26-Jul-2021: Approx. 765 crores spent under Target Olympic Podium Scheme and Scheme of Assistance to NSFs from 2018-19 to till date
Preparation for International events including Olympics is a continuous process. A High-Level Committee was constituted to oversee the preparation of Indian contingent for the Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020.During the second wave of Covid-19, several athletes were sent abroad for training so that they may remain unaffected by the ongoing pandemic in the country. Other Tokyo probables were trained in the training camps with social distancing.
Training and competitive exposure to sportspersons preparing for international sports events including Olympics is taken care of under the funds allocated for the Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations. Customised training of medal prospects is taken care of under Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) under the overall ambit of National Sports Development Fund.
The expenditure under TOPS is 54.26 crore and Scheme of Assistance to NSFs is 711.46 crore 2018-19 to till date.
‘Sports’ is a State subject. It is the primary responsibility of the State Governments to develop sports including development and creation of sports infrastructure of international standards. However, Central Government also provides financial assistance under its scheme of ‘Khelo India’ to States/UTs to develop critical sports infrastructure and other infrastructure, where there are gaps, including for sports science and sports equipment on the basis of viable proposals from them.
Training of sports persons preparing to participate in major international tournaments such as Olympics is mainly held at Centres of Sports Authority of India, which have adequate facilities. Further, in order to improve the facilities owned by the State Governments, each State is permitted to identify one existing sports facilities to be declared as Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (SLKISCE)wherein financial support is provided for manpower and upgradation of sports infrastructure facilities by conducting gap analysis. Such 24 SLKISCEs have already started across the country.
20-Jan-2021: TOPS approves proposal of Manu Bhaker, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa to engage sports psychologist for better preparation
Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) sanctioned the proposal from two Olympic-qualified shooters Manu Bhaker and Angad Vir Singh Bajwa to engage the services of sports psychologist Sanjana Kiran to assist them in their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics that are scheduled for later this year. The proposal was sanctioned last week at the Mission Olympic Cell meeting.
Sanjana Kiran is a Singapore-based High performance expert in the field of sport psychology and performance psychology and has provided support to elite athletes and elite coaches in preparation for major events and international competitions.
Speaking about the role of a sports psychologist as part of her preparation for the Olympics, Manu Bhaker who is eligible to participate in both the women’s 10m air pistol and women’s 25m pistol at the Olympics said, “Being in a sport that requires vigorous mental strength and stability to be able to perform flawlessly, getting Sanjana Kiran's guidance will help me to prepare better for the Olympics.”
Olympian and medalist at the Asian and Commonwealth Games Suma Shirur who is currently the High Performance Specialist coach of the Indian Junior Rifle Shooting team, welcomed the decision to have a psychologist working with shooters, “Sport is getting more professional. If we have to put our best foot forward, why not engage experts. In our time, we learnt through experience but nowadays shooters begin early so experts will expedite their learning curve.”
Shirur added that given that most of the Olympic-bound shooters are teenagers or in their early 20s and have gone through a long period out of competitive action due to the coronavirus pandemic, having a psychologist help them is even more important.
Sanjana Kiran’s engagements with Bhaker and Bajwa include online sessions, travelling to competitions to offer her inputs and the travel expenses involved while going for competitions.
The total cost of Kiran’s engagement with the two shooters, starting from January 2021, is approximately Rs. 29 lakh.
Prior to sanctioning this amount to the two shooters, TOPS had sanctioned Rs. 68.39 Lakhs for Angad Vir Singh Bajwa who has qualified for the Olympics in men’s skeet on international training, ammunition and out of pocket allowance. For Manu Bhaker, TOPS had sanctioned Rs. 21.49 Lakhs for ammunition, equipment and out of pocket allowance.
4-Jan-2021: TOPS sanctions specialised equipment for Para Table Tennis player Bhavina Patel
The Mission Olympic Cell met on Tuesday, December 29 for clearing financial proposals of athletes who are a part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme. Bhavina Patel, a Para Table Tennis player belonging to Gujarat who was included in the TOPS Scheme in November 2020 had financial proposals of Rs. 7.04 Lakhs sanctioned by the committee. Patel is ranked 8th in the world and by virtue of her current world ranking is well positioned to qualify for the Tokyo Paralympics and thus become the first Indian to do so in the sport of Para Table Tennis.
Patel’s requests for the following specialised equipment were sanctioned by the committee:
- Table Tennis Wheelchair
- Robot: Butterfly Amicus Prime
- Wheelchair Table Tennis Table
Patel participates in the F4 category of Para Table Tennis.
25-Dec-2020: 40 day overseas coaching camp sanctioned for Vinesh Phogat in Hungary and Poland under TOPS
The Government through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) has sanctioned a 40 day training camp for wrestler Vinesh Phogat along with her personal coach Woller Akos, her sparring partner Priyanka Phogat and her physiotherapist Poornima Raman Ngomdir. The camp will take place from December 28, 2020 to January 24, 2021 at the Vasas Sports Club in Budapest, Hungary and from January 24 to February 5, 2021 at the Olympic Training Centre in Szczryk in Poland, and will be conducted at a total approximate cost of Rs. 15.51 Lakhs and includes airfare, local transportation, boarding and lodging charges and out of pocket allowance. Phogat is a part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
The training camp has been planned by Phogat’s personal coach Woller Akos, with this camp giving her the opportunity to spar with many European wrestlers in her weight category and improving on her technical and tactical aspects.
Phogat is looking forward to the overseas training camp, saying, “As a wrestler I need to know my level and getting to spar with good wrestlers will be very helpful in assessing where I stand.”
