Sports

AMMAN — Omar Al Kukhun delivered a timely reminder as to why he is regarded as one of the best drift drivers in the Middle East with a stunning victory at round four of the Jordan Drift Championship, according to the Jordan Motorsport Media Service.   

Kukhun blazed back to form with a swashbuckling performance to thrill the judges and the bumper crowd at the old track in Madaba.  

All eyes were on the top two of Raafat Haroun and Mohammed Al Foqahaa, but it was the BMW E30 of Kukhun that stole the show. Second went to Issam Al Jamal and third was picked up by Ahmed Al Jabali to give them both vital championship points with one round remaining.

Haroun’s fourth place means he still leads the series, and he has extended his lead at the top after closest rival Foqahaa came in ninth. The title will now be decided at the fifth and final round to be held on November 22.

WASHINGTON — Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray moved closer to a singles comeback six months after hip surgery, joining brother Jamie for a doubles victory Wednesday at the ATP Washington Open.

The Murrays, partnered for the first time since the 2016 Rio Olympics, downed Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 10-5 to reach the last eight at the US Open tune-up event.

“The level of tennis I thought was really good,” Andy Murray said. “It felt like there were some good points and quick reactions out there.”

Andy Murray is practicing singles and playing doubles as the former World No. 1, now ranked 222, continues his fightback from right hip surgery in January.

The 32-year-old Scotsman feared he could be forced into retirement before the operation. He returned to the court in June, but only in doubles while he rehabilitates.

“I have no pain,” Murray said. “It’s not restricting me in any of the shots that I’m hitting. I’m still maybe a little bit slow. I’m hoping that’s something that comes back with time.”

Murray departed Washington in tears from pain and frustration last year after a rain-delayed 3am singles victory that led him to withdraw.

“I’m in a much better place than I was last year. Physically, I just feel so much better,” Murray said. 

“I didn’t know how much more I was going to be playing after here last year. To come back and be competing and be pain-free is brilliant.”

The British duo trailed 5-2 in the decisive super-tiebreaker but steamrolled back by taking the last eight points, with Jamie Murray’s service winner securing the victory.

It was Andy who began the rally with a backhand winner and added backhand volley and drop volley winners on the two penultimate points.

Murray declared Monday his hip has responded better than expected and he was “quite close” to a singles comeback, perhaps as soon as Cincinnati in two weeks.

That would be only two weeks ahead of the US Open, with Murray also saying if he didn’t play Cincinnati he would likely wait until after the US Open, cautious of pushing his luck untested in best-of-five-set matches.

Murray, who won Grand Slam titles at the 2012 US Open, and in 2013 and 2016 at Wimbledon, most recently played singles at the Australian Open in January, losing a first-round five-setter to Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

The Murrays, who helped Britain win the 2015 Davis Cup, broke the French duo in the final game to claim the first set, then outlasted them to the finish after one hour and 51 minutes.

They will play for a semifinal spot against third seeds Michael Venus of New Zealand and Raven Klaasen of South Africa.

Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 20-year-old who ousted Roger Federer on the way to the Australian Open semifinals, advanced to the third round in singles by defeating US wildcard Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-5.

US fifth seed John Isner advanced to the third round by eliminating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-4. Isner, seeking his 16th career ATP crown, was a Washington runner-up in 2007, 2013 and 2015.

“It was a good start. I’m happy with the win,” said Isner, who faces French 10th seed Benoit Paire next.

Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic, the 2014 Washington winner, ripped US qualifier Tim Smyczek 6-1, 6-4. He next meets German lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk, who dispatched Australian Alex de Minaur 6-3, 7-6 (8/6).

LONDON — Patrice Evra has revealed he threatened Manchester United Executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward during a heated row over his future at the club in 2014.

Former France defender Evra retired from football on Monday after a glittering career that included an eight-year spell with United.

The left-back played for United from 2006 to 2014, winning five Premier League titles and one Champions League crown among a host of honours.

But the 38-year-old, who had a short-term deal with West Ham last season, didn’t always enjoy a smooth ride at Old Trafford.

Evra had told Woodward he intended to leave United when his contract expired at the end of the 2013-14 season, but after initially accepting his decision, Woodward announced he had triggered a one-year contract extension against the player’s wishes.

Evra went ballistic and threatened Woodward when he spoke to him about the deal.

Two months later the defender, then 33, joined Juventus for £1.2 million.

“Before the end of that season Ed told me: ‘Patrice, you’re going to stay for another year because we’ve got an option in your contract,’” Evra told Sky Sports on Tuesday.

