Despite it all, the participants, from across the American continent, show up as they vie for the medals and glory. Along the way, they give us some moments that are captured for posterity. Here are some eye-catching scenes from the Pan Am Games...
Juan Martin del Potro said on Monday he will not play in Argentina's Davis Cup playoff tie in September due to his differences with the Argentine Tennis Association (AAT).
Carlos Tevez was officially unveiled as a Boca Juniors player in a 6.5 million euros ($7.15 million) transfer from Juventus.
Argentina's new coach Edgardo Bauza has set his mind to wooing Lionel Messi back from international retirement as he ponders his squad for next month's South American 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Bauza was named on Monday to replace Gerardo Martino, who resigned a month ago after steering Messi's side to two successive Copa America finals which ended in penalty shootout defeats to Chile.
International Olympic Committee's member in India, Randhir Singh on Wednesday asked the officials of suspended Indian Olympic Association to accept the IOC's directive to bar charge-framed persons from contesting elections or face further action from the world body.
The ranges are bursting at the seams with young talent and Indian shooting's present state could be a harbinger of hope for a perfect future.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
A major earthquake just offshore rattled Chileans, killing five people and shaking the Earth so strongly the tremor was felt in places across South America.
Aaron Schock, who resigned as US Congressman on Tuesday night following media disclosures of his loose spending habits, met Narendra Modi thrice. These encounters were not free of controversy either.
It is a very different victory of Maradona that fascinates me even more, notes ad guru Sandeep Goyal.
The meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Bishkek is their first interaction after Modi's re-election following the stunning victory of the BJP in the general elections last month.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Sumit Nagal lived a dream when he took on one of the greatest players of all time at a packed Arthur Ashe stadium in a US Open first-rounder.
Here's your weekly digest of photographs that prove that it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world out there!
A round-up of Sunday's action in the South American World Cup qualifiers.
The former president will have two funerals -- a state funeral at the National Cathedral and a local funeral at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston.
The World No 4 is unfazed by rankings drop before Madrid tournament and the French Open.
A plane carrying 72 people, including football players from Brazil, has reportedly crashed in Colombia. Authorities are responding to an emergency after an airplane with 72 people on board has crashed on its way to Medellin's international airport.
International wrestling president Nenad Lalovic hopes showcasing the modern face of the sport in a tournament at Ancient Olympia will convince the IOC to include wrestling at the 2020 Games.
A 1,000km 10-hour roadtrip dash to Paris, squeezed into a small hire car alongside his 88-year-old grandmother, ended in Grand Slam joy for Marco Trungelliti at Roland Garros on Monday -- and a guaranteed 79,000 euros ($92,000) payday.
Lionel Messi announced on Friday that he wants to return to play for the national team, reversing his decision to retire earlier this year. Messi said in June that he would not play for Argentina again after the team lost to Chile in the final of the Copa America.
'India will come increasingly in the US crosshairs if it insists on maintaining its strategic autonomy, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
With barely weeks left to enter the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards, the world's biggest photography competition, photographers from around the world, including India, have been submitting some of the most stunning images -- many capturing breathtaking shots of mother nature at her finest.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Tokyo has mostly delivered on that hope, despite some early teething problems.
As Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo watched, the World No 4 Nadal went past Italian Bolelli to set up a quarter-final clash against 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
IOC President Thomas Bach asked members of the Olympic body at its session in Buenos Aires to support the creation of a refugee team, along the lines of the one that competed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. The members responded with applause.
Serbia carved out a 2-0 lead over rivals Croatia while Britain led the US by the same score and holders Switzerland were tied with Belgium in the Davis Cup.
Few in Zimbabwe dared to anger 'Gucci Grace' as Grace Mugabe was called. Robert Mugabe's wife was ruthless and terrifying, and her ambition clearly provoked the army's coup on Wednesday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Breakdancing, considered one of the pillars of hip-hop culture, will also make its Asian Games bow in 2022, two years before it features in the Olympics for the first time in Paris.
Nagal said he would look to play more ATP Tour events this year but for that he would have to first improve his rankings.
"But if you need a reminder of who he is, just look at his career stats and grand slams that he won."
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
The autopsy, which was based on blood and urine samples and released by the Buenos Aires Scientific Police, said Maradona had problems with his kidneys, heart and lungs.
PM Modi articulated five action points that would serve the common interest of promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
Across the world rallies were held to draw attention to climate change ahead of a United Nations summit in New York.
Missing their grandparents, not being able to go out and meet their friends.... These are just some of the things that kids, who have been confined to their homes due to the coronavirus lockdown, have revealed. From Tokyo to Buenos Aires, and New York to Kathmandu, youngsters have taken to their balconies or front lawns to display and explain the drawings they have made to Reuters photographers.
