Longboard surfers make waves in historic first Gulf contest

Longboard surfers make waves in historic first Gulf contest
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Steven Sawyer and Alice Lemoigne won the maiden competition of the Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic on Sunday. (Supplied)
Longboard surfers make waves in historic first Gulf contest
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World No. 1 longboard surfer Taylor Jensen at the Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic on Sunday. (Supplied)
Longboard surfers make waves in historic first Gulf contest
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Steven Sawyer at the Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic on Sunday. (Supplied)
Longboard surfers make waves in historic first Gulf contest
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World No. 1 longboard surfer Taylor Jensen and world No. 2 longboard surfer Rachael Tilly at the Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic. (Supplied)
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Longboard surfers make waves in historic first Gulf contest

Longboard surfers make waves in historic first Gulf contest
  • Steven Sawyer, Alice Lemoigne win maiden competition
  • Abu Dhabi hosts surfers at the world’s biggest wave pool

ABU DHABI: Steven Sawyer and Alice Lemoigne etched their names in the history books as the first champions of the Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic on Sunday, marking a special milestone for the sport and the UAE as the World Surf League celebrated its maiden venture in the Gulf.

Abu Dhabi is no stranger to hosting elite-level professional sporting events which includes the participation of stars from the NBA, Formula 1, UFC, World Tennis Association and FIFA. But not many would have predicted that surfing would be the next big thing to land on Emirati shores.

The lack of surfable natural waves on the country’s coastlines has made way for the establishment of Surf Abu Dhabi, a spectacular venue that is home to the world’s biggest wave pool.

Situated on Hudayriyat Island in the UAE capital, the wave pool spans 75,000 sq. meters, with a basin that can accommodate 30 surfers. It is powered by Kelly Slater Wave Co. technology, which produces the longest, open-barrel, high-performance, human-made wave on the planet.

The pool is 3 meters deep and features saltwater waves that range from mellow beach-break whitewash to perfect barrels and high-performance sections. That makes it suitable for surfers of all levels, while also being fit to host competitive WSL action.

 

 

Over the weekend, the world’s best longboard surfers competed at Surf Abu Dhabi, which hosted the third stop of the WSL’s Longboard Tour.

It gave sports fans in the country an early taste of what is to come, with the WSL set to return to the UAE capital in February 2025, for the second stop of the Championship Tour, bringing together 60 of the world’s best shortboarders.

“This is incredible. This is really such a unique experience. I’ve been on tour for a long time and this takes the cake. It’s something new and unique and state-of-the-art, it’s pretty amazing to be a part of,” world No. 1 longboard surfer Taylor Jensen told Arab News of Surf Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of last weekend’s competition.

From the very beginning, the wave pool was constructed by property group Modon with the idea of hosting high-performance surfing events.

“This here was part of the initial negotiations for when we decided to build the pool, it was in tandem,” explained Ryan Watkins, the general manager of Surf Abu Dhabi.

“While we approached Kelly Slater Wave Co. to say we want the technology, we also went to the World Surf League to say: ‘If we build it, will you come?’

“And the answer was: ‘Absolutely, we’d love to bring surfing to the Middle East, we want to raise the profile of surfing and breed a whole new group of surfers that have never even thought about it.’”

The idea quickly materialized as a win-win for everyone involved.

Abu Dhabi has created an opportunity to place itself on the global surfing map, while the sport has entered a new market in a region that lacks natural waves.

“I think until not too long ago, surfing has really been limited just to those coastal towns and where the oceans and waves break,” said world No. 2 longboard surfer Rachael Tilly.

“So the fact that surfing is now getting to go beyond just the coastlines and go into countries that don’t have natural waves coming to them, I think it’s really special.

“It’s able to immerse people into the sport that we love so much. It’s a sport that has given me so much, beyond competition, just in my life. So for people here to get that experience, to ride a wave and touch that, I think it’s the best ever. It’s so special that it’s now here.”

