Olympics latest: Paralympics-related person hospitalized with COVID

IOC President Bach departs Japan after short visit

Nikkei staff writersJuly 29, 2021 12:32 JSTUpdated on August 29, 2021 13:18 JST | Japan

TOKYO -- The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games opened on Tuesday, a little over two weeks after the conclusion of the Olympics.

While the COVID-19 pandemic already overshadowed the Olympics, the Paralympics come as Japan struggles with its most serious outbreak yet. The Games are scheduled to run through Sept. 5, with spectators barred from attending the events.

Here are the latest developments:

Sunday, Aug. 29 (Tokyo time)

11:58 a.m. Two athletes from Afghanistan have arrived in Tokyo to compete in the Paralympic Games after being evacuated from their country, now under the control of the Taliban, Kyodo reports citing an International Paralympic Committee official.

Thursday, Aug. 26

3:00 p.m. IOC President Thomas Bach leaves Japan after a short visit for the opening days of the Paralympics.

2:00 p.m. Tokyo organizers says that a Games-related person from overseas is the first hospitalization case among people involved with the Paralympics. The person tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, but is not in a serious condition.

Tuesday, Aug. 24

10:50 p.m. The Paralympics officially open, with Japanese athletes lighting the cauldron: powerlifting champion Karin Morisaki, wheelchair tennis player Yui Kamiji and boccia player Shunsuke Uchida.

10:10 p.m. Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto and International Olympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons deliver speeches.

"Para-athletes testify to our infinite potential as human beings, and to our power to go beyond our limits," Hashimoto says, addressing the delegations. "Please give us hope and the strength to stand tall as we witness all you have overcome to reach this stage. We at Tokyo 2020 will do everything in our power to make these Paralympic Games a celebration of all that para-athletes have achieved and an inspiration for true social change."

Parsons says "every four years is not enough" to work toward greater inclusion. "It is up to each and every one of us to play our part every day to make for a more inclusive society. We will honor our host, we will honor your trust, your omotenashi, so the legacy these Paralympic games will leave this country is a new perception of people with disabilities."

9:50 p.m. Once the athlete parade concludes, the National Stadium transforms into an airport in a spectacle themed "winds of change." Paralympians watch the story of a little one-winged plane, portrayed by 13-year-old Yui Wago, who is encouraged by other planes with various impairments to take flight.

8:30 p.m. After a performance inspired by Japan's karakuri mechanical puppetry, the athletes are parading through Tokyo's National Stadium. The flags of conflict-torn Afghanistan and New Zealand, which declined to take part in the ceremony due to COVID-19, are being carried by staff.

8:00 p.m. The Tokyo Paralympics opening ceremony begins, kicking off the 13-day event. Around 4,000 athletes and 12,000 officials from around the world will participate in the Games, with Tokyo becoming the first city ever to host them twice. No spectators, other than some children attending through school programs, will be in the venues.

Monday, Aug. 23

4:30 p.m. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach lands in Japan to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games on Tuesday. Bach is exempted from three-days self-quarantine. He will attend some events and is expected to leave Japan on Thursday.

Tuesday, Aug. 17

6:30 p.m. After Hong Kong's best performance at the Olympic Games, the city's government announces a bus parade Thursday morning to celebrate its athletes, coaches and other delegation members.

Hong Kong won a record six medals at the Tokyo Games. The government says citizens are welcome to come out to "share the joy of the athletes who successfully challenged themselves and obtained remarkable results." But it warns fans to abide by COVID-19 protocols and maintain appropriate social distancing.

Monday, Aug. 16

9:00 p.m. Afghanistan will not be able to participate in the Paralympic Games, according to Tokyo 2020 Director-general Toshiro Muto. The delegation included taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi, who was supposed to be the first woman to represent Afghanistan in the Paralympics.

7:54 p.m. The Tokyo Paralympic Games will be held without spectators, like the preceding Olympics that ended Aug. 8. Japanese organizers cited the current COVID state of emergency in Tokyo and neighboring Saitama and Chiba prefectures. Programs for students to watch the Games will proceed at the discretion of local governments, school authorities and parents.

"We will capitalize on the experience we gained during the Olympic games," Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said. Over 4,400 athletes are expected to arrive for the Paralympics, with the opening ceremony on Aug. 24. Among staff and media working in the Games, 31 have tested positive for COVID-19, 80% of whom are residents of Japan.

Thursday, Aug. 12

5:00 p.m. Tokyo 2020 is set to bar spectators from attending Paralympics events in the Japanese capital, Nikkei has learned. The organizing committee will discuss the issue with the national and Tokyo governments, and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on Aug. 16.

The Paralympics will be held at 21 venues in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Shizuoka prefectures. Saitama and Chiba, which like Tokyo are under states of emergency, are not expected to allow spectators. Shizuoka, which has made a quasi emergency declaration, is considering whether to set an upper limit on fans at the Izu velodrome, where track cycling events will be held.

Tokyo 2020 is considering whether to allow school children and infants to attend events.

About 4,400 athletes from more than 180 countries will participate in the 13-day Paralympic Games. 770,000 tickets have already been sold to the general public.

Wednesday, Aug. 11

1:05 p.m. The Olympic symbol monument was taken down in the Tokyo Bay area Wednesday as the 17-day international sporting event ended over the weekend. The giant floating rings monument on a concrete platform set up at Odaiba Marine Park will soon be replaced with the "Three Agitos" symbol for the Paralympics.

