RIYADH: “Help me find him please” was the reaction of Al-Ahli striker Allan Saint-Maximin after he saw a video of a young supporter kissing the team badge in the pouring rain outside the club’s store in Jeddah.
The post on X by the Ahli favorite led to an outpouring of respect for the player, who is currently on loan to Turkish side Fenerbahçe.
The video shows a young supporter wearing the club’s famous green kit amid a heavy downpour and lightning. He kisses the badge then gives a thumbs up.
The poster of the video, Waleed Saeed, told Saint-Maximin that he had tracked down the youngster’s details.
“I found the boy, I will contact with you. Thank You Maximin,” Saeed posted.
“Thanks Alan, you are still one of us,” said one reply to the Frenchman’s tweet. “We Al-Ahli fans love you and know your love to Al-Ahli,” said another.
Saint-Maximin arrived in Jeddah from English Premier League side Newcastle in July 2023, and netted 4 goals in 31 appearances for The Royals.
There was a severe weather warning in place for Jeddah until Tuesday morning. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning impacted the city on Monday as the high summer heat begins to give way to cooler temperatures on the Red Sea coast.
‘Help me find him’: Al-Ahli star Saint-Maximin impressed by loyal young fan in pouring rain
https://arab.news/8eahk
‘Help me find him’: Al-Ahli star Saint-Maximin impressed by loyal young fan in pouring rain
Pakistan Super League star Vince to move to Dubai after attacks on family home
- James Vince saw his family home near Hampshire’s headquarters attacked twice last year
- He has been retained by Karachi Kings franchise for this season’s T20 Pakistan Super League
LONDON: World Cup winner James Vince is to stand down as captain of Hampshire after a decade in charge and move to Dubai following attacks on his family home, the English cricket county announced Wednesday.
Although he will miss the 2025 English domestic first-class County Championship or red-ball season, Vince will continue to play white-ball (limited-overs) cricket and skipper Hampshire in the T20 Blast.
The 33-year-old batsman, a member of the England squad that won the 2019 50-over World Cup on home soil, saw his family home near Hampshire’s headquarters attacked twice last year.
Vince, who said the incidents left his young family fearing for their safety, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph in July he believed the attacks were a case of mistaken identity.
“James Vince has signed a revision to the final year of his contract which fulfils his obligation to play for Hampshire Hawks in the 2025 Vitality Blast campaign and confirms that he is not planning to play red-ball cricket this year,” said a Hampshire statement.
“After 10 consecutive years as club captain, Vince will also step down from this position but will remain as team captain of Hampshire Hawks.
“In 2024, Vince endured a challenging year on a personal level, following several attacks on his family home. As a result, the family have taken the decision to move to Dubai.”
Vince added he needed to “understand what is best for my family, and combine that with the stage of my career I am at.”
He made his Hampshire debut in 2009 aged 18 and has scored over 22,000 runs for the county. Vince is the Blast’s all-time leading run scorer and has played in Hampshire’s three title-winning T20 teams, while representing England 55 times across all formats.
Vince has also been retained by the Karachi Kings for this season’s T20 Pakistan Super League on a contract worth a reported £100,000 ($122,000).
The PSL has made a one-off move from its usual February-March slot to take place between April 8 and May 19, the same time as the first half of the County Championship.
English cricket chiefs have introduced rules preventing England-contracted players or red-ball county players from appearing in overseas leagues such as the PSL that take place during the English season, with the exception of the Indian Premier League, cricket’s wealthiest T20 franchise tournament.
But the policy appears to have helped persuade Vince, who won the last of his 13 Test caps in 2018, to abandon English first-class cricket, at least temporarily, rather than reject a lucrative PSL deal.
Dakar Rally comes down to a duel in the sand between Lategan and Al-Rajhi
- The South African Lategan leads his Saudi rival by 2 1/2 minutes going into the 11th and penultimate stage in the Empty Quarter dunes
- Friday’s last stage is a ceremonial drive to the finish in Shubaytah
SHUBAYTAH: Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al-Rajhi will duel in the Saudi sand for their first Dakar Rally title after swapping the lead for a second straight day Wednesday.
The South African Lategan leads his Saudi rival by 2 1/2 minutes going into the 11th and penultimate stage in the Empty Quarter dunes. Friday’s last stage is a ceremonial drive to the finish in Shubaytah.
Al-Rajhi led by seven minutes before the 10th stage, a tricky 120-kilometer loop south of Shubaytah on Wednesday. But he got stuck and relinquished the overall lead back to Lategan.
