Sports

AMMAN — The 64th Jordan Professional Football League ended its second week but will now take a nearly three-week break as the Jordan Cup Round of 16 and national team agendas take over.

After Week 2, Wihdat are still in the lead after they beat Kufrsoum 1-0. Shabab Urdun beat newcomers Asala 2-0, Sarih upset Ahli 2-0 to go up to fourth and Ramtha beat Faisali to go up to fifth. Jazira were held 0-0 by Hussein Irbid and That Ras drew 1-1 with Baqaa.

In the kickoff of the local football season, Faisali beat league champs Wihdat to win the 33rd Super Cup 1-0. It was a much-needed win for reigning Jordan Cup champs Faisali after a disappointing 7th place finish the league last year.

Wihdat have been league champions for the last two consecutive years. Last year, they also won the Super Cup while Faisali won the Jordan Cup title. Last season, the runner-up and third places went to Jazira and Ramtha. There was also a battle at the other end of the standings where after Ittihad Ramtha dropped to Division 1, former champs Shabab Urdun, Faisali as well as Baqaa could have easily followed suit but eventually Manshieh were relegated.

National team players will regroup to resume Group B qualifiers of the 2018 World Cup doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup. Jordan is set to play Australia and Tajikistan on October 8 and 13, and will play a friendly against Iraq on October 3.

So far, Jordan beat Tajikistan 3-1, scored a 4-0 win over lowly Bangladesh and were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw by Kyrgyzstan.

This weekend , teams are set to play the knockout Jordan Cup Round of 16 where four Division 1 teams — Turra, Balaama, Arabi and Shiekh Hussein — qualified to join Professional League teams. Teams had requested that matches be postponed over the Eid holiday but the scarcity of stadiums — under maintenance and otherwise — has kept the schedule as is. It will be Ahli vs Wihdat, Hussein vs Baqaa, Asala vs Jazira, Turra vs Ramtha, Shabab Urdun vs Balaama, Faisali vs Sarih, Arabi vs That Ras, Kufrsoum vs Sheikh Hussein. Faisali are reigning Jordan Cup champs.

AMMAN — As the FIA Middle East Rally Championship moves to Cyprus for round five this weekend, Jordan Motorsport made a big announcement on Tuesday ahead of its round six event next month, according to Jordan Rally Media Service.

With a mission to take the sport to the people, the Jordan Rally will start with a Thursday night spectacle in Abdoun on October 15. A large part of Amman’s popular social hub will be closed off to the public for a night to remember, when the region’s top drivers will go against the clock on a specially created track through the area’s streets.

It marks a return to where the 2009 rally was launched, attracting a bumper crowd in excess of 10,000 spectators. Following the Thursday night launch event, the region’s top drivers will take on 20 timed special stages held over two days (October 16-17) through the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas.

Among the big names expected are Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, from Qatar, and the UAE’s Sheikh Khaled Al Qassimi, who currently stands first and second respectively in the Middle East Championship ahead of Cyprus this weekend. Meanwhile, entries for the Jordan Rally close on September 29.

LILLE, France — Tournament MVP Pau Gasol had a double-double as Spain cruised past Lithuania 80-63 Sunday to regain the European basketball championship title.

Spain earned its third title in the last four tournaments after having to settle for bronze two years ago. For Lithuania, it was a second straight runner-up finish after losing the final against France in 2013.

“It was an incredible championship,” Gasol said. “We went through struggles early on but the team responded well and with our backs to the wall we understood that we had to play better defense.”

Earlier, France pulled away in the third quarter to beat Serbia 81-68 for the bronze medal.

With Spain’s King Felipe VI and tennis star Rafael Nadal watching on, the final was a one-sided affair as the Spaniards opened a 13-point lead in the first quarter and were never really threatened. The king presented the medals to the Spanish players, who celebrated with their fans in the stands after the ceremony.

Gasol finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots, one steal and no turnovers to earn the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.

