Canadian rider eyes ‘perfect’ route to Paris

In a sport where experience counts for more than anything else and athletes often vie for medals well into their 40s, the world equestrian championships have come as a huge learning curve for upcoming Canadian dressage rider Naima Moreira-Laliberte. The 25-year-old, the reigning Pan American Games champion in team dressage, finished 59th on her horse Statesman in the individual Grand Prix last week in Denmark’s Herning, a creditable result given she was contesting her maiden worlds. “The opportunity to be on the international stage, in a big stadium in one of the world’s best competitions is amazing. This is a step in the right direction for me,” Moreira-Laliberte said. “There are so many things that could have been better and it’s so hard to go mistake-free. It’s a difficult sport and that’s what makes it so interesting, but overall, I’m very happy. Just being there is an achievement,” she said. As the daughter of Guy Laliberte, who cofounded the popular Canada-based contemporary circus act Cirque du Soleil, performing was an ubiquitous part of her childhood, but dressage was a late addition despite her early love for horses. Tired of seeing Moreira-Laliberte tumbling off her horse while show jumping, her worried father introduced her to a friend who had an equestrian show, which eventually wnabled her to transition to the seemingly safer discipline of dressage. “I remember him taking me there and in my head I wasn’t convinced. I was like: ‘Where is the adrenaline?’” Moreira-Laliberte said. “But luckily for him, I fell in love with a Lusitano horse and he became my best friend growing up.” The perfectionist in Moreira-Laliberte eventually took a liking to dressage, and while the quest for constant improvement can occasionally get tedious, she sees it as a great way of challenging herself. “This is the worst sport for a perfectionist,” she said. “You’re

Taiwan take No. 2 spot at Philippine volleyball tourney

Taiwanese team KingWhale Taipei finished runners-up at the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference tournament in the Philippines after suffering a 3-0 rout at the hands of local team Creamline Cool Smashers in the final on Sunday. The Philippine team defeated KingWhale Taipei in a three-set sweep 25-21, 25-19, 25-8 that lasted 1 hour, 26 minutes in front of a raucous home crowd of 13,589 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Bay City. After the match, KingWhale Taipei head coach Teng Yen-min said she was happy, adding that it was the first time the team had participated in the invitational tournament. KingWhale captain Liao Yi-jen won the best setter prize. The Taiwanese team won four games in a row to reach the final.

Conte, Tuchel see red as Spurs snatch a draw at Chelsea

Harry Kane on Sunday snatched a 96th minute equalizer to salvage a 2-2 draw for Tottenham Hotspur from a feisty London derby against Chelsea. Coaches Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel were sent off after the full-time whistle for their second physical altercation of the match. Chelsea looked set to get a new era at Stamford Bridge off to the best possible start as they twice led through Kalidou Koulibaly and Reece James. Tottenham were well off the level required if they are to live up to hopes of challenging Manchester City and Liverpool for the title, but showed the newfound character instilled by Conte to fight back for a point. The Italian and Tuchel were both booked in the aftermath of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s first equalizer. Tempers then flared again during a handshake after Kane nodded in with virtually the last action of the game. “It is the [English] Premier League and why we love it. It is emotional coaches on the sidelines,” Tuchel said. “I think it [the red card] was not necessary, but a lot of things were not necessary today so it is another poor decision from the referee.” Tottenham have still only won once at Stamford Bridge in 32 years in the league. “There is a difference between Chelsea and Tottenham, but we are here to reduce this gap,” Conte said. “Last season we lost three times, this time we drew so it’s a little step forward.” Two of Chelsea’s new signings combined for the opening goal as it was from Marc Cucurella’s corner that Koulibaly found space to volley home. Spurs leveled 22 minutes from time in controversial fashion to light the spark between the two managers. Kai Havertz looked to be clearly fouled by Rodrigo Bentancur before Tottenham broke forward and the ball eventually fell to Hojbjerg to fire low and hard past Mendy. Tuchel reacted

