Latest news with #Morocco-born
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Abdeslam Ouaddou vows to revive ‘Happy People' spirit as Orlando Pirates face crucial Mamelodi Sundowns test
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou concedes the club's fans are not living up to their 'Happy People' moniker at the moment — something he and the team are determined to change. Pirates were expected to start the season strongly, and early signs supported those expectations after they progressed to the MTN8 semi-finals. However, that promising start has proven to be a false alarm so far. The Buccaneers began their Betway Premiership campaign on a sour note, losing their first two games. Those defeats have increased the pressure on Ouaddou to turn things around quickly or risk being sacked even before the quarter mark of the campaign. Speaking during the pre-match press conference ahead of their MTN8 semi-final first-leg clash at home to Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday afternoon, Ouaddou acknowledged the supporters' frustrations. 'I understand the frustrations of our fans. They are Happy People, and they love the club,' Ouaddou said. 'Every fan in the country is passionate — they are the 12th man. In every big football nation in Africa, when you start like this, you understand the disappointment. What we can promise them is that we will bounce back. We'll sweat for the shirt, represent the badge with pride, and bring them happiness. It's only the beginning.' Fans' frustration stems partly from Ouaddou's approach, as he has almost dismantled the squad that José Riveiro built over the past three years. Ouaddou had promised upon his arrival to build on the foundation laid by his predecessor, but critics argue he has not delivered on that pledge. In his defence, the Morocco-born coach explained that he selects his starting XI based on the opponent rather than strictly sticking to established combinations or individual talent. 'Every game is unique and has its own challenges,' he said. 'If you truly understand football, you'll see some interesting things our players have done. Some things haven't gone well, but we are here to work and improve. The players know how important it is to perform. We thought we would bring joy to our supporters already, but we will still do that before the end of the season.' Notably absent from the match-day squad is striker Tshegofatso Mabasa, who is just a few goals away from becoming the club's all-time top scorer. Ouaddou confirmed that Mabasa is training with the team, while Olisa Ndah, Makhehleni Makhaula, and Nkosinathi Sibisi have been ruled out of the first leg in Orlando. 'As I've said before, we have a big squad with very good players,' Ouaddou noted. 'Everyone will be important this season. There's no bad reason for the absence of certain players — they're training well, and their time will come to contribute. "It's important to remain positive with the players, to give them trust so they can bounce back. If you are not mentally ready, it becomes difficult. It's our job, along with the staff, to continue believing in the players we have.'
Kuwait Times
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Kuwait Times
Habz and Stark light up Diamond League
PARIS: Unheralded Azzedine Habz and Grace Stark lit up a drama-loaded Diamond League meet in Paris on Friday, snatching the limelight with two outstanding performances that put a raft of higher-profile athletes in the shade. Paris proved to be the perfect testing ground as athletes continue to fine-tune their form ahead of September's world championships in Tokyo. Habz sent the partisan crowd into raptures by becoming the sixth fastest man over 1,500m of all time, riding the coattails of two pacemakers to clock 3:27.49 for a meet record and new French best. In a shockingly fast race, Kenya's Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech set a world junior record in second, while 11 of the next 12 athletes all timed personal bests, including national records for the Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa. 'It's incredible, there's no other word for it,' said the 31-year-old Morocco-born Habz, twice a minor medalist at European indoors. 'It's truly a dream come true. To succeed in a race like this in Paris is even stronger.' There were a rash of further meet records in perfect, hot conditions at Stade Charlety. American Stark clocked 12.21sec in the 100m hurdles to go joint fifth fastest of all time, holding off Nigeria's 2022 world champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan. 'I wanted to break that 12.3 so bad!' Stark said. 'It feels that I can have a party. 'And then, I just need to keep working, taking it race by race, stay focused and stay quiet.' Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino made no mistake in the women's 400m although she had to pull out all stops down the home straight to outpace Bahraini rival Salwa Eid Naser. Paulino, gold medalist at last year's Paris Olympics and the 2023 worlds in Budapest, made it three victories in a row at Charlety in 48.81sec, four-hundredths ahead of Naser. American Rai Benjamin also racked up a meet record of 46.93sec in the 400m hurdles, making easy work of the victory in the absence of Norwegian arch-rival Karsten Warholm and Brazilian Alison Dos Santos. 'Sub-47 is impressive. I just ran smart and ran for the win,' said Benjamin. 'A little scared' Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma lit up the 2023 edition of the Meeting de Paris by smashing the previous world record (7:52.11) for the 3,000m steeplechase. There was disaster at the Paris Olympics, however, after Girma fell heavily in the last lap of the Stade de France track. But he made a winning return to Stade Charlety, winning in 8:07.01 after admitting he had overcome a sense of dread. 