Sports

AMMAN — Hundreds of students registered for the 4.2km Children’s Race of the Amman International Marathon that is going to be held on Friday at the King Hussein Park.

Lina Kurd, Run Jordan general manager, told The Jordan Times that the event is expected to witness a huge turnout.

“We have so far hundreds of students representing various schools who registered to be part of this event and I am sure more will join,” she said.

“The marathon is divided according to age groups and aimed at promoting sports as a lifestyle. Run Jordan believes that by starting the awareness campaign at an early stage we will be able to create a generation who believes in living healthy,” she added.

The age categories include students between 6-8, 9 -11 and 12-14, year olds.

The race is expected to attract more than 2,000 participants this year, including many from the Junior Runners Programme, representing all districts where the programme has been implemented so far.

“The Junior Runners Programme is one of Run Jordan annual activities that was established to help schoolchildren to get active early and for life by providing them the tools, motivation, and support to live happier, healthier lifestyles, through providing them fun running experiences,” Kurd said. 

“The programme also aims at promoting long-distance running at both private and government schools throughout Jordan, thereby empowering boys and girls aged 6-14 to achieve things that they never thought possible,” she added.

The race’s start and finish lines will be at the main parking area at the King Hussein Park to allow easier access for participants and larger space for the children to enjoy the after race party that is being prepared, according to Kurd.

Run Jordan, the organiser, is also working hard on the preparation for the 8th edition of the Samsung Amman Marathon, the most popular running event in the Kingdom, which will be held October 28 with the participation of runners from all over the world.

The event, held under the patronage of HRH Prince Firas, consists of three races: 42km Full Marathon, 21km Half Marathon and a 10km Fun Run.

“This year’s slogan is ‘Run to the Heart of the City of Amman’ and we are promoting Amman as the city of healthy living for all. The marathon’s mission extends beyond competitive, touristic or health aspects as 20 per cent of the proceeds go to charitable associations across multiple sectors,” she said.

“The feeling of running for a good cause is unmatched and at the same time it opens the eyes of people that by adopting running I can improve my health and be a role model for the younger generation that is why we encourage families to join the marathon with their kids,” she added.

Run Jordan was established in 2013, and aims to position the Kingdom as an international sporting venue and to support and supplement the work of the official sporting bodies particularly the Jordan Olympic Committee and the Jordan Athletics Federation.

AMMAN — The four sides left in the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan have one objective left in mind — to reach the final and keep their title hopes alive.

On Monday, in the semifinals it will be Venezuela against North Korea at 4pm, followed by Spain taking on Japan at the King Abdullah II International Stadium in Amman at 7pm.

Three of the four already know what it means to go so far — only Venezuela has yet to make it to the final. North Korea was the tournament’s first winners in 2008 and finished runners-up four years later, while Spain and Japan fought for the trophy in Costa Rica two years ago, with the Japanese emerging victorious, having lost out in the 2010 final.

Spain has grown tired of just missing out on the big prizes. Finalists at Costa Rica 2014, and the UEFA European Women’s U-17 Championship.

Japan has become a cohesive and tight-knit unit that it is virtually impossible to pick out any one player over another, no matter who is on the pitch. To prove the point, coach Naoki Kusunose has used every member of his squad at Jordan 2016, without it affecting the quality of his side’s performances.

Statistically it’s hard to predict who will be chasing the ball more when they meet on Monday. 

“I would call the way we play the ‘Japanese style’, because we all work together as a unit. Our next game against Spain is likely to be a great match, and we’ll be ready to continue defending our title,” Japan coach Naoki Kusunose told Fifa.com on Friday.

The other semifinal could boil down to a battle between Venezuela’s Deyna Castellanos and North Korea’s teamwork.

The final and the 3rd and 4th place match will be played on Friday.

Jordan was eliminated from the first round losing 5-0 to New Zealand, 4-1 to Mexico and 6-0 to Spain. Sarah Abu Sabbah made history by scoring Jordan’s only goal in the Kingdom’s inaugural appearance in the U-17 World Cup.

The biggest sporting event to be hosted in the Kingdom also marked the first time that a women’s tournament of this scale has been hosted in the Middle East region. It was Jordan’s first appearance at the U-17 Women’s World Cup and also its first appearance at any level at a FIFA World Cup.

