Sports

AMMAN — It is tight at the top of the Jordan Basketball League following round three action, with three teams sharing top spot, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service. Jazeera stunned Ahli, 97-69, while Wehdat joined them at the top with an 81-69 win over Riyadi, who complete the three-way tie at the top. Kuferyouba picked up their first win of the season over Orthodox Club, 74-73. The fourth round matches get under way on Sunday when Wehdat meet Kuferyouba and Riyadi will take on Ahli.

MELBOURNE — Usain Bolt will be granted all the time he needs to prove himself worthy of a contract at the Central Coast Mariners, but the retired athletics superstar will have to prove himself like any other player, officials at the struggling Australian football club have said.

The Mariners confirmed on Tuesday the Olympic sprint champion would train “indefinitely” with the club, which finished bottom of the 10-team A-League last season and operates in one of the country’s smallest football markets.

The open-ended arrangement has proved polarising in Australia, with critics dismissing it as a publicity stunt to boost the profile of a team that has failed to make the play-offs for the last four seasons.

The Mariners, however, defended the move on Wednesday, saying it had the potential to reap huge long-term benefits should Bolt make the grade.

“This may take three weeks, this may take three months, this may take six months. It may take longer, who knows?” club CEO Shaun Mielekamp told reporters at their home base in Gosford.

“Only time will tell but it’s exciting to see what this will do for our region.”

Jamaican Bolt, who won eight Olympic golds before retiring at the world championships in London last year, has trained with Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns and Norway’s Stromsgodset.

Scepticism abounds as to whether 31-year-old can make it Down Under.

‘Deadly serious’

Mariners coach Mike Mulvey admitted he had not seen footage of Bolt’s stints at other clubs but expected him to give “a good account of himself”.

The sprinter would not be treated any differently to any other player trying out, however.

“It just happens to be that this is Usain Bolt,” Mulvey told Australian Associated Press.

“I’ve spoken to him once. His attitude towards this was deadly serious.

“If it was up to him he’d be coming in without any hoopla but that’s impossible for a person of his stature.”

The Central Coast, a magnet for domestic holidaymakers and retirees in Australia’s eastern state of New South Wales, seems an unlikely destination for a global athletics icon to reboot his sporting career, but Bolt had already agreed to reside in the sleepy region north of Sydney during the trial, said Mielekamp.

“It’s a big part of our club and we spoke to him very early doors about living and residing here in the Central Coast and he’s agreed to that which is great.

“We’ve spoken to him about our club, what our beliefs are, we spoke to him about going down to the local school and doing school appearances and those sort of things and he’s bought right into that which has been fantastic.”

National governing body Football Federation Australia had also endorsed the “commercial arrangement” with Bolt and would back the player’s A-League adventure if he won a contract, added Mielekamp.

Apart from boosting match-day crowds, which averaged about 8,000 last season, Bolt’s presence could put the Central Coast on the map for other global talents.

“We’ve been inundated with sponsors’ calls this morning which has been exciting,” said Mielekamp.

“And for us that long-term effect is something we’ve got to be mindful of. How can we use this moment to improve the club for the long term?

“But it’s still very early days.”

TORONTO — Novak Djokovic did not let a late switch in opponent throw him off his stride in his quest for a fifth Rogers Cup title, as he subdued Bosnian lucky loser Mirza Basic 6-3, 7-6(3) in first-round action on Tuesday.

Djokovic, the ninth seed, was originally scheduled to play Australian Open semifinalist Chung Hyeon but the 22-year-old South Korean withdrew with a back injury about an hour before the match was due to start.

The Serb, competing in singles for the first time since his Wimbledon triumph last month, was never in real danger during the first-round clash, but he still needed some time to figure out Basic before wrapping up the match in 90 minutes.

“I’ve never played Basic. I’ve known him, I’ve practiced with him, but I’ve never played an official match so definitely not easy to find a rhythm from the beginning of the match,” said Djokovic. “There were frustrations at times but that means I care.”

The Serbian World No. 10 was not as sharp as he will need to be if he hopes to triumph here for the first time since 2016, but it was enough on a day when Basic was misfiring on both his forehand and serve.

Djokovic broke Basic in the sixth game of the first set to go ahead 4-2 and then wrapped up the opener three games later when he fired an ace down the middle.

The former World No. 1 was up a break in the second set and cruising along until Basic broke back in the eighth game to draw level 4-4, leaving Djokovic yelling at himself in frustration while swatting a ball out of the court.

