In women's singles, both Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu climbed up the ladder despite not playing in any recent tournaments.
Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off as leaders Real Madrid beat Cordoba 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday thanks to late Gareth Bale penalty.
Second-placed Napoli comfortably overcame the absence of suspended top scorer Gonzalo Higuain to brush aside bottom-of-the-table Verona 3-0 in Serie A on Sunday. Napoli stayed points six behind leaders Juventus, who won 2-1 at AC Milan on Saturday, with six matches each to play, and remain outsiders to win their first title since 1990 despite the win. Higuain, who has led Napoli's challenge with 30 goals, will miss the next three games as he completes a four-match ban for his sending-off and furious reaction in last week's 3-1 defeat at Udinese. Fiorentina's recent dismal run continued when they lost to their smaller Tuscan neighbours Empoli for the first time since 1997, leaving them fifth in the table. Juventus have 76 points from 32 games with Napoli on 70, AS Roma on 63, Inter Milan on 58 and Fiorentina on 56. Napoli hit the post twice and had a goal disallowed before Manolo Gabbiandini headed them in front in the 33rd minute, his fifth goal in only seven starts this season, after Verona goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini parried Jose Callejon's shot.
Argentina have reached three major finals in three years but the team who came so close to winning the 2014 World Cup face crunch games against Peru and Ecuador that will determine if they miss out on the global showpiece event for the first time since 1970.
Barcelona provisionally went top of La Liga for the first time since October after Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi scored in a 6-0 thrashing of Alaves on Saturday although the win was overshadowed by a serious injury to Aleix Vidal.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Karim Benzema fired Real Madrid to a 1-0 win in the city derby against Atletico Madrid on Saturday which underlined Real's La Liga title credentials. Bayern Munich scored three goals in the opening 26 minutes to defeat Mainz 05 3-1 away on Saturday and go two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with their sixth straight win.
Argentina have cancelled their final World Cup warmup match against Israel, striker Gonzalo Higuain said on Tuesday, as political pressure grew ahead of Saturday's scheduled fixture in Jerusalem.
Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas said he was keen to carry on racking up the international accolades after equalling the record for most caps by a European player but acknowledged he was closing in on retirement.
After an uncharacteristically slow start to the season which provoked questions about his longevity, Cristiano Ronaldo has roared back to life with a torrent of goals and now has La Liga's top scorer award in his sights.
Rounding off the year on a stylish note!
The two forwards have hit their strides ahead of Saturday's Clasico showdown between the two heavyweight clubs.
Zinedine Zidane cast doubt on his long-term future at Real Madrid by saying he is unsure if he will be in charge of the club next season. The former midfielder was named as Rafael Benitez's successor in January when he signed a contract until June 2018. But when asked what role he would have in the Liga club's transfer dealings for next season, Zidane said he did not know if he would still be at the Bernabeu. "I can't know what role I'm going to have if I don't know if I'm going to be here. We'll see what happens at the end of the season," Zidane was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper Marca. The 43-year-old was also asked if Madrid would make another attempt to sign David de Gea after their move for the Manchester United and Spain goalkeeper fell through on the last day of the transfer window last August.
What will you do for the latest iPhone?
India's campaign at the All England Badminton Championships came to a disappointing end with Saina Nehwal, B Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma all exiting from the tournament in Birmingham on Friday.
Here's your weekly digest of photographs that prove that it's a odd, crazy world out there!
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has opened the door to out-of-favour midfielder James Rodriguez leaving the club by admitting the player's lack of appearances could become a problem.
Stand-in defender Vlad Chiriches atoned for an early blunder by scoring his first Serie A goal to help Napoli come from behind and beat Chievo 3-1 in Serie A on Saturday, putting them level at the top with Juventus.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised the 'decisive' Antoine Griezmann after his two goals helped down Olympique de Marseille 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday and tried to convince the striker to resist the lure of Barcelona.
The France international is widely expected to move to Liga champions Barcelona at the end of this campaign.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri shunned the plaudits after his side move closer to the treble by beating AS Monaco to reach the Champions League final on Tuesday.
Zidane plays down Ronaldo injury; Liverpool's Gomez sidelined after surgey
Brazil got off to a winning start in their home Olympics on Wednesday when the women's soccer team beat China 3-0 in host city Rio de Janeiro. Although the opening ceremony takes place on Friday, the soccer competitions began ahead of time with six women's matches on Wednesday and another eight men's games on Thursday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi rescued a 1-1 draw at Villarreal with a sensational late free-kick on Sunday but could not prevent the champions finishing the weekend third in La Liga, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Belgium set up an intriguing men's Olympic hockey final against Argentina after they dumped out the world's second-ranked team the Netherlands with a resounding 3-1 semi-final victory on Tuesday.
, Juventus thumped Chievo 4-0 away to win their 12th league game in a row but it was not enough to topple leaders Napoli who thrashed Empoli 5-1.
Real Madrid wasted a chance to keep the pressure on the top two in La Liga with a 2-2 draw away to Osasuna where Sergio Ramos was sent off and record signing Gareth Bale substituted.
Cristiano Ronaldo will play no part in Real Madrid's game against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday after the prolific Portuguese forward was left out of the squad on Friday.
Gareth Bale says Wales' Euro 2016 semi-final against Portugal on Wednesday will not be decided by his personal duel with Real Madrid team mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Argentine clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors will contest the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final, South America's equivalent of the Champions League, in Madrid on Sunday.
Germany and Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira has had successful surgery on torn knee ligaments and he may be available for the World Cup, according to Germany team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt.
Barcelona's 16-year-old forward Ansu Fati continued his explosive start to life in the first team by scoring and providing an assist as the La Liga champions thrashed Valencia 5-2 on Saturday.
A round-up of Saturday's matches in Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Bayern Munich have signed midfielder James Rodriguez from Real Madrid on a two-year loan deal with an option to buy the player, the German champions said on Tuesday.
Reigning champions Spain are hungry to hold onto their title at the European Championship that kicks off this week, midfielder Cesc Fabregas said, but admitted there was no clear favourite.
A dramatic game featured missed chances, defensive howlers, scuffles and two video reviews, one producing a highly controversial outcome in the second half.
Sevilla's love affair with the Europa League was immediately rekindled as last season's champions and three-time winners began this year's group stage with a 2-0 home victory over Feyenoord on Thursday.
The French Open has not produced a lot of happy memories for Venus Williams in recent times, but now that she's reached the third round for the first time in six years, the American hopes her 2016 adventure won't come to an abrupt end.
Carlo Ancelotti has become Real Madrid president Florentino Perez's latest managerial victim, just 366 days after delivering the club their much-awaited La Decima, a 10th Champions League title.
