GYMNASTICS
Indonesia blocks Israel
Indonesia will block Israeli athletes from competing at this month’s World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, a government official said on Thursday. Israel is among 86 countries registered to compete at the tournament, which is scheduled to start in Jakarta on Sunday next week, but participation of Israeli athletes is in doubt, even though the Israeli Gymnastics Federation in July said that it had been assured by Indonesian officials that it would be welcome. On Thursday, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia’s senior minister of law, made it clear that the Israeli team would not be allowed into the country. “The government will not grant visas to Israeli gymnasts who intend to attend the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta,” Mahendra said. He added in a video statement that the decision was in line with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s previous condemnations of Israel for its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Photo: EPA
SOCCER
Coach defends Netherlands
The Netherlands on Thursday anticipated criticism after an uninspired 4-0 away win over Malta in FIFA World Cup qualification, but coach Ronald Koeman was having none of it after his side took a step closer to next year’s finals. Television pundits, immediately after the away game, and yesterday’s newspapers bemoaned an uninspired performance from the Netherlands, who went three points clear of Poland and Finland in the Group G standings with three matches to play. However, Koeman said there was nothing to be critical about. “We won 0-4, so that’s good. I didn’t find it frustrating, but we could have done things better. I thought we started well, even though we gave away a chance to Malta in the opening minutes,” he said, referring to captain Virgil van Dijk’s sloppy back-pass. “Jurrien Timber played very well in the build-up. He freed himself a few times towards midfield and then we were able to find our people there. After that, I thought, because they also started to put a lot of pressure, that we should have found solutions faster. Then the pace went down, but we gave maximum throttle until the end. There were a lot of good things, so I pay less attention to what you think,” he said. In other qualifying in the UEFA region, in Group C Scotland beat Greece 3-1, while Belarus lost to Denmark 6-0; in Group G Finland beat Lithuania 2-1; in Group H Austria beat San Marino 10-0, while Cyprus and Bosnia-Herzegovina drew 2-2; and in Group L the Czech Republic and Croatia drew 0-0, while the Faroe Islands defeated Montenegro 4-0.
SOCCER
Haiti secures first win
Haiti on Thursday got their first win in the final round of regional qualifying with a 3-0 victory over Nicaragua, moving closer to securing their first FIFA World Cup appearance in more than 50 years. Duckens Nazon opened their account in the 11th minute, Danley Jean Jaques added a goal in the 35th minute and Louicius Don Deedson capped the scoring off in stoppage-time to extend Haiti’s unbeaten run to three matches in the CONCACAF tournament. Haiti, coming off back-to-back draws, moved to five points to lead Group C on goal-difference over Honduras, who were held to a scoreless draw against Costa Rica. Twelve teams are competing for three direct spots in next year’s World Cup from the confederation.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
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