Ons Jabeur, Mayar Sherif opening doors for female Arab athletes

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Tunisia's Ons Jabeur. (Reuters)
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Egypt's Mayar Sherif. (Reuters)
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Updated 23 February 2022
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Ons Jabeur, Mayar Sherif opening doors for female Arab athletes

  • Both players shined at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and alongside several Tokyo 2020 Olympians have become an inspiration for women looking to succeed in sport

RIYADH: When Moroccan Nawal Al-Moutawakel climbed the podium to receive the gold medal for the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, it was the first time that an Arab had pulled off such a feat.

To this day, it remains an unforgettable moment for Arab sports fans of that era.

A national hero, Al-Moutawakel later became the first woman to hold the International Olympic Committee membership at the London 2012 Games. Before that she was one of eight women to carry the Olympic flag at the opening of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Over the years Al-Moutawakel became a role model and inspiration for Moroccan, Arab, and African female athletes.

In the two decades or so after that, however, few Arab women have followed in her Olympic footsteps.

Until the current generation that is, when female athletes from various sports have emerged to excel in raising their countries’ flags across major international sporting competitions.

And in Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur, the perfect ambassador and role model for a whole new generation of female Arab athletes may just have been found.

Jabeur has “inspired the new generation of Arab tennis players, realizing her pioneering role for future generations,” the International Tennis Federation recently said on its Facebook account, accompanied by a video explaining the player’s history, her upbringing, and her most prominent achievements.

Jabeur came to prominence in 2011 after she won the Roland Garros youth tournament, but it was the last year that has seen a meteoric rise in her career. She became the first Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon on the way to breaking into the top 10, having been the first to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open a year earlier.

After she made the quarterfinals in Melbourne, Tunisian President Kais Saied, said: “Her racket is a shield and a sword to achieve more successes, and she remains the best ambassador for Tunisian sports, and an example for the brilliant Tunisian women and youth in all fields.”

Despite getting knocked out of the recent Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the quarterfinals, Jabeur once again delighted the home crowd who have taken her to their hearts, as well as continuing to act as an inspiration for aspiring Arab players.

It was not that long ago that young female athletes had few avenues for progress in most Arab nations, but what was once taboo — a professional career in sports — is now actively encouraged thanks to the example set by Jabeur and others.

Another Arab who has shone in the world of tennis is Egypt’s golden girl Mayar Sherif, who has been creating her own piece of history by reaching No. 74 in the world rankings, jumping 22 positions after becoming the first female player from her nation to play at a major (French Open 2020) and the first to win a Grand Slam match (Australian Open 2021).

At Tokyo 2020, Sherif also became the first Egyptian female tennis player to take part in the Olympics, after she had won the gold at the African Games in Morocco in 2019.

She was not the only one to make a mark in Japan. Egypt participated with a record 137 athletes, the women distinguishing themselves with Feryal Abdelaziz becoming her country’s first ever female gold medalist, in the karate competition. There was another gold for Hedaya Malak in taekwondo, and a bronze for Giana Farouk in karate.

Tunisia’s women, too, have made their mark on the Olympics in the past decade. The runner Habiba Ghribi won a gold at the 2012 London Olympics in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while the Tunisian delegation competed at Tokyo 2020 with 16 entries, including one for a team sport, volleyball.

Elsewhere, there was a silver medal for Bahraini runner Kalkidan Jezahin in the 10,000 meters, and major hope for the future came in the shape of 12-year-old Syrian tennis player Hind Zaza, who despite losing her first match, became the youngest player to participate in the history of the Olympics.

The number of Arab female athletes taking part in the Olympics and sports in general may still only be a trickle but thanks to Jabeur, Sherif and others, young women throughout the region are taking notice and starting to believe they could be next, hopefully turning the trickle into a flood.


Peru arrests the country's football boss as part of a criminal investigation into fraud

Updated 14 sec ago
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Peru arrests the country's football boss as part of a criminal investigation into fraud

  • Agustin Lozano is the second Peruvian football boss to be detained since 2018
  • Prosecutors said football boss and others tried to wrest lucrative broadcast rights from Peru's first division soccer teams

LIMA, Peru: Peruvian police arrested the head of the country's football federation Thursday as part of an investigation into allegations that he abused his position to extort local clubs into ceding their television rights.