United hit 30-year low after 4-0 rout

‘HORRIBLE DAY’: Brentford supporters, thrilled at their team’s 4-0 drubbing of the Red Devils, taunted coach Erik ten Hag, chanting: ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’

Erik ten Hag’s bad start as Manchester United manager descended into an embarrassment on Saturday as a 4-0 thrashing by Brentford left the Red Devils bottom of the English Premier League. The former Ajax boss’ reign began with Brighton’s first-ever win at Old Trafford last weekend, but much worse was to come as the Bees punished a series of errors to score four times in the first 35 minutes. Josh Dasilva’s strike slipped through David de Gea’s grasp to open the floodgates before Mathias Jensen pounced on United’s attempt to play out from the back to make it 2-0 inside 18 minutes. Ben Mee then exposed the visitors’ frailty from set-pieces for his first Brentford goal and Bryan Mbuemo rounded off a stunning counter-attack 10 minutes before halftime to sink United to the bottom of the table for the first time in 30 years. The jubilant home crowd taunted Ten Hag with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning.” Yet the Dutch coach has inherited rabble rather than being the root cause as United lost a seventh consecutive away league match for the first time since 1936. “We all have seen the game. I think Brentford were more hungry and we conceded goals to individual mistakes,” Ten Hag said. “You can have a good plan, but that puts the plan in the bin.” United have now conceded four goals or more seven times in the Premier League since the start of last season. The arrival of centreback Lisandro Martinez from Ajax has done little to shore up United’s leaky defense and questions are likely to be asked about why Ten Hag has left Raphael Varane on the bench in favor of the Argentine and the out-of-sorts Harry Maguire. Ten Hag did recall Cristiano Ronaldo to the starting lineup, but the wantaway five-time Ballon d’Or winner played a part

Skinny magician of the water conjures world record

As David Popovici has accelerated past his older rivals in the pool this summer, it seemed inevitable that the skinny 17-year-old would threaten world records. The only surprise when he broke the 100m freestyle mark in Rome on Saturday was that he got so quick so fast. On Friday, the Romanian had become only the fourth man in history to swim under 47 seconds as he set a European record to win his semi-final at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome. That was more than half a second faster than his gold-medal time at the FINA World Championships in June. On Saturday, he was even quicker, swimming 46.86 seconds to slice 0.05 seconds off the record set by Brazilian Cesar Cielo in the 2009 World Championships during the era of buoyant body suits. “Yesterday I said that the European record was just one step in the right direction — and I was right. There was no rush and I had to be extremely patient about the world record,” Popovici said. In the World Championships in Budapest, Popovici outpaced Caeleb Dressel, who had swum the fastest 100m in a textile suit, in the heats. The Olympic champion withdrew from before the semis. “It’s nice being able to say that I am the fastest to ever do it, and it’s a good thing to know I clashed with all of the titans of this race,” Popovici said. His coach, Adrian Radulescu said that he, too, was surprised by the speed of Popovici’s progress. “It’s amazing that it is happening so early,” Radulescu said. Asked on Thursday what makes him succesful, Popovici said that it comes at a price. “When Erling Haaland, a football player, was asked the same question, he replied: ‘Hard work.’ So, it’s just really a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice,” he said.

Octogenarian starts 29-day sailing trip around Taiwan

An 82-year-old man on Saturday set off from Kaohsiung’s Sizihwan Bay (西子灣) to circumnavigate Taiwan in a sailboat in 29 days. Chinese Taipei Sailing Association vice president Chan Cheng-feng said the trip had been a dream of his for the past 40 years. Chan, who also heads the Kaohsiung Municipal Athletics Federation’s sailing committee, has been working to promote the sport in Taiwan since leaving the Marine Corps in 1976. The biggest challenge has been ensuring that people learn how to deal with problems at sea and know how to avoid danger, Chan said. The octogenarian said it is exciting to “still be having this type of fun” at his age. “As long as you prepare enough water, food, sunscreen and wear a life jacket, the challenge can be easily accomplished,” he said. Sailing coach Huang Kuo-fang, who helped plan the challenge, said there would be two other sailors accompanying Chan on the trip, and coast guard personnel would watch over him along the way. Chan plans to travel counter-clockwise around Taiwan proper. He is expected to complete the journey on Sept. 10.

