Archers Tarundeep, Atanu, Pravin, Atul included in TOPS

The archers were chosen at a meeting of the Olympic Cell of the Sports Authority of India after detailed analyses of their past and present performances.

Atanu Das won the silver medal alongside his Indian team-mates at the World Archery Championships in ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.

The Sports Authority of India's Mission Olympic Cell on Wednesday included four archers, Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav and Atul Verma, as part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for 2020 Olympics.

Rai, Das and Jadhav were part of the Indian men’s recurve team which won a silver medal at the World Archery Championships held in Hertogenbosch in June. The had earned an Olympic quota along with three single athlete quotas in the men’s recurve individual event.

At a meeting chaired by Sports Authority of India Director General Neelam Kapur, the athletes were chosen after a detailed analysis on the following parameters: global performance trends from most recent Olympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, World Cups and World Championships; performance of competing international counterparts (athletes) in the last three years; high performance age of a typical Olympic medallist specific to each event and performance of Indian athletes in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and their progression chart.

Read | Punia: 'I'm ready for World C'ship trials'

A total of Rs 34 lakh in six sports was also cleared as financial assistance. In wrestling, financial support for training and participation in tournaments overseas were sanctioned for Pooja Dhanda, Bajrang Punia, Utkarsh Kale and Vinesh Phogat. The committee also sanctioned the purchase of sports gear for Pooja Dhanda.

The committee approved the proposal of Amit Saroha to hire a physiotherapist at SAI Sonepat, where he is currently training. The committee also approved the proposals of athletes Sreeshankar and Jinson Johnson to participate in competitions overseas. Tajinder Toor’s was given permission to hire a foreign coach, Ireneusz Bukowiecki, for a period of two months.

Read | Sharath supports UTT's local connect attempt

In table tennis, Manika Batra was given permission to purchase sports kit while Sharath Kamal’s proposal to hire a physiotherapist Hirak Bagchi for a period of 12 days was also cleared.

Rohan Bopanna was granted expenses to undergo medical treatment for his knee injury while shooters he suffered during a tournament in June. Shooters Lakshay Sheoran, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Sanjeev Rajput would receive financial assistance for training, participation and purchase of equipment.

The Target Olympic Podium Scheme is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to provide assistance to India’s Olympic probables.