“It’s of special significance to play this well at this stage of my career after all I’ve accomplished,” said Gasol, the 35-year-old Chicago Bulls centre who has two NBA championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers. “It is something I will remember until the end of my life.”

The victory completed a turnaround for Spain, which came to the tournament without Mark Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Juan Carlos Navarro and Ricky Rubio and lost two of its first three games.

But with Gasol dominating, Spain raised its game when it mattered and looked impressive throughout the knockout stage. Gasol put his stamp on the final early, scoring eight straight points for Spain to lead 19-6.

That helped the team overcome the loss of influential guard Rudy Fernandez halfway into the third quarter when he was fouled by Robertas Javtokas. Fernandez fell to the ground and was helped off the floor while holding his left hip, and did not return.

Matas Kalneitas and Renaldas Seibutis scored 13 points each for Lithuania. Star Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and nine rebounds.

“They were just much better than us,” Kalneitas said.

Spain and Lithuania booked direct slots at next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Spain won the silver medal in the last two Olympics and Gasol said he’d be around once again if his body holds.

Valanciunas joined Gasol, Spain guard Sergio Rodriguez, Lithuania forward Jonas Maciulis and France guard Nando de Colo in the tournament’s all-star team.

In the third-place game, the host team outscored Serbia 21-12 in the third quarter following a 10-0 run and led by as many as 16 points.

De Colo led France with 20 points, while centre Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 14 rebounds. Evan Fournier added 15 points, including five straight in the fourth that dispelled any hopes of a Serbian comeback as France took a 12-point lead.

“This is not what we came here for but it’s always good to finish with a win,” de Colo said.

Both Serbia and France clinched spots in qualifying tournaments for the Olympics. France coach Vincent Collet said all French stars, including Tony Parker, who had 13 points on 3-for-12 shooting from the field, would return.

“We all agreed that that the main goal is to win an Olympic medal, this is the last chance for this generation to win an Olympic medal, but it won’t be easy to qualify,” Collet said.

Serbia’s star guard Milos Teodosic went 0-for-9 from the field and his only points were three free throws. Bogdan Bogdanovic led Serbia with 14 points. France pulled down 14 more rebounds.

Serbia’s coach Sasha Djordjevic said his team would be back “with more heart and more desire”.

“We want to go to the Olympics,” said Djordjevic, who guided his team to the World Cup silver medal last year.

AMMAN — Two national teams were eliminated from their respective Asian qualifiers this week — echoing concerns of their coaches of not having prepared enough for competitive regional participation.

In qualifiers for the 2016 AFC U-16 Asian Championship, the U-16 national football team went down 4-1 to Kyrgyzstan in their last qualifier after they beat Oman 2-0 and unexpectedly lost the opening match to Nepal 2-1. Nepal and Oman qualified from the group joining Uzbekistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, North Korea, Thailand, South Korea, Australia, Vietnam and Japan to the finals.

Forty five nations played in 11 groups with group winners and four best second-placed teams moving on to the finals hosted by India will host the 2016 AFC U16 championship.

Earlier this summer, Jordan also finished last at the 5th West Asian Championship. 

Women’s team crashes

Meanwhile, the women’s national team concluded Group A Round 2 matches at the 2015–16 AFC Women’s Olympic qualifying tournament currently under way in Myanmar with a winless record and only one goal.

Jordan lost its fourth match 2-1 to Vietnam after losing 1-0 to Thailand, 3-0 to Taiwan and 2-0 to Myanmar. With two matches to go, Taiwan and Thailand lead the group as only the top team from this round will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea and China — and only the top two qualify to represent Asia at the Olympic Games.

Currently 53rd in the latest FIFA rankings and leading all Arab teams at 11th in the Asian continent, team officials had voiced concern that “the task of clinching a berth from some of the best teams in East Asia was not going to be easy”.

SINGAPORE — Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday and runaway championship leader Lewis Hamilton retired mid-race, injecting new life into the fight for the Formula One title.

