Mary Kom and nine other boxers have been included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for Olympics 2020 by the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Mission Olympic Cell.
TOPS is a programme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to provide assistance to India’s top athletes.
ALSO READ: Hima Das named for relay among 25-member national squad for World Championships
Apart from Kom (women’s 51 kg), the other boxers are Amit Panghal (men’s 52 kg), Sonia Chahal (women’s 57 kg), Neeraj (women’s 57 kg), Nikhat Zareen (women’s 51 kg), Kavinder Singh Bisht (men’s 57 kg), Lovlina Borgohain (women’s 69 kg), Vikas Krishan (men’s 75 kg), Shiva Thapa (men’s 63 kg) and Manish Kaushik (men’s 63 kg).
Also, Women’s 10m Air Pistol shooter Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Sai Praneeth have been included in the TOPS.
To choose the athletes, a meeting was held, chaired by DG, SAI, Sandip Pradhan. There were five parameters on which the athletes were chosen.
These are the following parameters: 1) Global performance trends from most recent Olympic Games, World Championships, Asian Games and Asian Championships; 2) performance of competing for international counterparts (athletes) in the last three years; 3) high-performance age of a typical Olympic medalist specific to each event; 4) performance of Indian athletes in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and their progression chart, and 5) feedback from NSF, high-performance managers, project officers, and coaches, wherever applicable.
Apart from the selection of athletes, financial proposals worth Rs 1.4 crore were cleared in 11 sporting disciplines, namely, weightlifting, wrestling, shooting, archery, table tennis, athletics, badminton, tennis, para-badminton, para-archery, and para-shooting.
(With Agency Inputs)