LAHORE: Former Olympian Muhammad Ashiq looks daily at the trophies he won in a glittering cycling career for Pakistan decades ago. “Perhaps most people think that I have died,” he laments.
“I just recall that I have shaken hands with... former Pakistani prime ministers, presidents, chief executives,” the 81-year-old said tearfully.
“Why and how they all forgot me, I cannot believe.”
Ashiq, who competed for Pakistan at the 1960 and the 1964 Olympics, now scrapes by as a rickshaw driver in the teeming eastern city of Lahore.
He began his sporting career as a boxer, switching to cycling in the 1950s when his wife complained about his injuries.
He competed in Rome in 1960 and Tokyo in 1964 and though he won no medals, he was hailed as a national hero for Pakistan.
“I was so happy... I considered myself lucky to represent Pakistan in the Olympics,” he says.
But when his cycling career ended, so did his luck.
He took a PR job but left it for health reasons in 1977. He briefly drove a taxi and a van then bounced around several other small business ideas, but for the last six years has been reduced to driving a rickshaw, ferrying low-income passengers around Lahore’s bustling, choked streets.
He lives in a 450 square foot house on which he owes more than one million rupees ($9,500) — a near-insurmountable amount, given his rickshaw salary of roughly 400 rupees per day.
His wife has passed away, and his four children no longer live with him, he says, adding he does not want to be dependent on them.
He used to hang his medals in his rickshaw, but not anymore.
Instead, the canopy is inscribed with a twist on the famous quote by former US President Calvin Coolidge: “Nations and states who forget their heroes can never be prosperous.”
When passengers ask him about the message, he says he tells them his story — using it as a cautionary tale for the poor in particular, whom he warns never to take part in sports.
His wife and four children begged him over the years to stop thinking about his fall in life, he said.
“Once my wife started weeping. I asked her why... She said she was just worried about my health.
“She told me to be happy all the time and forget those who forgot us. I said OK, and she became happy for a while.
“And after some period, she died.”
That was two years ago. Now, he says, his hands shaking, he too prays for death.
“I pray... to meet my beloved wife in heaven. I think it is better to avoid this pathetic situation I have endured,” he says.
From cycling hero to rickshaw rider
From cycling hero to rickshaw rider
Sabalenka wants to ‘dominate the tour’ ahead of WTA Final in Riyadh
- New world No. 1 spoke to Arab News about rivalry with Iga Swiatek, raising tennis’s profile in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East
RIYADH: Aryna Sabalenka is back at the top of the world tennis rankings and has every intention of staying there.
After spending eight weeks at the summit last year, the Belarusian is now enjoying a second stint as the world’s best player, and enters this week’s WTA Finals in Riyadh in pole position to secure the year-end No. 1 ranking.
While some might crumble under the weight of expectation and responsibility that comes with being at the top, this current generation of leaders in women’s tennis, like Sabalenka and her direct rival Iga Swiatek, seem to thrive in it.
With three Grand Slam titles under her belt — two scooped up this season — and a wealth of experience from spending the majority of the past five years inside the top 10, Sabalenka has come to enjoy the wider role of being one of the leading ladies on the WTA tour.
“Overall, I think to be a leader is tough. But I think it’s a great opportunity to help the sport,” Sabalenka told Arab News in Riyadh ahead of her WTA Finals opener against Zheng Qinwen on Saturday.
“To fight for equal prize money, to show the world, to help countries like where we are, to improve the quality of life for women.
“It’s a responsibility, it’s a good opportunity to speak up for women. I like it, I like to have this responsibility and I like to represent women’s sport as strong and powerful women who can fight for their rights.”
Power is definitely something one associates with Sabalenka, and it is not just because her average forehand speed is often clocked higher than that of many male tennis players.
The 26-year-old has shown great strength in overcoming adversity; be it playing through grief after the sudden passing of her father, recovering from a severe case of the yips on her serve, or finding ways to reel in her famously emotional temperament during matches.
She has learned to accept the things that are beyond her control and is instead buoyed by huge ambition and an eagerness for self-improvement.
When Swiatek first took over the No.1 ranking in April 2022 after Ashleigh Barty’s surprise retirement, not many would have expected the young Pole would go on to spend a total of 125 weeks occupying the top spot — a tally that will no doubt continue to increase as she battles Sabalenka for the summit.
That kind of dominance is something Sabalenka aspires to reach.
“I always wanted to dominate the tour like Serena (Williams) did, like Iga was able to do for so long. And she’s still close, it’s all going to be decided after this tournament, so who knows?” said Sabalenka.
