TOPS program targeted at Olympics flawed, says high-profile committee
Unhappy with the implementation of TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) program, the high-profile committee had written to the Sports Ministry asking for a status report. The committee said that India could see a repeat of Rio-like poor performance at the next year's Commonwealth and Asian Games. The committee includes the likes of Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, badminton legend Prakash Padukone and PT Usha.
What is the TOPS program?
TOPS or Target Olympics Podium Scheme, is a development program launched by the Sports Ministry of India in 2014 to fund elite athletes for their training, aimed at winning medals in the Olympics. It is meant to take care of the athletes' training expense, personal coach fees, cost of travel and stay during competitions and training stints including their expenditure on equipment.
Issues with the program
According to the report by Indian Express, none of the athletes selected for TOPS have received necessary support for their training and received only Rs. 50,000 monthly stipend that was announced by the Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Many athletes claimed that their requests for training abroad or additional support staff have been stuck with the Ministry for long.
Disappointing results at Rio
TOPS has been criticized for several issues with its implementation. This coupled with poor planning resulted in a disappointing campaign for India which turned up with just two medals at 2016 Rio Olympics.
Special committee for selection of athletes
After a poor show at Rio, the Sports Ministry appointed a special committee earlier this January which was assigned the job of selecting athletes for the TOPS scheme. The committee selected a total of 184 athletes who were to be offered support under the scheme for next year's Commonwealth and Asian Games. Some of them are also to receive funds for the 2020 Olympics.
