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MANAMA — Five times world champion Lewis Hamilton took a lucky Bahrain Grand Prix win for Mercedes on Sunday after engine trouble in the dying stages denied Charles Leclerc a first Formula One victory. 

The 21-year-old Monegasque, who had started from pole position and finished third, had been set to become Ferrari’s youngest winner in just his second race for the Italian team when his car started losing power.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas, both as much as four seconds a lap faster than the stricken Ferrari, reeled him in and breezed past to secure the team’s second one-two finish in as many races.

“That was extremely unfortunate for Charles,” said Hamilton as he crossed the line, with the race finishing behind the safety car which was deployed to clear away Daniel Ricciardo’s stranded Renault.

“He drove such a great race. We’ve got work to do to keep these guys off our tails,” added the Briton, who hugged Leclerc after they stepped out of their cars.

Leclerc’s problems capped an already difficult day for Ferrari, who had swept the front row in qualifying, with Sebastian Vettel’s race having already unravelled.

The German, who finished fifth, spun while defending second place from Hamilton and then lost his front wing in a spectacular shower of sparks.

The only consolation for Leclerc, on the podium for the first time in his F1 career, was an extra point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

“It’s a very hard one to take,” said the youngster. “It’s a shame to only finish third, but it’s part of racing and we’ll come back stronger.”

Hamilton’s win in Bahrain was the 74th of his career but first this season.

The Briton stayed second in the championship but is now just one point shy of overall leader Bottas, who won and scored the extra point for fastest lap in Australia.

Max Verstappen finished fourth for Red Bull ahead of Vettel.

British rookie Lando Norris put in a fine drive for McLaren to finish sixth ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, Leclerc’s predecessor at Ferrari.

Frenchman Pierre Gasly brought his Red Bull home in eighth ahead of Toro Rosso’s Thai driver Alexander Albon and Mexican Sergio Perez, who rounded out the top 10 for Racing Point.

Hamilton is now 17 wins short of Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 91.

AMMAN — Wihdat will play Syria’s Jeish in Stage 3 of the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup on Monday while Jazira host Syria’s Ittihad Tuesday as they strive to keep the leading positions in the competition. 

Wihdat lead Group A after they beat Jerusalem’s Quds 6-2 and Lebanon’s Nijmeh 1-0.

In other matches, Jeish beat Nijmeh 1-0 and tied Quds 1-1. Likewise, Jazira share Group B lead with Bahrain’s Nijmeh after they scored a vital 1-0 win over titleholders Kuwait Club and held Nijmeh 1-1. In other group matches, Kuwait held Ittihad 0-0 1 and  Nijmeh beat Ittihad 2-1 .

The top teams from the three competing Asian groups in addition to the best second placed team will move to the semifinal round of the zone with the winner advancing to the eventual competition final.

Jordanian teams won the AFC Cup three times. Faisali won in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun won in 2007. Other Jordanian teams participating in previous editions include Ramtha, Hussein, That Ras and Ahli. 

MANAMA — Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took his first Formula One pole position with a stunning display under the floodlights in  qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday.

Calm and composed ahead of only his second race for the Italian team, the 21-year-old Monegasque was 0.294 seconds clear of last year’s pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel who secured Ferrari’s front row lockout.

Five-times world champion Lewis Hamilton was Ferrari’s closest challenger in third for Mercedes, but the Briton was still 0.324 seconds off the pace with team mate Valtteri Bottas alongside in fourth.

“Thanks guys! The car was amazing,” Leclerc said over the team radio after his track record time of one minute 27.866 seconds. 

“Today is a good beginning, I’ll try and finish the job tomorrow,” added the youngster, who was fastest in two of the three practice sessions before qualifying and can take his first F1 win on Sunday.

Leclerc, a rookie with Sauber (now Alfa Romeo) last season after winning the Formula Two title, is the second youngest pole sitter of all time. Vettel did it at 21 years and 73 days with Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008.

He will also be the first driver from Monaco to start at the front since the world championship started in 1950.

Ferrari, mysteriously off the pace at the season-opening race in Australia won by Bottas, were in a league of their own and restored to their position as race favourites.

