Novak Djokovic moves into Wimbledon semifinals after Alex de Minaur withdraws
Novak Djokovic will face Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti on Friday for a berth in the final
Updated 10 July 2024
AP
LONDON: Novak Djokovic got a free pass into the Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday when his quarterfinal opponent, Alex de Minaur, withdrew with a hip injury.
De Minaur, an Australian who was seeded ninth at the All England Club, announced he was pulling out of the tournament hours before he and Djokovic were scheduled to play each other at Center Court.
This match would have been de Minaur’s first quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon. He made it that far at the French Open last month, too.
Djokovic will face Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti on Friday for a berth in the final.
The second-seeded Djokovic has won seven of his men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon.
Tunisian fencer wins first Arab 2024 Olympics medal with silver in sabre final
Oh Sanguk of South Korea went on to win the men’s saber gold with a 15-11 victory over Fares Ferjani of Tunisia in the final
Szilagyi won Olympic gold in men’s individual saber in 2012, 2016 and 2021 — the only male fencer to be a three-time individual champion
Updated 28 July 2024
AP
PARIS: An era-defining winning streak in Olympic fencing was snapped in a shocking upset on Saturday as Hungarian fencer Aron Szilagyi lost his opening bout while chasing a fourth consecutive gold medal.
Oh Sanguk of South Korea went on to win the men’s saber gold with a 15-11 victory over Fares Ferjani of Tunisia in the final.
Italian Luigi Samele, the silver medalist in 2021, took the bronze.
Szilagyi won Olympic gold in men’s individual saber in 2012, 2016 and 2021 — the only male fencer to be a three-time individual champion. In Paris, he was trying to become the only fencer in Olympic history with four individual gold medals.
Instead, the streak ended in Szilagyi’s first bout of the Paris Games, where he was beaten 15-8 by the 27th-seeded Fares Arfa in the round of 32 for one of the biggest upsets so far at the 2024 Olympics. Arfa, a first-time Olympian, racked up six unanswered points to start the bout. Szilagyi closed the gap to 6-4 but couldn’t catch the Canadian.
“I’m in a bit of shock right now, so I’m not even disappointed or angry at myself yet. It happened so fast, and I’ve never thought that my individual competition here in Paris would be so short,” Szilagyi said.
“It’s really a shock. It’s like my opponent read me. I was an open book to him,” he added. “In every touch, what he wanted, it happened. All his parries worked, all his attacks landed.”
Szilagyi was on a run of 15 wins in individual saber competition at the Olympics and had not lost in that event since a defeat to Keeth Smart of the United States in the round of 16 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Arfa lost his next bout to eventual champion Oh, who won team saber gold with South Korea three years ago and added the individual gold Saturday in a final packed with late drama.
A point that would have won Oh the gold was overturned on review. Ferjani then won five more points before Oh could close out the win. It denied Ferjani what would have been the first fencing gold for an African nation.
Vivian Kong Man Wai had to beat not only Auriane Mallo-Breton of France to win women’s epee fencing gold. The Hong Kong fencer had to beat the French crowd, too, and she did just that in a 13-12 overtime victory.
With Mallo-Breton up 5-1 at the end of the first period, it seemed she had turned Paris’ Grand Palais into a French fortress.
The cavernous glass-roofed exhibition hall built in 1900 echoed with cheers at every point for Mallo-Breton and gasps with every near-miss. The crowd certainly seemed to have played its part in the quarterfinals when Mallo-Breton turned a 10-7 deficit into a 15-10 win to stay in the tournament.
It was Kong who made the comeback in the final, though, leveling the score to force overtime and then taking the third-ever Olympic gold for Hong Kong in any sport. Eszter Muhari of Hungary won the bronze 15-14 against Nelli Differt of Estonia.
Saudi Arabia’s 10 among the Arab stars to look out for at the Paris Olympics
Several North African stars have high hopes as they pursue their Olympic dreams in different disciplines
Tarek Hamdi’s performance at Tokyo 2020 Games had set a new standard for Saudi athletes back home
Updated 27 July 2024
Ali Khaled
ABU DHABI: As the clock ticked down, Olympic karate gold beckoned for Tarek Hamdi. With only seconds left of the Men’s kumite +75kg final at the Tokyo 2020 Games, the Saudi fighter held what looked to be an unassailable lead against Iranian opponent Sajjad Ganjzadeh.
