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Ghana Footballer Found Dead in Türkiye Quake Rubble

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Türkiye February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar
Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Türkiye February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar
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Ghana Footballer Found Dead in Türkiye Quake Rubble

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Türkiye February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar
Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Türkiye February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar

Former Ghana international Christian Atsu was found dead on Saturday under the rubble of his home almost two weeks after a devastating earthquake in Türkiye.

Atsu, 31, was caught up in a 7.8-magnitude quake that rocked Türkiye and Syria on February 6, killing more than 43,000 people in both countries.

There were initial reports the former Chelsea and Newcastle player had been rescued a day after the quake, but these turned out to be false.

His manager in Türkiye, Murat Uzunmehmet, told DHA news agency on Saturday that his body had been found under the rubble of luxury flats that crumbled in the Turkish southern province of Hatay.

"We have reached his lifeless body. His belongings are still being removed. His phone was also found," Uzunmehmet told DHA.

"It's with a heavy heart that I have to announce to everyone the body of Christian Atsu was found this morning," his Ghana agent Nana Sechere tweeted.

According to AFP, Ghana's ministry of foreign affairs said it had "received the unfortunate news".

"The elder brother and twin sister of Christian Atsu and an officer of the (Ghanaian) embassy were present at the site when the body was recovered," the ministry said in a statement.

Midfielder Atsu scored the last of his 33 career goals for Hatayspor in Türkiye's Super Lig on February 5, hours before the quake struck.

"There are no words to describe our sadness," tweeted his Turkish top-flight club.

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Osaka’s Honesty Cuts Through as Comeback Stalls at Wimbledon

Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts to a missed point Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their women's singles third round tennis match on the fifth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts to a missed point Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their women's singles third round tennis match on the fifth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
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Osaka’s Honesty Cuts Through as Comeback Stalls at Wimbledon

Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts to a missed point Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their women's singles third round tennis match on the fifth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts to a missed point Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their women's singles third round tennis match on the fifth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Naomi Osaka is not one to hide behind cliches. When things go wrong, she doesn't deflect or spin the story. At Wimbledon on Friday, after a bruising Grand Slam defeat — this time at the hands of Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova — the former world number one was certainly in no mood for platitudes.

"I'm just going to be a negative human being today. I'm so sorry," she told reporters, more weary than bitter, after her 3-6 6-4 6-4 third-round loss. "I have nothing positive to say about myself. Honestly, right now I'm just really upset."

It was an unflinching performance in the press room, mirroring the one she had just delivered on Court Two. Osaka had started brightly, striking the ball with the same authority that once made her the sport's most fearsome hard-court hitter. But as the match wore on, the rhythm faded, the first serve faltered, and Pavlyuchenkova's relentless pressure told.

"I low-key busted a vein in my hand," Osaka said with a wry smile, a throwaway remark that carried the weight of someone giving everything — physically and emotionally — to a cause that still refuses to cooperate.

This wasn't Osaka being outclassed, it was a tight contest she believed she could win. "I actually thought I could play well. Not saying I didn't play well, but... make a deep run here," she said, her voice trailing into frustration.

"Clearly, I need to work on a couple of things."

Since returning to the tour after maternity leave, Osaka has shown glimpses of the player who once conquered Melbourne and New York. But her comeback remains frustratingly incomplete — flashes of brilliance surrounded by periods of struggle, Reuters reported.

Asked about her goals, she was disarmingly open: "I feel like while I still have the opportunity to try to do it, I want to. Even though I get very upset when I lose... but I think that's my competitive nature. That's also the younger sister syndrome."

On her daughter's birthday week, Osaka wanted to give herself — and her supporters — something to celebrate. Instead, she walked off court feeling once again the familiar ache of what could have been.

"No person wants to feel this way, like, multiple times throughout the year, but tennis players are crazy, so..." she smiled sadly.

"I'm glad to be done with this, and I'm looking forward to the hard courts."