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Saudi world champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi crowned winner of Desafio Ruta 40 Rally

Saudi world champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi crowned winner of Desafio Ruta 40 Rally
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Al-Rajhi and his German co-driver Timo Gottschalk finished first by just 13 seconds. (Supplied)
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Updated 08 June 2024
Arab News
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Saudi world champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi crowned winner of Desafio Ruta 40 Rally

Saudi world champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi crowned winner of Desafio Ruta 40 Rally
  • Al-Rajhi’s win marks 4th round of the World Rally-Raid Championship
  • ‘It was a long and fierce battle … This victory is well-deserved for me and the team,’ says Al-Rajhi
Updated 08 June 2024
Arab News
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CORDOBA, Argentina: World champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi has become the first Saudi and third non-Argentinian driver to win in Argentina since 2010 after he was crowned the 2024 Desafio Ruta 40 Rally winner on Friday.
The Saudi driver’s win marks the fourth round of the World Rally-Raid Championship, said in a media statement.
Al-Rajhi and his German co-driver Timo Gottschalk finished first by just 13 seconds. They recorded a total time of 17 hours, 38 minutes, and 21 seconds over six days on rough, technical gravel tracks between June 1-7.
“Winning by just seconds is an incredible feeling. It was a long and fierce battle, and I led skillfully every day. This victory is well-deserved for me and the team,” said Al-Rajhi.
“I am delighted with this win. I thank God for this victory … It’s great to be back in Argentina. Last year, I finished third, and today I won the second edition of the Desafio Ruta 40 Rally,” he added.
Co-driver Gottschalk said: “It wasn’t for the faint-hearted. Yazeed fired another rocket in the final kilometers, overcoming every challenge. It was truly outstanding driving. We are thrilled with this victory and definitely deserve the upcoming summer break.”
The Saudi champion secured victories in two of the five stages, finishing second in the remaining three, accumulating valuable points that placed him second in the W2RC standings after the Argentine rally.
The team’s remarkable performance leaves them just 25 points behind the leader, with the competition remaining open until the final round in Morocco in October.
The rally began with a prologue in Cordoba, where Al-Rajhi secured second place. After that, he dominated the first loop stage. In the second stage, the longest at 724 km, he maintained his overall lead. The third stage, a 451-km loop, saw the team perform brilliantly, keeping their lead.
The fourth stage in La Rioja, covering 676 km, was extremely tough, but Al-Rajhi drove cautiously to avoid any issues, finishing the stage still in the lead.
In the final stage, he faced a thrilling challenge, with only one second separating him from his closest competitor in the provisional standings. Ultimately, Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk won by 40 seconds, securing a brave victory.
Covering a total distance of 3,045 km, including 1,917 km of special stages, the Desafio Ruta 40 Rally is one of the most prestigious and challenging rallies in Latin America.

Topics: Yazeed Al-Rajhi 2024 Desafio Ruta 40 Rally World Rally-Raid Championship Timo Gottschalk

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Women’s tennis players now are eligible for paid maternity leave funded by Saudi Arabia’s PIF

Women’s tennis players now are eligible for paid maternity leave funded by Saudi Arabia’s PIF
Updated 12 sec ago
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Women’s tennis players now are eligible for paid maternity leave funded by Saudi Arabia’s PIF

Women’s tennis players now are eligible for paid maternity leave funded by Saudi Arabia’s PIF
Updated 12 sec ago
More than 300 players are eligible for the fund, which is retroactive to Jan. 1. The WTA would not disclose how much money is involved
The WTA says 25 moms are active on tour; one, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic, won a title last month after returning from maternity leave in October

