With CWG and Asiad in mind, govt expands Target Olympic Podium Scheme benefits

The Sports Ministry has added 107 athletes to the list of those who will get funds for training under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for next year’s Commonwealth and Asian Games. Out of 107, only four were picked till the 2020 Olympic Games while the remaining athletes were only chosen for the Commonwealth and Asian Games.

With the addition of 107 sportspersons to the list, the total number has gone up to 152. The 107 new athletes, which include 19 from para-sports, were added after a meeting of the committee of TOP Scheme held on September 1. Prominent among these 107 are Men’s Boxing World Championships bronze medallist Gaurav Bidhuri, ace pistol shooter Jitu Rai and tennis players — Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna.

Khel Ratna Awardee Devendra Jhajharia and three other Rio Paralympics medal winners — Deepa Malik, Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Singh Bhati — were named among the 19 para-athletes who were included to prepare for the Asian Para Games next year. The number of athletes in the TOPS list was reduced to 45 in July but with the addition of these 107, the total number has risen beyond 150.

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had recently announced that all …read more