Vinesh to train in Europe till July

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 20

Though there has been a marked decline in Covid-19 cases in the country, the numbers are still high and Indian athletes have been making efforts to train abroad to avoid contracting the virus.

The Sports Ministry through its Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) has been backing athletes in this. The latest Olympics hopeful to get a helping hand is wrestler Vinesh Phogat (53kg category), whose request to train in Hungary and Poland until July, after she finishes her current high-altitude stint in Bulgaria, has been accepted. Vinesh will train in Budapest until June 9, travel for the Poland Open (June 9 to 13) and return to Budapest to be based there until July 2. Her coach Woller Akos, sparring partner Priyanka and physiotherapist Poornima Raman Ngomdir will accompany her. The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) cleared the training stint that will cost Rs 20.21 lakh.

The MOC has also approved a five-week training camp of doubles scullers Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh in Portugal from June 1. Besides, doubles tennis specialists Divij Sharan and Rohan Bopanna’s participation in several tournaments between January and June 2021 has been approved, with a total cost of Rs 57.51 lakh.