“But it’s really inspiring and of course I want to dominate the tour like they did. But I’m trying to focus on myself, on improving myself, to make sure that I have all of the tools to dominate the tour as they did.”
Watching Sabalenka and Swiatek practice together at King Saud University Indoor Arena this weekend, and filming a TikTok video when they were done, one would not have guessed that the pair are in the midst of fierce duel for the year-end No. 1 ranking this week in Riyadh.
They have faced off 12 times on tour already, with Swiatek leading the head-to-head 8-4, but Sabalenka has a healthy 1,046-point advantage over the Pole in the rankings entering these WTA Finals.
A pure athlete at heart, Sabalenka says she “loves” her rivalry with Swiatek.
“I think first of all it’s really great that we have this rivalry,” declared Sabalenka.
“It’s really competitive and I really love it because this is something that forces us to improve and forces us to get better every day and what motivates us to keep working, keep trying to find something else, to keep improving yourself, mentally, physically.
“That’s great, I love it. That’s what sport is all about. It would be so boring and not interesting to watch for people and for us to play if it wouldn’t be that tight.”
Swiatek isn’t the only one sparking that fire in Sabalenka. China’s reigning Olympic gold medalist Zheng has emerged as a rising force in tennis, and even though she lost all four of her meetings against Sabalenka in the last 14 months, Sabalenka sees her as a serious threat moving forward.
“I think it’s already kind of like a rivalry, even though I lead whatever the score is between us. But I still think we have a rivalry and I see this passion, this … I don’t know, not like aggression against me but I see that she really wants to get this win and it’s already become like a rivalry,” said Sabalenka, who faces Zheng in Purple Group action on Saturday in Riyadh at 6 p.m. local time.
“The last match (in the Wuhan final) was very competitive. I actually see her being one of the best and to have a rivalry with her, I enjoy it, I like it.
“It’s important for sport, that’s why I came to the sport because I like to be competitive and like to have these tight battles and to work on a lot of things during the match and to get this win I think is the sweetest feeling ever, so I love it.”
The WTA Finals tournament in Riyadh is offering a record $15.25 million in prize money, which is equal to what is on the table at the men’s equivalent ATP Finals.
An undefeated champion — with three wins in the round-robin stage — will pocket a whopping $5.155 million.
“That’s crazy, that’s actually crazy. But I think we all deserve that,” said Sabalenka, when asked what it feels like to fight for that kind of money.
“We are working as hard as the men do. We are making a lot of sacrifices, maybe even more than the men do and I think we deserve it.”
Sabalenka has enjoyed a tremendous tail-end of the season and enters the tournament in Riyadh having won 20 of her last 21 matches.
She has lifted four trophies this season — all on hard courts — and all three of her Grand Slam triumphs so far have also been on hard courts.
Sabalenka believes it is only a matter of time before she also reigns supreme on the clay of Roland Garros and the lawns of Wimbledon.
“I was pretty confident this year but (at the) French Open my stomach issues stopped me, that was very mentally painful. And then Wimbledon, my shoulder stopped me,” said Sabalenka.
“But I was pretty confident I can do well at those Slams. I already proved it to myself in previous years. So going into next year I’m pretty confident I can do really well there, if my body allows me.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure whatever happened this year will never happen again. So I’m pretty confident I can do well.”
Tatum propels Celtics over Hornets, Lakers hold off Raptors
- Jayson Tatum added 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season
LOS ANGELES: The NBA champion Boston Celtics, fueled by 32 points from Jayson Tatum, bounced back from an overtime defeat with a gritty 124-109 victory over the Hornets in Charlotte on Friday.
Tatum added 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and Jaylen Brown scored 25 points with six rebounds and five assists in a physical game that saw tensions erupt in the fourth quarter when former Celtic Grant Williams sent Tatum sprawling with a shoulder-to-shoulder check.
Williams was ejected, but Brown and others were clearly angered.
Less than a minute later, LaMelo ball was assessed a flagrant foul for crowding in under Tatum as the Celtics star attempted a three-pointer, and Charlotte’s Miles Bridges was ejected in the final minutes for punching the ball.
It all could make for fireworks when the teams face off again on Saturday, but Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla wasn’t fazed.
“I loved it,” said Mazzulla, who received a technical foul as did his Hornets counterpart Charles Lee. “It was tremendous.”
“Physical game, guys handled it well, great poise, great execution,” added Mazzulla, who was particularly pleased with Tatum’s response to the foul by Williams.
“I’m glad he’s fine,” Mazzulla said. “What I liked most is how he jumped right up, didn’t lay around ... went to the free-throw line and did his business.”