Lopez makes triumphant return against Campa

Teofimo Lopez made a triumphant return to the ring on Saturday, stopping Pedro Campa in the seventh round at Resorts World Events Center. Lopez made his debut as a 140 pound junior welterweight (63.5kg) in his first fight since the only loss of his career. Moments after putting Campa on the canvas at the start of the seventh, Lopez (17-1, 13 knockouts) obliterated his outmatched opponent with a flurry of punches, prompting referee Tony Weeks to stop the fight at the 2 minutes, 14 second mark. “I am grateful for this, I have returned,” Lopez said. Campa dropped to 34-2-1. The 25-year-old Lopez looked much more like the promising young fighter who captivated the world when he beat Vasily Lomachenko to claim the unified lightweight championship in 2020. Campa, who relies on a straight-forward approach and hard-firing punches, struggled to land much, as Lopez remained active throughout the fight and displayed impeccable defense. On the attack, Lopez was much faster and crisper with his punches, landing 52 percent of his power punches, per CompuBox. “I got to work a little bit more on some things, but overall it was good,” Lopez said of his performance. “It’s been a while. There was a lot on my mind. I nearly almost died [in] the last fight, so that was weighing on my mind.” “Going in there, I’m not afraid to die, but the last thing I want to do is not have my son have a father,” he added. It was only nine months ago that Lopez hit a career low when he lost as a huge favorite to George Kambosos Jr by split decision. However, the loss to Kambosos in New York City was later overshadowed by the news that he fought with a condition called pneumomediastinum and had extensive air in the retropharyngeal space, per a report by ESPN, something

All Blacks beat Springboks, handing coach a lifeline

New Zealand ended a three-match losing streak with a 35-23 Rugby Championship win over South Africa at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, and might have saved the job of their embattled coach Ian Foster. A last-minute try by lock Scott Barrett sealed victory for the All Blacks after a thrilling second-round match. Foster had been under fire after five losses in six matches ahead of the Johannesburg showdown, including a 16-point defeat to Rugby World Cup champions the Springboks last weekend. Yet a much-improved All Blacks side turned the tables after a match in which South Africa led by one point with 6 minutes remaining before conceding two converted tries. “To say I am proud is a massive understatement,” said New Zealand skipper and flanker Sam Cane, who has also been criticized amid reports he would lose the captaincy to lock Sam Whitelock. “It is a massive challenge coming here, one of the toughest places in the world to play, and the group stepped up massively,” he said. “We were a lot better at the breakdowns today, and at the box kicks and contestables we were a lot better.” The first points in an arm wrestle came on 25 minutes when recalled flyhalf Richie Mo’unga slotted a penalty for the visitors. That triggered a period of away dominance in which Cane and hooker Samson Taukei’aho scored tries, the second of which Mo’unga converted. The hosts needed to score quickly, and they did with center Lukhanyo Am diving over and flyhalf Handre Pollard converting. The second half became a thriller with South Africa finally edging in front at 23-21 when Pollard kicked a penalty on 68 minutes. However, intense All Blacks pressure led to tries from centre David Havili and lock Scott Barrett, and Mo’unga converted both. Wing Makazole Mapimpi was the other Springbok try scorer as Pollard

