SAI gives green signal to proposals worth â‚ą57 lakhs under TOPS
The Sports Authority of India has approved plans of â‚ą57 lakhs across various sports in order to ensure the country performs well in the upcoming 2020 Olympics under the Target Olympics Podium Scheme. The statement mentioned five sports and covered various expenses such as training and equipment.
In a SAI Mission Olympic Cell’s meeting on Monday, the director general Neelam Kapur-led committee released a statement saying it had decided to clear projects worth ₹57 lakhs in terms of finances under the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS). The projects are spread across five sports and will cover elite sportsmen in the respective fields to ensure better performance from them.
Three sportspersons in athletics, namely middle-distance runner Jinson Johnson, discus thrower Seema Punia and triple jumper Arpinder Singh, received the go-ahead for training and equipment as a part of the appropriations of the funds.
“The committee has approved a year-long training programme for middle-distance runner Jinson Johnson in USA under coach Scott Simons. The training will be till the Tokyo Olympics,” a SAI statement read, reported Sportstar.
“The committee also sanctioned the reimbursement of fees for discus thrower Seema Punia’s coach and fitness trainer for the support provided during the time of the Asian Games in 2018, along with the cost of medical treatment incurred by Punia, earlier this year. Purchase of recovery equipment for triple jumper Arpinder Singh was also sanctioned by the committee,” the statement added.
In table tennis, India’s top two players namely G.Sathiyan and Manika Batra were given clearance to participate in the ITTF Bulgarian Open to be held almost a month from now. The former’s request to pay the expenses of his fitness trainer was also sanctioned by the panel. Â
Wrestler Sajan was allotted funds to train internationally in Armenia and Belarus. She was also given the go-ahead to participate in upcoming tournaments to be held in Belarus and Georgia
With some shooters having already booked Olympics spots for themselves, Anjum Moudgil, Mehuli Ghosh, Manu Bhaker, Deepak Kumar and Rahi Sarnobat’s proposals for coaching and equipment were shown the green light.
Finally, para-javelin throwers Sandeep Chaudhary and Sumit Antil will be participating in an international competition in Paris at the end of next month and will be provided with sports kit and equipment for the same.
