Sports

AMMAN — Fourteen-year-old Qusai Habboub has big ambitions, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service. 

Like any talented teenager who is showing plenty of promise in their chosen sport, Qusai wants to win. But this fencer wants to win big!

He came onto the sporting spotlight in Jordan last month after winning a Junior bronze at the highly competitive Mediterranean Fencing Championships in Marseille, France for the flore competition.

It was a fantastic achievement and one that has only made him hungry for more.

“I trained very hard before the championship because I was really determined to be in the top three, and I did it,” said Qusai.

“This was only the second international championships that I have taken part in so to get a medal was fantastic. The competition was of a very high standard and I have really benefited from this experience, especially as France is one of the top countries in the world for fencing.”

Qusai is developing under the watchful eye of Awdah Al Faouri who the youngster shares the credit with.

“He always advises me, and tries to improve my skills along with my teammates,” said the youngster, who has been playing the sport since he was just four after watching his sister compete.

Of course being a top level young sportsman or women means striking the right balance between the books and training. It is refreshing to hear Qusai explain how the two can work hand-in-hand.

“I try never to miss a training session but at the same time I care about my studying, which is just as important and thankfully I can balance between. This is a challenge that has to be met.”

Many federations in Jordan are now looking ahead towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where Qusai hopes to be. If not there, then the next edition in 2024.

“Participating in the Olympic Games is a dream that I will chase,” he said. “It would be the ultimate moment to be able to represent my country in front of the whole world, but it takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice.”

Qusai has a chance to prove himself on the international circuit once again later this month when he joins his teammates for the Asian Fencing Championships in Bangkok from February 24. A strong showing there and he will be a step closer to making his Olympic dreams come true.

AMMAN — Jordan finished the West Asian Table Tennis Championships with four gold, four silver and five bronze medals after a glorious final day in Aqaba, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Following team golds in the U-15 boys and girls team categories earlier in the weekend, Jordan picked up golds in both the singles for women and youth categories.

Sewar Abu Yaman beat her teammate Bara’ Al Wedyan 3-0 in the final of women’s, while Tina Khouri took the U-18 female title, beating Iraq’s Asma’ Ali 3-2.

The three other silver medals were won by the men’s and the youth women’s teams as well as Batoul Al Rashdan in the U-15 girls.

Jordan’s bronze medals were picked up by Tina Khouri (U-15 girls), Farah Khater (women’s), Tayma’a Abu Yaman (women’s), Yara Al Dimese (U-18 female) and Batoul Al Rashdan (U-18 girls).

The tournament was organised by the Jordan Table Tennis Federation and welcomed 70 players from Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Bahrain, the UAE, Iraq and Jordan.

LONDON — Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino accused his players of failing to deal with the pressure of a Premier League title race after they were outplayed in a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday.

The Londoners were lucky to be only two goals down at halftime at Anfield as Liverpool brought Tottenham’s nine-game unbeaten run in the league to a halt.

It was the manner of the defeat — only second-placed Tottenham’s third of the season — that was most concerning though as they appeared overwhelmed by the occasion.

Victory would have cut Chelsea’s lead to six points, but defeat had Pochettino conceding the title race.

“They were better than us and fully deserved to win. We started the game very sloppy,” Pochettino, whose side led the chase of Leicester City last season, said.

“It is difficult to understand. I am very disappointed in our first-half display. Second half we reached their level, but it is really late. The whole team were poor.

“If you show like today that you cannot cope with the pressure to play to win the league, then it is difficult to challenge and fight for the Premier League.

“In the first 45 minutes you saw a team that is not ready to fight for the Premier League.”

Goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris, whose saves spared Tottenham a drubbing, made no excuses.

“It’s a big disappointment because we expected more today, but Liverpool were much better. We lost the battle,” he said.

With a two week gap before their next league game, at home to Stoke City, Pochettino said it was time for his team to take stock and return to maintain their top-four challenge.

“A reality check is important sometimes. We need to find a way to change,” the Argentine said.

Tottenham, who managed only two shots at goal on Saturday, remain in second place with 50 points, the same as north London rivals Arsenal, one ahead of Liverpool and Manchester City and two better than Manchester United. 

AMMAN — The Dead Sea Ultramarathon is to return and continue to be sponsored by LG Electronics, according to Run Jordan, the sole entity dedicated to bringing together different marathon events and races in Jordan under one umbrella.

In 2016, the Ultramarathon went through some serious changes that required it to be rescheduled to 2017.

“Run Jordan has opened registration for all participants and we expect a host of local and foreign runners to take part in the event which will be focused on the Dead Sea area as a place that enjoys touristic and sporting appeal,” Lina Kurd, Run Jordan general manager told The Jordan Times said.

“For many years the marathon was linked with charity work especially with the Society for Care of Neurological Patients and we are proud to be part of this drive,” she added.

