After a record medal haul at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, India has begun stepping up preparations for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The sports ministry and national federations are focusing on logistics, athlete readiness and infrastructure months ahead of the event.

The Games will be held later this year from September 19 to October 4, with thousands of athletes from across Asia expected to compete in dozens of sports.

As part of the build-up, Indian authorities have started introducing new measures, including simulated accommodation setups and detailed operational planning to ensure athletes are fully prepared before they travel to Japan.

Replicating container-style accommodation

One of the most unusual aspects of the upcoming Asian Games is the accommodation plan for athletes. Instead of a traditional athletes’ village, organisers have opted for repurposed shipping containers and cruise liners to house participants.

To help athletes get used to this unique arrangement, India has begun installing container-style housing units at Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centres in Patiala and Bengaluru. Athletes who qualify for the Games will spend at least one night in these units to familiarise themselves with the compact layout and living conditions.

Preference for land-based housing

While some participating countries may house athletes aboard a cruise liner docked at a nearby port, India has requested land-based accommodation for its contingent.

This request is particularly important for athletes competing in precision sports such as shooting and archery, where stability, rest and minimal environmental disturbance are crucial before competition.

Authorities believe staying on land rather than on a ship will provide a more controlled and predictable environment for athletes.

Review meetings and administrative planning

India’s preparations are also being monitored at the highest level. A review meeting chaired by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya was recently held at the SAI headquarters in New Delhi.

Officials from the sports ministry, SAI and other stakeholders discussed travel logistics, operational readiness, training support and athlete welfare.

The meeting focused on ensuring athletes receive full backing in areas such as sports science, medical support, equipment, nutrition and travel arrangements.

Selection process and contingent size

India is expected to send a large contingent to the Asian Games, with more than 700 athletes across over 40 disciplines likely to participate.

The final size of the Indian contingent will be decided by a 15-member review committee scheduled to meet on March 20. The committee includes Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, Indian Olympic Association President P. T. Usha, Chef de Mission Sahdev Yadav, and Deputy Chef de Mission Achanta Sharath Kamal.

Federations have also been asked to finalise teams early and plan international exposure tours so athletes can compete against strong global opposition before the Games.

Focus on logistics, travel and support staff

Several additional measures are being implemented to streamline preparations.

Each National Sports Federation has appointed a nodal officer responsible for studying the Asian Games technical handbook and briefing athletes and coaches about competition regulations. Coordination with Indian embassies abroad is also being strengthened to handle travel and logistical issues.

The government is also planning to appoint a chief medical officer for the entire contingent, while official kits and equipment are expected to be distributed well before departure to Japan.

India’s performance in the last Asian Games

India heads into the 2026 Asian Games with strong momentum after delivering its best-ever performance at the previous edition in Hangzhou.

The Indian contingent finished with a record 107 medals — including 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze — and secured fourth place in the overall medal standings.

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Golf courses are burial grounds for many things: lost balls, drainage pipes, unrealistic expectations.

At a club in England this week, the ground opened up to reveal something else: a long-sealed wine cellar.

The discovery came at Davyhulme Park Golf Club, outside Manchester, where a sinkhole formed on the 13th hole and exposed a brick-lined chamber beneath. Inside were wine bottles of assorted shapes and sizes, all of them empty but brimming with history.

In a report first published by the BBC, deputy head greenskeeper Steve Hopkins said he encountered the sinkhole during his morning rounds. Assuming a collapsed drainpipe, he fetched a digger to investigate. Instead of infrastructure trouble, he unearthed a relic.

The cellar is believed to have served Davyhulme Hall, a manor dating to the 12th-century reign of Henry II. The hall was demolished in 1888.

“I was basically the first person to go in there for over a hundred years,” Hopkins told the BBC.

Unlike the storied wine cellar at Augusta National Golf Club, this one holds nothing worth uncorking. But it does offer a taste of the club’s past.

The site of the sinkhole sits in a portion of the property known as “The Cellars,” which once served as a workers’ entrance. According to the club’s published history, Davyhulme Hall passed through generations before being inherited in 1844 by Robert Henry Norreys, known locally as Squire Bob.

The club, which proclaims itself the fourth-oldest golf club in England, began as nine holes. By 1931, after acquiring additional land, it expanded to 18, with the design work handled by the club’s professional, Ernest Smith, a character of some note. Smith would later earn a place in the Guinness World Records for playing golf in five countries within 24 hours, flying by light aircraft from Scotland and looping through the U.K. and Ireland in a single day.

In gratitude for his architectural work, the club granted Smith honorary membership, a rare gesture in an era when professionals were rarely welcomed into clubhouses as peers. Two years later, according to the club’s website, he eloped to South America with the daughter of a member to whom he had been giving “lessons.” The club’s history puts that word in quotes before noting, with admirable understatement: “This caused quite a stir.”

So has the cellar.

