Football

Madrid: Real Madrid captain Federico Valverde suffered an ankle injury in his team's weekend derby loss to Atletico Madrid, the club confirmed Tuesday. The Uruguay midfielder was hurt by a tackle from Atletico's Lee Kang-in, which Real have insisted should have resulted in a sending off for the South Korean. According to Spanish press reports, Valverde will be sidelined for several weeks and will miss Uruguay's upcoming friendlies against Japan, Republic of Korea and India. "After the tests carried out today on our player Fede Valverde by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with a grade 3 sprain in his left ankle," the La Liga giants said in a short statement. Real coach Jose Mourinho arrived at his post-match press conference following Sunday's 2-1 loss with printed screen-shots of two tackles he felt should have resulted in red cards for Atletico players, including Lee's on Valverde.

Basketball

Doha, Qatar: The Organising Committee for the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027 is hosting a series of promotional days at Qatar House in Nagoya, Japan. Held on the sidelines of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, the initiative aims to raise awareness about the upcoming tournament and showcase Qatar’s preparations to host the global event next year. The program comprises three promotional days. The first was held on Sunday, followed by a second on September 23, with the program concluding with a third promotional day on September 29. The events offer an opportunity to engage with visitors to Qatar House, as well as delegations and sports figures present in Nagoya, while showcasing key features of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027 and the fan experience anticipated during the tournament.Visitors attend FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027 promotional activities at the Qatar House. The promotional days feature a display of the Naismith Trophy, awarded to the tournament champions, giving visitors to Qatar House the chance to view it and take souvenir photos. The events also include interactive activities related to the tournament and the distribution of souvenirs to visitors. Qatar is set to host the FIBA Basketball World Cup from August 27 to September 12, 2027. This marks the first time the tournament will be held in the Middle East, with 32 of the world’s top national teams competing in 92 matches in Doha. The promotional days highlight Qatar’s preparations to host the tournament, leveraging its advanced sports infrastructure, organisational expertise and skilled national workforce, which has gained practical experience by hosting numerous major sports championships and events over the past two decades. Qatar 2027 features a compact hosting model, with all matches taking place across four venues: Lusail Arena, Al Janoub Arena, Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena and Duhail Arena. The close proximity of these venues and ease of travel between them will allow fans to attend more matches and fully enjoy the tournament atmosphere and accompanying events. The fan experience is central to the organizing committee’s preparations. Qatar 2027 aims to deliver an experience that extends beyond the matches themselves to include fan activities and entertainment, while also offering visitors the chance to discover Qatari culture and enjoy the country’s diverse tourism offerings. The promotional days also highlight the initial ticket packages released to mark the one-year countdown to the event. These include the Lusail Arena package, the Final Phase package and the Qatar Team Fan package, offering fans the chance to secure their seats early and prepare for the tournament in August 2027.Visitors attend FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027 promotional activities at the Qatar House. Organising these promotional days at Qatar House, which opened on September 19 alongside the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 event, serves to showcase the trajectory and achievements of Qatari sports. This journey spans from hosting the Doha 2006 Asian Games and two decades of major sporting milestones to participating in Aichi-Nagoya 2026 and preparing to host the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027 and the Doha 2030 Asian Games, while highlighting Qatar’s culture, identity and sporting legacy.

