Redemption for Japan coach Hajjime Moriyasu 29 years later in Qatar

Japan’s coach Hajime Moriyasu reacts after the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group E football match between Japan and Spain at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Thursday. (AFP)
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Updated 02 December 2022
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Redemption for Japan coach Hajjime Moriyasu 29 years later in Qatar

  • This time the 54-year-old Moriyasu got his Hollywood ending by winning Group E

AL-RAYYAN, Qatar: The “Agony of Doha” came 29 years ago, and Hajjime Moriyasu experienced it first-hand as a midfielder on Japan’s national football team.

He’s now the coach, and he’s made amends.

Japan won their World Cup group on Thursday after beating 2010 champion Spain 2-1 at the Khalifa International Stadium. Last week, the team defeated 2014 champion Germany by the same score at the same venue.

As time was winding down against Spain, Moriyasu was thinking about that game in Qatar against Iraq in 1993 that cost the team a spot in the next year’s tournament.

“About one minute before the end,” Moriyasu said after the win over Spain, “I remembered the tragedy in Doha.”

Leading 2-1 in the team’s final qualifier and knowing one goal for the opposition would spell the end, Japan conceded in stoppage time. Their World Cup hopes were dashed, and so was Moriyasu’s chances of playing at the biggest football tournament in the world.

This time it was different. This time the defense held it together. This time the 54-year-old Moriyasu got his Hollywood ending by winning Group E.

“I could feel that the times have changed,” Moriyasu said, praising his team’s aggressive defending. “They are playing a new kind of football, that’s how I felt.”

Japan’s resistance on the field was typified by 34-year-old captain Maya Yoshida. The veteran central defender reacted fastest when a loose ball in the 90th minute bounced in the goalmouth, up in front of a gaping empty net, after goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda blocked a shot by Jordi Alba.

Yoshida twisted his body to beat Marco Asensio to the ball and clear the danger. When Spain forward Dani Olmo took control seconds later, Gonda blocked his shot with a smothering dive.

On the offensive side, Japan scored in the 48th and 51st minutes. Against Germany, the goals came in the 75th and 83rd.

“In 10 minutes we were dismantled,” Spain coach Luis Enrique said.

Up next is Croatia, a team that reached the final four years ago in Russia. Another victory on Monday would put Japan in the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time.

“We,” the coach said, “are gifting this win to the people of Japan.”


Pakistan Cricket Board announces full ticket refunds for rain-washed Champions Trophy matches

Updated 02 March 2025
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Pakistan Cricket Board announces full ticket refunds for rain-washed Champions Trophy matches

  • The matches were due to be played between Australia and South Africa, Bangladesh and Pakistan
  • Ticket holders are eligible for a full refund if a Champion Trophy match is abandoned before toss

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a full ticket refund for Champions Trophy matches that were abandoned without a ball being bowled at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium last month, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday. 
The matches were due to be played between Australia and South Africa on Feb. 25, and Bangladesh and Pakistan on Feb. 27, but rain washed out both games in Rawalpindi.
According to the PCB Ticket Refund Policy for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, ticket holders are eligible for a full refund if a match is abandoned before the toss.
“Ticket holders can claim their refund between 10th to 14th of this month [March],” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The purchaser will have to visit a designated outlet along with the original ticket.”
Hosts Pakistan crashed out of the tournament after a humiliating six-wicket loss to archrivals India.
The winner of Sunday’s match between India and New Zealand will play Australia in the semifinal, with the loser taking on South Africa.
Irrespective of the placing and opponent, India will play the first semifinal in Dubai on Tuesday after they refused to travel to Pakistan because of political tensions.
New Zealand will leave for Lahore after Sunday’s match, with the second semifinal to be played at Qaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.


Champions Trophy: Kohli falls to ‘superman’ Phillips’ catch in 300th ODI

Updated 02 March 2025
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Champions Trophy: Kohli falls to ‘superman’ Phillips’ catch in 300th ODI

  • Kohli fell for 11 runs off 14 balls after New Zealand invited India to bat first in Dubai
  • The result of the match to decide the semifinal line-up of the 50-over tournament

DUBAI: New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips pulled off a stunning catch to dismiss India great Virat Kohli in the batsman’s landmark 300th ODI in the final group match of the Champions Trophy on Sunday.
Kohli fell for 11 off 14 balls after New Zealand invited India to bat first in Dubai with the result of the match to decide the semifinal line-up of the 50-over tournament.
But it was Phillips’ fielding marvel that brought the match alive as he dived full stretch to his right at backward point and held on to the ball traveling at a fast pace from Kohli’s bat off fast bowler Matt Henry.
Kohli, 36, stood in disbelief for a few seconds before trudging back to the pavilion as the fans went silent.
Social media, however, was soon abuzz with reactions to the catch: “The Superman of the tournament,” wrote one fan on X.
The winner of the match will play Australia in the semifinal, with the loser taking on South Africa.
Irrespective of the placing and opponent, India will play the first semifinal in Dubai on Tuesday after they refused to travel to hosts Pakistan because of political tensions.
New Zealand will leave for Lahore after the match, with the second semifinal to be played at the Qaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.


Third-time lucky for Tsitsipas as he overcomes Auger-Aliassime to take Dubai title

Updated 02 March 2025
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Third-time lucky for Tsitsipas as he overcomes Auger-Aliassime to take Dubai title

  • No. 4 seed triumphs over tour’s most in-form player in straight sets at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium to seal a maiden ATP 500 title and return to world’s Top 10

DUBAI: Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas made it third time lucky at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday night, defeating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 to claim his maiden ATP 500 title in front of a jubilant Centre Court under the lights at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.

Making his first Dubai appearance since 2020, when he was defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic, and playing in his third final in four trips to the tournament, the World No. 11’s straight-sets victory ensured he became the first Greek player to claim glory in Dubai.

