JEDDAH: Al-Nassr coach Stefano Pioli declared his side injury-free ahead of Wednesday’s Asian Champions League Elite semifinal against Kawasaki Frontale in Jeddah as the Saudi Pro League side look to reach the final for the first time in almost 30 years.
The Riyadh-based outfit last made the decider in 1995, but a brace from Jhon Duran and strikes by Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a 4-1 win over Yokohama F Marinos on Saturday to move the Saudi side to the cusp of a first title.
“We are ready for the match, but in training we will decide which group is going to play,” Pioli said. “The team is ready to play the game with great spirit, high performance.”
Al-Nassr are one of three Saudi Pro League sides in the semifinals, the first time a single nation has dominated the latter stages of the competition to such an extent.
The huge injection of cash into the country’s leading clubs by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in 2023 which prompted the signing of numerous high-profile players from around the world is having a major impact on this year’s competition.
Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli have also advanced to the last four and will meet on Tuesday.
Japan’s Kawasaki are the only team from their half of the confederation left in the competition after their win over Qatar’s Al-Sadd, and the J-League side have been further disadvantaged by having one day less to recover than Al-Nassr.
Frontale needed extra-time to defeat Felix Sanchez’s side and coach Shigetoshi Hasebe admitted he was concerned about his players’ lack of freshness ahead of the Al-Nassr clash.
“All the players are tired because they played for 120 minutes, which is very difficult for us,” he said. “But we’ll be playing in a different stadium, so we can have a new feeling and I can imagine the players will play very well tomorrow night.”
Kawasaki midfielder Kento Tachibanada stressed it was important not to obsess over the reputations of their opponents.
“The key point is not to be afraid of the famous players and their big names,” he said. “Many people think the teams from Saudi will win, but I want to break that type of image tomorrow night.”
Coach Stefano Pioli confident as Al-Nassr prepare for AFC Champions League Elite semi showdown
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Coach Stefano Pioli confident as Al-Nassr prepare for AFC Champions League Elite semi showdown
- Riyadh giant Al-Nassr are one of three Saudi Pro League sides in the semifinals
- Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli have also advanced to the last four and will meet on Tuesday
Minjee Lee grabs four-shot lead at ‘brutal’ Women’s PGA Championship
- Lee, whose 10 LPGA victories include major titles at the 2021 Evian Championship and 2022 US Women’s Open, said there would be plenty of work to do on Sunday despite her four-shot cushion
- Australian Grace Kim had the low round of the day, firing six birdies in an impressive 4-under par 68
LOS ANGELES: Australia’s Minjee Lee defied difficult, windy conditions with a remarkable bogey-free 3-under par 69 on Saturday to seize a four-stroke lead over Jeeno Thitikul at the Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.
Lee, chasing her third major title, fired three birdies in one of just three sub-par rounds at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, north of Dallas, where soaring temperatures and wind tested golfers for a third straight day.
“I just try to stay patient out there,” the 29-year-old said after building a six-under total of 210. “You can’t get ahead of yourself, especially in these conditions.”
Trailing Jeeno by three to start the day, Lee grabbed her first birdie at the ninth, where she blasted out of a greenside bunker to four feet and made the putt.
She finally took control at the par-5 14th, drilling a 19-foot birdie putt as Jeeno three-putted for a bogey that dropped her three strokes back.
Lee added a birdie at the 15th, and remained bogey free with a par save at 18 — where her second shot raced through the green but she chipped to three feet.
“I try to stay within myself and play the shot as best as I could,” she said. “Just stayed patient, just take it as it comes.”
Lee, whose 10 LPGA victories include major titles at the 2021 Evian Championship and 2022 US Women’s Open, said there would be plenty of work to do on Sunday despite her four-shot cushion.
“It’s just only getting harder and harder just with I think pressure of a major championship, and also just the course just demands so much from you,” she said.
World No.2 Jeeno’s hopes of a first major title took an early hit with bogeys at the third and sixth.
She rolled in a 12-foot birdie at the eighth, but dropped into a tie for the lead after back-to-back bogeys at 11 and 12.
