- Equestrian sport: Eventing and dressage have been given the green light by the Minister for Agriculture as part of the latest adjustment to the foot-and-mouth restrictions, writes Grania Willis.

The horse trials season will kick off with a combined training competition in Wicklow on June 9th, followed by the first event at Punchestown on June 17th. A series of six one-day fixtures will be run in the build-up to the Blarney Castle three-day event, which will take place at the end of July.

- Cycling: There was a further good showing for riders from the Team Ireland set-up in France yesterday, writes Shane Stokes, when Michael McNena and Stephen O'Sullivan were third and fourth respectively in a circuit race near Lyon. Both were prominent in a breakaway group which went clear in the GP Cycliste de Cruas, where McNena won three sprints.

O'Sullivan then tried to get clear with two others, and after being recaptured with a kilometre to go, had sufficient strength left to come home just behind McNena. Their Team Ireland team-mate Tommy Evans was 13th.

Meanwhile, 23 La Creuse rider Aidan Duff is 70th overall after the penultimate stage of the Ruban Granitier Breton race, also in France.

- Table tennis: Colum Slevin, with three successful qualifying rounds behind him to qualify for the singles main draw at the World Championships in Japan, lost out in the first round. Kaji Matsushita of Japan beat Ireland's only survivor 21-13 21-10 21-14.

- Kickboxing: The elimination bouts to select this year's Irish amateur team are on at Stewarts Sports Centre in Palmerstown, Dublin, next Sunday. The Irish team collected three gold medals and two silvers from last year's world championships.