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WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015
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PAKISTAN’S RAZA BANNED FOR FAILING DRUGS TEST Pakistan’s cricket board on Monday banned left-arm spinner Raza Hasan, who played one One-day International and 10 Twenty20 matches for the national side, for two years after he failed a dope test in a domestic competition. >C2
Le Guen ‘committed’ to Oman team, but at the same time said that he did not find any young footballers who can get a direct entry to the senior squad. “I have been watching the junior players. I found them good but not good enough to represent the nation,” he said. Mohammed Mubarak Al Nagashi, Saud Khamis Al Farsi, Ahmed Khalfan Al Siyabi (all from Sur Club) and Yaseen Khalil Al Shiyadi of Al Suwaiq Club are the under-22 players named among the 26 probables.
Oman national football coach Paul Le Guen said he respects his contract with Oman Football Association while announcing the list
Al Maimani in technical staff Meanwhile, Le Guen also said that former star and Gulf Cup winner Badr Al Maimani will be part of his technical staff from now on. Oman national team will also play two friendlies against Bahrain in Manama on May 30 and against Syria in Muscat on June 5. “We will travel to Bangalore, India, on June 6 and have a conditioning camp there to get acclimatised,” he said.
of Oman probables for the World Cup qualifiers, starting on June 11 against India. Oman will prepare for the qualifiers with friendlies against Bahrain and Syria CANDID TALK: Oman national coach Paul Le Guen, centre, flanked by Mohammed Al Alawi, left, and Khamis Al Balushi reveals plans on the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. – ISMAIL AL FARSI / Times of Oman
T.K. MOHANDOSS sportseditor@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Frenchman Paul Le Guen categorically stated on Monday that he has no intention to quit and he is here to stay as Oman national team coach. “I am a man of commitment. I have a contract with Oman football and I respect it,” said the shrewd French coach, while announcing the list of Oman probables for the World Cup qualifiers at the Oman Football Association headquarters at the Seeb Sports Stadium. “As long as the contract is valid, I will be a dedicated soldier of Oman and when it expires, I will leave politely. I did receive many offers but I am obliged to my contract,” said Le Guen, adding that Asian Cup re-
sults must not be a judging factor. “We lost to top teams like Australia and South Korea and I still don’t think comparatively Oman football has reached the level of standard of both those teams. Their players play in top leagues around the world and Oman league is still way behind,” he said. “We can hope for many things, we can dream too. But we need to be realistic in football,” he added, saying that there is no scope of complaining. Le Guen also cited the example of Philippe Burle, who had been the under-22 coach and was shown the door after failures. “Burle returned to coach Al Arouba Club (OPL and HM’s Cup winners this season) and see how
he is been rated now,” Le Guen quipped. “I repeat, if I feel I am not the man for the situation, then I will leave,” said Le Guen. “There can be many situations, but it is not certainly necessary to feel guilty.” Still under pressure When queried whether he still was under tremendous pressure, the Oman coach nodded an affirmative yes. “Yes pressure stays all the time, but we need to build on it and deliver,” he said. Braving the calls for his ouster after Oman’s early exit in the Asian Cup finals, Paul Le Guen is back into business with the World Cup qualifiers looming, which also doubles up as the qualifier for the
Asian Cup 2019. This time around the qualifiers have a new format. Unlike the past qualifying campaign for Brazil 2014, the jousting for Russia 2018 also serves as qualification for the next Asian Cup. As a result, the eight group winners, as well as the four best runners-up, will receive double rewards. Wary of India Le Guen said he is starting afresh and will hope to get the best result possible. Oman is placed in Group D with India, Iran, Turkmenistan and Guam and will open their campaign against India on June 11 in Bangalore. Though Le Guen is confident of passing the first hurdle, he is indeed wary of playing India at
home. “I will not take them lightly, but I believe we will progress from this group without much hiccups. My immediate aim is to target the top two places in Group D,” he said. However, he is worried about the playing surface in Bangalore. “Team manager Mohammed Al Alawi had visited the Sree Kanteerawa stadium ground recently found the surface uneven and bumpy,” said the coach. Later Mohammed Al Awai too said the India’s English coach Stephen Constantine too expressed his unhappiness over the surface. “Apart from that we also need to worry about the weather,” Le Guen added. Meanwhile, Le Guen said that he has picked four players from the Olympic (under-22)
Probables Ali Al Habsi, Faiz Issa Al Rashdi (Saham), Riyad Sabait Al Alawi (Al Arouba), Saad Suhail Al Makhaini (Al Arouba), Ali Salim Bait Al Nahar (Dhofar), Ahmed Saleem Al Makhani (Al Arouba), Fahad Nasib Bamasela (Al Nasr), Abdulsalam Amer Al Makhaini (Al Kuwait), Mohammed Saleh Al Musalami (Fanja), Ali Suleiman Al Busaidi (Al Nahda), Nasser Ali Al Shamali (Al Arouba), Ahmed Mubarak ‘Kanu’ (Al Arouba), Ali Hilal Al Gabri (Fanja), Eid Mohammed Al Farsi (Al Arouba), Mohsin Jawahar Al Khaldi (Saham), Raid Ibrahim Saleh (Fanja), Hussein Ali Al Hadari (Dhofar), Fahad Khamis Al Galboubi (Saham), Mohammed Mubarak Al Nagashi (Sur), Abdulaziz Humaid Al Miqbali (Al Kuwait), Abdulrehman Saleh Al Gasani (Fanja), Qasim Said Sangour (Al Nasr), Imad Al Hosni (Saham), Yaseen Khalil Al Shiyadi (Suwaiq), Saud Khamis Al Farsi (Sur) and Ahmed Khalfan Al Siyabi (Sur).