“But I told him I needed to leave because of family reasons. He shook my hand and said he understood. Then in May I was having dinner in Dubai on my birthday and had a text from my agent. 

“He told me to go somewhere quiet and sent me a message with the statement from United saying they were pleased to renew my contract for another year. I went mad, I was really disappointed.

“I called Ed and swore on the phone, even threatened him. He said I couldn’t talk to the director of football like that and that he was going to fine me. 

“After that Ryan Giggs called and said I couldn’t leave just because of one man, but it gave me an excuse to leave. I’d already said to my wife we were going to leave, but inside I didn’t ever really feel I could. That gave me a little push.”

Evra’s revelation of the Woodward bust-up came on the same day he admitted his success in football was inspired by his humble childhood.

“I had nothing. We had nothing. But I was living as if I had everything,” Evra wrote in the Players’ Tribune.

“If I could tell you one secret about my life, this would be it. Anyone can be happy — anyone can love this game. Without this mindset, my friend, I would not be sitting here as a recently retired left back who played for France, Juventus and Manchester United.

“I would probably still be sitting outside a shop in Paris, begging for money to buy a sandwich.

“I’m not joking. When I grew up in Les Ulis, a commune in the Paris suburbs, I was living with my parents and some of my brothers and sisters. I have 24 of them.

“So we were about a dozen people in the same house. My father was providing a lot of our income through his job as an ambassador. 

“That’s what took our family from Senegal, where I was born, to Brussels and then to Les Ulis. But when I was 10 he divorced my mother. He took the sofa and the TV and even the chairs.”

AMMAN — The national football team returned home on Tuesday after ending a training camp in Turkey in the last phase of preparations for the 9th West Asian Championship which will be held in Iraq July 30 — Aug 14.

Jordan was drawn to play alongside Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain in Group B while Group A includes Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen as well as host Iraq.

Jordan plays Bahrain in its opening match on August 4. The top team from each group advances to the August 14 final match.

Initiated by Jordan in 2000, and headed by HRH Prince Ali, president of the Jordan Football Association (JFA) and the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), Jordan’s best finish at WAFF Championship was runner-up in 2002, 2008 and 2014. Iran won the title for the fourth time in 2008. Iraq won the title once in 2002, Kuwait in 2010, Syria in 2012 and Qatar in 2014. 

Jordan lost 2-0 to Qatar in the final match of the 8th edition of the championship. It was the third time for Jordan in the final, finishing runner-up three times, but never winning the title.

The West Asian Championship is a good chance as the team gears up for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Qatar and 2023 Asian Cup in China. Jordan will play in Group 2 alongside Australia, Taiwan, Kuwait and Nepal in the qualifiers.

The Kingdom dropped one place to 99th in the latest FIFA world rankings which came after the team played two friendly matches losing to Slovakia 5-1 before beating Indonesia 4-1.

The squad’s latest results were under scrutiny by observers, as others noted the coaching staff should be given a chance to try the line-up of players before heading into the qualifiers. 

Once among the Asia top 10, Jordan is now 16th in the continent but still lags behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams compared to their best FIFA Ranking of 37th in 2004. 

After elimination from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, playing in the Asian finals became Jordan’s focus, but that ambition ended in the Round of 16. Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan reached the Asian Championship four times. The highlight was at the 13th Asian Cup in 2004, when it lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015 and 2019.

The national team’s best peak performance was in 2013 when the team was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie.

The Kingdom had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in qualifiers. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times in the qualifiers since 1986.

AMMAN — Abdullah Jabareen and Abdulrahman Al Saradih have won bronze medals at the World Muay Thai Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Jabareen’s success came in the -81kg weight in the U-23 category where he beat Chinese Taipei’s Jao Sion Seo with a technical knockout and Palestine’s Khaled Abu Hazza, before losing in the semi-final to Thailand’s Sakharong Sklird to settle for bronze.

Saradih reached the last four of the -71kg weight in the U-23 category by beating Czech Republic’s Stephan Juba and Vietnam’s Tung Nguyen, before missing out to Thailand’s Concep Man because of injury in the semifinal.

The achievements drew praise from their coach, Yasser Abu Safiya, who said: “These medals are evidence that Jordan is improving its level in this sport with our fighters competing with the world’s best. We are very pleased with our standard set this week.”

