Nominations Announced For Davis Cup By BNP Paribas World Group First Round And Zone Group Ties

Nominations Announced For Davis Cup By BNP Paribas World Group first Round And Zone Group Ties

The ITF has announced the official team nominations for the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round and Zone Group ties taking place on 6-8 March. A total of 33 ties will be held next week.

Live scoring for the World Group first round ties will be available on the official Davis Cup website throughout the weekend. In addition, the English and Spanish versions of the website will feature a live blog, reports, photographs, audio interviews and live streaming. There will also be a fan zone showing the best social media content on http://www.daviscup.com/showyourcolours

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

GERMANY v FRANCE
Venue: Fraport Arena, Frankfurt, GER (hard – indoor)

Germany
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Benjamin Becker
Jan-Lennard Struff
Andre Begemann
Captain: Michael Kohlmann

France
Gilles Simon
Gael Monfils
Richard Gasquet
Nicolas Mahut
Captain: Arnaud Clement

GREAT BRITAIN v USA
Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow, GBR (hard – indoor)

Great Britain
Andy Murray
James Ward
Dominic Inglot
Jamie Murray
Captain: Leon Smith

USA
John Isner
Donald Young
Mike Bryan
Bob Bryan
Captain: Jim Courier

CZECH REPUBLIC v AUSTRALIA
Venue: Cez Arena, Ostrava, CZE (hard – indoor)

Czech Republic
Lukas Rosol
Jiri Vesely
Jan Mertl
Adam Pavlasek
Captain: Jaroslav Navratil

Australia
Nick Kyrgios
Bernard Tomic
Samuel Groth
Lleyton Hewitt
Captain: Wally Masur

KAZAKHSTAN v ITALY
Venue: National Tennis Centre, Astana, KAZ (hard – indoor)

Kazakhstan
Mikhail Kukushkin
Andrey Golubev
Aleksandr Nedovyesov
Dmitry Popko
Captain: Dias Doskarayev

Italy
Fabio Fognini
Andreas Seppi
Simone Bolelli
Paolo Lorenzi
Captain: Corrado Barazzutti

ARGENTINA v BRAZIL
Venue: Tecnopolis, Buenos Aires, ARG (clay – outdoor)

Argentina
Leonardo Mayer
Federico Delbonis
Diego Schwartzmann
Carlos Berlocq
Captain: Daniel Orsanic

Brazil
Thomaz Bellucci
Joao Souza
Marcelo Melo
Bruno Soares
Captain: Joao Zwetsch

SERBIA v CROATIA
Venue: Kraljevo Sports Centre, Kraljevo, SRB (hard – indoor)

Serbia
Novak Djokovic
Viktor Troicki
Filip Krajinovic
Nenad Zimonjic
Captain: Bogdan Obradovic

Croatia
Marin Cilic
Borna Coric
Mate Delic
Marin Draganja
Captain: Zeljko Krajan

CANADA v JAPAN
Venue: Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, Vancouver, CAN (hard – indoor)

Canada
Milos Raonic
Vasek Pospisil
Frank Dancevic
Daniel Nestor
Captain: Martin Laurendeau

Japan
Kei Nishikori
Go Soeda
Tatsuma Ito
Yasutaka Uchiyama
Captain: Minoru Ueda

BELGIUM v SWITZERLAND
Venue: Country Hall du Sart Tilman, Liege, BEL (hard – indoor)

Belgium
David Goffin
Steve Darcis
Ruben Bemelmans
Niels Desein
Captain: Johan van Herck

Switzerland
Yann Marti
Adrien Bossel
Henri Laaksonen
Michael Lammer
Captain: Severin Luthi

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France at practice before the Davis Cup final between France and Switzerland, at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille, on November 19, 2014. Photo by Corinne Dubreuil/ABACAPRESS.COM

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

BARBADOS v DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Venue: National Tennis Centre, St Michael, BAR (hard – outdoor)

Barbados
Darian King
Haydn Lewis
Seanon Williams
Russell Moseley
Captain: Kevin Yarde

Dominican Republic
Victor Estrella
Jose Hernandez
Jose Olivares
Manuel Castellanos
Captain: Rafael Moreno

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I SECOND ROUND

URUGUAY v COLOMBIA
Venue: Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club, Montevideo, URU (clay – outdoor)

