Sports ministry approves overseas training stint for Sreeja Akula

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) held its weekly Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) meeting, the 128th, on Tuesday and approved emerging table tennis player Sreeja Akula’s proposal for financial assistance for overseas training.

Sreeja, who won the WTT Feeder Beirut II 2024 women's singles title on Sunday, will fly to Chinese Taipei for a training camp as part of her preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Sreeja, who won her maiden international title at WTT Feeder Corpus Christi in Texas, USA in January, has been pivotal in the Indian women's team's historic qualification to the Paris Olympics earlier this month due to its superior ranking - 13 - in the WTT Team Rankings.

The Indian women's team securing a quarterfinal finish at the WTT Team Championships in Busan, South Korea, helped the team's cause further.

Sreeja became the fifth Indian paddler in recent times after Swastika Ghosh, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Archana Kamath, and Manika Batra to secure financial assistance from the ministry's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for training and participation in competitions.

Sreeja, who is one of the strongest contenders for a spot in the women's singles event of the Paris Olympics along with Manika, will train in Taipei for 12 days under Coach Liu Jun-Lin and during her stay will also spar against various other paddlers at the club.

Tulika Mann to train in Turkey

Besides Sreeja, MOC also approved Judoka Tulika Mann’s request for financial assistance for participation in a Grand Slam event in Antalya, Turkey followed by a training camp at the same location.

Besides foreign training, MOC also approved proposals for financial assistance for participation in competitions for Table Tennis players Manav Thakkar and Payas Jain.

While Manav will head to Havirov, Czech-Repulic for the WTT Feeder event, Payas Jain will go to the WTT Feeder events in Dusseldorf, Germany and Havířov, Czech-Repulic.

The sports ministry, under its TOPS programme, will cover their airfare, accommodation and food costs, and entry fees (for competitions) among other expenditures.

MOC also approved wrestler Bajrang Punia’s proposal for financial assistance and extension of service of his Strength and Conditioning Expert Kazi Kiron Mustafa Hasan till the end of May 2024, when final selection trials for the Paris Olympics will take place.