Four Japanese basketball players expelled from Asian Games

Four players have been expelled from Japan's men's basketball team at the Asian Games 2018 in Indonesia for allegedly hiring sex workers, the Japanese Olympic Committee said on Monday.

Yasuhiro Yamashita, the head of the Japanese delegation, said that the players in question had had their accreditations withdrawn and had been sent home, reports Efe.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) sources told EFE that the decision was taken after pictures of the basketball players wearing the national jersey walking with the alleged sex workers in the red light area of the Indonesian capital appeared in the Japanese press.

Yamashita said the four players went for dinner at a Japanese restaurant last Thursday, after which they were approached by a person who spoke Japanese and offered them the prostitutes' services.

The head of the delegation said the four players, named as Yuya Nagayoshi, Takuya Hashimoto, Takuma Sato and Keita Imamura had breached the delegation's code of conduct, and had arrived back in Japan on Monday, public broadcaster NHK reported.

"I deeply apologize for betraying the expectations of the Japanese people", Yamashita said.

The men's team had defeated Qatar 82-71 on Thursday, and lost against Taiwan 65-71 two days later. They are due to play Hong Kong on Wednesday.

--IANS

kk/sed