The Sports Authority of India (SAI) had approved the names of 23 athletes from various disciplines, including shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth to be included in the flagship Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Paralympics, and 2024 Olympics.
Some athletes were included in the developmental group program for Olympic 2024, and a watch list was also published from those who compete in Badminton, para-athletics, para-shooting, Para-powerlifting, and para-swimming. These athletes will be under the watch and will be included in the team depends on their performance in the coming months.
The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to assist the top athletes of the country.
Players in the badminton category include Kidambi Srikanth, Sameer Verma, HS Prannoy, PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty(Men’s Doubles), Ashwini Ponappa and Siki Reddy(Women’s doubles)and Pranav Chopra &Siki Reddy(Mixed doubles).
In cycling players chosen are Esow Alben, Ronaldo Singh, James Singh, and Rojit Singh.
For the 4 disciplines of para-sports, the best medal contenders for 2020 Tokyo Paralympics are considered. The selection criteria for the para-athletics are the current world ranking and their most recent scores attained.