Basic did well to hold serve and pull ahead, but the more experienced Djokovic kept calm and booked his place in the second round, where he will face Canadian Peter Polansky.

In other first-round action, Swiss wild card Stan Wawrinka upset 16th-seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 while Dutchman Robin Haase beat Japan’s Kei Nishikori 7-5, 6-1.

Canadian Milos Raonic made good use of his booming serves to oust 10th seeded Belgian David Goffin in the first round of the Rogers Cup on Monday.

Playing in front of fellow Canadians in Toronto, Raonic topped Goffin 6-3, 6-4, winning all 27 of the points scored while he was on first serve.

“I think I can still serve much better,” Raonic told reporters after needing only 73 minutes to advance. “The way I was aggressive from the baseline, I hit my forehand well. It’s something we spent these last two weeks working on.”

The unseeded Raonic, who is coming off a run to the quarter-final at Wimbledon, will next face the winner of Tuesday’s match between American Frances Tiafoe and Italian Marco Cecchinato.

Thirteenth seed American Jack Sock suffered a defeat to Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Medvedev will play the winner of Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and France’s Lucas Pouille in the second round.

Eleventh-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina and 12th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta were also first-round winners.

Spain’s Rafa Nadal is the top-seeded player in the tournament, while Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who won the Citi Open championship on Sunday in Washington, is the second seed.

Venus survives scare

Venus Williams avoided an upset at the hands of fellow American Caroline Dolehide, holding off the 19-year-old 7-5, 6-1 to claim her first round match at the Rogers Cup on Monday.

Williams, coming off a disappointing quarter-final loss at the Silicon Valley Classic last week, fell down a break early but recovered to turn back her dangerous opponent.

“I think she had a really great second serve,” Williams told reporters, of Dolehide. “I think I got a better feel for it in the second set. In the first set, I was still figuring it out.”

Dolehide displayed her full potential in March when she nearly took down World No. 1 Simona Halep at Indian Wells. Against Williams, the young player lost momentum late as Williams claimed 12 of the final 14 games of the match.

The only two other seeds in action during the opening day were ninth seed Karolina Pliskova and 10th seed Julia Goerges who both won.

Pliskova beat Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-4 while Goerges overcame Timea Babos 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4.

Among those yet to play are top-ranked Halep and No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. The top eight seeds all received first-round byes.

SAN JOSE  — Mihaela Buzarnescu cruised to her first WTA title by dominating first-time finalist Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-0 at the Silicon Valley Classic on Sunday.

The 30-year-old Romanian lost 19 points and needed just 73 minutes to wrap up the final.

“I was able to take all the emotions away and keep focused, and try to take it as a normal match, not as a final,” Buzarnescu told reporters.

“Even after the first set, I thought she could come back, so it was really not easy. After leading 3-0, I thought I could really win the match.”

Greek Sakkari, 23, had proven capable of dramatic comebacks after stunning Venus Williams and Danielle Collins en route to the final, but there would be no magical turnaround yesterday.

Buzarnescu won the first five games in less than 20 minutes before Sakkari got on the board.

“It was not easy. I woke up and I was still tired from yesterday, but she was very good today,” said Sakkari, who incurred 34 unforced errors.

“I wasn’t moving great, and it’s one of my weapons, so it wasn’t easy after two long matches and very intense days. I gained confidence and experience and it was a great week for me.”

Buzarnescu, who just a year ago was No. 142 in the world, will rise to 20th when the updated rankings are released today.

“Maybe people will look differently at me now, but I don’t want to change anything — just think of the good moments, and play,” said Buzarnescu, who lost in two finals this year.

Buzarnescu continued her remarkable rise by breaking into the WTA top 20 for the first time on Monday after winning her maiden Tour title in San Jose.

The 30-year-old left-hander was ranked outside the world’s top 500 at the last start of last season, but beat Greek Maria Sakkari on Sunday after losing her first two WTA Tour finals earlier this year in Hobart and Prague.

Her compatriot and French Open champion Simona Halep maintained her healthy lead as World No. 1, while 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams stayed 26th after her embarrassing 6-1, 6-0 thrashing by Johanna Konta in the San Jose first round.

AMMAN — The Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) has told the 35 athletes representing the Kingdom at the 18th Asian Games later this month to make us proud, according to the JOC News Service.

