Five months before the Olympics opening ceremony in Tokyo, health authorities around the world are scrambling to contain outbreaks of the flu-like virus which has infected about 80,000 and killed more than 2,700 people, the vast majority in China.
Six-times Olympic champion Usain Bolt said he felt shocked and let down by the scandal-hit IAAF, but the Jamaican sprinter was against resetting athletics world records as the sport attempts to move on from the doping crisis.
The decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), imposed a four-year ban on Russia participating in a range of top-flight sporting tournaments, a period covering the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup.
This year Olympic Games could feature an athletics programme without two of the sport's most powerful nations -- Russia and Kenya -- while a third, Ethiopia, is under immense pressure to show it has adequate anti-doping measures.
Radical changes to how cities will bid to host Olympic Games, and rules allowing more sports to feature, were among 40 innovations ushered in on Monday as International Olympic Committee members took bold steps to revamp their movement.
Russia could be banned from international athletics, including the 2016 Olympic Games, after an anti-doping commission report on Monday alleged widespread corruption and collusion that added up to a state-sponsored drugs culture in a sporting superpower.
Having set one record as football's most expensive teenager, recent signing Anthony Martial has another one in sight when Manchester United play at home to struggling Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Testers were also routinely obstructed from gaining access to athletes who used military cities as the location for their whereabouts knowing doping control officers would need special permission to gain access. The WADA update also revealed several examples of widespread efforts to avoid testing, including one detailed instance where an athlete tried to use a container inserted inside her body that presumably contained clean urine.
Dozens of Russian athletes who competed at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, including at least 15 medal winners, were part of a state-run doping program.
Lance Armstrong's return to competitive cycling will not erase doping allegations that have dogged his career, the former head of WADA, Dick Pound said.
Sebastian Coe chairs a meeting of world athletics on Friday to discuss suspending Russia over allegations of state sponsored doping of its athletes, a crisis that has put his leadership under the spotlight barely three months into the job.
Russia said on Friday it is ready to do everything from a legal point of view to defend Russian athletes if they are banned from taking part in the Rio Olympics over doping allegations.
It was an extraordinary turnaround for an Olympics that was expected to be held without major issues by a country known for public safety and economic stability. It also revealed a fatal miscalculation by Japanese and IOC officials of public sentiment at a time of heightened fears over the coronavirus.
Rediff.com takes a look at a few other players who shunned champion sides for mediocre clubs in the Premier League.
West Bromwich Albion have ruled out the prospect of Saido Berahino leaving the club during the current transfer window, leading Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino to compare his club's pursuit of the striker to a frustrated love affair.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The Premier League kicked off in unique fashion on Saturday as an own goal by Tottenham Hotspur's Kyle Walker gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory in an undistinguished season opener at Old Trafford.
Following badminton World No 1 Lee Chong Wei's provisional ban, Rediff.com brings you ten top sports persons who gave in to drugs - one of the mighty perils that has affected modern sporting culture.
It will be available from April 24.
Like Mr Trump, says Kanika Datta, politics tempts many businessmen.
A summary of Day 2 at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
A senseless pitch invasion by Serbian fans in last month's Euro 2016 home qualifier against Albania has cost the Balkan nation dearly and the team fear the ramifications ahead of Friday's match against Denmark, Nemanja Matic said.
Sreehari Nair presents his Top 20 movies of the decade.
Does your favourite city feature in the list? Find out.
From developing the right partnerships to employing strategies that help you to turn the game in your favour, the world of sports is full of lessons for your life and career.
They broke free yet failed to evade the clutches of law.
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