6:11 a.m. U.S. President Joe Biden. today announces the presidential delegation to Japan to attend the Paralympic Games in Tokyo will be led Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Tuesday, Aug. 10

3:52 p.m. The International Cricket Council is preparing a bid for the game's inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the governing body says. Cricket last featured in the 1900 Olympics in Paris and has rarely been played in other multi-sport events, which many believe is essential for the games's growth.

10:44 p.m. U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and commends him on the successful hosting of the Olympic Games and the public health measures that allowed them to be held, a White House statement says.

Biden also affirms U.S. support for Japan's hosting of the Paralympics, which start on Aug. 24.

Monday, Aug. 9

1:32 p.m. Tokyo 2020 reports 28 new Games-related COVID cases, bringing the total to 458.

1:00 p.m. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga posts a video on the Prime Minister's Office page, saying: "We were able to fulfill our responsibility as host nation, and we handed the baton over to the Paris Games.

"This is all because of the understanding and cooperation from the Japanese people, and I express my sincere gratitude," Suga says. "The Games were postponed for one year and they were held under various restrictions unlike any other Games... [They were] wonderful thanks to all the athletes."

10:00 a.m. In an Asahi newspaper poll conducted at the week, 56% of respondents say they were happy the Olympics were held, while 32% said were not happy. Asked whether the Olympics had been "safe and secure" as pledged by Suga, 32% said they had, while 54% said they had not.

Sunday, Aug. 8

10:10 p.m. IOC President Thomas Bach declares the Games closed, the Olympic flame is extinguished.

10:05 p.m. "The footprint that you drew in Tokyo was a wonderful sight that no words can describe," Tokyo 2020 chair Seiko Hashimoto told the athletes. "Please don't forget what you see now. Please don't forget this scenery, and continue to tell your story to the future with confidence and pride in what you have accomplished."

"The torch that was lit in Tokyo is about to be extinguished. But the hope that we have gathered here will never fade. I hope that this hope will light up in the hearts of people all over the world."

During Hashimoto's speech, what appeared to be a moth nestled in the Olympic Rings on her podium.

9:40 p.m. The Olympic flag is lowered by members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, while a male sopranist sings the Olympic anthem.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike hands the flag to IOC President Thomas Bach, who passes it to Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris. The SDF representatives then raise the French national flag to the sounds of French orchestra performing La Marseillaise.

The TV shows live scenes in Paris of crowds cheering the raising of a large Paris 2024 on the Eiffel Tower, as air force jets fly by.

9:35 p.m. Four traditional dances are performed: A traditional Ainu dance from Hokkaido, the Ryukyu Eisa from Okinawa, the Nishimonai Bon Odori from Akita Prefecture, and the Gujo Odori from Gifu Prefecture. The athletes seem to be getting into it.

9:10 p.m. The Greek flag is raised and its national anthem played. This is followed by medal ceremonies for the men's and women's marathons. Both were won by Kenyan athletes.

8:50 p.m. Beads of light form the Olympic rings in the air above the field. The main lights come on and the athletes watch a performance from the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. They are treated to renditions of famous Japanese pop tunes, including "Hanafubuki," "Sukiyaki," and "Gurenge."

NHK TV breaks away to flash news of a typhoon making landfall on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, with warnings of heavy rain and strong winds.

8:20 p.m. Members of the Takarazuka Revue Company, a theater group with an all-female cast, sing the Japanese national anthem. This is followed by the flag bearers of each nation entering the stadium, and then the rest of the athletes entering the stadium.

8:00 p.m. The closing ceremony begins.

7:00 p.m. Serbia beat Greece to the gold in the men's water polo, in the final event of Tokyo 2020.

5:51 p.m. The organisers of the Tokyo Olympics says 19 athletes could not participate in the Games due to positive coronavirus tests, and three people related to the tournament had been hospitalized due to the infections but have since recovered, Reuters reports.

2:15 p.m. Kellie Anne Harrington of Ireland beats Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil to win the women's lightweight boxing gold medal. Ferreira wins silver, while Mira Potkonen of Finland and Sudaporn Seesondee of Thailand both won bronze medals as losing semi-finalists.

1:00 p.m. The U.S. beats Japan 90-75 to win gold in the women's basketball. France took the bronze medal in a match against Serbia on Saturday.

12:57 p.m. American Jennifer Valente recovered from a late crash to land gold for the U.S. in the women's omnium as a memorable week of track racing concluded at the Izu Velodrome.

12:18 p.m. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have been a success given the uncertainties surrounding the postponed event because of the COVID-19 pandemic, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach says. The Games had been postponed by a year in 2020 following the outbreak of the pandemic and were held largely without spectators to minimize the risk of infection.

9:13 a.m. Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge wins the Olympic men's marathon in Sapporo on Sunday, winning his second straight gold medal in the event.

Saturday, Aug. 7

10:10 p.m. Japan shuts out the U.S. to win gold in baseball, taking an early lead to reach a 2-0 final score.

The victory at Yokohama Stadium marked Samurai Japan's first gold in baseball since it became an official medal sport at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.

Japan's 23-year-old starting pitcher Masato Morishita goes five innings to help deliver the win for the host nation.

Baseball has been on and off the Olympic program for more than three decades. Japan beat the U.S. at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, when it was a demonstration sport.

9:09 p.m. India's Neeraj Chopra wins gold in men's javelin throw final, the first gold in athletics ever for the country.

