Sports

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grizzlies 113, Bucks 93

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

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

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

Timberwolves 119, Wizards 104

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

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

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

Bulls 115, Hornets 109

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

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

Jazz 114, Clippers 108

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

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

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

Kings 120, Magic 115

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

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

Nuggets 129, Lakers 101

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

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

Raptors 100, Mavericks 78

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AMMAN — Jordan Cup titleholders Ahli drew  0-0 with Oman’s Suweiq while Jordan Professional Football League titleholders Wihdat beat Oman’s Saham 2-1 at home on Monday in Stage 3 of the 14th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

Clubs from five Asian Zones are competing in eight groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the Round of 16. This year, prize money is $1 million for the winner and $500,000 for the runner-up.

AMMAN — Jordan Cup titleholders Ahli will play Oman’s Suweiq, while Wihdat host Oman’s Saham on Monday in Stage 3 of the 14th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

Clubs from five Asian Zones are competing in eight groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the Round of 16. This year, prize money is $1 million for the winner and $500,000 for the runner-up.

Ahli, representing Jordan in the AFC Cup for the first time, are now third in Group A and need a win to advance up the standings after they held Iraq’s Zawra 1-1 and lost their opening match 1-0 to Syria’s Jeish. Group A is led by Jeish who beat Suweiq 1-0.

Ahli club Chairman Saeed Shuqum met the team prior to departure to Oman and noted the significance of a win to advance in the Asian event. “Our team has had good performances. Now, we need to start scoring and winning,” he said. “We aim to win for Ahli and Jordanian football,” Shuqum said.

Meanwhile, King Abdullah Stadium in Amman will see Jordan Professional Football League champs Wihdat play Oman’s Saham in the battle for Group C lead.

Wihdat’s coach has to deal with a string of injuries plaguing the line-up, including goalie Amer Shafi’e. The Jordanian champs will seek to build on their opening 1-0 win over Lebanon’s Nijmeh to secure a qualifying spot early on. They held Bahrain’s Muharraq 1-1 in stage 2 to lead the group, as Lebanon’s Nijmeh beat Saham 2-1 to share second place. 

Both Jordanian clubs have local and regional aims. Wihdat reached the Jordan Cup semis and are now second in the league. They have been league champs for the past three seasons, and won the title for the 15th time last year since moving up to the league in 1975.

The local season opened with Ahli making history when they beat reigning league champs Wihdat 2-1 to win the 34th Super Cup – the first major competition on the 2016/17 football calendar. However, Ahli have been struggling in the league and were eliminated from the Jordan Cup. 

This season, Wihdat’s regional ambitions of competing among top tier teams were dashed early when they were eliminated from the preliminary round of 2017 AFC Asian Champions League. They beat AFC Cup runner-up India’s Bengaluru FC 2-1 in the preliminary round, but lost 3-0 to the UAE’s Wihda in the play-off thus failing to advance to Round 1 of the prestigious Asian competition. They moved to the continent’s second-tier club event — the AFC Cup. Had Wihdat advanced in the ACL Jazira would have joined Ahli in the AFC Cup.

Jordanian teams have never before made it past the ACL preliminary round. Wihdat were knocked out in 2016 and 2015, while Shabab Urdun were eliminated in 2014.

It’s Wihdat’s 10th time in the AFC Cup. The competition was previously won three times by Jordanian teams. Faisali won titles in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun in 2007.

AMMAN — Ayman Najjar on Friday won the second round of the Speed Test Championship at the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan racetrack with the participation of 37 drivers.

Najjar clocked 1m14.57s, followed by Mohammed Tayseer (1m14.61s) and Ghaith Wraikat (1m15.18s).

Tayseer took the lead in the first heat with 1m14.57s followed by Najjar (1m 16.09s) and Yazan Qatan (1m17.91s). Veteran driver Husam Salem came in fourth spot with 1m18.63s. 

In the second heat Najjar was able to break Tayseer’s record with 1m14.32s and take the lead in the final heat.

Qatan retired in the second heat due to mechanical problems.

The event witnessed several objection by drivers in which the judges decided to add two seconds penalty to Tayseer for not abiding the regulations when he headed to the service park after his finished his round. 

Palestinian driver Tareq Sarsour took the Best Driver Cup.

“With Najjar winning the second round, a lot of pressure will be placed on Tayseer and make the third round more exciting and open to any other driver to win,” Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsports CEO, told The Jordan Times he said.

“The championship is becoming more and more challenging for the drivers and this is what makes this championship a unique one,” he added.

The first round witnessed Tayseer’s ultimate victory when he clocked 1m29.61s in his Mitsubishi Evo 6, followed by Salem in second place (1m29.86s) in his Mitsubishi Evo 7 and Najjar in third place (1m30.30s) in his Mitsubishi Evo Proto.

AMMAN — The second round of the Speed Test Championship kicks off on Friday with the participation of 37 drivers from Jordan and Palestine at the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan (RACJ) racetrack.