GWANGJU, South Korea — From Caeleb Dressel’s relentless pursuit of gold to the record-breaking exploits of Adam Peaty and Hungary’s Kristof Milak, we look at the best of the world swimming championships in Gwangju:

Dressel’s hair loss

American superstar Caeleb Dressel finished with six gold medals in South Korea to add to the seven he scooped in Budapest two years ago, going a perfect four from four in his individual events, including a successful defence of the blue riband 100 metres freestyle.

But the tattooed pin-up’s highlight had to be the semifinal of the 100m butterfly when he crushed Michael Phelps’s 10-year-old world record, clocking a jaw-dropping 49.50 seconds to eclipse the American legend’s mark by 0.32. Despite his success in Gwangju, Dressel claimed “hair loss” due to stress.

Sun burn

No major swimming championship goes by without fireworks involving Chinese giant Sun Yang, who brilliantly retained his 200 and 400m freestyle titles, but was snubbed on the podium by rivals Mack Horton and Duncan Scott over allegations of doping violations.

The controversial triple Olympic champion, who according to a leaked FINA doping panel report had blood vials smashed with a hammer, reacted furiously and claimed he was standing up for all athletes by not allowing what he called “unlicensed” testers to take away samples. 

Ledecky ‘tough as nails’

After losing her 400m freestyle title to Aussie teenager Ariarne Titmus in a stunning upset at the start of meet, American great Katie Ledecky pulled out of the defence of her 1,500m title and 200m heats with a virus. 

But after a couple of days off — and boosted by an encouraging late-night text from Phelps — Ledecky hit back by capturing gold in the 800m free, fighting off European champion Simona Quadarella to claim her 15th world title. A watching Dressel purred: “Goodness, that girl is tough as nails!”

Milak attack

Hungarian teenager Kristof Milak took down Phelps’s long-standing 200m butterfly world record with a flawless swim, firing off an astonishing 1:50.73 to slice 0.78 seconds off Phelps’s old bodysuit mark.

As Milak, 19, vowed to go even quicker at next year’s Tokyo Olympics, Phelps paid tribute to his “beautiful technique”, though admitted he felt sad to lose the world record in his pet event. All in all a bad week for Phelps, whose only remaining individual world record is the 400m individual medley. 

Project 56

Adam Peaty flexed his muscles on day one when the Briton shattered his own 100m breaststroke world record, becoming the first swimmer to break the magic 57-second barrier. Buzzing after finally realising his “Project 56”, Peaty roared: “I’ve evolved so much — I’m not an angry teenager anymore!”

The Olympic champion, unbeaten over the distance in major competition for five years, stormed to a time of 56.88 seconds to lop more than two tenths of his old mark before retaining his 50m title and helping Britain’s 4x100m medley relay team to a sensational upset over Dressel’s Americans.

Great Scott!

About that relay: When Dressel logged the fastest butterfly split ever to give teammate Nathan Adrian a lead of half-a-body-length in the 4x100m medley, he could have expected a seventh gold — but Duncan Scott has other ideas.

Scott, who had sparked angry scenes with his podium protest against Sun, exploded from the blocks to smash the anchor leg, hunting down Adrian as he clocked a sizzling 46.14 to give the Brits a famous win — and a third gold for a giddy Peaty.

HOCKENHEIM, Germany — Max Verstappen took full advantage of his rivals' calamities on Sunday to win an epic, rain-lashed and wildly-spectacular German Grand Prix for Red Bull ahead of Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.

The 21-year-old Dutchman secured his second win of the season and seventh of his career, finishing ahead of four-time world champion Vettel, who had started 20th and last on the grid.

New dad Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso was third as he secured only his third Formula One podium.

The race was a disaster for champions Mercedes who were celebrating their 200th Formula One start of the modern era and 125 years of motorsport, both defending five-time champion Lewis Hamilton and his teammate Valtteri Bottas crashed and failed to score any points.

Hamilton eventually finished 11th after making six pit-stops as he missed out on a points finish for the first time in 23 races while Verstappen continued his rich streak of consistency.

Lance Stroll of Racing Point came home fourth to deliver his team's best finish ahead of Carlos Sainz of McLaren, Alex Albon of Toro Rosso and Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo.

Romain Grosjean was eighth for Haas ahead of Antionio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo and Kevin Magnussen who was 10th for Haas.

"It was amazing, but really tricky out there," said Verstappen, who made four pit-stops and survived a complete 360-degrees spin. 

"To make the right calls, you had to be focussed. We put on the slick tyres and we had a 360! But it was alright."

Vettel, for whom the result brought redemption after he had crashed out while leading in heavy rain last year, said: "It was a long race and at some stages if felt like it was never-ending. I am just very happy."