Vettel led from start to finish in a race that was temporarily interrupted by a fan wandering on the track.

Vettel's third win of the season came by 1.4 seconds over Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third, as all three finished in the positions they started at the Marina Bay street circuit.

"I was able to look after my tyres and control the pace," Vettel said. "Overall a perfect weekend, I am very, very happy."

Hamilton suffered a power delivery failure that the team took a long time to diagnose and could not fix, forcing him out on lap 33.

His championship lead over Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who finished fourth, was cut from 53 to 41 points — 252 vs 211 — with Vettel a further eight points back on 203. There are six races left.

Williams driver Valterri Bottas was fifth on Sunday, Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat sixth and Force India's Sergio Perez seventh.

Toro Rosso teenager Max Verstappen finished eighth, refusing team orders in the closing laps to move over for teammate Carlos Sainz Jr who was ninth. Sauber's Felipe Nasr passed Romain Grosjean on the penultimate lap for the last points position.

There were two safety-car periods in the race. The first came following a collision between Williams' Felipe Massa, who was coming out of the pits and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. Race stewards blamed Hulkenberg, and he will get a three-place grid penalty at the next race.

The second came in bizarre circumstances when a fan was seen wandering on the track near the Anderson Bridge section. Vettel shouted over the team radio "there is a man on the track" and the safety car was immediately deployed. The casually-dressed man soon climbed over a trackside barrier and off the track and the race resumed.

Mercedes struggled all weekend for pace as it was not able to get enough grip from the tyres, and then on race day Hamilton suffered his first retirement of the season.

While this race was likely to be only a temporary aberration to Hamilton's otherwise dominant season, Vettel was not giving up hope of challenging for the championship.

"If we have more weekends like this, yes," Vettel said. "All we have to do is look after ourselves, maximum attack. We still have a small chance. Maybe we can make the impossible possible. We will definitely go for it."

The German made a storming start to the race, leading by three seconds after a brilliant opening lap and extending that to 5.3 seconds after only five laps. Ricciardo had whittled that back to 3.6 seconds after 12 laps and the Australian looked likely to close onto the back of his former Red Bull teammate, but then the first safety car emerged.

After that caution period, Vettel adopted a different strategy, driving conservatively as the field closed up behind him. He then suddenly burst away to put two seconds' gap on Ricciardo in the space of one lap. Again, Ricciardo began to erode the margin, only for another safety car period to effectively destroy the Australian's hopes of catching up by exploiting his superior long-stint pace.

"Both safety cars came out at crucial times, but nonetheless his pace was good," Ricciardo said, while quipping that he was so frustrated by the intruding fan ruining his tactical plan that "I was tempted to swerve and clip him".

Hamilton was racing in fourth place and with the potential advantage of having a softer tyre than his rivals in the final stint, when suddenly the car began to lose power.

"I was feeling super optimistic," Hamilton said. "I was on the prime tyres and the three cars in front were on the options but I was easily keeping up with them and thinking 'we have a race on our hands'. They were telling me to change all these things and then I was overtaken by two Manors so I knew l was last. When they started to pull away, I knew it was over."

AMMAN — The U-16 national football team lost to Kyrgyzstan 4-1 on Sunday in their last qualifier for the 2016 AFC U-16 Asian Championship.

Meanwhile, the women’s national football team lost to Vietnam  2-1 concluding Group A round 2 matches at the 2015–16 AFC Women’s Olympic qualifying tournament currently under way in Myanmar.

They had already lost their qualifying chance earlier after a 3-0 defeat to Taiwan and 2-0 to Myanmar.

AMMAN — Khaled Juma on Friday captured the Jordan Rally Championship title after winning the fourth round in preparation for the Jordan Rally.

Juma and co-driver Imad Juma clocked 1h02m02s in their Mitsubishi Evo 7, followed by Basheer Azar and co-driver Bilal Majdalawieh (1h08m39s) in their Subaru Impreza and Ihab Shurafa and co-driver Rakan Khair (1h09m50s) in their Mitsubishi Evo 9.

