NEW DELHI: The Sports Ministry has revised the guidelines for issuance of funds to athletes under the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.
Following the instances of alleged misuse of TOP funding by athletes, the ministry has decided to stop the practice of releasing direct payments to sportspersons who are part of TOP scheme with immediate effect. These funds are to be used for the athletes’ training, equipment and foreign exposure as part of their preparation for the multi-sports events.
The Times of India quotes a notification, issued to all 184 TOP beneficiaries and respective national sports federations (NSFs) by the ministry, authorising the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the federations, which are the members of the ‘Mission Olympic Cell’ (MOC), to deal with the funds and make payments directly to the “person and institution concerned” on behalf of the athletes.
SAI will henceforth make direct payment to the institute concerned if an athlete wants a ‘customised training outside India’. Similarly, “for foreign exposure of TOP athletes for participation in competition”, SAI would release the funds through the federation concerned, the report states.
For “services of support staff like physiotherapist, fitness/mental trainer within the country/abroad”, the ministry has decided that within the country, SAI would enter into a contract with such a trainer and his services would be utilised for other purposes also during the spare time. “In case of training abroad, SAI would release funds directly to institute or athletes as the case may be,” the notification read. Under the new arrangement, the SAI will release funds to individual athletes “for purchase of equipment and consumables” however.
