Da Costa reveals team talk after Diriyah Formula E races is behind recent success

Da Costa reveals team talk after Diriyah Formula E races is behind recent success
Antonio Felix Da Costa of TAG Heuer Porsche is fourth in the Formula E standings ahead of the season-closing races in London (Formula E)
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Updated 11 July 2024
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Da Costa reveals team talk after Diriyah Formula E races is behind recent success

Da Costa reveals team talk after Diriyah Formula E races is behind recent success
  • TAG Heuer Porsche driver sits fourth in the standings ahead of season-closing double-header in London

RIYADH: Formula E’s Antonio Felix da Costa has revealed he spoke with his team after the Diriyah races in Saudi Arabia, which has helped him to build momentum going into the season-finale races in London.

The TAG Heuer Porsche driver delivered a spectacular double victory in Portland, marking his third consecutive win amid a sea of enthusiastic fans at the Hankook Portland E-Prix last month, and will be searching for more victories in the last two races on July 20-21.

Having picked up no points in the first three rounds, the Portuguese driver has turned around his season to sit fourth in the standings after winning both races in Portland and the second Shanghai race. He revealed that discussions after the Diriyah race had been key to his impressive recent form.

“For every athlete, you need to build momentum,” said da Costa. “You don’t start winning and get to first place overnight. After the Riyadh race in the third round where we had zero points at that moment, it was then where I said that we need to starting building momentum slowly and I think we have done just that. In Sao Paulo, we finished sixth and been doing well since. We managed to win in Berlin and Shanghai and that set us up nicely mentally, but also worked on what worked for me and have been strong in races.”

With London set to host the final two races next weekend, da Costa is heading to the UK capital with an outside chance of winning the world championship. He is 34 points adrift of championship leader Nick Cassidy, however he will assess his options once the first qualifying session is over.

He said: “At the moment, we have been putting all our eggs in the basket to help our team win the championship and we still have a chance. We need to keep going with that mentality, but having said that, I would say let’s do the first qualifying in London and see where we stand and then take decision afterwards. We will prepare for London like as we do for every weekend.”


Morocco join Argentina in men’s Olympic football knockouts

Morocco join Argentina in men’s Olympic football knockouts
Updated 55 min 20 sec ago
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Morocco join Argentina in men’s Olympic football knockouts

Morocco join Argentina in men’s Olympic football knockouts
  • Morocco, winners of last year’s Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations, finish with the same number of goals scored and conceded as Argentina
  • Head-to-head record after fiery clash in opening round sees Atlas Lions top the group

PARIS: Two-time gold medallists Argentina joined Morocco and Egypt in securing their places in the quarter-finals of the men’s Olympic football on the final day of the group stage on Tuesday.
All four sides in Group B were tied on three points going into the last matches, but Javier Mascherano’s Argentina qualified by beating Ukraine 2-0 in Lyon while Morocco eased through with a 3-0 victory against Iraq in Nice.
Morocco, winners of last year’s Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations, finish with the same number of goals scored and conceded as Argentina but go through as group winners because of their superior head-to-head record.
Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in their opening game, but only after a last-gasp equalizer for the South Americans was disallowed after a VAR review and the final minutes of the game were completed in an empty stadium following crowd trouble.
Morocco will play a quarter-final tie on Friday in Paris against the runners-up in Group A, while the winners of that section will face Argentina in Bordeaux.
Group A will be completed later Tuesday with France needing just a point against New Zealand to secure top spot.
The United States and Guinea are also in Group A, but there is now the possibility of a showdown between Thierry Henry’s French side and Argentina — two of the leading contenders — in the last eight.
Thiago Almada’s superb strike gave Argentina the lead against Ukraine just after half-time and substitute Claudio Echeverri sealed their victory late on, following in to score after a Kevin Zenon shot was parried.
Morocco made short work of Iraq with all their goals coming in the first half.
Amir Richardson, son of former NBA star Michael Ray Richardson, headed Morocco in front and Soufiane Rahimi made it 2-0 from close range just before the half-hour mark for his fourth goal at the tournament.
The third goal, in the 37th minute, was a tremendous strike by Abde Ezzalzouli, who came in from the left and smashed a shot into the far top corner.
Earlier, Egypt reached the quarter-finals with a surprise 2-1 win over already-qualified Spain, with Ibrahim Adel scoring both goals.
Adel gave Egypt the lead in Bordeaux with a superb strike late in the first half and added another on 62 minutes, pouncing to score after possession was given away by Spain’s Jon Pacheco.
Samu Omorodion pulled one back late on for Spain, but Egypt held on for the win that allowed them to leapfrog their opponents and snatch first place in Group C.
Egypt, captained by former Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny, will play their quarter-final on Friday in Marseille against the runners-up in Group D, which contains Japan, Paraguay, Mali and Israel.
Egypt lost in the quarter-finals three years ago to Brazil, who went on to beat Spain in the final.
Spain’s last-eight tie will be in Lyon against the winners of Group D.