 

 

Jensen echoed Tilly’s sentiments and was thrilled to be a part of this inaugural edition of the Abu Dhabi Longboard Classic. “The whole environment around the wave, getting to stand up on the deck and look out and watch people surf is something you don’t get in the ocean.

“Normally on the beach you’re really far away, this is up close and personal and just a really cool experience from a spectator point of view,” Jensen noted.

The surfing purists are not big fans of wave pools and prefer to see the sport stick to its roots. But there are many advantages to staging a competition in a wave pool, and it is a trend that will continue to grow.

Ocean surfing competitions rely heavily on weather and wind conditions. A surfing event on the WSL’s Championship Tour has a 10-day window for four days of competition.

And if conditions are not suitable for surfing, action is canceled and everyone has to wait for a more favorable setting. That makes it hard for spectators to attend and broadcast partners to plan their coverage.

“The great thing about a wave pool and surfing is you can actually schedule it so you can have crowds and they can come and even though it’s new to them as a sport, it’s a lot easier to consume it as a fan if you know when it’s going to be on,” said Andrew Stark, president of the WSL Asia Pacific.

“I think surfers are always going to love the waves in the ocean, there’s no question about that, and the iconic waves like Pipeline and Jeffreys Bay and Tahiti … but there’s a place for wave pools, and particularly of this quality, at the Championship Tour level; a wave of this length and of this quality,” Stark added.

“You’re never going to replace all those ocean waves with multiple wave pool events, but having an iconic wave pool event on tour like this in this part of the world, I think, is really important.”

 

 

Watkins says a wave pool offers a level playing field for the surfers, unlike ocean surfing, where the elements play a huge part and luck can be a factor.

“Wave pools are springing up absolutely everywhere. And thousands and thousands of people are giving it a try and are saying, my goodness, this thing is the ultimate, this is absolutely incredible,” he said.

“We take a lot of the elements out of it. So a lot of the dangers disappear. So from currents to big waves to sharks and all the things that we love about surfing in the ocean, we eliminate those, and we create a really safe, just a professional environment that everybody can get a taste of it.

“In the ocean you’re sitting in different locations, because the ocean is alive and moving, different tides, different winds, different types of waves. So from an athlete perspective, it’s whoever gets the best wave, whoever gets the biggest wave has got a better shot of winning.

“Here we level the playing field. Everybody gets the exact same wave. It’s perfect. We’ve got the timing. We tell the surfers this is where to sit, and your wave is coming every X minutes, and they paddle in, and they get the exact same opportunity, which we love. We think it makes it really fair.”

Stark says one of the biggest takeaways from the WSL’s first event in Abu Dhabi was how excited the surfers were to be there and the experience as a whole.

“They’re so thrilled to be a part of it,” he said.

“And the other part is just how wonderful the city is. I’ve actually went myself to the Presidential Palace today, and the Grand Mosque. And you see some of the amazing tourist attractions and the diversity in this city, and to have a wave pool surrounded by all these different tourism activities and the culture that this part of the world offers, it’s amazing.

“And I think also the Hudayriyat Island, what’s happening here with the velodrome and the other sporting venues, this is going to become an international sporting precinct. And this is one of the flagship assets within it.”

Stark believes the Championship Tour event coming to Abu Dhabi next February will bring more of the surfing culture to the emirate and create an even bigger atmosphere for spectators.

“We’ll have live music here and big bands, and so it creates a real festival space as well. You know, like people go to the Formula 1, they want to go and watch motor racing, but they’re seeing like music and they’re part of a sort of culture.

“That’s what surfing is. You’ll come watch the surfing, meet the athletes, enjoy the entertainment, be a part of the waves and the culture and really enjoy that atmosphere of surfing,” he explained.

 

 

Beyond competitive surfing, what the wave pool offers for the local UAE community is an opportunity to learn how to surf, whether recreationally, or more seriously, in a perfect setting.

Watkins says the UAE has “some phenomenal surfers” and Surf Abu Dhabi provides a place for them to hone their craft.

