SPORTSTuesday, April 11, 201722

Manama

Young Star defeated Al Andaleeb by five wickets

in the latest matches of the BCL Diamond League Cricket at the Busaiteen Grounds in Muharraq.

Batting first, Al Andaleeb were dismissed for 132 with

Saqib (33) the main scorer with Younis (five for 34) in five overs the pick of the bowlers.

In reply, Young Star reached the target scoring 134 for five in 22.1 overs thanks to Jamshad (37) and Younis (30), with Wasif (one for 17) returning the best figures.

BCL League:Young star win

Other scores: 1) Pak Blues 151/10 (Nadeem 35, Nasir 27, Omar 2/28) bt Riffa

Star 77/10 (Niazi 19, Nadeem 4/19) by 74 runs.

2) ACL Haseena Upholstery 120/10 (Saeed 27, Nasir 25,

Ganesh 2/22) bt Central Café 117/10 (Danny 24, Sajjad 4/14,

Iqbal 2/27) by 3 runs.

3) AJM Kooheji 100/0 in 11 (Jay 55no, Pream 31no) bt Pak

Panthers 99/10 (Raees 37, Vinod 3/20) by 10 wickets.

4) RKCT 98/6 in 20.3 (Ashwin 32, Gaja 3/24) bt Karnataka Roy-

als 97/10 (Vasanth 32, Sandeep 2/6) by 4 wickets.

Manama

The 2017 Olympic Day celebrated all over the

world, will be held in Bahrain on May 6, the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) announced yesterday and this year’s event is being organised by the BOC in cooperation with Gulf University.

Supreme Council for Youth and Sports deputy general secretary and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) general secretary Abdulrahman Askar has formed a committee tasked at preparing for the activities.

It is headed by Hassan Abdullatif and has had two meetings already and made

the initial plan for the event programme, to be held for the first time at Bahrain Bay.

A variety of sports and entertainment activities are scheduled to take place throughout the day, as Bahrain joins other National Olympic Committees from around the world to celebrate this special

occasion.Abdullatif said the Bahrain

Roadrunners, which is under the umbrella of the Bahrain Athletics Association, will be a key partner with the BOC to bring this event by providing full support in organising a running race during the day.

He noted the venue for

this year’s activities was given a priority compared to other suggested landmarks due to its preferred location and motivational scenery that overlooks the bay.

Abdullatif asserted the importance of bringing these festivities to Bahrain, an event celebrated worldwide

in an attempt to promote the Olympic values, which include friendship, respect and excellence. and valued the fruitful cooperation between the committee and the Gulf University in organising the event which targets all segments of the Bahrain community of all ages.

Bahrain to celebrate 2017 Olympic Day on May 6

Manama

UFC GYM yesterday announced the continued

expansion of its global footprint into the Middle East with the opening of a gym in Bahrain.

Located in Juffair, it will celebrate its grand opening in September and serve as the second of five locations slated to debut throughout the region in the next year.

“Since opening the first UFC GYM – Middle East location in

Dubai last year, we’ve received tremendous positive feedback from our membership community that has paved the way for our impending new franchise,” UFC GYM President Adam Sedlack said.

Since debuting in 2009, UFC GYM has opened more than 135 locations throughout the US, Australia, Canada, Oman, Philippines, South America, Taiwan, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates and now Bahrain.

UFC GYM opens gym in Bahrain

New York

The United States, Mexico and Canada announced

a joint bid to stage the 2026 World Cup yesterday aiming to become the first three-way co-hosts in the history of FIFA’s showpiece tournament. 

The bid was announced at a press conference in New York attended by the head of CONCACAF, Victor Montagliani along with US Soccer Federation chief Sunil Gulati and Mexico counterpart Decio de Maria.

Announcing the bid, US

chief Gulati said three quarters of the tournament’s matches would be staged in the United States, with Canada and Mexico hosting 10 games each.

Gulati also played down the possibility that the politics of US President Donald Trump could hamper the bid.

“We have the full support of the US government in this project,” Gulati said. 

“The president of the US is fully supportive... We are not at all concerned at some of the concerns that some people may raise,” he added.

US, Mexico, Canada in joint bid for World Cup

Berlin

Bayern Munich received a timely boost ahead of

Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final home clash with Real Madrid as both Manuel Neuer and Thomas Mueller returned to training.

The Germany duo took part in a full session on Monday, with Neuer expected to start in goal against the European champions after recovering from foot surgery that forced him to miss Bayern’s last three games.

Mueller has shaken off an ankle injury that saw him sit out the past two matches and also hopes to feature at the Allianz Arena.

“I could take part in normal training, which is a good sign,” said Mueller. “We are well prepared and full of confidence.

“This is a huge European match between two top teams. Of course the anticipation is huge.”

Bayern’s top scorer Robert Lewandowski, who has scored seven Champions League goals this season in a haul of 38 in all competitions, trained alone after injuring his shoulder against Borussia Dortmund but is fit to play.

However, defender Mats Hummels is sidelined after tearing a ligament in his right ankle in training on Sunday and faces a race to be fit for the return leg in Madrid on

April 18.“I definitely won’t

be on the pitch on Wednesday,” told German daily Bild.

“Very sad about missing at least the next two games,” the centre-back added on Twitter while posting a picture of himself wearing a special recovery boot on Instagram under the caption, “Already trying to recover as fast as possible”.

