RUGBY | Page 6 CRICKET | Page 7 All Blacks Sri Lanka to use triple limit hosts Barrett play West Indies to against France 153-5 at tea Thursday, June 7, 2018 FOOTBALL Ramadan 22, 1439 AH Dropping Man GULF TIMES City star Sane is a risk for Germany SPORT Page 2 ATHLETICS Barshim up for a ‘fi ght’ for supremacy in Oslo By Sports Reporter pion Danil Lysenko with 2.32m. Lysenko has closest to Javier Sotomayor’s 25-year-old Doha indoor eff orts of 2.37m and 2.36m this year, record of 2.45m, goes high enough to prove and would have blown away the cobwebs in the Cuban right, who earlier this year said his outdoor debut in Eugene. “only Barshim could break my mark”. I would rather lose jumping 2.45m “I came here to fi ght,” Barshim said ahead Also in action today is Barshim’s com- than winning with 2.30m for exam- of today’s Bislett Games. “I am greedy, I patriot Abderrahman Samba, who has ple,” Mutaz Barshim had said ahead want everything. I always speak to my coach screamed out of the blocks so far this year of the Diamond League season-open- before a competition and say, ‘coach if you and has cracked 48 seconds on each of his “er in Doha earlier this year. could give me one piece of advice what three outings in 400m hurdles. The most Like any champion the Qatari high jump would it be?’ but tomorrow he just said, ‘go recent of those came in Rome last week, star is hungry for quality competition that and jump, jump high,’ so hopefully I will do where Samba came from behind to win in an in turn also pushes him to do better. that.” Asian record of 47.48. And that’s exactly what Barshim, who With not many major championships Samba will be up against world cham- turns 27 later this month, is going to get lined up for this season Barshim said his pion Karsten Warholm, who has shown a when he lines up at the Oslo Diamond goals were very clear — records. particular liking for Bislett Stadium, having League event today. “I’m on the right approach to this and announced his arrival here last year when he The world champion and the 2017 Male hopefully it will go this year,” he said. “There set a national record of 48.25. World Athlete of the Year cleared 2.40m at aren’t too many championships to focus on In Rome, Warholm was quick in the fi rst home in May, becoming the only athlete to so my goal coming to every meet is records. 300 metres but conceded the lead to Sam- have hit the mark for six straight seasons, I want to go higher this year. I’m coming to ba. Yasmani Copello of Turkey and Kerron before winning in Eugene with 2.36m. do my best.” Clement, the reigning Olympic champion, Close on his heels was world indoor cham- For all you know, the man, who has come are also in the line-up. TENNIS / FRENCH OPEN Rain cuts short Rafa fi ghtback, Muguruza crushes Sharapova Spanish third seed, who was the champion in Paris in 2016, swept aside the Russian 6-2, 6-1 in an hour and 10 minutes AFP Paris afael Nadal was locked in a French Open quarter-fi nal tussle with Argentinian Di- Rego Schwartzman when rain ended play yesterday, after Gar- bine Muguruza thrashed Maria Sharapova to reach a last-four showdown with top seed Simona Halep. World number one Nadal lost his fi rst set at Roland Garros in three years, and when bad weath- er fi rst interrupted the match the 10-time champion was in serious trouble with Schwartzman up a break in the second. The players briefl y returned to the court, giving the 32-year- old Spaniard enough time to reel off three straight games, but the rains came again for a second and fi nal time when he was serving for the set. The match will resume today with Schwartzman leading 6-4, 3-5 (15-30). The winner of the match will play either third seed Marin Cilic or Schwartzman’s compatriot Juan Martin del Potro. Their last-eight match was level at 6-6 (5/5) in a fi rst-set tie- break on Court Suzanne Lenglen after Del Potro had earlier missed Spain’s Garbine Muguruza returns the ball to Russia’s Maria Sharapova (right) during their women’s singles quarter-final match on day eleven of fi ve break points. the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris yesterday. (AFP) Nadal had won 37 consecutive sets at Roland Garros since his blew a 40-15 lead, capped by two Rome Masters fi nal last month, Current number one Halep errors, was