Fewer hassles for athletes seeking TOPS funding

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 11

Ever since the government rolled out its ambitious Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), there have been complaints from athletes about inordinate delays in the release of funds, multi-layered clearances and never-ending paperwork.

The scheme, which had been launched with an aim to identify medal hopefuls and help them prepare for the Rio Olympics, has created more problems for athletes rather than simplifying their preparation. Their proposals for training abroad and equipment purchase have frequently got stuck in the Sports Ministry’s corridors, leading to voices of dissent.

But, with little less than six months to go for the Rio Games, the Ministry has finally taken cognisance of such complaints. The Ministry has decided to make 90 percent of the earmarked TOPS funding available to the shortlisted athletes “without any paperwork” so that athletes solely focus on their preparation.

This would include those TOPS athletes who have either qualified for the Rio Games or have their qualifiers lined up in the coming months. It has also been agreed to appoint Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) project officers as “mentors” with certain TOPS athletes who face difficulty in submitting their expenditure details for the training stints abroad.

This will benefit some 60-odd athletes, including Heena Sidhu, Arpinder Singh and Khushbir Kaur, who have been vocal critics of TOPS. However, shooters Vijay Kumar, Ankur Mittal, Mohammad Asab, Shweta Chaudhary, Rahi Sarnobat and Anisa Sayyed, who have failed to qualify for the Rio Games, wouldn’t be eligible to receive any more TOPS funding.

“Very little time is left for the Rio Olympics. The athletes should be focusing on their training. We don’t want a situation where they are only concerned about how to get TOPS funding,” Sports Secretary Rajiv Yadav told The Tribune.

“This should have been done much earlier. Appointment of mentors is another step in that direction. They will do all the paperwork on the athletes’ behalf,” he added.