Two Olympic bound wrestlers, two rowers included in TOPS; Vinesh Phogat to continue training overseas

New Delhi: Olympic-bound rowers Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh and wrestlers Seema Bisla and Sumit Malik were on Thursday included in the core group of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) of the sports ministry. The ministry also announced that star Indian grappler Vinesh Phogat will continue training overseas till the Tokyo Games as her proposal was cleared by the Mission Olympic Cell. “Rowers Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh were moved from the development group to the core group while wrestlers Seema Bisla and Sumit Malik, who earned quota places at the World Olympic qualifiers recently, have been added to the core group,” a ministry release said. “Tennis player Ankita Raina who recently broke into the world top 100 in women’s doubles and partnered Sania Mirza in the Billie Jean King Cup has also been added to the TOPS core group,” it added. The proposal from rowers Arjun and Arvind to train for five weeks in Portugal in preparation for the Olympic Games has also been sanctioned by TOPS. The doubles scullers, who achieved Olympic berth earlier this month in Tokyo, will train at the Pocinho High-Performance Centre in Portugal from 1 June. Their camp will cost around Rs. 21 lakh. Vinesh, who secured the 53kg class Olympic quota during 2019 World Championships, will train in Budapest until June 9. She will travel for the Poland Open (9 to 13 June) and then return to Budapest to be based there till 2 July. Her coach Woller Akos, sparring partner Priyanka and physiotherapist Poornima Raman Ngomdir will be with her throughout. “The Mission Olympic Cell today approved her proposal to the TOPS, routed through the Wrestling Federation of India, to train in Hungary and Poland after she finishes her high-altitude stint in Bulgaria,” the ministry said. “The cost of her proposal for training and competition is Rs. 20.21 lakhs. She has so far received financial support of Rs. 1.13 crore from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.” The TOPS also approved tennis doubles players Divij Sharan and Rohan Bopanna’s participation in 14 and 11 tournaments respectively between January and June. “Divij Sharan’s proposal cost approximately Rs. 30 lakh and he has received Rs. 80.59 lakhs in funding from TOPS in the present Olympics cycle. “Rohan Bopanna’s proposal, including fee for coach Scott Davidoff and physio Gaurang Shukla, cost Rs. 27.61 lakh. He has already received Rs. 1.24 crore from TOPS through the current Olympic cycle,” the ministry statement said.