South Korea wins Asian Games gold, Norris faces difficulties in Formula 1, and Jeng Chenwen qualifies in Beijing

South Korea won the gold medal in men's football at the Asian Games, beating host Japan 1-0 in Saturday's final, dispelling some of the gloom that followed its disastrous participation in the World Cup and a series of controversies that damaged the game in the country.

Ohm Ji-sung, the Welsh player for Swansea City, scored the only goal of the match with a powerful shot in the 60th minute, giving the Koreans their fourth title in a row in front of 30,000 spectators at Toyota Stadium near Nagoya.

Japan was seeking to win the gold medal for the first time since 2010, and is supervised by Go Oiwa, who will take over the leadership of the senior team after the Asian Cup next year.

Football competitions in the Asian Games are held between under-23 teams, with three over-age players allowed to participate.

South Korea experienced a miserable World Cup in North America this year, after it was eliminated from the group stage following a surprise loss to South Africa.

Coach Hong Myung-bo resigned, but his departure did not succeed in calming public anger over the disappointing participation, but rather increased existing questions about the method of his appointment.

Police raided the headquarters of the South Korean Football Association in August as part of an investigation into Hong's appointment in 2024. The association also issued an apology against the backdrop of accusations of providing sexual entertainment services to foreign referees.

Ohm, who participated in the World Cup, delighted the Korean fans with a wonderful goal, as he fired a shot with his left foot against the run of play. The victory ensured that the South Korean players were exempted from military service.

Most able-bodied South Korean men are required to perform at least 18 months of military service, but the government grants an exemption to winners of Asian Games gold or any Olympic medal.

The players of this team followed in the footsteps of the first team captain, Son Heung-min, and the Spanish Atletico Madrid playmaker, Lee Kang-in.

The South Korean squad included a number of players with European experience, and Ohm almost opened the scoring early, but his attempt went over the crossbar.

As for Japan, which fielded a team of under-21 players, most of whom were active in the domestic league, it suffered a blow when striker Uchi Nwadike was carried off the field on a stretcher midway through the first half due to a knee injury.

Although the hosts created the better chances, Aum scored the decisive goal to give South Korea the title, despite one of Japan's attempts hitting the post late in the match.

Defending champion Lando Norris, driver of McLaren, faced difficulties with the car that did not respond to him during qualifying trials for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which was held on Saturday as part of the Formula 1 World Championship, and attributed his team’s suffering to the unique flooring of the Sepang Circuit.

Norris achieved the sixth fastest time in qualifying, six tenths of a second behind first-place finisher Max Verstappen, but he will start the race from fifth place after Red Bull driver Ishak Hajjar received a five-place drop penalty, dropping from third to eighth.

The McLaren driver, who is ranked fourth overall, did not hesitate to frankly express his opinion about his car’s performance at the Sepang Circuit. “We're just slow,” Norris told reporters. "The car is not good enough here."

He added: “This track is very different from the other tracks we visited this year, and therefore I think you see Mercedes also suffering much more today in particular, while we find the Red Bull team faster than usual.”

He continued: “So I think the arrangement has changed a little bit, and I think we are facing a little more difficulty than we expected because of the surface of the track.”

Norris expressed his satisfaction with his final lap in qualifying, noting that he got the most out of the car. He said: “But it is clear that we are very far from the required speed.” “My car has a problem with speed on straight tracks, and we lacked speed in general throughout the testing period.”

He added: “So, starting from fifth place is not a surprise. “We don’t expect any miracles, and it is clear that Red Bull cars have the advantage here.”

As for his teammate, Oscar Piastri, he recorded the seventh fastest time, but he will start the race alongside Norris on the third row due to Hajjar’s penalty. “The experiments did not go exactly as we planned,” Piastri said. We're having some difficulty achieving speed here. But overall, I was fairly satisfied with things.”

He added: “It would have been good if we had achieved an extra ten seconds. But unfortunately we were not fast enough here. “This will be a race in which we can achieve a lot by following a strategy, and then hopefully we will achieve the required speed.”

Olympic tennis champion, Geng Chenwen, rebuked unruly fans in Beijing on Saturday, before her opponent, Anna Kalinskaya, withdrew due to injury, giving the Chinese player a 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 3-0 win.

Strong winds and a noisy crowd caused tense exchanges on the cold main stadium in Beijing, prompting the match referee to intervene to warn those present not to move in the stands during the game.

During a tense first-set tiebreak, Geng Chenwen, who is hugely popular in her country, was twice heard telling spectators: “Stop yelling” as she prepared to serve.

“I think the first set in particular was very difficult,” Jing told the crowd during an on-court interview after the match, which lasted two hours and 22 minutes. The 23-year-old added: “Actually, seeing some movement in the stands made my feelings very unstable.”

But she admitted, saying: “It is my problem, it is my problem,” pledging to adapt to the situation.

Chants of encouragement for Geng Chenwen echoed throughout the stadium, which was rocked by the wind before most points, while fans sometimes asked each other to remain calm.

After equalizing the score in the second set, the world number 54 got her chance when Russian Kalinskaya withdrew due to injury after trailing by three games in the third set.

Geng Chenwen will play in the third round with the winner from the Czech Republic Marie Bouzkova or the Australian Kimberly Birrell, ranked 582nd in the world.

Later, on Saturday, world number one Elena Rybakina is scheduled to face Armenian world number 118 Alina Charaeva in the evening session.