Sports

AMMAN — Jordan could be going home with a gold medal after a dramatic day of action at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, on Thursday. Middleweight boxer Odai Al Hindawi beat Wilfredo Lopez of the Philippines by two rounds to one. He will now be fighting Kazakhstan’s 2013 world champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly for the gold medal on Friday. Two more boxing bronze medals were confirmed on Thursday. Obada Al Kasbeh lost 2-1 to Charly Suarez of the Philippines in the lightweight division and team captain Ihab Darweesh lost to Ali Mazaheri (Iran) 2-1. In karate, Mohammad Al Rifi (75kg) beat Nepal’s Diwas Shrestha 8-0 for a place in the semifinal against Hong Kong’s Ka Lee, where he lost 10-3. In his bronze medal match against Thailand’s Songvut Muntaen, Rifi lost 5-3. Bashar Al Najjar lost to Kazakhstan’s Rinat Sagandykov 1-0 in the 67kg division, but he returned through the repechage rule to beat Qatar’s Qassim Ali and Nepal’s Mukundra Maharjan to meet Abdulaziz Ali in the bronze medal contest, but lost 4-1. In taekwondo, Julyana Al Sadeq won her first match against Asia Batool of Pakistan 24-4, before losing her quarter-final to Korea’s Hein Lee 2-0. Nancy Abu Saleh lost against Vietnam’s Hein Pham, 2-0, in the 62kg weight, and Raad Thabet lost to Vietnam’s Chau Le Huynh 5-4 in the 64kg competition.

AMMAN — The 63rd Jordan Professional League will now head into a two-week break as the national team regroups for two friendlies against Kuwait after the Eid holiday.

Wihdat remained atop the standings as Ramtha and Faisali remained closely behind after winning their matches while Ahli dropped down to last.

Titleholders Wihdat came from 4-0 down to beat Ittihad Ramtha 4-3, Ramtha beat Ahli 2-0 to remain second, Faisali beat Manshieh 1-0 to stay third. Shabab Urdun held Baqaa 0-0, That Ras held Sarih 1-1 and Hussein held Jazira 1-1.

The Jordan Cup quarters are now set for October 26 — Ahli vs. Ramtha, That Ras vs. Jazira, Wihdat vs. Sarih and Faisali vs. Manshieh. Baqaa, Shabab Urdun and Hussein were eliminated. Only Professional League teams are competing this year. 

Wihdat won the first major competition of the 2014/15 season after they beat Baqaa 2-0 in the 32nd Super Cup.

Last season, Wihdat won the league for the 13th time and the Jordan Cup, while Shabab Urdun won the Super Cup. The Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.

AMMAN — The national football team regrouped on Thursday to prepare for two friendlies against Kuwait on October 10 and 13 as they start the countdown to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2015 Asian Cup in Australia.

New head coach Ray Wilkins announced the national team squad which included stars likes Amer Shafie, Amer Theeb among others, while others were off the list including 2013 best player Raed Nawatir and teammates on the injury list such as Adnan Adous, Mohammad Shatanawi and other players abroad — Hasan Abdul Fattah and Mohammad Mustafa. 

Wilkins was quoted in the local media as saying that options are open for the final line-up and that he expected players to “give their utmost, and head into the upcoming matches with a competitive spirit and taking on the challenge to win”.

The coach said the upcoming local training camp which started Thursday “will be important as we lay the foundations for our mutual work as one team” .

Jordan dropped 13 spots to 69 in the latest FIFA rankings. They last held China 1-1, lost to Uzbekistan 2-0 and Columbia 3-0 as the squad kicked off a series of high level friendlies as the Jordan Football Association aims to give the line-up optimum competitive experience against leading teams ahead of the AFC Asian Cup in January.

The Kingdom, qualified to the AFC Asian Cup after finishing second in Group A qualifiers behind leaders Oman. Jordan will play in Group D with 2011 titleholders Japan, Iraq and Palestine.

LONDON — Paris Saint-Germain overcame goals from Lionel Messi and Neymar to inflict Barcelona’s first loss of the season on Tuesday.

PSG, who have endured a subdued start to their French title defence, took control of Group F with the 3-2 victory over the Spanish league leaders in the Champions League.

It meant there was nothing for Xavi Hernandez to celebrate as the Barca midfielder overtook Raul Gonzalez by making a record 143rd Champions League appearance.

It was also a record-breaking night for 38-year-old Francesco Totti, who became the oldest scorer in the competition’s 22-year history to give Roma a 1-1 draw at Manchester City. Bayern Munich lead Group E after winning 1-0 at CSKA Moscow, whose stadium was empty as a punishment for racist abuse.