In Toronto, the Los Angeles Lakers let a 26-point lead dwindle to single digits but held on to snap a two-game losing streak with a 131-125 victory over the Raptors.
LeBron James set the tone early, scoring 14 of his 27 points in the first quarter.
Anthony Davis poured in 38 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in another monster offensive effort. However, he was more concerned that the Lakers, up 76-51 at halftime, let the Raptors back into the game.
That lead was halved with 1:02 remaining before the Lakers closed it out.
“Unacceptable,” Davis said. “We won, and we’ll take the win for sure because it’s hard to win in this league, especially on the road.
“But we’re a long way from where we want to be,” he added. “If we’re going to have any goals and aspirations to do anything this season, we can’t allow that on the defensive end.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City remained the league’s only unbeaten teams. The Cavs improved to 6-0 with a wire-to-wire 120-109 victory over the injury-hit Orlando Magic.
Darius Garland scored 25 points and Donovan Mitchell added 22 for the Cavs. Jalen Suggs scored 28 to lead Orlando, who learned Thursday that top forward Paolo Banchero would be sidelined indefinitely with a torn right oblique muscle.
The Thunder beat Portland 137-114 to improve to 5-0.
Elsewhere, the Minnesota Timberwolves surged home to beat Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets 119-116 after a roller-coaster fourth quarter.
Anthony Edwards scored 29 points, Julius Randle added 23, and Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 14 rebounds, drilling a pair of free throws to seal it in the waning seconds.
Gobert got into it earlier in the fourth with Denver’s Christian Braun, who dunked over the French veteran then yelled in his face, prompting Gobert to grab him. Both players were slapped with technical fouls.
The Timberwolves had led by 12 early in the final period only to find themselves down by 10 with less than four minutes to play.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker boosted the Timberwolves’ late comeback, scoring all eight of his points in the fourth quarter and forcing two turnovers.
Aaron Gordon’s 31 points and 11 rebounds led the Nuggets. Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. had 26 points each in defeat.
Denver’s Jamal Murray was limited to six points before departing in the third quarter after an on-court collision sent him into concussion protocol.
All level in Riyadh derby as Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal play out 1-1 draw
- Champions were stunned by Al-Nassr but are not champions for nothing and eked out a solid draw
- Talisca strikes early but Al-Hilal equalize in second half
RIYADH: Al-Nassr drew 1-1 with Al-Hilal in a tense Riyadh derby on Friday.
The hosts took a first-minute lead and managed to stay in front until 13 minutes from the end when the champions and leaders ensured that they made the short journey home with something.
Al-Nassr can at least take heart that they have ended their rivals’ perfect start to the season, while Al-Hilal move a point clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League, above Al-Ittihad in second. Al-Nassr stay in third, six points off the pace.
The yellows started well with Anderson Talisca’s goal hitting the net inside the first minute.
However, they were unable to put the visitors under enough pressure as the game went on and it was no surprise when Sergej Milinkovic-Savic headed home an equalizer for Al-Hilal, who had won their last 14 games in all competitions and last lost in the league back in May 2023.
Just over 50 seconds were on the clock when Al-Nassr took the lead in some style. Otavio picked up possession midway in the Al-Hilal half and his chipped pass was a thing of beauty. There was still work for Talisca to do, however. The Brazilian’s first touch took him past Ali Al-Bulaihi just inside the area and his second was a low shot beyond Yassine Bounou.
The champions were stunned but showed their resilience and almost hit back just four minutes later, Malcom breaking free down the right before the Brazilian’s shot was excellently saved at the near post by Bento.
Salem Al-Dawsari then went close twice and looked dangerous, though with Ruben Neves missing the visitors were not quite as sharp in possession.
Al-Hilal did have the ball in the net following a corner but Aleksandar Mitrovic’s close-range effort was ruled out for offside.
The same happened soon after to Talisca who shot home from a similar position to his opener, but he had just strayed too far forward before Cristiano Ronaldo made the pass.
The half ended relatively quietly, as if both teams were preparing to start the second period with a real purpose.
Al-Nassr’s Marcelo Brozovic forced a fine save from Bounou and while Talisca bundled home the rebound, he did so from an offside position.
An incredible sequence of events followed in the 63rd minute. The ball fell to Al-Dawsari and the 2022 Asian Player of the Year shaped to curl into the opposite corner, only for his shot to bounce back off the post. Renan Lodi was there for the rebound and while the defender’s shot was not the cleanest, as it bounced back up it was heading goalwards only for Bento, falling backwards, to push it past the post.