She bounced back from her bogey at 14 with a birdie at 15, but gave back a shot at the 16th, finishing with a 4-over 76 for 214.
Lee and Jeeno, both based in the Dallas area, were the only players under par heading into the final round.
US veteran Lexi Thompson, playing a limited schedule this season, shook off a horrendous start to post a 3-over par 75 to headline a trio sharing third place on one-over 217.
Thompson opened with a triple-bogey and a bogey and added another bogey at the eighth before she made two birdies coming in.
She was joined on one-over by South Korean Choi Hye-jin, who carded a 72, and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita, who shot 73.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda had five birdies and five bogeys in her even par 72 to headline a group of four on 218.
“It’s brutal out there when it comes to the setup of the golf course, wind conditions, everything,” Korda said. “I’m very happy with even par.
“You’re just happy to get 18 under your belt on a day like this,” added the American, who said having substantial waits on several tees only added to the difficulty of the day.
“You don’t want to be spending 20 minutes and getting up to the next tee and then you’re 15 minutes and getting up to the next tee and it’s another 15 minutes,” she said. “There is just, like, no momentum in it.”
Korda was tied with Ireland’s Leona Maguire, Japan’s Chizato Iwai, South Korean Lee So-mi and American Yealimi Noh — who had two eagles but also six bogeys in her 74.
Australian Grace Kim had the low round of the day, firing six birdies in an impressive 4-under par 68 that gave put her among a group of five players on three-over 219.
Fleetwood seizes control after Scheffler blowup and leads Travelers by 3
- Scheffler celebrated his 29th birthday by starting a round with a triple bogey for the first time in his PGA Tour career
- Fleetwood, a 34-year-old from England, was at 16-under 194. He has finished among the top 20 in eight of his 14 starts this season
CROMWELL, Connecticut: Tommy Fleetwood was so locked in on good golf he didn’t realize until after his 7-under 63 that he didn’t miss a fairway in the Travelers Championship. And he certainly wasn’t aware of the stunning blowups behind him by Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas.
All three started a steamy, hot Saturday tied for the lead, but not for long.
Scheffler celebrated his 29th birthday by starting a round with a triple bogey for the first time in his PGA Tour career. All it took was missing the fairway into thick rough, airmailing the green from a front bunker, two chips and two putts.
He never quite recovered, posted a 72 for only his fifth score over par in 55 rounds this year, and was nine shots behind.
Thomas was still in the mix until a wild hook off the tee at the par-5 13th, letting the driver loose that landed near the marshal spotting the shot. After reloaded from going out-of-bounds, it took three chips left of the green and two putts for a quadruple-9. He shot 73 and was 10 shots out of the lead.
Fleetwood avoided those blunders to build a three-shot lead. At stake is a chance to add a PGA Tour title to a resume that includes seven European titles, three Ryder Cup appearances and a regular fixture among the top 25 for the last two years.
“I’m on top of a lot of stat lines for people that haven’t won on the PGA Tour, so to always be a No. 1 at something is always nice,” he said with a laugh.
“Yeah, of course I would love to win on the PGA Tour. I think it’s like an element of your career that everybody wants, and I of course want it. I haven’t, this year especially, I don’t feel like I’ve given myself ... I’ve given myself a back-end chance a couple of times this year, but I’ve not been in contention. So this is like my first real chance, so I’m really excited about that and looking forward to it.”
The immediate challengers at steamy TPC River Highlands are New England’s favorite son and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (63) and Russell Henley, who had a 61 one day after calling a penalty on himself when there initially was some question it was a penalty.
Henley thought it moved a golf ball dimple away.
“When it happened it kind of shocked me a little bit,” Henley said of his chip on left of the eighth green in the second round. “I still hit the shot, and as the ball was rolling on the green I was thinking, ‘Something just happened there.’ So I knew. I knew that the ball moved. I just felt it was the right thing to do.”
Missing are Scheffler and Thomas, both tied for the 36-hole lead with Fleetwood. On a day without wind — just stifling heat — in which the scoring average was 68, Scheffler and Thomas combined to play 5-over par.
