Greek torchlighting organisers said the dress rehearsal the day before, which usually attracts crowds, will be held without spectators while accreditations have been trimmed to the bare minimum and receptions and lunches scrapped.
The organisers took the unprecedented step of postponing the Olympics in March because of the pandemic and the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has declared he will host the Olympics "at any cost", is pressing ahead with the preparations.
Spain's Dani Pedrosa claimed the 50th Grand Prix win of his career on Sunday, taking victory in the Japanese MotoGP as runner-up Valentino Rossi extended his lead in the championship standings.
Eight images that prove we live in a truly bizarre world.
The average global temperature for July 2015 was the highest for any month since record keeping began in 1880, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Belarusian athlete Tsimanouskaya, 24, had been due to compete in the women's 200 metre heats on Monday but said that on Sunday she was taken to the airport to board a Turkish Airlines flight.
Dominic Thiem will clash with Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the men's singles final of the Australian Open. The Austrian made the title round with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(4) victory Germany's Alexander Zverev in the second semi-final at Melbourne Park on Friday. Djokovic beat great rival Roger Federer 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-3 in the first semi-final on Thursday.
Towns and cities lined up to host Olympic training or events have increasingly expressed resistance
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shris.
Ukraine on mission to ban Russia from Paris Olympics
Japan won't allow its reputation to be dented by calling off the Games at this late stage, argues Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry.
'But I'm sitting out for the people, for my Aussies, for the hundreds and thousands of Americans that have lost their lives, for all of you. It's my decision.'
Palermo will mark the first professional tennis event across the WTA and men's ATP Tours since early March with action scheduled to get underway on the clay courts of the Sicilian capital from August 3.
Tightening Russian gas supplies to Europe has led to scramble for tankers before winter sets in.
The new schedule means women's softball will kick off competition at 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) in Fukushima on July 21, two days before the Games officially open, with all events taking place a day earlier than the 2020 schedule.
Here's a look at eight images that prove we live in an odd, odd world!
The Dutch driver won the race at Suzuka, with Leclerc demoted from second to third behind Red Bull's Sergio Perez for cutting the final chicane while defending from the Mexican on the last lap.
IMAGES from Day 10 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.
It is for the investigating agencies to probe all aspects of the assassination, including a possible Chinese hand, or if the killer was just a disgruntled element who acted on his own and wanted to earn some dark space in history like Nathuram Godse or Lee Harvey Oswald, notes Japan expert Rajaram Panda.
These 12 images that prove we live in a wonderfully weird world!
Lewis Hamilton has actively supported the Black Lives Matter movement, calling out his own sport's initial silence over the killing of Floyd, who died after a white US police officer knelt on his neck last month.
"Besides, three para shooters -- Singharaj, Rahul Jhakhar and Deepinder Singh (all para pistol shooters) and two coaches Subhas Rana (national coach) and Vivek Saini (assistant coach) did not get their visas.
Sixth seed Nick Kyrgios battered Gael Monfils 6-4 6-4 and David Goffin outlasted Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the Japan Open final in Tokyo.
Masked and wearing blue jeans, a blue blouse and sunglasses with "I RUN CLEAN" written on them, Tsimanouskaya had arrived in a police-escorted van at Narita airport east of the Japanese capital.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said for the first time on Monday that the Tokyo Olympic Games may need to be postponed if the event cannot be held in its 'complete form' due to the coronavirus pandemic. Abe said that while cancelling the Games was not an option, a delay was now on the cards if that was the only way to hold the event in its complete form.
'The poetry of the earth is never dead,' John Keats once wrote. But when Keats wrote these lines, man had no way of reaching up to the hem of the sky and gaze down upon earth.
Organisers are still considering whether alcohol will be served in venues, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said late on Monday.
From Rafael Nadal's shock exit in the first round to Novak Djokovic's clinical run. We bring you the highs and lows as the Australian Open moves into its business end.
The Corporate Survey showed 37 per cent of firms were in favour of cancellation, while 32 per cent want a postponement.
Asian Games gold medallist Swapna Barman will receive seven pairs of customised shoes, one each for the different events of Heptathlon, sports giants Adidas announced on Monday.
South Korean tennis player Hyeon Chung will be a star attraction at the second edition of Tata Open Maharashtra beginning in December.
Verstappen hustled his Honda-powered Red Bull around the popular figure-of-eight layout in one minute, 29.304 seconds
Real will play Japanese champions Kashima Antlers in Sunday's final in Yokohama, looking to become world champions for the second time in three years and earn a record 21st international title.
'With one year to go, there is no clear picture of what shape the simplified Games will take. The situation with COVID-19, both domestically and internationally, is constantly changing.'
Brazil's Bruno Soares, fuelled by numerous cups of coffee, produced a doubles double on Sunday when he and Russian partner Elena Vesnina won the Australian Open mixed doubles title on Rod Laver Arena.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee said its athletes had been preparing for a scenario where there were no fans present.
The IOC has remained committed to staging the Tokyo Games as planned from July 24-Aug. 9, saying on Tuesday after a meeting with international sports federations that measures against the virus were delivering results.
Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this eye-catching photo feature.
'She wants to come back in 2018 and defend her title and she's in training now'
Tokyo -- the songs Japan, Love In Tokyo and Sayonara from the 1966 Hindi film automatically pop up in the mind -- is buzzing and crowded like any other metropolis, discovers Deepa Gahlot. The modern apartment blocks are built cheek by jowl, so close together that one can open the window and borrow sugar from the neighbour in the next building. One of the fears of the Indian traveller is the unavailability of vegetarian food. Every city and town in Japan has an array of Indian restaurants that serve every variety of cuisine, right from Gujarati to Punjabi to Andhra and Kerala meals.
