The Qatari duo Sherif Younis and Ahmed Tejan secured at least a silver medal, after qualifying for the final of the beach volleyball competition at the Asian Games held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Their qualification came after defeating the Thai duo Puravid Taovatu and Pithak Tibjan 2-0 in the semi-finals, setting up a date with Indonesia, represented by Effendi Safyan Rahman and Akbar Bitang, in the final.
The Qatari duo is looking to win the gold medal for the third time in a row after winning the previous two editions in Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2022.
Sherif Younis and Ahmed Tijan topped the first group in the preliminary round, after achieving two successive victories over the Filipino duo Abdilla Al-Nakran and Francisco Leary John 2-0, and over the Omani duo Hood Al-Jalboubi and Mazen Al-Hashimi with the same score before they surpassed the Vietnamese duo in the quarter-finals 2-0.
Qatar has three gold medals, six silver and four bronze.
The Turkish Football Federation referred about 450 club officials, including some of the country's most prominent officials, to the Disciplinary Committee, as part of an investigation into betting, it confirmed on Thursday.
The announcement came 48 hours after the Minister of Justice announced the arrest of the head of the Turkish Football Arbitration Board and six other people, as part of an investigation into a corruption case.
It was not immediately clear whether the two cases were related, although the Turkish Federation issued a statement in which it referred to the scandal last year, as a result of which 149 referees were suspended on suspicion of involvement in an illegal betting scandal.
The Federation said: “As part of the investigation into betting conducted by the Turkish Football Federation, it was decided to refer the following persons... to the Disciplinary Committee in Professional Football,” listing 448 names.
He explained that these “held positions of officials in clubs competing in the Turkish Football Federation’s Premier League and First Division League during the 2026-2027 season, and it was found that they had gambled while holding their positions during the past five years.”
The list includes dozens of names from Turkish first-class clubs. Among them are the president of Trabzonspor, the vice president of Besiktas, a number of current and former officials in Galatasaray, and three former officials in Fenerbahce.
Tuesday's arrests came as part of an investigation in which prosecutors believe the suspects illegally influenced referees' classifications, examinations and appointments for matches, by falsifying documents and practicing systematic intimidation, according to what Turkish media reported.
The Minister of Justice pledged, saying: “We will continue, resolutely, to fight for clean football, with the aim of uncovering the circumstances of the allegations that undermine confidence in Turkish football (and) bringing those responsible to justice.”
The hopes of Filipino Alexandra Ayala to win gold in the women's tennis competition at the Asian Games in Japan ended after she lost to Chinese Wang Xiu, ranked 85th in the world (3-6, 6-3, 6-2), on Thursday, in the semi-finals.
Eala, ranked first in the tournament and 18th in the world, had missed the China tournament to participate in Nagoya, and was looking forward to becoming the first player from the Philippines to win gold at the Games.
But the 21-year-old will return to her country with only the bronze medal.
Eala played two matches the night before, but she showed no signs of fatigue, as she quickly advanced (5-0) in the first set.
But Wang began to regain her balance, and was able to equalize in the second set, before breaking Eyala's serve early in the third set.
Ayala was unable to return to the match, so Wang decided the match and set up a final match with her compatriot Zhang Shuai, ranked 57th in the world, in a full Chinese final.
Ayala was eliminated from the women's doubles competitions after losing, along with her partner Shira Rivera, in the second round.
The young Filipino player previously made history last month, after she became the first player from her country to win a title in a professional tournament (WTA).
Ayala has gained wide popularity in the Philippines, where every match she plays receives a large audience following.