Uruguay
Pablo Cuevas
Martin Cuevas
Rodrigo Senattore
Ariel Behar
Captain: Enrique Perez-Cassarino

Colombia
Santiago Giraldo
Alejandro Gonzalez
Juan-Sebastian Cabal
Robert Farah
Captain: Mauricio Hadad

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

THAILAND v KOREA, REP.
Venue: The National Tennis Development Center, Nonthaburi, THA (hard – outdoor)

Thailand
Danai Udomchoke
Warit Sornbutnark
Sanchai Ratiwatana
Sonchat Ratiwatana
Captain: Paradorn Srichaphan

Korea, Rep.
Chung Hyeon
Nam Ji Sung
Lim Yong-Kyu
Song Min-Kyu
Captain: Roh Gap-Taik

NEW ZEALAND v CHINA, P.R.
Venue: ASB Tennis Arena, Auckland, NZL (hard – outdoor)

New Zealand
Michael Venus
Jose Statham
Marcus Daniell
Artem Sitak
Captain: Alistair Hunt

China, P.R.
Zhang Ze
Wu Di
Li Zhe
Gong Mao-xin
Captain: Jiang Hong-Wei

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

RUSSIA v DENMARK
Venue: Sport Complex Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg, Novy Urengoy, RUS (hard – indoor)

Russia
Andrey Kuznetsov
Evgeny Donskoy
Konstantin Kravchuk
Andrey Rublev
Captain: Shamil Tarpischev

Denmark
Frederik Nielsen
Martin Pedersen
Soren Hess-Olesen
Thomas Kromann
Captain: Kenneth Carlsen

SWEDEN v AUSTRIA
Venue: Idrottshuset Orebro, Orebro, SWE (hard – indoor)

Sweden
Elias Ymer
Christian Lindell
Robert Lindstedt
Johan Brunstrom
Captain: Fredrik Rosengren

Austria
Andreas Haider-Maurer
Jurgen Melzer
Gerard Melzer
Alexander Peya
Captain: Stefan Koubek

SLOVAKIA v SLOVENIA
Venue: Aegon Arena National Tennis Centre, Bratislava, SVK (hard – indoor)

Slovakia
Martin Klizan
Lukas Lacko
Norbert Gombos
Igor Zelenay
Captain: Miloslav Mecir

Slovenia
Blaz Kavcic
Tom Kocevar-Desman
Mike Urbanija
Grega Zemlja
Captain: Blaz Trupej

ROMANIA v ISRAEL
Venue: Sala Transilvania, Sibui, ROU (clay – indoor)

Romania
Adrian Ungur
Marius Copil
Horia Tecau
Florin Mergea
Captain: Andrei Pavel

Israel
Dudi Sela
Bar Tzuf Botzer
Edan Leshem
Jonathan Erlich
Captain: Eyal Ran

POLAND v LITHUANIA
Venue: Orlen Arena, Plock, POL (hard – indoor)

Poland
Jerzy Janowicz
Lukasz Kubot
Kamil Majchrzak
Marcin Matkowski
Captain: Radoslaw Szymanik

Lithuania
Ricardas Berankis
Laurynas Grigelis
Lukas Mugevicius
Mantas Bugailiskis
Captain: Rimvydas Mugevicius

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

VENEZUELA v COSTA RICA
Venue: Cancha Oswaldo Merlin, Caracas, VEN (hard – outdoor)

Venezuela
Ricardo Rodriguez
Luis David Martinez
David Souto
Roberto Maytin
Captain: Jose de Armas

Costa Rica
Julian Saborio
Ignaci Roca
Pablo Nunez
Alvaro Daniel Riveros
Captain: Kenneth Thome Bolanos

PUERTO RICO v EL SALVADOR
Venue: Palmas del Mar Tennis Club, Humacao, PUR (hard – outdoor)

Puerto Rico
Alex Llompart
Gabriel Flores Ruiz
Stephen Diaz
Christian Garay
Captain: Jorge F. Gonzalez

El Salvador
Marcelo Arevalo
Rafael Arevalo
Alberto Emmanuel Alvarado Larin
Rafa Orantes
Captain: Miguel Merz

