Former Indian captain MS Dhoni announces retirement from international cricket, will play IPL

New Delhi, India: Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni quit international cricket on Saturday, drawing curtains on an illustrious, trophy-laden career with a cryptic Instagram message.

"Thanks a lot for your love and support throughout. From 1929 hrs consider me as Retired," he wrote on Instagram with a video montage which had images from his 15-year international career. The message ended speculation around the international future of the enigmatic 39-year-old, who quit test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India since the team's semi-final exit at the 50-overs World Cup in July last year.

Dhoni burst onto the international scene in an one-dayer against Bangladesh in late 2004 as a long-haired wicketkeeper with spectacular power-hitting prowess. He went on to become statistically India's most successful captain, leading them to World Cup triumphs in 2007 (T20) and 2011 (ODI), while they also became the top ranked test team under him in 2009.

As a batsman, Dhoni also transformed himself into one of the best finishers of the game, famously illustrating it by securing India's 2011 World Cup victory by hitting a six in the final against Sri Lanka. The immensely popular cricketer ends his ODI career having played 350 matches, scoring 10,773 runs and effecting 444 dismissals. He holds the record for most dismissals in T20 internationals with 91 in 98 matches.

Overall, Dhoni has amassed 17,000 international runs across formats, including 16 centuries, and more than 800 victims as wicketkeeper. Meanwhile, former cricketer Suresh Raina also announced his retirement on social media along with Dhoni.

Runners told to observe social distancing in Moscow half-marathon

Moscow, Russia: More than 9,500 runners competing in Moscow's annual half-marathon on Sunday, August 2 wore masks and gloves in the starting area, had their temperature checked and were told to observe social distancing rules because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 21.1-km race had been postponed from May, when the Russian capital was in lockdown because of the new coronavirus. Participants in a separate 5-km (3.11 miles) run were also asked to follow social distancing rules, though this can be challenging when racing. Russia reported 5,427 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours on Sunday, more than 660 of them in Moscow, bringing the nationwide tally to 850,870. The death toll in Russia rose to 14,128.

Despite the new cases, Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, who wore a medical mask and gloves when presenting awards, said the event was a celebration of Russia's success in combating the virus. "We overcame the difficult period that was the pandemic and the fact that we are together today... is our common victory," Matytsin said.

He later told reporters: "We will show the whole world how to carry on with a normal life in these very difficult conditions while respecting all (safety) requirements." The half-marathon provided a chance for some runners finally to compete again. Moscow, a city of nearly 13 million, lifted its more than two-month lockdown in June. "I'm filled with happiness and emotion because there haven't been any competitions in almost a year," said Luiza Dmitrieva, who finished fourth among women and 33rd overall.

Corona Crisis: Decision on staging London Marathon 2020 delayed until next month

London, UK: A decision on whether this year's London Marathon can be held has been pushed back until Aug. 7, the organisers said on Monday, July 27.

The event, originally scheduled for April 26, was postponed to Oct. 4 after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the international sporting calendar in March. In an open letter to all participants on Monday, event director Hugh Brasher said the delay was due to a need for further consultation with local NHS Trusts, the emergency services and local authorities.

"We know how important the Virgin Money London Marathon is to you, to charities and in showing the world the wonderful spirit of London, of Great Britain and of our running community," he said.v"So please bear with us while we finish the extensive work we have been doing to try to enable us to run together, safely.

"I will be in contact with our final decision and the options available to you no later than Friday, Aug. 7."

The cancellation of September's Great North Run raised concerns about the London Marathon going ahead due to the challenges faced by organisers in implementing social distancing protocols. The London Marathon routinely attracts close to 40,000 participants and this year's race was set to pit the world's fastest runners Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele against one another.

The event is last of the World Marathon Majors still hoping to be held this year after Boston, Berlin, New York and Chicago shelved plans for their 2020 races.

Japan: Anti-Olympics protest in Tokyo on day of planned Opening Ceremony

Tokyo, Japan: Several dozen protesters in masks gathered in front of Japan's National Stadium on Friday, July 24, the day the Olympic Games should have begun, to protest against holding them next year given the danger of the novel coronavirus.

The Games were postponed in March as COVID-19 swept the world and the government is determined that they go ahead next year. But there's growing opposition in Japan to holding the Games, even next year, over doubts that a big sporting event can be held safely.

A recent poll by Kyodo News found that fewer than a quarter of respondents were in favour of holding the Games as scheduled next year, a dramatic turnaround from the excitement during Tokyo's successful campaign to host the Olympics back in 2013. At the time, support among Tokyo residents for hosting the Games was as high as 70%, a crucial component in Tokyo's pitch to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The shift in public opinion comes as the Japanese capital sees a new surge in coronavirus cases after the government lifted a state of emergency.Tokyo reported a record 366 new infections on Thursday, July 23. Organisers of Friday's protest questioned whether Japanese companies, which raised a record $3.1 billion in sponsorship for the Games, should remain involved when they are under increasing pressure from an economic downturn caused by the virus.