FRENCH OPEN
Advancing Sharapova jeered off court, Azarenka returns with win PARIS: Defending women’s champion Maria Sharapova reached the French Open second round on Monday but was jeered by fans after she refused to carry out an on-court TV interview. Second-seeded Sharapova defeated experienced Estonian Kaia Kanepi, who was a quarter-finalist three years ago, 6-2, 6-4 to set-up a clash against Fed Cup teammate Vitalia Diatchenko. But the 27-year-old Sharapova then irritated the Philippe Chatrier Court crowd by refusing to carry out the traditional on-court television interview, claiming her voice was not strong enough. Sharapova took her record against Kanepi to 5-0 but struggled at times on Monday in the testing wind which swirled around the showpiece arena. Meanwhile, ex-world number two and 2012 Wimbledon runnerup Agnieszka Radwanska was a shock first-round loser. The Polish 14th seed, a quarterfinalist in 2013, went down 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to Germany’s Annika Beck, a player she defeated 6-0, 6-0 when they met at Indian Wells last year. The loss was only the third time in 34 Grand Slam tournaments that 26-year-old Radwanska had lost in the first round. “Maybe I’m getting older,” said the tearful Pole. World number four Tomas Berdych, a 2010 semifinalist, continued his solid claycourt season with a 6-0, 7-5, 6-3 win over Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka, the world number 146. The 29-year-old Berdych will now face Davis Cup-winning teammate Radek Stepanek, the oldest man in the draw at 36, for a place in the last 32. “It is always good to have the first one down and now I’ll just keep focusing on my next opponent,” said fourth-seeded Berdych. Stepanek became the oldest man to win a match at Roland Garros since 38-year-old Jimmy
It is always good to have the first one down and now I’ll just keep focusing on my next opponent
Tomas Berdych
Czech Republic
Connors in 1991 when he saw off Croatian journeyman Ivan Dodig 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Lopez loses Spain’s 11th seed Feliciano Lopez was the biggest men’s casualty so far when he lost to Russian world number 74 Teymuraz Gabashvili, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9), 6-3. Australia saw their three brightest prospects all make it to the second round. Nineteen-year-old wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 while 27th seed Bernard Tomic saw off Italy’s Luca Vanni 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Kokkinakis and Tomic will face off for a place in the third round where top seed Novak Djokovic will likely be waiting. Nick Kyrgios, the 29th-seeded Australian who beat Roger Feder-
er in Madrid earlier this month, eased past Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. In the women’s event, Spanish eighth seed Carla Suarez Navarro, a quarterfinalist in 2008 and 2014, beat Romania’s Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-2. There were home wins for French 29th seed Alize Cornet, who defeated Roberta Vinci 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 for her first victory over the veteran Italian in five attempts, and wildcard Amandine Hesse, ranked 272, who hit back to beat Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Hesse’s reward is a secondround match-up with 2010 runner-up Samantha Stosur, the winner in Strasbourg at the weekend, who defeated Madison Brengle of the United States 6-1, 6-3. Virginie Razzano, playing in her 17th French Open, edged
out Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Worried by exacerbating a stomach strain, Razzano served underhand at one stage, losing the point in the process. German 11th seed Angelique Kerber, the champion on clay in Charleston and Stuttgart this season, needed just 50 minutes to make the second round. Kerber, a quarterfinalist in 2012, brushed asided Timea Babos of Hungary 6-0, 6-1. Former world number one Victoria Azarenka, who missed last year’s Roland Garros through injury, marked her return by beating Spain’s María-Teresa Torró-Flor 6-2, 6-1. Croatia’s Ana Konjuh, the youngest woman in the draw at 17, made the next round with a 6-1, 6-4, win over Russian qualifier Margarita Gasparyan. — AFP
EASY GOING: Russia’s Maria Sharapova celebrates after winning her match against Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi during the women’s first round of the French Open tennis at Roland Garros. – AFP