Thailand beat South Korea 8.210 – 8.200 in the gold medal match in the taekwondo competition.

Earlier Thailand won a bronze medal from PongpornSuvittayarak in men’s individual poomsae, the first medal by a Thai athlete in the 18th Games.

Federer, a seven-time champion here, will be bidding to increase his tournament leading total, while Djokovic is keen to win the only Masters 1000 tournament missing from his trophy collection.

Second seed Federer was leading 7-6 (7/3), 1-1 when David Goffin retired with an injury from their semi-final match after 62 minutes on Saturday.

The Belgian needed treatment for a shoulder problem after losing the opening set.

Djokovic beat 2016 winner Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to earn his place.

“I realised that he was not serving very big,” Federer said. “But it was only after he was treated that I knew something might be wrong.

“I could see that he was unhappy, but I thought he was going to play on.”

The Swiss was not distressed to get a quick win.

“I’m gonna recover for tomorrow. This match was erratic at the start with hardly any rallies.

“But it got better towards the end, I’m glad my serve has worked well all week.

“I’m happy today was fairly easy.”

Djokovic leads a rivalry, which dates to 2006, by a thin 23-22 margin with the Serb winning three of their last four meetings.

Federer won their only previous final here in 2015 in straight sets.

“That’s not how I wanted to win, but I’ll take it,” the Swiss said. “I’ve now got a difficult final against a tough opponent.”

Djokovic has lost all five of his Cincinnati finals. “Hopefully I can get it done this time,” he said.

Djokovic had to work for more than two and a half hours to overcome Cilic, the 2016 champion in the combined WTA and ATP event.

Djokovic only secured his defeat of the Croatian late in the final set, breaking for 5-3 and finishing off the hard-fought victory in the next game.

“It’s tough, I’m very pleased to reach the final once more here,” Djokovic said.

“It’s been a difficult week with rain delays and all that was happening. I’ve been down in my last three matches but I’ve come back.”

– Halep eyes ‘big chance’ –

On the women’s side, world number one Simona Halep is hoping it will be third time lucky in Cincinnati after booking her finals berth with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.

The Romanian lost a title bid in Cincinnati in 2015 against Serena Williams and came up short a year ago to Garbine Muguruza.

On Sunday she’ll try again against Dutch outsider Kiki Bertens, who will be playing her third final of the season after wearing down a tiring Petra Kvitova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

“If I fight like I’ve done here, I will have a big chance,” Halep said. “It will be a challenge for me to play another final here and try to win it.”

World number 17 Bertens, who played and won two matches on Friday after rain interruptions this week, looked fitter that two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova in hot, humid conditions.

“I’m feeling great, I’m so happy to win,” she said after advancing on her first match point as Kvitova slammed a forehand into the net. “It was a tough match, but I’m so glad to be in the final.”

Sabalenka, the 20-year-old number 34 who is still seeking a first career title, dropped the opening set on back-to-back double-faults.

Halep took advantage of the momentum with a break for 3-1 in the second set, only to immediately drop her serve.

Halep broke in the final game to move through as Sabalenka volleyed long on a second match point after 76 minutes.

Bournemouth are the only other side to so far take maximum points from their opening two games as Eddie Howe’s men came from behind to win 2-1 at West Ham.

Everton’s £50-million signing Richarlison continued to quieten queries of his price tag with the winner as Southampton were defeated 2-1 at Goodison Park, while Leicester saw off Wolves 2-0 despite a red card for Jamie Vardy.

The game of the day sees London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal face off at Stamford Bridge in an early-season test for new managers Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery.

After becoming the first Premier League side since the introduction of the summer transfer window to fail to sign a player, Spurs were dealt another blow off the field in midweek with the news their new 62,000-capacity stadium won’t be ready until at least October.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men will therefore host another two home fixtures against Cardiff and Liverpool at Wembley.

But after a slow start at their temporary home last season, Tottenham have a good record at Wembley and picked up another three points despite being fully tested by newly-promoted Fulham.

