'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Equestrian Fouaad Mirza, golfers Anirban Lahiri, Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar and skier Mohammed Arif Khan have been included in the Core Group of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
Golfers Shubhankar Sharma, Tvesa Malik, Judokas Yash Ghangas, Unnati Sharma and Linthoi Chanambam have been added to the TOPS Development group.
These additions take the number of athletes under TOPS to 301, including 107 in the Core group.
The Ministry primarily supports elite athletes under the annual calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) of each National Sports Federation.
Also Read: SAI issues fresh SOPs to combat rising COVID-19 cases
TOPS provides customized support to athletes in areas not covered under the ACTC. It also addresses the unanticipated needs of the athletes as they prepare to excel in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Trending
Athletes in Core group of TOPS
Mohammed Arif Khan, hailing from Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir, recently became the first Indian Alpine skier to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games 2022. It will be held in Beijing next month.
The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) approved ₹17.46 lakh towards the cost of five-week training in Europe and purchase of equipment.
Fouaad Mirza, with his horse Seigneur Medicott, won the Eventing individual silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. He finished 23rd at the Tokyo Olympics.
Based in Germany, he is currently ranked 87 in the world. The 29-year-old logged two top-10 finishes in Sopot in September and Pratoni del Vivaro in November.
Aditi Ashok had a stellar Tokyo Olympics as she was in contention for a medal throughout the competition. The 21-year-old left-hander Diksha Dagar was a silver medalist at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics and finished 50th in the Olympic Games last year.
Teenaged Judokas Yash Ghangas (+100kg class), Linthoi Chanambam (57kg) and Unnati Sharma (63kg) each won a silver medal in the Asia-Oceania Junior Championships in Lebanon, Beirut. Yash Ghangas is from Panipat in Haryana while Lintho Chanambam hails from Manipur and Unnati is from Uttarakhand.
