2024 Paris Olympics: PV Sindhu to train in Germany, Lakshya Sen to hone skills in France ahead of Summer Games

Indian badminton stars PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen got a boost for their preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics when the Sports Ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) approved financial requests for their training.

While Sindhu will hone her skills in Germany, Lakshya will be off to France before the prestigious quadrennial Games.

Lakshya’s proposal for financial assistance for a 12-day training session in Marseille, France, was approved. The Indian shuttler will train at The Halle des Sports Parsemain with his coach and support staff from July 8 to July 21.

Sindhu will be off to Saarbrucken, Germany, to train at the Hermann-Neuberger Sportschule. She will practise there for over a month, along with her coach and support staff, before heading to Paris for the Summer Games.

In a media statement, the sports ministry said the MOC will take care of all expenses for the shuttlers. “The MOC approved the funding of their airfare, boarding/lodging cost, local transportation charges, Visa Fees, shuttlecocks expenses under the Ministry’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS),” the media release read.

Meanwhile, the MOC also approved table tennis player Sreeja Akula and archer Tisha Punia’s proposals for support to procure equipment. They also approved requests from Indian golfer Aditi Ashok and swimmer Aryan Nehra’s requests for assistance to travel to various competitions.

The TOPS will fund their airfare, accommodation costs, local transportation costs, Aryan’s equipment and Aditi’s caddy fee also.

Along with approving proposals, the MOC also included table tennis player Harmeet Desai and women’s 4x400 relay team in TOPS Core Group, keeping in mind the 2024 Paris Olympics and beyond. Along with the two inclusions, the MOC also promoted wrestlers Nisha (68kg) and Reetika (76kg) to the Core Group from the Developmental Group.

The new inductee in TOPS Development Group is upcoming golfer Kartik Singh. The inclusion was made keeping in mind the 2028 and 2032 Olympics in Los Angeles and Brisbane, respectively.