Chelsea also beat Sporting Lisbon 1-0 to lead Group G, with Schalke held to a 1-1 draw by Maribor.

FC Porto lead Group H after a 2-2 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk that was played in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv due to the conflict in the east. BATE climbed to second place by beating Athletic Bilbao 2-1.

It was a star-studded occasion in the French capital — even in the stands, with celebrity couple Jay-Z and Beyonce watching with former PSG midfielder David Beckham.

And it was the perfect start for the host, with David Luiz becoming the first player to score against Barcelona this season in the 10th minute after connecting with Javier Pastore’s free kick.

But Messi levelled inside two minutes, slotting into the bottom corner of the net for his 402nd career goal and 68th Champions League goal — putting him three behind all-time leading scorer Raul.

Slack defending by Barcelona allowed Verratti — one of the smallest players on the pitch — to drift in unmarked and head in his first PSG goal on his 62nd appearance in the 26th minute. PSG’s lead was extended at the start of the second half when Van der Wiel’s firmly struck cross was met by Blaise Matuidi at the back post.

Although PSG’s defensive vulnerability was exposed by Neymar knocking the ball into the net off the post, the host held on to collect three points.

In the other game in Group F, Lucas Andersen put Ajax in front but Gustavo Manduca scored from the penalty spot to give APOEL Nicosia a 1-1 draw.

That was the same outcome in Manchester where Sergio Aguero put English champion City in front from the penalty spot in the fifth minute after being dragged down by Maicon.

But after a quick Roma break, Radja Nainggolan slipped a pass through a hole in City’s defence and Totti raced onto the ball, clipping a delicate shot over goalkeeper Joe Hart and into the corner. By scoring at 38, Totti broke the record held by Manchester United great Ryan Giggs, who was 37 years and 9 months when he scored in 2011.

City have just one point after being beaten in the last round by Bayern, who earned another 1-0 win at CSKA. Thomas Mueller scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the first half after Mario Goetze was fouled by Mario Fernandes.

In Lisbon, the victory margin belied Chelsea’s dominance but reflected its profligacy, with the only goal coming when Nemanja Matic sent a looping header into the net from Cesc Fabregas’ free kick.

Both Schalke and Maribor drew their opening Group G matches at Chelsea and Sporting respectively, and had to settle for a point again. Damjan Bohar put the Slovenian visitors in front in the first half before Klaas Jan Huntelaar levelled for Schalke after the break.

In Group H, Shakhtar Donetsk threw away a 2-0 lead after goals from Brazilian duo Alex Teixeira and Luiz Adriano. Porto’s Jackson Martinez netted twice late on — the first from the penalty spot in the 89th minute and the second in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

BATE’s win over Athletic Bilbao was secured by goals from Denis Polyakov and Aleksandr Karnitski.

AMMAN — Jordan’s boxing team is preparing for one of the most important days in its history with no less than three fighters in semifinal action at the Asian Games on Thursday. Following some stunning performances, Ihab Darweesh takes on Ali Mazaheri (91kg), Obada Al Kasbeh faces Charly Suarez of the Philippines (60kg) and Odai Al Hindawi meets Wilfredo Lopez of the Philippines (75kg), with places in the gold medal matches up for grabs. The fighters have already guaranteed bronze medals for their efforts but they are all confident of making the finals. Meanwhile, Wednesday was another frustrating day for the taekwondo and the wrestling teams. Eman Al Adaileh (46kg) and Shahd Al Tarman (57kg) lost their opening round contests in the women’s taekwondo competition while Nabil Al Hassan was knocked out early in the men’s 80kg division. There were also defeats for Abdallah Al Shahin (85kg) and Hani Al Marafi (130kg) in the Greco-Roman Wrestling events. Marafi returned to action late Wednesday via the repechage rule, after his opponent reached the final, where he lost to China’s Qiang Meng 3-1.

INCHEON, South Korea — The ugly spectre of drugs in sport took centre stage at the Asian Games on Tuesday when two athletes, including a gold medal winner, were kicked out of the region's biggest multi-sports competition for doping offences.

Malaysian martial arts gold medallist Tai Cheau Xuen was stripped of her medal in wushu after testing positive for sibutramine, a banned stimulant often found in weight-loss pills.

Malaysia's sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin responded by saying the southeast Asian nation would appeal the suspension, saying there were "serious concerns" about the testing process.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced a second positive test on Tuesday, taking the total for the Games to four, involving Iraqi weightlifter Mohammed Jasim Abboo Al Aifuri.