Lucas Moura curled home his first Premier League goal to give Spurs the lead, but Aleksandar Mitrovic deservedly headed Fulham level early in the second half.

– World Cup stars shine –

Tottenham may still be suffering a World Cup hangover with the majority of their stars enjoying barely a week of pre-season training after their efforts in Russia.

But it was two of England’s World Cup heroes who produced the goods as Kieran Trippier curled home a wonderful free-kick before Kane finally ended his wait to score in the opening month of the season at the 15th attempt in the Premier League.

In contrast to Spurs, West Ham splurged nearly £100 million in the transfer market to back new manager Manuel Pellegrini but still have no points to show for it after a second-half surrender to Bournemouth.

Marko Arnautovic’s penalty gave the hosts a half-time lead. Two goals in six minutes turned the game on its head, though, as Callum Wilson and Steve Cook made it two wins from two for the Cherries.

Everton’s revolution under Marco Silva gained more momentum at Goodison with Richarlison scoring his third goal in two games.

A well-worked free-kick freed up Theo Walcott to open the scoring before the Brazilian headed home a Walcott cross to double Everton’s advantage.

Wolves shared the points in a four-goal thriller with Everton last weekend, but despite much hype and expectation after a summer of heavy investment, they remain winless after losing 2-0 at 10-man Leicester.

A spectacular own goal from Matt Doherty and a deflected James Maddison strike put the Foxes in command.

However, victory came at a cost for Leicester as England international Vardy was shown a straight red card 20 minutes from time for a late lunge on Doherty and now faces a three-game ban.

Cardiff and Newcastle both registered their first point of the season in a drab 0-0 draw in the Welsh capital in a missed opportunity for both sides.

The visitors played the final half-hour with 10 men after Isaac Hayden was dismissed, but still had the best chance to take all three points when Kenedy’s 96th-minute penalty was saved by Neil Etheridge.

Sarri’s side have maximum points from their opening two games under the Italian, but made life difficult for themselves after racing into a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes through Pedro Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata.

Arsenal were level by half-time as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi netted.

Yet the Gunners were left to rue wasting a host of other glorious chances before Eden Hazard came off the bench to swing an enthralling encounter Chelsea’s way by providing the cross for Marco Alonso’s winner.

And Sarri believes those defensive deficiencies showed Chelsea are far from the finished product capable of challenging favourites Manchester City and Liverpool for the title.

“Not in this moment,” said Sarri, who bemoaned a “horrible” final 15 minutes of the first-half that saw Chelsea throw away their advantage.

“I think we have to work, improve in the basics and I’m not talking about only the defenders.

“The defensive phase is about the team. If we press very high we are able to do well, but in the other moments when we are not able to press in the other half we are in trouble.”

Sarri believes Hazard isn’t yet ready for 90 minutes after his exertions with Belgium at the World Cup, but acknowledged his side will be a different prospect once his star man is up to speed.

And Hazard warned he isn’t keen on starting a third straight game on the bench next weekend at Newcastle on the bench.

“It is better to be on the pitch than watching on the bench,” said Hazard.

In contrast to Sarri’s super start, new Arsenal boss Unai Emery is still waiting for his first Premier League point.

But after being outclassed by City on the opening weekend of the season, there were far more for positives for the Spaniard.

“I think we need to give the players calm and continue working,” said Emery.

“The reaction after the 2-0 is very good. The 2-2 (at half-time) is soft for us because we had more chances to score.”

– Jorginho key –

Chelsea beat City to the signing of Jorginho to reunite the Italian international with Sarri after three seasons together at Napoli and he is already becoming key to Sarri’s change of system at Stamford Bridge.

A sumptuous Jorginho pass rewarded a positive opening by the hosts as he picked out Alonso and his cross was turned into the bottom corner by Pedro.

Seconds earlier Mesut Ozil had flashed a great chance wide and Arsenal’s profligacy was punished again when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang skied over with the goal at his mercy with the chance to level.

Morata raced onto a long ball over the top and turned inside Shkodran Mustafi before firing home his first goal of the season.

