New Delhi: The union sports ministry’s decision to prune the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) core group has left athletes worried and confused with a number of them fretting over how to find alternative revenue streams to fund their training and exposure trips.
Table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran is among the host of athletes who have been excluded from the TOPS list. (AFP)
From 120 athletes in the core group for the Paris Olympics cycle, the number is down to 42 with accountability and potential being the key parameters.
The government’s flagship scheme for athlete support, TOPS provides funding for foreign training, international competitions, equipment, and a monthly stipend of ₹50,000 to each athlete in the core group. India’s entire 117-member able-bodied contingent for Paris Games was part of the core group, but following a sub-par return of six medals (1 silver, 5 bronze), the government’s Mission Olympic Cell, in its second meeting post the Games, decided to redraw the TOPS list.
While athletes who did little in the Olympic cycle but remained in the core group have been justifiably left out, the culling has also affected a number of upcoming talents who could’ve been assisted in the build-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The case in point is the exclusion of swimmer Srihari Nataraj. The talented 24-year-old made it to the 50m and 100m backstroke finals at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and, along with teenager Dhinidhi Desinghu, made it to the Paris Games via the Universality quota.
“Any athlete in any sport requires support throughout the year, especially at this level,” a disappointed Srihari said. “We have shown promise at the international stage. It is not uncommon to see phases of ups and downs. Basing the decision on that doesn’t seem great.”
TOPS defended its action, calling it a “much-needed course correction”. “The name of the scheme implies we are targeting the Olympic podium. Some athletes will certainly feel hard done by but they will not be left out. Those who are part of the group will be clearly told what is expected of them. There will be regular communication and feedback with the athletes,” a senior TOPS official said.
The ministry is working to create a Target Asian Games Group (TAGG) where a large number of athletes who’ve missed the TOPS bus will likely feature. “We’ll have a separate target set for CWG and Asian Games. Whether there will be two different lists for them is still being worked out. This pruning is a result of a very honest assessment of the Paris performance and our medal potential,” another senior official said.
A majority of athletes HT reached out to were unaware of their exclusion. Paris Olympics boxer Jaismine Lamboria’s father Sandeep said his daughter’s exclusion will be a significant financial blow. Jaismine has corporate support from OGQ, but being excluded from the TOPS core group would limit her international exposure, he said.
“We are happy training in the Army Sports Institute in Pune, but sometimes overseas training and competitions are important. The monthly stipend was a great help too,” he said.
Two-time Olympian table tennis player G Sathiyan, who has been dropped, called it a setback for the paddlers.
“Though we do have good support from SAI through ACTC (Annual Calendar for Training and Competition), we still received specific athlete-centric support through TOPS. This will be a setback for TT athletes,” he said.
Athletics had 30 names in the previous core group. It is the worst hit as only three have been retained. Athletics Federation of India, however, was sanguine in its assessment. “It’s a big drop for our athletes but this is a result of a very honest review. We’re sure a majority of our athletes will be part of TAGG,” a senior federation official said.
For athletes like Nataraj, however, processing the development is not that simple. “Nobody expected me and Sajan Prakash to make the A cut (qualification) for Tokyo. It just feels they’ve lost faith in us,” he said.
“You need to travel internationally which looks quite tough for me now. I will have to see if my secondary sponsor, GoSports, can support me in that.”
With inputs from Rutvick Mehta
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Publish date : 2025-02-22 09:24:00
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