DUBAI: Pregnant players on the women’s tennis tour now can receive 12 months of paid maternity leave, and those who become parents via partner pregnancy, surrogacy or adoption can get two months off with pay, under a program sponsored by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and announced Thursday by the WTA.
“Independent contractors and self-employed individuals don’t typically have these kinds of maternity benefits provided and available to them. They have to go out and sort of figure out those benefits for themselves,” WTA CEO Portia Archer said. “This is really sort of novel and groundbreaking.”
More than 300 players are eligible for the fund, which is retroactive to Jan. 1. The WTA would not disclose how much money is involved.
The program — which the WTA touted as “the first time in women’s sports history that comprehensive maternity benefits are available to independent, self-employed athletes” — also provides grants for fertility treatments, including egg freezing and IVF.
It’s part of a wider trend: As women’s sports rise, there is an emphasis on meeting maternity and parental needs.
How many mothers are on the women’s tennis tour now?
The WTA says 25 moms are active on tour; one, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic, won a title last month after returning from maternity leave in October.
More and more pros in tennis have returned to action after having children, including past No. 1-ranked players and Grand Slam title winners such as Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka.
Azarenka — a member of the WTA Players’ Council, which Archer acknowledged played a key role in pushing for this fund — thinks these benefits will encourage lower-ranked or lower-earning athletes to take as much time off as they feel they need after becoming a parent, rather than worrying about losing out on income while not entering tournaments.
“That’s certainly one of the aims of the program: to provide the financial resources, the flexibility, the support, so that these athletes, regardless of where they’re ranked, but particularly those who earn less, will have that agency ... to decide when and how they want to start their families,” Archer said.
And, Azarenka said, this could lead some players to decide to become parents before retiring from the sport for good.
“Every feedback we’ve heard from players who are mothers — or who are not mothers — is like, ‘Wow, this is an incredible opportunity for us,’” said 2012-13 Australian Open champion Azarenka, whose son, Leo, is 8. “I believe it’s really going to change the conversation in sports. But going beyond sports, it’s a global conversation, and I’m happy that we’re (part of it).”
Other steps the WTA has taken in recent years to benefit players include steering more women into coaching, implementing safeguarding, attempting to stem cyberbullying, and increasing prize money with an eye to pay that equals what men receive in the sport.
What role does Saudi Arabia have in tennis?
The Public Investment Fund, or PIF, became the WTA’s global partner last year.
The kingdom now hosts the season-ending WTA Finals and an ATP event for rising stars of men’s tennis. The PIF sponsors the WTA and ATP rankings.
“We wouldn’t have been able to provide the benefits were it not for this relationship and the funding that PIF provides,” Archer said.
What are maternity leave policies in golf, soccer and basketball?
In golf, which like tennis is an individual sport without guaranteed salaries, the LPGA introduced an updated maternity leave policy in 2019 that lets athletes have the same playing status when they return.
In soccer, both the NWSL and the US women’s national team have collective bargaining agreements that allow for pregnancy leave and parental leave; the NWSL pays the full base salary while an athlete is pregnant.
In basketball, the WNBA’s CBA guarantees full pay during maternity leave.
For tennis, Azarenka said, the PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program is “just the beginning.”
“It’s an incredible beginning. Monumental change,” she said. “But I think we can look into how we can expand this fund for bigger, better things.”

Prosecutors demand Rubiales forced kiss trial be re-run

Prosecutors demand Rubiales forced kiss trial be re-run
Updated 06 March 2025
AFP
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Prosecutors demand Rubiales forced kiss trial be re-run

Prosecutors demand Rubiales forced kiss trial be re-run
  • They said judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto "unduly" prevented the prosecutor in the trial, Marta Durantez, from posing certain questions
  • The judge "made no mention in the sentence" of key evidence brought up during the trial
Updated 06 March 2025
AFP