– Arsenal fightback falls short –

Mkhitaryan followed Aubameyang’s example by somehow also blazing over an almost identical chance from close range.

The Armenian made amends to spark Arsenal’s fightback eight minutes before the break, though, with a fiercely struck low shot that had too much power for the world’s most expensive goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga.

If Kepa could have been questioned for the first goal he has conceded in English football after an 80 million euro move from Athletic Bilbao, he was helpless as Arsenal equalised four minutes later when Iwobi smashed home Mkhitaryan’s cross.

Both sides tightened up after the break, but Sarri had the trump card when he introduced Hazard in the final quarter for a match-winning cameo.

Chelsea’s number 10 eased past Hector Bellerin before providing a low cross for Alonso to sweep home 10 minutes from time.

The Serb, who has lost in five previous finals at the hardcourt tournament that serves as the last major tuneup for the US Open, is hoping to re-write a line in the record books by becoming the first man to win titles at all of the nine Masters 1000 events.

“Hopefully I can get it done this time,” said Djokovic, who will line up on Sunday against either seven-time champion Roger Federer or Belgian David Goffin.

Djokovic had to work for more than two and a half hours to overcome Cilic, the 2016 champion in the combined WTA and ATP event.

Djokovic only secured his defeat of Cilic late in the final set, breaking for 5-3 and finishing off the hard-fought victory in the next game.

“It’s tough, I’m very pleased to reach the final once more here,” Djokovic said.

“It was a roller-coaster match,” added the Wimbledon champion, who admitted he was distracted my loud music coming from outside the court early in the third set.

“It’s been a difficult week with rain delays and all that was happening. I’ve been down in my last three matches but I’ve come back.

“Just a few points today decided it,” added Djokovic, who saved nine of 12 break points and broke Cilic four times.

– Halep eyes ‘big chance’ –

On the women’s side, world number one Simona Halep is hoping it will be third time lucky in Cincinnati after booking her finals berth with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.

The Romanian lost a title bid in Cincinnati in 2015 against Serena Williams and came up short a year ago to Garbine Muguruza.

On Sunday she’ll try again against Dutch outsider Kiki Bertens, who will be playing her third final of the season after wearing down a tiring Petra Kvitova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

“If I fight like I’ve done here, I will have a big chance,” Halep said. “It will be a challenge for me to play another final here and try to win it.”

World number 17 Bertens, who played and won two matches on Friday after rain interruptions this week, looked fitter that two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova in hot, humid conditions.

“I’m feeling great, I’m so happy to win,” she said after advancing on her first match point as Kvitova slammed a forehand into the net. “It was a tough match, but I’m so glad to be in the final.”

Halep will be playing for her second major title in as many weeks after beating reigning US Open champion Sloane Stephens for the title in montreal.

Sabalenka, the 20-year-old number 34 who is still seeking a first career title, dropped the opening set on back-to-back double-faults.

Halep took advantage of the momentum with a break for 3-1 in the second set, only to immediately drop her serve.

Halep broke in the final game to move through as Sabalenka volleyed long on a second match point after 76 minutes.

The Romanian lost a title bid in Cincinnati in 2015 against Serena Williams and came up short a year ago to Garbine Muguruza.

On Sunday she’ll try again against Dutch outsider Kiki Bertens, who will be playing her third final of the season after wearing down a tiring Petra Kvitova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

“If I fight like I’ve done here, I will have a big chance,” Halep said. “It will be a difficult match, but we are both very confident.

“It will be a challenge for me to play another final here and try to win it. “I want to enjoy it and give all that I have.”

World number 17 Bertens defeated two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova for the second week in a row after scoring a third-round win in Montreal.

Halep will be playing for her second major title in as many weeks after beating reigning US Open champion Sloane Stephens for the title in montreal.

Sabalenka, the 20-year-old number 34 who is still seeking a first career title, dropped the opening set on back-to-back double-faults.

Halep took advantage of the momentum with a break for 3-1 in the second set, only to immediately drop her serve.

Halep broke in the final game to move through as Sabalenka volleyed long on a second match point after 76 minutes.