The marathon consists of three events: Ultra Marathon, Half Marathon and the 10k Fun Run.

Registration for the April 14th event and the Children’s race April 7th is open to all.

“LG Electronics started sponsoring Dead Sea Ultramarathon in 1993 and today it signed with Run Jordan for sponsoring the coming next five years starting with the marathon’s 23rd event which will be held in April 14th,” noted Kurd.

“We are really excited to have LG onboard and looking forward to starting working on the coming event in which LG will assist in making the Ultramarathon a global event through attracting world champions and presenting financial prizes to winners,” she added. 

The marathon enjoys strong popularity among runners and families, and in 2015 a record number of over 7,000 runners took part in the event which saw Jordan runner Mithqal Abbadi clocking 2h58m19s to win the ultra-marathon 50km.

The Dead Sea Ultramarathon acquired the International Association of Athletics Federations Bronze Label status after changes to the route of both the 50km and the 21km races were made.

In a statement, LG Electronics said that they are proud of being part of the event: “We consider ourselves partners to the Ultramarathon, which also promotes sport and a healthy lifestyle and works towards transforming Jordan to a sport tourism sector.”

DEAD SEA — Mohammed Tayseer on Friday was crowned champion of the first round of the Speed Test Championship held at the Dead Sea Service Park with the participation of 28 drivers.

Tayseer clocked 1m29.61s in his Mitsubishi Evo 6, followed by Husam Salem in second place (1m29.86s) in his Mitsubishi Evo 7 and Ayman Najjar in third place (1m30.30s) in his Mitsubishi Evo Proto.

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

The season’s opener witnessed a lot of determination from Tayseer, winner of last year’s title, who wanted to seal the win of the first round and face the challenge from Salem, who returned to the Speed Test events after a long absence, and Najjar who wanted to secure the first win of the season.

Tayseer expressed his satisfaction of his performance and promised to keep his strategy alive for the rest of the rounds with his eyes on the title.

Meanwhile Salem told The Jordan Times that his return to the Speed Test championships will focus on the title.

“I am happy with the result of the first round and looking forward to keeping the pace and secure the first place in the second round. Speed Test events have always been very challenging and I think I have the right experience to make a difference,” he said.

“The level of competition is high and very promising. It shows that everyone is preparing well for such events,” he added.

The second round will be held March 11.

AMMAN — Jordan dipped to 112th in the latest FIFA rankings issued on Thursday.

The squad is still out of the Asian top 10, trailing Iran (32), South Korea (39), Japan (52), Australia (54), Saudi Arabia (56), Uzbekistan (63), UAE (68), Qatar (85) China (86) and Syria (93). 

The world ranking is led by Argentina in first place, ahead of Brazil, Germany, Chile, Belgium, France, Columbia, Portugal, Uruguay and Spain. 

African semi finalist Egypt is the top ranked Arab team at 23rd, followed by Tunisia (36), Morocco (48) and Algeria (50).

The national team has just returned from a training camp in the UAE, during which Jordan beat 125th ranked Georgia in the first match under new head coach Abdullah Misfer, from the UAE, with Jamal Abu Abed as coach and Abdullah Abu Zameh as assistant.

The camp and a match against Hong Kong in March are part of preparations for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers kicking off in March. The draw put Jordan in Group C with Afghanistan, Vietnam and Cambodia.

A total of 24 teams were divided into six groups, with the top two from each group moving on to the finals. The qualifiers will start March 28 and end on March 27, 2018.

After putting behind elimination from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Jordan is hopeful it will overcome the upcoming Asian qualifiers and advance to the Asian finals. 

Observers have been scrutinising the national's team's plan over the past period, as its performance has been marked by a combination of inconsistent results and frequent changes in coaches.  

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

Jordan's FIFA ranking 

AMMAN — Leaders Orthodoxi play Kufr Youba, while holders Riyadi-Aramex play Awdeh as the Jordan Basketball League play-offs tip off on Saturday.

Riyadi, whose only defeat was against Orthodoxi, will seek to change course as the play-offs continue through February 28.

While the top four will fight for the championship, the bottom four from the regular season already battled it out in the relegation play-offs, with Deir Abi Saied and Hurrieh taking the last two spots.

In the 2015-2016 season, Riyadi-Aramex were crowned league champs — a title which had eluded them for 20 years — when they beat titleholders Orthodoxi to win the best-of -seven play-offs 4-0. 

Hurrieh were third last year, sealing the best-of-five play-offs 3-2 against Awdeh.

The Basketball League, which was launched in 1952, has had 58 editions, with eight teams crowned champion. 

It was cancelled during three seasons and discontinued once. 

Orthodoxi have won 23 times, Ahli 21, Zain 6 times, Applied Science University four times, Jazira-Aramex twice, while Riyadi, Urdun, Watany and the Electricity Co. won once each.