The OCA said he had tested positive for anabolic steroids in a pre-competition sample taken before the Games started. There was no immediate announcement from the Iraqi delegation over whether he would challenge the ban.

The pair's expulsion took the gloss of a riveting day's sport when the tiny islands of Singapore and Hong Kong collected five gold medals between them and the gulf states of Iran and Saudi Arabia shared four.

South Korea lost more ground to China, whose unstoppable sporting machine continued to rumble on, but the hosts stayed in second place on the medals table and set up a dream date with North Korea in the men's football final.

Singapore won three gold medals — two in sailing and another in bowling. Jodie Lai, aged 13, became one of the youngest ever Asian Games champions when she won the optimist class for solo dinghy.

Ryann Kwok, also of Singapore but not even a teenager yet, won a silver medal in his event, joining Lai among the few rare medallists born in the new millennium.

Civil unrest

Hong Kong also won two gold medals in sailing as its competitors were able to focus their attention on their races despite the ongoing civil unrest at home.

Cheng Kwok-fai won the men's windsurfing title and Hayley Chan took out the women's windsurfing event for the former British colony, where pro democracy supporters continue to clash with authorities.

Saudi Arabia — which was heavily criticised by human rights groups for excluding women from its team — claimed just its second gold in Incheon when Abdullah Waleed Al Sharbatly won the equestrian individual jumping event.

Sharbatly finished level with Japan's Satoshi Hirao after both had successive clear rounds. In the jump-off, Sharbatly had another clear and got the gold when Hirao dropped a bar and incurred a penalty.

"It's a great feeling to win a medal. There's nothing better than winning the gold," said Sharbtly, who won a bronze medal in the team event at the 2012 London Olympics.

"I was expecting the jump-off after seeing the second round. They made the course a bit bigger than other competitions."

Iran won three gold medals, two in Greco-Roman wrestling and another in track and field when Ehsan Hadadi won his third straight Asian Games title in discus.

South Korea won 10 gold medals on Tuesday to take its total to 54 with four days of competition left, still way behind China which has 126, and 268 in total.

As expected, China completed a sweep of the synchronised diving events by winning the men's 3-metre springboard and women's 10-metre platform finals.

China also won the women's team table tennis title and both cross-country mountain bike races, Wang Zhen pedalling to victory in the men's and Shi Qinglan in the women's.

Qiang Wang of China won the women's tennis singles title, beating Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand 6-3 7-6 (7-5) while Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka upset top seed Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan 6-2 6-2 in the men's gold medal match.

But South Korea stayed on course for the chance to win the one medal that would mean the most — the men's football final against reclusive neighbours North Korea.

The North booked its place in Thursday's final with a 1-0 win over Iraq in the semifinals then the South beat Thailand 2-0.

"I have always dreamed about playing against North Korea in the final round," said South Korean forward Lee Jong-ho. "We will try our best, and achieve our goal, gold."

SOFIA — Bulgarian underdogs Ludogorets will look to match the stunning giant-killing exploits of compatriots CSKA Sofia when they make their Champions League home debut against titleholders Real Madrid on Wednesday.

CSKA, the most successful club in the Balkan country with 31 titles, boast a remarkable record of upsetting the odds, including European Cup wins over then-champions Ajax Amsterdam in 1973, Nottingham Forest in 1980 and Liverpool two years later.

CSKA and their bitter city rivals Levski are the traditional powerhouses of Bulgarian football but there is no doubt that the form side of the past three seasons has been Ludogorets.

“It won’t be easy but we’ll do our best because it’s a historical match for Ludogorets,” Abalo said. “I hope that someday I’ll return to La Liga.”

With centre-backs Alexandre Barthe and Georgi Terziev still recovering from injury, Dermendzhiev will once again rely on crowd favourite Cosmin Moti and Aleksandar Aleksandrov in the heart of the defence.

Slovenian Roman Bezjak has netted only once in 10 matches this campaign and looks a pale shadow of the goal-scoring machine he was last season, but he will play as a sole striker once again with Tunisia forward Younes Hamza on the bench. 

Prolific form

Real have put a stuttering start in La Liga firmly behind them in recent weeks, helped by the prolific form of World Player of the Year Ronaldo, who hit a record 17 goals in last season’s triumphant Champions League campaign.

When he struck in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Villarreal, the Portugal forward became the first Real player to score 10 goals in the opening six games of the league season, surpassing club greats Alfredo Di Stefano and Amancio Amaro, who jointly held the previous record of nine.

Ronaldo’s haul actually came in only five La Liga games as he missed the 4-2 defeat at Real Sociedad and appears to have overcome a couple of niggling injuries that he carried into this season from the end of last term.

