Qatar's Cherif and Tijan reach Asian Beach Volleyball last 16

DOHA: Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan advanced to the Round of 16 of the Asian Beach Volleyball Championship 2026 in Shangluo, China, after topping Group B with a perfect three-win record.

The Qatari duo sealed their third victory by defeating Thailand’s Netitorn and T. Poravid 21-18, 21-11 in straight sets.

Younousse and Tijan opened their campaign with a straight-sets win over Malaysia’s Teh and Yong Jian before overcoming New Zealand’s Sam and Ben Odia in a three-set encounter, 21-14, 19-21, 21-15. xsportfeed.life

The Group B winners now advance to the Round of 16 as they continue their bid for the title and qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Moussa Al-Khair and Mohamed Ehab Zaki ended their group-stage campaign with their first victory, beating Hong Kong’s pair 21-12, 21-12 in straight sets.

Al-Khair and Zaki had opened the tournament with a 0-2 defeat to China’s Wang and Du Hongjun before losing 2-0 to Thailand’s Pitak and Watchrawit, 21-19, 21-18.

The championships feature 24 pairs divided into six groups of four, with teams playing a single round-robin format.

New York, USA: Serena and Venus Williams electrified Arthur Ashe Stadium but fell to Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint in three thrilling sets in their return to the US Open women's doubles on Friday.

The superstar sisters, whose 14 Grand Slam doubles titles include two US Opens, rallied from a break down in the third set and led the deciding 10-point tiebreaker 5-0 but fell 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7).

Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, hadn't played Grand Slam doubles since the 2022 US Open and last won a title together at Roland Garros in 2018.

They showed flashes of their brilliant best, Serena proving particularly dangerous patrolling the net but struggling with her serve.

After recovering from losing the first set to level the match in the second-set tiebreaker.

They belted no fewer than 20 winners in the set, holding serve throughout and leveled the match when Joint smacked an overhead long to roars from the crowd.

Chan and Joint regrouped to seize a 4-2 lead in the third. The sisters rallied, but get to the finish line as Taiwan's Chan and Joint fought back superbly to clinch the victory.

For Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion considered by many to be tennis's greatest women's player, it was her first return to the courts of Flushing Meadows since then.

The 44-year-old had returned to major singles play as a Wimbledon wild card four years after "evolving away" from the game.

At the All-England club she lost to Joint in a Centre Court clash that captured the imagination of both diehard and casual tennis fans.

Even that experience didn't prepare Joint for the atmosphere on the cavernous Ashe Stadium.

The sisters received a thunderous ovation when they took court, all business in understated white outfits.

Every blistering volley and overhead smash from the Americans received raucous cheers, and when they sprinted to the lead in the decisive 10-point tiebreaker the noise was deafening

"The atmosphere was surreal," Joint said. "Being able to play aginst such legends of the game is super special."

حقق فريق العربي الفوز على السيلية بهدفين دون رد في المباراة التي جمعت الفريقين مساء أمس على ملعب خليفة الدولي ضمن لقاءات الجولة الثالثة من دوري نجوم بنك الدوحة للموسم الجاري 2026ـ 2027، سجل هدفي العربي يوسف سنانة في الدقيقة 45، بينما سجل الهدف الثاني عيسى لاي في الدقيقة 77، وبتلك النتيجة يحرز الأحلام أول انتصار بعد ان رفع رصيده إلى 5 نقاط في المركز الثالث، بينما ظل السيلية بدون رصيد في المرتبة الأخيرة.
الشوط الأول جاء متكافئا بعض الشيء مع أفضلية نسبية للعربي في منتصف الشوط الأول بعد أن هدد مرمى السيلية كثيراً لتسجيل هدف الأسبقية، في المقابل الشواهين لم تظهر بالأنياب الحقيقة دون تهديد مرمى جاسم الهيل بالشكل الكافي، وقبل نهاية الشوط الأول نجح يوسف سنانة في تسجيل هدف التقدم للعربي في الدقيقة 45 من ضربة رأسية استقبلها بعد تنفيذ مميز لركلة ركنية، لينتهي الشوط الأول بتقدم عرباوي بهدف.
وفي الشوط الثاني بدأ السيلية بصورة مغايرة عن الشوط الأول نتيجة بحثه الجاد لتسجيل التعادل والعودة للمباراة، وبالفعل كاد اللاعب كيلين فان دير كاب أن يسجل التعادل في الدقيقة 61 ولكن ارتطمت الكرة في العارضة، وهذا التراجع في الأداء للعربي أجبر المدرب الروماني كوزمين على إدخال الثلاثي الهجومي أسامة طنان وخالد محمد والونغا لتنشيط الناحية الهجومية وتعزيز التقدم، وبالفعل عزز العربي تقدمه في الدقيقة 77 برأسية رائعة من عيسى لاي عقب عرضية متقنة من المغربي أسامة طنان، ليكون هذا الهدف بمثابة رصاصة الرحمة للسيلية الذي لم ينجح في العودة للقاء وتنتهي المباراة بثنائية عرباوية مستحقة، ويزيد من معاناة السيلية الذي يعيش فترة لا يحسد عليها عقب 3 خسائر من 3 جولات بداية من الدحيل بهدفين دون رد، ومن الشحانية في الجولة الماضية بثلاثية مقابل هدفين، وأخيراً أمس من العربي.

New Delhi: India and Japan will face off this month in their first-ever Twenty20 men's international cricket match against each other, India's cricket board announced Friday.

The match will be held at Japan's Sano International Cricket Ground on September 22, celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two Asian nations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

BCCI Honorary Secretary Devajit Saikia called it "a significant moment for cricket", taking reigning world champions India to "new territory" and introducing the sport to a wider audience in Japan and East Asia.

Japan Cricket Association chief executive Naoki Miyaji said he hopes that the match will encourage Japanese curious about cricket to come and cheer.

Taking note of India's ambition to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, the BCCI said the initiative aims to promote human exchanges and cooperation between India and Japan in the field of sports.