'This is a big thing for me today, especially after the Paris Olympics,' Girma said. 'It feels it was a long time ago, so this was very important for me. This is a very big achievement, so I am very happy.' 'I was a little scared at first getting into the race. Now that the race is finished I feel much better.' Morocco's Sofiane El Bakkali is the two-time Olympic steeplechase champion, but he opted to race the 5,000m in Paris alongside the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who claimed his 11th Diamond League victory in 12:47.84. Kenya's Faith Cherotich ran a world lead of 8:53.37 in the women's steeplechase, holding off Uganda's Peruth Chemutai. Australia's Nicola Olyslagers, a two-time world indoor champion who has won twice in Paris (2021, 2023), won the women's high jump with a best of 2.00m. Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the world and Olympic champion who set the current world record of 2.10 meters at last year's Diamond League meet in Paris, finished second with 1.97m on countback from another Australian, Eleanor Patterson. Grant Holloway, the three-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist making his return to action after a disastrous opening outing in China, could only finish fifth in the 110m hurdles, albeit in a season's best of 13.11sec. It was his US teammate Trey Cunningham who won in a personal best of 13.00sec, ahead of Dylan Beard, also in a PB of 13.02sec, while Jason Joseph set a Swiss record of 13.07 for third. And Spain's Mohamed Attaoui picked an inside line to outpace the American duo of Josh Hoey and Bryce Hoppel in what he called a 'brutal' 800m in a season's best of 1:42.73. — AFP
France 24
20-06-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Habz, Stark light up Diamond League as Girma banishes Paris blues
Paris proved to be the perfect testing ground as athletes continue to fine-tune their form ahead of September's world championships in Tokyo. Habz sent the partisan crowd into raptures by becoming the sixth fastest man over 1500m of all time, riding the coattails of two pacemakers to clock 3:27.49 for a meet record and new French best. In a shockingly fast race, Kenya's Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech set a world junior record in second, while 11 of the next 12 athletes all timed personal bests, including national records for the Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa. "It's incredible, there's no other word for it," said the 31-year-old Morocco-born Habz, twice a minor medallist at European indoors. "It's truly a dream come true. To succeed in a race like this in Paris is even stronger." There were a rash of further meet records in perfect, hot conditions at Stade Charlety. American Stark clocked 12.21sec in the 100m hurdles to go joint fifth fastest of all time, holding off Nigeria's 2022 world champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan. "I wanted to break that 12.3 so bad!" Stark said. "It feels that I can have a party. "And then, I just need to keep working, taking it race by race, stay focused and stay quiet." Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino made no mistake in the women's 400m although she had to pull out all stops down the home straight to outpace Bahraini rival Salwa Eid Naser. Paulino, gold medallist at last year's Paris Olympics and the 2023 worlds in Budapest, made it three victories in a row at Charlety in 48.81sec, four-hundredths ahead of Naser. American Rai Benjamin also racked up a meet record of 46.93sec in the 400m hurdles, making easy work of the victory in the absence of Norwegian arch-rival Karsten Warholm and Brazilian Alison Dos Santos. "Sub-47 is impressive. I just ran smart and ran for the win," said Benjamin. 'A little scared' Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma lit up the 2023 edition of the Meeting de Paris by smashing the previous world record (7:52.11) for the 3,000m steeplechase. There was disaster at the Paris Olympics, however, after Girma fell heavily in the last lap of the Stade de France track. But he made a winning return to Stade Charlety, winning in 8:07.01 after admitting he had overcome a sense of dread. "This is a big thing for me today, especially after the Paris Olympics," Girma said. "It feels it was a long time ago, so this was very important for me. This is a very big achievement, so I am very happy." "I was a little scared at first getting into the race. Now that the race is finished I feel much better." Morocco's Sofiane El Bakkali is the two-time Olympic steeplechase champion, but he opted to race the 5,000m in Paris alongside the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who claimed his 11th Diamond League victory in 12:47.84. Kenya's Faith Cherotich ran a world lead of 8:53.37 in the women's steeplechase, holding off Uganda's Peruth Chemutai. Australia's Nicola Olyslagers, a two-time world indoor champion who has won twice in Paris (2021, 2023), won the women's high jump with a best of 2.00m. Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the world and Olympic champion who set the current world record of 2.10 metres at last year's Diamond League meet in Paris, finished second with 1.97m on countback from another Australian, Eleanor Patterson. Grant Holloway, the three-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist making his return to action after a disastrous opening outing in China, could only finish fifth in the 110m hurdles, albeit in a season's best of 13.11sec. It was his US teammate Trey Cunningham who won in a personal best of 13.00sec, ahead of Dylan Beard, also in a PB of 13.02sec, while Jason Joseph set a Swiss record of 13.07 for third. And Spain's Mohamed Attaoui picked an inside line to outpace the American duo of Josh Hoey and Bryce Hoppel in what he called a "brutal" 800m in a season's best of 1:42.73.