Chopra's win brings India's Tokyo 2020 medal tally to seven -- one gold, two silvers and four bronzes -- its best result ever at the Olympics.

This is the second individual gold for India in Olympic history, following Abhinav Bindra's top podium finish in the 10-meter air rifle shooting in the 2008 Beijing Games. In the team events, Indian men's hockey team has won a record 8 Olympic gold medals.

Earlier Saturday, India's Bajrang Punia beat Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan 8-0 in the bronze medal match in men's 65 kg freestyle wrestling. In golf, Aditi Ashok narrowly missed winning bronze.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrates Chopra's historic moment on Twitter.

8:12 p.m. Japan's Takuto Otoguro wins gold in the men's freestyle wrestling in the lightweight category.

4:46 p.m. Tokyo confirms 4,566 new COVID-19 cases, topping 4,000 for the fourth day in a row, as the spread of the delta variant shows little sign of abating in the host city.

4:24 p.m. China's Cao Yuan wins the gold in men's 10-meter platform diving. Compatriot Yang Jian claimed the silver, and Britain's Tom Daley took the bronze.

3:46 p.m. Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey beats Gu Hong of China to win the women's welterweight boxing gold. Gu took silver, while Lovlina Borgohain of India and Oshae Jones of the U.S. both won bronze medals as losing semi-finalists.

3:00 p.m. Nelly Korda of the U.S. wins the gold in women's golf with a one-stroke victory. Japan's Mone Inami takes the silver after a playoff with New Zealand bronze medalist Lydia Ko, bringing her coach to tears at the Kasumigaseki Country Club.

Friday, Aug. 6

10:35 p.m. China's Liu Shiying wins the gold medal in the women's javelin throw. Poland's Maria Andrejczyk earns the silver, while Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia grabs the bronze.

10:10 p.m. Japan's Miho Nonaka and Akiyo Noguchi take silver and bronze in the first-ever Olympic women's sport climbing final.

9:34 p.m. The Japanese women's basketball team defeats France 87-71 to advance to the finals. They will play the U.S. for the gold medal on Sunday. This will mark the first Olympic medal for a Japanese men's or women's basketball team.

9:22 p.m. Japan's Ryo Kiyuna captures the gold medal in the first-ever Olympic men's karate kata event, defeating Spain's Damian Quintero in the final. American Ariel Torres Gutierrez and Ali Sofuoglu of Turkey win the bronze medal bouts.

8:30 p.m. Japan falls to Mexico in the soccer bronze medal match, by a score of 3-1.

5:20 p.m. Tokyo reports 4,515 new COVID-19 cases, down from yesterday's 5,042.

3:00 p.m. International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach says he feels the Tokyo Games have been a success and that Japan has embraced them, thanks in part to the Japanese team's medal haul.

"Of course also the very strong performance of the Japanese athletes has contributed to this success," he says. "This we can conclude with how the Japanese people are supporting and embracing these Olympic games. This isn't just a feeling, this is underlined by the evidence that as of today, 9 out of 10 people have watched at least parts of the Olympic Games today."

12:16 p.m. The Indian women's hockey team loses the bronze medal match 4-3 to Great Britain.

11:00 a.m. Tokyo 2020 reports 29 new COVID infections among Olympics-related personnel, bringing the total cases to 382. No athlete was included in the new cases. The total number of screening tests is now more than 570,000, with the number of arrivals from overseas at 42,410 as of Wednesday.

10:34 a.m. Two Belarus Olympic officials involved in attempting to send sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya home from the Tokyo Olympics have had their Games accreditation revoked and have been removed from the athletes' village, the IOC says.

Belarus athletics head coach Yuri Moisevich and team official Artur Shumak have been taken out of the athletes village.

Thursday, Aug. 5

9:36 p.m. Taiwanese karateka Wen Tzuyun wins bronze in the women's kumite 55kg division alongside Bettina Plank of Austria. It is the fifth medal in a women's event for Taiwan at these Games. Ivet Goranova of Bulgaria defeats Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine for the gold.

9:35 p.m. Japanese wrestler Risako Kawai claims a gold medal in the women's freestyle 57kg division over Iryna Kurachkina of Belarus, who takes silver. Bronze medals go to Helen Louise Maroulis of the U.S. and Evelina Georgieva Nikolova of Bulgaria.

8:09 p.m. India's Ravi Kumar Dahiya settles for silver after losing to the Russian Olympic Committee's Zavur Uguev in the men's freestyle 57 kg wrestling final.

8:06 p.m. Spain's Sandra Sanchez wins the women's karate kata final, beating Japan's Kiyou Shimizu, who picked up silver. Hong Kong's Grace Lau Mo-sheung took bronze.

It was the city's second bronze of the day, after the women's table tennis team beat Germany 3-1. Hong Kong has so far won 1 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals, making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics its most successful ever.

7:38 p.m. The women's Olympic football final between Sweden and Canada has been moved to a later kick-off following a request from both countries, Sweden's FA says in a statement. The game had been due to kick off at 11 a.m. local time in Tokyo but met complaints due to the mid-day heat and will now be played at 9 p.m.

6:52 p.m. Australia's Rugby Sevens players have been reprimanded for drunken behaviour on a flight home from the Tokyo Olympics and for damaging their rooms in the Japanese capital, Rugby Australia says

Rugby Australia will also foot the bill for the damage to beds and walls and for leaving the rooms in the athlete's village in an unacceptable state. Rugby players and rowers had damaged rooms in the village while celebrating the end of their competitions. The rowers have since apologised.

