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Athletics: Seven more Russian athletes, including world champions Sergey Shubenkov (picture) and Mariya Kuchina, have been cleared to compete in international competition as neutrals after meeting the IAAF Doping Review Board’s exceptional eligibility criteria. World champions Shubenkov (sprint hurdles) and Kuchina (high jump) and former European indoor champion high jumper Daniil Tsyplakov were the most high-profile of the seven. Their participation as neutral athletes is still subject to formalities under IAAF rules that are being completed and the acceptance of their entries by individual meeting organisers.

Tennis: Andy Murray is targeting a return to competitive action in Monte Carlo next week after making his first appearance on court for a month in a charity match against Roger Federer in Zurich late Monday. The world no. 1 has suffered with shingles and illness since the turn of the year and was forced to withdraw from the Miami Open after injuring his elbow. The 29-year-old lost 6-3 7-6 against Federer yet the result was far from the most important thing for Murray, with the clay court season starting next week.

Figure Skating: Japanese figure skater Mao Asada, a silver medallist from the 2010 Winter Olympics and three-time world champion, is retiring from the sport after a disappointing season, saying she has lost the will to compete. The 26-year-old took a year off from competition after the Sochi Olympics before resuming training in 2015, but said on her blog yesterday that this time she was quitting for good. “After coming back to competition, I have not been able to achieve either the techniques or the results I wanted, and the number of things I worried about increased,” wrote Asada.

Australian rules: Aboriginal players from the Australian Football League (AFL) have issued an open letter to fans of the code demanding an end to racist abuse after two of their number were insulted over the weekend. Port Adelaide Power’s Paddy Ryder and Eddie Betts of the Adelaide Crows, both indigenous Australians, were subjected to racial abuse from the crowd during the top flight match at Adelaide Oval on Saturday. The AFL Players’ Indigenous Advisory Board responded yesterday with a plea for an end to the abuse.