Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna among 4 tennis players included in TOPS core group until Asian Games

Senior tennis stars Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna along with Ankita Raina and Ramkumar Ramanathan have been included in the Core group of athletes for support under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports’ Target Olympic Podium Scheme with an eye on the Asian Games in Hangzhou later this year.

At a meeting of the Ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell on Thursday, the tennis players were selected for support under TOPS after the All India Tennis Association presented the four players as prospects for doubles medals.

Sania Mirza reached the Australian Open quarter-finals last month in mixed doubles along with her American pair Rajeev Ram. Meanwhile, Ramkumar and Bopanna have reached the semi-final of the ATP 250 event in Maharashtra.

The MOC also approved Rs. 3.62 lakh to help teenage archer Manjiri Alone purchase a Recurve Bow set. She won bronze in the 2021 World Archery Youth Championships in Wroclaw, Poland in August last. The archer who hails from Nandgaon Khandeshwar in Amaravati district in Maharashtra was runner-up in NTPC Sub-Junior Ranking Tournament in January 2022.

The MOC sanctioned a proposal worth Rs 4.31 lakh for pistol shooter Singhraj Adhana, who won a silver and a bronze in the Paralympic Games in Tokyo last year, to stay and train in the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges from February 10 to March 25. The cost includes Rs 2.26 lakh for ammunition for the 25m and 50m events.

Singhraj Adhana’s proposal was in keeping with the MOC decision to allow athletes to stay and train in the Sports Authority of India’s National Centres of Excellence for a short duration. Coach JP Nautiyal, who is already with Manish Narwal in the Tughlakabad range, will extend his stay by 10 days to assist Singhraj Adhana.

Skeet shooter Gurjot Singh’s proposal for ammunition and clay targets worth Rs 2.68 lakh was approved as also teenage air rifle shooter Rudranksh Patil’s proposal for equipment worth Rs 1.03 lakh was sanctioned.

The Ministry supports elite athletes primarily under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) of each National Sports Federation. TOPS provides customised support to athletes in areas not covered under the ACTC and addresses unanticipated needs of the athletes as they prepare to excel in the Olympic and Paralymics.