Sports

AMMAN — The national team will face Bahrain on Tuesday in its only friendly ahead of resuming its Asian Cup qualifying journey against Afghanistan as of September 5.

Jordan leads Group C after it scored a 7-0 win over lowly Cambodia in its opening qualifier, but was held 0-0 with Vietnam in its second qualifier and returned home amid ambiguity over the team’s readiness. Cambodia beat Afghanistan 1-0, while Vietnam held Afghanistan 1-1.

Given the limited capabilities of its qualifying group, qualifying to the 2019 Asian Cup should not be a difficult task for Jordan. However, officials note the need to return to the competitive Asian level. After elimination from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, advancing to the Asian finals is a priority. The Kingdom has steadily slid down FIFA Rankings and the team has had an inconsistent two years compared to 2013 when Jordan was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time.

The team stayed at 108th in the latest FIFA Rankings and is still out of the Asian top 10 trailing Iran (24), Japan (44), Australia (45), South Korea (49), Saudi Arabia (59), Uzbekistan (64), the UAE (74), China (8772), Qatar (78), Syria (80), Palestine (93), India (97) and Iraq (102). Jordan’s best ranking was 37th in 2004, while its lowest was 152nd in 1996.

The national team is set to play Afghanistan in its third qualifier on September 5 followed by two friendlies against Kenya on September 17-19, before playing Oman on October 4 ahead of return leg against Afghanistan on October 10 and Cambodia on October 14.

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan reached the Asian Championship three times. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when Jordan lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th in August 2004. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015.

During the 2013 World Cup qualifying journey, Jordan advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. However, Jordan 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.

DHAKA — Shakib Al Hasan lit up his 50th Test with all-round brilliance to help Bangladesh claim a handy first-innings lead over a listless Australia in the second Test on Monday.

A day after rescuing Bangladesh from a top-order collapse with the bat, the left-arm spinner claimed 5-68 to help dismiss Australia for 217 and justify his status as he world’s top- ranked test all-rounder.

Having claimed a 43 run first-innings lead on a viciously turning track, Bangladesh further consolidated its position and were 45-1 at the close on the second day.

Soumya Sarkar threw his wicket away after scoring 15 but Tamim Iqbal was batting on 30 with nightwatchman Taijul Islam yet to open his account.

Bangladesh stretched their overall lead to 88 runs and Australia will have the unenviable task of batting in the fourth innings on a fast-deteriorating track at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.

Resuming on a precarious 18-3, the tourists soon lost captain Steve Smith, their best batsman.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan, who took 12 wickets at the same venue to inspire Bangladesh’s first Test win over England last year, struck in his second over, sneaking one through the gate to dismiss Smith for eight.

Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb were subjected to a trial by spin with Mehidy (3-62) and Shakib hunting in tandem but the duo added 69 runs for the fifth wicket to halt the slide.

With the partnership blooming, however, Taijul trapped Handscomb lbw for 33 with a ball that kept slightly low, as it often did on a track offering variable bounce and prodigious turn.

Opener Renshaw soon joined him in the pavilion for 45, edging Shakib to slip.

Matthew Wade fell lbw for five to Mehidy and Shakib got Glenn Maxwell stumped for 23.

Ashton Agar made 41 and Pat Cummins contributed 25, adding 49 runs for the ninth wicket in a defiant stand to lend a touch of respectability to the Australian total.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Lewis Hamilton completed his 200th Grand Prix in victorious style on Sunday when he claimed a much-needed win for Mercedes to trim Sebastian Vettel’s championship lead to seven points

The 32-year-old Briton made the most of his record-equalling 68th pole position to take the lead, but had to survive some concerted attacks from Vettel’s Ferrari before emerging triumphant for the fifth time this season

It was the three-time world champion’s third Belgian victory and the 58th of his career, lifting him back into serious contention for the title

Another victory in next Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix could give him the lead for the first time this year

Four-time champion Vettel came home second ahead of Australian Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari and his compatriot Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes

“It's been a strong weekend for myself and the team," said Hamilton.

"Sebastian put up a great fight, but this is what I said I came to do here and so I did it.”

Vettel said: "It was good fun, but it was intense. I was waiting for Lewis to make a mistake — and he didn’t — and he was waiting for me — and I didn’t.

"We did a lot better than at Silverstone. And next week is our home race… A good day overall.

After an emotional demonstration lap by Mick Schumacher, 18, to mark the 25th anniversary of his father Michael’s maiden victory at the 1992 Belgian race, there was a keen sense of anticipation ahead of the start.

