Six para athletes inducted into TOPS

Requests for financial assistance for support staff of P. V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal were also accepted by Mission Olympic Cell.

Para canoeist Prachi Yadav.

Six para athletes have been included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

The athletes are: Ekta Bhayan, Neeraj Yadav, Nimisha C. Suresh and Radha Venkatesh (Para Athletics), Prachi Yadav (Para Canoe) and Paramjeet Kumar (Para Powerlifting).

The decision to include these athletes was taken at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell, attended by representatives of various States federations, distinguished sportspersons Bhaichung Bhutia, Anju Bobby George and Trupti Murgunde, and IOA president Narinder Batra.

ALSO READ - SAI appoints 398 coaches, assistant coaches in preparation of Olympics 2024

The MOC also decided to approve the requests of shuttlers P. V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal for financial assistance for their support staff for upcoming tournaments. Sindhu had requested the MOC to support the cost of her fitness trainer Srikanth’s travel and stay for the German Open, the All-England Championships, the Swiss Open and the Korean Open in March and April, while Saina had requested for assistance for her physiotherapist Ayesha for her travel and stay during the German Open, All-England Championships and Swiss Open.

The MOC also approved proposals worth more than ₹43.50 lakh from badminton players Ashmita Chaliha, Aditi Bhat, M. R. Arjun, Dhruv Kapila, Vishnuvardhan Goud, Krishna Prasad, P. Gopichand, Treesa Jolly, Shikha Gautam and Ashwini Bhatt to enable them to compete in international events.

Besides, proposals from Manika Batra, Archana Kamat, Payas Jain, Yashaswini Ghorphade, Suhana Saini, and Diya Chitale worth more than ₹8.5 lakh have been approved along with their air fares. This assistance has been extended towards international competitions.