Top Indian athletes to receive 1.5 crores as financial assistance under TOPS scheme

The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC), a unit of the Sports Authority of India has decided to sanction an amount of ₹1.5 crores as financial assistance under the TOPS scheme to Indian athletes for their competition, training, and equipment needs as they prepare for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Target Olympic Podium Scheme, or TOPS as it is popularly known, is a program commissioned by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to provide assistance to Indian athletes as they prepare for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.

Under this scheme, top athletes are identified and provided financial assistance to aid their preparations.

The Mission Olympic Cell sanctioned an amount of ₹1.5 crores as financial assistance to top identified Indian athletes who are a part of potential medal winners under the TOPS scheme.

Some of the top athletes include wrestler Bajrang Punia, badminton player Kidambi Srikanth and javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.

Indian shooting trio - Anjum Moudgil, Divyansh Singh Panwar and Mairaj Ahmad Khan who have booked their spots in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, were also sanctioned the amount as they get ready for the mega event in Japan later this year.

Along with Kidambi Srikanth, some of the other shuttlers who were included in the scheme were HS Prannoy, Sameer Verma and Sai Praneeth. All of them will receive assistance to aid their participation in crucial international events on the BWF circuit.

Athletes like long jumpers Neeraj and Sreeshankar Murali, along with triple jumper Arpinder Singh, will receive equipment assistance for their training as will Indian archers Bombayla Devi, Ankita Bhakat and Deepika Kumari.

Table tennis players Achanta Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar along with lawn tennis stars Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan are set to receive the necessary assistance for their training and tournament participation requirements ahead of the Olympics.

Paralympic badminton players Sukant Kadam, Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Manoj Sarkar, Tarun and Suhas Yathiraj will now be able to participate in international events to be held in Brazil and Peru. Paralympic shooter Singhraj's request for hiring a physio and personal coach until the 202 Tokyo Paralympics was also approved at the meeting.