Saudi National Teams Continue Participation in 19th Asian Games in China

Saudi Arabia is set to face the Indian national team in the upcoming qualifying round next Thursday.
Saudi Arabia is set to face the Indian national team in the upcoming qualifying round next Thursday.
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Saudi National Teams Continue Participation in 19th Asian Games in China

Saudi Arabia is set to face the Indian national team in the upcoming qualifying round next Thursday.
Saudi Arabia is set to face the Indian national team in the upcoming qualifying round next Thursday.

The Saudi national football and tennis teams continue their active participation in the 19th Asian Games, scheduled to continue until October 8th in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
The Saudi under-23 football team secured a place in the second round by finishing as the runner-up in Group II with seven points. This followed their 3-1 victory over the Vietnamese team in a match held at Linpeng Sports Center Stadium in Huzhou, China, on Sunday evening, SPA reported.
Mohammed Al-Yami found the net for the Saudi team in the 43rd minute, followed by Mohammed Maran in the 87th minute, and Zakaria Hawsawi in the 90th minute.
Accordingly, Saudi Arabia is set to face the Indian national team in the upcoming qualifying round next Thursday.
On the tennis front, Saudi player Ammar Al-Haqbani advanced to the men's singles 32nd round of the competition by defeating his Qatari opponent Rashid Nayef with a score of two sets to love in the round of 64.
Also, Ammar is set to compete against China's Zhizhen Zhang, who is Asia's top-ranked tennis player and currently ranked 60th in the world, on Monday morning at 11 o'clock in the round of 32.



Bayern Rivals Leverkusen and Dortmund Drop Points in Bundesliga

Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck gestures after losing the German Bundesliga soccer match between Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, in Berlin, Germany, 05 October 2024. (EPA)
Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck gestures after losing the German Bundesliga soccer match between Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, in Berlin, Germany, 05 October 2024. (EPA)
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Bayern Rivals Leverkusen and Dortmund Drop Points in Bundesliga

Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck gestures after losing the German Bundesliga soccer match between Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, in Berlin, Germany, 05 October 2024. (EPA)
Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck gestures after losing the German Bundesliga soccer match between Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, in Berlin, Germany, 05 October 2024. (EPA)

Bayern Munich won without playing on Saturday as Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund dropped points to modest opponents.

Dortmund slumped at Union Berlin to a 2-1 defeat without injured forward Karim Adeyemi, who starred in the team’s 7-1 rout of Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Defending champion Leverkusen squandered an early two-goal lead over promoted Holstein Kiel and drew 2-2. It was only Kiel’s second point in its debut top-flight season.

Leverkusen played in a special black jersey with red trim to commemorate the club’s 120th anniversary, and for Xabi Alonso it was also a special occasion – the Spanish coach took over exactly two years before.

Leverkusen fans didn’t have to wait long to celebrate after Victor Boniface opened the scoring in the fourth minute and Jonas Hofmann made it 2-0 four minutes after that. Leverkusen looked set for a rout.

But the home team failed to make more of its dominance — Boniface had another goal ruled out for offside — and Kiel secured a lifeline before the break when Max Geschwil scored after a corner. Fiete Arp scored an unlikely equalizer from the penalty spot in the 69th.

Also, Freiburg won at Werder Bremen 1-0, and Wolfsburg enjoyed a 3-1 win in Wolfsburg.

St. Pauli was playing Mainz later.

League leader Bayern visits second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.