File photo of Sania Mirza
Indian tennis stars Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna, Ankita Raina and Ramkumar Ramanathan were included in the core group of athletes under the Sports Ministry’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) till the Hangzhou Asian Games later this year.
The decision to include the quartet for support under TOPS was taken at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell of the Sports Ministry after receiving a request from the All India Tennis Association (AITA).
Apart from this, MoC also sanctioned Rs 3.62 lakh to teenage archer Manjiri Alone for purchase of recurve bow set. She won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Archery Youth Championships in Wroclaw, Poland, in August last year.
The MoC also approved a proposal of Rs 4.31 lakh for Sinhraj Adhana, a para pistol shooter who won silver and bronze medals at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, to stay and train at the Karni Singh Shooting Range from February 10 to March 25.
The cost includes Rs 2.26 lakh for ammunition for the 25m and 50m events.
According to a statement issued by SAI, coach JP Nautiyal, who is already in the Tughlakabad range with Manish Narwal, will extend his stay by 10 days to assist Sinhraj Adhana.
Skeet shooter Gurjot Singh’s proposal for ammunition and clay targets worth Rs 2.68 lakh was approved, as well as juvenile air rifle shooter Rudraksh Patil’s proposal for equipment worth Rs 1.03 lakh.
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