Raed Habaybeh and co-driver Marena Habaybeh (1h12m15s) in their Subaru Impreza settled for fourth place.

Juma expressed his happiness to The Jordan Times after the win saying it was very exciting.

“I have a clear ticket for the Jordan Rally as I have built great confidence, and hopefully with more practice I can reserve a place at the podium,’ he said.

“I am happy that I won the fourth round and captured the title. It was such a challenging event and very focused rally and this gives me a lot of hope for the next event,” he added.

With this win, Juma heads the standings with 100 points followed by Azar with 46 points and Ihab Shurafa with 45 points.

“It was the final rehearsal for us before the Jordan Rally. We had the chance to feel and focus more on the route of the rally and this is a chance that is priceless. We hope to have a strong presence in the coming event and make our Jordan proud,’ Juma said.

Drivers had to cover a total distance of 310.76km with six special stages (73.6km) on gravel tracks around the Dead Sea area. Drivers passed through Turky 1 & 2 (9.43km), Shouneh 1 &2 (15.309km) and Baptism site (11.80km). 

The Jordan Rally will be held October 15-17.

AMMAN — The U-16 national football team plays Kyrgyzstan on Sunday in its last qualifier for the 2016 AFC U-16 Asian Championship.

The team is now second in Group B that includes Nepal, Oman and Kyrgyzstan as 45 nations are playing in 11 groups with group winners and four best second-placed teams moving on to the finals.

Jordan beat Oman 2-0 on Friday in their second match after losing their opening match to Nepal 2-1. Nepal took the group lead after they beat Kyrgyzstan 4-2 while Oman beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0.

Coach Abdulla Qitati who took over since from Frenchman Eric Deletang earlier this summer after Jordan finished last at the 5th West Asian Championship said “the match against Gulf Cup champ Oman revived our chances after the unexpected loss to Nepal” adding that “players are upbeat and are seeking a big win in the upcoming match”.

India will host the 2016 AFC U-16 championship with a total of 45 nations including the hosts participating in the qualifiers, and the draw seeding based on the rankings from the last edition in 2014 won by North Korea. The 45 nations were divided into two qualifying zones — West Zone with 24 teams and East Zone with 21 teams. Eleven group winners and four best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals, with host India receiving an automatic qualification (total 16 teams). In case India finishes top of its qualifying group or among the four best second-placed teams, the next (5th) second best placed nation will qualify for the final competition.

Jordan was eliminated from the 2014 AFC U16 qualifiers held in Amman after finishing last in Group D. Jordan lost 2-1 to Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia and drew 4-4 with Syria.

Women’s team plays Vietnam

Meanwhile, the women’s national football team plays Vietnam on Sunday concluding Group A round 2 matches at the 2015–16 AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament currently under way in Myanmar.

Jordan lost 1-0 to Thailand in their third match on Friday and has so far failed to score a single goal. They lost their qualifying chance earlier after a 3-0 defeat to Taiwan and 2-0 to Myanmar. Only the top team from this round will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea and China — and only the top two qualify to represent Asia at the Olympic Games.

Currently 53rd in the latest FIFA rankings and leading all Arab teams at 11th in the Asian continent, team officials had voiced concern that “the task of clinching a berth from some of the best teams in East Asia was not easy”.

It is Jordan’s second time in qualifiers after the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers when it advanced to Round 2. In 2014, the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the Asian Games and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup where it was also the only Arab team to have ever qualified. The squad is reigning West Asian champs after winning the title with Iran, Lebanon and the UAE missing the event.

AMMAN — The Samsung Amman Marathon kicks off October 9 with the participation of thousands of runners in the 42km, the 21km half marathon and 10km Fun Run.