Hindustan Times
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Habz, Stark light up Diamond League as Girma banishes Paris blues
Unheralded Azzedine Habz and Grace Stark lit up a drama-loaded Diamond League meet in Paris on Friday, snatching the limelight with two outstanding performances that put a raft of higher-profile athletes in the shade. HT Image Paris proved to be the perfect testing ground as athletes continue to fine-tune their form ahead of September's world championships in Tokyo. Habz sent the partisan crowd into raptures by becoming the sixth fastest man over 1500m of all time, riding the coattails of two pacemakers to clock 3:27.49 for a meet record and new French best. In a shockingly fast race, Kenya's Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech set a world junior record in second, while 11 of the next 12 athletes all timed personal bests, including national records for the Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa. "It's incredible, there's no other word for it," said the 31-year-old Morocco-born Habz, twice a minor medallist at European indoors. "It's truly a dream come true. To succeed in a race like this in Paris is even stronger." There were a rash of further meet records in perfect, hot conditions at Stade Charlety. American Stark clocked 12.21sec in the 100m hurdles to go joint fifth fastest of all time, holding off Nigeria's 2022 world champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan. "I wanted to break that 12.3 so bad!" Stark said. "It feels that I can have a party. "And then, I just need to keep working, taking it race by race, stay focused and stay quiet." Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino made no mistake in the women's 400m although she had to pull out all stops down the home straight to outpace Bahraini rival Salwa Eid Naser. Paulino, gold medallist at last year's Paris Olympics and the 2023 worlds in Budapest, made it three victories in a row at Charlety in 48.81sec, four-hundredths ahead of Naser. American Rai Benjamin also racked up a meet record of 46.93sec in the 400m hurdles, making easy work of the victory in the absence of Norwegian arch-rival Karsten Warholm and Brazilian Alison Dos Santos. "Sub-47 is impressive. I just ran smart and ran for the win," said Benjamin. Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma lit up the 2023 edition of the Meeting de Paris by smashing the previous world record (7:52.11) for the 3,000m steeplechase. There was disaster at the Paris Olympics, however, after Girma fell heavily in the last lap of the Stade de France track. But he made a winning return to Stade Charlety, winning in 8:07.01 after admitting he had overcome a sense of dread. "This is a big thing for me today, especially after the Paris Olympics," Girma said. "It feels it was a long time ago, so this was very important for me. This is a very big achievement, so I am very happy." "I was a little scared at first getting into the race. Now that the race is finished I feel much better." Morocco's Sofiane El Bakkali is the two-time Olympic steeplechase champion, but he opted to race the 5,000m in Paris alongside the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who claimed his 11th Diamond League victory in 12:47.84. Kenya's Faith Cherotich ran a world lead of 8:53.37 in the women's steeplechase, holding off Uganda's Peruth Chemutai. Australia's Nicola Olyslagers, a two-time world indoor champion who has won twice in Paris (2021, 2023), won the women's high jump with a best of 2.00m. Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the world and Olympic champion who set the current world record of 2.10 metres at last year's Diamond League meet in Paris, finished second with 1.97m on countback from another Australian, Eleanor Patterson. Grant Holloway, the three-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist making his return to action after a disastrous opening outing in China, could only finish fifth in the 110m hurdles, albeit in a season's best of 13.11sec. It was his US teammate Trey Cunningham who won in a personal best of 13.00sec, ahead of Dylan Beard, also in a PB of 13.02sec, while Jason Joseph set a Swiss record of 13.07 for third. And Spain's Mohamed Attaoui picked an inside line to outpace the American duo of Josh Hoey and Bryce Hoppel in what he called a "brutal" 800m in a season's best of 1:42.73. lp/ea
