Latest sports scores at — http://sports.arabtimesonline.com Gold in 21 seconds for Filipino boxer

Schooling slams critics after golden double Ola Aina awaits FIFA ‘clearance’

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24, (AFP): Filipino-British boxer John Marvin took just 21 seconds to clinch the Southeast Asian Games light heavyweight title on Thursday, and then said he wanted a quick win as he didn’t trust the judges.

The 24-year-old, a lance corporal in the British Army, unleashed a barrage of punches from the bell to stop Malaysia’s Adli Hafidz Mohamad Pauzi — who later claimed he wasn’t ready.

Marvin said he didn’t want the final to be left in the hands of the judges, after his team-mate Carlo Paalam lost a questionable decision against home favourite Muhamad Fuad Redzuan on Monday.

Fuad went on to win the light flyweight class, clinching Malaysia’s first SEA Games title in the division.

“My mission was to get in there and win. That is my plan. I hit (my opponent) a four-punch combination in the face,” Marvin said, dedicating the win to Paalam and the Philippines.

“It is a revenge for my colleague who lost in an unfair manner,” he added. “I did not want the fight to be decided by the umpires. We train to get in there and destroy.”

Marvin, who comes from Britain’s Isle of Wight and whose mother is Filipino, said he felt “sad” that rising star Paalam, 19, was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Fuad.

“He is my team-mate. It is sad to see him lose,” he said.

Fuad, meanwhile, who beat Thani Narinram of Thailand in the light flyweight final, insisted his victory over Paalam was legitimate.

“I waited for eight years to win gold in the SEA Games. When I fought the Filipino, it was 50-50,” he said.

“Some say I won, others say he won but for me I got the most number of points and the fight was dominated by myself and not him (Paalam),” he said.

The Philippines claimed a second gold medal through middleweight Eumir Felix Marcial, who braved injured knuckles to beat Thailand’s Pathomsak Kuttiya on points.

But Mario Fernandez, who was eyeing a record third straight gold in the bantamweight class, lost unexpectedly to Thailand’s Chatchai Butdee.

Indonesia’s Aldoms Sugoro beat Thai fighter Tanes Ongjunta to win the flyweight title, and Thailand’s Wuttichai Masuk was crowned light welterweight champion with victory over Sarohatua Lumbantobing of Indonesia.

Olympic butterfly champion Joseph Schooling rounded on critics who say he’s swimming too slowly after he grabbed his fourth and fifth gold medals of the Southeast Games on Thursday.

Schooling said detractors could say what they liked as he won the 100m freestyle and anchored Singapore’s 4x200m freestyle relay victory to near his target of six gold medals in Kuala Lumpur.

“They can say whatever they want,” Schooling shot back, when asked about the criticism of his performances which has been circulating online. “My goal is to come here and help the team as best as I can, win gold medals. That’s all I care about at this meet. You can’t always set best times, it’s fine.

“It’s all about me trying to help the team as best as I can and me trying to win as many individual events as I can.”

Schooling, who won 100m butterfly bronze at last month’s world championships, just a year after stunning Michael Phelps to claim the Olympic title, hasn’t tested his personal bests

Vy Quoc Viet and Nguyen Xuan Thanh of Vietnam perform during the Pencak Silat double final of the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in

Kuala Lumpur on Aug 24. (AFP) Marvin John Nobel Tupas (blue), of the Philippines fights against Adli Hafidz binti Mohamad Fauzi (red), during the boxing light heavy (81 kg) final of the

29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 24. (AFP)

this week.

In the 100m freestyle, he was pushed all the way by Vietnam’s Hoang Quy Phuoc before winning in 48.93, outside the SEA Games record he set two years ago in Singapore.

In the relay, he pulled away in the last leg to help Singapore to win by more than six seconds, but their time didn’t beat the tournament record they set in their home pool in 2015.

Malaysia, who lost Daniel Bego from their relay team because of a food poisoning outbreak which hit 16 Malaysian athletes, finished third in the event behind Vietnam.

“We do feel sorry for him and we’re pretty sure he’s disappointed too. But we can’t help it because it’s sickness, it happens to everyone,” said Malaysia’s Welson Sim.

With five full days of competition to go, Malaysia appeared to be headed for victory on the overall medals table as they soared to 63 golds late on Thursday, 30 ahead of second-placed Vietnam.

Grace Wong set a new Games record of 59.24m in the women’s hammer, and boxer Muhamad Fuad Redzuan won Malaysia’s first ever SEA Games title in the light flyweight division.

Fuad, who beat Thani Narinram of Thailand for the gold, denied suggestions he benefited from an unfair decision in his quarter-final against Filipino teenager Carlo Paalam.

“Some say I won, others say he ABUJA, Aug 24, (AFP): Chelsea defender Ola Aina is waiting for FIFA clearance to play for Nigeria in month’s World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon, officials said Thursday.

Aina, who is on a seasonlong loan at English Championship side Hull City, needs world football’s governing body to approve his decision to play for Nigeria after he represented England at various age-group levels.

“FIFA has yet to clear Ola Aina for Nigeria. All the paper work has been done by the NFF and also the home countries of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales have all said they do not object to his change,” said a football official in Abuja.

“And so as long as that approval from FIFA does not come through before the World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon next month, he won’t play for the Eagles.”

Coach Gernot Rohr has insisted on including the highly-rated defender, who could play at either right-back or left-back, so as to blood him gradually into his squad.

In the meantime, Rohr said he expected Chelsea ace Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi from Arsenal to be the last players to join his team’s training camp in Uyo, southern Nigeria, ahead of the matches against Cameroon. won but for me I got the most number of points and the fight was dominated by myself and not him,” he said.

Quzandria Ambak won dressage gold — ahead of her elder brother Qabil, who took silver — and Malaysia also won titles in squash, karate, shooting and pencak silat, a martial art.

Thailand swept the men’s and women’s individual golf titles, as Thai-Japanese Kosuke Hamamoto carded 10-under-par 203 over three rounds to win by a stroke from Singapore’s Marc Ong.

In the women’s golf, also held at Kuala Lumpur’s Mines Resort, Atthaya Thitikul marched to victory by seven strokes with 14-under-par 199.