Kvyat confirmed that he became a father on Saturday night when his partner Kelly gave birth to a daughter.

He said: "It is amazing to be back on the podium and incredible for Toro Rosso, after so many years."

After the record-breaking heat, the race began in steady rain with the field on full wet tyres behind a Safety Car through four formation laps before a standing start. 

The conditions did nothing to deter Hamilton who made a near-perfect start from his 87th pole position.

The race distance was reduced to 64 laps as the spray rose high in plumes throughout the pack, Vettel romping forward from 20th to pass six cars in the first five corners. Leclerc, in the other Ferrari, rose to sixth from 10th on the opening lap.

Hamilton led by two seconds from Bottas after lap one, Verstappen having made a poor start, as the field jostled for space and grip, Sergio Perez spinning backwards into the stadium entry wall and damaging his Racing Force.

That required a Safety Car intervention for three laps, during which the leaders pitted for intermediates, before racing resumed.

After 25, Verstappen pitted for medium compound slicks, a gamble by Red Bull. The Dutchman complained vigorously about his tyres before spinning at the final corner and recovering.

Another Virtual Safety Car was then deployed briefly, as Hamilton pitted for softs from the lead, before Leclerc went off at Sachs Curve. 

The Monegasque screamed aloud as Vettel pitted, returning to 'inters', before Hamilton went off, snapping his front wing.

The Englishman recovered, cutting across the circuit into the pit lane. He was repaired and fitted with 'inters' before re-joining fifth behind Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Bottas and Albon.

AMMAN — Jordan’s Khatshik Shadian broke the 12-year Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb record on Friday, according to the Jordan Motorsport Media Service.

Shadian knocked almost half a second off the record set by Lebanon’s Roger Feghali in 2007, clocking a stunning 1 minute 48.28 seconds for the twisty and challenging track.

His performance all day was scintillating, with all three of his runs coming under the magic 1:50 mark, but his record breaker came in the final round to the delight of the large crowd. His winning margin was 4.77 seconds clear of Speed Test ace Husam Salem in second.

Wael Mustafa came in third with Ghaith Wreikat and Mustafa Attari finishing in fourth and fifth respectively.

The Hill Climb is the Arab World’s longest running motorsport event and was launched way back in 1955 when His Majesty King Hussein stormed to victory in his Mercedes Benz 300 SL.

AMA, Japan — Whisper it, but tiny Japanese schoolgirl Misugu Okamoto looks to have become the host country’s best hope to win skateboarding gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A year from the start of the Games, the bashful 13-year-old screws her nose up at talk of making history when the hipster sport makes its Olympic debut — for fear of jinxing a sizzling run of form. 

“If I listen to all that, I worry it will go to my head,” Okamoto told AFP after practising.

“I don’t want to get carried away — that’s happened to me before and I’m scared it could happen again so I just try to block it out.”

Good luck with that. Having just topped qualifying for this summer’s X Games, the teenager is hot property.

At a shade under 1.42 metres tall, Okamoto makes skateboarding look ridiculously easy with her smooth-flowing technique, ice-cool temperament and the ability to bust out hair-raising aerial spins with an effortless grace.

Less than a week before her 13th birthday, she won the Dew Tour park final at Long Beach, a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, forcing people to sit up and take notice.

Okamoto followed that by storming to victory at the X Games qualifier in Idaho to book her first appearance at the extreme sports event, to be held in Minneapolis from August 1-4.

“It didn’t really sink in that I’d won,” the Aichi-born skater said at a skate park in rural Ama, near Nagoya in central Japan.

“It gave me a little more confidence,” added Okamoto, who took up skateboarding in primary school.

“But I really didn’t come away thinking it was that big a deal.”

Despite her modesty, the way Okamoto nonchalantly pulled off successive “McTwists” — a spectacular front flip with a 540-degree rotation — stunned commentators in Idaho.

“It took me over a year to be able to do that 540 in practice,” revealed the Japan Open champion, who has her sights on success at prestigious international events such as the X Games and Vans Park Series.

“I love the challenge of trying new techniques — I get obsessed with that.”

With half-Japanese sensation Sky Brown opting to skate for Britain, the pressure is on the likes of Okamoto and Sakura Yosozumi, who holds the world and Asian park titles, to nail down Japan’s two Olympic spots.

On her 11-year-old rival Sky, Okamoto said: “She’s always smiling — and she’s got big tricks, which are very cool.”

But Okamoto detests the p-word. “I don’t feel any pressure,” she insisted, still battling jet-lag after returning from Los Angeles.

