The Target Olympic Podium Scheme: The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved a request for assistance from Women’s Trap shooter Rajeshwari Kumari to train along with her coach David Kostelecky in the Czech Republic ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics Games.The MOC also approved her request for assistance towards the expenses of the personal coach during the training camps that will take place in Lonato and Cernay in France post her stint in the Czech Republic. The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) will cover their flight cost, shooting consumables board and lodging costs, and local transport.
During the meeting on Monday, MOC okayed long jumper M. Sreeshankar’s request for assistance for post-surgery rehab for 28 days in Doha, Qatar. Asian Games medallist Sreeshankar had injured his knee during training earlier this year and underwent surgery in April this year. TOPS will cover his air ticket, board, and lodging costs, OPA, rehabilitation assessment expenditure, physiotherapy, and rehab hydrotherapy costs.
The MOC also approved assistance for Paris Olympics-bound shooters Anish Bhanwala and Vijayveer Sidhu to compete in the Rapid Fire Cup at Suhl, Germany in July besides expenses for competitive exposure for Badminton players, Sankar Muthusamy, Ayush Shetty, and Anupama Upadhyaya.