“One of my goals is to get an Emirati team to feature and perform and do well in the 2028 Olympics, 100 percent it’s a goal that we’ve set ourselves here,” said Watkins.

“I’ve hired Olympic surf coaches as part of my team. I’ve got (an) ex-No. 1 surfer on the world qualifying series as part of my surf operations team. These guys are here and are dedicated to get people surfing. And I truly believe we can have an Emirati team in the 2028 Olympics.”


Pakistan women lose warm-up match to Bangladesh, Australia eye dominance in T20 World Cup

Pakistan women lose warm-up match to Bangladesh, Australia eye dominance in T20 World Cup
Updated 01 October 2024
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Pakistan women lose warm-up match to Bangladesh, Australia eye dominance in T20 World Cup

Pakistan women lose warm-up match to Bangladesh, Australia eye dominance in T20 World Cup
  • Bangladesh defeat Pakistan by 23 runs in warm-up match in Dubai on Monday 
  • The women’s T20 World Cup will begin on Thursday with Australia, India as favorites

DUBAI: Australia are hot favorites for their seventh title at the women’s T20 World Cup starting Thursday in their first tournament appearance since the retirement of four-time tournament-winning captain Meg Lanning.

New skipper Alyssa Healy faces a challenge in the United Arab Emirates, leading a team that has only failed twice to win the 20-over trophy since the competition was first staged in 2009.

The 34-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has been a member of all six of Australia’s prior title wins but said she was entering this year’s tournament with “no real expectations.”

“It’s the best against the best and whoever can be most consistent or win those little moments along the way can get the job done,” Healy wrote in a column for the International Cricket Council’s website.

She nonetheless said her team was brimming with young talent, naming up-and-coming all-rounder Annabel Sutherland, 22, and batting phenomenon Phoebe Litchfield, 21, as players to watch.

Australia face formidable rivals India and New Zealand in their group. They arrive in the UAE fresh from a 3-0 T20 sweep of the Kiwis.

India’s prospects have been buoyed by the runaway success of the Women’s Premier League at home since the 20-over competition’s inaugural season last year.

“If I talk about this team, we have a few players who have been playing for a long time and they know their roles really well,” skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said.

“This is the best team we are going for a T20 World Cup with.”

India finished runners-up in 2020 and lost in the semifinals in 2018 and 2023.

New Zealand’s Sophie Devine will step down as captain at the end of the tournament after playing in every World Cup, earning two runner-up finishes.

“The T20 World Cup’s been an important vehicle in the development and growth of the women’s game,” Devine said.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan round out the first group while Bangladesh, England, Scotland, South Africa and the West Indies make up the second.

The South Africans, who lost to Australia in last year’s final in Cape Town, have a new captain in Laura Wolvaardt who is keen to build on that performance.

“Reaching our first-ever World Cup final in 2023 was a big landmark moment for us,” she wrote on the ICC website.

The Proteas surprisingly beat England in the semifinals.

“It was a big ‘breaking the barriers and pushing the boundaries’ moment for the team.

“Before that, we’d made the semifinals on a number of occasions, so to be able to go that one step further was very important for us as a group.

“Now we’d like to go that one step further and lift the trophy.”

Heather Knight’s experienced England side, which includes Nat Sciver-Brunt, Alice Capsey, Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Bell, will be keen for revenge when they meet the Proteas on October 7.

Bangladesh face Scotland at Sharjah in the opening match of the tournament, where the prize money is for the first time equal to the men’s edition with a $2.34 million purse for the winners of the October 20 final.

That is a 134 percent increase on the $1 million awarded to the Australians when they clinched the title in South Africa last year.

The ICC said the move was intended “to prioritize the women’s game and accelerate its growth.”

Bangladesh were slated to host the tournament but it was shifted to Dubai and Sharjah after weeks of political unrest in July and August ousted the government of autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina.


