Target Olympic Podium Scheme: Kidambi Srikanth, PV Sindhu, cyclists, para-athletes included

The Sports Authority of India’s Mission Olympic Cell held a meeting on Wednesday, in which 26 athletes were selected from badminton, cycling, para-athletics and para-shooting, to be included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Paralympics and 2024 Olympics.

Some athletes have been included in the developmental group for Olympic 2024, and a watch-list was also announced from among athletes competing in badminton, para-athletics, para-shooting, para-swimming and para-powerlifting. Athletes who are in the watch-list will be considered for TOPS on the basis of their performance in the coming months.

The list of selected athletes is as under:

Badminton:

The following athletes were included for Tokyo 2020

1. Kidambi Srikanth

2. Sameer Verma

3. HS Prannoy

4. PV Sindhu

5. Saina Nehwal

6. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty

7. Ashwini Ponappa and Siki Reddy (Till World Championships)

8. Pranav Chopra and Siki Reddy (Till World Championships)

In addition, the following players are on the watch-list:

Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy; Meghana Jakkampudi and Poorvisha Ram

In women’s doubles and mixed doubles, it was decided with representatives of Badminton Association of India that the athletes shortlisted in TOPS will be on the list till the World Championships in August.

Cycling:

Given India’s improved performances in the recent past at the junior level, four athletes were picked in the developmental group for the 2024 Olympics. India recently won 10 medals at the Junior Asian Track Cycling Championships.

The decision to select these cyclists was made taking into consideration their personal best timings, which are superior to those recorded by many top cyclists including those who have been Olympic medallists when they participated at a junior level. The Committee believes these athletes will be ready as medal contenders for the 2024 Olympics.

The following four athletes were shortlisted in the developmental group:

1) Esow Alben

2) Ronaldo Singh

3) James Singh

4) Rojit Singh

Para-Athletics:

For the four disciplines under Para-Sports that were reviewed, the Committee chose those athletes under the TOPS schemes who are considered the best medal contenders for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

The selection criteria applied for Para-Athletics were the current world rankings of the athletes and their most recent scores that were being attained in comparison to global best standards.

The following athletes were included (Tokyo 2020)

1. Varun Bhati

2. Sharad Kumar

3. Sandeep Chaudhary

4. Sumit

5. Sundar Singh Gurjar

6. Rinku Hooda

7. Amit Saroha

8. Virender

9. Jayanti Behera

In addition, the following athletes are on the watch-list: Mariyappan Thangavelu, Deepa Malik, Devendra Jhajharia, Sandeep Singh Mann, Mithan, Aamit, Rampal Chahar, Dharambir, Ekta Bhyan, Karamjyoti Dalal, Radha, Rakshita.

Para-Shooting:

The criteria for selection applied for selection under TOPS was the average score being attained over the last 11 events participated in, and if this score was above the minimum qualification score required at the Paralympics.

The following athletes were included:

Manish Narwal and Singhraj

Deepender

Avani Lekhara

In addition, the following athletes are on the watchlist: Rubina Francis, Pooja Aggarwal, Sonia Sharma

Para-Swimming and Para-Powerlifting:

The Committee met to review Para-Swimming and Para-Powerlifting and decided to name eight para-swimmers and 6 para-powerlifters in the watch-list. The performance of the latter will be reviewed at the World Para Powerlifting Championships in July.

The athletes in Para Powerlifting who are on the watch-list are:

Jaideep, Sachin Chaudhary, Manpreet Kaur, Rajinder Singh Rahelu, Sakina Khatun and Farman Basha.

The athletes in Para Swimming who are on the watch-list are:

Suyash Narayan Jadhav, Niranjan Mukundan, Swapnil Patil, Chetan Giridhar Raut, Shridhar Nagappa Malagi, Devanshi Satija, Kanchanmala Pande, Sharath Gayakwad.