Luckless Verstappen 

In perfect, if humid conditions, with an air temperature of 22°C and the track at 23, and in front of an estimated 125,000 crowd including an ‘orange army’ of 80,000, Hamilton pulled away from his record-equalling 68th pole position to lead into La Source and resisted Vettel’s attack at Eau Rouge.

Hamilton built up an early head of speed

By lap 10, Hamilton was 1.7 seconds clear of Vettel but behind the luckless Max Verstappen, in the second Red Bull, had been forced to retire with another power failure, his sixth early departure in 12 outings.

There was an almost audible sigh of despair from the massed Dutch fans all around the circuit.

"I can’t believe this," said the 19-year-old.

Hamilton pitted after 12 laps in 2.3 seconds and rejoined fourth, passing the race lead to Vettel. Almost immediately, Raikkonen, third, was put under investigation for failing to slow for yellow flags – and was hit with a 10-seconds stop-and-go penalty.

On fresh tyres, Hamilton made short work of passing the Finn and when Vettel pitted, after Bottas had been in, he was swiftly back into the lead.

Vettel resumed in second and after one flying lap cut the Briton’s lead to 0.7 seconds. By lap 18, it was back to 1.5 with Bottas third 6.9 adrift.

The two title contenders remained in close contention for several laps until, following another enforced retirement for Fernando Alonso and his powerless McLaren Honda, the Safety Car was deployed on lap 30 following another acrimonious collision between the two Force India cars.

Their crash came when Perez appeared to “close the door” on his teammate Ocon as they exited La Source, the Mexican suffering a puncture and Ocon a damaged front wing.

Racing resumed on lap 33, Hamilton streaking away before Vettel stormed back to attack through Eau Rouge and up the hill towards Les Combes — the pair running almost side by side as the stubborn Englishman resisted and kept his lead.

Having survived the re-start, Hamilton rebuilt his lead to 1.6 seconds with eight laps remaining, but team-mate Bottas fell to fifth behind Ricciardo and Raikkonen.

Vettel persevered, closing the gap to a second. “What sector is the faster?” asked an anxious Hamilton, the pair lapping in almost identical times. With four remaining, his lead was 1.170 seconds.

The tension was palpable on Mercedes’ foot-twitching pit wall, but Hamilton extended his lead to 1.4 seconds with two laps to go and pulled further clear on his final lap to win by 2.3 seconds.

Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth for Renault with Romain Grosjean of Haas and Felipe Massa of Williams completing the top eight.

AMMAN — The Jordan MotorFest, a new and a serious addition to the auto sports scene in the Kingdom witnessed an excellent turnout with fans enjoying days of excitement and heated competition among drivers.

The Fest saw Amjad Fuqaha winning the fourth round of the Jordan Drift Championship held on the sidelines of the fest with the participation of 34 drivers.

Fuqaha registered 391 points in his BMW A30 followed by Mojahed Baitamouni with 382 points in his BMW A36 and Hesham Issam in the third place with 380 in his BMW A30.

Samir Edwan settled in the fourth place with 376 points in his Toyota GT86 and Mohammed Noufal rounded up the fifth place with 374 points in his BMW A92 M3.

The fourth round of the Speed Test Championship held with the participation of 37 drivers saw Mohammed Tayseer taking the lead with 1m18.89s in his Mitsubishi EVO 6, followed by Husam Salem (1m19.63s) in his Mitsubishi EVO9 and Ghaith Wraikat (1m19.96s) in his Mitsubishi Prototype.

Ayman Najjar came fourth with 1m21.07s in his Mitsubishi Prototype, followed by Yazan Qatan (1m22.98s) in his Subaru Impreza. 

Veteran driver Salem told The Jordan Times that the fest is an excellent idea.

“The fest is a new addition to this sports and people always enjoy a change in the normal scene and this is where people really can see several big events under one event,” he said.

“The fourth round which is really a crucial one was full of challenges and fans enjoyed it very much. We still have rounds to finish before the end of the year and we need to put more pressure,” he added.

Ibrahim Abasi, a fan of motorsports enjoyed the event saying that the fest was a positive idea.

“Definitely it is a great idea to have several events in one fest as we followed the drifting and speed rounds without the need to wait long,” he said.

“Also it was a good idea to have a bike show during the event,” he added.

Organised for the first time in Amman by Jordan Motorsport the event included performances by stunt rider Rok Bagoros, a young motorcyclist from Radenci, Slovenia and the only rider among the world’s stuntman elite using a single-cylinder engine motorcycle.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton equalled Formula One great Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 68 pole positions on Saturday with a dominant performance in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying.