5:03 p.m. Tokyo reports a daily record of 5,042 new coronavirus cases, jumping from the previous record of 4,166 posted a day earlier despite being under a state of emergency. Experts predict the seven-day average for the capital will top 10,000 on Aug. 18.

4:40 p.m. China's Quan Hongchan wins the gold in the women's 10m platform diving, with compatriot Chen Yuxi claiming the silver and Australia's Melissa Wu the bronze.

3:50 p.m. The Philippines is assured of at least a silver medal as Carlo Paalam advances to the final bout in the boxing men's flyweight division, defeating Japan's Ryomei Tanaka in five rounds. The Philippines will also get a bronze in boxing men's middleweight, after Eumir Marcial was defeated by Ukrainian Oleg Khyzhniak.

12:20 p.m. The Indian men's hockey team wins the bronze medal match 5-4 against Germany, ending its 41-year medal drought. The team has a glorious past in the Olympics, with a record 11 podium finishes including eight golds, but its last prize came way back in 1980. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates the squad on Twitter.

11:00 a.m. The Tokyo Organizing Committee reports 31 new COVID-19 infections among Olympics-concerned personnel. That brings the total cases to 353. An artistic swimming athlete from Greece residing in the Olympic Village is included in the new count.

10:00 a.m. Karate makes its debut as an Olympic sport. Men and women will be competing in kata (forms) and kumite (sparring) events. Proponents of the martial art, which originated in Okinawa, have been pushing for inclusion in the Olympics for decades. But it will not be included at the Paris 2024 Games, and the future prospects are uncertain.

Wednesday, Aug. 4

11:04 p.m. The Japanese women's basketball team scores a surprising berth in the semifinals after edging Belgium 86-85. Rui Machida hands out 14 assists, her last one coming on the game-winning 3-point shot with 16 seconds remaining. Japan meets France, which defeated Spain 67-64.

The U.S. women roll past Australia 79-55. The Americans advance to the other semifinal against Serbia, which eliminated China 77-70.

10:40 p.m. Japan's baseball team advances to the gold medal game, defeating South Korea 5-2 in the semifinals as Tetsuto Yamada drives in 3 runs. Japan plays the winner of Thursday's game between the U.S. and South Korea.

10:10 p.m. Japanese wrestler Yukako Kawai wins the gold medal match in the women's freestyle 62kg division. She defeats Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan, who wins the silver medal.

8:36 p.m. The Indian women's hockey team loses 2-1 to Argentina in the semifinals and will face Great Britain in the bronze medal match on Friday.

7:13 p.m. Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is on her way to Austria and can count on the country's support, Reuters reports, citing the Alpine country's interior ministry. "We can confirm that Kristina Tsimanouskaya is expected in Vienna this afternoon coming from Tokyo," the ministry said in an emailed statement. "According to the information we have, it is planned that she will travel on to Warsaw later today."

6:45 p.m. India's Ravi Kumar Dahiya advances to men's freestyle 57kg wrestling final after defeating Kazakhstan's Nurislam Sanayev in the semifinals. With this, he is guaranteed to get at least a silver. It is the second time an athlete representing the South Asian country has made it to the finals of men's freestyle wrestling in an Olympic Games, after another won silver in London 2012.

6:00 p.m. Japan warns that coronavirus infections were surging at an unprecedented pace as new cases hit a record high of 4,166 in Tokyo on Wednesday, overshadowing the Olympics and adding to doubts over the government's handling of the pandemic.

3:45 p.m. Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain settles for bronze after losing to Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli in the semifinals of the women's welterweight category. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised her in a tweet: "Her tenacity and determination are admirable."

1:15 p.m. Japan's Sakura Yosozumi, 19, won gold in the women's park skateboarding event in the discipline's debut at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. Japan's Kokona Hiraki, 12, took silver, while Britain's Sky Brown, 13, won bronze.

12:20 p.m. India's Neeraj Chopra goes through to the final of the men's javelin with his first throw of the morning at 86.65 metres, while world leader Germany's Johannes Vetter also advanced.

12:10 p.m. The IOC says it received a written report from Belarus's National Olympic Committee on the case of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, the Belarusian athlete who was pulled from the Tokyo Olympics over the weekend by her team against her will.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams tells a press briefing that its disciplinary commission will "establish the facts" in the case following the receipt of the report earlier in the day and will also hear from two Belarusian officials who have allegedly been involved in the incident.

Tsimanouskaya left Tokyo for Austria on Wednesday, after seeking refuge at the Polish embassy. Tsimanouskaya had been scheduled to board a flight for Warsaw, where the government has offered her a humanitarian visa. Instead, she departed on an Austrian Airlines flight scheduled to land in Vienna. A member of the Belarusian community in touch with Tsimanouskaya said diplomats had changed her flight due to security concerns.

11:00 a.m. Tokyo 2020 reports 29 new COVID infections among Olympics-related personnel, bringing total cases to 322. Three artistic swimmers from Greece residing in the Olympic Village were included in the new cases, while an athlete not staying in the village was also positive. The total number of screening tests is now more than 500,000, while arrivals from overseas was 42,183 as of Monday.

Organizers reports that five of 12 Greek artistic swimmers and team officials, who were staying at the village, tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. Of the seven who tested negative, some have already been designated as being close contacts, while the status of the others is still being determined. All seven were moved out of the village into a holding facility on Tuesday.

