Netherlands defeats Argentina to win women's final hockey gold

The Netherlands won their fourth Olympic women's hockey title by defeating Argentina 3-1 in the final at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday.

After the first quarter ended without any score, the Dutch, who won silver at the 2016 Rio Games, took the lead thanks to a goal by Margot van Geffen off a penalty corner.

They extended their lead as flicking specialist Caia van Maasakker netted two more penalty corners.

Argentina replied with moments left to play in the first half when Agustina Gorzelany also scored off a penalty corner.

Las Leonas kept fighting after the halftime break but were unable to score another goal, settling for the silver medal.

Britain beat India for bronze

Britain earned the bronze with a hard-fought 4-3 win over India in hot conditions earlier on Friday.

Britain, who had won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, took a two-goal lead in the second quarter through Elena Rayer and Sarah Robertson.

India, which has never won an Olympic medal in women's hockey, pulled level after drag-flick specialist Gurjit Kaur scored twice off penalty corners.

Britain then conceded another goal that gave India a 3-2 lead going into the break, but they kept fighting to turn the tables in the final leg of their Tokyo campaign.

Hollie Pearne-Webb equalized in the 35th minute, before Grace Balsdon scored Britain's winning goal from a penalty corner in the last quarter.

2 Belarus coaches removed from the Olympics

Two Belarus team coaches have been removed from the Olympics, four days after they were involved in trying to send sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya back to their country.

The International Olympic Committee said Friday it has cancelled and removed the credentials of Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich.

"The two coaches were requested to leave the Olympic Village immediately and have done so," the IOC said.

It was done as an interim measure during a formal investigation "in the interest of the well-being of the athletes," the Olympic body said.

Shimak and Maisevich continued to have contact with Belarusian athletes since Sunday after the IOC linked them to taking Tsimanouskaya in a car to the airport to put her on a plane to Belarus.

Tsimanouskaya had criticized team coaches on social media and is now in Poland with a humanitarian visa.

The IOC said Shimak and Maisevich "will be offered an opportunity to be heard" by its disciplinary commission investigating the case.

It was unclear if the men have stayed in Japan or will leave for Belarus, an authoritarian former Soviet republic that relentlessly pursues its critics.

Belarus has been in turmoil for a year since Aleksander Lukashenko claimed a sixth presidential term after a state election widely viewed as rigged in his favour.

Lukashenko also led the Belarusian Olympic committee since the 1990s until this year. His son, Viktor, was elected to replace him.

The IOC banned both Lukashenkos from attending the Tokyo Olympics after investigating complaints from athletes they faced reprisals and intimidation in a security crackdown after the election.

Alexander Lukashenko was previously unable to attend the 2012 London Olympics because of a European Union visa ban imposed during a previous crackdown that followed a disputed election.

Giant flag to fly from Eiffel Tower for 2024 Paris Olympics

A giant flag will be flown from the Eiffel Tower on Sunday that Paris Olympic organizers claim will be the biggest in history.

The unfurling is planned during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics when the formal handover goes to the next Summer Games host in 2024.

The passing of the hosting baton will be split between the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo and a public party in Paris.

"It will be biggest flag ever flown," Paris organizing committee president Tony Estanguet said, describing it as the size of a soccer field.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is in Tokyo to take part in the closing ceremony, and French President Emmanuel Macron will take part by video link from the French capital.

Japan's Kiyuna wins gold in karate's Olympic debut

Ryo Kiyuna of Japan has won the gold medal in men's kata, beating Spain's Damian Quintero in the final and earning the host nation's first gold medal in karate's Olympic debut.

Kiyuna was given a score of 28.72 for his demonstration of karate forms. His score topped the 27.66 recorded by Quintero, who went first in the final.

Karate grew into its modern form in Japan during the 20th century, and the Tokyo Games were chosen five years ago for the sport's Olympic debut.

The 31-year-old Kiyuna is a native of Okinawa, where karate originally proliferated in Japan. The five-time world champion began winning international honours a decade ago.

He is Japan's second medallist in the first two days of the three-day inaugural event. Kiyou Shimizu won silver in women's kata on Thursday.

Ariel Torres of the United States and Ali Sofuoglu of Turkey took bronze in men's kata. Sofuoglu won the second karate medal for Turkey, while Torres won the first karate medal in U.S. history.

Stubborn horse leaves medal contender in tears

A horse that refused to jump dashed the hopes of gold-medal contender Annika Schleu in the Olympic modern pentathlon on Friday.

Schleu was in the lead after two of the five events — swimming and fencing — when she encountered the horse Saint Boy in the showjumping event. One of the quirks of modern pentathlon is that riders are given randomly assigned horses for the event. Bonding with them quickly is supposed to be part of the challenge.

Saint Boy, however, showed little interest in jumping the fences and eventually refused to move forward at all. Schleu was in tears.

"I tried but he did not want to go. I just started crying," Schleu said. "I did not expect to make him go and that was the reason I was crying ... I felt the horse lacked confidence. But I tried my best."

That left Schleu with zero points from the round and she eventually finished the modern pentathlon in 31st. In all, six of the 36 competitors failed to score in the showjumping including another who was allocated Saint Boy, Gulnaz Gubaydullina of Russia.

The gold medal went to Britain's Kate French after she held off a challenge from Lithuanian Laura Asadauskaite in the last event, the laser run, which combines distance running and shooting.

Asadauskaite took the silver medal, with bronze for Sarolta Kovacs of Hungary.

Cuba's Julio Cesar La Cruz wins boxing heavyweight gold

Heavyweight Julio Cesar La Cruz has won Cuba's third gold medal in boxing at the Tokyo Olympics, putting on a defensive masterclass in his final 5:0 victory over Russian athlete Muslim Gadzhimagomedov.

Gadzhimagomedov pressed forward throughout the bout, but La Cruz showed off his spectacular footwork and elusiveness while peppering his bigger Russian opponent with counter shots. La Cruz won the fight 30-27 on three judges' scorecards and 29-28 on the other two, completing a four-fight run through the Kokugikan Arena during which he won 5:0 twice and 4:1 twice.

La Cruz and teammates Roniel Iglesias and Arlen Lopez have all won their second career gold medals in Tokyo after moving up to a higher weight class. La Cruz was the light heavyweight gold medallist in Rio de Janeiro, and Lopez succeeded him to claim gold in that class in Tokyo.

La Cruz won the eighth heavyweight gold medal for the vaunted Cuban team, but the first since Odlanier Solis claimed the glamour division's title in 2004. La Cruz joins Solis and legendary three-time Olympic heavyweight champs Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon.

David Nyika of New Zealand and Abner Teixeira of Brazil won heavyweight bronze.