Winner of the first round Mohammed Tayseer will face a heated competition from Husam Salem and Ayman Najjar who have a long and solid experience at RACJ racetrack. 

In this season’s opener, Tayseer clocked 1m29.61s in his Mitsubishi Evo 6, followed by Salem (1m29.86s) in his Mitsubishi Evo 7 and Najjar (1m30.30s) in his Mitsubishi Evo Proto.

Gaith Wraikat settled in fourth place with 1m31.30s and Yazan Qatan in fifth place with 1m34.57s.

Salem told The Jordan Times that the second round will be a different case.

“According to organisers, the track has been modified to be tighter and this will be another challenge for all drivers,” he said.

“The first round was a warm-up for me and my Mitsubishi Evo 9 but the second round will be a target and hopefully I will be able to take the first spot,” he added.

The event will witness the return of veteran driver Raed Dahshan, which might rattle the expectations especially as he is joined by experienced drivers who have a long history in such events: Salem Taimeh, Khatcheek Shadian and Suhail Abu Roos.

Palestine is taking part with a strong delegation: Raed Yamouni, Abed Raheem Shaqoor, Tareq Sarsour, Ibrahim Najeh and Rami Jaber. 

Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsport CEO said that the participation of the five strong delegation from Palestine makes it more challenging.

“We are really excited that the event will have this challenging feel for all and we invite everyone to come and check their favourite driver,” he said.

AMMAN — Jordan slid further down to 115th in the latest FIFA Rankings issued on Thursday.

The squad is still out of the Asian top 10 trailing Iran (33), South Korea (40), Japan (51), Australia (55), Saudi Arabia (57), Uzbekistan (63), the UAE (68), Qatar (84), China (86) and Syria (95). 

World rankings top 10 are led by Argentina at No. 1, followed by Brazil, Germany, Chile, Belgium, France, Columbia, Portugal, Uruguay and Spain.

African semifinalist Egypt is the top ranked Arab team at 20th, followed by Tunisia 37th, Morocco 49th and Algeria 50th.

Jordan last played 126th ranked Georgia 1-0 in the first match under Emirati head coach Abdullah Misfer. The squad will regroup next week for a friendly against Hong Kong, which comes amid preparations for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers kicking off on March 28. Jordan will open against Cambodia in Group C which also includes Afghanistan and Vietnam.

The qualifiers which will start March 28 and end on March 27, 2018, will see teams playing in six groups with group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) advancing o the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals, as well as the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. 

Teams already having qualified include Australia, China, Iraq, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Uzbekistan and hosts the UAE.

Over the past year, Jordan was plagued with inconsistent results and a change of five coaches as the team was eliminated from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Now, the team aims to get pats Asian qualifiers and advance to the Asian finals. 

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan reached the championship three times. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals in 2004. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015.

The Kingdom had the most memorable World Cup qualifying journey in 2013 when it lost a possible chance to play at the World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. It 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. 

Jordan’s best FIFA Ranking was 37th in 2004, while the lowest ranking was 152nd in 1996.

AMMAN  — Teams hope that the upcoming Week 16 will help shape standings in the Jordan Professional Football League kicking off on Thursday, after leading teams were all held to draws keeping Jazira’s one point lead over Wihdat and Faisali.

Jazira were held 1-1 by 10th-placed Sarih, and next play Hussein who were also held 1-1 by Sahab.

Wihdat were also held 1-1 by Ramtha and maintained second place ahead of their match with Manshieh. Both their match and Faisali’s match with That Ras were ruled by the Jordan Football Association without fans after repeated offences in the past season.

Faisali lost to Ahli 3-1 as Ahli moved to 7th before facing Shabab Urdun, who were held 0-0 by Manshieh, who are fourth.

Hussein are fifth after a 1-1 draw with Sahab who are now 9th while Baqa’a scored their first win 2-1 over That Ras but remained last. Ramtha are 6th and next play Sarih while Sahab take on Baqa’a with the bottom four fighting a heated battle this week, as the last two are in the relegation zone.

In Stage 2 matches of the 14th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup, Jordan Cup holders Ahli held Iraq’s Zawra 1-1 and league champs Wihdat held Bahrain’s Muharraq by the same score.

Manshieh who joined the pro league this season with Sahab have asserted themselves among the leading teams while former Jordan Cup champ That Ras are going through financial strains, and are now in the relegation zone together with Baqa’a, who are usually among the upper half of standings. Jazira’s Syrian professional Mardig Mardigian has maintained his scoring prowess and leads the top scorers list with 11 goals.

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

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

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

AMMAN — Three-time Equestrian Olympian Ibrahim Bisharat has qualified to the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Finals to be held in Omaha,  Nebraska, USA, from March 29-April 2, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service. 

It hass been a superb start to the year for Bisharat who qualified through the Shaqab Championships that took place in Qatar.

This is only the second time he has qualified to the sport’s top event, he previously competed in Aachen, Germany in 2008. HRH Princess Haya took part in 2002 in Spain. Bisharat is one of Jordan’s most decorated sportsmen, having competed in the Olympic Games in Athens, Beijing and London.