“We got stuck because we were taking it easy,” Al-Rajhi said. “Everything is going good, that’s the most important (thing). I have a good position, I hope.”
Lategan also took it easy but without finding any trouble, and was 10th on the stage, making up minutes on all of his nearest pursuers.
“It wasn’t the plan to go quickly today,” Lategan said.
On Thursday, he will start 10th and Al-Rajhi 27th and they can push harder by taking advantage of the tracks of those in front.
’Most disappointing day of my life’
Third-placed Mattias Ekström fell two minutes further back to 27 minutes, and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah lost five minutes to drop back to 30.
Al-Attiyah, the only former champion with an outside title shot, got lost about nine kilometers in.
“I’m very disappointed, but what can you do?” Al-Attiyah said. “We had a good pace but we lost a lot of time. This is the most disappointing day of my life.”
Spain’s Nani Roma, one of only three men to win the Dakar in a car (2014) and motorbike (2004), won his first stage in nine years by 18 seconds from Lucas Moraes of Brazil. Brian Baragwanath of South Africa was third.
Sanders on the brink
Australian rider Daniel Sanders was on the brink of his first Dakar title in a motorbike race he’s dominated from stage one.
Sanders was fourth on the 116-kilometer stage but ahead of his nearest rivals, extending his overall lead by about two minutes against Spain’s Tosha Schareina and France’s Adrien van Beveren.
The advantage over Schareina was 16 1/2 minutes, the biggest in the race so far.
“It’s pretty much survival tomorrow and just getting through,” Sanders said. “I think we’ll be all right. I felt really good in the navigation and I was opening a little bit and then, yeah, it felt nice. So yeah, ready for tomorrow.”
Portugal’s Rui Gonçalves won his maiden stage in his fifth Dakar by nearly four minutes from Slovakia’s Stefan Svitko. American Skyler Howes was third.
Egyptian hero Ahmed El-Gendy recalls ‘crazy’ reaction to Olympic gold as he targets greater heights in 2025
- Winner of modern pentathlon at the 2024 Games spoke to Arab News about success in Paris, Mohamed Salah and challenges this year
LONDON: As Egyptian pentathlete Ahmed El-Gendy rounded the last corner in Paris last summer, he pounded his chest and looked to the heavens.
This was it. He had been told as a child that he could be a future Olympic champion and here he was, 15 years later, fulfilling his first coach’s prediction by winning gold in the modern pentathlon at the 2024 Games.
El-Gendy’s gold was just reward for a lifetime of toil, competing against the odds in a sport that — since its Olympic debut in 1912 — had been largely dominated by Europeans.
On the final day of the 2024 Olympics, the 24-year-old became the first Egyptian, Arab and African athlete to be crowned modern pentathlon champion.
“It feels fresh in my mind, like it was yesterday,” El-Gendy told Arab News in an exclusive interview. “Just a couple of days ago, the Olympics posted a video on their Instagram and it showed those last 50 meters again when I crossed the line. It gave me goosebumps.
“When I think back it just felt unreal. For three years, since I got silver in Tokyo, I was dreaming of this gold. These were tough years, with injuries and a lot of struggles, but finally I made it to a gold medal in the Olympics.”
Modern pentathlon is a complex, multi-disciplinary event that requires its competitors to demonstrate an impressive range of sporting skills. It has traditionally involved swimming, fencing, showjumping, running and shooting.
The latter two has been paired in recent years in what has been termed a “laser run,” designed to create an entertaining finale to the event.
It was in the laser run at the 2021 Tokyo Games that El-Gendy first emerged as an elite contender, producing a stirring performance to claim silver. Seemingly an also-ran in 13th place heading into the final race, the then-21-year-old left the field in his wake to finish as Olympic runner-up.
Despite suffering injuries in the intervening years, El-Gendy found himself among the favorites for gold when the Olympics came to Paris last summer. And he duly delivered, setting a new Olympic and world record in in the process.
“These records are a big thing because they put you on another level,” El-Gendy said. “Very few world records were broken in the Paris Olympics so I was very proud of it. It was a great moment for me.
“This time, I was a little more stressed because in Tokyo I wasn’t expected to get the silver medal and I was still young but in Paris, all eyes were on me.
“I tried to deal with it by treating it like it was my first Olympics, trying to feel no pressure. People were talking about me as a potential champion but it was only when I had built up a big enough gap that I felt confident that it was my medal.”
El-Gendy’s gold was only the ninth won by an Egyptian athlete in the history of the Olympics and the first by an Egyptian man since Karam Gaber was crowned Greco-Roman wrestling champion in Athens in 2004.