Per Hopkins’ account to the BBC, members have already begun debating what should become of it. Some have suggested preserving it as a feature of the course. For now, though, it doesn’t appear to be interfering with play.

Bob Harlan, the Green Bay Packers’ president and CEO for nearly two decades, overseeing the franchise’s return to consistent winning, has died at 89.

The Packers announced Thursday that Harlan passed away in Green Bay after a brief illness. Team historian Cliff Christl said Harlan had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia.

Harlan, father of longtime sports broadcaster Kevin Harlan, joined the NFL’s only publicly owned team in 1971.

He was elected president and CEO in 1989, serving until his retirement in January 2008.

“Bob restored the Packers’ tradition of excellence, winning a Super Bowl and renovating Lambeau Field into the iconic venue it is today,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “He also contributed substantially to our league, helping ensure that all cities, large or small, could be successful.”

During Harlan’s tenure, the Packers had 13 straight winning seasons from 1992-2004, won a Super Bowl during the 1996 season and got back the Super Bowl the following year. Harlan also was the Packers’ president/CEO during the $295 million redevelopment of Lambeau Field.

“Bob was a visionary leader whose impact on the franchise was transformational,” Packers president/CEO Ed Policy said in a statement. “From his inspired hiring of (general manager) Ron Wolf to turn around the club’s on-field fortunes to his tireless work to redevelop Lambeau Field, Bob restored the Packers to competitive excellence during his tenure and helped ensure our unique and treasured flagship NFL franchise was on sound footing for sustained generational success.

“We send our deepest sympathies to his wife, Madeline, and the entire Harlan family.”

Harlan’s selection of Wolf as general manager came in 1991. At the time, the Packers had made just two playoff appearances since winning back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1966 and 1967 seasons.

Wolf reversed the Packers’ fortunes by acquiring Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons and adding Hall of Fame pass rusher Reggie White in free agency.

“Bob Harlan’s leadership of the Green Bay Packers was outstanding,” Favre said in a statement released by the team. “Hiring Ron Wolf and supporting the trade that brought me to Green Bay changed my career. The organization believed in me and gave me the opportunity.

“He was so supportive of me during the challenges I faced in my career. Challenges my family faced, too. He was always there offering his support. He was a great and kind man.”

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Mount Si was the No. 1 seed in the 4A state tournament, but it felt like No. 7 Emerald Ridge wasn’t clued in to that fact. Considering how fast the Jaguars came out of the gate on Thursday, the energy felt as carefree and loose as a January game in South Hill.

Emerald Ridge wasn’t afraid or intimated by the number next to Mount Si’s name. The Jaguars started fast, leading 36-31 at half and controlling the action for most of the game. When Mount Si finally rallied in the fourth quarter, it was too little, too late.

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Emerald Ridge hung to win, 67-62, stunning the top-seeded Wildcats.

“It’s a huge win,” said guard Jordan Bennett, who scored 15 points. “Nobody believed in us coming into this and we just knocked off the No. 1 seed. That shows how much we’ve built as a program and built as a team.”

The fast start was key, according to Jaguars coach Pat Mullen.

“We wanted to make sure that we were the first ones — we didn’t want to react to them, we wanted to make sure we were the ones making them react to us,” Mullen said. “We didn’t want to play on our heels, we wanted to make sure we were playing downhill. Our guys did a good job of that.”

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Emerald Ridge 6-foot-7 forward Jamaize McGriff, the team’s heartbeat, went to the bench early in the second quarter after picking up his second foul, but Emerald Ridge never skipped a beat.

“Next man up, basically,” Bennett said. “We know we can’t play the whole season. Maybe an injury happens. So we know we can’t play that game, just next man up.”

Bouncy Mount Si forward Latt Ford had his moments and scored 23 points, but Emerald Ridge’s guards kept pace. Bennett scored 15, Ellis Mosley scored a team-high 19, Mychal Turner scored 13 and Darius Alexander scored seven. McGriff added nine.

Even before Thursday’s game tipped off, Emerald Ridge had already made history. Wednesday’s win over Redmond was the first state tournament win for the program. Now, new heights, again.

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An entirely different challenge awaits: Defensive-minded No. 5 Gonzaga Prep, the defending state champion, which defeated Puyallup in double overtime in the game before Emerald Ridge’s game.

“Probably one of the top three programs in the state in the last 10 years,” Mullen said. “They’re solid, they do things the right way, they make you work for every possession. So it’s another great challenge for us. We’ve just gotta get ourselves down to earth and come out the way we play.”

Emerald Ridge faces Gonzaga Prep at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday in the semifinals at the Tacoma Dome.

Apparently, Javon Hargrave attributes some of his modest production to what defensive coordinator Brian Flores asked of him. Or, at least, that’s one way of interpreting the drama that’s unfolding on Twitter.