The Mercedes driver, who will be starting his 200th race on Sunday, was fastest in every phase of the hour-long session to take pole with a time of one minute 42.553 seconds, a track record.

Ferrari’s championship leader Sebastian Vettel, who is 14 points ahead of the Briton with nine races remaining, joined his title rival on the front row after pulling out a late flying lap of 1:42.795.

Finland’s Valtteri Bottas qualified third for Mercedes with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, a four-times winner in Belgium who helped Vettel by giving him an aerodynamic ‘‘tow’’ when it mattered, taking the fourth slot.

Schumacher, whose 91 race wins and seven championships will still take some beating, set his pole record at Magny-Cours in France in July 2006.

The German has not been seen in public since he suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in France in 2013 but a message from the family was delivered to Hamilton by former Ferrari technical head Ross Brawn.

“They want to congratulate you on equalling Michael’s record and, as Michael always said, records are there to be beaten,” said Brawn, former Mercedes principal and now a managing director for Formula One.

Hamilton was clearly moved by both his achievement and the message.

“I think and pray for Michael all the time. I’ve had the privilege of racing with him and always admired him and still do,” he told the crowd.

“I’m just honoured to be up there with him now in the poles but he will still be one of the greatest of all time”.

Hamilton took over from Schumacher, who had retired from Ferrari in 2006 but returned with Mercedes in 2010, after joining from McLaren in 2013.

The Briton’s lap was more than four seconds quicker than last year’s pole, set by now-retired champion Nico Rosberg, and Hamilton said Mercedes had done an amazing job.

“To be up here ahead of the Ferrari is an amazing feeling. This is one of my favourite circuits so to come here and put a lap together like that is a dream,” he said.

Dutch 19-year-old Max Verstappen, who started on the front row last season, will start fifth for Red Bull in front of an army of orange-shirted fans making the short trip across the border.

His Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo was sixth, ahead of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg whose teammate Jolyon Palmer was faster until a gearbox problem sidelined him in the final session.

Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne will start his first home Grand Prix in last place after qualifying 15th for McLaren but with a 65-place grid penalty.

AMMAN — The Jordan MotorFest, a unique experience for auto sports fans, opened its doors on Thursday with a promise for an unmatched week of fun at Expo Land on the Airport Road.

The Fest organised for the first time in Amman by Jordan Motor sport will include performances by stunt rider Rok Bagoros, a young motorcyclist from Radenci, Slovenia and the only rider among the world’s stuntman elite using a single-cylinder engine motorcycle.

“It will be a very family-oriented event in which all families will enjoy. The Fest organised for the first time will carry excitement, challenges and fun to all fans of auto sports events,” Othman Naseef, CEO of Jordan Motorsport told The Jordan Times.

“At the same time, fans of both drifting and Speed Test will be able to cheer for their drivers in a well-organised programme done as a way to make this week a memorable week in auto sports,” he added. 

On Friday, the Fest will also include the 4th round of the Speed Test Championship with the participation of 37 drivers from Palestine and Jordan.

The 4th round of the Drift Championship will also take place on Friday with the participation of 34 drivers in addition to the 4th round of the Karting Championship.

A heated competition is expected between veteran driver Husam Salem, winner of the third round of the Speed Test Championship and second place winner Ghaith Wraikat and Ayman Najjar who won third place.

The third round saw Salem clocking 1m16.98s in his Mitsubishi Evo 9, followed by Wraikat (1m17.16s) in his Mitsubishi Prototype and Najjar (1m17.75s) in his Mitsubishi Prototype.

Mohammed Tayseer (1m18.40s) settled in fourth place in his Mitsubishi Evo 6 and Mustafa Attari (1m21.30s) came in fifth spot in his Mitsubishi B22.

Husam Malhees and Karam Quraini will compete for Palestine.

Meanwhile the drifting crucial round will see Ra’fat Haroun defending his win in the third round against Mohammed Kukhen and Mohammed Foqaha.

In the third round held at SOFEX Racetrack in Marka, Haroun registered 391 points in his Toyota GT 36 followed by Mohammed Kukhen with 386 points in his BMW i30 and Foqaha in third place with 380 points in his BMW i30.

Omar Kukhen settled in fourth place with 378 points in his BMW i30.

The fourth round will witness the participation of Suhail Al Asbah from Palestine and Abdullah Mohtaseb from Qatar.