Phogat has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for July-August 2021 in the women’s 53 kg event after winning the bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships. Phogat was a part of the national camp for women’s wrestlers that commenced in SAI Lucknow from October 2020. Her last competitive appearance before the coronavirus lockdown was the Asian Senior Championships in February held in New Delhi where she won a bronze medal.
28-Sep-2020: Mission Olympic Cell sanctions Mirabai Chanu’s overseas training and rehabilitation
The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) had an online meeting earlier today to discuss financial proposals of over Rs. 1.5 crores of athletes in six sports Shooting, Badminton, Boxing, Para Sports, Weightlifting and Hockey who are part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). The committee sanctioned weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s proposal of approximately Rs 40 lakhs for a two-month overseas training programme in Kansas, USA along with her coach and physiotherapist, as well as her rehabilitation for a long standing injury that she had been carrying. Speaking about the decision, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri. Kiren Rijiju said, "We are completely focussed on providing the best facilities to our Olympic-bound athletes. It was felt by the experts on the Committee that Mirabai can get the best rehabilitation programme in the US along with training, and therefore her coach and physio are also accompanying her. I am sure this exposure will help her greatly in her Olympic preparation."
The other decisions include the following:
Shooting: The committee sanctioned the proposal of shooters to procure ammunition so that they can train at their own home ranges due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The committee also sanctioned the proposals of Anjum Moudgil and Mairaj Ahmad Khan for their equipment and training requirements.
Boxing: The committee ratified the three month overseas training programme (effective from September 7) of Vikas Krishan along with his personal coach Ron Simms Jr. in the USA.
Badminton: The committee sanctioned the participation of three players Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal and Lakshya Sen in the Danish Open Super 750. Further it also sanctioned Sen’s training in Denmark and participation in the Saar Lor Lux Open.
Para-Sport: The committee sanctioned the coaching fees of Sharad Kumar’s coach Yevhen Nikitin till the Tokyo Paralympics for a period of one year.
Hockey: The committee has sanctioned the proposal of the Indian men’s hockey team to appoint a physiotherapist RB Kannan for an initial period of three months after the departure of the foreign physio.
The Committee also discussed the measures being taken to protect all athletes who are under training at SAI centres, against COVID 19. The medical experts on the committee reiterated the necessity to strictly follow the quarantine process formulated by the experts, and the SAI and State SOPs to prevent any inadvertent transmission of the virus.
14-Sep-2020: 94 athletes included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme
Preparation for Olympic Games is an ongoing process. Participation in Olympics is through qualification and India sent its largest contingent ever for participation in Olympics in 2016.
In order to improve India’s performance at Olympics and Paralympics, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports started the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) in September 2014. This was revamped in April 2018 to have a technical support team for managing the TOPS athletes and providing holistic support. The scheme is fully functional and has been extending all requisite support to probable athletes identified for the Tokyo-2021,Paris-2024 and Los Angles-2028 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games including foreign training, international competition, equipment and coaching camp besides monthly stipend of Rs.50,000/- for each athlete. At present, 94 athletes are included in the TOPS.
High priority category of sports discipline has been identified to put focus on and incentivize those sports disciplines played in the Olympics in which India has won medals in the last conducted Asian Games as well as Commonwealth Games or in which India has good chance of winning medals in the upcoming Olympics of 2024 (Paris) and 2028 (Los Angeles). Presently, nine sports disciplines viz., (i) Athletics, (ii) Badminton (iii) Hockey (iv)Shooting (v) Tennis (vi) Weightlifting (vii) Wrestling, (viii) Archery and (ix) Boxing have been categorised as ‘High Priority’.
Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which covers the junior and sub-junior athletes also, is a dynamic exercise, wherein review of performance is done periodically fixing targets and intermediate milestones for individual athletes; and the sportspersons who fail to achieve the targets despite providing additional support and adequate time are dropped from the scheme.
Further, on the basis on key performance indicators brought out by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in collaboration with the National Sports Federations(NSFs), Coaches and other stakeholders, aperiodic performance review is conducted for all athletes under the Scheme.
Objective: In order to improve India’s performance at Olympics and Paralympics, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) started the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) in September 2014. This was revamped in April 2018 to establish a technical support team for managing the TOPS athletes and providing holistic support. The scheme is fully functional and has been extending all requisite support to probable athletes identified for the 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games including foreign training, international competition, equipment and coaching camp besides monthly stipend of Rs. 50,000/- for each athlete.
TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which is an attempt to provide assistance to India’s top athletes. The Scheme looks to add a premium to the preparations of these athletes so that they can win medals in the Olympics.. The Scheme currently supports 104 TOPS Core Group athletes across 13 sports disciplines & Hockey (M & W) teams and 269 TOPS Development Group athletes across 12 sports disciplines.
History of the scheme: In order to realize India’s Olympic medal dream, at the 2016 (Rio) and 2020 (Tokyo) Olympics, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) established the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS or TOP Scheme) in September 2014. To fulfill the objective of this scheme, a committee (TOPS Elite Athletes’ Identification Committee) was constituted to identify the elite athletes who could achieve the Olympic podium. The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports is responsible for appointment of TOPS members with emphasis on ensuring representation from ‘High-Priority’ sports (Archery, Badminton, Boxing Hockey, Shooting and Wrestling). The total members of the committee are to be decided by MYAS. TOPS constitution does not stipulate minimum/maximum members for the committee. The first committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Shri. Anurag Thakur (MP) and comprised of eminent athletes (Pulella Gopichand, Rahul Dravid, Abhinav Bindra, and Manisha Malhotra) and sports administrators from Sport Authority of India (SAI) and the MYAS [DG SAI and JS (Sports)].