ZURICH — North America became a stronger favourite to host an expanded World Cup in 2026 after FIFA essentially barred European countries from bidding on Friday.

The FIFA Council agreed that UEFA and Asian confederation members should not bid again so soon after Russia hosts the 2018 World Cup and Qatar has the 2022 tournament.

“That has changed the landscape [of the 2026 contest] a little bit,” said US Football Federation President Sunil Gulati, a FIFA Council member.

FIFA said Europe would be put on standby only if “none of the received bids fulfil the strict technical and financial requirements”.

That’s unlikely if the United States bids as expected, either alone or with Canada and Mexico.

FIFA favours co-hosting among regional neighbours, and a three-way bid could be more popular if the tournament grows to 40 or 48 teams.

A decision will be made on whether to expand the tournament on January 9-10 when the FIFA Council next meets in Zurich.

FIFA has targeted 2020 for its member federations to choose the 2026 host.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who was elected this year after promising voters a 40-team World Cup, would not declare North America as the most likely host region.

“It is still too early to say that,” Infantino said. “We hope we have many bidders and we can choose... who the best bidder is.”

Still, the North American regional body CONCACAF has long been seen as the natural host for 2026 and its claim got stronger on Friday. The United States was the last country in the region to stage the tournament in 1994.

“The answer is ‘Sure,’ it would be silly to say anything but that,” Gulati said of a contest that could also include bids from Africa and South America.

CONCACAF lost out when a hosting rotation system approved during Sepp Blatter’s presidency was abandoned before its scheduled turn in 2018 came around.

Back then, FIFA preferred to block continents from two World Cup bidding contests after hosting, but when statutes were updated in recent reforms the rule said only one tournament had to be skipped.

Gulati said the new clarity in bidding would encourage an entry from the United States.

“We now know some of the rules,” said Gulati, FIFA’s top American official. “We will look at it. We have great relationships with Canada and Mexico. We also have a country with 320 million people that has hosted a World Cup and with a lot of terrific stadiums and great infrastructure.”

A US-hosted World Cup would likely set attendance records — in 1994 there were 3.59 million total fans and an average of 69,000 per match.

Infantino said Friday that a bigger World Cup — potentially of 48 teams and 80 matches with an opening playoff round — would be for sporting reasons, “not a financial or political decision”.

Still, he foresaw more revenue from FIFA’s current $5 billion per tournament, which could help increase the funding he promised to FIFA members.

“Whatever additional costs there will be, will be largely outweighed by additional revenues, obviously. Which means we are in a comfortable position,” Infantino said.

Other decisions Friday:

— FIFA’s 2017 congress will be held in Manama, Bahrain — the home city of FIFA Vice President Sheik Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain — on May 11. The original venue of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pulled out citing problems with issuing visas to delegates.

— The rebranded FIFA annual awards ceremony, formerly known as the Ballon d’Or, will still be held in Zurich on January 9. FIFA had explored a move to London.

— The dates of CONCACAF’s Gold Cup tournament in 2017 have been modified. It will kick off two days earlier, end four days earlier and be played July 7-26.

AMMAN — The 2016 Ayla Oasis West Asian Triathlon and Duathlon will be held in Aqaba on November 18, according to a statement from organisers on Saturday.

The Ayla Oasis Development Company will host the event in coordination with the Jordanian Olympic Committee and the support of the members of Arabian Triathlon Federation and Asian Triathlon Confederation.

According to the statement, all preparations to ensure the success of the first-of-its kind race in Aqaba, and the second ever triathlon championship hosted in Jordan have been completed.

More than 100 top ranking male and female triathletes from Jordan and across the region, are expected to participate in the event that combines a 750m swim, 20km road cycling leg and a 5km run.

Tareq Khayyat, president of the Jordan Triathlon Association, said: “We seek to strengthen Jordan’s international standing as a leading sports tourism destination and raise the profile of such events in the country.

The championship will help us discover local talents and refine their skills to international standards through providing them with opportunities to compete with professional players from across the region.” Winners will receive cash prizes worth JD10,000 to be distributed among the top finalists.

BEIJING — New Orleans centre Anthony Davis sprained his ankle Wednesday in a preseason game against the Houston Rockets in Beijing, part of the NBA Global Games.

The All-Star was unable to play when last season ended because of shoulder and knee problems, and this season is presumably going to begin with him facing yet another injury issue.