The pole was the team’s first since September’s Italian Grand Prix, when they also swept the front row but lost to Hamilton in the race. 

“We have been focused on ourselves, we worked hard to understand the issues and I think the result of today somehow gives us confidence,” team boss Mattia Binotto told Sky Sports television.

“This is great for the team, great for him. It will not be his last one.”

Incredible pace

Vettel, who has more poles in Bahrain than any other driver, could put in only one run in the final pole-position shootout as the four times champion had to run twice in qualifying’s second phase after being held up by traffic.

That forced the German to leave a bit of a margin in the fight for pole.

“Maybe I was a bit shy in the second sector,” said the 31-year-old. “But in the end I think Charles did a very good job today, and he deserves to be on pole.”

Hamilton said there was still plenty to fight for.

“They’ve shown incredible pace,” said the Briton. “But it doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten. We’re going to work at it. We’ll just keep our heads down and try and see what happens.”

Behind the top four, Max Verstappen qualified fifth for Red Bull ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Romain Grosjean for Haas.

Kimi Raikkonen was ninth for Alfa Romeo while McLaren’s British rookie Lando Norris completed the top 10.

Nico Hulkenberg, having been impressive all weekend, was a surprise early casualty. The German will line up 17th in his Renault after failing to make it beyond the first phase.

New Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo qualified 11th, with Thailand’s Alexander Albon 12th for Toro Rosso.

Fallen champions Williams unsurprisingly propped up the timesheets with rookie George Russell edging out experienced Pole Robert Kubica.

AMMAN —Veteran rally campaigner Marouf Abu Samra has returned to the Jordan National Rally Championship in style with a trailblazing victory in round one on Friday, according to the Jordan Motorsport Media Service.

Accompanied by navigator Malek Hariri in a Ford Fiesta R5, Abu Samra combined blistering pace with admirable control to steer his way to a 28-second victory from rising Omani star Abdullah Rawahi in a Subaru Impreza.

Rawahi is tipped to become the next big thing in Middle East rallying and he showed his calibre with an assured drive through testing Jordan Valley tracks, benefitting from the local knowledge of Jordanian co-driver Ata Al Hmoud.

Reigning champion Khaled Juma, with Imad Juma alongside him in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, picked up useful championship points in third overall with Ihab Al Shurafa and Salameh Al Gammaz taking fourth and fifth respectively.

Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah marked his return to competitive action in Jordan with a credible finish in sixth. The next round of the championship will be held as part of the Jordan Rally weekend from April 25-27.

Paul George scored 31 points and Russell Westbrook had yet another triple-double to help lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 107-99 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Early in the second half, the Thunder looked headed for yet another lacklustre defeat as the Pacers built an 11-point lead. But then came a massive third-quarter push. The Thunder scored 24 consecutive points over a stretch of nearly seven minutes to seize control.

Westbrook finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Steven Adams scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Thunder, his highest-scoring game since December 14.

Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pacers with 28 points. Domantas Sabonis added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Myles Turner had 12 points and 14 boards.

Wizards 124, Suns 121

Thomas Bryant’s three-point play with 2.8 seconds remaining lifted the visiting Washington Wizards to a 124-121 win over at Phoenix on Wednesday, spoiling a 50-point night from the Suns’ Devin Booker.

With time expiring in a tie game, Bradley Beal drove baseline and lofted an alley-oop pass to Bryant, who laid it in and added a free throw.

After a timeout, Phoenix inbounded, and Troy Daniels’ corner 3-point attempt went off the rim at the buzzer as the Suns dropped their fifth consecutive game.

Booker, who scored 59 points at Utah on Monday, became the first player in Suns history to score 50 or more points in consecutive games and the 10th different player in NBA history to do it.

Jabari Parker had 28 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for Washington, who had lost five straight, and Beal scored 28 points. Reserve Jordan McRae contributed 21 points, and Bryant finished with 18 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.

Washington won despite missing 14 of 43 free-throw attempts.

Booker finished 19 of 29 from the field, and he grabbed 10 rebounds. Troy Daniels scored 15 points, and Deandre Ayton had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix.

Parker’s two free throws, after he grabbed an offensive rebound, gave the Wizards a 109-105 lead with 6:08 remaining. Booker’s layup tied the score 118-118 with 1:30 left.

