Olympic ‘Vibes’ for Qatar’s High-Jump Great Barshim in Hangzhou 

Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Athletics - Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, China - October 2, 2023 Qatar's Mutaz Barshim gestures during the Men's High Jump Qualification - Group A. (Reuters)
Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Athletics - Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, China - October 2, 2023 Qatar's Mutaz Barshim gestures during the Men's High Jump Qualification - Group A. (Reuters)
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Olympic ‘Vibes’ for Qatar’s High-Jump Great Barshim in Hangzhou 

Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Athletics - Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, China - October 2, 2023 Qatar's Mutaz Barshim gestures during the Men's High Jump Qualification - Group A. (Reuters)
Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Athletics - Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, China - October 2, 2023 Qatar's Mutaz Barshim gestures during the Men's High Jump Qualification - Group A. (Reuters)

Three-time high-jump world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim compared the Asian Games to the Olympics Monday after skipping the season-ending Diamond League event at Eugene to be in Hangzhou.

The reigning Olympic gold medalist won Asiad titles in 2010 and 2014 and is determined to cap his 2023 season with another.

"For me, the Asian Games are important. You see these vibes, it's like our Olympics before the Olympics," he said after needing only a single jump of 2.19m to lead the field into Wednesday's gold-medal showdown.

"Eugene? I am not saying it's not important, it's about having different priorities now.

"For me, it was too much travel and I am a different high jumper now. I have three Diamond (League) trophies. Adding a fourth would have been great, but it's not my top priority at the moment so I decided to skip that."

Barshim shares top billing as Qatar's most famous sportsman with five-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah, who also took time out from his hectic schedule to be in China.

Along with rallying, Al-Attiyah is an accomplished skeet shooter and won men's team silver and individual bronze in Hangzhou.

Barshim has extra motivation to get back on top of the Asian Games podium after being shocked at the Budapest world championships by Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi, who denied him a fourth consecutive title.

"The stadium is amazing, the crowd is amazing. This is the last competition of the season, hopefully finishing at the top," he said.

"Then I need a good break, a good vacation to recharge before the Olympic season starts."

His chief rival is South Korea's Woo Sang-hyeok, the 2022 world silver medalist who won the Diamond League trophy in Eugene that Barshim skipped, with a personal best 2.35m.

He also qualified comfortably on Monday.



Monterrey Hold Inter Milan 1-1 at Club World Cup 

Monterrey's Sergio Ramos, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Club World Cup group E soccer match between CF Monterrey and Inter Milan in Pasadena, Calif., Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP) 
Monterrey's Sergio Ramos, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Club World Cup group E soccer match between CF Monterrey and Inter Milan in Pasadena, Calif., Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP) 
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Monterrey Hold Inter Milan 1-1 at Club World Cup 

Monterrey's Sergio Ramos, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Club World Cup group E soccer match between CF Monterrey and Inter Milan in Pasadena, Calif., Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP) 
Monterrey's Sergio Ramos, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Club World Cup group E soccer match between CF Monterrey and Inter Milan in Pasadena, Calif., Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP) 

UEFA Champions League finalists Inter Milan were held 1-1 by Mexican side Monterrey in their opening Group E game at the Club World Cup in Pasadena on Tuesday.

Inter dominated possession at the outset but underdogs Monterrey struck first, grabbing the lead when 39-year-old defender Sergio Ramos leaped above two defenders to power home a header from a corner in the 25th minute.

The Italians drew level three minutes before halftime when Kristjan Asllani's floated free-kick into the box was played across the face of goal by Carlos Augusto to give Lautaro Martinez the easy tap-in.

Nelson Deossa had a golden opportunity to win it for Monterrey in stoppage time, but his shot ended up in the side netting on a hot day at the Rose Bowl, where plenty of empty seats were visible.

"I think we could have scored a second goal, which we didn't unfortunately," said Inter's Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

"But this is football, we have to work hard, we have to do our best to win the next games because it's a new competition and the teams are very motivated to get out of the group stage.

"I think we have to be more aggressive in front of goal, we need to score more goals. Even today we had chances which we didn't score, unfortunately."

Tuesday's match, the first competitive meeting between the sides, saw both teams debuting new managers.

Cristian Chivu took over from Simone Inzaghi at Inter Milan shortly after their crushing 5-0 Champions League final defeat by Paris St Germain, while Spaniard Domenec Torrent was brought in at Monterrey after their disappointing start to the season.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday.

Monterrey return to the Rose Bowl to face River Plate, who beat Urawa Reds 3-1 earlier in the day, while Inter take on the Japanese side in Seattle.