Bertens, who played and won two matches on Friday after rain interruptions this week, looked fitter that Kvitova in hot, humid conditions.

“I’m feeling great, I’m so happy to win,” she said after advancing on her first match point as Kvitova slammed a forehand into the net. “It was a tough match, but I’m so glad to be in the final.”

South Korean women’s basketball player Lim Yung-hui and North Korean footballer Ju Kyong-chol jointly held the Korean Unification flag aloft as they led the athletes out to an ovation from the packed crowd.

It is the second such symbolic gesture this year by the two Koreas, who also walked together at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening ceremony — an event that heralded an unprecedented warming of ties.

The North and South, still technically at war, are joining forces in women’s basketball, canoeing and rowing during the 40-sport, two-week regional Olympics in the Indonesian capital and Palembang, a port city on Sumatra island.

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and North Korean Deputy Prime Minister Ri Ryong-nam, watching from the VIP seats, rose together holding hands and beaming as the Korean athletes marched.

Unified Korea’s flagbearer Lim Yunghui leads the delegation during the opening ceremony.

The ceremony opened with a skit purportedly showing President Joko Widodo doing stunts on a motorbike in Jakarta’s streets before riding into the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, to roars from the crowd.

About 1,500 dancers in traditional dress then performed a tightly choreographed routine before Afghanistan led the athletes’ parade into the stadium.

There were huge cheers when the two Koreas, whose athletes together number about 1,000, marched into the stadium together wearing pristine white and blue uniforms.

Thailand’s delegation parades during the opening ceremony.

– ‘You can feel proud’ –

Widodo was then seen dancing in his seat as Indonesian singer Via Vallen took to the stage, before the stadium fell silent to honour the victims of the recent Lombok earthquake.

“You can feel proud of your home country Indonesia,” said Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, before Widodo declared the Games open.

Actors perform during the opening ceremony.

Indonesian badminton great Susi Susanti, the women’s singles Olympic champion in 1992, lit the Games cauldron and the ceremony closed with a noisy music performance and spectacular fireworks.

It provided a vibrant start to the Games, whose build-up has been dogged by logistical headaches and security fears after Indonesia suffered its deadliest terror attack in a decade in May.

The sprawling archipelago has also been grappling with its latest earthquake disaster after strong tremors in Lombok, an eastern island, left more than 400 people dead.

Indonesia, a country of about 270 million, stepped in to host the Games at short notice after Vietnam pulled out, citing the event’s eye-watering costs.

Indonesia has a poor track record in hosting multi-sports events — the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang suffered serious corruption problems and delays, and two people died in a stadium stampede.

Rights group Amnesty International said at least 31 people were killed in a “shoot first and ask questions later” police crackdown on petty crime.

But officials say all venues are ready for competition and tournament-related problems so far have been relatively minor, from the ticket website crashing to misspelt words on signs.

A participant carries the torch during the opening ceremony. 

About 18,000 athletes and officials from 45 Asian countries will be at the Asiad, organisers said, looking to make their mark across a range of sports from swimming to sepak takraw and bridge.

The Asian Games encompass nearly the full Olympic programme and are considered the pinnacle by many participating nations, for whom Olympic success often proves elusive.

As Olympic champions such as China’s Sun Yang and Japan’s Kosuke Hagino soak up the limelight, simply getting to Jakarta has been a remarkable achievement for the fresh-faced hopefuls from the Maldives and East Timor.

Better known for its sun-kissed blue lagoons, the Maldives is no island paradise for its competitive swimmers, who regularly suffer jellyfish stings in the murky waters off the capital Male.

“We see jellyfish and stingrays mostly and sometimes eels so I get pretty scared,” 14-year-old Hulva Khulail told AFP.

“I’ve been stung so many times,” added the pint-sized schoolgirl, who takes the plunge in the 50, 100 and 200 metres breaststroke in Jakarta.

“It itches so much you have to stop and pour vinegar on it. And also the sea is very polluted.”

Such is the parlous state of swimming in the Maldives there is no proper pool available.