Agustin Lozano is the second Peruvian football boss to be detained since 2018 when his predecessor was investigated for his alleged role in two murders for which he was later absolved.

Lozano was escorted handcuffed into a police vehicle outside his home in the capital, Lima, as several journalists stood by. He promised to clear up any misunderstanding and asked that the public reserve judgements.

Six other people connected to the suspected conspiracy were also arrested.

Prosecutors, in a 140-page court filing seeking Lozano's arrest, said the football boss and others tried to wrest lucrative broadcast rights from Peru's first division soccer teams. Clubs that didn't cede control were threatened with being relegated from the top tier of Peru's soccer clubs, according to the document obtained by The Associated Press.

Lozano is also suspected of illegally spending $1.8 million in federation funds to transport 142 people not associated with the football organization to Doha in 2022 for a playoff match between Peru and Australia to see which side qualified for the World Cup in Qatar that year, according to the court filing.

A prosecutor overseeing the case told local radio that Lozano had been under investigation for over a year. Although he has not been criminally charged, authorities ordered his arrest because they deemed he is a flight risk and could obstruct their investigation.

Lozano has had run-ins with the law before. In 2023, prosecutors sought his arrest as part of an embezzlement investigation from his days as mayor of the northern city of Chongoyape.

Under Lozano's leadership, Peru's national football team is in second to last place among South American men's teams seeking to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.


Pakistan win toss, bowl in 2nd ODI against Australia

Updated 08 November 2024
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Pakistan win toss, bowl in 2nd ODI against Australia

  • The hosts lead 1-0 after a tense two-wicket win in Melbourne on Monday
  • Pakistan named unchanged side with fast bowler Naseem Shah declared fit

ADELAIDE: Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and opted to bowl in the second of a three-game one-day series against Australia in Adelaide on Friday.

The hosts lead 1-0 after a tense two-wicket win in Melbourne on Monday.

Pakistan named an unchanged side with fast bowler Naseem Shah declared fit after leaving the field during the first match, apparently with cramp.

Australia made one change with veteran Josh Hazlewood returning in place of Sean Abbott to join his long-time pace partners Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.

Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short again open the batting in the absence of Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head and will be keen to make their mark after falling cheaply in the opening match.

Teams

Australia: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (capt), Kamran Ghulam, Agha Salman, Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain


Galatasaray down Spurs to go top in Europa League

Updated 07 November 2024
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Galatasaray down Spurs to go top in Europa League

  • The Turkish champions have 10 points from four games and have all but secured qualification for at least the knock-out play-off round, while
  • Spurs sit in fifth place after losing their 100-percent record

PARIS: Victor Osimhen scored twice as Galatasaray inflicted a first Europa League defeat of the season on Tottenham to move top of the table with a 3-2 victory in Istanbul on Thursday.
The Turkish champions have 10 points from four games and have all but secured qualification for at least the knock-out play-off round, while Spurs sit in fifth place after losing their 100-percent record.
Galatasaray took an early lead when Yunus Akgun smashed a sensational long-range volley into the top corner in the sixth minute.
But the visitors hit back just 12 minutes later as teenage striker Will Lankshear marked just his second first-team appearance with a goal by tapping in Brennan Johnson’s pass across goal.
Galatasaray took control before half-time, though, as Osimhen scored twice in the space of eight minutes.
The Nigerian star fired them back in front just after the half-hour mark, before cleverly volleying Dries Mertens’ cross past Tottenham goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Osimhen has now scored six goals in eight appearances for Galatasaray since joining on loan from Napoli.
The home side passed up several opportunities to put the game out of sight for their opponents, but Spurs’ hopes of a comeback were hit when Lankshear was sent off for two yellow-card offenses in quick succession in the second half.
Dominic Solanke pulled one back in the 69th minute, shortly after being brought on by Ange Postecoglou, but Galatasaray held on with relative comfort.
Eintracht Frankfurt are second in the standings, behind Galatasaray on goals scored, after Omar Marmoush’s 13th goal of the season clinched a 1-0 win against Slavia Prague.
The Egyptian clipped a superb free-kick in off the crossbar shortly after the break.
Athletic Bilbao are in third, separated from Eintracht also by goals scored, after coming from behind to grab a 2-1 success at Ludogorets.
Inaki Williams and Nico Serrano both scored in a two-minute burst from the Basque club.
Roma’s disappointing form this season continued as Kevin Mac Allister’s goal 13 minutes from time secured Union Saint-Gilloise their second point of the competition with a 1-1 draw in Belgium.