MEXICO v BOLIVIA
Venue: Cancha Estadio Lorenzo Molina Casares, Merida, MEX (hard – outdoor)

Mexico
Daniel Garza
Tigre Hank
Miguel-Angel Reyes-Varela
Santiago Gonzalez
Captain: Leonardo Lavalle

Bolivia
Hugo Dellien
Federico Zeballos
Rodrigo Banzer
Alejandro Mendoza
Captain: Mauricio Solis

CHILE v PERU
Venue: Club Palestino, Santiago, CHI (clay – outdoor)

Chile
Hans Podlipnik-Castillo
Nicolas Jarry
Gonzalo Lama
Christian Garin
Captain: Nicolas Massu

Peru
Duilio Beretta
Juan Pablo Varillas Patino-Samudio
Sergio Galdos
Duilio Vallebuona
Captain: Pablo Arraya

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

CHINESE TAIPEI v LEBANON
Venue: Kaohsiung Yangming Tennis Courts, Kaohsiung City, TPE (hard – outdoor)

Chinese Taipei
Lu Yen-Hsun
Hung Jui-Chen
Wang Chieh-Fu
Ho Chih-Jen
Captain: Tsai Chia-Yen

Lebanon
Karim Alayli
Ibrahim Abou Chahine
Patrick Chucri
Playing Captain: Hussein Badreddine

PHILIPPINES v SRI LANKA
Venue: Valle Verde Country Club, Pasig, PHI (clay – indoor)

Philippines
Patrick-John Tierro
Treat Huey
Ruben Gonzales
Francis Casey Alcantara
Captain: Roland Kraut

Sri Lanka
Sharmal Dissanayake
Harshana Godamanna
Dineshkanthan Thangarajah
Sankha Atukorale
Captain: Rohan de Silva

INDONESIA v IRAN
Venue: Bukit Asam Tennis Court, Palembang, INA (hard – outdoor)

Indonesia
Christopher Rungkat
Sunu-Wahyu Trijati
David Agung Susanto
Aditya Hari Sasongko
Captain: Roy Therik

Iran
Anoosha Shahgholi
Mohsen Hossein Zade
Amirvala Madanchi
Shahin Khaledan
Captain: Saeid Ahmadvand

PAKISTAN v KUWAIT
Venue: Sri Lanka Tennis Association, Colombo, SRI (clay – outdoor)

Pakistan
Aisam Qureshi
Aqeel Khan
Mohammad Abid Ali Khan Akbar
Ahmed Choudhary
Captain: Rashid Malik

Kuwait
Mohammad Ghareeb
Ali Ghareeb
Hassan Al Mousa
Naser Al Obaidly
Captain: Adel Al Shatti

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

TURKEY v SOUTH AFRICA
Venue: Mersin Tenis Kompleksi, Mersin, TUR (hard – indoor)

Turkey
Marsel Ilhan
Cem Ilkel
Baris Erguden
Anil Yuksel
Captain: Haluk Akkoyun

South Africa
Fritz Wolmarans
Tucker Vorster
Ruan Roelofse
Raven Klaasen
Captain: Earl Grainger

IRELAND v BELARUS
Venue: Castleknock Tennis Club, Dublin, IRL (hard – indoor)

Ireland
Sam Barry
Daniel Glancy
James Cluskey
David O’Hare
Captain: Conor Niland

Belarus
Egor Gerasimov
Dzmitry Zhyrmont
Alexander Bury
Siarhei Betau
Captain: Vladimir Voltchkov

PORTUGAL v MOROCCO
Venue: Centro Desportivo do Jamor, Cruz Quebrada, POR (hard – indoor)

Portugal
Joao Sousa
Rui Machado
Frederico Ferreira Silva
Joao Domingues
Captain: Nuno Marques

Morocco
Lamine Ouahab
Yassine Idmbarek
Mehdi Jdi
Younes Rachidi
Captain: Mehdi Tahiri

MONACO v FINLAND
Venue: Monte Carlo Country Club, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, MON (clay – outdoor)

Monaco
Benjamin Balleret
Romain Arneodo
Thomas Oger
Guillaume Couillard
Captain: Christophe Boggetti

Finland
Jarkko Nieminen
Micke Kontinen
Henrik Sillanpaa
Henri Kontinen
Captain: Kim Tiilikainen

