Kuwait's Shaaban embraces karate gold.. and swimmer Yu steals the spotlight

This is the first of 469 gold medals to be awarded at this continental sporting celebration, which lasts for two weeks in Aichi-Nagoya and features a number of athletes exceeding those participating in the Olympic Games.

Hojo, 30, whose victory qualifies him for the Los Angeles Olympics, said, "Since it is our first gold medal, it has given the Japanese team a big morale boost."

Arab brilliance in karate

Abdullah Shaaban gave his country, Kuwait, its first gold in karate in the under 60kg kumite category by defeating Qatari Abdulrahman Abdulhamid 8-0 in an all-Arab final.

Saudi Arabia's Saud Abdulaziz Al-Bashir won the bronze in the same weight class by defeating Nepal's Min Bahadur Tamang 2-0.

Saudi Arabia raised its tally to two medals after Dina Ahmed Mustafa snatched the bronze in the over 68kg kumite category by defeating Nepal's Arika Gurung 8-7.

Dina became the first Saudi woman to win a medal in the history of the Kingdom's participation in the Asian Games.

The duo Basel Ahmed and Abdulwahab Al-Qattan had previously given Kuwait its first medal of the Games, winning bronze in the teqball doubles event after defeating the Indonesian team.

The Iraqi duo Abdulrahman Ahmed and Samah Shaker also opened the Arab medal tally in this edition by winning the bronze medal in the mixed doubles teqball competition.

Iraq continued its brilliance on the first day, adding a second bronze through the duo Ali Jalil and Abdulrahman Ahmed in the men's doubles competition.

Yu on schedule

Yu, who will turn fourteen next month, was the star of the 200m butterfly race.

It is the first major gold medal for swimmer Yu on her way to breaking the Asian Games record, two years before the Los Angeles Olympics.

Yu, who will turn fourteen in October, finished the race in 2:05.08 minutes, breaking the previous record set by her compatriot Zhang Yufei (2:05.57 min), who won the gold at the previous Asian Games three years ago in Hangzhou, by nearly half a second.

Zhang Mohan finished in second place and took the silver medal, 3.36 seconds behind Yu.

Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle, the world record holder in the 100m freestyle and Olympic champion, also won gold in the same race with a fastest time of 47.61 seconds, finishing just 0.04 seconds ahead of South Korea's Kim Young-bum.

Pan had warned his rivals for the gold, saying, "I think I will be the best tonight."

Tokyo facing hurricanes

Japanese Emperor Naruhito officially opened the Olympic Games on Saturday, but a large number of seats were empty at the 30,000-capacity Nagoya Stadium.

This marked the start of fierce competitions that will last for two weeks, where the continent's elite athletes will compete in more than 40 sports before the curtain falls on October 4.

The Asian Games, which offer a chance to qualify for the 2028 Olympics, faced a series of problems during the preparation period, as providing accommodation for more than 11,000 athletes and 6,000 officials posed a major challenge for organizers following their decision to forgo a traditional Olympic village to save costs.

Instead, competitors are staying in temporary container-style huts, hotels, and the cruise ship "Costa Serena".

Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee, described the temporary containers as "beautiful" after taking a look at them, but acknowledged that they were "a little tighter" than similar accommodation at the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina earlier this year.

Organizers will strive to bring sports competitions back to the forefront after a turbulent preparation period. However, an approaching hurricane could cause more problems in Tokyo.

Equestrianism is one of three sports taking place in the Japanese capital, and organizers announced the closure of the venue on Sunday and Monday due to bad weather, with competitions now scheduled to start on Tuesday.

Husain Al-Musallam, Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia, stated that the threat of the hurricane was one of the reasons for the thousands of empty seats at the opening ceremony in Nagoya.

Meteorologists expect the hurricane to intensify today, while Nagoya will not be in the direct path of the storm, although rain is also expected.

The Iranian team celebrated enthusiastically after defeating China 79-70 to win the bronze medal in the men's basketball competition.

Arsalan Kazemi said, in a clear reference to the ongoing war in the Middle East, "I think that, after the difficulties we have faced for six months, we have proven everyone wrong again."

South Korea stunned the Japanese crowd by winning gold against the host team with a score of 67-57.

This is South Korea's first gold medal in basketball since Incheon in 2014, and its fourth in the history of the Asian Games.

South Korea snatches basketball gold

The South Korean national team was crowned with the gold medal for the men's basketball competition at the Asian Games, after defeating host nation Japan 67-57 in the final match held in Nagoya.

Lee Hyun-jung shone remarkably, scoring 27 points, including 13 points in the third quarter, which played a decisive role in determining the course of the match. He also asserted his dominance under the basket by collecting 18 rebounds, achieving the highest tally in the match.

The South Korean team thus ended a 12-year wait since its last gold medal in men's basketball.

It also completed its journey in the tournament without a loss, having already defeated Japan 100-83 during the group stage, before renewing its victory over them in the final.

..Bronze for Iran

The Iranian team won the bronze medal for men's basketball by winning an exciting match against its Chinese counterpart 79-70 yesterday.

The Iranian players held firm against China's attempts to return to the match, and this achievement left them in a state of amazement after months of war in their country.

The Chinese giant, a 7-time Asian champion, led 31-29 in the first half in Nagoya, but Iran controlled the game in the third quarter to lead 55-46 before the start of the final quarter, and maintained its advantage to ignite boisterous celebrations and give Iran a spot on the podium.

This is the first medal for the Iranian delegation in the current edition of the Games.