Unsurprisingly, the reception El-Gendy received when he returned to Cairo from Paris was rapturous.
“It was crazy,” he said of the welcome in the Egyptian capital. “There were friends and family of course, but then just so many other people and media.
“The Egyptian people are very emotional so when they see someone is in a position to win something, they support that person with all their power and all the energy.
“I felt this in Paris. I saw on social media that people were putting their hopes on me, that they were really watching and that they really wanted me to win.
“It made me very happy and I was very proud to get this medal for Egypt.”
Among those offering congratulations was Egypt’s most famous athlete. Not only did Mohamed Salah get in touch with El-Gendy, the Liverpool star led his fellow Pharaohs in a guard of honor for the pentathlete and Egypt’s other Olympians.
“We had conversations, messages,” El-Gendy said, smiling. “He commented on my post on Instagram; he just wrote the number one.
“Then when we returned back to Egypt, there was a training camp for the football team so we went to the stadium and it was amazing because as the captain of the national team, Mo Salah was the first one in this line. He seemed to be very happy and very proud of us.”
El-Gendy is already plotting the defense of his Olympic crown at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles but the Egyptian will face, quite literally, a new set of obstacles.
With the future of modern pentathlon as an Olympic event under threat, its governing body, the UIPM or Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, has taken drastic steps to ensure inclusion for 2028.
One of its long-standing disciplines, showjumping, has been replaced by obstacle racing — think Ninja Warrior — in a bid to make pentathlon more accessible and audience-friendly.
El-Gendy admits opinion among athletes has been divided but that he understands the change is necessary for pentathlon’s preservation.
“Whenever any decisions are taken in sport, people will disagree,” El-Gendy said. “A few years ago people were upset when the laser run became one event, but now we can see it is more interesting for the spectators and the athletes too.
“Some people do not want to accept it and others are supporting it, but it had to be done. We had this threat that modern pentathlon wouldn’t make it to the Los Angeles Games without this change so we had to do it.
“I feel sad in a way because I have been doing this sport for 15 years but it will make pentathlon more accessible to so many countries.
“Now that we don’t need horses, we can see many other countries competing and winning at the Olympics and World Championships, not just those who can afford to have the conditions for showjumping.”
While El-Gendy is welcoming the opportunity to hone a new sporting skill, he recognizes that an existing shoulder injury might make obstacle racing particularly challenging for him.
However, the pentathlete — like many of those who competed at the 2024 Olympics — is dedicating the first half of this year to training for obstacle racing before entering his first event of 2025 in the summer.
For Egypt’s gold medal hero, there is one driving force that will keep him going for the next three-and-a-half years.
“My goal is to train hard and really get into the obstacles, to be very very good at it so that by 2027, 2028, I can be at the top and in Los Angeles to defend my Olympic title,” El-Gendy said.
“When I do something I have to be the best at it, there’s no other option for me. I don’t want to be a silver medalist at Los Angeles 2028, I want to win gold. I will work so hard for it and give it my all to win another gold in LA.”
Djokovic makes slice of history as Zheng stunned in Melbourne
- Novak Djokovic made a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic made a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all also winners on a rainy day four.
Djokovic needed four sets for the second match in a row before defeating Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-2.
It was Djokovic’s 430th singles match at a major to claim sole ownership of most ever played, men or women, in the Open era ahead of Roger Federer (429) and Serena Williams (423).
The Serb is chasing an 11th Australian Open title and historic 25th Grand Slam crown.
“Whether I win or lose, I will always leave my heart out on the court. I’m just blessed to be making another record,” said Djokovic, 37, now coached by former rival Andy Murray.
Djokovic is drawn to meet Spain’s red-hot Alcaraz in the last eight.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz dropped just five games in an ominous display of strength to sprint into the third round.
The third seed showed no mercy to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 rout in 81 minutes.
“The less time you spend on court in the Grand Slams, especially in the beginning, it is going to be better,” said Alcaraz, who is yet to go beyond the quarter-finals in Melbourne.
Second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany is seeking a first Grand Slam title and has enjoyed two days off since his straight-sets win on Sunday night against Lucas Pouille.
He again plays in the graveyard slot, the last evening match on Rod Laver Arena, this time against Spaniard Pedro Martinez.
Olympic champion Zheng was sent packing 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 by world number 97 Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the women’s draw at age 36.
“I knew I just had to play more than my best tennis. I had nothing to lose so I just told myself to swing free,” said the German.
