NEW DELHI: Golfers Anirban Lahiri, Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, ace rider Fouaad Mirza, and Alpine skiier Mohammed Arif Khan are among the 10 athletes added by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports’ Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) to the list of athletes who would be provided support under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
While these five athletes have been included in the Core group, golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Tvesa Malik and judokas Yash Ghangas, Unnati Sharma and Linthoi Chanambam have been added to the Development group. These additions take the number of athletes under TOPS to 301, including 107 in the Core group.
The ministry primarily supports elite athletes under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) of each National Sports Federation. TOPS provides customised support to athletes in areas not covered under the ACTC and addresses unanticipated needs of the athletes as they prepare to excel in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Mohammed Arif Khan, hailing from Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir, recently became the first Indian Alpine Skiier to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games 2022 to be held in Beijing next month. The MOC approved Rs. 17.46 lakh towards cost of five-week training in Europe and purchase of equipment.
