Indian athletes get support for Paris 2024
PT Usha, the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), pledged full support to Olympic-bound athletes for Paris, ensuring that sports-specific support staff will be located near the Games Village for efficient assistance without time wastage.
The material support for Nikhat Zareen is in addition to support for racewalker Priyanka Goswami, who will receive government funding for training in Australia, and table tennis player Sharath Kamal, who will receive financial support for work in Dusseldorf. The Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) will provide the funding.
Boxer Zareen’s application for high-tech equipment has been approved. With the latest technology and the necessary resources required at the highest level, the two-time world champion will be able to prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. As well as items such as protective wraps, she was also given high-tech laser therapy equipment to help reduce pain and speed up recovery from injuries, Olympics.com reported.
Zareen won bronze at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou to secure her place in the women’s -50kg category at the upcoming Summer Games. She is not only a two-time world champion, but also one of the most promising boxers. Zareen won a gold medal at the 2011 IBA Youth and Junior Women’s World Boxing Championships in Antalya. The 27-year-old went on to win gold medals at the 2022 and 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul and New Delhi respectively.
Nikhat defeated Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam by unanimous decision 5-0 in the 48-50kg category. She also won the gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and the bronze medal in the light flyweight category at the 2022 Asian Games.
Veteran table tennis player Sharath Kamal’s application for financial assistance to train for 22 days at the National Table Tennis Training Centre in Dusseldorf, Germany, under the guidance of his coach Chris Pfeiffer and Centre Coach Danny Heister, has also been approved by the Olympic Mission Cell of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS). The funding is part of the TOPS initiative, which aims to help Indian athletes excel at global events, particularly the Olympic Games.
The proposal of racewalker Goswami to train in Australia under the guidance of coach Brent Vallance was also approved. Priyanka was the first Indian track and field athlete to secure a quota for the Olympic Games in Paris.
Now, thanks to this funding, she will train at a high-altitude training centre near Canberra and take part in some local competitions in preparation for the upcoming Summer Games. In the capital city of Paris, she will be able to simulate the competition that awaits her this summer.
Bhowneesh Mendiratta will also be supported by TOPS for a one-week training camp. She will be working with foreign coach Daniele Di Spigno. Spigno will be in India to train the trap shooter during the second selection trials. The MOC has also approved financial assistance for the purchase of archery equipment for Ridhi and Dhiraj Bommadevara, the only Indian archers to secure a quota for Paris 2024 so far.
Athletes Eldhose Paul, Parul Chaudhary, table tennis players Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Manush Shah, Swastika Ghosh, Diya Chitale, Payas Jain and badminton players Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy have also received funding for various events.