At a final briefing session before the athletes put the finishing touches to their preparations, Nasser Majali, secretary general, relayed the warm wishes of HRH Prince Feisal, JOC president, and expressed his pride at the efforts of coaches, athletes and officials in preparing for the biggest sporting event on the continent.

“We have faith in our athletes to do their best and to make us proud at the Asian Games,” said Majali. The meeting, at the Olympic Preparations Centre, was also attended by HRH Princess Zeina Al Rashed, manager of the Olympic Preparations Programme; Sari Hamdan, JOC vice president; Tayseer Al Mansi, chef de mission; and Hazim Nuimat, Amman deputy mayor. Jordan Anti-Doping Organisation provided a brief on the latest procedures that the athletes need to follow.

Team Jordan will compete in eight sports including taekwondo, karate, boxing, athletics, judo, 3x3 basketball, jujitsu and swimming.

The national bridge team will also participate in recognition for the role they played in including the game for the first time in the Asiad. The 18th Asian Games will launch on August 18 in Indonesia.

AMMAN — Jordan Motorsport announced the new 2018 Jordan Baja, the Hashemite Kingdom’s first entry into the world of cross-country rallying since the Marlboro BP 2000 Desert Challenge ran in 1987, 1988 and 1990,  according to the Jordan Motorsport Media Service.

The three-day off-road event for cars, motorcycles and quads will take place in the Wadi Rum area on September 27-29.

Based at the Red Sea resort of Aqaba in the south of the country and in close proximity to the deserts around Wadi Rum near the border country with Saudi Arabia, rally officials hope that the Jordan Baja will catch on quickly with competitors and establish itself as a permanent fixture in future FIA and FIM motor sporting calendars.

The Baja will run as an FIA candidate event for possible future inclusion in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, where rally officials hope it will join other three-day Baja events currently running in Russia, Dubai, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Poland and Portugal.

The competition for cars running in FIA T1, T2 and T3 categories will be held in conjunction with the Royal Motorcycle Club of Jordan Cup for Baja Rallies competition (RMCJ-BR), which will look after the secondary event running for motor cycles and quads. The route will be entirely on a sandy surface and competitors will face 383.8 competitive kilometres in a route of 776.89km.

Othman Nassif chairs the organising panel alongside deputy chairman and clerk of the course George Khoury and his deputy Omar Zarour, with the team calling on all the expertise they have built up hosting the Jordan Rally, the opening round of this year’s FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) and a former round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).

Mousa Hazineh will be in charge of safety and Ashraf Juwinat and Zeid Abu Zeid will head the field and operations’ sections as assistant clerks of the course.

“We are delighted that a lot of hard work and planning has come to fruition and we are able to announce what we hope will be an exciting and challenging Baja and the start of a new future in cross-country rallying for Jordan,” said Nassif.

“We are blessed with some stunning desert terrain in Jordan and we have a strong team with WRC pedigree that also puts on a very popular and well organised round of the MERC. This is a new and exciting challenge for all of us and we are looking forward to hosting this brand new addition to the motor sport calendar in the Middle East region.”

The event will be based at the Movenpick Hotel in Aqaba, while the start, finish and service park will all be located in the confines of the city.

LONDON — The “toughest decision” of Daniel Ricciardo’s life, in opting to leave Red Bull and join Renault next season, could be good news for some Formula One drivers but leaves others facing an uncertain future.

The immediate questions to be answered are who will be the Australian’s replacement alongside Max Verstappen and what will happen to Spaniard Carlos Sainz, whose place he has taken?

The two go together, with 23-year-old Sainz loaned to Renault by Red Bull for 2018 after the French manufacturer needed a replacement for under-performing Briton Jolyon Palmer.

Sainz could slot in at Red Bull but the previous pairing of him and Verstappen at Toro Rosso was far from smooth and the Dutch 20-year-old is now the senior team’s clear focus.

French rookie and 2016 GP2 champion Pierre Gasly has meanwhile impressed at Toro Rosso and, with previous experience racing for Red Bull’s new for 2019 engine partners Honda, could be in line for a promotion.

Until Red Bull decide, Sainz’s hands are tied and any other move — and McLaren have expressed interest — must remain on hold.

Gasly’s promotion would leave Red Bull with a headache at Toro Rosso, with no as-yet qualified youngster seemingly in a position to step in from the ranks of Red Bull junior drivers and Sainz unlikely to return there.

That could mean Gasly’s 2018 team mate, New Zealander Brendon Hartley, gets a reprieve just as the exit door had appeared to be opening.