The IOC has estimated the postponement will cost the committee $800 million. There has been no estimate for how much the postponement will cost Japan.

Corona Virus: Wearable fitness trackers studied as early COVID-19 detectors

California, US: Fitbit and other wearable devices, typically linked to exercise to take the jiggle out of your wiggle, are being studied as ways to identify people potentially infected with COVID-19 before they show symptoms when they can unknowingly spread the disease.

Changes in heart rate, respiratory rate, and other biometrics measured constantly by the devices may flag the early stages of virus infection, so the otherwise healthy-looking individual knows to self-isolate and seek a COVID-19 diagnostic test at their doctor's office, researchers say. The new coronavirus has infected more than 15 million people, and killed more than 600,000, worldwide since it was first identified in January. Early tell-tale symptoms include cough, fever, and loss of smell.

"When you get ill, even before you know it, your body starts changing, your heart rate goes up," said Professor Michael Snyder of Stanford University School of Medicine. Stanford researchers are among several groups examining whether wearable fitness devices such as the Fitbit or Apple Watch can provide an early warning. Snyder's team enrolled 5,000 people in the study and studied historical smartwatch data from 31 users, who developed visible symptoms of infection and had it confirmed by medical tests. In one case, Snyder's team found out that a smartwatch was able to spot the first signal of potential COVID-19 infection nine days before more obvious symptoms had been reported. On average, the lead time was three days, Snyder said.

"We can tell when someone's getting ill before symptoms. That's super powerful," Snyder said. "You can tell people to stay at home. Don't go out, infect other people."Large tech companies hope smartwatches can replace slowing sales of their main offerings, with a pitch to consumers that the wearable gadgets can improve their lifestyles. Apple Watch has been regarded as the industry's top success, with Google agreeing to buy Fitbit last year for $2.1 billion in hopes of catching up. Fitbit is conducting its own research into how its devices can help with COVID-19, involving 100,000 people in the U.S. and Canada, including 12,000 diagnosed with the virus.

"We've seen the changes in breathing rates and heart rates that we suspected would happen," said Fitbit's lead research scientist Conor Heneghan. Device makers also are studying professional athletes who wear personalized fitness trackers, like Whoop, a wristband, and Oura, a ring worn on your finger.

Promising results from separate university studies of the Oura ring, produced by Oura Health, prompted the National Basketball League to purchase 2,000 devices to be worn by players and staff to keep a close eye on heart rate and temperature. The PGA Tour bought 1,000 Whoop bands for players, caddies, and media covering the golf tournament, said Whoop founder Will Ahmed. "They're using the technology to measure everything about their bodies, but especially respiratory rate, which we've found is a very important statistic for understanding COVID-19," Ahmed said.

Organisers announce schedule for rearranged Tokyo 2020 Games

Tokyo, Japan: Next year's Tokyo Olympics will follow an almost identical competition schedule as the one planned for this year before the event was postponed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, organisers said on Friday, July 17.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japanese government decided in March to postpone the Games until 2021 and organisers have been working to rearrange an event almost a decade in the making. The new date for the opening ceremony at the newly-built National Stadium- July 23, 2021- had already been announced but the full schedule was pending final approval until Friday when the Tokyo 2020 organising committee made a presentation to the IOC Session in Lausanne. The Games had been set to begin on July 24 this year.

"Today we are able to report that we have confirmed both the competition schedule and the use of all venues originally planned for this year, including the venue for the athletes village and the main press centre," said Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto. 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.

There have also been some minor changes to session times. The Games are set to be the biggest ever in terms of events, with a record 339 medals available, before the closing ceremony on Aug. 8. One of the biggest hurdles for organisers was securing the 42 venues needed for the Games as many had already been booked for 2021. However, Muto said all the venues have been secured.

The marathon and race walking events will remain in the northern city of Sapporo after being controversially moved out of Tokyo because of the anticipated scorching summer heat.The next challenge for Tokyo organisers is developing measures to help prevent a COVID-19 outbreak from occurring during the Games and how much the delay will cost Japanese taxpayers.

Muto said decisions would be made on these issues in the autumn.

"We will be having a full-fledged discussion over COVID-19 countermeasures," he said. "But, as an example, the topics and themes we may discuss are immigration control, enhanced testing structures and the establishment of treatment systems and measures against COVID-19 in the areas of accommodation and transport."