Sports
Galatasaray keep slim Süper Lig lead with tough Kocaelispor win
Turkish Champions Galatasaray edged Kocaelispor 1-0 Sunday to maintain a slim lead in the Süper Lig after five matches.
Captain Abdülkerim Bardakcı scored the only goal of the match in the 71st minute after the hosts had twice hit the woodwork and seen an early goal ruled out following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
The Istanbul giants thought they had taken the lead in the 12th minute after Lucas Torreira’s long-range effort was parried by Kocaelispor goalkeeper Serhat Öztaşdelen.
Rafael Leao collected the rebound and sent a looping effort against the crossbar before Deniz Gül headed the loose ball into the net.
However, the goal was disallowed following a VAR review for a foul by Deniz against Öztaşdelen.
Deniz went close again in the 31st minute when his left-footed effort from a difficult angle struck the right post.
Kocaelispor responded seven minutes later on a fast break, with Dan Agyei hitting the left post from the left side of the penalty area.
Galatasaray piled on the pressure toward the end of the first half, but Öztaşdelen denied Leao and then produced another save to keep out Bardakcı’s close-range header as the teams went into half time goalless.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 71st minute when Bardakcı scored with a powerful low left-footed strike from long range.
The Lions nearly doubled their advantage seven minutes later when Roland Sallai’s direct free kick was tipped onto the crossbar by Öztaşdelen, who then helped clear the danger.
Kocaelispor could not find an equalizer in the closing stages as Galatasaray held on for their fourth victory in five league matches.
The result moved Galatasaray to 13 points and kept them top of the Süper Lig standings, while Kocaelispor remain on nine points.
In Sunday’s other matches a traveling Kasımpaşa beat Gençlerbirliği 2-1, while newcomers Amed Sportif handed Başakşehir a 5-0 drubbing.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho hailed his Turkish playmaker Arda Güler Monday ahead of the team’s visit to face Elche in La Liga Tuesday.
The Turkish midfielder came on as a substitute in Madrid’s 4-1 win over Rayo Vallecano Saturday and helped steady the team when they were wobbling under pressure.
Güler is not assured of a starting place at Madrid, with Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all part of Mourinho’s regular side.
The 21-year-old is competing with record signing Yan Diomande and Brahim Diaz among others for minutes, ahead of the central midfield duo.
“There are people more qualified than me to talk about his development, people who have been here since he arrived, about how he’s transformed physically,” Mourinho told reporters.
“But for me, his quality of play is incredible – his vision, his decisionmaking, his playmaking, the stability he brings to the team, his creativity … For me, he’s a player with fantastic potential who already has some very impressive stats,” he said.
Güler has shown he has a strong link with Mbappe on the pitch, regularly combining well with the French forward, including for Madrid’s fourth goal against Rayo.
Mourinho, however, said he would not go completely overboard with praise for Güler, who arrived from Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe in 2023.
“Maybe I don’t want to go so far as to say ‘top, top, top’ three times, but I can definitely say ‘top, top,'” joked the Portuguese coach.
One player still looking for his best form at Madrid is Vinicius.
The Brazilian winger has scored one goal this season and Mourinho reiterated his view that Vinicius is still not at his best.
“The best version of him is scoring goals. Obviously, assisting is important, working for the team is very important. Commitment, solidarity, and teamwork are very important,” said Mourinho.
“But there’s another Vinicius, the Vinicius who arrived in Lisbon last season (in the Champions League) and in close matches, in the knockout rounds, gets one chance, scores a goal and that’s it.
“He’s lacking that top-level performance lately, but I am happy with him.”
Second-placed Madrid trail La Liga leaders Barcelona, who boast a 100% record, by three points.
Fenerbahçe said Friday head coach Ismail Kartal would remain in charge of the team, reversing uncertainty a day after he announced his resignation following a draw with Roma in the Champions League opener.
Media reports earlier Friday claimed Fenerbahçe had accepted Kartal’s resignation and that assistant coach Dirk Kuyt would temporarily manage the team.
Fenerbahçe had initially refused to accept the 65-year-old’s resignation, but he nevertheless failed to attend training Friday.
In a statement later Friday, the Istanbul club said Kartal would lead training Saturday as part of preparations for their upcoming Süper Lig game against Gaziantep FK.
“Head Coach Ismail Kartal remains in charge,” Fenerbahçe said. “Our team will continue preparations for the Gaziantep FK match with a training session under the management of our coach Ismail Kartal.”
Kartal had announced his resignation after the 1-1 draw in Istanbul that ended 18 years of Fenerbahçe’s absence from the Champions League. He did not explain why he was quitting just three months after taking up the position and refused to take questions.
“First of all, I congratulate my players for carrying out the tasks I assigned for tonight’s match to the letter. We played football worthy of the Champions League,” Kartal said at a post-match news conference. “We could have won the match; we had clear chances. The match ended in a draw, and I am proud of my players.”
Kartal continued: “Tonight, I am resigning from my position – never to return. I extend my heartfelt thanks to my players.”