“It’s tennis. Nothing more,” said China’s Zheng, 22, who was given two time violations and lost her cool as her tilt at a maiden major crown evaporated in only the second round.
On center court Sabalenka dropped her serve three times and faced 11 break points before overcoming Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 7-5, rattling off the last five games in a row.
“She played incredible tennis today and it was a really tough one. I expected this tennis from her, I’m really glad I was able to win this match,” said Sabalenka, who beat Zheng in the 2024 final.
The win kept the Belarusian world number one on course for a rare hat-trick of consecutive Australian Open titles, a feat last achieved 26 years ago by Martina Hingis and only matched by four other women in history.
Former world number one Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 champion in Australia but now unseeded, stormed back to defeat 20th seed Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
American seventh seed Jessica Pegula, beaten in the US Open final by Sabalenka last year, eased through 6-4, 6-2 against Belgium’s Elize Mertens.
World number three Coco Gauff is unbeaten this year after inspiring her country to victory in the United Cup and breezing past former champion Sofia Kenin in the first round in Melbourne.
She faces Britain’s Jodie Burrage.
Top LIV Golf stars and Asian Tour elite to face-off at International Series India
- Event from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 will feature strongest field to take part in the Indian subcontinent
GURUGRAM, INDIA: Fifteen LIV Golf League stars and nine notable winners from the Asian Tour’s 2024 season will tee up for the International Series India presented by DLF from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 — the strongest field to participate on the Indian subcontinent.
Six of the top 20 from last year’s LIV Golf League will be in the field.
Reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau (8) is joined by Crushers GC teammates Paul Casey (11) and Anirban Lahiri (16). Also, Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz of Torque GC (13) will line up alongside his skipper Joaquin Niemann (2), and compatriot Abraham Ancer (12) of Fireballs GC.
Other confirmations include Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz, who make it a clean sweep of Torque GC players, while Harold Varner III of 4Aces GC brings his mercurial talent to the iconic Gary Player-designed course at DLF Golf and Country Club.
The International Series 2023 Rankings champion Andy Ogletree, a three-time winner, is also in the field along with RangeGoats GC player Peter Uihlein, a two-time champion on The International Series last season and runner-up in the rankings race behind Niemann.
Also confirmed is Asian Tour Order of Merit winner John Catlin, who impressed as an alternate on the LIV Golf League last season after securing back-to-back tournament victories at International Series Macau presented by Wynn, and the Saudi Open presented by PIF.
Catlin plays alongside fellow Americans Caleb Surratt of Legion XIII and Cameron Tringale of HyFlyers GC.
New LIV Golf signings Luis Masaveu of Fireballs GC and Frederik Kjettrup of Cleeks GC are also competing. The India event provides a perfect tune-up for the promising young Spaniard and talented Dane ahead of their big debuts in the opening fixture of the season, at LIV Golf Riyadh the following week.
The LIV Golf stars are joined by a strong Asian Tour contingent with nine winners from the 2024 season set to get their first taste of action on The International Series this season.
Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai, the Yeangder TPC and Taiwan Glass Taifong Open champion, is the third two-time 2024 winner in the field alongside Uihlein and Catlin.
Two further champions on The International Series last season, BNI Indonesian Masters winner Richard T Lee and MJ Maguire, who beat Catlin in a play-off for glory at the Black Mountain Championship, are also confirmed for the Gurugram showdown.
Also bringing their winning credentials to the tournament are Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan (SJM Macao Open), England’s Steve Lewton (Mandiri Indonesia Open), James Barry “Jbe” Kruger from South Africa (Mercuries Taiwan Masters), and the Korean duo of Hongtaek Kim (GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship) and Minkyu Kim (Kolon Korea Open presented by ELORD).
Rahul Singh, head of The International Series, said: “This strong field, with its blend of superstar names, proven champions and emerging talent, perfectly showcases what The International Series is all about.
“This is a truly unique opportunity for golf fans from the subcontinent to enjoy some incredible golf and celebrate the prominent place that India currently occupies in world golf. “
The International Series India presented by DLF marks the debut of the LIV Golf-backed series on the subcontinent.
It is the first of 10 elevated events on this season’s Asian Tour, featuring stops in Macau, Morocco, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia, with additional locations to be announced soon.
The series provides a global pathway for players to qualify for the LIV Golf League, with the season-ending rankings champion securing a guaranteed spot on the roster for the following season.
Additionally, The International Series Rankings offer players a second opportunity to earn their place in the LIV Golf League through the innovative LIV Golf Promotions event.