ZIMBABWE v BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA
Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare, ZIM (hard – outdoor)

Zimbabwe
Takanyi Garanganga
Benjamin Lock
Mark Fynn
Wayne Black
Captain: Martin Dzuwa

Bosnia/Herzegovina
Damir Dzumhur
Mirza Basic
Tomislav Brkic
Nerman Fatic
Captain: Amer Delic

HUNGARY v MOLDOVA
Venue: Gyor Varosi Egyetemi Csarnok, Gyor, HUN (hard – indoor)

Hungary
Marton Fucsovics
Peter Nagy
Gabor Borsos
Levente Godry
Captain: Zoltan Kuharszky

Moldova
Radu Albot
Andrei Ciumac
Andrei Gorban
Maxim Bulat
Captain: Iurie Gorban

LUXEMBOURG v MADAGSCAR
Venue: Centre National de Tennis, Esch-sur-Alzette,LUX (hard – indoor)

Luxembourg
Gilles Muller
Ugo Nastasi
Gilles Kremer
Mike Scheidweiler
Captain: Johny Goudenbour

Madagascar
Antso Rakotondramanga
Lofo Ramiaramanana
Tony Rajaobelina
Jean-Jacques Rakotohasy
Captain: Thierry Rajaobelina

LATVIA v BULGARIA
Tenisa Centrs Lielupe, Jurmala, LAT (hard – indoor)

Latvia
Aleksandar Lazov
Dimitar Kuzmanov
Tihomir Grozdanov
Ilia Kushev
Captain: tbc

Bulgaria
Alexandar Lazov
Dimitar Kuzmanov
Tihomir Grozdanov
Ilia Kushev
Captain: Todor Enev

SWAN FCT Chapter Congratulates Patrick Ngwaogu On His Election Into FCT FA Board.

The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN, FCT chapter, has congratulated one of its members Mr. Patrick Ngwaogu who on Monday emerged the Vice Chairman 1, of the FCT Football Association in an election conducted in Abuja.

The chairman SWAN FCT chapter, Kayode Adeniyi while speaking after results of the elections were announced, urged Ngwaogu to work with the newly elected FCT FA board members to engineer improvement in the game around the Federal Capital Territory.

“I’m happy we have a sports writer on the board of the FCT FA, it is a good development for the game not only in the FCT but to Nigeria in total, because it will afford the general public further opportunity to know what the FA is doing at every particular time.

We expect Ngwaogu, who is a seasoned sports journalist, having worked with different media houses covering sports for over 20 years to bring his experience to bear in the elected board.” Said Kayode

The elections into the Board of the FCT Football Association which was conducted in Abuja on Monday February 23, 2015, saw two sports journalists based in the capital city contest for positions. While Mr. Ngwaogu contested for the position of Vice Chairman 1, which he won, Tolu Oguntimehin also a seasoned sports journalist in the FCT vied for board membership representing the Nigeria National League clubs in FCT and lost by a single vote.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Musa Sa’eed Talle was returned unopposed as the Chairman, FCT Football Association Board.

WARRI WOLVES TO PLAY ON SATURDAY

The second leg of the CAF Confederation cracker between Warri Wolves and Racing Bobo Dioulasso earlier fixed for Sunday, 1st March has been moved back by a day and will now hold on the 28th, February at the Warri City Stadium.

In a similar development, a 29 man delegation from the visiting team will arrive Warri on Thursday from Burkina Faso for the match which promises to be exciting and explosive with Warri Wolves having a slight advantage of winning the first leg by a lone goal Immediately after the first leg in Dioulasso, Racing Bobo FC officials had promised to turn the table in Warri and to see to their dream, a 2 man advanced team arrived Warri on Tuesday to prepare grounds for the team’s arrival.

“The match will hold on Saturday which is the 28th of February even though our normal day of playing our home matches is Sunday but there is no cause for alarm We are really ready for them because after the match in Dioulasso, they promised to turn the table in Warri, so we are not taking them for granted.