Ronaldo and Mahrez shine as Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli triumph in AFC Champions League

Ronaldo and Mahrez shine as Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli triumph in AFC Champions League
Updated 01 October 2024
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Ronaldo and Mahrez shine as Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli triumph in AFC Champions League

Ronaldo and Mahrez shine as Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli triumph in AFC Champions League
  • Despite missing several early chances, Al-Nassr emerge 2-1 victors over Al-Rayyan of Qatar, while Al-Ahli defeat Emirati side Al-Wasl 2-0

Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed the winner for Al-Nassr in their 2-1 victory over Al-Rayyan on Monday, while Riyad Mahrez was the hero as Al-Ahli defeated Al-Wasl 2-0 on matchday 2 of the AFC Champions League Elite group stage.

After a 1-1 draw with Al-Shorta of Iraq in their opening game of the tournament, Al-Nassr went at their Qatari visitors from the kick-off in Riyadh and should have been ahead inside five minutes when Otavio slipped the ball through to Angelo. However, the Brazilian under-20 international, who scored a fine goal last week during a 2-0 win over Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League, put the ball wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.

As the home side continued to pile on the pressure Ronaldo then had a great chance to open the scoring. The Portuguese star, who missed the trip to Baghdad two weeks ago because of a viral infection, got on the end of a deep cross at the far post after 13 minutes but his shot was saved by Paulo Victor, who left Saudi side Ettifaq to join Al-Rayyan in the summer.

It was not all one-way traffic, though, and Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento had to get down well to save a Roger Guedes shot at his near post.

Seven minutes before the break, Ronaldo had another chance but this time he headed over from a Sadio Mane cross. It was the type of opportunity he has taken with ease many times.

The deadlock was finally broken on the stroke of half-time when Sultan Al-Ghannam sent over a perfect cross from a central position and Mane headed home from close range.

Just after the restart Ronaldo volleyed an Otavio cross into the net but was judged to have been marginally offside. He was on a mission to score, however, and eventually did just that with 14 minutes remaining. Abdulrahman Ghareeb slipped the ball into the right side of the area and Ronaldo pounced to fire a perfect shot into the opposite top corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.

It was a goal worthy of winning any game but the result looked like it might yet be in doubt when Roger Guedes pulled one back three minutes from time, slotting home at the far post from Achraf Bencharki’s perfect low cross.

With nine minutes of added time, there were plenty of nerves on display but Al-Nassr managed to hold out for the win and three much-needed points to get their continental challenge up and running. They now sit in third place in the 12-team group with 4 points.

Al-Ahli were also in need of a win as they made the trip to Dubai to face Al-Wasl. Although they defeated Iranian side Persepolis 1-0 in the first game of their Champions League campaign, the Jeddah club had lost their previous two games in all competitions, including a shock home defeat in the King’s Cup to First Division strugglers Al-Jandal. Coach Mattias Jaissle was under pressure as a result but the gloom was lifted as early as the third minute when Mahrez opened the scoring.

The Algerian has come under fire this season for some uninspiring performances but he looked very much like his old self from the start on Monday, and he timed a run perfectly to latch onto a long pass out of defense from Roger Ibanez. Mahrez’s delicious first touch brought the ball down and with the second he stroked the ball past the goalkeeper.

Seven minutes before the break Mahrez returned the favor for former AS Roma defender Ibanez, as the former floated over a corner to the far post where the latter climbed high to send a powerful header into the back of the net.

It was not as comfortable a win for Al-Ahli as the scoreline might suggest but Al-Wasl were unable to take their chances. The three very welcome points moved the Greens into top spot in their group, temporarily at least.

Unlike in previous tournaments, each team will play eight games, with the top eight in the group qualifying for the round of 16 and only four missing out. Al-Ahli are therefore already looking good to progress.

Al-Hilal, who defeated Al-Rayyan in their opening game, will be in action on Tuesday when they host Al-Shorta.


