Sports News 29th December, 2011
Al Kass Int’l Cup U-17 from Jan 8
Some of the biggest clubs in world football will be sending their youth teams to Doha to compete in the
first edition of a new international football tournament.
Known as the Al Kass International Cup U-17, the competition is being organised by Al Dawri & Al Kass
Sports Channel (Al Kass), together with Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Aspire Zone Foundation
(AZF).
The annual event, which sees the addition of a world-class championship to the international football
calendar, will be held from 8th to 17th January, 2012 at the outdoor football pitches at Aspire Zone in
Doha.
“This is going to be the first edition of an annual event that is set to further contribute to building on the
foundations of a proud footballing nation up to the FIFA World Cup 2022 and beyond,” said Issa bin
Abdulla al-Hitmi, general manager of Al Kass.
The initiative is expected to benefit the global youth football movement as emerging junior teams from top
clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain (France), Vasco De Gama (Brazil), Juventus (Italy),Ajax (Amsterdam),
FC Barcelona (Spain), Kashima Antlers (Japan), Al Jazira (UAE) and Al Ahly (Egypt) discover new
frontiers, build partnerships and make lifelong friendships. The teams will be competing to win the trophy
for first place along with a two-hundred thousand dollar cash prize to be allocated to the winning club.
There will also be awards given to the most valuable player of each match.
Aspire Academy will also have two teams participating in the Cup, Aspire Qatar and Aspire International.
“Aspire Zone is honoured to be hosting such an innovative tournament to support youth development in
football. The Aspire Academy has a strong history of hosting visiting youth football teams for friendly
matches against our Aspire teams and the Al Kass International Cup U-17 will give our boys valuable
experience,” observed Ivan Bravo, director general of Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence.
“Through the friendships forged during the annual Al Kass International Cup U-17, clubs will build a
lasting relationship and intimacy with Qatar and its beautiful football stadiums leading all the way up to
World Cup 2022,” said Hamad al-Mannai, director of the Al Kass International Cup U-17.
“We already know that Qatar is investing in the future of football and Doha is propelling itself as one of the
leading sports capitals of the world, and we look forward to having a world class level of sportsmanship at
the tournament,” added al-Mannai.
Officials said that all three stakeholders behind the initiative stand to gain from each other’s expertise and
contribute collectively to the growth of a footballing culture in Qatar and around the region.
With the tournament being held during football’s winter break and located in a part of the world that truly
bridges the East and the West, Ward Abdallah, head of the tournament’s media committee, asserted that
Al Kass U-17 has the tools required to communicate with the world’s football community, “We will be
launching a new website and using social media tools to ensure that we can reach and communicate
directly with our Al Kass U-17 football community.”
A number of key sponsors have already signed up to become part of a tournament of Al Kass
International U-17’s standing. These include Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, Qatar National Bank, Fifty
One East, Qatar Stars League, Q.media, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Mannai Air Travel, QVision, Qatar Airways,
The Look Company, and Swiss Open Air.
Image Description: Officials of Al Kass Channel, Aspire Academy and Qatar 2022 Supreme
Committee during a press conference to announce the Al Kass International U-17 tournament yesterday
Federer returns to defend Doha title
Swiss maestro and defending champion of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Roger Federer, has begun his
ATP World Tour season in Doha six times and has won the title on three occasions – 2005, 2006 and
2011. This year is no different as he embarks on the desert to start his 2012 campaign as strongly as he
finished 2011. He returns to Doha having won the last three titles of 2011 – the Basel indoor event, the
ATP World Tour Masters in Paris and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. As he himself said
following his record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title in November, “Usually when I do finish strong, I also
start strong the following season.”
Federer began playing tennis at age eight and grew up idolising German star, Boris Becker, and his
favorite player was American Pete Sampras. He had an excellent junior career, finishing as No. 1 junior in
the world in 1998. He won the junior Wimbledon singles and doubles (with Belgium’s Olivier Rochus) that
year. He is one of only four players to have won both the junior and men’s singles titles at Wimbledon –
Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash and Bjorn Borg being the other three.
He has won a men’s record 16 Grand Slam singles titles (four Australian Open titles, one French Open
title, six Wimbledon titles, five US Open titles) and one of seven male players to capture a career Grand
Slam and one of three (along with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces
(clay, grass, and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match
of each Grand Slam tournament at least five times and also reach the final at each of the nine ATP
Masters 1000 Tournaments.
Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2012 Tournament Director, KarimAlami, says of Federer’s return to Doha, “We
are exceptionally honoured and happy to have Roger return to our event. He has proven to be a worthy
champion time and time again and a player of his legendary calibre shows how important Doha is on the
ATP World Tour.”
