Memphis.

Carter, who started in place of injured forward Chandler Parsons, made each of his eight shots, including six three-pointers, to help the Grizzlies snap a season-long five-game losing streak.

The Bucks were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 18 points.

Timberwolves 119, Wizards 104

Ricky Rubio continued his impressive stretch with 22 points and 19 assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 39 points and 13 rebounds to lead Minnesota.

Minnesota reserve Nemanja Bjelica had his fourth double-double in his last seven games with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Timberwolves (27-38) have won eight of their past 12 games and have defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Washington in their past three home games.

Bulls 115, Hornets 109

Rajon Rondo, back in the starting lineup for the first time since late December, helped the Bulls snap a five-game losing streak with a season-high 20 points while adding seven rebounds and six assists.

Nikola Mirotic, who was not even active for the Sunday loss at Boston, came off the bench to lead the Bulls with 24 points and 11 rebounds. The Bulls also got 23 points, 11 assists and six rebounds from Jimmy Butler.

Jazz 114, Clippers 108

Gordon Hayward scored 27 points and hit four three-pointers to lead Utah to its first win over the Clippers this season.

The Jazz shot 11-of-12 from three-point range after halftime and made 10 straight three-pointers to open the half before finally missing one late in the fourth quarter.

George Hill added 19 points, while Joe Ingles chipped in 18 points for the Jazz.

Kings 120, Magic 115

Darren Collison scored 19 points and added 11 assists, one of them an alley-oop to Willie Cauley-Stein that broke a tie and enabled the Kings to end an eight-game losing streak.

The Kings made 16 three-pointers, the most important of them being Anthony Tolliver’s team-high fifth of the night with less than a minute left that gave Sacramento a four-point lead.

Nuggets 129, Lakers 101

Will Barton and Jamal Murray scored 22 points each, and Nikola Jokic had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Nuggets won their third straight game.

Danilo Gallinari also scored 18 points and Mason Plumlee had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who were without Wilson Chandler (groin), Kenneth Faried (back) and Darrell Arthur (left knee soreness).

Raptors 100, Mavericks 78

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points, and added six rebounds and two assists to lead Toronto.

The Raptors (39-28) had lost their two previous games to end a road trip at 2-3. It was the second loss in a row for the Mavericks (28-38), who just completed a 4-1 homestand.

AMMAN — When Amer Radee moved to Jordan from Iraq as a 16-year-old, little did he know that 17 years later he would be the man they all want to beat at the Kingdom’s leading golf tournament, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Radee took up a job as a caddy at the Bisharat Golf Course but, as a sport loving teenager, he soon decided to give a sport that was new to him a try. Now, aged 33, he is preparing to defend his Jordan Golf Open title for the fourth time.

“It’s been a different route to golf I suppose you could say!” said Radee, who will head a quality field at the par 72 Greg Norman-designed Ayla Golf Club from March 23-25. “It all started by accident when I decided to give it a go whilst I was caddying. I loved the sport immediately though.”

He has become the Kingdom’s leading player since, underlined with his hat-trick of Open wins over the past three years. But he knows his domination faces its toughest test yet in Aqaba.

“This year will be the toughest one of course,” he admits. “The tournament will be at Ayla Golf Club, which is a challenge in itself and there will be players coming over from across the region.

“But I think my biggest challenge will come from Jordan’s very own young rising star Shergo Kurdi who is an excellent player. I am really looking forward to the tournament and I wish all of the players well.”

Radee dreams of one day playing on the professional golf tours of Asia and Europe and says he continues to work hard on his game every single day.

He has been in a prime position to see how the sport has developed, and he believes there is nothing stopping Jordan making his dream come true by hosting a future round of one of the big Tours at Ayla in the near future.

“We now have one of the best golf courses in the region which is capable of hosting a European Tour event. This would be incredible for all of us playing the game here,” he said.

The Jordan Golf Open is being organised by the Jordan Golf Federation with the gross event to be held over three days and the net event to be held on the final two days as a stable ford.