Snooker: Mark Allen secured safe progress at the UK Championship against “unbelievable talent” Zhao Xintong. The Northern Irishman arrived in York in impressive form, having won the Bulgarian Open and reached the final of the Champion of Champions. Allen again looked strong as he overcame Xintong 6-2, although the world number 11 was impressed by his 18-year-old Chinese opponent. “Zhao is an unbelievable talent,” Allen said. “He pots balls that he shouldn’t even be going for. I used my experience by keeping it tight and making it hard for him.”

2024 Olympics: Hamburg’s bid to host the 2024 summer Olympics hinges on the result of a referendum on Sunday, with city officials hoping for a strong show of support to boost the chances of Germany’s Olympic newcomer staging the Games. The northern port city beat Berlin in March to win the German nod and is proposing a compact inner-city concept that bid officials say meets the International Olympic Committee’s recent reforms aimed at making the Games cheaper and more sustainable. Hamburg is the only one of the five candidates to put its plans to a city vote. Rome, Paris, Los Angeles and Budapest are in the running as well, with the IOC to pick the winner in 2017.

Athletics: The Russian athletics federation (ARAF) has accepted its ban from the sport in the wake of widespread doping revelations, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said. “IAAF Council was today informed that written confirmation had been received yesterday from ARAF accepting their full suspension without requesting a hearing as was their constitutional right,” the IAAF said. “ARAF confirmed they understood that Council would only accept their reinstatement as a member following the recommendation of the IAAF inspection team.”