Sports News Roundup: Grand Slam box ticked, Thiem targets Tokyo podium; No. 1 Gonzaga too much for No. 6 Kansas and more

The body of Maradona, who died from a heart attack on Wednesday, lay at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires and tens of thousands of his compatriots braved the coronavirus pandemic to pay their last respects to one of the world's best footballers who led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup. Golf-Meronk opens three-shot lead with 66 at Alfred Dunhill Championship Poland’s Adrian Meronk carded six birdies and an eagle in a scintillating round of 66 to take a three-shot lead after day two of the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Championship on Friday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Maradona mourning shows again Latin America's devotion to sport and arts

The crowds that bade farewell to Diego Maradona in Buenos Aires on Thursday were in keeping with the devotion Latin America has reserved for the passing of its sporting and artistic idols, from Brazilian Formula 1 great Ayrton Senna to Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The body of Maradona, who died from a heart attack on Wednesday, lay at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires and tens of thousands of his compatriots braved the coronavirus pandemic to pay their last respects to one of the world's best footballers who led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup.

Golf-Meronk opens three-shot lead with 66 at Alfred Dunhill Championship

Poland’s Adrian Meronk carded six birdies and an eagle in a scintillating round of 66 to take a three-shot lead after day two of the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Championship on Friday. Meronk, whose only win on tour was the Open de Portugal last year, followed up his two eagles in the first round with another on the par-five 13th to move to 13-under par. He leads Dane Joachim Hansen (64) and England’s Richard Bland (67) going into Saturday.

Belarusian medallist, facing crackdown at home, clings to Olympic comeback dream

Decathlete Andrei Krauchanka knows that reaching the Olympics is seldom an adversity-free path, but the political crisis in his native Belarus has made his quest for a final chance to compete on the world's biggest sports stage even harder. The 2008 Olympic silver medallist said he was dismissed from the national team and sacked from his job after signing an open letter demanding new elections, and later briefly jailed for participating in protests against veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Grand Slam box ticked, Thiem targets Tokyo podium

Having fulfilled his dream of joining the Grand Slam winners club by taking the U.S. Open title this year, Austrian Dominic Thiem is setting out his goals for 2021 and hopes to be standing on the podium at the Tokyo Olympics. The 27-year-old lost three Grand Slam finals before finally winning at Flushing Meadows in September, becoming the first player outside the trio of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win a major since 2016.

Top 25 roundup: No. 1 Gonzaga too much for No. 6 Kansas

Forward Drew Timme scored a career-high 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting as top-ranked Gonzaga opened its season with a 102-90 victory against No. 6 Kansas on Thursday afternoon at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida. Freshman Jalen Suggs, a top-10 prospect who is Gonzaga's highest-ever recruit, scored 24 points and had a game-high eight assists. Corey Kispert, a preseason All-American, added 23 points for the Bulldogs, who will play Auburn in the tournament Friday.

Reigning league MVP Jackson tests positive for COVID-19: NFL report

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, the NFL's reigning Most Valuable Player, has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the Ravens rescheduled game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, a report on the league's website said. The Ravens had been due to face the Steelers on Thursday but the game was postponed with several Baltimore players and staff members having tested positive this week or deemed to have been in close contact.

'Adios Diego': Maradona buried as world mourns flawed soccer great

Argentina's Diego Maradona, one of the world's greatest ever soccer players, was buried on Thursday amid a global outpouring of grief from the streets of Buenos Aires to Naples in Italy. The death of Maradona at the age of 60 on Wednesday, following a heart attack, has sparked both mourning and celebrations of a true sporting star, who was a genius on the soccer field but lived a life marred by struggles with addiction.

'You have to be here': Argentina's love of Maradona overcomes COVID-19 fears

Argentines in their thousands, wearing soccer jerseys and face masks, packed into snaking queues on the streets of Buenos Aires on Thursday to pay their last respects to flawed soccer genius Diego Maradona - despite concerns around the spread of COVID-19. The crowds, which some expect to reach a million people to see Maradona's casket after his death on Wednesday, reflect the soccer star's status in the South American country, where he has almost cult following and is fondly known as "God".

Organizers await govt nod to allow players to train in Australian Open quarantine

Australian Open organisers said on Friday that nothing regarding the quarantine for players arriving in the country for the Grand Slam had been decided yet despite a report in local media that competitors would be able to train while in self-isolation. The Age newspaper reported that the men's governing body ATP has told the players that they would be allowed to train during their 14-day quarantine period ahead of the Australian Open.

Factbox-Reaction from club managers to the death of Maradona

Following is a selection of quotes from top-flight club managers on Diego Maradona, following his death: Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)