“It’s very frustrating,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. “It’s very frustrating in that we can’t seem to get a rhythm or we can’t seem to put the team together because there’s always someone missing.”

Davis has never played in more than 68 games in a regular season for New Orleans, missing an average of 17 contests in each of his first four seasons. He needed surgery on his left knee to fix a problem in March.

Davis was scheduled for more evaluation on his ankle Thursday, when the team is back in New Orleans. The Pelicans lost 116-104 to the Rockets.

Houston’s James Harden scored 14 points and handed out eight assists for the Rockets, who remained unbeaten in four preseason games and swept two matchups with New Orleans on this trip to China.

Bobby Brown led the Rockets with 18 points. Quinn Cook had 20 points for New Orleans, on 7 for 9 shooting.

New Orleans used 42 different starting line-ups in 82 games last season — only one of those line-ups for more than six games. And this season is starting with an array of injury concerns for the Pelicans, even before Davis got hurt when he was going against Houston centre Nene during the first quarter.

Guard E’Twaun Moore (right heel contusion) got hurt Wednesday as well. Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter did not even make the trip to China while dealing with the aftermath of knee surgeries, and starting point guard Jrue Holiday is out indefinitely to be with his wife, former US football star Lauren Holiday — who was diagnosed with a brain tumour while pregnant with the couple’s first child.

The Holiday’s daughter was born last month, and Lauren Holiday is expected to have surgery to remove the benign tumour later this fall.

Suns 111, Jazz 110

Archie Goodwin’s dunk with 3.3 seconds left gave Phoenix its only lead of the night, and capped the Suns’ rally from a 30-point first-half deficit.

Utah started the game on a 46-16 run, but lost when Shelvin Mack’s jumper bounced off the rim as time expired.

Devin Booker led Phoenix with 20 points. Dante Exum scored 18 points and Rudy Gobert added 17 for the Jazz.

Spurs 95, Magic 89

Pau Gasol scored 14 points for San Antonio, which won despite shooting 39 per cent.

LaMarcus Aldridge and Bryn Forbes each added 12 for the Spurs. Evan Fournier led all scorers with 20 for Orlando, while Jeff Green scored 11 for the Magic.

Pacers 101, Bucks 83

Indiana outscored Milwaukee 49-12 over the final 17 minutes of the first half, going into the break with a 62-31 lead and cruising from there.

Rodney Stuckey led the Pacers with 21 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 20 points, six assists and five rebounds in 24 minutes for Milwaukee.

Timberwolves 105, Nuggets 88

Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Shabazz Muhammad each scored 18 points for Minnesota, and the Timberwoves pulled away in the second half.

Wilson Chandler scored 16 points for Denver, which got 14 from Jamal Murray.

AMMAN — It’s down to the final four at the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup being held in Jordan.

The matchup will see Spain versus Japan and Venezula against North Korea in the semifinals on Monday.

On Thursday, North Korea beat Ghana 1-0 on a penalty shot by K. Pom Ui, while Japan brushed off England 3-0 at Al Hassan International Stadium in Irbid.

“Overall, I feel my players could have done better and that our physical condition was not as good as I hoped it would be. We will now have to carefully consider their recovery and training programme for the next few days before going into the semi-finals,” North Korea’s coach Sin Jong-Bok told Fifa.com

For the second edition running, Venezuela and Spain are through to semifinals. The duo’s berths in the last four were secured with identical 2-1 victories that left the winners of Group A and B, Mexico and Germany respectively, heading home.

The final and the 3rd and 4th place match will be played on October 21.

Jordan was eliminated from the first round losing 5-0 to New Zealand, 4-1 to Mexico and 6-0 to Spain. Sarah Abu Sabbah made history by scoring Jordan’s only goal in the Kingdom’s inaugural appearance in the U-17 World Cup.

Jordan joined New Zealand, Brazil, the United States, Paraguay, Nigeria, Cameroon, Canada exiting the first round.

The biggest sporting event to be hosted in the Kingdom also marked the first time that a women’s tournament of this scale has been hosted in the Middle East region. It was Jordan’s first appearance at the U-17 Women’s World Cup and also its first appearance at any level at a FIFA World Cup.