10:30 a.m. The IOC is waiting for a formal explanation from the Chinese National Olympic Committee as to why two gold medallists wore badges featuring the head of the country's former leader Mao Zedong on the podium at the Games. The Chinese have said they will provide a report "soon" and assured the IOC there would be no repeat.

Tuesday, Aug. 3

10:36 p.m. Japan falls to Spain in the men's soccer semifinals, losing 1-0 in extra time. Japan will play Mexico in the bronze medal match.

8:00 p.m. Daiki Hashimoto of Japan wins gold in the horizontal bar, the final gymnastics event of the Games.

6:40 p.m. China nabs its third gold and silver medals in gymnastics, delivered by national balance beam champion Guan Chenchen and Tang Xijing. Simone Biles, the most decorated U.S. gymnast, returns to Olympic competition with a bronze medal.

5:40 p.m. China's Zou Jingyuan wins gymnastics gold in the men's parallel bars, his specialty. Lukas Dauser of Germany wins silver and Ferhat Arican takes the bronze, Turkey's first gymnastics medal. Zou earns the highest score in artistic gymnastics at these Games.

5:30 p.m. Tokyo reports 3,709 new COVID-19 cases for Tuesday, with seven deaths and 112 severe infections.

1:30 p.m. Sena Irie wins Japan's first gold medal in women's boxing, defeating world champion Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines.

11:48 a.m. The IOC is investigating the events surrounding Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya's request for asylum. Spokesperson Mark Adams says a report is expected later today from the Belarus Olympic committee. "The actions we've taken together with our partners should hopefully give confidence not only to Belarusian athletes but to all athletes that their concerns are taken seriously by the IOC," Adams says.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi says Tsimanouskaya, who took refuge in the Polish embassy after refusing her team's orders to fly home from the Olympic Games, is in a "safe situation."

11:00 a.m. Tokyo 2020 reports 18 new COVID infections among Olympics-concerned personnel, bringing the total to 294. An artistic swimming athlete from Greece residing in the Olympic Village is included in the new cases. The total number of screening tests is now more than 480,000, and the number of arrivals from overseas was 41,997 as of Aug. 1.

12:45 a.m. The Japanese women's basketball team will play Belgium in the quarterfinals Wednesday, advancing to the knockout rounds by defeating Nigeria 102-83 in the final group game.

China, unbeaten in three group games, faces Serbia in the quarters, while the defending champion Americans meet Australia.

Monday, Aug. 2

10:58 p.m. Japan's baseball team edges the U.S. 7-6 in 10 innings, as Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks catcher Takuya Kai drives in the winning run in the second round game. Both teams remain alive for the gold medal.

9:50 p.m. Chen Long of China captures the silver medal in men's singles badminton, falling to Denmark's Viktor Axelsen 2 games to 0 in the gold medal match. Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting wins the bronze medal, rolling past Kevin Cordon of Guatemala 2-0.

Separately, China's female cyclists defeat Germany for the gold medal in the team sprint final after setting a world record in an earlier heat.

9:15 p.m. A Belarusian athlete at the Tokyo Olympic Games has been granted a "humanitarian visa" by Poland, a senior official of the European country tweeted on Monday, after she expressed her desire to defect and entered the Polish embassy. Read more here.

6:59 p.m. Canada defeats the U.S. 1-0 in the women's soccer semifinals. The Canadians face Sweden for the gold medal, while the Americans meet Australia for the bronze.

6:45 p.m. Mai Murakami adds a first individual gymnastics medal to Japan's haul, tying for bronze with Angelina Melnikova of Russian Olympic Committee in the gymnastics floor event final. Jade Carey took another gold for the U.S., while Italy's Victoria Ferrari won silver.

5:58 p.m. Simone Biles will compete in Tuesday's balance beam final, the last women's event on the Tokyo Olympics gymnastics schedule, officials confirm. It will be the first time for her to compete in Tokyo following her withdrawal from last Tuesday's women's team final after her opening vault, citing mental health issues.

5:47 p.m. Liu Yang led a China one-two in the men's gymnastics rings event final at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, claiming a slim victory over compatriot You Hao. China's Wang Zhouyu also wins gold in the women's 87 kg weightlifting category. And in more good news for China, its women cyclists broke their own team sprint world record with a time of 31.804 seconds to beat Lithuania in the first round.

3:30 p.m. Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu of Indonesia win the women's doubles gold medal in badminton. This is the first gold of the Tokyo Games for the Southeast Asian country. China's Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan settle for the silver after a match that ended 21-19 21-15.

11:00 a.m. Tokyo 2020 reports 17 new infections among Olympics-related personnel. No athletes were included. That brings the total number of cases to 276. The cumulative number of screening tests is now more than 450,000. The number of arrivals from overseas was 41,458 as of 31 July.

Sunday, Aug. 1

11:09 p.m. Chen Yufei of China edges Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying for gold in women's singles badminton after three close games: 21-18, 19-21, 21-18. The silver medal for Tai is Taiwan's first Olympic podium finish in badminton by either a man or woman. China wins its record fifth Olympic gold in women's singles.

P.V. Sindhu brings home the bronze for India, defeating He Bingjiao of China in two games. Sindhu, the reigning world champion, won the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics.