A historic first gold medal for the Kingdom at the Olympic Games was all but a formality. Instead, Hamdi was agonizingly denied gold, receiving a penalty after he was judged to have knocked out Ganjzadeh with an illegal kick to the head. A heartbroken Hamdi had to be content with a still-remarkable silver medal.
The then-22-year-old received a hero’s welcome on his return home, his performance having set a new standard for Saudi athletes, many of whom are still finding their feet at this level of competition.
Others also performed with distinction without coming as close Hamdi to glory.
Rower Hussein Alireza fought valiantly despite having sustained an injured rib only weeks before the Games, while his fellow Saudi flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Tokyo — 100m runner Yasmeen Al-Dabbagh — became only the second Saudi female to participate in the track and field category, following Sarah Attar at London 2012.
Saudi Arabia’s Under-23 footballers, led by coach Saad Al-Shehri, performed well in all three matches of a very tough group in Tokyo, but ultimately lost 2-1 to Cameroon, 3-2 to Germany, and 3-1 to the eventual gold medalists Brazil.
10 ARAB ATHLETESTO LOOK OUT FOR
WOMEN
• Sara Samir (Egypt) — Weightlifting
• Kaylia Nemour (Algeria) — Artistic gymnastics
• Dunya Aboutaleb (Saudi Arabia) — Taekwondo
• Ray Bassil (Lebanon) — Shooting
• Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi (Morocco) — Athletics
MEN
• Djamel Sedjati (Algeria) – Athletics
• Ahmad Abu Al-Soud (Jordan) – Gymnastics
• Ramzi Boukhiam (Morocco) – Surfing
• Mutaz Barshim (Qatar) – Athletics
• Yahia Omar (Egypt) – Handball
With their 23-man football squad missing out on qualification for the Paris Games, the Saudi contingent is much reduced this summer. However, the 10 members taking part across four sports will be hoping to emulate, or maybe even surpass, Hamdi’s achievement.
The Saudi showjumping team consists of Ramzy Al-Duhami, Abdullah Alsharbatly, Khaled Almobty and Abdulrahman Alrajhi, all of whom have a shot at glory between Aug. 1-6, first in the individual competition and then as a foursome in the team competition.
Special mention must go to 52-year-old Al-Duhami and 41-year-old Alsharbatly, who, alongside Kamal Bahamdan and Prince Abdullah Al-Saud, won the bronze medal in the equestrian team jumping event at the 2012 Olympics in London. In Paris, Al-Dunami will be taking part in a remarkable sixth Olympic Games.
The Kingdom’s swimming ambitions will rest on the shoulders of 17-year-old Mashael Al-Ayed — Saudi Arabia’s first female Olympic swimmer — in the Women’s 200m freestyle, and, in the Men’s 100m freestyle, on Zaid Al-Sarraj, who, at 16, is the youngest member of the Saudi contingent this year.
• شكرًا للقيادة على دعمها للمرأة السعودية
• فخورة بتمثيل السعودية
• بعمر 9 سنوات شاركت بأول بطولة
— اللجنة الأولمبية والبارالمبية السعودية (@saudiolympic) July 27, 2024
In track and field, Hibah Mohammed will kick off Saudi participation in the Women’s 100m preliminary round on Aug. 2.
That same day, 26-year-old Hussain Al-Hizam will look to leap into the record books in the men’s pole vault competition, having missed out on the last Olympics. He is backing himself to go far.
“I am pretty confident that I have not reached my full potential and I believe that it could all come together on that day (in Paris), that I can shock everyone. I really believe that I can do that,” Al-Hizam told Arab News from his training camp in Germany before jetting off to Paris.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Daouda Tolo, who booked his spot in the shot put competition in Paris by improving his Asian record from 20.66m to 21.80m, will be hoping to go at least one better than his fourth-place finish at the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing.