They have a good team. A 29 man delegation will arrive Warri on Thursday and on Saturday, all things being equal, the match will take place. 2 of their staff arrived Warri on Tuesday to begin preparations for their arrival and that shows they are serious. We want the fans to come in thousands and make the stadium uncomfortable for them with their noise and support. Hopefully, with the level of preparation, we will scale through. said Etu Moses who is the Media Manager of the team

Golden Eaglets: Amuneke Admits Tough Test Against Amajimbos

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final clash against the Amajimbos of South Africa, Golden Eaglets’ Head Coach Emmanuel Amuneke admitted in an interview with the Team Media Officer (TMO), Morakinyo Abodunrin, that it would be a keen contest but insisted his boys would grind another win and qualify for a consecutive African U-17 Championship Final Match. Excerpts ….

At some point during the preparation for this championship, you predicted that Nigeria would most likely meet South Africa, are you happy now that you are both meeting in the semi-finals?

We are okay and first, we are grateful to God that we are privileged to be in the semi-final. If you remember we were to play them in a friendly match in Kaduna but unfortunately, it did not take place. Now we are going to play them in the semi final and we are optimistic. We have worked very hard to reach this stage and we just have to remain focused; and in the field of play, we have to do our job. Let us see how it goes but our dream is to win the semi final (against South Africa) and proceed to the final. Like I kept on saying, only God knows because our journey is not in any man’s hand but in the hands of
the Lord. As human beings, we only have to do our job and leave the rest to God to pilot the journey.

Golden Eaglets bench – Emmanuel Amuneke, Kabiru Baleria, Emeka Amadi

Nigeria has not lost to South Africa in a competitive match, how are
you going to keep this record at the U-17 level?

We are not trying to keep any record but what we would be trying to do is to win our game (on Wednesday). But we should not forget that the South Africans are good to be among the last four teams at this competition and would be representing the African continent at the World Cup (in Chile). If you look at their game, you will know that it is a well-structured team regardless of the fact that they might not be scoring lots of goals. It a team that it is a well disciplined side; and they are patient about what they are playing and they stick to their ideas and concepts. So, it is left to us to come up with an idea
and formula to play them so that they would know that we are a very good side too. This is a total different scenario and we are not interested in saying we have not lost to them or we have lost to them
before. What is most important for us is that God’s willing tomorrow; we are able to secure our journey to the final.

The South Africans are here for the first time, are you impressed with
what they have been able to do here?

Yes, we must give both their coaches and players credit. I was privileged to watch two of their games; they were leading Cote d’Ivoire but unfortunately, the game ended 2-2 and in the other game, they were losing and they fought back to finish at 2-2. So it shows the depth and strength of the team; it a team that likes to play; look for solution and they have some quality players particularly their top striker who can shield the ball very well. But we have to find a way to contain them and make sure that in the middle, we struggle the up balls with them. If we can play our own game, it would become much easier for us and t is our hope that our boys would be in the right frame of mind and be able to carry out the task.

Before the game against Zambia, you identified a particular player who could give the Golden Eaglets lot of worries and you provided an antidote for him; have you also identified players in the South African team that could give your boys lot of worries?

They have about four or five players that are very good in that team; apart from the striker (Loph Willy Gohore) that can protect the ball very well ; their strength is in the midfield with the captain( Nelson Malueke); No.5 ( Athenkosi Dlala) who is very defensive but generally, they like to circulate the ball in the midfield . Against Zambia, we identified some players and our boys were able to listen and carried out our instructions. Likewise tomorrow (against South Africa); we would plan and play as a team.

What is your joker for South Africa?
My joker is for us to win (laughter)

One of your key defenders, Lukman Halilu, has been ruled out of this encounter, is it going to have a reflection on the game and are you going to miss him?

Yes, if we have our way, we would have loved to have all our players’ available going into this match. But we must be ready for all the inconveniences that the game brings. This is one of those inconveniences when one of our key players is not going to play the next game. Hopefully, we would find the solution and find other players who can also do the same job.

Golden Eaglets coach Emmanuel Amuneke

Have you gotten a replacement for him (Halilu)?

For the moment, we are evaluating and observing all the players; and after our last training today (Tuesday) we would look at the team deeply and be able to come out with a plan against South Africa.

This game is just hours away, what is your prediction?