10:15 p.m. In a stunning upset, Italian sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs captures gold in the men's 100-meter dash, with a time of 9.80 seconds. American Fred Kerley wins the silver medal with a time of 9.84 seconds, while Canadian Andre de Grasse earns bronze. The three previous gold medals in the event were won by Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt.

9:50 p.m. U.S. gymnast Sunisa Lee, already the first Hmong American to win an Olympic title, adds to her medal haul with a bronze in uneven bars. Nina Derwael wins Belgium's first-ever Olympic gold in artistic gymnastics, while Anastasiia Iliankova earns silver for the Russian Olympic Committee.

Max Whitlock of Great Britain wins the pommel horse event, just ahead of silver medalist Lee Chih-kai of Taiwan. Japan's Kazuma Kaya takes the bronze.

6:40 p.m. Rebeca Andrade nabs Brazil's first gold medal in women's gymnastics in the vault event. Mykayla Skinner of the U.S. wins the silver and Yeo Seo-jeong gets the bronze for South Korea.

In a day of firsts, Germany gets the gold medal in men's singles tennis. Alexander Zverev defeats Karen Khachanov of the Russian Olympic Committee team in two sets.

5:50 p.m. Taiwan's Pan Cheng-tsung fends off Collin Morikawa of the U.S. to take the men's golf bronze on the fourth playoff hole, after a long day in sizzling heat.

5:40 p.m. Artem Dolgopyat captures Israel's first gold medal, winning the gymnastics floor exercise. China's Xiao Ruoteng gets the bronze with South Korea's Ryu Syung-hyun in fourth place.

5:30 p.m. The dramatic playoff for the men's golf bronze is now down to Collin Morikawa of the U.S. and Pan Cheng-tsung of Taiwan, after five players fail to keep pace.

5:05 p.m. Japan's Hideki Matsuyama misses out on the golf bronze, while the playoff continues with Taiwan's Pan Cheng-tsung still in the hunt.

4:15 p.m. The final round of men's golf is a wild one. Xander Schauffele of the U.S. wins the gold while Rory Sabbatini, representing Slovakia, takes the silver. But the race for bronze comes down to a seven-man playoff, including Japanese Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama and Taiwan's Pan Cheng-tsung.

4:10 p.m. Shi Tingmao of China wins the gold in the women's 3m springboard diving. Her compatriot Wang Han takes the silver, followed by Krysta Palmer of the U.S. with the bronze.

2:50 p.m. China's Chen Long moves on to the badminton men's singles final after defeating Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, 21-16, 21-11.

12:45 p.m. The Philippines is set to secure at least a bronze medal after boxer Eumir Marcial quickly defeated Arman Darchinyan of Armenia in the men's middleweight quarterfinal.

11:00 a.m. Six Olympic personnel had their accreditations revoked after violating the COVID-19 playbooks, Tokyo 2020 Games director-general Toshiro Muto says. Eight other individuals were temporarily suspended while 10 were issued strict warnings for similar violations.

Organizers report eight new coronavirus cases in the Olympic community, raising the total to 250 since July 1. Only one person remains in hospital with the virus.

Saturday, July 31 (Tokyo time)

10:40 p.m. The U.S. men's basketball team overcomes a sluggish start to beat the Czech Republic, 119-84, to advance to quarterfinals.

10:10 p.m. Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin of Taiwan beat Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of China to win gold in badminton men's doubles.

9:30 pm. Switzerland's Belinda Bencic wins women's tennis singles gold, defeating the Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Vondrousova, who in the third round upset home favorite Naomi Osaka, takes silver. In the bronze-medal match, Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine beats Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 1-6, 7-6, 6-4.

8:21 p.m. The Russian Olympic Committee wins the gold medal in the women's team sabre fencing competition.

7:53 p.m. Two male judokas from Georgia have been ejected from the Games for leaving the athletes village to go sightseeing in violation of COVID-19 protocols, Kyodo reports citing a spokesperson for the country's Olympic committee. This marks the first time that participants of the Olympics have been stripped of accreditation since the Games began on July 23.

7:28 p.m. France wins the Olympics judo gold medal in the first mixed team event in Tokyo, defeating Japan in the final.

6:42 p.m. World No. 1 and 20-time Grand Slam tennis champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia will leave the Olympics without a medal for the third time straight after pulling out of Saturday's mixed doubles final with a shoulder injury, according to an official statement from the organizer.

6:29 p.m. An unnamed Kenyan male sprinter has tested positive for a banned substance, Team Kenya said in a statement. He will be provisionally suspended and will not take part in qualifiers on Saturday.

6:24 p.m. New Zealand beats France 26-12 to win gold in the Rugby Sevens women's competition.

6:05 p.m. China's Lyu Xiaojun wins the gold medal in the men's 81 kg weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday but fails to break his own world record.

5:00 p.m. Tokyo reports 4,058 new COVID-19 cases -- the first time the number has topped the 4,000 mark. Just how much, if anything, the Olympics have to do with it is an open question.

3:21 p.m. The organizers of Tokyo Games say they have revoked a Games-concerned personnel's accreditation due to violation of Playbook rules. The person in question was staying at the Olympic Village but left for sightseeing. The organizers decline to provide more detail. This is the first known breach of the whereabouts protocol since the Olympics began.

2:20 p.m. Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines beats Irma Testa of Italy in women's featherweight boxing semi-final, clinching at least a silver medal and putting the country on the brink of its second gold medal at the Tokyo Games. Another semi-final match in the weight class is due later in the day between Japan's Sena Irie and Karriss Artingstall of the U.K.