French minister criticizes PSG fans’ ‘Free Palestine’ banner; club to escape UEFA sanctions

Updated 07 November 2024
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French minister criticizes PSG fans’ ‘Free Palestine’ banner; club to escape UEFA sanctions

  • European soccer’s governing body UEFA said the club would not face sanctions
  • Retailleau, asked if he would seek sanctions against PSG, told Sud Radio: “I am not ruling out anything. I will demand explanations from PSG“

PARIS: French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on Thursday criticized the unfurling of a giant “Free Palestine” banner at a Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) soccer match, saying it was “unacceptable.”
However, European soccer’s governing body UEFA said the club would not face sanctions.
Retailleau, asked if he would seek sanctions against PSG, told Sud Radio: “I am not ruling out anything. I will demand explanations from PSG.”
The French federation (FFF) president, Philippe Diallo, was summoned for a meeting at 0900 GMT at the interior ministry on Friday, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, adding it had not yet confirmed its attendance.
The FFF has no power over European club competitions.
French TV channel BFM said PSG director general Victoriano Melero was also summoned. PSG did not respond to a request for comment.
Fans from PSG’s hard-line Auteuil Kop group displayed a huge “Free Palestine” banner before their Champions League game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, eight days before France play Israel in Paris in a Nations League game.
“In no way was this tifo (banner) intended to convey a message of hatred — quite the contrary,” the group, Collectif Ultras Paris, said in a statement.
“The message that accompanied it is explicit and is a call for peace between peoples,” the group said, adding that the banner was made outside the stadium.
Their action took place as Israel pressed on with a military offensive in Gaza that has killed about 43,400 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza health ministry figures.
The conflict broke out after Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people.
PSG said after the game they had not been made aware of any plans to display such a message.
“Paris St. Germain recall that the Parc des Princes is — and must remain — a place of communion around a common passion for soccer and firmly opposes any message of a political nature in its stadium,” the club said in a statement.
Minister Retailleau said: “Of course the club president is responsible. I want to know how this tarpaulin arrived, how it was deployed.”
A UEFA spokesperson said that PSG would not face disciplinary proceedings as it only bans political messages deemed insulting or provocative.
Last year, the Scottish club Celtic were fined 17,500 euros ($18,907) for fans’ waving Palestinian flags at a Champions League match.
Questions have been raised about security surrounding the France v Israel Nations League game next Thursday in a country that has the largest Jewish community in Europe as well as its biggest population of Muslims.


Krejcikova beats Gauff to earn last semifinal spot at WTA Finals. Swiatek eliminated despite win

Updated 08 November 2024
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Krejcikova beats Gauff to earn last semifinal spot at WTA Finals. Swiatek eliminated despite win

  • Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic beat American Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4
  • Swiatek had kept her hopes alive by beating Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0

RIYADH: Barbora Krejcikova grabbed the last semifinal spot at the WTA Finals with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Thursday, a result that eliminated second-ranked Iga Swiatek from the season-ending tournament.
Krejcikova completes a last-four lineup that already included top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, Zheng Qinwen and Gauff.
“Well, I was definitely super excited to be here, to come here, to qualify to play against the best ones,” Krejcikova said. “I don’t really know where everything started to come together. Before the tournament, I had a couple of days where we hit lightly and already during those hits, I felt quite good. And I think definitely for me, it’s a big thing that it’s the last tournament of the season.”


Krejcikova, the Wimbledon champion, won the Orange Group and will face Zheng in Friday’s semifinals, while Gauff will take on Purple Group winner Sabalenka.
Swiatek earlier routed alternate Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0 in less than an hour, but she needed Krejcikova to lose to third-ranked Gauff in order to advance from the Orange Group. Krejcikova, Gauff and Swiatek all finished at 2-1, and Swiatek was eliminated because she has a worse percentage of sets won.
Kasatkina replaced American Jessica Pegula, who withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday because of a left knee injury.
“I’m professional enough to always give 100 percent no matter what the stakes are,” Swiatek said.