AMMAN — Mohammed Khukhen has officially captured the 2016 title of the Jordan Drift Championship after topping the standings with 100 points from five challenging rounds, Jordan Motorsport announced on Wednesday.

Othman Takriti, Mohammed’s main rival, followed in second place with 89 points and Omar Kukhen came in third place with 75 points.

Meanwhile, Ra’fat Haroun and Munir Hattar settled in the fourth and fifth places respectively with 70 points each, and Mohammed Foqaha came in sixth spot with 66 points.

Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsport CEO said that the conclusion of the championship came after a very challenging tournament.

“It was really an exciting season for drifting as we saw an increase in the number of participants and the skills of drivers have been improved,” he told The Jordan Times.

“I can easily say that we have developed this sports to become better, more efficient and safer,” he added.

According to Naseef, drifting used to be held in open areas.

“It created a very dangerous environment to spectators when it was done in an open area, but we have thought of how to make it safer when we first introduced it in 2014 and SOFEX racetrack played a big role. We are satisfied that all drifting competitions are held in a controlled environment at SOFEX racetrack where everyone can sit and enjoy,” he said.

“Drifting is not an easy sports as drivers are judged according to speed, angle and perfect track line [90 points], showmanship [5 points] and smoking tyres [5 points] and this is not an easy skill no matter what people think,” he added.

Drifting is a kind of driving technique used by drivers through oversteering and causing a loss of traction whether in the rear wheels or all tires while controlling a certain entry to exit of a corner.

“We have more plans for drifting next season and we hope more drivers will be part of them,” he stated.

AMMAN — Deyna Castellanos struck twice on Wednesday as Venezuela came from behind to beat Mexico 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup in Amman.

Jazmin Enrigue started off the scoring for Mexico, but it was Castellanos two goals at the Amman International Stadium which took her to joint top of the Jordan 2016 scoring charts and ensured that her team reached the last four of the World Cup for the second successive edition.

Venezuela set up a semifinal meeting with either North Korea or Ghana.

In Wednesday’s other match, Germany fell to Spain as the Spaniards poured on the pressure and won with an easy 2-1, setting up a semifinal meeting with either Japan or England.

On Thursday, North Korea take on Ghana at 4pm at Al Hassan International Stadium in Irbid, while it will be Japan versus England in the night match at 7pm.

The final and the 3rd and 4th place match will be played on October 21.

Jordan was eliminated from the first round losing 5-0 to New Zealand, 4-1 to Mexico and 6-0 to Spain. Sarah Abu Sabbah made history by scoring Jordan’s only goal in the Kingdom’s inaugural appearance in the U-17 World Cup.

Jordan joined New Zealand, Brazil, the United States, Paraguay, Nigeria, Cameroon, Canada exiting the first round.

The biggest sporting event to be hosted in the Kingdom also marked the first time that a women’s tournament of this scale has been hosted in the Middle East region. It was Jordan’s first appearance at the U-17 Women’s World Cup and also its first appearance at any level at a FIFA World Cup.

INDORE, India — Cheteshwar Pujara struck his eighth Test century and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin engineered another spectacular batting collapse to help India crush New Zealand by 321 runs in the third Test and complete a 3-0 series sweep on Tuesday.

Ashwin, who claimed 6-81 in the first innings, resumed his role as New Zealand’s wrecker-in-chief, claiming 7-59 as the tourists, chasing 475 for an improbable win, were dismissed for 153 to lose inside four days.

After Umesh Yadav dismissed Tom Latham to earn an early breakthrough, Ashwin spun a web around the batsmen as New Zealand lost nine wickets in the final session.

Ashwin dismissed captain Kane Williamson (27) for the second time in the match, ended Ross Taylor’s breezy 32 and sent back Luke Ronchi to rip out the Kiwi top order before returning to blow away the tail.

Fittingly, Ashwin caught Trent Boult off his own bowling to end New Zealand’s innings with career-best bowling figures.

The spinner finished the series with 27 wickets and was the obvious choice for the man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series awards.

“Could not have asked for anything better,” India captain Virat Kohli said at the presentation ceremony.

“The bowlers have responded beautifully in the series every time we’ve been under a bit of pressure. Every time the Kiwis had a partnership, someone put his hands up and brought those breakthroughs for us.”

Earlier, Gautam Gambhir struck 50 on his Test return and Pujara scored 101 not out as India declared their second innings on 216 for three around an hour before tea.