The European champions have amassed 20 goals in their last four outings in all competitions, including a 5-1 drubbing of FC Basel in their opening Group B encounter.

Real have played in Bulgaria only once before, a 1-0 first-leg success at Levski in the first round of the 1979-80 European Cup.

‘Arsenal must beat Galatasaray’

It is almost a given that Arsenal reach the knockout stages but their path to the last 16 could become “problematic” if they fail to beat Galatasaray.

That was the stark warning from midfielder Santi Cazorla ahead of the clash with the Turkish side at The Emirates where Arsenal will attempt to kickstart their European campaign after failing to turn up in Dortmund two weeks ago.

“It was a bad game [in Dortmund],” Cazorla told Arsenal’s website. “Now we are fully aware that we are almost obliged to win the next Champions League game because there may be problematic times for us if we don’t so we’d better win.

Arsenal got off lightly in their Group D opener, lucky to lose only 2-0 in Dortmund after being comprehensively outplayed for 90 minutes by the Bundesliga side who already look strong favourites to top the group.

Although a home match against Galatasaray — who have never beaten an English side away — would appear to offer the perfect chance for Arsene Wenger’s side to respond with a handsome victory, things may not be quite that simple.

Wenger’s squad is at full-stretch after a rash of injuries, the most recent of which came in Saturday’s 1-1 derby draw with Tottenham Hotspur when Michel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey were both ruled out of Wednesday’s match.

With Jack Wilshere also a doubt after taking a knock to the ankle, right back Mathieu Debuchy out for three months and Theo Walcott still not ready to return from a cruciate ligament injury, Arsenal will not be at full strength.

They still have the attacking threat of record signing Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez, who came off the bench against Tottenham having been rested, and Cazorla, however, not to mention Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who scored his side’s leveller against Spurs.

“The most important thing for Arsenal right now is to win the next game and that is going to change the scenario completely,” Cazorla said.

“Once we go through the group stage it becomes even more difficult to win games.”

Arsenal are in their 17th consecutive season in the Champions League and not since 1999-2000 have they failed to progress from their group, the same season they ended up losing to Galatasaray on penalties in the UEFA Cup final.

Galatasaray, who began with a draw against Anderlecht, have not been anywhere near as reliable although they did reach the quarter-finals in 2012-13 after a five-year absence from the competition.

Atletico Madrid’s Champions League game at home to Juventus will be a chance for the Spanish champions to prove they have the firepower to challenge in Europe again this season.

Diego Costa, top scorer for Atletico last term when they reached the final of the continent’s elite club competition, has departed for Chelsea and a lack of recent goals had prompted murmurs that the side will struggle without the Brazil-born Spain striker.

The player Atletico bought to replace Costa, Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic, broke his nose in the 3-2 Group A defeat at Olympiakos Piraeus on Champions League matchday one and needed surgery.

He will have to wear a striking black protective mask for the foreseeable future.

AMMAN — Jordan’s boxing team on Tuesday was guaranteed another two medals at the Asian Games in South Korea as Odai Al Hindawi dismantled China’s Di Zhou in the quarter-final by three rounds to nil to book a place in the semi of the middleweight class and guarantee at least a bronze medal for the Kingdom. He was followed by team captain Ihab Darweesh, who beat Jakhon Qurbonov of Tajikistan 2-1 in a thrilling quarter-final to book a place in the semifinal of the heavyweight division. Mohammad Al Wadi couldn’t follow up his previous performance in the bantamweight division as he lost 3-0 to Kazakhstan’s Kairat Yeraliyev in the quarter-final. It was a similar story in the superweight division, where Hussein Iashaish narrowly lost to India’s Kumar Satish 2-1. In taekwondo, Dana Haider lost (10-9) to South Korea’s Seonah Park in the 49kg weight division. Anas Al Adarbi won his first match against Shakhriyor Karimov of Tajikistan but then lost to South Korea’s Younggeon Song in the 74kg quarter-final. His teammate Mohammad Al Shajahey lost to Jasur Baykuziev of Uzbekistan in the 87kg quarter-final. In Greco-Roman wrestling  Mohammed Al Saedi lost to Ibrahim Arrar of Iraq in the 59kg weight class while Yahya Abu Tabeekh lost his opening match to Di Xiao of China, and then his repechage contest to Norikatsu Saikawa of Japan in the 98kg division.

BARCELONA, Spain — The Champions League returns Tuesday and Wednesday with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi competing for yet another prize as the rival stars take aim at the tournament’s all-time scoring record.

