New Delhi: In a departure from the norm, the Mission Olympic Cell included Wednesday the entire Indian hockey team in the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme. It was a reward for the players and the team who recently finished runners-up in the Champions Trophy at the Netherlands.
It is a break from the routine as this is the first instance when an entire squad have been included in the scheme. Each of the 18 members of the hockey team will now get a monthly allowance of Rs 50,000. However, there has been no mention as to whether coach Harendra Singh will get the same amount.
A press release from SAI said that the women’s hockey team’s inclusion in TOPS would depend on the review of their performance in the upcoming World Cup and the Asian Games.
Among the other notable decisions taken, double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar has been sanctioned Rs 6.62 lakh for hiring two sparring partners and a physiotherapist for his ongoing training stint in Georgia. Another Rs 3.22 lakh has been sanctioned for Bajrang Punia and Sumit for their training and tournament participation in Turkey.
Among the other sports, gymnastics received a total grant of Rs 21.76 lakh. It includes Rs. 7.76 lakh for the month-long training programme of Pranati Nayak in Uzbekistan. Another Rs 14 lakh (approximate) was sanctioned for the 32-day programme including a training camp in Belgium for Ashish Kumar and Aruna Budda Reddy.
- Rs 12.57 lakh granted to Davis Cupper Ramkumar Ramanathan for training and equipment expenses leading up to the Asian Games
- Rs 11.48 lakh allotted for purchase of equipment for archers Trisha Deb, Rajat Chauhan and Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Promila Daimary