Category: Sports

Saudi Arabia may boost World Cup bid hopes with African Super League sponsorship.

Young opener is making up for lost time with run spree at Emirates D50, as he aims for national and ILT20 recognition.

While some of the UAE’s leading cricketers might be forgiven for looking for respite from the fixture list, there are many who are hoping for precisely the opposite at present.

The national team have never known the type of workload they have faced of late. Over the past 12 months, the UAE have played 38 full international matches, plus three 50-over games in Kathmandu earlier this month that did not carry ODI status, but still counted towards Asia Cup qualifying.

Aside from that, the first edition of the DP World International League T20 in January and February provided another platform for the domestic elite to mix it with the best from abroad.

Many are showing signs of fatigue, but others are taking the current Emirates D50 tournament in Ajman as a chance to be noticed.

Chief among them is Ronak Panoly. The 20-year-old opener smashed 141 in the opening innings of the 50-over tournament last week at the top of the innings for Dubai.

The competition represents a new start for a young player who was on the cusp of the big leagues when he was signed by the Desert Vipers ILT20 side, only to be invalided out of the squad due to a shoulder injury.

Panoly hopes his century at the outset of the D50 is the start of him finding his way back to higher honours.

“The 10 days I spent with the Vipers were amazing,” Panoly said.

“I had torn my rotator cuff, which prevented me from throwing to full strength, which meant I wasn’t able to continue with the side, but in my time there I learnt a lot.

“All my friends were pretty mad at me. They pointed out this was a massive opportunity in your cricketing career, and that I should have got myself fit in time. I was angry with myself as well.

“But at the end of the day, if it is meant to be, it comes to you. As long as I am pushing in the right direction again, I am happy with myself.

“I am looking forward to coming back next year and trying to play in that league. I want to make a mark.”

Panoly is targeting national recognition, too. “Having played for three years in the U19s, the goal is definitely to make the UAE men’s side,” he said.

“Whatever I am doing right now is working towards playing men’s cricket for the UAE. And not just playing, but going out there and doing well for the UAE and trying to dominate. That is my end goal.

“This is home for me so I would take a lot of pride in playing for the country.”

Panoly was born in India but brought to Dubai when he was one year old. While his parents were out at work, he was looked after by his grandmother, Bhargavi.

“Somebody just put a plastic bat in my hands when I was two years old, and my grandmother started throwing balls at me,” Panoly said.

“My love for the game was just instilled into me then. My grandmother was the closest person to me in the world.

“She took care of me when I was a kid. I remember her throwing a sponge ball at me, and I hit it back so hard at her and it hit her on the face.

“I was very sad, but she was saying, ‘It’s OK, it’s OK, don’t worry’. I was only about four years old at the time but I remember it, and remember wanting to be careful always after that.

“I started looking for places in the house where I could avoid breaking stuff.”

Having established himself as a young cricketer of great promise, Panoly began to become disaffected by the sport last year – only to have his passion for the game revived by the death of his grandmother.

“I had been having a rough patch for a couple of years,” Panoly said.

“Playing in the Bukhatir League 50-over competition, I got four good starts but nothing more. I started thinking to myself, what am I doing with this?

“A month later, my grandmother passed away. I was devastated. She had been the closest person to me in the world. I thought, if not for myself, I will do it for her.

“That was a new-found motivation, and new-found fire inside me. A day or two after she died, I got a century in a T20 game in which we were chasing 180.

“After that innings, a lot changed for me. I was the player of the tournament in that one, and a 10-over tournament that followed. I think those performances were picked up by the Vipers, and that’s when I was offered the contract.”

Midfielder, 34, made more than 700 appearances with the Catalans and has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia with former teammate Messi.

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has announced that he will be leaving the Spanish club this summer after 18 trophy-laden years.

The 34-year-old joined the Barca youth team in 2005, making his first-team debut in 2008 before going on to appear more than 700 times for the Catalans.

Busquets won 143 caps for Spain but quit international football in December and has now decided the time is right to end his time with Barcelona after winning eight La Liga titles (with another likely on the way this season), seven Copa del Reys, seven Spanish Super Cups, three Uefa Champions Leagues, three Uefa Super Cups and three Fifa Club World Cups.

Current manager Xavi Hernandez, who played with Busquets in the team’s midfield for several years, wanted the midfielder to stay next season, but said the decision was up to him.

The veteran decided to move on after turning down the offer of a new contract on reduced terms and has long been thought to favour a move to Major League Soccer in the United States at the end of his Barcelona contract, with Inter Miami one of the teams mentioned.

However in recent days the player has been linked in Spanish media with a move to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, who are also keen to sign Busquets’ former teammate Lionel Messi.

“The time has come to announce that this will be my last season with Barca,” Busquets said in a farewell video released by Barcelona, where he has been club captain for the past two seasons.

“It has been an unforgettable journey. I always dreamt of playing with this shirt and at this stadium and reality has exceeded all my dreams.

“I wouldn’t have believed it you if you had told me when I arrived as a youth player that I would play 15 seasons at the best club in the world and surpass 700 matches.

“It has been an honour, a dream, a source of pride and meant everything to defend and represent this badge for so many years. Although it has not been an easy decision I think the time has come.”

Busquets has played 718 games for Barcelona, the third most in the club’s history behind Lionel Messi (778) and Xavi (767), scoring 19 goals and providing 40 assists along the way.