Bryant’s 3-pointer with 28.6 seconds to go put the Wizards up by three, but Jamal Crawford answered with 17.1 seconds remaining.

The Suns led 41-35 midway through the second quarter, but Washington went on 12-0 run led by Parker and Jeff Green to go up by six. The score was 59-59 at halftime.

Booker scored 30 points in the first half on 10-of-14 shooting.

The Suns took a 72-67 lead on Booker’s layup with 8:21 to go in the third quarter.

Washington soon tied it, and the teams traded the lead through the end of the quarter. Dragan Bender’s corner 3-pointer sent the Suns into the final quarter with a 90-89 lead.

Jazz 115, Lakers 100

Rudy Gobert recorded 22 points and 11 rebounds to help the Utah Jazz register a 115-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Derrick Favours added 20 points, and Jae Crowder scored 16 for the Jazz, who have won three straight games and eight of their past nine. Joe Ingles posted a career-best 14 assists while adding 11 points and nine rebounds as Utah defeated Los Angeles for the 13th time in the past 15 meetings.

Lakers forward LeBron James was rested in the second of back-to-back games. During Los Angeles’ Tuesday victory over the Washington Wizards, James had 23 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds in 34 minutes.

Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points, and JaVale McGee added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Los Angeles, who lost for the 21st time in the past 29 contests. Alex Caruso and Moritz Wagner scored 13 points apiece, and Lance Stephenson added 10 for the Lakers (33-42), who shot 38.1 per cent from the field and made 9 of 27 from 3-point range.

The Jazz moved into a tie for fifth place with the Los Angeles Clippers (45-30) in the Western Conference. Both teams are just two games behind the fourth-place Houston Rockets in the battle for home-court advantage in the first round of the play-offs.

Donovan Mitchell and Thabo Sefolosha added 11 points apiece, and Ricky Rubio had 10 points and eight assists for Utah, which shot 49.4 per cent from the field and made 10 of 32 from behind the arc.

Utah held a seven-point halftime lead before scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 67-53 advantage.

Mitchell’s dunk increased the lead to 77-62 with 6:15 left in the third quarter. The margin reached 20 for the first time when Gobert drained two free throw to make it 83-63 with 4:03 remaining.

Favours scored 13 first-half points, and the Jazz led 60-53 at the break.

Utah was in front 51-40 after Jae Crowder’s layup with 3:29 remaining in the half. The Lakers trimmed the deficit to five before Mitchell slammed home a ferocious dunk with 4.2 seconds remaining.

Warriors 118, 

Grizzlies 103

Golden State needed a late surge and 28 points apiece from Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant to hold off host Memphis.

Curry hit six 3-pointers and Durant missed just one shot for the Warriors, who moved a half-game ahead of Denver in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.

Jonas Valanciunas (27 points, 13 rebounds) and Bruno Caboclo (17 points, 13 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for Memphis, who lost for just the second time in their past seven home games.

Trail Blazers 118, 

Bulls 98

Seth Curry scored a team-high 20 points as Portland topped Chicago for a fifth straight victory.

Continuing a strong run while stepping in for injured guard CJ McCollum (knee), Curry shot 8-for-11 from the floor as part of the Blazers’ 51.8 per cent (43-for-83) effort. Al Farouq Aminu notched 12 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, and Rodney Hood scored 15 points.

Chicago’s Shaquille Harrison scored a game-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds, and Wayne Selden had 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Bulls were missing Lauri Markkanen, who was shut down for the season due to fatigue.

AMMAN   —   As week 17 of Jordan Professional League kicks off on Thursday, the Jordan Cup Round of 16 teams have been decided with First and Second Division teams making headway in the second competition on the season calendar.

The league was on hold last week as the national team played two matches in a friendly tournament losing 1-0 to Syria and 3-2 to Iraq. The U-23 national  team also played its Asian qualifiers and advanced to the  Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship after topping Group E qualifiers.

This week, Wihdat's league match against Ahli is postponed for AFC Cup scheduling paving the way for officials to defuse tension as Wihdat announced suspending participation following the disciplinary committee's reversal of suspensions regarding unsportsmanlike actions by some Faisali players in their latest match. 