Known as Gravedigger — unreal nickname — Hargrave is going to be released after his debut season with the Vikings resulted in just 3.5 sacks. Note that he retweeted a comment that lays part of the production shortage at the feet of Coach Flores. A person said, “If you’re DL and wanna get to the QB, Brian Flores’ system is not for you.” Hargrave shared the idea, possibly confirming the words contained therein.

Brian Flores, Javon Hargrave, & The Vikings’ D-Line

Begin with the context of the back-and-forth playing out online. It’s a decent bit.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert shared the news of Jonathan Allen being cut soon. Consider what the Vikings writer said: “Add Jonathan Allen to the list of veteran players who will be departing the Vikings, including Aaron Jones and Javon Hargrave. His departure saves $6.5 million in cap space. Vikings are also open to trading Jonathan Greenard. Ryan Kelly’s status is in question as well.”

In response, there’s the post about Coach Flores having a scheme that doesn’t prioritize defensive linemen stacking up stats. Hargrave shared the idea, as mentioned up top. One way of interpreting the social media share is that Hargrave is signalling his agreement that defensive tackles don’t shine with huge stats while playing for Minnesota’s DC.

Seifert noticed the hubbub, sending out another thought: “This is not a new critique. In this 2023 story, Harrison Phillips talked about the role of DL in that version of the Flores scheme but essentially said it was hard to argue with the overall results.”

Want more? Probably not, but here goes nothing.

Matthew Coller responded to the exchange with his own thoughts: “Interesting! Talked with Phillips in ’24 as it related to PFF grades. He said DL are asked to move O-linemen or jump gaps to draw the lineman with them to open up for LBs rushing or edge players looping inside. It doesn’t grade well cuz there’s no ‘pass rush win’ but it works.”

Bringing everything together is that Javon Hargrave retweeted the whole thing. There’s Coller quoting Seifert who is quoting someone named Marcello who is quoting Seifert (my head hurts; Twitter’s version of Inception?). Hargrave retweeted the tweet-inside-a-tweet exchange.

There’s a case to be made that the veteran is taking a jab at the DC on his way out the door. Keep in mind that former co-workers of Flores have shared critiques in the past, such as Mike Pettine earlier in this offseason.

An odd detail within the exchange is that Harrison Phillips (nickname: Horrible Harry) was quite productive in purple. In fact, Phillips had beefy stats in 2023 — Coach Flores had just taken over as the DC — piling up 92 tackles and 3 sacks.

Moving forward, the Vikings are going to rally around Jalen Redmond. He’s young, cheap, and very productive. NFL offensive linemen consistently have trouble corralling him, so he’s going to be leaned on as a foundational piece.

Meanwhile, Hargrave — a good player — is going to find work.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Igor Tudor claimed to have more belief Tottenham would stay up despite a 3-1 home loss to Crystal Palace piling the pressure on the interim boss.

West Ham’s win at Fulham on Wednesday started a disastrous 24-hour period for the north London club with this fifth straight defeat for Spurs meaning they are only one point above the Premier League relegation zone with nine fixtures left.

Dominic Solanke’s 34th-minute opener looked to have turned the tide for Tottenham, but stand-in captain Micky van de Ven was inexplicably sent off four minutes later and they conceded three times during the remainder of the first half.

Plenty of Spurs fans headed for the exit doors at half-time and while Tudor’s depleted group showed some spirit in the second half, this latest defeat extended the club’s winless run to 11 matches, which is a new club record in the Premier League.

Tudor was hired last month to provide an upturn in results, but instead has become the first Tottenham manager in the Premier League era to lose his first three matches and had to face questions over his future after full-time.

Asked if he expected the Spurs hierarchy to let him carry on, Tudor responded: “I don’t think in that direction. I have my job to do and that’s all.

“Of course I understand the fans. It’s a normal thing that happens in football. They are disappointed. They wanted more. We are aware of that.

“We also wanted to give more. Unfortunately this is the moment that we pay everything. One red card change everything.

“I will tell you now maybe it will sound strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before. I saw something.

“I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can bow down, or how do you say that, leave the boat.

“So, when the other players will come back and choosing the right (players), I’m sure we will have a good team and the victories will come back. It’s not easy to accept the moment where we are now but it is how it is.”

It was a different story for Crystal Palace and they are now 10 points above the bottom three after an Ismaila Sarr brace was sandwiched between a fine strike by Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Sarr could have walked away with a hat-trick had his 29th-minute effort not been ruled out for offside, which VAR images showed was due to his nose.

Oliver Glasner said: “We played a very good first half in total. Started very well, did well, scored a goal and we all felt we were 1-0 up. Then it is disallowed and I said to Ismaila your nose is too long!

“Then all of a sudden two minutes later one poor defending after a set-play and we are 1-0 down, but I really loved the reaction of the group.

“All of a sudden the crowd and stadium was loud, it looked like it gave them a little bit of belief and then immediately we are on the front foot again.

“We get the penalty, the red card and then score another two fantastic goals before half-time so really great.”