While the world’s top two players continue their individual battle, three of England’s four teams seek their first win, and the Spanish and Italian champions clash this week in Europe’s top-tier competition.

Here are the things to know about this week’s Champions League group games:

Raul’s record 

Ronaldo and Messi are neck-and-neck in a race to become the Champions League’s all-time leading scorer by breaking the record held by Raul Gonzalez.

Ronaldo has 68 goals in Europe’s top club competition, one more than Messi. Raul scored 71.

Ronaldo may have a better chance of getting there first as Real Madrid play at Bulgaria’s Ludogorets in Group B on Wednesday, a day after Messi’s Barcelona have a tougher trip to Paris Saint-Germain in Group F.

The Portugal forward looks primed to increase his goal haul in Sofia after scoring 10 goals in his last six matches, including one four-goal performance and a hat-trick.

Messi, meanwhile, scored his 400th and 401st goals for club and country in Barcelona’s 6-0 rout of Granada on Saturday.

Their latest two-man contest comes after they have divvied up the Ballon d’Or for the world’s best player for the past six years and have taken turns leading the Champions League in scoring for the past seven seasons.

Ibra doubtful 

PSG not only have the problem of stopping Messi. They may have to do so without striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

When Ibrahimovic has been sidelined, the team has won only 40 per cent of its matches. And coach Laurent Blanc is sweating on his fitness after Ibrahimovic missed the last two games because of a left heel injury.

“I don’t know which attacking players I will have available against Barcelona,” Blanc said. “We don’t play the same way when Ibra’s here and when he isn’t. For the time being there is still a question mark. The medical staff will do everything to try and heal him.” 

English need to win

Liverpool was the only English team to open the Champions League with a win, and only with a last-gasp goal against newcomer Ludogorets. Basel will present a far tougher challenge on Wednesday with striker Daniel Sturridge out injured as Liverpool look to keep pace with Madrid in Group B.

Chelsea’s reliance on Diego Costa for goals seemed clear when the striker sat out the 1-1 draw against Schalke in the Group G opener. And ongoing problems with Costa’s left thigh are likely to force him to miss Tuesday’s game at Sporting Lisbon.

“He’s doing almost nothing [in training],” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. “He’s just resting and recovering from the tight muscle he has. Every time he accumulates fatigue.”

Mourinho, who worked at Sporting as assistant to Bobby Robson between 1992 and 1993, is out to end Sporting’s 16-match unbeaten home run in Europe.

Manchester City face a formidable test Tuesday with the visit of a Roma side which has made a perfect start to the season at home and in Europe. It’s been a patchy beginning to the campaign for City, which opened Group E with a loss at Bayern Munich.

In Group D, Arsenal host Galatasaray on Wednesday with both Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey out injured.

Runner-up at risk 

Atletico Madrid were minutes away from winning the European Cup last May before the title slipped away to Madrid.

Now after losing this season’s opener, the Spanish League champions face a crucial game on Wednesday when Serie A champion Juventus come to town.

A loss to Juventus, combined with an Olympiakos win at Swedish side Malmo, would leave Atletico six points adrift in Group A.

Atletico will be boosted by the return of coach Diego Simeone to the sidelines after he missed the first game due to suspension.

Xabi takes control 

Bayern travel to CSKA Moscow on Tuesday in Group E with midfielder Xabi Alonso firmly in control of his new team.

The Spaniard was only signed at the end of the transfer period after several players went down with long-term injuries.

But Alonso stepped right in and has been impressive in directing Bayern’s attack.

On Saturday, Alonso set a Bundesliga record by touching the ball 206 times in a 2-0 win at Cologne.

AMMAN — Jordan’s boxers have been in superb form at the Asian Games and on Monday, Obadeh Al Kasbeh guaranteed the first medal for Team Jordan by reaching the semifinals of the lightweight division in Incheon, South Korea, according to a statement from the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC). In front of a packed arena supporting the home boxer Han Soonchul, Kasbeh put on a masterful performance to win three rounds to nil, earning a standing ovation from his new found fans. His win guarantees at least a bronze medal and he was congratulated on the phone by HRH Prince Feisal, president of the JOC. His performance has also inspired his teammates. Shortly after his brilliant win, Odai Al Hindawi dominated Nepal’s Ujjar Thapa to reach the quarter-finals of the middleweight division. Such was Hidawi’s dominance, his opponent resorted to using tactics that resulted in a disqualification during the second round. Meanwhile, in cycling Razan Soboh and Samah Khalid finished in 19th and 20th spots respectively in the women’s 126km road race. Tuesday is another busy day for Team Jordan with four boxers, two taekwondo and two wrestlers in action.