Athletics
Sports Ministry approves foreign training plans for top athletes ahead of World Championships
Sports ministry approves Rs 86 lakh for international exposure trips to boost medal chances.
Neeraj Chopra (Photo credit: NC Classic/X)
The Indian Sports Ministry's Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) has sanctioned extensive foreign training plans for the nation’s leading track-and-field athletes ahead of the World Athletics Championships in September.
Top javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will undergo a 57-day training stint in the Czech Republic, as part of a Rs 86 lakh package approved at the 157th MOC meeting.
Chopra, India’s premier gold-medal hope and holder of two World Championship medals, will be based in Prague and Nymburk alongside his physio, Ishan Marwah, with their training trip costing Rs 19 lakh. The star athlete aims to defend his 2023 title.
Other elite athletes, including steeplechasers Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary, and distance runner Gulveer Singh, will train at Colorado Springs in the US from July 15 to September 3. The government has allocated Rs 41.29 lakh for their preparation. All three athletes are national record holders and stood out during the Asian Championships earlier this year.
Ajay Kumar Saroj, a Hangzhou Asian Games silver medallist, will also join them at the US training base, supported with Rs 10.32 lakh. Saroj is looking to rebound from an ankle injury that affected his 2024 season.
Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him from the Paris Olympics, will compete in events across Portugal, Spain, and Kazakhstan between July 19 and August 14, backed by Rs 5.58 lakh. Meanwhile, women’s long jumpers Ancy Sojan and Shaili Singh will take part in competitions in London, Berlin, and Lausanne, supported by Rs 9.21 lakh.
The MOC also approved Rs 44.26 lakh for 11 para-badminton players and six support staff to compete in the British and Irish Para-Badminton Championships in Cardiff from July 22 to 26. The event is a key opportunity to secure ranking points for next year’s World Para-Badminton Championships. Among the team are seasoned athletes Nitish Kumar, Manoj Sarkar, and Krishna Nagar.
The online MOC meeting included senior figures such as Sports Secretary and SAI DG Hari Ranjan Rao, TOPS CEO N S Johal, TAGG head Col. Rakesh Yadav, national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, AFI’s Adille Sumariwalla, and IOA vice-president Gagan Narang.