Khulail and team mate Haish Hassan instead use the Indian Ocean, sharing a 25-metre area marked out by floating blocks with fish and other creatures — often at night.

“It’s hard for us to swim in a pool because the water is very dense,” explained science buff Hassan, also 14, who will tackle the backstroke and breaststroke, plus the 400m freestyle.

“The seawater is easier to swim in, but sometimes practice gets cancelled because of the water pollution. We’ve all complained about it.”

– Croc-infested waters –

Another swimmer poised to become one of the unsung heroes of the Games is East Timor’s Imelda Felycita Ximenes Belo, who only learned to swim five years ago.

The 19-year-old trailblazer will be the first Timorese swimmer to compete at the regional event, which officially opens on Saturday.

But Belo, whose role model is American Olympic star Katie Ledecky, risks life and limb as she trains in an ocean infested with saltwater crocodiles.

Many beaches in East Timor are unswimmable and communities live in fear of crocodile attacks — but it does not stop Belo.

“There’s crocodiles in the sea and they can be really dangerous,” shrugged freestyler Belo, whose other Asian Games goal is to take a selfie with her crush, Singapore hunk Joseph Schooling.

“I can’t go out too deep because you can’t see. My parents worry that I might get eaten but I just pray to God to protect me from the crocs.”

For Nepal’s swimmers, it’s not so much sea monsters they fear but the prospect of turning into couch potatoes — for seven months of the year it is too cold to use the country’s only 50m pool.

“We can only train for five months and you can also have political strikes too so you lose more days,” said Sirish Gurung, who will swim the 50 and 100m freestyle.

“In the winter there’s nothing to do, I just eat burgers and fries. It’s a miracle that we’re here!”

“If China and Japan both perform at high level, it will be beneficial for bringing up the total sporting performance of Asia in front of the whole world,” Yamashita told a press conference at the main press center of the Asian Games here.

Japan has sent a 1,096-member delegation, including some 762 athletes, to the games co-hosted in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, and Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province

Japan has sent a 1,096-member delegation, including some 762 athletes, to the games co-hosted in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, and Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province.

Yamashita reiterated that Japan has not set a medal target for the Asian Games here but hopes to use this opportunity to evaluate their athletes and learn to prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games.

“We have set a target for 30 gold medals at the 2020 Olympics. The Asian Games are the last big games before 2020 and are thus very important for us,” he said.

“We have been working hard to prepare for the Olympics. For us, the Olympics in 2020 are not just a tournament that is held every four years, but a once-in-50 or 100 years event,” he said.

Besides the sport events which Japan are traditionally strong about, Yamashita said they have also been building a good foundation for events such as badminton, table tennis and fencing, and on top of those, a few new events such as Karate, softball, baseball and surfing.

“We have many good athletes in these new events and hope they have a good performance,” he said.

Yamashita also said that currently there are fierce competition in Japan for the opportunities to participate in the Olympic Games two years later.

“So I believe those who have come here will not reserve their performance for the future, but will have to fight hard and compete at their best level for the opportunities to compete further at the Olympics,” he said.

In a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday, Amnesty International Indonesia claimed that police officers had shot at least 77 people across the country between January and August this year, in an operation dubbed Cipta Kondisi (Public Safety Operation).

Among the number, 31 were shot in the Asian Games’ host cities, Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra. The organization believes that the police are taking a heavy-handed approach ahead of the Asian Games, which takes place from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2.

Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid said the figures reveal a clear pattern of unnecessary and excessive use of force by the police.

“In the months leading up to the Asian Games, the authorities promised to improve security for all. Instead, we have seen the police shooting and killing dozens of people across the country with almost zero accountability for the deaths,” he said in a written statement.

Abdul Fickar Hadjar, a criminal law expert from Trisakti University, said the police are only allowed to shoot perpetrators under certain conditions, such as for self-defense.

“If the police do not encounter certain threats they should only shoot to immobilize the perpetrator,” he said on Friday. Abdul added that everyone has the right to be processed legally no matter the severity of their crime.