AMMAN — The FIBA Asia Cup Championship held last week in Lebanon “showed us where we stand as a national team and how much work we have to put in to improve our performance”, the national team’s head coach Sam Daghlas said.

Although the national team represented Jordan with some core players missing such as Zaid Abbas, Dar Tucker and naturalised player Kevin Ware, “they have proved that they can take responsibility and place Jordan back on the regional basketball map, leaving the team and the basketball community with some challenges to overcome”, he said.

Jordan ranked 8th in the championship which took place from August 8 to August 20. Jordan beat Syria 68-66, India 61-54, and lost to  Iran 83-71.

The national team then trounced Iraq 84-70, which qualified the national team to the quarter-final, followed by a 98-70 loss to New Zealand, China 86-55, and a close 75-70 loss to the Philippines.

Asia Cup preparations 

The training sessions started on July 8. Daghlas said: “The national team only had 18 practice sessions, which is not enough to face teams such as Australia and Iran, which played more than 30 games, while our national team played around seven matches, with some players attending only five of these.”

 “When we prepare three to four weeks prior to the game, we are doing injustice to the players, the audience, and the country,” he added.

The time given for preparations was not sufficient to improve the players’ flexibility, he said, “You can’t blame the players for their low levels of flexibility, they had a very short period of time to practice.” 

Challenges

One of the main challenges during the championship was that the naturalised player, Kevin Ware, could not take part due to some missing documents that Jordan could not provide in the required short period of time.

“At first, players didn’t know whether they would play or not, with the pressure and fear increasing, the Jordanian team players, however, proved themselves and accepted the challenge,” Daghlas told The Jordan Times.

Daghlas said the national team managed to reduce the score difference and challenge a team known for their rich experience and basketball background when they played against Iran. 

 “Playing with a team with many experienced international players and losing by around 10 points is an achievement for us, especially that the team consists of players who took part in international leagues and matches, such as Hamed Haddadi in China,” he added.

Most challenging matches

One of the most challenging games at the championship was Jordan’s game with Iraq as it qualified the winning team to the quarter-finals, Daghlas said

“They had pressure because they are the only ones fighting for the game and keeping it alive, because if they let it go, it will die, they are holding the last thread,” the head coach said.

He said that Jordan’s game with China was difficult for the players as it happened after losing to New Zealand in the quarter-finals and getting disqualified almost halfway through the championship, players were feeling down.

Jordan’s national team was the last Arab team to disqualify from the championship, after Lebanon lost to Iran, Iraq lost to Jordan and Syria lost to China, which Daghlas considered as an accomplishment for Jordan. 

The addition of Australia and New Zealand to the championship “made Asia Championship much tougher”, according to Daghlas, as it raised the standards of the championship.

New face

Daghlas said the new head of the Jordan Basketball Federation, Amer Abu Rashed, believes in the team players and wants to make a difference.

“He took the first step to keep practice sessions going for the next five months to prepare players for the first games that would qualify the national team for the 2019 World Cup in China,” he added.

Daghlas said: “In order to face international teams, you have to set goals for the next five years, to improve and sustain that improvement.”

In November, Jordan will take on Syria in Beirut and Lebanon in Amman for a chance to qualify to the World Cup, he said.

The team will work towards increasing players’ flexibility and conditioning, with extensive training sessions before November, he added.

What you invest is what you get

“What you invest in them is what you are going to get. There is potential but it needs to be given a chance. Our problem is we don’t believe in investing but we want something in return and it won’t ever work out like that,” Daghlas said.

Daghlas said the team’s eldest player, Musa Awadi, is only 31 years old, which is a plus for the team and the younger generation to prove themselves in the basketball community locally, regionally and internationally.

He said the team consists of many young players with potential, such as Amin Abu Hawwas, Sammy Bzei, Malek Kanaan and Sinan Eid.

He urged the basketball community in Jordan to avoid negativity and to trust the reform process of the national team and the federation director.

“Negativity towards fixing the game harms the game, players, and the country... At the end of the day, we go abroad to represent Jordan. Every Jordanian has the right to see his or her national team playing on the highest level,” he added.

Point guard Mahmoud Abdeen, a national team leader in scoring and assists said: “We showed people that if we prepare, we will achieve high results.”

The national team challenged highly trained teams such as Iran and the Philippines and reduced the score difference, even with some injured teammates, Abdeen told The Jordan Times.

Lessons learned

Abdeen noted the championship showed the importance of having a Jordanian league and that more attention should be paid to the national team and competing in matches and championships with top level teams.