As important as tennis is to Federer, giving back to the community is just as important. For the past half
decade he has working with children in Africa and Switzerland through the Roger Federer Foundation,
which partners with local charity organisations to provide children with access to education, sport and
play, and improves the quality where there are no or only insufficient funds available. To date, nearly
43,000 children are benefiting from the work his Foundation is doing.In April 2006, he was named
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and also received the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award. In
2011 he received the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the seventh time and was selected as the
ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favorite for a record ninth consecutive year.
Federer’s family is a constant fixture on the Tour. He travels with his parents, Lynette and Robert, and his
wife, Mirka (a former WTA tennis player whom he met at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games) and their twin
daughters Charlene Riva and Myla Rose. He has been coached by American Paul Annacone, former
ATP pro and Sampras mentor, since September 2010.
Image Description: Roger Federer...looking for a strong start to the season
Hussey, Ponting haul Australia from mire
The old firm of Mike Hussey and Ricky Ponting kept Australia alive with a fighting century stand against
India in the opening Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday.
The senior duo, with their Test futures under scrutiny, pulled their team out of a huge hole at 27 for four
with a crucial 115-run partnership to give Australia a slight edge with two days left.
Former skipper Ponting finally fell for 60, but Hussey, dismissed for a controversial first-ball duck in the
first innings, led the way with an unbeaten 79 as Australia reached stumps at 179 for eight.
The Australians extended their 51-run innings lead to a 230-run advantage by the close with a result
possible on Thursday’s fourth day.
Hussey, dropped on 69 by Rahul Dravid at slip, was positive from the outset and aggressively went after
runs to show selectors he still has plenty to offer at the age of 36.
Ponting made his second half-century of the match and looked on target for his first Test hundred in
almost two years before Zaheer Khan coaxed a thick edge to Virender Sehwag in the gully.
Hussey lost more batting partners late in the day with the dismissals of Brad Haddin (6), Peter Siddle (4)
and Nathan Lyon (4).
Paceman Umesh Yadav initiated the Australian top-order collapse with the first three wickets, removing
both openers David Warner (5) and Ed Cowan (8) within four balls, and finished with four wickets.
Warner was bowled playing on from a loose shot, while Cowan was leg before wicket while padding up.
Australia’s woes deepened when Shaun Marsh dragged a wide Yadav delivery onto his stumps for three
and skipper Michael Clarke followed in the next over, playing on an Ishant Sharma ball for one to leave
his team at 27 for four.
Ben Hilfenhaus earlier claimed his best wicket haul in Tests to give Australia a handy first-innings lead as
India were dismissed for 282 at lunch.
The Tasmanian swing bowler, recalled for his first Test match in almost a year, captured five for 75.
India lost seven wickets for 68 off 28.1 overs after they looked in command at 214 for two late on
Tuesday.
Australia got off to a flyer when Dravid was bowled second ball by Hilfenhaus on his overnight score of
68.
Hilfenhaus breached the famed defence of “The Wall” and clipped his off-stump just five balls after
Tuesday’s last-over dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar for 73 by Siddle.
V.V.S. Laxman took 20 balls to get off the mark and fell for two, caught low down by wicketkeeper Haddin
off Siddle.
Although Laxman has a great batting record in Australia with four Test centuries, he has scored just 113
runs in seven innings at 16.14 at the MCG, one of his least productive venues in 131 Tests.
Virat Kohli, playing in his fifth Test, was next to go, feathering an enticing Hilfenhaus outswinger to
Haddin for 11.
Hilfenhaus struck again in his next over when skipper M.S. Dhoni got a thick outside edge to be caught in
the gully by Hussey for just six.
Nightwatchman Sharma became Hilfenhaus’s fifth wicket when he was taken behind by Haddin for 11 off
69 balls.
Ravi Ashwin showed resistance with 31 off 35 balls with three fours and a top-edged six before he was
last man out to Siddle. Yadav remained two not out.
Wicketkeeper Haddin finished with five catches for the innings.
Image Description: Australia’s Mike Hussey drives the ball during the first cricket Test match against
India, at the MCG yesterday
Sangakkara puts Sri Lanka in command
Kumar Sangakkara hit a superbly-crafted century to put Sri Lanka in a strong position to press for their
first Test win of the year on the third day of the second Test match against South Africa at Kingsmead
yesterday.
Sangakkara’s 108 enabled Sri Lanka to reach 256 for seven in their second innings - an overall lead of
426,
eight
runs
more
than
the
highest
successful
run
chase
in
Test
history.
The left-handed former captain shared stands of 94 with Thilan Samaraweera and 104 with rookie
wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal as Sri Lanka went in search of their first win in four Test tours of South
Africa.
Sangakkara, whose first three innings in the series were 1, 2 and 0, had not added to his overnight score
of three when he edged the fourth ball of the morning, from Morne Morkel, towards Graeme Smith at first
slip. Wicketkeeper Mark Boucher dived for the ball, obscuring Smith’s vision, and the South African
captain
put
down
the
chance.