SPORTS BRIEFS

CRICKET Hat-trick first for women Australia’s Alana King claimed the first hat-trick in the history of the women’s competition at Old Trafford on Saturday, a fortnight after the feat narrowly eluded her in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The leg-spinner claimed 4-15 to fire the Trent Rockets to a 43-run victory against the Manchester Originals who, chasing 120 for victory, were bundled out for 76. King dismissed Cordelia Griffith, Sophie Ecclestone and Kate Cross in successive deliveries to claim the hat-trick. The 26-year-old paid tribute to her idol and deceased Australia spin great Shane Warne after her stellar debut in the 100-ball competition. “I hope he’s looking down and pretty proud that I’ve spun a few today, it’s just a special place Old Trafford, and I’m glad I could take some poles here,” King said. SOCCER Zheng to coach Guangzhou Former Asian Player of the Year Zheng Zhi has been appointed head coach of eight-time Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou, the club announced on social media. Zheng, who spent 11-and-a-half seasons with the club as a player, replaces Liu Zhiyu at the helm. Guangzhou are third from bottom of the league standings after winning just once in 12 games so far this season. The role would be Zheng’s first as a head coach, although he has previously led Guangzhou on an interim basis. The former midfielder was named Asian Player of the Year in 2013 after helping the club to the first of two Asian Champions League titles that year. Zheng ended his playing career with Guangzhou at the end of last season, having joined in 2011. Former Guangzhou midfielders Huang Bowen and Mei Fang have been named his assistant coaches. TENNIS Halep into Toronto final Two-time champion Simona Halep of Romania on Saturday advanced to the National Bank Open final in Toronto, beating Jessica

Hubert Hurkacz ends Kyrgios’ streak

‘RUNNING ON FUMES’: The Australian said he would benefit from a few days rest before his next tournament in the US after he was knocked out in the quarter-finals

Hubert Hurkacz on Friday overcame 53 winners from Nick Kyrgios to halt the Australian’s nine-match win streak with a three-set quarter-final victory at the ATP Montreal Masters. The Polish eighth seed made 43 winners of his own in a rapid-fire 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (5/7), 6-1 triumph that put him into his fourth semi-final at the Masters level. It was a second win in as many matches for Hurkacz against Kyrgios, the first played on grass in June at Halle, Germany. Kyrgios, known for quick play, had several service games go by in less than one minute, with the Wimbledon finalist barely pausing between the end of one point and the start of the next. Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios, who won his first title in three years last week in Washington, was bothered at times by his foot, lower back and hip as he lost momentum in the third set. “I was just running on fumes a bit towards the end,” the 27-year-old said. “That’s normal, but I feel good, feel confident. I’ve got three or four days of rest until Cincinnati. I’m going to use that, really capitalize and just rest and recover.” The pair combined for 39 aces, with Hurkacz striking 20 of them. “Over the last two months, Nick has been playing incredibly,” Hurkacz said. “Today was a really tough match. Battling against him, it’s very challenging, but it’s also fun.” “Nick is a super opponent. He can make every single shot. He doesn’t really have that many weaknesses, if any. I was just trying to serve good and stay aggressive,” he said. Hurkacz faces Norway’s fourth-seeded Casper Ruud, who crushed home hope Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-2 in 74 minutes. Ruud advanced to his third Masters semi-final this season, having defeated Hurkacz in their previous meeting in May at Roland Garros. At the bottom of the draw, Dan Evans completed

Simona Halep made to work for victory over Gauff

Simona Halep on Friday served twice for her match against Coco Gauff without success before finally securing a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) quarter-final victory at the WTA Toronto Masters. The former No. 1, a two-time winner in Canada, made hard work of her triumph over the rising American teenager, who just missed a chance at cracking the world ranking top-10 for the first time. Halep needed a second-set tiebreaker to advance into the semi-finals in just under two hours, lining up a meeting with seventh-seeded American Jessica Pegula, who defeated Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-3. Double Grand Slam champion Halep earned her 183rd match win at the Masters 1000 level. “I’m really pleased with the way I stayed strong mentally,” Halep said. “I fought for every point. That was really important, because she was doing the same thing. It’s never easy against her,” she added. In other quarter-final action, Brazil’s giant-killer Beatriz Haddad Maia claimed another victim as she upset Olympic champion Belinda Bencic with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback win. The South American, who stunned world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round, won her 16th match since June, the month in which she claimed back-to-back grass titles in Nottingham and Birmingham. Bencic was broken four times and coughed up five double-faults. “I’m feeling happy, for sure, it’s a special moment,” Haddad Maia said. “I’ve worked a lot every day for a few years to live this moment.” “I didn’t start the match playing as I wanted,” she said. “I was missing more than normal in the first set, but I pushed myself to stay positive, to stay in the game — a tennis match can change very fast.” The Brazilian will aim for the final against Karolina Pliskova, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 winner over Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen.