11:20 a.m. Tokyo 2020 reports 21 new cases among Olympics concerned personnel. That brings the total number to 241 from July 1. No athletes were included in the new cases. The total number of screening tests is now more than 380,000.

10:58 a.m. Kaylee McKeown of Australia wins the gold medal in the women's 200m backstroke. Kylie Masse of Canada won the silver and Emily Seebohm of Australia took the bronze.

Friday, July 30

10:48 p.m. The Japanese women's soccer team falls to Sweden 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Mina Tanaka scores Japan's goal in the first half. Sweden has won four consecutive matches.

The U.S. eliminates the Netherlands on penalty kicks after playing to a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes. Megan Rapinoe hits the clinching shot for the Americans in a battle of medal favorites.

Canada also advances to the semifinals, edging Brazil on penalty kicks after a scoreless 120 minutes. Australia upsets Great Britain 4-3, scoring two goals in extra time.

9:15 p.m. Chinese duo Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen defeat Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in the men's badminton doubles semifinal.

8:30 p.m. Taiwanese duo Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin defeat Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the men's badminton doubles semifinal.

8:28 p.m. Japan wins the gold medal in the men's team epee fencing competition, defeating the Russian team led by its National Olympic Committee in the final. It is the first time for Japan to grab the gold in this sport, and it brings the 17th gold medal to the host country. The tally is a new record, higher than both the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics.

7:35 p.m. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declares an expanded state of emergency in the capital's neighboring prefectures, as well as Osaka. At a news conference, he stressed that people from overseas who are involved in the Olympic Games "do not have contact with the Japanese people," adding that the events are not the cause of spreading infections. "We continue to ask people to watch the Games on TV," Suga said.

6:42 p.m. India's PV Sindhu has reached the women's badminton singles semifinals after defeating home favorite Akane Yamaguchi in straight games by 21-13, 22-20. Sindhu won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

6:35 p.m. Japanese judoka Akira Sone wins a gold medal in the final of the women's judo +78 kg category, defeating Idalys Ortiz of Cuba.

5:05 p.m. South Korea's An San wins the gold medal in the women's individual archery. Reuters reports that she is the first archer to win three golds at a single Games, including team events.

3:30 p.m. China takes gold and silver in women's trampoline gymnastics, with Zhu Xueying beating Liu Lingling for the top prize. The U.K.'s Bryony Page takes the bronze.

3:25 p.m. Eighth-ranked Japan has guaranteed a medal in the men's team epee fencing event, defeating South Korea in the semifinals, Reuters reports.

Fresh from their win over top-ranked France in the quarterfinals, Japan cruised to a 45-38 victory in the semis. The medal will be the third in Japan's fencing history, and the first in the epee discipline.

2:45 p.m. South Korea's Kim Min-jung wins the silver in women's 25m pistol shooting, after a close contest with gold medalist Vitalina Batsarashkina from the Russian Olympic Committee team.

China's Xiao Jiaruixuan claims the bronze.

2:15 p.m. French heavyweight judoka Teddy Riner suffers a shock defeat to Tamerlan Bashaev of the Russian Olympic Committee team in the men's judo +100 kg division, ending his gold medal hopes in the quarter-finals, Reuters reports. The 32-year-old double Olympic champion, one of the biggest names in the sport, was aiming for a third consecutive gold to match a record held by Japanese great Tadahiro Nomura.

1:45 p.m. Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain is assured of at least a bronze medal after she defeats Chen Nien-chin of Taiwan in the quarterfinals of the women's welterweight category. Since all semi-finalists are awarded, she is set to bring India another medal following weightlifter Mirabai Chanu's silver in the women's 49kg competition last Saturday.

1:10 p.m. Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino win Japan's first badminton mixed doubles Olympic medal, a bronze. The pair defeat Hong Kong's Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet.

12:45 p.m. Two unnamed Australian track and field athletes and one athletics team member will be kept separate from their team for the rest of the Tokyo Olympics, after contact with infected U.S. pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, Reuters reports citing Team Australia. The Australians will be able to compete, however, as long as they test negative.

Kendricks, a double world champion, tested positive and was forced to drop out of the Games. The entire Australian athletics team then briefly went into quarantine on Thursday after the trio had a short encounter with him. The team was cleared shortly afterward.

11:35 a.m. Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey brings home her second medal of the Olympics after winning the silver in the women's 100m freestyle swimming. She breaks her second Asian record this week with a time of 52:27. Hong Kong has so far bagged one gold and two silvers at the Tokyo Games -- its biggest medal haul in history. Haughey also won the silver in the 200m freestyle.

In the 100m event, Emma McKeon of Australia wins the gold while compatriot Cate Campbell takes the bronze.

11:30 a.m. Chinese swimmer Wang Shun wins the gold in the men's 200m individual medley.

11:20 a.m. Tokyo 2020 on Friday reported 27 positives cases among people involved in the Games. Three of them are athletes, and two of the three reside in the Olympic Village. Total tests at airports reached 39,853 while the number of total screening tests is approaching 350,000, according to organizers.

10:30 a.m. Hong Kong police are launching an investigation into booing of China's national anthem in a shopping mall during a broadcast of the city's first Olympic gold medal win in 25 years earlier this week, Reuters reports.

