Pedestrians wearing protective masks walk in front of the National Stadium, the main stadium of Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, on Jul 7, 2021. (Photo: Reuters)   

The Tokyo Paralympics will take place generally without spectators, organisers said on Monday (Aug 16), as the government was set to prolong COVID-19 emergency measures in the capital and other regions that will run through the Games.

* The European Club Association (ECA) on Monday confirmed that nine of the 12 clubs who proposed a new breakaway Super League have retained their ECA membership after the collapse of the ESL project, but Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus remain out.

* Erik Lamela enjoyed an ideal debut with Sevilla as he scored twice in a 3-0 win at home to Rayo Vallecano in his new side's first game of the LaLiga season after visiting goalkeeper Luca Zidane was sent off early on.

* Edenilson got a goal in each half to help Internacional defeat Fluminense 4-2 on Sunday and move into the top half of Brazil’s Serie A. The former Genoa and Udinese midfielder scored after eight minutes, only for Yago to equalise on the stroke of half time for Fluminense.

* The British government will provide US$320 million (232 million pounds) in addition to National Lottery funding to support Olympic and Paralympic athletes for the Paris Games in 2024, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. The investment, which represents a 44% rise on the funding received by UK Sport in the run-up to the Tokyo Games, will be used to back aspiring athletes as well as their coaches and support staff.

* Estonia's Rein Taaramae clinched a surprise victory in stage three of the Vuelta a Espana on Monday (Aug 16) and took possession of the red jersey as the race entered the mountains for the first time with a 202km ride from Santo Domingo de Silos to Espinosa de los Monteros. The 34-year-old veteran broke away from the eight-man leading pack and hit the front with 2km to go in a gruelling summit finish, winning the second Vuelta stage of his career - a decade on from his first - in five hours 16 minutes 57 seconds.

* French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has withdrawn from this week's Cincinnati event due to visa issues that she hopes to have sorted out in time so she can compete in the US Open, the Russian said on Monday. Pavlyuchenkova, who fell in the second round last week in Montreal, was the 16th seed in Cincinnati and scheduled to play her opening match against American Bernarda Pera on Tuesday.

* Japan's Kei Nishikori said on Sunday (Aug 16) he had tested positive for COVID-19 while in Florida: just two weeks ahead of the US Open that begins in New York on Aug 31. The 30-year-old former world number four has been staying at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and pulled out of the upcoming Western & Southern Open, a warm-up tournament for many before the Grand Slam.

* Spanish MotoGP rider Maverick Vinales will race for Aprilia next season after falling out with Yamaha, the Italian team announced on Monday. The 26-year-old was suspended by the Yamaha factory team last week and withdrawn from Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix for allegedly trying to destroy his bike's engine at the previous race.

Reuters