MADRID: Prosecutors on Thursday requested that the trial of Spain's ex-football federation chief Luis Rubiales for his forced kiss on Jenni Hermoso be annulled and re-run, notably questioning the judge's impartiality.
Spain's top criminal court last month found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for the kiss and fined him 10,800 euros ($11,670), sparing him jail in a sentence considered lenient by feminist groups.
The sentence fell well short of the demands of prosecutors, who had sought a total of two and a half years in prison for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault and 18 months for allegedly coercing Hermoso to downplay the kiss.
Hermoso is appealing the sentence, which also cleared Rubiales and three other defendants of coercion, including former women's team coach Jorge Vilda and two senior ex-federation officials.
The prosecutors said in a statement that they were appealing the sentence and requested the trial be declared null and void and "held again by another judge not tainted, to say the least, by an appearance of bias".
They said judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto "unduly" prevented the prosecutor in the trial, Marta Durantez, from posing certain questions and cited the "arbitrariness" of his sentence.
The statement added that the judge "made no mention in the sentence" of key evidence brought up during the trial, "as if such evidence had not existed".
Fernandez-Prieto attracted attention during the trial for his brusque attitude, frequently interrupting and scolding participants.
Rubiales was also banned from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for a period of one year. He denied the charges and is also appealing the ruling.
It was not immediately clear when the courts would decide on the various appeals.
The former federation chief sparked worldwide uproar when he kissed Hermoso on the lips as she went up to receive her winner's medal after Spain beat England in the 2023 Women's World Cup final in Sydney.
The backlash unleashed by the kiss forced Rubiales to relinquish his post in disgrace that year, saw him banned from all football-related activity for three years and plunged the federation into a prolonged period of turmoil.
The trial captivated Spain and made Hermoso, the all-time top scorer of the national women's team, an icon of the fight against sexism and macho culture in sport.
Hermoso said after the verdict that the trial would "create an important precedent in a social environment where there is still much to be done".

Topics: Spain Luis Rubiales Jenni Hermoso Kiss

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New Zealand vow to ‘find little ways’ to beat India in final

New Zealand vow to ‘find little ways’ to beat India in final
Updated 06 March 2025
AFP
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New Zealand vow to ‘find little ways’ to beat India in final

New Zealand vow to ‘find little ways’ to beat India in final
  • New Zealand posted Champions Trophy record 362-6 to beat South Africa to qualify for final
  •  India beat New Zealand by 44 runs in the group stage of the tournament earlier this month 
Updated 06 March 2025
AFP

LAHORE: New Zealand have vowed to “find little ways to win moments” against India after making Champions Trophy history to power into Sunday’s final.
The Black Caps posted a Champions Trophy record 362-6 before restricting South Africa to 312-9 in Wednesday’s semifinal in Lahore.
They now face India in Dubai to decide the winners of the eight-nation 50-over tournament.
Rohit Sharma’s India are playing all their games in Dubai after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan because of political tensions.
India beat New Zealand by 44 runs in the group stage but batting all-rounder Daryl Mitchell said that would have no bearing on Sunday’s result.
“Final is a new day,” Mitchell said after scoring 49 against South Africa.
“Really excited to be stuck into that challenge and will adapt to whatever surface and conditions we get on the day, and will find little ways to win moments throughout that game.”
The tournament’s tangled schedule, with teams flying in and out of the United Arab Emirates from Pakistan while India have stayed put, has been hugely controversial.
The pitches have been vastly different in the two countries.
Pakistan tracks produced big totals, in contrast to the slow and turning decks of Dubai’s international cricket stadium.
“We don’t quite know how the Dubai pitch is like,” said Rachin Ravindra, one of the heroes of New Zealand’s semifinal win with a 101-ball 108.
“We know our game against India it did turn and Aussie v India (semifinal) didn’t turn so much, so I think we pride ourselves in adapting and playing the situation in front of us.”
India unleashed four spinners against New Zealand in the group phase and Varun Chakravarthy returned figures of 5-42 to bowl the Black Caps out for 205 in their chase of 250.
Rohit’s side were unchanged in their four-wicket win over Australia as the spin-heavy selection came up trumps again, albeit on a pitch that turned a little less this time around.
“They are all pretty good,” Mitchell said of India’s slow bowlers.
“But we have got some pretty good spinners ourselves.”