More than 100 people gathered on Monday to watch Edgar Cheung Ka-long win the Olympic men's individual fencing title. Police say they fielded complaints that some people booed during the award ceremony when China's national anthem was played, according to local media. Some shouted "We are Hong Kong," South China Morning Post reported on Friday.

Thursday, July 29

10:15 p.m. World No. 1 women's singles table tennis player Chen Meng of China survives a tough gold medal match against compatriot Sun Yingsha, winning 4-2.

10:04 p.m. Sunisa Lee becomes the first Hmong American to win an Olympic title, capturing the gold medal in the women's gymnastics all-around competition. The Hmong ethnic group hails primarily from Southeast Asia and parts of China.

Lee edges Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, who wins the silver. Angelina Melnikova, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, takes the bronze. Japan's Mai Murakami finishes fifth. It remains uncertain whether American Simone Biles will compete in the individual event finals, which begin Sunday.

Lee's family in the U.S. state of Minnesota celebrated the win with other members of the Hmong American community.

9:25 p.m. Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling has missed out on the 100m butterfly final, meaning he will be unable to defend the title he won at Rio 2016. "The time just didn't reflect everything that we have done this year, sometimes that is just how it is, it is hard to digest," Schooling tells reporters, according to Reuters. "You live to fight another day though, and I sure as hell don't want it to end like this."

9:20 p.m. Japanese table tennis player Mima Ito recovers from her semifinal disappointment to win her bronze medal match, defeating Singapore's Yu Mengyu 4-1.

7:55 p.m. Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic sends Kei Nishikori packing on his way into the semifinals, easily winning 6-2 and 6-0. This ends Japan's hopes for a singles medal after Naomi Osaka's earlier defeat.

7:45 p.m. Aaron Wolf of Japan wins the gold medal in the men's -100 kg judo, beating Cho Gu-ham of South Korea in the final. This comes shortly after judoka Shori Hamada's win for Japan on the women's side.

7:15 p.m. Sun Yingsha beats Japan's Mima Ito by four games to none in the semifinal of women's singles table tennis, setting up an all-China final. The world No. 3 Sun will face top-ranked Chen Meng, who easily dispatched Singapore's Yu Mengyu 4-0 as well.

6:55 p.m. Japanese judoka Shori Hamada wins the gold medal in the women's -78 kg category, beating Madeleine Malonga of France. Japan is up to 14 golds according to the Olympics website's latest table.

6:30 p.m. Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond is one shot off the lead after the opening round of the men's golf tournament, at -7. Austria's Sepp Straka leads the pack at -8.

Japanese medal hopeful and Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, coming off a case of COVID-19, was six shots off the pace at -2. He said he felt the lingering effects of his illness as the day wore on, according to Reuters. "It was very difficult," Japan's first major winner was quoted as saying. "Towards the end, mental side and focus faded away from me.

5:00 p.m. Tokyo's COVID-19 surge shows no signs of stopping: New cases in the city hit a record of 3,865 on Thursday, the metropolitan government announces, up from 3,177 on Wednesday.

4:55 p.m. European microstate San Marino has won its first Olympic medal ever, with shooter Alessandra Perilli claiming the bronze in the Women's Trap Final.

4:25 p.m. U.S. double world champion pole vaulter Sam Kendricks and Argentina's German Chiaraviglio have been ruled out of the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19, Reuters reports. Members of Australia's team, meanwhile, have been placed in isolation as a precaution.

"Members of the Australian track and field team are now undergoing testing procedures in line with Australian Olympic Team protocols," the Australian Olympic Committee says in a statement. Australian media reports say all 63 members of the team are in isolation after pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall trained with Kendricks.

1:35 p.m. Indonesia's Rahmat Abdullah has taken many by surprise by winning a bronze medal in the men's 73kg weightlifting. He had competed in a division with lower weight entries, Reuters reports, on the advice of his father and coach who said it would make him "more comfortable and relaxed."

"I am so happy, the plan worked," he is quoted as saying, adding that injuries forced his father to give up his Olympic dream in 2004. "Today I've won the medal for both of us, I dedicate this to him," Abdullah says.

Reuters explains that weightlifting competitions comprise two sessions, Group A and Group B, on the same day. Group B sessions feature athletes who have registered lighter weights.

12:55 p.m. China sets a world record in the women's 4x200m freestyle swimming to grab the gold. The team's time of 7:40.33 comfortably beats Australia's previous record of 7:41.50 at the 2019 world championships, according to Reuters.

11:45 a.m. Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei wins the gold in the women's 200m butterfly, setting an Olympic record. Regan Smith and Hali Flickinger of the U.S. follow with silver and bronze.

11:40 a.m. Olympic organizers deny that Tokyo's record spike in COVID-19 infections this week is due to the Games, and that Olympic infections are adding strain on Japan's medical system. "As far as I know there are no infections spreading to the Japanese public from the Olympic movement. There is not a single severe case among our stakeholders," says IOC spokesperson Mark Adams.

Thirty-four new Olympic-related cases were reported today, bringing the total to 193 since July 1, out of 39,000 arrivals and 310,000 tests. Two Olympic stakeholders are in hospital, according to IOC medical director Richard Budgett, but officials would not say whether they have the coronavirus.

11:00 a.m. Izaac Stubblety-Cook of Australia wins the gold medal in the men's 200m breaststroke.

Earlier, New Zealand rowers Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler take gold in the double sculls -- the first top finish by Kiwi athletes at the Tokyo Games.

----

To catch up on earlier developments, see the last edition of latest updates.

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