It was then Ronaldo’s turn to go close, forcing a fine save from Bounou with a powerful shot from just outside the area, but Al-Hilal, as they so often do, came up with a goal when they really needed one in the 77th minute.
Al-Dawsari’s cheeky backheel on the left side of the area freed Lodi and his looping cross made it to the far post where Milinkovic-Savic was unmarked and rose high to head the equalizer.
Soon after, they were asking for a penalty that was not given and then Al-Nassr had a breakaway but could not find the final ball in the penalty area.
It had not been a vintage Riyadh derby, but while both teams will be frustrated at not taking all three points, they will be able to take something from the game and move forward. There is still a long way to go.
World No. 1 Sabalenka looking to hold off Swiatek at WTA Finals in Riyadh
- Belarusian surpassed her Polish rival last week in the world rankings
- World’s Top 8 singles players and doubles teams commemorated the event in the historic district of Diriyah
RIYADH: Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are set to battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking, which will be decided at this week’s WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Sabalenka “unexpectedly” recaptured the top spot last week after Iga Swiatek dropped points for not fulfilling mandatory tournament requirements this season, and enters the competition in Saudi Arabia as the No. 1 seed.
The Belarusian, however, is more concerned about ending the year at the summit of the rankings, and wants to avoid last season’s scenario, where she surrendered the position in the closing week of her campaign as Swiatek clinched the WTA Finals title.
Sabalenka has had an incredible 2024, which included two Grand Slam title runs at the Australian Open and US Open. She secured a third consecutive Wuhan trophy last month and said that she was surprised when she learned she had snatched the world No. 1 ranking from Swiatek before the WTA Finals.
“I was like, ‘How, what happened? Where did she lose those 100 points?’ I didn’t expect that,” Sabalenka told reporters in Riyadh on the eve of her Saturday opener against Zheng Qinwen.
“I woke up that morning and my boyfriend was like, ‘Congrats, you became world No. 1.’ I was like, ‘What? I didn’t do anything,’ kind of like in that moment. I was like, ‘Whatever, I’ll take it.’”
Sabalenka holds a comfortable 1,046-point advantage over her Polish rival in the rankings, which means Swiatek must defend her WTA Finals title to have any chance of clinching the year-end No. 1 spot.
“I want to finish the year as No. 1, then I’ll be OK. I’ll be more confident in saying I’m world No. 1, not just because someone lost 100 points,” said the 26-year-old Sabalenka.
Swiatek arrives in Riyadh having not played since her US Open quarter-final exit early September. The five-time grand slam champion parted ways with her coach of three years Tomasz Wiktorowski and decided to skip the Asian swing to focus on finding a new mentor.
She announced two weeks ago that she had hired Naomi Osaka’s former coach Wim Fissette, and they will debut their partnership in Riyadh this fortnight.
Swiatek said that she does not feel rusty coming into the tournament, and practiced with Sabalenka at the King Saud University Indoor Arena ahead of this weekend’s start.
“I am determined, I want to play my best game here and win this,” Swiatek said.
“It was nice just to practice with Aryna because we haven’t done that probably since 2022. It was a really good practice and she’s a great player and she also deserves to be world No. 1. But for sure I’m going to fight for me to be in that place.”
Meanwhile, world No. 5 Elena Rybakina revealed that she has hired Novak Djokovic’s former coach Goran Ivanizevic and that they will begin working together during the offseason, in preparation for 2025.
Rybakina split with her coach of five years Stefano Vukov ahead of the US Open and has been battling health issues, including insomnia and a back injury. The Kazakhstani big-server has played only two matches since Wimbledon, and will be making her first appearance since September, when she withdrew ahead of her US Open second round.
“It’s not easy to start after this break. But I’m happy with the work we did in the last two weeks. Of course, I’m not maybe at my 100 percent. I’m just looking forward and happy to be healthy now and start playing,” the former Wimbledon champion said.
Zheng is perhaps the most in-form player in the field at the moment. The Olympic gold medallist has put together a 28-4 win-loss record since Wimbledon, including a 12-2 run through the Asian swing, which she wrapped up with a title triumph in Tokyo last week.
The first Chinese player since Li Na in 2013 to qualify for the WTA Finals, Zheng has a tough task ahead of her as she opens her campaign against Sabalenka, a player who has defeated her four times in the past 14 months.
“The trickiest part for me right now is how to really find a way to break through the wall and trying to beat her,” Zheng said.
