4 archers included in TOPS; proposals worth Rs 34 lakh approved

The Sports Authority of India's Mission Olympic Cell has included four archers, Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav and Atul Verma as a part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for Olympic 2020. Rai, Das and Jadhav were part of the Indian men’s recurve team that won a silver medal at the World Archery Championships held in Hertogenbosch in June. The team has earned an Olympic quota along with India winning three single athlete quotas in men’s recurve individual event. Atul Verma is a bronze medalist in boy’s recurve archery from the 2014 Youth Olympics. In a meeting held on Wednesday and chaired by Ms. Neelam Kapur, Director General, Sports Authority of India, the athletes were chosen after a detailed analysis on their performances. Financial proposals amounting to Rs. 34 lakhs were also cleared for wrestlers Pooja Dhanda, Bajrang Punia, Utkarsh Kale and Vinesh Phogat. The committee also sanctioned the purchase of sports gear for Pooja. It approved of the proposals by athletes Sreeshankar and Jinson Johnson to participate in competitions overseas. The committee also gave a go-ahead to shot putter Tajinder Toor’s proposal to hire a foreign coach — Ireneusz Bukowiecki — for a period of two months. The committee sanctioned the purchase of sports kit for paddler Manika Batra, and agreed to a proposal by Sharath Kamal — India’s top-ranked paddler — to hire a physiotherapist Hirak Bagchi for a period of 12 days. Tennis player

Rohan Bopanna had requested the SAI to bear the cost of urgent medical treatment incurred due to a knee injury he suffered during a tournament this month; this has also been agreed to. In shooting, the committee cleared proposals pertaining to the training, participation and equipment requirements of Lakshay Sheoran, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, and Sanjeev Rajput. A proposal by para-athlete Amit Saroha of hiring a physiotherapist at SAI Sonepat — where he is currently training — has also been approved. “The physiotherapist may be utilised for other para-athletes who are training at the centre,” the SAI statement added.