Messi left out of nominee list for the Ballon d’Or

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi on Friday was omitted from the 30-man list of nominees for the award for the first time since 2005. The Argentina great edged out Poland striker Robert Lewandowski for the Ballon d’Or last year, but was not nominated this time after an underwhelming first season at Paris Saint-Germain. The 35-year-old forward also won the prize in 2019. It was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Neymar also missed the cut this time. Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, Erling Haaland and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo were all included, as were Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Kevin de Bruyne, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. Alexia Putellas, Ada Hegerberg, Sam Kerr and Vivianne Miedema were on the list of 20 female nominees. US players Alex Morgan, Catarina Macario and Trinity Rodman were also named. The men’s list features six Manchester City players: Phil Foden, Joao Cancelo, De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and new signing Haaland. Liverpool also has six nominees: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Fabinho, Darwin Nunez, Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Mane, who helped Senegal win their first Africa Cup before leaving Liverpool for Bayern Munich, is included, as is Bayern teammate Joshua Kimmich. Benzema leads a group of six Real Madrid players. The others are Casemiro, Thibaut Courtois, Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior and new signing Antonio Rudiger. The other nominated players are Sebastien Haller (Ajax), Rafael Leao and Mike Maignan (both of AC Milan), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig) and Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus). The award is to be presented on Oct. 17.

Orioles’ Jorge Mateo has five hits, one off Yu Chang

Jorge Mateo had a career-high five hits on Friday, one of them off Taiwan’s Yu Chang on the mound as a position player, while Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins each homered off the Tropicana Field catwalk as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-3. Rougned Odor had four of the Orioles’ season-most 19 hits as Baltimore won for the eighth time in 10 games and moved into an American League wild-card spot, a half-game ahead of the Rays. “Definitely one of our better offensive nights, the way we kept up those innings with the two-strike, two-out innings,” manager Brandon Hyde said. We “got a bunch of hits up and down the lineup.” Mullins and Anthony Santander had three hits apiece for Baltimore. Austin Voth (3-1) took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and won his second straight start. “We’ve kind of caught fire and we’re just keeping with it,” said Voth, who was claimed off waivers from the Washington Nationals on June 7. “It doesn’t feel like we’re cooling off or anything like that. We’re rolling,” he added. By the time Jose Siri got the Rays’ first hit leading off the sixth, the Orioles had a 7-0 lead. Randy Arozarena followed with his 14th homer for Tampa Bay. “We’ve got to somehow find a way to get out of this,” Rays manger Kevin Cash said. “It’s not coming easy for anybody.” Rutschman homered in the first off Corey Kluber (7-7), a blast that would have traveled an estimated 133.8m if not for the catwalk. Mullins’ 10th homer came in the eighth inning off Jimmy Yacabonis. Mateo, who drove in two runs and scored twice, also contributed a fine defensive play at shortstop in the fourth, barely throwing out Brandon Lowe on a toss from his gloved hand. “I’m very satisfied with that performance. It shows my hard

SPORTS BRIEFS

LA LIGA Barcelona register signings Barcelona on Friday registered new signings Robert Lewandowski, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Raphinha in time for their opener against Rayo Vallecano, which was to be played after press time last night. However, French defender Jules Kounde remains unregistered with La Liga. Barcelona have spent 153 million euros (US$157 million) on transfer fees alone to bolster their squad, with Lewandowski the most notable new arrival from Bayern Munich. Faced with severe limits on spending to comply with La Liga’s financial controls, Barcelona needed to raise money quickly to be able to invest in signings and, crucially, to register new players. Earlier on Friday, Barcelona sold another part of their media production unit, Barca Studios, for 100 million euros to Orpheus Media. Spanish daily Marca reported that Kounde can only be registered if the club reduces its payroll. “So in the next few days, players in the squad will have to leave,” the newspaper said. On the field, CA Osasuna beat Sevilla 2-1 at home in the first game of the new season, with Chimy Avila scoring the first goal of the 2022-2023 season in the ninth minute when he smashed a powerhouse header off goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and into the net. BUNDESLIGA Teens help Dortmund Two teenagers on Friday helped Borussia Dortmund come from behind with late goals to beat host SC Freiburg 3-1. Dortmund coach Edin Terzic’s substitutions all paid off as 18-year-old Jamie Bynoe-Gittens equalized in the 77th minute and 17-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko made it 2-1, four minutes before he set up Marius Wolf — yet another substitute — to seal the result in the 88th minute. Michael Gregoritsch had given the home team a 35th-minute lead. LIGUE 1 Ismaily scores on debut Brazilian defender Ismaily on Friday scored on his debut for OSC Lille in a 1-1 draw against Nantes.