Resuming on 18-0, the hosts lost opener Murali Vijay cheaply but Gambhir, who had retired hurt with an injured shoulder on Monday, returned to score fluently.

Gambhir hit six boundaries before completing his 22nd Test 50 off 54 balls but was dismissed when he drove off-spinner Jeetan Patel to Guptill at cover.

Patel removed Kohli (17) lbw for the second time in the match but Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane (23 not out) added 58 quick runs before India declared.

“It was important that we get a big total in the first innings but it was not to be,” Williamson said.

“Credit to India, obviously they’re the number one in the world now. A fantastic effort and well-deserved.”

AMMAN — The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup gets into high gear on Wednesday when the quarter-finals kick off in Amman and Irbid, with eight teams left in the competition.

The highlight will European champ Germany playing runner-up Spain at 7:00pm on Wednesday preceded by the Mexico versus Venezuela match at the Amman International Stadium at 4:00pm.

On Thursday, 2008 U-17 World Cup champ North Korea face Ghana at 4:00pm followed by the England versus titleholder Japan match at the Prince Hassan Stadium in Irbid at 7:00pm.

Playing in a World Cup is a dream come true for any athlete. Players from remote areas with interesting backgrounds are representing their countries. Ghana’s 15-year old keeper Kayza Massey, grew up as an orphan before being adopted and growing up in Canada. She joined her national team for this tournament and was on the lineup when lead goalie was injured.

In an interview with FIFA.com the young player said: “Playing in a World Cup, has just been an exceptional experience and I’m really enjoying myself. I just hope we can stay until the final now. It won’t be easy, especially against North Korea in the next round. We saw how good Japan are and fully expect the Koreans to be just as tough. But we’ve learned during this tournament how to adjust our game to these different styles of play and I’m sure we’ll come up with a plan that will allow us to compete better this time.”

England forward Georgia Stanway told FIFA.com: “We played Japan back in February so we already know the kind of thing we can expect and how to best go about playing them. They’re a very technical team, they never stop moving, so we’ve got to make sure we’re ready for that. We definitely won’t underestimate them — we know they’re a quality team — but the main focus for us will be on our game plan.”

Jordan was eliminated from the first round losing 5-0 to New Zealand, 4-1 to Mexico and 6-0 to Spain. Sarah Abu Sabbah made history by scoring Jordan’s only goal in the Kingdom’s inaugural appearance in the U-17 World Cup. Regardless of match results, most observers concur hosting the event is a major milestone. The tournament has undoubtedly provided much needed competitive experience for Jordan’s squad and provided a big boost to women’s sports in general. 

Jordan joined New Zealand, Brazil, the United States, Paraguay, Nigeria, Cameroon, Canada exiting the first round.

The biggest sporting event to be hosted in the Kingdom marked was also the first time that a women’s tournament of this scale has been hosted in the Middle East region. It was Jordan’s first appearance at the U-17 Women’s World Cup, and also Jordan’s first appearance at any level at a FIFA World Cup. 

In the first round, the 16 teams played in four groups with the top two teams from each group moving on to Round 2. The semis are on October 17 and the final on October 21. The 32 matches over the course of 22 days were hosted at four stadia: Amman International Stadium, King Abdullah II Stadium in Quweismeh, Al Hassan Stadium in Irbid and Prince Mohammad Stadium in Zarqa.

Jordan is the only Arab team at the U-17 World Cup after Egypt and Morocco were eliminated from the qualifiers. Cameroon is the other country to never have previously participated in the U-17 World Cup. 

Coinciding with the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Jordan 2016. FIFA organised a regional workshop for women’s football coaches in Amman in an effort to develop the game in the region.

The 10-day workshop was attended by 16 women’s football coaches from Syria, Iran, Bahrain, the UAE, Palestine, Oman and Jordan. 

“The fact that we’re organising a workshop with a large majority of female coaches shows that times are changing,” said Mayi Cruz Blanco, FIFA’s head of women’s football development. “We’re going to do all we can to support these women, and we hope they’ll be role models in their countries.”

“The importance of Jordan 2016 goes way beyond football. It’s proof of the progress women are making in sport and society. FIFA is proud of this event and hopes it will have an impact on the life of girls and women in the years to come,” she was quoted by FIFA.com.