Leaders Jazira will play Ramtha who dropped to 11th, Shabab Urdun play Hussein who are now 6th, Faisali play Sarih who moved up to 10th, Salt play Baqaa who moved to 7th and eighth placed Aqaba play last placed That Ras. 

In the Jordan Cup, Pro league teams Hussein and That Ras were eliminated by Second Division teams Khaldieh and Um Qutain in the knockout first round which included 32  teams. The Round of 16 now groups 10 pro league teams, four First Division teams and two Second Division teams. It will be Wihdat vs Yarmouk, Faisali vs Khaldieh, Shabab Urdun vs Manshieh, Baqaa vs Ramtha, Jazira vs Ahli, Aqaba vs Balama, Salt vs Karmel, Sarih vs Um Qutain.

Since the cup started in 1980, there have been 37 editions with Faisali being a record 19 time champions. Wihdat  won 10 times, Jazira, Ramtha and Shabab Urdun twice, while Arabi, That Ras and Ahli won once each.

Last year, Wihdat won the league for a record 16th time as Jazira lost two competition finals conceding the 35th Jordan Super Cup to Faisali and the Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield final to Wihdat.  Jazira finished runner-up in the league but made club history by winning the 38th Jordan Cup final after they last won the Jordan Cup in 1984. Regionally, Jazira were eliminated from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup West Asia zone final and failed to reach the continent's final. Faisali bowed out in the event's semifinals.  Likewise, Ramtha were eliminated by Tunisia's Etoile Sportive Du Sahel in the preliminary round of the Arab Club Champions Cup.  

The 2018-2019 football season kicked off with league champs Wihdat beating Jordan Cup champs Jazira in the 36th Jordan Super Cup. Regionally, Wihdat were eliminated early in the 2018/19 AFC Champions League losing to Kuwait Club 3-2. Jordanian teams have never before made it past the ACL preliminary round. In the 2017/18 edition, Faisali were eliminated, while Wihdat were knocked out in 2017, 2016 and 2015 and now in 2019, and Shabab Urdun were eliminated in 2014.

Jazira and Wihdat boosted their chances of advancing in the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup when they scored important wins and shot to the lead ahead of stage 3 of the competition on April 1 and 2. Jazira held Bahrain's Nijmeh 1-1 and scored a vital 1-0 win over guests titleholders Kuwait Club to share Group B lead with Nijmeh. Wihdat now lead Group A after they beat Jerusalem's Quds 6-2 and  Lebanon's Nijmeh 1-0.  

AMMAN — Jordan’s leading drivers will be joined by two of the region’s most prominent names in the sport when the five-round National Rally Championship gets under way on Friday, according to the Jordan Motorsport Media Service.

A quality entry field of 12 cars includes Kuwait’s Mishari Al Thafiri and one of the elder statesmen of the Middle East scene, Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah, of Qatar, who has re-joined the regional series this season following a break to concentrate on senior FIA roles. Both will be using the event to familiarise themselves with the stages through the Jordan Valley with the prestigious Jordan Rally, round two of the Middle East Rally Championship, less than a month away.

They are both driving Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10s. But the pair can expect some fierce competition from Jordan’s top drivers with reigning national champion, Khaled Juma and countrymen Asem Aref, Ihab Al Shurafa and Marouf Abu Samra all capable of threatening the lead this weekend.

Friday’s opening round will be based out of the Dead Sea Service Park, with eight timed stages and a total of 76.38km run through familiar routes in the Jordan Valley. The first car is expected off the ramp at 8:30am, with the podium scheduled for 4:15pm.

AMMAN  — Jordan’s U-23 men’s national team qualified to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship after topping Group E qualifiers which ended in Kuwait.

Jordan beat the host Kuwait 2-1 before overcoming Kyrgyzstan 3-0 and holding Syria 1-1 to top Group E as the group winner and five top second placed teams advanced to the 4th AFC U-23 Championship, which was a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The qualification was a positive boost as team officials and head coach Ahmad Abdul Qader were apprehensive of the team’s chances as club competitions and national team agendas hampered the regrouping and optimal training. 