Fleetwood only missed three greens and his toughest save a 6-footer after missing the ninth green to the left with a wedge. He holed a 65-foot putt on the fifth hole and converted plenty of other chances, while running his bogey-free streak to 32 holes going into Sunday.
He also made eagle on the 13th hole for the second day, giving him three eagles for the week. They don’t hand out crystal for that at the Travelers, only red umbrellas. But it allowed Fleetwood to get some separation for Henley and Bradley going into Sunday.
Fleetwood, a 34-year-old from England, was at 16-under 194. He has finished among the top 20 in eight of his 14 starts this season. He just feels he hasn’t given himself any chances.
Jason Day ran off three straight birdies on the back nine to salvage a 67 and was five shots back. No one else was closer than eight shots of Fleetwood.
Scheffler hasn’t finished out of the top 10 since March and remarkably he ended the day with a birdie for a tie eighth. The start was a shocker.
He drove left into the 5-inch rough and hit wedge into a front bunker with a decent lie. But he caught all ball and sent it over the green, leaving him a tough pitch up the slope and over a mound toward the hole. The first pitch came up short and rolled back down into the rough.
He hit a flop to 15 feet and two-putted for triple bogey, his first on the tour since the BMW Championship last August.
Bradley, whose name has not vanished from Ryder Cup consideration as a player, won the Travelers two years ago and cleared a major hurdle trying to perform before New England fans, now chanting, “U-S-A! U-S-A!” at him at every turn.
He likes his position of chasing. He still knows he needs to play well.
“Oh, man, you’re going to have to shoot something at least in the mid 60s, probably where I am, probably lower,” Bradley said. “But it’s doable out here. When you play a course where you’ve got to make birdies it brings a different challenge. You can’t have a stretch of 1-over par for seven holes or you lose a million shots.
“So in some aspects it’s difficult just like a hard course would be.”
New Zealand beat Pakistan 6-2 to clinch FIH Hockey Nations Cup trophy
- Kiwis stunned Pakistan with five goals in first half of one-sided FIH Hockey Nations Cup final
- New Zealand promoted to prestigious FIH Pro League after winning second consecutive trophy
ISLAMABAD: New Zealand ended Pakistan’s bid to clinch the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup title on Saturday, winning the trophy a second consecutive time in Kuala Lumpur after beating the green shirts 6-2.
It was a one-sided contest right from the beginning, with the Kiwis stunning Pakistan with five goals in the high-octane first half at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium.
Despite a fightback by Pakistan in the second half of the match, which saw the green shirts score two goals, New Zealand managed to score another and add 6-2 to the final tally.
“New Zealand’s triumph not only earned them the championship but also promotion to the prestigious FIH Pro League, reaffirming their growing stature in international hockey,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) wrote.
New Zealand signaled intent from the outset, with two early goals disallowed but persistent pressure finally paying off when Scott Cosslett converted a penalty corner. Jonty Elmes then set up Sam Hiha to double the lead, followed by goals from Dylan Thomas and Sean Findlay — the latter finishing from a difficult angle after receiving a precise aerial pass.
Before the halftime whistle, Scott Boyde capitalized on a rebound from the Pakistani goalkeeper to make it 5-0, giving New Zealand an unassailable lead.
Pakistan’s Moin Shakeel responded with a 33-minute goal, briefly shifting the momentum.
“Cosslett netted his second goal of the match via a penalty corner in the closing minutes, while Sufyan Khan grabbed a consolation for Pakistan to end the match 6-2,” APP reported.
France, which lost to Pakistan in the semifinal earlier this week, claimed the bronze medal by defeating South Korea in a shootout, while Wales beat hosts Malaysia for fifth place.
Japan finished seventh with a win over former champions South Africa.
The FIH Men’s Nations Cup was being played in Kuala Lumpur from June 15 to 21 that brought together eight top-ranked teams competing with each other.
Hockey is Pakistan’s national sport.