“Because the last match (in the Wuhan final), I was obviously closer but if I’m able to really do something good, try to hold my serve well or try to break her earlier in the match, and try to find a way to win, I think that’s the most important. Because I feel the level is there, everything is there, but you have to show it during the match.”
On the eve of the 53rd WTA Finals, the best eight singles players and best eight doubles teams came together in the historic district of Diriyah to commemorate the season-ending tournament coming to Saudi Arabia for the first time.
The WTA Finals will begin a three-year stint in Riyadh on Saturday and will conclude on Nov. 9.
Saudi female driver Dania Akeel, Stephane Duple stun rivals to lead Qatar International Baja
- Akeel’s stage win meant a female driver led the Baja for the first time in history
LUSAIL, Qatar: Saudi female driver Dania Akeel and her French navigator Stephane Duple delivered a stunning performance to lead the car category after a dramatic day’s action at the Qatar International Baja on Friday.
The Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux crew won the opening stage and then ceded time to their main rivals through the second one but did enough to take a lead of 92.9 seconds into the night halt. As a result, they lead all the crews in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup.
Akeel said: “That’s it! This is our first stage win overall. I had a great time. Stephane was amazing. The cap was changing. The stage was fast, twisty, rocky and a really nice sector by the sea. That was really steep for the first time. That was really good training. We are in a perfect position for tomorrow. It’s going to be a really fun ride.”
Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov hold second and lead the FIA World Baja Cup crews in their new petrol-engine X-Raid Mini JCW Rally 3.0i, while the Portuguese pairing of Joao Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro are third overall and lead the SSV section in a Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR.
Krotov’s X-Raid team manager Tobias Quandt said: “It was a nice day for us for testing. Our engine is still in development, but we are on a pretty good level. It’s a nice fight and a nice race. Denis had one puncture on the first stage, but he did a good job, and we are super happy to have him back in the team.”
Ferreira said: “The stages were very fast. It was very difficult navigation. I have never seen anything like this. It is very difficult to see the tracks and the junctions. We finish without any problems and Filipe did an amazing job from the navigation side. We are third and leading SSV. We are very happy.”
Joao Dias came home in fourth place in the second of the Santag Racing Can-Ams in the SSV section, and Saudi Arabia’s Mooaz Hariri moved ahead of Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal to snatch fifth in his Can-Am. Khalid Al-Jafla leads the Challenger section in his eighth-placed Taurus T3 Max.
Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti (Kawasaki) and Saudi Arabia’s Hani Al-Noumesi topped the motorcycle and quad times after the second stage of the FIM event where several riders missed vital route waypoints with the tricky navigation across the deceptive desert terrain.
FIA entrants tackled a pair of 123.91 km and 122.50 km special stages on the northwestern side of Qatar, while the motorcycle and quad riders competed over just one special of 256.42 km.
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah started the opening stage 10th on the road behind his brother Khalifa. Krotov was first out with the burden on co-driver Zhiltsov to master the tricky navigation from the front of the field.
Both Mohammed Al-Atteya and FIA Middle East Baja Cup leader Ahmed Al-Kuwari stopped for several costly minutes early in the first stage. Al-Atteya returned to the stage start and later retired, as Abdullah Al-Rabban was also delayed and Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (engine), Camelia Liparoti and Stefano Marrini (three punctures) fell by the wayside.
Krotov stopped to change a puncture near the end of the opening stage north of the Tamim Airbase and to the east of the Khawzan Road and the delay undid all his hard work. He carded a target time of 1 hour 22 minutes and 06.1 seconds, but the stoppage was costly and Akeel beat him by 5 minutes 36.6 seconds.
Akeel, Krotov and Ferreira duly claimed the quickest times to take the leading three places in the Baja. Challenger front-runner Al-Attiyah slotted into fourth ahead of his brother Khalifa. Akeel’s stage win meant a female driver led the Baja for the first time in history.
Stage 2 covered the tracks that the bikers had taken on the first half of their stage in the morning, but the northwesterly wind had intensified. Krotov began to pass the tailenders from the motorcycle race on the run north and he eventually stopped the clocks in 1 hour 9 minutes and 24.7 seconds to win the stage and reduce Akeel’s overnight lead to 1 minute and 32.9 seconds.
The run north along the coast proved costly for the host nation’s hopes of victory. Both Al-Attiyah (loss of engine oil) and his brother Khalifa (broken engine) were sidelined, Ahmad Al-Mohannadi damaged the rear right-hand corner of his Taurus in an accident, but Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari overcame hefty delays with electrical woes and fuel pressure issues to finish over 90 minutes behind his rivals. Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah will not restart on Saturday.