After eclipsing Lorenzo Sonego, Karen Khachanov, Matteo Berrettini, and Tallon Griekspoor en route to the Auger-Aliassime showdown, Tsitsipas delivered a stunning array of booming serves, powerful baseline winners, and delicate dropshots to dismantle his under-par opponent in an hour and 28 minutes.

Tsitsipas started slowly, forced to save two breakpoints early on and winning only three points across his opponent’s first three service games. Yet it was the No. 4 seed who secured the crucial breaks, first for 4-3 — helped by an Auger-Aliassime double-fault — and again to take the opening set. Crucially, again at 4-3 in the second, he secured the break that would ultimately lead to what he later dubbed his “final redemption” in Dubai.

“This is something that I have been fighting a long time for and it’s great to finally win here in Dubai,” Tsitsipas said after sealing a 12th career title. “My game kind of clicked and things seemed to work really well right from the beginning (of the match). It’s a big relief to finally hold the trophy at the third attempt. It was definitely something in the back of my mind, and I am very happy to have finally accomplished it. I’m proud I managed to handle the pressure and perform in those crucial moments.”

After failing to clinch a hat-trick of 2025 titles following wins in Adelaide and Montpellier earlier this season, a visibly dejected Auger-Aliassime was full of praise for his Greek rival: “It wasn’t to be for me, but congratulations to Stefanos; it’s well deserved. He played at a very high level tonight.

“This is my second time in Dubai, and I will definitely be back,” added the Canadian, who is expected to return to the world’s Top 20 players when new ATP rankings are released on Monday.

In the men’s doubles final, crowd favorites Yuki Bhambri of India and Australia’s Alexei Popyrin — a former ball kid at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship — edged out second seeds Harri Heliovaara of Croatia and Great Britain’s Henry Patten 3-6, 7-6, 10-8 in a marathon two-hour tussle on Centre Court.

Having lost the first set, Bhambri and Popyrin bravely battled back, defending four match points en route to winning a tense second set tiebreak before eventually sealing a super tiebreak win courtesy of a Popyrin ace on the pair’s fourth championship point.

“We were so close to losing in the first round, so it’s unbelievable to be in the final and win it — I don’t think I would ever have dreamt of this,” said Bhambri, before partner Popyrin added: “I’ve been coming to this tournament since I was a kid. I grew up in Dubai, played a lot of junior tournaments here, so it’s always good to come back, and to win a title whether in singles or doubles is always special. It’s been an unbelievable week.”


Australia or South Africa will return to Pakistan from Dubai for semifinal

Updated 02 March 2025
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Australia or South Africa will return to Pakistan from Dubai for semifinal

  • India and New Zealand’s Sunday group match to decide semifinal line-up
  • Irrespective of outcome, India will play the first semifinal in Dubai on Mar. 4

DUBAI: Australia and South Africa have been forced to travel to Dubai from Pakistan, the International Cricket Council confirmed Sunday, due to a tangled schedule at the Champions Trophy.
India and New Zealand play the final group match on Sunday in Dubai and the result of the game will decide the semifinal line-up.
Australia are in Dubai and will train in the afternoon, when South Africa are expected to fly in from Karachi where they hammered England to get top spot in Group B.
The winners of the India-New Zealand clash will play Australia, who finished second to South Africa in their group.
But irrespective of the placing and opponent, India will play the first semifinal in Dubai on March 4 after they refused to travel to hosts Pakistan for political reasons.
That will leave New Zealand and either Australia or South Africa, hours after landing in Dubai, to head back to Pakistan for the second semifinal scheduled on March 5 in Lahore.
Pundits and ex-cricketers had called out the one-venue “farce” at the 50-over tournament after India were allowed to play all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium.
The rest of the seven teams in the eight-nation competition had to shuttle between three Pakistan venues — Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore — and the United Arab Emirates.
New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips said his team were not thinking about India staying at one venue for the course of the tournament.
“No, for us there’s no focus on anything like that,” he said on Saturday.
“We have a ‘no-excuses’ mindset.”
The final on March 9 will be in Dubai if India go the distance.
Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium will be the venue if India miss out.


Australia or South Africa will return to Pakistan from Dubai for semifinal

Updated 02 March 2025
Follow

Australia or South Africa will return to Pakistan from Dubai for semifinal

  • Australia and South Africa have been forced to travel to Dubai from Pakistan, the International Cricket Council confirmed Sunday

DUBAI: Australia and South Africa have been forced to travel to Dubai from Pakistan, the International Cricket Council confirmed Sunday, due to a tangled schedule at the Champions Trophy.
India and New Zealand play the final group match on Sunday in Dubai and the result of the game will decide the semifinal line-up.
Australia are in Dubai and will train in the afternoon, when South Africa are expected to fly in from Karachi where they hammered England to get top spot in Group B.
The winners of the India-New Zealand clash will play Australia, who finished second to South Africa in their group.
But irrespective of the placing and opponent, India will play the first semifinal in Dubai on March 4 after they refused to travel to hosts Pakistan for political reasons.
That will leave New Zealand and either Australia or South Africa, hours after landing in Dubai, to head back to Pakistan for the second semifinal scheduled on March 5 in Lahore.
Pundits and ex-cricketers had called out the one-venue “farce” at the 50-over tournament after India were allowed to play all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium.
The rest of the seven teams in the eight-nation competition had to shuttle between three Pakistan venues — Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore — and the United Arab Emirates.
New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips said his team were not thinking about India staying at one venue for the course of the tournament.
“No, for us there’s no focus on anything like that,” he said on Saturday.
“We have a ‘no-excuses’ mindset.”
The final on March 9 will be in Dubai if India go the distance.
Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium will be the venue if India miss out.