I don’t like to predict but I’m optimistic; or make noise about any game but I’m optimistic that we are going to win .But for us to win, we have to work very hard because hard work is the key to success. We have worked and pushed ourselves; we have gotten angry with ourselves; encouraged we and we would continue to inspire ourselves. Hopefully, God will lead us to what he has planned already planned for us.

Lagos Organises Evening Of Tributes For Okoya-Thomas

To celebrate the giant strides made by late Sir Chief (Dr) Molade Okoya-Thomas, sports philanthropist, the Lagos State Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development, Office of Sports is organising an Evening of Tributes by the Sports Family.

In a statement issued yesterday, the event holds at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere on Tuesday March 3 between 4.00pm to 6.00pm.

Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium

According to the Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Wahid Oshodi, the late philanthropist was a role model for a lot of Lagosians for his generousity and support for grassroots sports development in the State, adding that he would surely be missed especially by the sports family.

Okoya-Thomas’ contribution to sports in Lagos and Nigeria cannot be underestimated as he single-handedly sponsored the annual Asoju Oba Table Tennis Cup for more than four decades as the longest running table tennis competition in Africa.

Before his demise on February 1, he was the Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Endowment Fund, served as Chairman on many sports fund raising committees and was instrumental to the formation of Team Nigeria in 2003.

Eguma Prepares For Life Without Eduok

Dolphins head coach, Stanley Eguma is already prepared for life without Emem Eduok in the coming football season.

As the club prepares for Saturday’s 2nd leg 1st round CAF Confederation Cup clash against Leones Vegetarianos FC in Port Harcourt, Eguma extols the virtues of Emem saying his departure is a big loss for the club.

“In football, players come and go and clubs eventually replace those who depart,” Eguma said.

“The thing is that Emem does not fall in the category of players that you can easily replace.

“We tried to get Peter Ebimobowei soon after his departure was confirmed but unfortunately for us and fortunately for Peter he secured another deal outside the country which was beneficial to him,” Eguma said.

Emem Eduok

Dolphins eventually settled for Christian Pyagbara who crossed from city neighbours, Sharks to team up with the duo of Ifeanyi Egwim and Omo Johnson who were with the team last season.

“Pyagbara is one player that can comfortably fit into the shoes Emem left behind and I’m happy about it.

“He has a knack for scoring goals and he did so last season so we hope will continue that way this season especially in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Dolphins Coach: Stanley Eguma

“Ifeanyi Egwim has been with us for some time and though he didn’t do too well last season we hope he will pick up this season,” Eguma said.

“Omo Johnson is another striker we have and I must say we are gradually getting to replace Emem and by the time these players click we may forget the name of Eduok,” Eguma said.

38 year old Samsonov wins record 26th ITTF World Tour Title in Qatar

Belarusian Vladimir SAMSONOV has sensationally won his 26th ITTF World Tour title at the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Super Series Qatar Open.

The 38 year old responded to China’s MA Long closing in on his record after he won the Kuwait Open last week, by showing vintage form to defeat Olympic bronze medalist Dimitrij OVTCHAROV 11-9, 11-8, 15-13, 6-11, 11-9 in the final.

This was a dramatically different SAMSONOV who lost in the opening round of last week’s Kuwait Open to turn around his form to taste Qatar Open success, just as he did in 2003 when he was world number one.

“I was down in the first game and won, but I think more importantly I was 4-8 behind in the third game and won; that was the crucial game in the match” stated SAMSONOV.

“Dima (OVTCHAROV) and myself, we know each other so well, we both play for the same club in the Russian League. I wanted to win and I am really happy that I won. I won in 2003 but I didn’t expect to win this year; Qatar is always a strong tournament and this year I played well from the very start.”

The number seven seed, Romanian Elizabeta SAMARA shocked the strong women’s field to become the women’s champion.

Samsonov smashes his way to this 26th ITTF World Tour title in Qatar.

The 25 year old from Constanta, Romania, marked a spectacular recovery from knee surgery in November to upset the number three seed HAN Ying (GER) in the final: 11-6, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9.

“During the match, my coach just told me to be calm, to relax and not to panic because I had never beaten HAN before” stated SAMARA.

“This victory means a lot to me, as it is my first Super Series title and my third World Tour victory overall. Plus my first one since my knee operation!”