In a separate news conference soon after, club chair Aziz Yıldırım said Fenerbahçe fans had hurled a water bottle at Kartal, describing the incident as a reason for the coach’s decision. Kartal was also upset by a series of social media posts, Yıldırım said.
Yıldırım insisted that Kartal’s resignation was not accepted and that he would remain at the helm.
“You saw the state Ismail was in. Can a person endure that much distress?” Yıldırım said. “They threw a water bottle at Ismail Kartal’s head. We saw it. That is why he is upset.”
“Ismail Kartal remains in his post,” he added. “I said (to Kartal): ‘You will continue,’ and that was that.”
The Istanbul club, meanwhile, said on social media that the person who had thrown a bottle at Kartal had been identified and banned from the stadium.
Kartal, who spent a decade at Fenerbahçe as a player, coached the club in 2014-15, then on an interim basis in 2021-22 before returning for a full campaign in 2023-24.
He was assistant manager at Fenerbahçe the last two times the club won the Süper Lig and returned for a fourth managerial spell in June.
Fenerbahçe have finished second in the Turkish top flight in the last five seasons and reached the league phase of the Champions League this season for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign.
The fifth and final leg of the 2026 Archery World Cup is set to get underway in Mexico this weekend. The tournament, hosted by the city of Saltillo on Sept. 12-13, will feature four Turkish archers.
Turkish athletes have won 14 medals across the first four legs of the 2026 Archery World Cup. They claimed five medals in Puebla, including three silver and two bronze; six in Shanghai, including two gold, three silver and one bronze; one gold in Antalya; and two medals in Madrid, including one gold and one silver.
The Turkish archers competing in the final stage will be Mete Gazoz and Ulaş Berkim Tümer in the men’s recurve, Elif Berra Gökkır in the women’s recurve and Hazal Burun in the women’s compound.
Türkiye has emerged as a major force in international archery in recent years, led by Gazoz, who won the country’s first Olympic gold medal in archery at the Tokyo 2020 Games. He followed that breakthrough by winning the men’s individual recurve title at the 2023 World Archery Championships, becoming the first Turkish archer to win a world championship title in the discipline.
Turkish archery also made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the men’s recurve team won a bronze medal, marking the country’s first Olympic medal in an archery team event. Gazoz, Ulaş Berkim Tümer and Abdullah Yıldırmış secured the historic podium finish.
Gazoz has helped raise the profile of the sport in Türkiye since his Olympic triumph, becoming one of the country’s best-known athletes. His success has also been part of a broader rise for Turkish archery, with the national team regularly challenging for medals on the international circuit.
The Munzur Mountains in the Ovacık district of eastern Türkiye’s Tunceli province are offering rock climbers challenging and exhilarating new routes to explore.
Stretching about 130 kilometers (81 miles) from west to east between Erzincan and Tunceli, the Munzur range is home to nearly 50 peaks.
Offering different landscapes in every season, the mountains have significant potential for outdoor sports, with their valleys, highland meadows, waterfalls, glacial lakes and canyons.
Mountaineers visiting the region are carrying out daylong expeditions to identify new routes and explore opportunities for rock climbing.
After driving as close as possible to the foothills of the Munzur Mountains, climbers continue on foot toward their destinations. After several hours of hiking, they reach the climbing areas, where they examine the rock face to assess the difficulty of the route and prepare their helmets, climbing ropes, safety systems, specialized footwear and other equipment.
Once they reach the rock face, climbers begin their ascent while teammates secure them from below. They use natural protrusions and handholds in the rock to climb dozens of meters above the ground.
On steeper sections, climbers sometimes stop to rest, taking in the natural scenery surrounding the mountain peaks.
The climbs offer a different thrill at every step, while the mountaineers also have the chance to encounter wild goats roaming the high peaks.
Bülent Ak, Tunceli provincial representative of the Turkish Mountaineering Federation, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the Munzur Mountains are an extension of the Taurus Mountains and are largely composed of limestone.
Ak said the range’s most prominent and highest peaks include Akbaba in Erzincan province and Gediktepe in Tunceli.
“The Munzur Mountains have suitable holds, steps and routes of varying difficulty for rock climbing. This potential should be developed,” he said.
Ak said climbers can reach Goman Plateau in the Gediktepe Valley after about a 1 1/2-hour hike, where they climb the area’s steep rock faces.
Describing the expedition as challenging, Ak said: “We completed a six-pitch, Grade 7 rock climb. The route was quite long and pushed us hard. Because of that, we had to descend at night. If mountain huts can be built in the Munzur Mountains, the area could be transformed into a climbing destination. We also aim to establish low-grade bolted routes in Çemişgezek for climbers who are just starting out in rock climbing.”
Şahin Akdağ said he has been involved in rock climbing for about seven years and has climbed in many parts of Türkiye.
Noting that Tunceli’s mountains are well suited to rock climbing, Akdağ said they had completed a six-pitch alpine route with relatively demanding grades.
“It was an enjoyable climb, and I invite the entire alpine climbing community to come and see the Munzur Mountains. There are many new lines, long walls and traditional routes here,” he said.
Akdağ said the climbs provided moments of intense excitement.
