OTA hosts umpires course ahead of Davis Cup competition

Sports Wednesday 24/January/2018 18:58 PM
By: Times News Service
OTA hosts umpires course ahead of Davis Cup competition

Muscat: In an attempt to pick Omani line umpires for the forthcoming Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV competition, the Oman Tennis Association (OTA) has launched a two-day line umpires course at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher on Wednesday.
The course is being conducted by ITF-appointed chief umpire Essam Saleh from Egypt and he is assisted by Indian umpire Karthikeyan Venketeson.
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Oman Tennis Association Executive Director Salman Al Balushi, said: “There was a huge response for this line umpires course. Former tennis players and members of various clubs from across the Sultanate have shown interest and they were very eager to undergo the training. Encouraged by the huge response we have invited as many as 40 people from all over the country to take part in the course.”
“The course is mainly aimed at selecting Omani line umpires for the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV competition. But it is also an opportunity for the Oman Tennis Association to give Omanis a chance to become umpires and develop them for the future,” Salman, who is also the Tournament Co-ordinator, said.
The Oman Tennis Association is also invited a number of expatriates to be the line umpires during the tournament.
The OTA will be organising the 2018 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV competition from January 29 to February 3 with 12 teams vying for the two promotional sports to Group III.
Besides hosts Oman, the other teams are taking part in the competition are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Guam, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and United Arab Emirates.
Oman team will be represented by Mohammed Al Nabhani, Abdullah Hamdi Al Barwani, Younis Tufail Al Rawahi and Muneer Tufail Al Rawahi. Siddique Al Hashmi is the non-playing captain of the team.
The list of ITF-appointed umpires: Essam Saleh (Egypt), Wael Abbas (Egypt), Sergei Dubrov (Belarus), Leo Wang (China), Saman Hassani (Iran), Saibal Banerjee (India), Sina Ebrahimian (Iran), Karthikeyan Venketeson (India), Mohammed Abdullah (Qatar), Ali Almutairi (Kuwait), Jassim Akakah (Saudi Arabia) and Ronald Oduor (Kenya).
List of line umpires attending the course (all Omanis): Hood Hammod Al Julandani, Ayman Al Harrasi, Zuheir Al Toubi, Abdulhakim Al Hasani, Naserallah Al Hosni, Mazen Al Nassri, Hassan Al Busaidi, Sultan Al Muqbali, Musallam Al Harbi, Hani Ahmed Said Fadhil, Abdulrazzaq Saad Salim, Salim Al Falahi, Mohammed Al Braiki, Yousuf Al Falahi, Loay Al Hinai, Asad Al Hinai, Fatima Al Shidi, Omran Al Balushi, Mohammed Salman Al Balushi, Abdullah Ali Al Balushi, Said Nasser, Hamed Ayub, Hamed Salem Al Wahibi, Ouf Abdullah Al Mamari, Asaad Al Qarni, Yousif Saif, Abdulrahman Al Hajri, Faisal Al Balushi and Asad Saif.