New Delhi: 4 archers included in Target Olympic Podium Scheme

New Delhi: Archers Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav and Atul Verma were Wednesday included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for 2020 Tokyo Games.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Sports Authority of India's Mission Olympic Cell, chaired by SAI Director General Neelam Kapur. Proposals worth Rs 34 lakhs were also cleared. Rai, Das and Jadhav were part of the Indian men's recurve team that won a silver medal at the World Archery Championships held in Hertogenbosch, Netherlands earlier this month. The trio also earned an Olympic quota in the process, along with India securing three single quotas in the men's recurve individual event. Verma is a bronze medallist in boy's recurve in the 2014 Youth Olympics.

According to a SAI statement, the athletes were chosen after a detailed analysis of their past and present performances. Among other key decisions, the SAI has also cleared financial support for training and participation in overseas tournaments of wrestlers 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 proposals of athletes Sreeshankar and Jinson Johnson to participate in competitions overseas, besides clearing shot-putter Tajinder Toor's proposal to hire a foreign coach, Ireneusz Bukowiecki, for a period of two months.

It also sanctioned the purchase of sports kit for paddler Manika Batra and approved Sharath Kamal's proposal to hire a physiotherapist Hirak Bagchi for a period of 12 days. Tennis ace Rohan Bopanna's request about bearing the cost of urgent medical treatment incurred owing to knee injury he suffered during a tournament this month has also been sanctioned.

In shooting, the committee cleared proposals towards the training, participation and equipment requirements of Lakshay Sheoran, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Sanjeev Rajput. Para-athlete Amit Saroha's proposal to hire a physiotherapist at SAI Sonepat, where he is currently training, was also approved. "The physiotherapist may be utilised for other para-athletes who are training at the centre," the SAI statement added.