The Indian athletics team will undergo a short acclimatisation camp at the University of Tsukuba, near Tokyo, ahead of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in September-October.

In June, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) signed an MoU with the University of Tsukuba to facilitate participation of Indian athletes, coaches, and sports scientists in specialised training and exchange programmes in Japan.

The national team will leave for Japan after competing in the invitational Indian Athletics Final Series in New Delhi on September 10.

Meanwhile, the Asian Games-bound Indian athletes, who were training at Jablonec in the Czech Republic, will return home in a day or two to have another short training stint at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, where the Indian Open World Athletics Silver Level Continental Tour event will be held on August 22.

A host of top Indian athletes are set to take part in Bhubaneswar, including the likes of Murali Sreeshankar, Ancy Sojan, Jyothi Yarraji, Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur and Kishore Jena.

Neeraj Chopra is not expected to feature in Bhubaneswar, as he will compete at the Lausanne Diamond League on August 21.

Following up on her accusations of threats and intimidation by Hockey India secretary Bholanath Singh, former India captain Asunta Lakra has urged the Sports Ministry to intervene against the “institutional protection of sexual harassment, intimidation and victimisation of women athletes in hockey”, even as federation president Dilip Tirkey assured to look into the matter.

Writing to the ministry, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Indian Olympic Association president P.T. Usha, among others, Asunta alleged that individuals accused of misconduct were being protected while those raising concerns were threatened.

“I write to you not merely as a former captain of the Indian women’s hockey team, a member of the Executive Board of Hockey India and a selector but as an Indian woman who chose to speak up when young female athletes were being sexually harassed,” wrote Asunta.

“Throughout my career, I believed the greatest responsibility of a senior player is not only to win medals but also to protect the next generation… I brought to the attention of the Jharkhand government allegations against Sudhir Golla… what followed has shaken my faith in the system. The machinery of intimidation was set in motion against me,” she alleged.

Tirkey assured he would talk to both parties to resolve the matter. “Asunta Lakra is one of the treasures of Indian hockey. She has done a great service to the sport by bringing to light an unfortunate incident related to Jharkhand hockey. The Jharkhand government has taken action against Sudhir Golla, and we removed him from the Under-18 national team.

“Regarding allegations against Bholanath, I will speak to both parties and hope that the matter is resolved amicably. The dignity and respect of women is our top priority and Hockey India remains fully committed to the same,” Tirkey said.

A day after the Sports Authority of India (SAI) suspended the Boxing Federation of India (BFI)’s assessment camp over alleged irregularities, signs of a resolution emerged after talks between the two sides in which the BFI “agreed to rework the selection criteria”.

The suspension order was issued on Sunday (May 10, 2026) after the BFI failed to respond to SAI’s “persistent queries on irregularities in the selection policy for boxers as well as coaches”, said a well-placed SAI source.

SAI said that it has been “bombarded” with complaints from boxers and coaches who have been adversely affected by the policy and the BFI’s “refusal to give a clear explanation” has not helped matters.

“Several complaints have landed at our doorstep, in which boxers are telling us that at this assessment camp, the bout results were not going to be immediately released. Instead, the BFI’s so-called High Performance Unit (HPU), along with the selection committee, was going to have discussions and then decide who to pick,” the source said.