 “Long distance running is designed to promote healthier lifestyles through training the body and the mind, we, at Run Jordan, have adopted this moto and seek to find partners who share our vision to develop the local community and promote good health. Our partnership with Samsung Electronics over the past seven years has proved to be a very effective one demonstrated by the great success of Samsung Amman Marathon, which has helped in putting Jordan on the international sporting map, as well as promoting the Kingdom as a prime destination for sports and tourism,” HRH Prince Firas Bin Raad, patron of the event and Run Jordan chairman of the board, said during the launching event.

Aqel Beltaji, mayor of Amman, stated that the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is keen on supporting national initiatives and programmes that contribute to supporting and developing local communities. He also said that GAM is proud of its strategic partnership and Run Jordan’s vision since it brings everyone together for a common goal.

Lina Kurd, vice director general of Run Jordan, told The Jordan Times that this year’s event is all about the city of Amman.

“The event is launched under the theme ‘Run to the Heart of the City of Amman’ and will have a new route for the 10km Fun Run which will start at Princess Alia Street: Al  Hussein sports City-Gate #1, down to Arar Street ending at the finish line at the Hashemite Square- Gate #1,” she said.

Meanwhile the Children’s Race will be held at King Hussein Park on October 2nd.

“As usual the children’s race will be held before the big event in order to give the children the chance to have their own marathon and enjoy it,” she added.

Kurd expressed his satisfaction with the popularity of the race considering it a family event.

“We have been able to attract the participation of individuals from various countries across the world,” she said.

“The Kingdom as a whole benefits from the success of the Samsung Amman Marathon, not only is Jordan now recognised as a prime destination for sports and tourism, but the benefits stretch beyond that as 20 per cent of the marathon proceeds go to charity,” she added.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Levant president, Bumsuk Hong, stressed on the long standing partnership with Run Jordan, saying: “Through our social corporate responsibility programs, Samsung aims to improve the societies where it works. The marathon positively impacts individuals’ lives and places special focus on leading a healthy lifestyle by introducing running as a culture, thus creating a sustainable change within the community.”

According to Kurd, registration booths are now open for everyone and they are placed around the city.

“We have booths for registration in the following locations: Cozmo 7th Circle, City Mall, Taj Mall, Avenue Mall, Safeway Shmeisani, and Fitness First Gym in Abdoun and Shmeisani. Moreover, registration at Run Jordan’s headquarters in Shmeisani or online through the website www.runjordancom, is also available. Electronic payment methods are available on Run Jordan’s official website,” she said. 

Last year, Jordan runner Mithqal Abbadi was crowned champion of the 42km Full Marathon while Kenyan runner Sarah Kepasso (2h44m41s) broke all previous records in the same category for women.

Abbadi clocked 2h26m07s, followed by Jordan’s Fathi Al Dayyat (2h38m07s) and Mohammad Muhammad (2h38m44s).

AMMAN — The 64th Jordan Professional Football League enters its second week on the weekend with leaders Faisali playing Ramtha and Jazira taking on Hussein.

After Week 1, Wihdat are in the lead after they beat newcomers Asala 3-1, Faisali beat Ahli 1-0, Jazira beat Kufrsoum 2-0, while Ramtha against Shabab Urdun and That Ras versus Hussein ended 2-2, and Baqaa held Sarih 0-0.

In the kickoff of the local football season, Faisali got off to a positive start when they beat League champs Wihdat to win the 33rd Super Cup 1-0. It was a much-needed win for reigning Jordan Cup champs Faisali after a disappointing 7th place finish in the league last year.

Wihdat have been league champions for the last two consecutive years. Last year, they also won the Super Cup while Faisali won the Jordan Cup title.

Last season, and for the first time in years, the runner-up and third places went to Jazira and Ramtha. There was also a battle at the other end of the standings where, after Ittihad Ramtha dropped to Division 1, former champs Shabab Urdun, Faisali as well as Baqaa could have easily followed suit, but eventually Manshieh were relegated.