Egypt stun Spain to join them in men’s Olympic football knockouts

Egypt stun Spain to join them in men’s Olympic football knockouts
Updated 30 July 2024
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Egypt stun Spain to join them in men’s Olympic football knockouts

Egypt stun Spain to join them in men’s Olympic football knockouts
  • Adel gave Egypt the lead in Bordeaux with a superb strike late in the first half
  • He added another on 62 minutes

PARIS: Egypt reached the quarter-finals of the men’s Olympic football after completing the group stage with a surprise 2-1 win over already qualified Spain on Tuesday, with Ibrahim Adel scoring both goals.
Adel gave Egypt the lead in Bordeaux with a superb strike late in the first half and added another on 62 minutes, pouncing to score after possession was given away by Spain’s Jon Pacheco.
Samu Omorodion pulled one back late on for Spain, but Egypt held on for the win that allowed them to leapfrog their already-qualified opponents and snatch first place in Group C.
Egypt, captained by former Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny, will play their quarter-final on Friday in Marseille against the runners-up in Group D, which contains Japan, Paraguay, Mali and Israel.
Egypt lost in the quarter-finals three years ago to Brazil, who went on to beat Spain in the final.
Spain’s last-eight tie will be in Lyon against the winners of Group D.
Hosts France and two-time gold medallists Argentina are among the other teams hoping to secure progress to the quarter-finals on Tuesday.


Saudi swimmer Zaid Al-Saraaj wins men’s 100m freestyle heat

Saudi Swimmer Zaid Al-Saraaj. credit: @saudiolympic
Saudi Swimmer Zaid Al-Saraaj. credit: @saudiolympic
Updated 30 July 2024
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Saudi swimmer Zaid Al-Saraaj wins men’s 100m freestyle heat

Saudi Swimmer Zaid Al-Saraaj. credit: @saudiolympic

PARIS: Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning sports scene received a boost after 16-year-old swimmer Zaid Al-Saraaj came first in his men’s 100m freestyle heat at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

While the teenager, the youngest member of the Kingdom’s delegation, did not progress to the next stage of the competition, he set a new personal best with a time of 51.21 seconds.

Al-Saraaj earned his place at the Games through a universality spot — a place offered to under-represented National Olympic Committees to increase the diversity of participating nations.

Earlier on Sunday, 17-year-old Mashael Al-Ayed finished sixth in her women’s 200m freestyle heat with a time of 2:19.61.

The Saudi Olympic team, a 10-strong group comprising seven men and three women, is competing across four sports — athletics, equestrian, swimming and taekwondo.

Previously, Saudi athletes have taken four medals across 12 Olympic Games. The most recent was a silver won by Tareq Hamedi in karate at Tokyo in 2020.


Rashed Al-Qemzi looks to boost title bid in Norway

Rashed Al-Qemzi looks to boost title bid in Norway
Updated 30 July 2024
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Rashed Al-Qemzi looks to boost title bid in Norway

Rashed Al-Qemzi looks to boost title bid in Norway
  • Team Abu Dhabi star sets sights on race win after Grand Prix testing in Italy

ABU DHABI: Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Qemzi expects to boost his challenge for a record fifth UIM F2 World Championship title when the series returns to Norway at the weekend following a five-year gap.

After three days of rigorous testing in Italy this week, defending champion Al-Qemzi and teammate Mansoor Al-Mansoori are determined to shrug off a disappointing start to the season in Brindisi last month, where they were beset with technical issues.

Team manager Guido Cappellini and his mechanics are using three days of preparation in San Nazzaro to put the two drivers, and their boats, in top condition ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix of Norway in Tonsberg.

“It wasn’t the start we wanted, but that’s behind us now and we expect to be in a much better position to challenge for the win this weekend,” said Al-Qemzi, who battled his way to a sixth-place first-round finish, while Al-Mansoori suffered an early retirement.

“Everybody has been working very hard to make sure we have the chance to get the results we want and know we can achieve together.

“We know our team can get the best out of our boats, and as drivers, we have to make sure that we match their hard work and get the best out of ourselves.”

Back in the driving seat after a long absence from powerboat racing, Britain’s Matthew Palfreyman leads the championship from Lithuania’s Edgaras Riabko and Portugal’s Duarte Benavente.

Al-Qemzi, who finished second the last time the championship visited Tonsberg in 2019, remains characteristically confident that he can add to his four F2 world titles this season, despite the obvious intense competition now on display.

“You could see in Brindisi that there are a lot of good drivers who want to win, and it will be very difficult for anyone to take the championship this year,” he said.

“I want to be in a good position to go for the win on Sunday, and Mansoor wants to be there with me, fighting for the points. So, the first target is to be on the pace when qualifying starts on Saturday and build from there.”


Egyptian fencer Dessouky’s Olympic run ends at quarterfinals

Egyptian fencer Dessouky’s Olympic run ends at quarterfinals
Updated 30 July 2024
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Egyptian fencer Dessouky’s Olympic run ends at quarterfinals

Egyptian fencer Dessouky’s Olympic run ends at quarterfinals

PARIS: Egypt’s Mohamed Hamza Dessouky was eliminated from the Olympics Games’ men’s foil competition on Monday after losing 15-9 in the quarterfinals to Italy’s Fillipo Macchi.

Dessouky had earlier defeated Poland’s Jan Jurkiewicz and Spain’s Carlos Llavador to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.

On Monday morning, Egypt’s Abdel-Rahman Tolba was eliminated from the men’s foil.

Tolba fell short in the round of 16 against America’s Nick Atkin with a score of 15-8.