Marcos FREITAS (POR) and Andrej GACINA (CRO) won the men’s doubles title, after beating the Brazilian pair of Hugo CALDERANO and Gustavo TSUBOI 11-3, 11-5, 12-10. The Brazilians have made history by becoming the first ever Latin Americans to reach an ITTF World Tour Super Series Final.

Hong Kong’s JIANG Huajun and TIE Yana were the women’s doubles champions. The Hong Kong pair who won their fourth World Tour title here in Doha defeated Singapore’s LIN Ye and ZHOU Yihan 11-3, 11-9, 11-8 in the final.

Benjamin BROSSIER of France and Romania’s Bernadette SZOCS won the respective under 21 men’s Singles and under 21 women’s singles titles to close out the gold medals at the GAC Group 2015 World Tour Super Series Qatar Open.

The next stop on the GAC Group ITTF World Tour is the Nigerian Open in Lagos on March 10 and the German Open in Bremen on March 18.

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Gambia volleyball federation “GVBF” launched this week the African Dream Project “Dr. Ary Graca Volleyball Development Program for Africa”

The Programme aims at having a common project mainly focusing on volleyball at school. The project will see the setting up of centers that will be used to develop and identify athletes at young age and arranging all the keys for their involvement later on to their corresponding Youth national teams.

The president of the federation Yunusa Barry thanked the FIVB president for the noble movement he has giving to the continent of Africa.

African Dream Project Begins in Gambia

“The African dream project is a stepping stone for the development of volleyball in country and will aid in promotion of the game to the grass root and will reassure mass involvement across the country,” Barry said. “It is expected to become a major power in the near future as we have lot of young people in the Gambia with the talent and strength to play the game.”

We are task with the mission to importantly discover players from the aim of creating talent centers this federation would not be able to do it alone thus we must involve relevant stakeholders like Ministries of sports and education and the national Olympic committee.

The minister of interior Ousman Sonko, who deputized the minister of sports, congratulated the executive of the Gambia volleyball federation and extended his sincere gratitude to the FIVB president. Sonko in his statements urged all the coordinators and coaches to select kid’s base on their potential regardless of tribe, race, religion or where they come from. For the coaches and the coaches ‘’to whom much is giving much is expected’’, these are our future volleyball stars, these are they future leaders to make good use of this project all hands most on the deck the interior minister stated.

He advised the kids to dedicate themselves to the project and maintain discipline throughout the four years. He concluded by officially launching the Project in the Gambia.

Four centers were identified across the country.
1. Banjul (Banjul City Council) coordinator Alagie Ceesay, Coach Ebrima Niass

2. Serre Kunda east (Kanifing Municipality) coordinator Alfousainey Jarju, Coach Alagie Babou Joof

3. Brikama (West Coast Region) coordinator Lamin A. Jammeh, Coach Pa Barrow

4. Farra Fenni (North Bank Region) coordinator Yankuba Manjang, coach Pa Amat Jeng

The launching was graced by Gambia national Olympic committee, ministry of youths and sports, national sports council, other national federations, volleyball lovers and sports journalists.

Muhammed L Saidykhan-Press Officer GVBF

Busari Ishola Retains Seat In Kwara State…As Alabi Takes Over In Ekiti State

Alhaji Busari Ishola successfully retained his seat as Chairman of the Kwara State Football Association at elections conducted in Ilorin on Tuesday morning.

The elections, supervised by Member of the NFF Executive Committee and chairman of the Finance Committee, Otunba Dele Ajayi and Dr. Christian Emeruwa (Assistant Chief Sports Officer), saw 12 of the eligible 14 delegates casting ‘yes’ votes for Ishola. The two other delegates were absent from the polls.

Mr. S. A. Fowomola also received 12 votes to become the vice chairman, while Bolaji Yahaya, Toyin Olokooba, Idris Jibril Etsu, Dayo Ayodele, Yusuf Mohammed, I. Oloruntoba and Lawal Wasiu also won seats on the executive board.

Alabi Takes Over In Ekiti State

Ayodeji Desmond Alabi is the new chairman of Ekiti State Football Association after defeating incumbent Dr. Isaac Ayodele at the elections conducted in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday.

Alabi polled 16 votes to Ayodele’s three, and in the same vein, Mr. Ariyo became the first vice chairman after polling 16 votes to Oloworemon’s three.