Saudi athletes walk across a bridge near the Eiffel Tower in Paris during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 26, 2024. (AP)
Finally, Donia Abu Taleb will carry the hopes of the nation in the taekwondo competition after becoming the first Saudi female athlete to officially qualify for the games. Her predecessors, including Yasmeen Al-Dabbagh and Tahani Alqahtani (judo, Tokyo 2020) having been given wild cards to compete.
Elsewhere, there will be hopes for further success from Arab athletes and teams.
The football competition kicked off two days before Friday’s official ceremony and the three Arab teams emerged with fine results. Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in Group B, albeit in controversial circumstances, while Iraq managed to beat Ukraine 2-1 in the same group. Egypt, will not be disheartened by a 0-0 draw with the Dominican Republic.
For Tunisia, the teenage swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui, who struck gold in the Men’s 400m freestyle competition in Tokyo, is back again, but sadly the country’s tennis superstar Ons Jabeur has had to pull out of the Paris Games.
Yehia Elderaa, right, of Egypt, against Patrik Ligetvari, of Hungary, during a men's handball match at the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 27, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP)
Several North African stars will, however, once again have high hopes of glory. Heading the hopefuls is Algerian runner Djamel Sedjati, who is chasing gold after a stunning run of form in the build-up to Paris 2024, one that has raised the tantalizing possibility of breaking David Rudisha’s 12-year-old world record in the 800 meters.
Ramzi Boukhiam, the first Moroccan or Arab surfer to qualify for the World Surf League’s Championship Tour, will take part in his second successive Olympics, while his compatriot Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi will aim for a podium place when she runs the marathon on Aug. 11.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Algerian gymnastics prodigy Kaylia Nemour will be hopeful of a medal placing after a series of international podium finishes in recent years.
Perhaps the highest-profile Arab athlete remains Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim, who in Tokyo memorably decided to share high jump gold with his Italian rival and friend Gianmarco Tamberi amid unique scenes of celebration. With two silver medals from London 2012 and Rio 2016, he competes in Paris as one of the region’s most decorated sportsmen.
File photo of Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim competing in a high jump competition in 2019. (X: @qatartourismqa)
Finally, many eyes will be on the 10-strong Palestinian contingent, who will take part in Paris with the specter of the war in Gaza hanging over them.
“I’m going to the Olympics not just for myself, but for all of Palestine,” 20-year-old boxer Waseem Abu Sal, who will be fighting in the 57kg category in Paris, told Arab News recently. “I’m fighting to show the world our dignity and to preserve our identity.”
From North Africa through the Middle East and to the Gulf, Arab athletes at Paris 2024 will echo those sentiments.
Hours earlier Alcaraz had opened his singles campaign with a straight sets victory over Lebanon’s Hady Habib
The Spanish pair endured a nightmare start when Alcaraz was broken in the first game
Updated 27 July 2024
AFP
PARIS: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz brought the Roland Garros crowd to its feet as the Spanish dream team opened their Olympic Games doubles campaign with a straight sets victory over Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni on Saturday.
In front of a packed, raucous crowd under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier the pair came through 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
Hours earlier when Alcaraz had opened his singles campaign with a straight sets victory over Lebanon’s Hady Habib, the 21-year-old said it was a “dream” to play alongside his compatriot.
The duo appeared to a standing ovation on the same packed Court Philippe Chatrier where Nadal won 14 French Opens and Alcaraz collected his first just last month.
Nadal, the winner of Olympic singles gold in 2008 and doubles eight years later in Rio, had his right thigh bandaged, the legacy of an injury which could yet torpedo his singles hopes where old rival Novak Djokovic looms as a second round opponent.
Gonzalez and Molteni, the sixth seeds, entered the arena to a chorus of boos in the aftermath of a recent racism row between Argentina and France.
The Spanish pair endured a nightmare start when Alcaraz was broken in the first game. Having not played doubles on tour since 2022, the rustiness was not surprising.
The greater experience of Nadal was key as the break was quickly retrieved with the 38-year-old’s reflexes as razor sharp as ever at the net.
Alcaraz and Nadal went to three set points in the tiebreaker and a pinpoint down the line backhand by Nadal secured the opener.
