Next year’s Tokyo Olympics will take place even if the Covid-19 pandemic is still underway, said Toshiro Muto, chief executive of the Games’ organising committee. Muto said the Games would be without the usual “pomp and revelry”, and would instead be “simple but inspiring” – Financial Times, news18.com
Chinese internet giant Tencent is reported to be pushing for a merger of game streaming platforms Huya and DouYu, to create a market leader with more than 300m users and a value of more than $10bn (€8.4bn). Tencent owns 37 per cent of Huya and 38 per cent of DouYu – Reuters, Bloomberg
Franchise team owners in India’s Pro Kabaddi League want to reject a renewal offer for the league’s media rights from broadcaster Star India and instead put the rights up for auction. Star’s deal for the rights expires at the end of this year – Economic Times
Dubai-based agency Innovative Production Group (IPG) has agreed a deal with Sri Lanka Cricket to organise and manage the commercial rights for the upcoming Lanka Premier League T20 tournament. One report put the value of the deal at $1.9m (€1.6m) – Bangalore Mirror, Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan will host the remaining matches in the 2020 Asian Football Confederation Cup West Zone Groups A, B and C, respectively. Group C matches will resume on October 23, and Group A and B games on October 26, and the group stage will conclude on November 4. The single-leg West Zone semi-finals will be on November 23 and 24, the West Zone final on December 1, and the AFC Cup final on December 12 – AFC
English Premier League team Arsenal is cutting 55 staff due to the financial impact of Covid-19 – BBC
Rugby union’s 2020 men’s and women’s Six Nations championships will resume on October 24 and complete all fixtures by October 31 – BBC
Chinese streaming platform Bilibili’s esports arm has agreed a partnership with Ping An Bank. The bank is seeking to promote its financial services to the platform’s young audience – SportsMoney.cn
Bottled water brand Nongfu Spring has become the official designated water of Chinese Super League football club Shandong Luneng Taishan – SportsMoney.cn
Construction of the A$830m ($597m/€503m), 42,500-capacity Sydney Football Stadium has resumed, with the aim for the project to be ready in time for the 2022 National Rugby League grand final – News.com.au
Australia’s Supercars motor racing series has pushed back by a week its Darwin Triple Crown event and is to set a new date for the Darwin SuperSprint race. The moves are precautions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and Supercars said they were made after discussions with the Northern Territory government and health authorities. The races were due to be the fifth and sixth rounds of this year’s Supercars Championship, on August 8-9 and 15-16, respectively. The Triple Crown will now take place on August 15-16 – Speed Cafe
Indonesia’s National Olympic Committee is seeking government support for a bid to host the 2032 Olympic Games – The Jakarta Post
A Japanese sumo wrestler has offered to retire after breaking Covid-19 movement restrictions imposed during the Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo in July. Abi Masatora visited bars on two occasions. The Japan Sumo Association is discussing the matter at a board meeting on Thursday – Kyodo News