“Rock climbing is an addiction, and that happiness is impossible to describe,” he said. “When you reach the summit, it feels as if you are inside an endless expanse. When we reach the top and see the surrounding peaks, they become tempting as well. That is why I will return to the Tunceli region.”
Clutching a bow and arrow and riding helmet in a remote gorge in northern Kyrgyzstan, London-based executive coach Becca Sweetman is a long way from home.
“About eight years ago a friend asked if I wanted to have a go at horseback archery and I just got hooked on this amazing sport,” she said.
“So, I’ve been competing for the last eight years for the Great Britain team.”
Sweetman is one of many Western athletes to make the trek out to Central Asia for the Nomad Games, a biannual tournament of traditional nomad sports, mostly originating from Central Asia. Aside from horse archery, they include various styles of wrestling, falconry, and traditional board games.
Since the inaugural edition in 2014, the Nomad Games have gone from strength to strength.
This year they returned home to Kyrgyzstan, the mountainous Central Asian country of seven million where they were first held, and where traditional sports retain a strong popular following. More than 3,000 athletes from more than 100 countries took part, organizers said.
An opening ceremony in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, was attended by leaders including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi, in town for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Sam Pollard, a London-based consultant, came to Kyrgyzstan as part of the British tug of war team. He said he’d become interested in the Nomad Games after seeing videos of Kok Boru, a nomadic sport similar to polo, but which is played with a sheep carcass in place of a ball.
“That looks awesome,” he told himself. The timing of the games aligned perfectly with when he wanted to visit Central Asia, plus he and his friends “had a bit of background in tug of war,” he said.
Although many athletes have come from countries without a history of nomadism, others come from countries like Mongolia and the Central Asian republics, where nomadic sports retain a major following.
“These games have the nomadic spirit,” said Mumina Daminova, a horseback archer from Uzbekistan, who competed in flowing white traditional robes.
“It’s like Olympic games but for ethnosport,” she said.
Como enjoyed a dream Champions League debut Thursday as the Italian club trounced RB Leipzig 4-1 at home, but fellow new boys Sabah were crushed 4-0 at Manchester United.
Six-time winners Bayern Munich opened their group phase campaign with a 5-0 thrashing of Norway’s Bodo/Glimt while Fenerbahçe made their long-awaited return to the competition with a 1-1 draw at home with AS Roma.
Como’s first-ever qualification to Europe’s elite club competition meant a race against time to get their lakeside Stadio Sinigaglia home upgraded to meet UEFA guidelines.
Failure to do so would have meant playing their home games 200km away at the home of Sassuolo, but Cesc Fabregas’s side were spared that and celebrated in style.
Marti Baturina got the party started with a 15th-minute opener before Taso Douvikas doubled their lead.
Assane Diao made it 3-0 early in the second half before Andrija Maksimovic pulled one back for the visitors, but Maximo Perrone wrapped it up in stoppage time.
Azerbaijan champions Sabah did not even exist a decade ago, but after winning the domestic title they moved into the qualifying rounds and beat Israel’s Hapoel Beer-Sheva to proudly take their place in the group stage alongside Europe’s big guns.
A visit to Old Trafford for United’s return to the Champions League after a two-season absence proved a step too far, though, as they were rolled over by Michael Carrick’s side.
Matheus Cunha began the rout in the 27th minute before Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko struck shortly before halftime. Lisandro Martinez added United’s fourth.
Bayern were frustrated before halftime by Bodo/Glimt but cruised once Jamal Musiala smashed in the opener two minutes after halftime and the floodgates opened.
Harry Kane headed the second on the hour – his 34th goal in 39 Champions League appearances for Bayern – and Alphonso Davies made it 3-0 with a powerful half-volley.
With Vincent Kompany’s side in full flow, Michael Olise completed the scoring with a superb late brace.
Roma took the lead in Istanbul in the 39th minute when Donyell Malen rolled a pass to Bryan Cristante, who beat Ederson with a bouncing finish. It was Cristante’s first goal in the Champions League proper, 15 years since making his debut in the competition as a 16-year-old for AC Milan.
Fenerbahçe, back in the Champions League after an 18-year absence, rallied through and equalized three minutes after halftime when Mason Greenwood slipped a pass through to Archie Brown, who clipped a finish over Mile Svilar.
The hosts almost won it late on when Nathan Ake headed against the Roma crossbar.
PSV Eindhoven avoided a sixth successive matchday one defeat in the competition as they drew 1-1 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Dutch club trailed at halftime after Gleiker Mendoza cut in from wide and sent a stunning low shot beyond the dive of Matej Kovar. However, Sergino Dest’s deft finish soon after the break ensured they began with a point.
Ten-man Slavia Prague suffered heartbreak at home to Lens as they conceded twice in stoppage time to lose 3-2.
Mikulas Konecny was sent off for the hosts just after halftime after a tackle was reviewed by VAR, but minutes later Danijel Sturm put the hosts ahead.
Abdallah Sima broke Slavia’s resistance with an equalizer, only for Sturm to send the home crowd into raptures with his second in the 88th minute.
Florian Thauvin struck in the 91st minute and there was still time for Lens to snatch victory with a pinpoint strike by Ruben Aguilar.
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