Pakistan’s Irfan Asghar wins 6th Asian Master Squash Championship 2024

Pakistan’s Irfan Asghar wins 6th Asian Master Squash Championship 2024
Updated 30 September 2024
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Pakistan’s Irfan Asghar wins 6th Asian Master Squash Championship 2024

Pakistan’s Irfan Asghar wins 6th Asian Master Squash Championship 2024
  • Irfan outplayed Ryun Hoe Koo, secured 3-0 win
  • The final scores were 11-6, 11-4 and 14-12

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani squash veteran, Group Captain (retired) Irfan Asghar, has won the 6th Asian Master Squash Championship 2024 held in Macau, China, Pakistani state media reported, citing the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF).
Irfan outplayed his opponent, Ryun Hoe Koo, and secured an impressive 3-0 win, clinching the title for Pakistan.
The final scores were 11-6, 11-4 and 14-12, the state-run APP news agency reported.
“His victory reinforces his status as a leading figure in Pakistan’s squash scene,” the report read.
The win marked Irfan’s second triumph in the Asian Master Squash Championship, having previously won the title in 2010.
Currently serving as the PSF director for academies, Irfan has continued to inspire the next generation of players.


Masood says ‘hurt’ Pakistan aim to end win drought against England

Masood says ‘hurt’ Pakistan aim to end win drought against England
Updated 30 September 2024
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Masood says ‘hurt’ Pakistan aim to end win drought against England

Masood says ‘hurt’ Pakistan aim to end win drought against England
  • Pakistan have gone winless in 10 home Tests since February 2021
  • They were handed a 2-0 defeat by Bangladesh earlier this month 

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shan Masood on Monday backed Babar Azam to find his batting touch as his side look to end their win drought in the three-match Test series against England starting next week.
Pakistan have gone winless in 10 home Tests since February 2021, the latest humiliation being swept 2-0 by Bangladesh earlier this month.
They also lost 3-0 in Australia earlier this year.
“It’s not acceptable for Pakistan to not win a home Test for that long and we accept the responsibility for that,” said Masood at a press conference in Karachi.
“As a cricketing nation we all are hurt right now.”
Masood was confident that batting great Azam would soon be back to his best after managing just 64 runs in the two Bangladesh Tests.
“We all know Babar is one of the top batters in the world and despite not scoring big runs the good thing is that he is not out of form, we have to back him,” said Masood.
Azam has not passed fifty in Tests in 16 innings dating back to December 2022.
England arrive in Pakistan on October 2 with the first Test starting in Multan five days later.
The second Test is also in Multan from October 15 while the final match is in Rawalpindi from October 24.
“I assure you that everyone is eager to stage a comeback in this series and take Pakistan cricket in a good direction,” said Masood.
England swept the series 3-0 when they last visited Pakistan in 2022.
“For me, pressure is a thing of privilege because leading your country is a great honor but with it comes responsibility,” said Masood, whose captaincy tenure runs until May 2025.
“If results are good then I will serve, if not then I will be punished. I don’t run away from challenges and this coming series is also very challenging.”


Dembele dropped from PSG squad for Arsenal trip

Dembele dropped from PSG squad for Arsenal trip
Updated 30 September 2024
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Dembele dropped from PSG squad for Arsenal trip

Dembele dropped from PSG squad for Arsenal trip
  • Without the in-form Dembele, who has four goals and as many assists in six league games this season, PSG will rely more heavily on Bradley Barcola

LONDON: France forward Ousmane Dembele has been left out of Paris Saint-Germain’s squad for their Champions League game at Arsenal on Tuesday, a source close to the club told AFP.
Dembele’s absence is not injury-related but “a decision of the coach” Luis Enrique, the source told AFP.
It appears to be a disciplinary measure following a heated exchange between Luis Enrique and Dembele after Friday’s 3-1 win over Rennes in Ligue 1, according to sports daily L’Equipe.
Without the in-form Dembele, who has four goals and as many assists in six league games this season, PSG will rely more heavily on Bradley Barcola.
Barcola is the leading scorer in the French top flight this term with six goals, two of which came in the victory over Rennes.
Marco Asensio is in a race against time to be fit after picking up an injury in PSG’s Champions League opener against Girona two weeks ago.