Topics: ICC Champions Trophy 2025

International hockey returns to Pakistan as German junior team arrives in Islamabad 

International hockey returns to Pakistan as German junior team arrives in Islamabad 
Updated 06 March 2025
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International hockey returns to Pakistan as German junior team arrives in Islamabad 

International hockey returns to Pakistan as German junior team arrives in Islamabad 
  • Pakistan marked first international hockey match played in the country for 7 years when it played series against China in 2011 
  • Before that, Pakistan had last staged an international match in 2004 when it hosted the Champions Trophy in Lahore 
Updated 06 March 2025
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: The German Junior Hockey Team, world champions, arrived in Pakistan on Thursday for a four-match series, marking the return of international hockey to Pakistan after nearly a decade and a half, the government’s press department said in a statement. 

Pakistan marked the first international hockey match played in the country for seven years when Chinese played four matches here in what was dubbed as the ‘Friendship Series’.

Before that, Pakistan had last staged an international match in 2004 when it hosted the Champions Trophy in Lahore but after that foreign teams refused to play in the country due to security concerns.

Since the September 11 attacks in the United States, foreign teams have been reluctant to travel to Pakistan in many sports and the South Asian country was left completely isolated as a sporting venue after militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March 2009.

“Under the vision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, this initiative aims to provide Pakistani junior players with international exposure and reestablish Pakistan as a hub for global hockey,” PID said about the four-math series between Pakistan and Germany.

“The series will feature one match in Islamabad and three in Lahore, promising a thrilling competition for fans.”

The two teams will face each other in Lahore on Mar. 6, 8 and 11 while one match will be played in Islamabad on Mar. 13.

“The series holds great significance for both teams as they prepare for the Hockey Junior World Cup being played 2025 in India,” state media reported. 

Field hockey, Pakistan’s national sport, once propelled the country to Olympic gold and global glory, but the game has waned in popularity and participation over the past two decades. Poor management, lack of infrastructure and the rise of cricket has contributed to the decline. The failure to adapt to modern demands, including fitness and artificial turfs, has further deepened the crisis.

According to the latest rankings released by the International Hockey Federation, Pakistan is ranked number 15 in the world in field hockey.

Topics: hockey

British champion Murphy back in Riyadh after success at Saudi Cup

British champion Murphy back in Riyadh after success at Saudi Cup
Updated 06 March 2025
Arab News
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British champion Murphy back in Riyadh after success at Saudi Cup

British champion Murphy back in Riyadh after success at Saudi Cup
  • Oisin Murphy has strong book of rides following win on Byzantine Dream in the Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap
Updated 06 March 2025
Arab News

RIYADH: Oisin Murphy is returning to Saudi Arabia for the penultimate week of Riyadh Season, and the four-time British champion is seeking to extend his good fortune at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse after his strike on Byzantine Dream in the Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap.

The Irishman had belated got off the mark in the country during the Diriyah International Jockeys’ Challenge at The Saudi Cup meeting, before his win in the stayers’ race which came just before Forever Young and Romantic Warrior’s epic conclusion to the main event.

And he has picked up a dazzling book of rides over the three days of this week’s racing, standing in for the sidelined Camilo Ospina in the famous white stable colors of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz & Sons.

“It was brilliant to win at The Saudi Cup meeting — I thought it was very well organized and it was a fantastic event,” said Murphy.

“I am going to be riding Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week and there are some nice races over the three days.

“I am riding for one of the leading stables as Camilo is unfortunately serving a whip suspension. Hopefully the horses can go very well and we can get some good results.”

His top-class rides include Prince Khalid Abdullah Cup winner, Ireland’s Bolide Porto, and the mare Motathabetah from the Kingdom who landed a domestic Group 1 in January and runs in Friday’s Abdullah bin Ibrahim Aba Alkhail Award Race.

He also races Carmel Road from the US in the North America Cup on Saturday.

Murphy was amongst the winners at Lingfield Park in the UK on Wednesday having been back in the Middle East last weekend for Super Saturday in Dubai.

“It is a very busy time of year for me but I really enjoy it and it is great to be part of this international schedule, particularly when the horses have chances,” he added.

Topics: Saudi Cup 2025

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