Gonzalez and Molteni raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set but back came the Spanish pair to level.
Nadal secured another key break with a rasping backhand return to allow him and his partner to lead 5-4 and the opportunity to serve for the match.
That honor fell to the 22-time Grand Slam title champion and victory was secured when Alcaraz slapped the winning forehand crouching at the net.
France claim their first Paris Olympic gold in rugby sevens
France hit back thanks to Jefferson-Lee Joseph
Updated 27 July 2024
AFP
PARIS: Antoine Dupont scored two tries and set up another to inspire France to the country’s first gold medal of the Paris Olympics with a 28-7 victory over Fiji at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Fiji, the two-time defending champions, opened the scoring through a Joseva Talacolo try converted by Iowane Teba, before France hit back thanks to Jefferson-Lee Joseph.
But the second half was all about Dupont, who scored a brace of tries and played in Aaron Grandidier Nkanang for another. Rayan Rebbadj, Paulin Riva (2) and Jean-Pascal Barraque hit all four conversions.
After chaos vs. Argentina at the Olympics, Morocco concedes in stoppage time in 2-1 loss to Ukraine
Ihor Krasnopir scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to seal a 2-1 win for 10-man Ukraine at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Ukraine’s late win left all four teams in Group B tied on three points after Argentina shook off defeat to Morocco by beating Iraq 3-1
Updated 28 July 2024
AP
PARIS: There was no reprieve for Morocco this time.
After the chaos and violence that marred the end of their 2-1 win over Argentina in the Olympic men’s soccer tournament, Morocco conceded late again against Ukraine on Saturday — and this time the goal stood.
On Wednesday, Morocco fans rushed the field and threw bottles in protest when Cristian Medina appeared to score an equalizer in the 16th minute of stoppage time for Argentina — causing the game to be suspended for around two hours. That goal was later disallowed by VAR for offside.
But there was no sign of a repeat of those scenes when Ihor Krasnopir scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to seal a 2-1 win for 10-man Ukraine at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Morocco looked like they were edging closer to the quarterfinals after Soufiane Rahimi’s 64th-minute penalty leveled the game at 1-1. The forward, who took his total to three goals for the Paris Games, won the spot kick when he was fouled by Volodymyr Saliuk. Saliuk was sent off for the offense.
Ukraine had taken the lead in the 22nd through Dmytro Kryskiv.
Ukraine’s late win left all four teams in Group B tied on three points after Argentina shook off defeat to Morocco by beating Iraq 3-1 on Saturday in Lyon.
Argentina 3, Iraq 1
While Iraq threatened to pull off another surprise when Aymen Hussein leveled the game 1-1 in first-half stoppage time, goals from Luciano Gondou and Ignacio Fernandez sealed victory for Argentina.
Thiago Almada, who Argentina coach Javier Mascherano said had a watch stolen when the team’s training base was robbed earlier this week, opened the scoring with a volley in the 14th at Stade de Lyon.
Gondou’s far-post header in the 62nd restored Argentina’s lead after Hussein’s goal and Fernandez curled in a long-range shot from the edge of the box in the 85th.
“There were two options: dwell on what happened or look ahead. We focused on what we can control, which is to play football,” Mascherano said. Spain 3, Dominican Republic 1
Spain reached the quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over the Dominican Republic in Bordeaux.
Goals from Fermín Lopez, Alex Baena and Miguel Gutierrez made it two wins from two for Spain in Group C.
Lopez scored in the 24th, but Angel Montes de Oca evened the game in the 38th.
The Dominican Republic’s Edison Azcona was sent off before halftime. Baena restored Spain’s lead in the 55th and Gutierrez sealed the win in the 70th.
Spain’s men are aiming to add to a golden period for their nation’s soccer teams after the women’s team won the World Cup last year and the men won the European Championship earlier this month. Egypt 1, Uzbekistan 0
Ahmed Koka scored in the 11th minute and Egypt beat Uzbekistan to move a step closer to the knockout phase.
Egypt are in second place in Group C, behind Spain, which they play on Tuesday.
A draw would be enough to see them advance.
The Dominican Republic play Uzbekistan and are third on one point.
