South Korea wins gold at the Asian Games, and developments in tennis and Formula 1

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 federation also apologized against accusations of providing sexual entertainment services to foreign rulers.

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.

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.

British Mercedes driver George Russell confirmed that starting from his worst position on the starting grid this year in the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday was “not the end of the world,” a week after his wonderful victory in Azerbaijan, which gave him a boost in his struggle for the world championship title.

British news agency PA Media reported that Russell earned 15 points from championship leader Kimi Antonelli with his dominant win on the streets of Baku, reducing the gap with his Mercedes teammate to 66 points, with 208 possible points remaining in the competition.

But he will start in the Manama race, which has been rescheduled and will be held on Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, from seventh place, four places behind his competitor.

Dutchman Max Verstappen, driver of the Red Bull team, won his first starting position this year, and will start next to British Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton from the front row. Frenchman Isaac Hajjar finished third in qualifying, but he will fall five places due to the use of new engine components, so the penalty pushes Antonelli to third place and Russell to seventh place.

It was expected that Mercedes would likely help the car's biggest upgrade package in four months widen its lead over rivals at the front of the standings, but instead it produced its worst performance yet on a single lap.

The disappointing starting positions raised major questions about the effectiveness of the new updates, and Russell will also reconsider his performance. He finished the qualifying trials 0.240 seconds behind Antonelli, despite receiving an additional attempt compared to his colleague during the decisive round of the third qualifying trial.

But Russell, who spoke optimistically on the eve of the first Formula 1 race in Malaysia since 2017, said: “A lot will happen tomorrow. “Tire wear is very high, and the pace of the race will be the deciding factor, so although what happened today was really disappointing, it is not the end of the world.”

He added: “This circuit is exceptional in terms of the roughness of the asphalt surface. Nine years ago lap times were six or seven seconds faster, and in some parts you felt like you were driving on gravel. “It applies to everyone, but it clearly affects us more than others.”

He continued: “As a team, we have not yet had a bad race throughout this season, and these were certainly very bad qualifying experiences for us. All the numbers indicate that the update represents an improvement, but it is clear that we need to follow the lap times and not what the numbers say. The numbers looked quite good and in line with our expectations, but the result was not like that.”