Wavy turn

Peru’s Arena Rodriguez competes in the women’s open grade quarter-finals at the Pan American Surf Association Games at Venao Beach in Panama on Friday.

Rampaging Nick Kyrgios on a mission

‘BAD MEDIA’: The controversial Australian said that articles had ‘painted me to be this horrific person for like five years, but now I feel like it just kind of washed away’

Tired of being branded a wasted talent, Nick Kyrgios hopes his “amazing tennis” will get the critics off his back so they might give him space to relax off court and not condemn him for enjoying a beer at a pub. A day after stunning world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, Kyrgios steamrolled compatriot Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-3 at the Canadian Masters on Thursday to notch his 15th win from 16 matches. The fiery Wimbledon finalist has often struggled to stay motivated, but now hopes to keep his hot streak alive ahead of next month’s US Open. “I’m doing this for a lot of people. [I] want to prove to myself that I can still play some amazing tennis,” the 27-year-old Australian told reporters. “I’m doing it for a lot of people just so I can have a bit of peace and quiet, I can actually rest at nighttime.” “I feel like, compared to other players I deal with a lot of shit, negativity, bad media, bad articles, this, that, wasted talent, whatever,” he said. “So I feel like when it’s all said and done, if I continue to play like this for a little bit, prove people wrong, I can just relax a little bit.” “Like, have a beer at a pub, not get bothered about it,” he added. Famous for his explosive tantrums and conduct violations, Kyrgios said that the media had judged him based on the “2 percent” of his life on court. “You guys kind of painted me to be this horrific person for like five years, but now I feel like it just kind of washed away,” he said. “The true colors came through.” “Hopefully I’m inspiring millions of people to just go about their life or their sport or their career as they want to and be comfortable in their own skin,”

Iga Swiatek ambushed by Haddad Maia in Canada

Brazilian outsider Beatriz Haddad Maia on Thursday toppled Iga Swiatek 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA Toronto Masters. The South American, ranked 24th in the world, beat her third top-10 opponent this season, but notched her first career win over a world No. 1 as she clawed out the victory in three hours. Haddad Maia, who won titles at Nottingham and Birmingham in June, became the first Brazilian to reach the quarters at a WTA 1000 tournament. She was the first from her country to face a No. 1 since Telian Pereira lost to Serena Williams at Roland Garros in 2016. Swiatek, whose six titles this season include the French Open, missed her chance at a 50th match win this year in the setback that comes two weeks before the start of the US Open. Her run of 23 straight wins at the Masters 1000 level was snapped in difficult playing conditions. “At the beginning, I struggled to find my rhythm, probably because she’s lefty and I had a hard time adjusting to her serve,” Swiatek said. “Without the wind I would manage, but it was pretty crazy out there. “In the third set I knew [the mistakes] I’d made. So I know what I want to work on and what I want to improve before the next tournament, for sure.” Haddad Maia put Swiatek on the defensive, forcing her to save 15 of 19 break points while committing nine double-faults. She limited her own unforced errors to a dozen, backed up by 23 winners while Swiatek ended with 33 winners and 28 unforced errors. “I’m happy and proud of myself and my team, it’s a special moment,” she said. “It’s not always easy to beat the No. 1 on a huge stage and against all the crowd. I think I passed through very