Teams such as Iran, China and Lebanon started raising the bar for basketball in Asia with the addition of New Zealand and Australia, which motivates the Jordan national team to do the same, he added.

Abdeen feels “optimistic” about the new federation, formed two months ago, as it set a plan for the next few months and will also work on the 2018 plan ahead of time.

Power forward Zaid Abbas wrote on his Facebook page that the “victories were the result of team effort, the coaches, and a former team clubs and federation personnel”.

Abbas voiced hope that the new federation would have higher ambitions to meet the requirements of the game and the national team.

He called upon the Jordan basketball community to support players and coaches, adding that the effort of the players and coaches must be acknowledged.

On his Facebook page, power forward Ahmad Hamarasheh wrote the championship had the good and the bad, stressing the importance of learning from mistakes.

“We played without a naturalised player and qualified to the quarter-finals... We need the support of everyone, companies, clubs, federation and the audience... let’s be positive,” he wrote.

Daghlas said: “In any sport, there are wins and losses… Nothing is promised, you just have to give it your all and do what is right.”

“My goal is to help change lives, change basketball to make it better. This is not a one-man-job, this is a basketball community and a country, but I want to initiate it,” he added.

Raheem Sterling’s fierce 82nd-minute volley saved 10-man Manchester City from defeat as they drew 1-1 at home to Everton on Monday after Wayne Rooney had put the visitors ahead at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s City had been forced to play the entire second half with a man down after Kyle Walker was sent off for a second yellow card on the stroke of halftime.

The numbers were eventually evened up late on when Everton’s Morgan Schneiderlin was also sent off, again for a second bookable offence, in the 88th minute

Although Everton delivered a determined and tactically astute display, a draw was fair reward for City who had launched waves of attacks throughout the second half.

Rooney was set to be the hero after his second goal in as many games this season. The strike was his 200th in the Premier League, making him just the second player after former England forward Alan Shearer to reach that milestone.

City, who have spent more than £200 million ($258.00 million) so far in the transfer window, fielded an attacking line-up with Leroy Sane given the left wing-back role, while Everton manager Ronald Koeman selected eight English players including youngsters Mason Holgate and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Not surprisingly it was the home side who posed the early threats and Everton defender Phil Jagielka was forced to head over his own bar in the 26th minute to clear a Sergio Aguero chip.

Skipper Jagielka saved the day from more Aguero danger seven minutes later when his outstretched leg foiled the Argentine as he burst goalwards.

For City, everything was coming through Aguero, who turned creator with a beautiful pass with the outside of his foot to David Silva. The Spaniard collected and fired a fierce shot which hammered into the post.

Within a minute of almost going a goal down though, Everton took the lead when Rooney, the former Manchester United forward whose every touch was booed by the Etihad crowd, struck.

Leroy Sane gave the ball away in his own half and Holgate fed Calvert-Lewin who showed a clever touch to wriggle space for a low cross into the path of Rooney whose side-footed shot went through the legs of City’s Brazilian keeper Ederson.

Rooney celebrated his strike with passion and cupped ears for City’s fans.

Matters got worse for City, a minute before the interval, when Walker, making his home debut following his move from Tottenham, was dismissed after his challenge on Calvert-Lewin, a decision that City disputed.

Despite City’s numerical disadvantage, there was little change in the pattern of the game after the break with Guardiola’s team pouring forward, but clearcut chances were hard to find against a well-organised Everton defence.

Substitute Sterling should have done better in the 75th minute, but blasted high over the bar from a promising position and then another replacement, Danilo, forced Jordan Pickford into a save with a low drive from a tight angle.

But Guardiola was saved from an opening home defeat when Sterling met a headed clearance from Holgate and unleashed an unstoppable volley. 

Despite Schneiderlin’s contentious dismissal for a foul on Aguero, Everton held firm in the final stages, even after as City went all out for a win.

AMMAN — Top seed Mohammad Serraj delighted his home fans by winning the Asian U-19 Squash Championships in Amman on Saturday night, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Serraj clinched the title with a 3-2 win over Pakistan’s Mansour Zamman to underline his status as one of the world’s top teenagers.

Japan’s Satomi Watanbi took the Female U-19 title by beating Ho Weng 3-0. The U-17 female title went to Hong Kong’s Chan Yuk after beating her compatriot Loi Lam 3-0.

The U-15 male title went to Malaysia’s Mohammad Amir who beat India’s Neil Jushi 3-1. Jessica King of India took the female title by beating another Indian Kiroshana Haran, 3-0.