Other group winners included Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, the UAE, Uzbekistan, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China and Vietnam. Second place qualifiers are Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Australia and Thailand.

In 2018, the U-23 men’s team was knocked out of Round 1 of the 3rd AFC U-23 Championship. In 2016 Jordan reached the quarter-finals while in 2014 finished third. 

Earlier this year, the men’s national team was eliminated in the Round of 16 at the Asian Cup 2019 as Qatar won the title for the first time. 

The women’s national football team won the 6th West Asian Championship for the fifth time. The team is now preparing for Round 2 of the Asian qualifiers for qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The U-16 men’s team has just concluded a training camp in preparation for the U-16 AFC Championship in September. Last year, Jordan bowed out of the Round 1 of the 2018 AFC U-16 Men’s Championship. Held once every two years, the competition serves as a qualifier for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with the top four countries qualifying. The U-16 women’s squad was also eliminated from Round 1, Group A qualifiers for the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship. 

In U-19 competitions, the women’s team was eliminated from Round 1 qualifiers for the AFC U-19 Championship. Likewise, the men’s U-19 national team was eliminated from Round 1 of the AFC U-19 Championship as the semifinalists advanced to the FIFA U-19 World Cup.

Jordan was hoping to advance in the Asian event after they failed to qualify to the championships in 2014 and 2016. It was the fifth time for Jordan at the championship with the best showing when it finished fourth in 2006 and advanced to the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007. They exited the first round in 2008 and 2010, and reached the quarters in 2012. 

LISBON — Cristiano Ronaldo does not think the injury which forced him out of Portugal’s match against Serbia on Monday is overly serious, and he told reporters he expects to return to action in one or two weeks.

Ronaldo went off in the first half of the Euro 2020 qualifier with an apparent hamstring injury. The match ended 1-1.

“I’ll know more in 24 or 48 hours,” he told reporters.

“It happens, it’s football. If you go out in the rain you get wet... I’m calm, I’ll be back in one or two weeks.”

A long absence would be a blow to his club Juventus, who signed Ronaldo last year to boost their chances of winning the Champions League. Juventus travel to face Ajax Amsterdam in their quarter-final first leg on April 10 with the return six days later.

Both Ronaldo and coach Fernando Santos said the referee had apologised to them for not awarding a penalty to Portugal for handball in the second half.

The referee initially gave the spot kick but then changed his mind. VAR is not used in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

“It was very clear, the referee should have given it,” said Ronaldo. “The linesman was 40 metres away so it seems a bit strange.”

Santos said: “We saw the incident in the dressing room afterwards and neither we nor he had any doubt — it was a penalty... He apologised.”

In the match, Dusan Tadic fired Serbia ahead with a seventh-minute penalty before Ronaldo was replaced by Pizzi on the half-hour and centre back Danilo equalised for the European champions with a spectacular long-range effort in the 42nd.

In the group’s other fixture, Ukraine came from behind to win 2-1 in Luxembourg, who suffered heartbreak with a late own goal by Gerson Rodrigues, and go top with four points from two games. Luxembourg stay on three points and Portugal are on two. 

Serbia has one point from one match and Lithuania have none after its shock 2-1 defeat in Luxembourg on Friday. 

Having been held to a 0-0 home stalemate by Ukraine on Friday, Portugal was under pressure to deliver but fell behind after their goalkeeper Rui Patricio clattered into Mijat Gacinovic and Tadic converted the spot kick.

Ronaldo pulled up after sprinting for the ball and appeared to be in some discomfort as he pointed towards his right hamstring while he received treatment near the corner flag before signalling to come off.

Serbia keeper Marko Dmitrovic produced a string of superb saves before Danilo levelled with a thunderbolt from 25 metres, which cannoned into the net off the underside of the bar, after a darting run through the middle from the halfway line.

Portugal was also guilty of some poor finishing in the first half as William Carvalho fired wide from five metres in the fourth minute, with the visitors on the back foot throughout the opening 45 minutes. 

Adem Ljajic blazed a shot over the bar for Serbia in the 56th minute before defender Uros Spajic cleared a close-range Pizzi shot off the line as Portugal threw men forward in the closing stages.