broken six times and 2015 quarter-fi nal defeat by No- wild forehands. managed three in a row this time made the semi-fi nals for the served six double faults in only vak Djokovic, but dropped serve The Court Philippe Chatrier, before play was ended for the day. third time by battling past Ger- her fi fth loss from 25 Grand Slam three times to the enterpris- which was half-full during Mu- many’s Angelique Kerber 6-7 (2), quarter-fi nals. ing Schwartzman in an exciting guruza’s dismantling of Shara- MUGURUZA CRUSHES 6-3, 6-2. “To have had the victories that opener. pova earlier in the afternoon, was SHARAPOVA Sharapova, playing at Roland I have had, to have the results that The 25-year-old took his third packed with a crowd living every Muguruza condemned Shara- Garros for the fi rst time since I have, obviously moving a step set point with a rasping forehand point when rain started to fall. pova to her heaviest Grand Slam 2015, suff ered her most one-sid- in the right direction,” said the up the line, after being made to Play continued though, with defeat in more than six years and ed defeat at the Slams since a 6-3, fi ve-time Grand Slam champion wait when a spectator fell ill in the set following a similar pat- will face top seed Simona Halep 6-0 loss to Victoria Azarenka in who had made the last-eight in the stands. tern to the fi rst, as Nadal broke for a place in the fi nal against ei- the 2012 Australian Open fi nal. Madrid and semis in Rome in the Nadal made 14 unforced er- back before dropping his serve ther Sloane Stephens or Madison “I am very pleased to be in an- run-up to Paris. rors and struck just four winners to 15. Keys. other fi nal in Paris,” said Mugu- “But today was certainly not in a poor fi rst set, before having The players were forced off the The Spanish third seed, who ruza who has yet to drop a set in one of those steps.” both of his wrists strapped by the court for 40 minutes, but when was the champion in Paris in the tournament and claimed her Two-time runner-up Halep trainer. they returned Nadal levelled for 2016, swept aside the Russian fi rst win over Sharapova in four came back from a set down for Schwartzman, who had nev- 3-3 and let out a trademark roar 6-2, 6-1 in just an hour and 10 meetings. the second time in the tourna- er even reached a Grand Slam of ‘vamos’. minutes. “I was up against a great player ment to see off 12th seed Kerber, quarter-fi nal until last year’s US The Spaniard, who won fi ve Her semi-fi nal with Halep will so I had to make sure I brought who was bidding to become the Open, broke fi rst in the second straight games after a rain delay also decide the world number my best tennis.” fi rst German woman in the last- Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman became the first man to take a set off set as Nadal uncharacteristically to beat Alexander Zverev in the one spot next week. Sharapova made 27 unforced four since Steffi Graf in 1999. Spain’s Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in three years. (AFP) Gulf Times 2 Thursday, June 7, 2018 FOOTBALL WORLD CUP Russia says ready to thwart WC Dropping City star Sane security threats Moscow: Russia said yester- day it was ready to thwart any threats to the World Cup, which kicks off in Moscow next week, as a massive is a risk for Germany security eff ort ramps up. The security “measures are really unprecedented... They are based on our experience with Forward has not repeated his league form for Germany and Brandt off ers more tactical flexibility such events and we have also studied international By Martin Laurence experience,” said Alexei The Guardian Lavrishchev, head of security operations in the FSB domes- tic security service. here have been a number of At least 600,000 interna- surprising omissions from tional visitors are expected to World Cup squads this summer travel to Russia for the World – Mauro Icardi, Radja Nainggo- Cup, which will see matches Tlan, Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere among played in 11 cities from June them – but Joachim Löw’s decision to 14 through July 15. Russia leave Leroy Sané at home has undoubt- hosted the 2014 Winter Olym- edly been the biggest. The PFA Young pics in Sochi, which went off Player of the Year and Premier League without a hitch.