World Footvolley and Asian Badminton Championship top the impressive list.

The Asian Badminton Championship, which is hosted by Dubai for the first time, continues at Al Nasr Sports Club with participation of 300 male and female players from 28 countries, including nine players world’s top-ranked competing in five categories including men’s single, women’s single, men’s double, women’s double and mixed category.

Schools basketball

The second round of Dubai Fishing Championship (Kingfish & Skull), organised by Dubai International Marine Club, from April 27-30.

The International Schools Basketball Championship will take place from April 28 to 30 at Aflec French School in Al Nasr Club. A total of 30 teams are participating from various countries in under 14-year-old category. The competitions are scheduled from 9am to 6pm.

The Emirate of Dubai will host the FCC International Boxing Championship on Saturday at the FCC Hall in Al Quoz. Eighteen strong bouts will be held as part of this Championship, with participation of 38 boxers from France, Ireland, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Britain, America, Egypt, Cameroon, India, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Tajikistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Zambia.

Three categories

The Strong Weightlifting Championship will be held on Saturday at the Strong Gym Club in Al Quoz.

The Community Champions Mountain Bike Race will take place Sunday at the Mountain Bike Track in Mushrif Park. Contestants in this race will compete in three categories. They are: 6km, 10km and 20km.

Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club will organise the Eid Polo Challenge Cup on Sunday at the Club’s premises. The famous Sketchers Run will be organised at Rashid Port near Deira Islands and it is allocated for the age groups from 9 to 99. They will compete in three categories; 3km, 5km & 10km.

Four Dubai clubs, Al Nasr, Al Wasl, Shabab Al Ahli and Hatta, stage the event.

10-year-old UAE Champion has high hopes for the December event.

Al Habtoor Motors and Al Jawareh cruise to victory in volleyball.

Abdullah Abdulaziz and Faris Al Janahi put the hosts ahead after edging past their rivals in the hard-fought first set, 7-5, 7-5.

In the second set too, the UAE team were stretched to their limits, but the latter won the set 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 with Salem Al Houli and Hamad Al Janahi digging deep before outlasting their opponents.

Abdullah Ahli and Omar Bahrozian won the third set 6-2, 6-3 without much fuss to ensure their team’s victory.

Stepping up the game

In another Group A match, Japan edged past Qatar 2-1 in a thriller. The Japanese players started well and won the first set 6-1, 7-6. They were taken aback in the second by Qataris 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory. Stepping up the game, Japan won the decider 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 to advance into the next round of the championship.

UAE will now meet Qatar and Saudi Arabia will face Japan. In Group B matches, Iran moved ahead with a convincing 3-0 win over Bahrain while Egypt battled past Kuwait 2-1.

Eight teams are taking part in the first edition of the NAS International Padel Championship. UAE, Qatar, Japan and Saudi Arabia are in Group A, while Egypt, Iran, Kuwait and Bahrain form Group B.

Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Padel Association, witnessed the matches while Abdullah Al Basti, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai, watched volleyball competition.

Riding high on Brazilian star Felipe Airton Bandero’s super performance, Al Habtoor Motors outlasted Zabeel 3-1 (25-23, 14-25, 25-21, 27-25) in a closely contested match that kept the fans on the edge of their seats in the NAS Volleyball Championship.

Airton Bandero scored 27 points for the winners, while Zabeel’s Cuban import Leonardo Martinez netted 29 points.

Brazil’s Airton Bandero currently plays for Cheonan Hyundai Skywalkers in the Korean V-League.

Last year’s runner-up, Al Jawareh posted their second victory after sweeping aside Al Khalidiya 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-19).

Growth of the competition

Al Jawareh, whose squad consists of top French, Brazilian and Canadian players, maintained their upper hand throughout the match and won it comfortably. Da Silva Gabriel top scored for the winners with 11 points.

Former UAE national volleyball team stars Jaafar Al Fardan and Aref Rajab underlined the growth of the competition with each passing year.

“This year’s competition is remarkable, with famous names and professional players from around the world taking part in the championship,” said Fardan. “The strength of the competition has seen a significant rise since the inception of the NAS Sports Tournament. I anticipate that the Emperor and Fahood Zabeel teams will reach the finals due to their large number of professional players, which reflects the strength of the volleyball championship,” said Rajab.

Winning march

Elsewhere, Dubai Ambulance topped their group after defeating Dubai Municipality 28—18 in the Wheelchair Basketball Championship being held at the Dubai Club for People of Determination.

They raised their point total to six. Ability Live achieved the first victory of the tournament after beating Community Development Authority 20-12.In Group A, the Dubai Police team continued their winning march and delivered another dominant performance, routing the Department of Finance 42—17. With this win, they raised their points tally to 8 points, followed by Al Bustan Center and Residence, who beat Dubai Electricity and Water Authority 23-20 and are on 5 points.

Fursan Espania and CFFA of Dubai clinch Under-14 and Under-18 categories.

The team produced an impressive performance to finish its campaign in Namibia.

The UAE celebrated its qualification for the Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifier with an emphatic 66-run win over Jersey in its final match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off in Windhoek, Namibia, on Wednesday.

Muhammad Waseem’s team had already booked their place in the Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifier, the final qualifying tournament for the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, on the back of its better head-to-head record in Namibia.