Sangakkara made the home side pay as he constructed a classy innings in overcast and gloomy
conditions. Overnight and morning rain delayed the start by an hour and the floodlights were on during
most
of
the
day.
Sangakkara reached his fifty off 102 balls with four fours and then took command, scoring his second fifty
off
only
59
deliveries,
adding
nine
more
boundaries.
It
was
his
28th
Test
century.
First innings century-maker Samaraweera shared a crucial fourth wicket stand with Sangakkara after the
first three wickets had fallen for 44 runs to give South Africa hope of bowling themselves back into
contention
despite
trailing
by
170
runs
on
the
first
innings.
Samaraweera made 43 before being deceived by a googly from Imran Tahir which he edged into his
stumps.
Sri Lanka pressed home their advantage as Sangakkara and new cap Chandimal scored at almost a run
a
minute.
With
the
Chandimal
light
fading,
followed
up
Chandimal
his
was
first
innings
caught
behind
58
off
with
54.
Dale
Steyn.
Sangakkara followed in the next over when he hit Tahir to long-on. Bad light stopped play soon
afterwards.
Fast bowling debutant Marchant de Lange, who took seven for 81 in the first innings, claimed the key
wicket
of
Mahela
Jayawardene
as
Sri
Lanka
struggled
early
in
the
day.
Jayawardene had scored 14 when he padded up to De Lange and was given out leg before wicket by
umpire Steve Davis. Jayawardene sought a television review but the umpire’s decision was upheld when
replays
showed
the
ball
would
have
hit
his
off
bail.
But De Lange failed to make an impact in later spells as Sangakkara swung the match ever more in his
team’s
favour
on
a
pitch
which
remained
a
good
batting
surface.
South Africa lead the three-match series after winning the first Test at Centurion by an innings and 81
runs.
The hosts can take heart from having chased down 414 against Australia in Perth three seasons ago,
only four runs less than the world record 418 for seven by the West Indies against Australia in Antigua in
2002/03.
Image Description: Sri Lanka’s batsman Kumar Sangakara (L) plays a stroke as South Africa’s
wicketkeeper Mark Boucher waits to make a catch during the third day of their second Test match at the
Sahara Stadium Kingsmead in Durban
Rookie Cole crucial as Miami beat Boston
Rookie Norris Cole shined for the Miami Heat as they beat Boston 115-107 on Tuesday to maintain their
impressive start to the National Basketball Association season and hand the Celtics their second
consecutive loss.
The Heat, beaten by Dallas in last year’s NBA finals, dominated for much of the game and led by 15
points at halftime, but the Celtics created some tension late in the fourth quarter and twice reduced the
deficit to three inside the final three minutes.
Cole, a surprise draft pick out of Cleveland State, showed great confidence and steel to score 20 points,
14 of them in the fourth quarter and made four assists, proving instrumental in the nervy final moments.
For once, the ‘Big Three’ of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were overshadowed as fans
left the arena chattering about the exciting potential of Cole.
“If it was football, he’d get the game ball,” James said of his fellow Ohio native, who came up with a
crucial three-pointer to restore a five-point lead just as Boston were sensing an unlikely comeback.
“This kid he’s one of those diamonds in the rough, one of those kids who are very mature and we knew
we had a gem in him,” said Wade, who ended up with 24 points and eight assists.
“The biggest thing was to be able to take those shots and not be afraid of the moment, he’s the kind of
player who thinks that is what he should be doing.
“We see a guy who isn’t afraid to put the work in and who from day one, has come in and been able to
run the show and be able to tell guys like me and LeBron to get out of the way, you have to respect that.
“He didn’t hesitate, he made the big plays down the stretch and I haven’t been on a side with a young guy
doing that, so many times, for a long time. Since me,” he quipped.
Cole clearly has the ability to take challenges in his stride and he adroitly avoided a potential media pitfall
when asked about whether there was now a ‘Big Four’ in Miami.
“Don’t get carried away, I’m still learning. It was a big game for me but those guys have proven over and
over again for years in this league that they are dominant players and I am still learning, I’m still getting
better,” Cole told reporters.
Miami are 2-0 on the new, reduced, season after also winning their opener at Dallas on Dec. 25.
Boston sorely missed the presence of the injured Paul Pierce, who would have guarded James but
benefited from their switch to zonal defense.
“I told the players that at some point it will get us back in the game because no one thinks we’ll ever play
zone, it put them on their heels,” said Celtics’ head coach Doc Rivers.
Miami, who beat Boston 4-1 in last season’s Eastern Conference semi-finals, marched to a 69-54 lead at
halftime with James, who finished with 26 points, in sharp form.
Image Description: Rajon Rondo (L) of the Boston Celtics drives past Udonis Haslem of the Miami
Heat during a game at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida on Tuesday