In the week of his 31st birthday, Messi was again a largely anonymous figure as they lost 4-3 to France in a thrilling last-16 match in Kazan.
Over 30 per cent of athletes who competed at the 2011 world championships admitted to having used banned substances in the past, according to a World Anti-Doping Agency-commissioned study released on Tuesday.
Brazil's failure to claim an Olympic soccer gold medal, the one major tournament they have never won, is all because Pele never played in the competition, the soccer great joked on Thursday.
The lack of an effective Indian boxing federation has damaged the competitiveness of the sport and contributed to the decline of boxing in the country, women's Olympic flyweight bronze medallist MC Mary Kom said on Tuesday.
The triumphs of Czech great Emil Zatopek will be celebrated in Rio de Janeiro with dozens of pairs of electric-powered life-sized legs created by artist David Cerny.
Five sports, including baseball, skateboarding and surfing, are on track to feature at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after the IOC on Wednesday recommended their inclusion to attract a younger audience, said a source close to the discussions.
Professional boxers can compete at the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the sport's governing body ruled in a landmark decision on Wednesday. Meeting at an extraordinary congress in Lausanne, Switzerland, 88 members of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) voted in favour of the move, while none voted against and four abstained. The final results of the vote were told to AFP by a senior official within AIBA who requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly on the subject before the official announcement.
The draw for the eight groups for the final round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will be played from June 12 to July 13 in Brazil, was just held in Costa do Saupe near Salvador de Bahia.
Jota Silva said the day would serve to "reflect on what happened on July 8," the day in 2014 when eventual world champions Germany beat Brazil 7-1 in the semi-finals.
The results ensured an unprecedented top finish for India across all four ISSF World Cup stages this year
Spaniard Rafa Nadal won his 67th career title with a 7-5, 7-5 victory against dangerous Italian Fabio Fognini in the final of the Hamburg Open on Sunday.
Russia's anti-doping agency RUSADA said on Wednesday that comments made by its director general about sports doping has been distorted and taken out of context, the TASS news agency reported.
Indian trap shooters Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Kynan Chenai got off to positive starts on day one of competition at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup at Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.
Eight track and field finals, including the women's 10,000 metres and men's triple jump, will be held during morning sessions at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the International Association of Athletics Federation said on Monday.
An Olympic quota place pocketed, Indian boxer Shiva Thapa (56kg) ended his campaign with a silver medal after losing in the final of the Asian/Oceania Qualifying Tournament Qian'an, China on Friday. The 22-year-old Assamese, who is a World Championship bronze-medallist, went down 0-3 to Thailand's Chatchai Butdee in the summit clash. Butdee is the reigning Asian champion. Shiva had booked his ticket to Rio de Janeiro by making the finals yesterday after beating Kazakhstan's Kairat Yeraliyev. Meanwhile, it was a heartbreak once again for L Devendro Singh (49kg), who missed a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympics. The Commonwealth silver-medallist, who lost in the semifinals a day prior, went down in the box-off for the Olympic slot on Friday.
Former badminton No 1 Lee Chong Wei returned home to Malaysia and said he faced a three-week wait for the verdict from his doping hearing.
London has become the world's most expensive city to live and work, overtaking Asian hotspot Hong Kong, according to study by real estate adviser, Savills.
The flame for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will pass through a refugee camp in Athens and one refugee will be among the torch bearers, the head of the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday.
Brazil's government on Tuesday issued its first estimate of public spending on projects related to Rio de Janeiro's 2016 Olympic Games, though the 5.6 billion reals price tag is set to swell as more projects receive approval.
Indian women looked a pale shadow of themselves as USA took full advantage of their complacency during the first two quarters.
The sport's governing body said on Tuesday that the seven had all met the "exceptional eligibility criteria" after satisfying the board that they have been training in an environment that passes the necessary anti-doping requirements.
Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia became the first Indian to clinch two gold medals at the Paralympics after he broke his own world record to clinch the top honours at the Rio Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Jemima Sumgong, who last year became the first Kenyan woman to win Olympic gold in the marathon, has tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO in an out-of-competition test carried out by the IAAF, the sport's governing body said on Thursday.
European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen does not expect Russia to return to international competition in time for next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Argentina will return to Olympic football next year after sealing victory in the South American under-20 qualifying tournament in Uruguay on Saturday.
Esther Staubli is set to become the first female referee to officiate a match at the ongoing FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2017.
Qatar hold off for a later edition after two failed attempts to land sport's greatest spectacle
Their friendship and camaraderie, they say, goes way beyond tennis but Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna are in no hurry to form a mixed doubles team in the coming season despite the speculation that they could be pairing up for India at the Olympic Games next year.
In a faux pas, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar forgot Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu's full name and also wrongly called her from Karnataka. "It's a proud moment for us that two of our daughters won medals on Raksha Bandhan festival. Sakshi Malik from Haryana and Sindhu (asks others what is her name) ... P V Sindhu from Karnataka (Sindhu is from Hyderabad)," he said. Khattar was addressing a huge gathering during the reception which was accorded by the Haryana government to the Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik in Bahadurgarh town near Rohtak after she arrived this morning from Rio de Janeiro.
Badminton Association of India (BAI) President Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta announced a reward of Rs. 50 lakhs for P V Sindhu after she settled for a historic silver medal at the Rio Olympics. BAI also announced a reward of Rs. 10 lakhs for Dronacharya awardee coach Pullella Gopichand who trained Sindhu to achieve this feat. The World No. 10 lost to Spain's Carolina Marin by 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in the thrilling final match held at Riocentro. This is India's first silver Medal in Badminton.
Brazil striker Neymar says he is emotionally ready and physically fit for Friday's World Cup quarter-final with Colombia in Fortaleza.
US gold medal swimmer Ryan Lochte was robbed in a taxi hold-up in Rio de Janeiro after leaving a party where he had been celebrating the end of the Olympic swimming programme.
Former Commonwealth Games gold-medalist Manoj Kumar (64kg) put up a spirited show but could not match the power of fifth seed Fazliddin Gaibnazarov in his pre-quarterfinal bout to bow out of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. The 29-year-old Indian went down 3-0 in the contest which was not particularly engaging in its quality of boxing but showcased Manoj's fighting spirit.
Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt won his 100metres heat after what he called a "sluggish" start on Saturday, but looked pained after the race as he prepared to fend off the challenge of American Jason Gatlin for the Olympic crown.
India wasted as many as five penalty corners seconds from the final hooter to go down 1-2 against Netherlands but still sealed a quarter-final spot at Rio Olympics hockey competition in Rio de Janeiro, on Thursday.
Salman Khan, whose appointment as IOA's goodwill ambassador in April was slammed by Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and legendary sprinter Milkha Singh, seemed to have no clue about who Dipa Karmakar was and how she fared so far at the Rio Games.
Dipa Karmakar, who became the first Indian to make the cut for the individual vault finals in her debut Olympic Games after finishing eighth in the qualifying round, will compete for a historic medal in the finals on August 14.
Canada's Penelope Oleksiak came to the Olympics hoping to get to a final and gain experience for the next games in Tokyo in 2020.
Security concerns around the Olympics present a unique set of headaches for the shooters.
Members of the first-ever Olympic refugee team visited Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ statue Saturday, with smiles as wide as their arms were outstretched, imitating the landmark's open embrace as they posed for photos.