The national team boasts a proud legacy with three Olympic gold medals in 1960, 1968 and 1984 along with four World Cup titles in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994.
Hockey in Pakistan has faced a sharp decline in recent decades due to administrative challenges, underinvestment and inadequate infrastructure.
Renewed efforts are underway to revive the game with increased government support, youth development initiatives and greater international engagement aimed at restoring Pakistan’s former glory in the sport.
Alcaraz sets up Queen’s final clash with Lehecka
- Alcaraz is one victory away from becoming only the second Spaniard to win Queen’s twice, after Feliciano Lopez’s victories in 2017 and 2019
- Lehecka, who will be playing in his first ATP grass-court final, is the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990
LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz reached the Queen’s Club final for the second time as the world No. 2 eased to a 6-4, 6-4 win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday.
Alcaraz extended his career-best winning streak to 17 matches in a semifinal played in sweltering conditions at the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
The five-time Grand Slam champion hit 36 winners and 15 aces to dispatch his fellow Spaniard in 90 minutes.
Top seeded Alcaraz will face Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s final after the Czech world No. 30’s shock 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win against British star Jack Draper in the other semifinal.
Playing his first tournament since his epic French Open victory against Jannik Sinner two weeks ago, the 22-year-old is through to his fifth successive final after lifting titles on clay in Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Monte Carlo.
Alcaraz signalled his emergence as a grass-court force by winning Queen’s in 2023, clinching the Wimbledon title for the first time just weeks later and defending his All England Club crown last year.
He is one victory away from becoming only the second Spaniard to win Queen’s twice, after Feliciano Lopez’s victories in 2017 and 2019.
“I’m playing great tennis. After every match I’m feeling more comfortable. Making the final here is so special once again,” Alcaraz said.
“I love making the crowds enjoy watching my games. Whenever I put a smile on my face I play my best tennis.
“I try to have fun and bring joy on the court. That is why I’m making good results.”
Alcaraz wasted little time taking control against Bautista Agut, unfurling a deft drop-shot to break in the third game of the match.
That was all the encouragement Alcaraz needed as he held serve with ease to close out the first set.
Bautista Agut, 37, enjoyed a surprise win over Danish fourth seed Holger Rune in the last eight.
But Alcaraz never looked like suffering the same fate and he delivered the knockout blow in the second set.
A whipped forehand down the line earned a break-point that he converted to move 3-2 ahead.
The nerveless Alcaraz finished off the win in typically ruthless fashion to the delight of the fans waving Spanish flags to salute their hero.
Earlier, Lehecka ended Draper’s bid for a maiden Queen’s final appearance.
Lehecka, who will be playing in his first ATP grass-court final, is the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990.
The 23-year-old said: “It means a lot. You don’t meet a player like Jack every day, he’s an amazing competitor.”
Draper was hoping to become the first British singles champion at Queen’s since five-time winner Andy Murray’s most recent victory in 2016.
But the world No. 6 will have to wait at least another year to get his hands on the silverware after claiming a bout of tonsillitis played a role in his defeat.
“I haven’t felt good all week. I’m proud of the way I went about things, considering, but it’s tough,” he said.
“You’re an entertainer, an athlete, and you have no choice. No one cares, you know. So you’ve just got to go out there and do the best you can.
“Today’s probably the worst I’ve felt. Did I think about withdrawing? No, not at all. I’m in the semifinals at Queen’s. I’d probably go on court with a broken leg.”
Lehecka had already ended the hopes of one Briton at Queen’s after beating Jacob Fearnley in the quarter-finals on Friday.
He also defeated world number 12 Alex de Minaur in his opening match of the tournament, but knocking out Draper was his biggest scalp yet.
Outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach faced mammoth challenges
- The state-sponsored doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and Russia breaking the Olympic Truce twice, in 2014 and 2022, taxed Bach’s patience and that of the IOC movement
- Payne: He will go down as one of the three great IOC presidents along with Pierre de Coubertin and Juan Antonio Samaranch
- Robertson praises Bach for handing over to Coventry an IOC “in an extremely robust financial position”
PARIS: Thomas Bach’s eventful 12-year tenure as president of the International Olympic Committee comes to an end on Monday when he hands over the reins to Kirsty Coventry, the first woman and African to hold sport’s most powerful political office.
