Four more players added to TOPS Core group for this Olympic Cycle

Three shooters and one para-badminton player have been added to the TOPS Core group for this Olympic Cycle. These include Indian para-shuttler Palak Kohli, skeet shooters Anantjeet Singh Naruka, and Raiza Dhillon, and Trap shooter Rajeshwari Kumari.

These players have been rewarded by the sports ministry after their fabulous performances over the last year in their respective sports. Earlier, tennis star Sumit Nagal and Equestrian quota winner Anush Aggarwala were also added to the list.

Palak Kohli: Para-Badminton

Palak Kohli won her first World Championship medal earlier this year when she won a bronze medal in the women's singles SL4 category and solidified her position in R2P rankings at sixth position and is very likely to qualify for the Paralympics 2024.

She also won three medals at the 6th National Para Badminton Championship last week where she clinched the title in women's singles and women's doubles categories while a silver medal in the mixed doubles category.

She will be heading towards her second Paralympics this year in Paris and will be aiming for her first medal.

Anantjeet Singh Naruka - Skeet Shooting

Anantjeet Singh is one of the most consistent skeet shooters in India. He also won the first Paris Olympics quota in the men's skeet category for India at the Asian Shotgun Championships 2024.

He won the silver medal at this event which is also his first major senior international medal. The 25-year-old, ranked 8th in the world, is currently the top-ranked Indian skeet shooter.

Raiza Dhillon - Skeet Shooting

The 19-year-old has created history this year as she became the first-ever Indian female shooter to earn an Olympic quota in Skeet. She won the Asian Shotgun Championships in Kuwait City earlier this year.

She also won the bronze medal at the mixed team event at the Asian Championships which is an Olympic event. Earlier, Raiza won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships 2023 in Changwon, South Korea.

Rajeshwari Kumari - Trap shooting

National champion, Rajeshwari Kumari has been in tremendous form since last year when she made it to the final of the World Championships and earned India's first quota for the Paris Olympics in the women's trap event.

She is currently ranked 9th in the world with 1118 rating points and is consistently scoring above 120 after joining Olympic medalist David Kostelecký of the Czech Republic as her coach in 2022.