BASKETBALL PLAY-OFFS SCHEDULE

Saturday, February 11

Kufr Youba v Orthodoxi — Al Hassan Hall at 5pm

Riyadi v Al Awdah — Prince Hamzeh Hall at 5pm

Tuesday, February 14

Al Awdeh v Orthodoxi — Prince Hamzah Hall at 5pm

Kufr Youba v Riyadi — Al Hassan Hall at 6pm

Saturday, February 18

Orthodoxi v Riyadi –Orthodoxi Hall at 5pm

Kufr Youba v Al Awdeh– Al Hassan Hall at 6pm

Tuesday, February 21

Al Awdeh v Riyadi — Prince Hamzah Hall at 5pm

Orthodoxi v Kufr Youba — Orthodoxi Hall at 6pm

Saturday, February 25

Orthodoxi v Al Awdeh — Orthodoxi Hall at 6pm

Riyadi v Kufr Youba — Prince Hamzah Hall at 5pm

Tuesday, February 28

Al Awdeh v Kufr Youba — Prince Hamzah Hall at 5pm

Riyadi v Orthodoxi — Prince Hamzah Hall at 6:30pm

AMMAN — Jordan Motorsport the sporting authority for all motorsport events in Jordan, has revealed its calendar of activities for the 2017 season, with a total of 24 events — three more than last year — including speed tests, rallying, karting and drifting.

Jordan Motorsport CEO Othman Naseef told The Jordan Times that this season will witness a new championship.

"The calendar, which was approved by the board of directors headed by HRH Prince Feisal, will include a championship for the 4x4 vehicles for the first time in Jordan due to the importance of such a category in the world of autos," he said.

"In addition, we will have special events where we will have a mixture of [activities] such as speed test, drifting and karting which will appeal to everyone," he added.

According to the calendar, five speed test events, five drifting events, five karting events and four rallies are scheduled, in addition to the Jordan Rally, Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb and three 4x4 events.

Drifting was introduced for the first time as part of the agenda in 2014, gaining popularity in a short time. 

The sporting authority is hoping that the 4x4 events will have the same impact, according to Naseef.

"The first Speed Test round will be held on Friday at the Service Park of the Dead Sea area, and we expect this round to be challenging and very popular among fans," he said.

"We hope that this season we will see more participation from women drivers and also from young talents."

Jordan Motorsports 2017 Calendar:

Speed Test

1^st Speed     February 10

2^ndSpeed     March 11

3^rd Speed     July 7

4^th Speed     August 24

5^thSpeed      November 10

Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb         July 28

Drifting

1st Drift      Februray 24

2nd Drift     March 24

3rd Drift     May 19

4th Drift      August 26

5th Drift      September 22

Rallying

1st National Rally           April 7

2nd national Rally          May 6

3rd National Rally          August 11

4th National Rally          September 15

5th National Rally          October 27

Jordan Rally (2nd round of MERC) May 4-6

Karting

1st Karting           June 8

2nd Karting          July 13

3rd Karting           July 14

4th Karting           August 25

5th Karting           September 29

4x4

1st 4x4        March 3-4

2nd 4x4       April 21

3rd 4x4       November 3-4

AMMAN — Jordan plays Algeria in two friendlies this month as part of preparations for the 2018 AFC Women's Football Championship.

The Algerian team, which is preparing for the qualifiers of the African Cup 2018, will play its first match Thursday, before playing a second one on Sunday.

Jordan was drawn in Group A with Bahrain, UAE, Iraq, Tajikistan and the Philippines for the qualifiers, which will kick off in Tajikistan on April 3.

The qualifiers will see 21 teams divided into four groups and vying for four slots in the 2018 AFC Women's Championship, which will be held in Amman, grouping the continent's top eight teams.

The event is held every four years. Japan is the reigning champion.

The four group leaders will move to the championship, which includes Japan, Australia, China and host Jordan, which has automatically qualified. 

If Jordan tops its group, the runner-up will also advance.

The last time the senior team competed regionally was in 2015, when they exited the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a winless record. Jordan is now 52nd in the latest FIFA rankings, 11th in Asia behind leaders Australia, Japan and North Korea. 

It will be the first time a West Asia country hosts the AFC Women's Championship. That comes after Jordan successfully hosted the U17 FIFA World Cup in 2016 and was eliminated from the first round after playing Spain, Mexico and New Zealand. 

Hosting the event was a big boost not only for the Kingdom, but for women's sports in the region. It was the first of its kind to take place in the Middle East. Jordan was the only Arab team at the U-17 World Cup after Egypt and Morocco were eliminated from the qualifiers. 

The Kingdom's women's football teams have been competing in all age divisions in the Asian zone. 

In 2007, the Kingdom qualified to the AFC U19 Women's Championship as the only Arab team, but in 2014 and 2016, the team was eliminated from the qualifiers. The U16 team qualified to the AFC U16 Women's Championship in 2013, but failed to qualify to the 2015 and 2017 championships.