As well as this week’s Champions League first leg, Hummels will sit out Saturday’s Bundesliga match at Bayer Leverkusen at the very least.

With Hummels sidelined Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez will resume their centre-back partnership having played in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Dortmund.

Madrid will be without Pepe after the Portugal centre-back broke two ribs in the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on Saturday and French defender Raphael Varane will also miss Wednesday’s game. (AFP)

Neuer, Mueller cleared for Real clash

Bayern Munich’s striker Thomas Mueller

Bayern Munich’s Polish forward Robert Lewandowski

Real Sociedad 3 Sporting Gijon 1

Crystal Palace 3 Arsenal 0 Teenage kicks

Max Verstappen’s star continues to rise after an astonishing

performance when he weaved his way from 16th on the grid to finish third behind Hamilton and Vettel. The

19-year-old Dutchman stormed past nine cars on the first lap alone and later said it felt like he was playing a video

game. It’s not the first time the Red Bull driver has

pulled off such a feat, after he recovered from 16th to reach the podium in heavy rain in Brazil last year. But Verstappen’s form means stiff competition for his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who had to settle for fourth.

Shanghai

Lewis Hamilton boldly christened himself “brave

warrior” after winning the Chinese Grand Prix

but the three-time world

champion will have

more than just title rival

Sebastian Vettel to contend with this week

in Bahrain.As Hamilton celebrated

a third Shanghai victory in four years with his Mercedes team, he unveiled a new tattoo on the left side of

his ribcage bearing the Chinese characters

“Brave Warrior” and “Love”.

But the B r i t o n ’ s thunder h a d

already been stolen by a jaw-dropping drive from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who finished third behind Ferrari’s Vettel after starting near the back of the grid.

The 19-year-old Dutchman began in 16th after an engine misfire in qualifying and tore past nine cars on the first lap alone, suggesting fears that the sport’s new rules had made overtaking harder were premature.

Both Hamilton and Vettel, who himself produced two breath-taking passes, will be casting nervous looks in their rear-view mirrors at Verstappen.

“He is right up there with all the best drivers,”

said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who noted that V e r s t a p p e n ’ s odds of reaching the podium after qualifying stood

at 33-1.“If it had not

been insider t r a d i n g ,

I’d have had a

flutter. Max has a sixth sense in the wet. He is fearless. He explores all the boundaries of the track to find where the grip is.”Verstappen’s aggressive approach has quickly made him a fan favourite and he has been compared with Formula One great Ayrton Senna, particularly after a seat-of-the-pants drive in Brazil last year when he stormed to third in pouring rain.

Wheel to wheelBy the same token, he has ruffled feathers since making his F1 debut two years ago at just 17 with Ferrari’s Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen both letting rip.

But Hamilton, who recognises a kindred spirit

in Verstappen, retorted: “This young dude has been a real breath of fresh air for everyone.” 

Wider cars and fatter tyres were supposed to make overtaking a dying art, but Verstappen and Vettel went some way to exploding that myth in China.

On a track still slick after morning drizzle, Verstappen pulled off an audacious piece of skill to pass Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, braking late to lunge inside on turn six.

Equally as impressive were Vettel’s pass on Raikkonen after early frustration, and his wheel-to-wheel clash in overtaking Ricciardo, which recalled the days before one

team dominated the sport.Mercedes have enjoyed a

stranglehold over Formula One for the past three years, the German team winning all but two races in 2016.

Before that, Vettel won four successive titles with Red Bull on a streak so monotonous he was repeatedly booed on the podium.

But Formula One suddenly has a title race with Vettel and Hamilton heading to Bahrain tied on 43 points after the German’s stunning victory in the season opener in Australia.

Verstappen is placed third on 25, with Valtteri Bottas on 23 for Mercedes, Raikkonen on 22 and Ricciardo 12, adding spice to this week’s dust-up in the desert. (AFP)

Tuesday, April 11, 2017 23SPORTS

© GRAPHIC NEWSPicture: Getty Images

Born:

Height: Weight:

August 28, 1989Nastola, Finland

173cm

March 2013, Williams

70kg

Debut:Races / wins:Podiums:Pole positions:

77 / 090

0%11.7%

0%2016: 8th, 85pts 2Retirements:

Mercedes

© GRAPHIC NEWSPicture: Getty Images

Born:

Height: Weight:

September 2, 1990Kumla, Sweden

174cm

March 2014, Caterham

64kg

Debut:Races / wins:Best race finish:Best grid position:

56 / 08th9th

0%--

2016: 22nd, 0pts 5Retirements:

Sauber

© GRAPHIC NEWSPicture: Getty Images

Born:

Height: Weight:

January 7, 1985Stevenage, England

175cm

March 2007, McLaren

66kg

Debut:Races / wins:Podiums:Pole positions:

188 / 5310461

28.2%55.3%32.4%

2016: 2nd, 380pts 2Retirements:

Mercedes

Verstappen ready

Take aways from ChinaStart as you mean to finish

In a season of fine margins, small differences will be crucial and  Hamilton’s fast start

made all the difference in Shanghai. While the Mercedes driver got away smoothly from pole, Vettel’s botched start from the front row plunged him immediately into difficulties. Pre-race, Hamilton said Mercedes had been working on his starts. “We worked hard to make sure we’re on top of things. I think I got the second best start of the whole grid (in Australia),” he said. “My goal is to remain in the top three consistently all season. We’re working towards

that.”

Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen takes a corner during the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai

Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium after finishing third in the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai