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China grabbed the first two gold medals at the rain-disrupted Paris Olympics on Saturday as Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus prepared for a titanic duel in the pool.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen will aim to end a three-race winless streak and triumph from 11th on the grid for the first time on Sunday after topping a wet-and-dry qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Belgian Remco Evenepoel added the Olympic gold to his world title on Saturday, defying rain and a strong field to win the 32.4km individual time trial in Paris.

LVMH's high profile and highly visible product placement in the Paris Games opening ceremony surprised marketing experts and raises the possibility it could cause problems for the International Olympic Committee with their long-term sponsors.

Table tennis player Zeng Zhiying said her "dream came true" Saturday after making her Olympic debut aged 58, despite suffering defeat for her adopted Chile.

Max Verstappen, facing a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new engine, topped the times for Red Bull ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in a qualifying session run in mixed wet-and-dry conditions at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday.

Australia's Grace Brown stormed to her first Olympic gold in the women's individual time trial raced over 32.4km of rain-slicked Paris streets on Saturday.

Sandro Bazadze said the referees at the Olympics had "killed him for a second time" after the Georgian world number one lost in the last 16 of the men's sabre in Paris on Saturday.

New captain Suryakumar Yadav hit an attacking half-century as India reached 213-7 against Sri Lanka in the first of three T20 internationals on Saturday.

President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday hailed the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, saying the bold showpiece on the River Seine had made France extremely proud.

Novak Djokovic set-up a potential Olympic Games blockbuster with Rafael Nadal on Saturday as Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek made winning returns to a rain-swept Roland Garros where they were crowned French Open champions last month.

Novak Djokovic said his 6-0, 6-1 rout of unranked Matthew Ebden in just 53 minutes at the Olympics on Saturday was "not a good image" for tennis and demanded a change in the rules governing late call-ups.

Argentina bounced back from the chaos of their opening game in the Olympic men's football tournament to beat Iraq 3-1 on Saturday, while Spain got the better of 10-man Dominican Republic.

Joe Root became just the seventh man to score 12,000 Test runs but fell short of a hundred after spearheading an England recovery against the West Indies at Edgbaston on Saturday.

The top diplomats of China and the US sparred on Saturday over the South China Sea, where Beijing is locked in a territorial dispute with US treaty ally the Philippines.

Australia's Grace Brown stormed to her first Olympic gold in the women's individual time-trial on Saturday raced over 32.4km of rain-slicked Paris streets.

American basketball star Diana Taurasi said Saturday she is not allowing herself to be distracted by thoughts of personal glory as she prepares for her Olympic farewell.

China grabbed the first two gold medals of the Paris Olympics on Saturday as swimming prepared to take centre stage on a rain-disrupted first full opening day of sporting action.

Hosts France set up a dream rugby sevens final with double Olympic champions Fiji on Saturday as Antoine Dupont inspired a Les Bleus comeback in a 19-5 semi-final win over South Africa.

For someone who was a "shrimp" to his schoolfriends, Leon Marchand has come a long way in his short life but it is the next journey to the Olympic swimming pool at the La Defense Arena in Paris that will mark his place in sporting history.

Excited spectators splashed through puddles Saturday to reach the most spectacular venue of the Paris 2024 Olympics as the first beach volleyball matches began in the shadow of a just-visible Eiffel Tower.

Palestinian boxer Waseem Abu Sal wore a shirt depicting children being bombed for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in a test for organisers who have strict rules on political statements.

AFP's coverage of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics had been meticulously prepared for a year, with every detail scrutinized to determine the optimal position for the best shot or the best reportage.

UNESCO added Saturday the scene of an apartheid-era massacre and a village where Nelson Mandela lived as a boy to its World Heritage List, in an entry honouring South Africa's struggle that ended white-minority rule 30 years ago.

Novak Djokovic lost just one game in his Olympic tennis opener on Saturday to set up a potential blockbuster clash against old rival Rafael Nadal.

Real Madrid unveiled Brazilian teenager Endrick, who has joined the European champions on a six-year deal, in an event at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

History-seeking Max Whitlock let out a massive sigh of relief after men's qualifying in his final Olympics in Paris on Saturday.

World number one Iga Swiatek enjoyed a winning start at the Olympics tennis tournament on Saturday as torrential rain swept across Roland Garros, bringing major disruption to the schedule.

Tens of thousands of rail passengers struggled through a second day of cancelled trains Saturday as investigators tracked saboteurs who paralysed the network just ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

The United States hailed "open and productive" discussions between China's foreign minister and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Laos on Saturday in which Blinken raised US concerns over Beijing's "provocative actions" around Taiwan.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said an Israeli strike Saturday on a school killed 30 people, after a days-long military operation further south left around 170 dead, according to the civil defence agency.

Excited spectators plodded through puddles Saturday to reach the most spectacular venue of the Paris 2024 Olympics, with beach volleyball kicking off in the shadow of a just-visible Eiffel Tower.