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Athletes under the TOPS scheme are permitted a monthly allowance of Rs 25,000 and are considered medal prospects at international events.
Indian decathlete Tejaswin Shankar. (X)
India decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, sprinter Animesh Kujur and the women’s 4x100m relay team were added to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme’s developmental group, while gymnast Pranati Nayak was included in the Target Asian Games Group by the Sports Ministry on Monday.
Athletes under the TOPS scheme are permitted a monthly allowance of Rs 25,000 and are considered medal prospects at international events.
Shankar, the 26-year-old primarily based in the USA, became the first Indian to win two decathlon medals at the Asian Championships. He upgraded his previous bronze to a silver last month in Gumi, South Korea.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Amlan Borgohain secured a bronze medal in the men’s 200m event with a national record time of 20.32 seconds. This marked his first international medal.
The women’s 4x100m relay team, comprising Abinaya Rajarajan, Sneha Shanuvalli, Nithya Gandhe, and Srabani Nanda, also made the developmental list after winning a silver medal at the Asian meet.
Other notable performers from the Asian event who were included in the group after a recent meeting of the ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) include high jumper Pooja (gold, 1.89m PB), Servin Sebastian (race walking), Vithya Ramaraj (hurdles), Sachin Yadav (javelin throw), and Yoonus Shah (middle-distance).
The core group, reduced from 179 to 94 names following the end of an Olympic cycle, now includes only 42 able-bodied athletes. Among them are javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra, steeplechaser Avinash Sable, and long jumper M Sreeshankar.
Gymnasts Pranati Nayak and Protishtha Samanta (vault) have been added to the Target Asian Games Group (TAGG). Nayak recently won a bronze medal at the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jecheon, South Korea. This was her third bronze at the continental event, following previous wins in Ulaanbaatar (2019) and Doha (2022).
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The MOC includes members such as TOPS CEO NS Johal, Olympic medallist Gagan Narang, Pullela Gopichand (Vice-president, Badminton Association of India), Viren Rasquinha (Olympic Gold Quest), Aparna Popat, Dronacharya awardee para coach Dr. Satyapal Singh, and Arjuna awardee Prashanti Singh.
An amount of Rs 11.90 lakh has been approved for archers Parneet Kaur, Priyansh, and Jyothi Surekha Vennam to purchase equipment as part of their preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. All three are part of the TOPS core group.
Deputy Director of the Bengaluru SAI centre, Sathishkumar S, has been awarded the prestigious Chevening Scholarship by the UK Government for the 2025–26 academic year. He will pursue a Master’s degree in Sports Management, Politics, and International Development at Loughborough University.
Sathishkumar joined SAI in 2017 and has been involved in over 10 editions of the Khelo India Games. He was deputed as an official observer for India at the Paris Olympics and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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