McLaren are meanwhile waiting to see what double world champion and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Fernando Alonso, now 37, decides to do next. 

That big decision will also affect the futures of struggling Belgian team mate Stoffel Vandoorne and up-and-coming British reserve Lando Norris.

Toro Rosso expressed an interest in Norris when a replacement for Hartley was mooted earlier in the season but McLaren did not play ball.

Whether that might change if there is no 2019 seat at Woking available remains to be seen.

Knock-on effect

Renault’s surprise signing of Ricciardo, which came as almost everyone in Formula One assumed his staying at Red Bull was a done deal, also has a knock-on effect on the plans of Mercedes, Force India and Williams.

Force India are in administration with their future uncertain.

It had been widely assumed that the team’s Mercedes-backed French driver Esteban Ocon was bound for Renault.

The speculation was that Canadian Lance Stroll was in turn poised to switch from Williams, bringing also some sort of investment from his billionaire father.

The vacancy at Williams could then have gone to another Mercedes protege and Formula Two leader George Russell, whose route now looks less certain — unless Force India’s Mexican driver Sergio Perez also moves.

There could also be openings at US-owned Haas, with Frenchman Romain Grosjean having an erratic and costly season, and at Sauber where Monegasque rookie Charles Leclerc is tipped to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari.

The Finn could then become another player in the game of musical chairs.

Once that is all decided only time will tell whether Ricciardo has made the right move, as four-times world champion Lewis Hamilton did at the end of 2012 when he left McLaren for as-yet unsuccessful Mercedes.

Formula One has plenty to contemplate and speculate about as the August break starts and the “silly season” shows no sign of abating.

HONG KONG — Twenty years after Philippe Troussier was tasked with moulding Japan’s footballing future, Hajime Moriyasu takes the reins of Asian’s most successful national set-up aiming to continue the country’s continental dominance.

Like Troussier before him, Moriyasu has been asked to lead both Japan’s Olympic and senior teams as the country builds towards the next World Cup, the first time a coach has been asked to double-up since the Frenchman’s departure at the end of the 2002 finals.

But while Moriyasu sets out along a path comparable to the one followed by Troussier two decades ago, the similarities between the pair are few.

Troussier arrived in Japan with an endorsement from Arsene Wenger and a reputation forged in African football.

Known as ‘The White Witch Doctor’ during a successful stint in Ivory Coast, he landed in Tokyo with a reputation for being bombastic and possessing little knowledge of the Japanese game, country or culture.

Moriyasu, by contrast, is an understated, uncontroversial character who has built his entire coaching career on home soil.

The task he has been given, though, is similar to that taken on by Troussier: to oversee a generational shift and build towards the next World Cup, using the Olympic squad as the foundation for a new period of success for Japanese football.

Japan’s run to the knockout phase of the World Cup finals in Russia marked the end of the road for a number of country’s most illustrious players, with captain Makoto Hasebe and star Keisuke Honda among those calling time on their careers.

That leaves Moriyasu with the task of finding a new blend for the national side along the road to Qatar 2022.

“The passing of the torch will have to happen at some point,” he said recently.

“And while I’m in charge of the full national side and the Olympic team, we need to start bridging the gap between the Olympic team and the age groups below them.

“We have to merge one generation with the next.”

Much of Moriyasu’s initial focus will be on preparing for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, and he will lead the country at this month’s Asian Games in Jakarta before overseeing the senior side’s preparations for the Asian Cup in January next year.

The 49-year-old’s track record as a player and coach suggest that, despite his low-key approach, he has the credentials to succeed.

A former midfielder who spent the majority of his club career with Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Moriyasu was part of the Japan squad that won the country’s first-ever Asian Cup title in 1992.

He took over as Sanfrecce head coach in 2012 and back-to-back league title wins in his first two seasons were followed by a third domestic crown in 2015.

His Hiroshima stint came to an end midway through 2017 when, with the club flirting with relegation, he resigned, only to be appointed Japan’s under-23 coach in October before also landing the senior role last month.

The situation he finds himself in is similar to that encountered by Troussier who took Japan to the final of the 1999 U-20 World Cup, the quarter-finals of the 2000 Olympic Games and won the Asian Cup before securing a place in the knockout rounds of the World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history.

The Frenchman’s tenure helped lay the foundations for sustained success and now Moriyasu is being asked to pull off a similar feat for the next generation of Japanese football.