The 71-year-old German lawyer, a 1976 Olympic team fencing champion, faced many challenges during his time in power.
AFP Sport picks out three:
President Vladimir Putin was the first person to ring Bach to congratulate him on his election in 2013 — little did Bach realize how Russia was to dog his presidency.
The state-sponsored doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and Russia breaking the Olympic Truce twice, in 2014 and 2022, taxed his patience and that of the IOC movement.
Bach faced pressure from both sides before the 2024 Paris Games and in the end permitted Russian athletes to compete despite the invasion of Ukraine, but only after being strictly vetted and under a neutral flag.
For Michael Payne, a former head of IOC marketing, Russia was the “large elephant in the room” and Bach was in a “no-win situation.”
His fellow former IOC marketing executive Terrence Burns, who lived and worked in Russia in the 1990s, said Bach was one of many leaders fooled by Putin.
“On doping he should have been harsher,” Burns told AFP.
“But let’s be honest, the whole thing was almost unbelievable.
“On Ukraine, you were damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
“I don’t think any western government or politician has ever figured out Russia... nor did he.”
Hugh Robertson, now an IOC member and the British sports minister responsible for overseeing the delivery of the highly successful 2012 London Games, believes Bach played his hand well over the Paris Games.
“The balance he struck over Russian participation in Paris was in line with the Olympic Charter,” Robertson told AFP.
“He took very strong action against the government, banned any events in Russia, any national representation and any national symbols.”
Bach had “a very tough presidency and never caught a break” said Payne, but he always held his nerve.
No more so than when Bach resisted calls from within Japan for the Tokyo Games to be canceled, not just postponed to 2021, because of the Covid pandemic.
Payne says Bach’s painful memories of missing the Moscow Games in 1980 due to a boycott linked to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, had left their mark. The German said the IOC would not pull the plug.
In addition, the ramifications of canceling Tokyo would have been enormous for the IOC.
“Think about if Tokyo had not taken place,” said Payne.
“Would Beijing (the 2022 Winter Games) have taken place as well?
“The Olympic movement losing four years is maybe not existential, but boy it would have been tough.”
In the end the Games did go ahead but the majority of athletes performed in empty stadia as local organizers banned spectators.
Burns says it was a tour de force from Bach.
“Honestly, I think it was his sheer willpower that made those Games happen when everyone, and I mean everyone, in the world doubted him,” said the American.
“Japan tried to pull out. He called their bluff. Smart.”
Robertson saw it from “inside the bubble” as he was then chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA).
“Of course it was a huge disappointment that there were no spectators but a generation of athletes got the chance to compete in an Olympic Games,” said the 62-year-old.
“It probably would not have been the case had Bach not been in charge.
“I think athletes around the world owe Thomas Bach a huge vote of thanks.”
Bach departs with the IOC’s finances in rude health. He has boasted of a “60 percent growth in revenues” during his dozen years at the helm.
Payne says he has indeed increased revenues but the 67-year-old Irishman cautioned that “with increasing revenues partners become more demanding,” adding “just because you have contracts locked up does not mean you do not change and evolve.”
Robertson praises Bach for handing over to Coventry an IOC “in an extremely robust financial position.”
He added the policy of locking sponsors into long-term deals “gave the IOC financial certainty at an exceptionally difficult time and we are seeing the benefit of that now.”
Burns for his part draws on an aphorism of a former US president.
“Ronald Reagan used to say are you better off today than you were four years ago?
“By any measure, Bach enriched the IOC coffers.
“In the end that is all that matters.”
“He will go down as one of the three great IOC presidents along with Pierre de Coubertin and Juan Antonio Samaranch.” — Payne
“A transformational president in unprecedented times.” — Burns
“Thomas Bach had the most difficult deck of cards to play of any IOC president. He has played them exceptionally well and left the IOC stronger than when he took over.”