Olympics

Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s handball team continued their strong start in their quest for a fourth straight Asian Games gold, beating China 30-25 for their second consecutive win in Aichi yesterday. Left-back Marzo Frankis scored eight goals, while left wing Ahmad Madadi added seven as the defending champions produced a strong second-half display to claim another victory. The first half ended level at 15-15. Qatar, who defeated Hong Kong in their opening match, will now face hosts Japan in their final group match on Friday. Japan have also recorded two straight wins, with the upcoming clash set to determine the group winners. The quarter-finals will be played on Saturday.Defending beach volleyball champions Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse defeated the Philippines. At Hekinan Ryokuchi Beach Court yesterday, Qatar’s beach volleyball teams made winning starts to their campaigns, with Qatar 1 and Qatar 2 both securing straight-sets victories. Defending champions Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse, representing Qatar 1, opened their Group A campaign with a convincing 2-0 victory over the Philippines. The group also includes Oman. The Qatari duo dominated from the start, winning the first set 21-7 before completing the victory with a 21-10 win in the second to seal the match in straight sets. Read Also Qatar Olympic Committee hosts official reception at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games Mbappe says having Zidane as France coach 'like a film' Yu, 13, smashes record again with second Asian Games gold Meanwhile, Qatar 2, comprising Mousa Al-Khair and Mohamed Ihab, also began their campaign with a 2-0 win, defeating Republic of Korea. Al-Khair and Ihab took control early, winning the first set 21-13. They maintained their momentum in the second set and stepped up their game to win 21-9, completing another straight-sets victory for Qatar. Qatar men lead skeet standings after opening day Qatar’s men’s skeet team made a strong start, finishing the opening day at the top of the standings at the Aichi Prefecture shooting range.Rashed Saleh Al-Athba emerged as Qatar’s leading individual shooter in the men’s skeet team event. Rashed Saleh Al-Athba, Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Ali Ahmed Al-Ishaq combined for 145 hits to lead the team standings after the first day of qualification. Chinese Taipei and Kazakhstan were joint second on 143. The final is scheduled tomorrow. Al-Athba was Qatar’s leading individual shooter, sitting third with 49 hits. Al-Attiyah was ninth with 48, while Al-Ishaq was 12th. Qatar’s women had a difficult opening day, finishing 12th and last in the skeet team standings with 127 hits out of a possible 150. Reem Al-Sharshani was Qatar’s top performer in 11th place with 45 hits, followed by Hajar Mohammed in 17th with 42. Sarah Ghulam Mohammed recorded 38 hits. China and Kazakhstan shared the top two positions in the women’s team standings with 143 each, followed by India. In the men’s 10m air rifle, Abdullah Zain Al-Sunaidi scored 616.8 points to finish 36th, one place ahead of teammate Khalid Al-Sharshani, who also scored 616.8. Abdulrahman Ahmed was 38th with 616.0 points. Qatar finished 12th among the 13 teams in the men’s 10m air rifle team standings. Qatar table tennis team reaches Round of 16 Qatar’s men’s table tennis team reached the Round of 16 after edging Macau 3-2 in their Group A match. Qatar’s men’s table tennis team reached the Round of 16 after edging Macau 3-2 in their Group A match. Qatar were represented by Abdullah Abdulhussein, Rawad Akram Al-Nasser, Mohammed Abdulhussein, Sultan Khalid Al-Kuwari and Ahmed Eid Qarni. Qatar will play in the Round of 16 today at Sky Hall Toyota, hoping to build on the win and progress further in the team event. In the women’s event, Qatar lost 3-0 to Hong Kong in their Group E match. At Kinjo Futo Station Square Venue, Qatar’s men’s 3x3 basketball team made a winning start, defeating Indonesia 10-7 before beating Chinese Taipei 18-15. Also yesterday, Qatar’s artistic gymnastics team began its campaign at Nagoya General Gymnasium, with the men’s individual qualification events taking place.Qatar gymnast Rakan Misfer Al-Harith in action. On the rings, Rakan Misfer Al-Harith scored 13.900 points to finish third, while Mehrdad Barat Ghadimi scored 13.400 points to take 14th place as the competition continues. Qatar set for busy day across sports Qatar’s athletes face a busy schedule today, with action continuing across swimming, volleyball, basketball, equestrian, fencing, karate and esports. In swimming, Saad El-Din will compete in the 1500m, while Qatar will also feature in the 4x100m freestyle relay. The team reached the 4x200m freestyle relay final yesterday, finishing sixth in 7:20.25 after recording 7:24.10 in the heats. Equestrian events return today after yesterday’s postponement due to weather conditions, while fencing competitions will see new Qatari participation. Karate and women’s volleyball will also continue with placement matches. Qatar’s men’s 3x3 basketball team defeated Indonesia and Chinese Taipei. Qatar’s women’s 3x3 basketball team begins its campaign against Sri Lanka before facing China in the group stage. In esports, Mohammed Al-Ahmad will face Republic of Korea in eFootball before Qatar takes on Saudi Arabia and Iran in Group A. Hassan Al-Qadi will compete in eFootball Mobile, while Rashid Al-Awlan will feature in Gran Turismo 7.