“I’m too soft on myself sometimes and can be my own worst enemy. After I won, I’d get carried away and then my level would drop off — that kind of stuff kept happening, so I’m trying hard to fix that and just focus on myself.”

After dropping into another run of big-air jumps, Okamoto added: “I love that feeling of flying. I want to be a skater who can compete with the best in the world.”

But while Japan has strength in depth in women’s skateboarding — with 10-year-old Kokona Hiraki, Mami Tezuka and Kisa Nakamura all making the top 10 in Long Beach along with Yosozumi — the Olympic hosts have fewer contenders in the men’s.

Enter Kensuke Sasaoka, the reigning Asian Games champion.

The Japanese No. 1 could be joined at Tokyo 2020 by two-time Olympic snowboarding silver medallist Ayumu Hirano, who underlined his skateboard credentials by scooping the national title earlier this year.

NAGAOKA, Japan — Sweat pours off Mahiro Takano as the 13-year-old karate black belt trades blows with a grown man almost twice her size, finishing with a blood-curdling roar, then a dainty bow.

The petite schoolgirl is used to punching above her weight — since taking up karate in kindergarten she has done much to boost the profile of the Japanese martial art, set to make its Olympic debut next year.

But when Tokyo 2020 kicks off a year from now, little Mahiro will be too young to compete.

“It has been my dream to win an Olympic gold medal since I was small,” Mahiro told AFP after training in her hometown of Nagaoka, a two-hour bullet train ride north of Tokyo.

“It’s sad that the Olympics are coming to Tokyo and I can’t take part because of my age.”

Mahiro is the fresh face of a form of warrior combat dating back centuries to what is now Okinawa, in subtropical southern Japan. 

She has helped put karate on the map in Japan — where it has traditionally been overshadowed by judo and kendo — by appearing in commercials since she was a toddler and acting as an ambassador for the sport.

But Mahiro insists her Tokyo Olympic heartbreak will make her stronger.

“It gives me incentive to compete at future Olympics when I’m bigger,” said the karate pin-up.

“I’ll watch the Tokyo Olympics and learn from the world’s best to be ready when my time comes.”

Waiting game

However, Mahiro could face quite a wait to demonstrate her explosive technique on the Olympic stage.

Karate was left off the list of four sports recommended by 2024 Paris Olympic organisers, which included surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and breakdancing — all since approved by the International Olympic Committee.

A 1.46 metre bundle of energy, Mahiro has won a record six successive national titles at elementary school level.

Paired with a 43-year-old man during training, she is a whir of perpetual motion.

Ponytail flicking from side to side as she ducks under her hulking opponent and unleashes punches of her own, Mahiro’s face contorts into a picture of intense focus, bordering on rage.

“I’m not trying to look scary,” she said with a giggle. “But when I’m concentrating, my face naturally looks like that.”

For Mahiro, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

“It doesn’t matter how big they are,” she smiled. “I just give it everything I have.”

Mahiro prefers the stylistic “kata” form of karate usually practised solo over “kumite”, which pits fighters against one another.

“Karate makes me stronger and teaches me better manners,” said Mahiro, who followed her elder brother into karate when she was four.

“It has helped me acquire good habits for later life.”

Takako Kikuchi, who coaches Mahiro, knew her star pupil was special from day one — and admits she can be a little intimidating despite her size.

‘A little scary’

“From the start she was different — she wasn’t your average four-year-old,” said Kikuchi.

“Mahiro puts adults to shame with her fighting spirit. 

“She becomes another person — it can be a little scary,” Kikuchi added with a laugh. “She’s a real battler, but she’s also very humble and eager to learn.”

Kikuchi expressed sadness at karate’s exclusion from the 2024 Paris Olympics, leaving it an uphill struggle to be reinstated for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“It’s just achieved Olympic status, which is a great chance to raise the sport’s profile in Japan,” she said.

“It’s a shock for everyone involved in karate.”

As Mahiro packed up her karate gear, Kikuchi added: “Karate that builds character — I’m sure it will return to the Olympics.”

With Kikuchi out of earshot, Mahiro revealed a secret method she uses to polish her kata technique, one her sensei might not approve of.

“I picture an imaginary opponent in front of me — like my brother,” she whispered. “Because he’s a real pain.”

Away from the karate dojo, Mahiro says she is just a regular schoolgirl who enjoys chatting with classmates, reading and listening to Justin Bieber and Korean boy band BTS.

“But I love karate more,” she insisted. “So I’ll keep training hard so I can get to the Olympics one day.”