Qatar beat Iran in men’s basketball as Asian Games begin in Japan

What the report says

The Asian Games have begun in Japan with the first competition action taking place before the official opening ceremony, which is scheduled for September 19. According to Al Jazeera, Qatar opened men’s basketball with a win over Iran, 59-35, at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya on Thursday. The Group B result marked the first match of the men’s basketball tournament, whose medal finals are set for September 20.

Qatar’s Michael Lewis, a U.S.-born player, led the team with 21 points. He said the team needed to secure at least one victory to stay in contention for the next round and described the result as a positive start for team chemistry. Later in the same group, Taiwan defeated Jordan 83-80.

The Nagoya-Aichi Games are expected to bring together more than 17,000 athletes and officials across 43 sports. Al Jazeera reported that several sports, including basketball, football, cricket, hockey and modern pentathlon, are starting early even though the Games do not officially open until Friday. The event is being held in Japan for the first time since 1994 and also serves as a pathway to qualifying places for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics in some sports.

Organisers are also managing weather-related concerns after heavy rain briefly forced athletes to evacuate and caused leaks at some venues. Other featured competitors mentioned by Al Jazeera include Philippine tennis player Alexandra Eala, Indian cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi.