1,050 athletes selected under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), bearing all expenses from training to gears and for international participation, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Mansukhlal Mandaviya said in Rajya Sabha. Under this, only those sportsmen having high performance get entry.
  • What is it? It is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) which is an attempt to provide assistance to India’s top athletes.
  • Launch: It was started in September 2014 and was revamped in April 2018 to establish a technical support team for managing the TOPS athletes and providing holistic support.
  • Mission Olympic Cell: It is a dedicated body created to assist the athletes who are selected under the TOP Scheme. The MOC is under the Chairmanship of the Director General, Sports Authority (DG, SAI).
  • TOPS Elite Athletes’ Identification Committee:
    • It was constituted to identify the elite athletes who could achieve the Olympic podium.
    • MYAS is responsible for appointment of TOPS members with emphasis on ensuring representation from ‘High-Priority’ sports (Archery, Badminton, Boxing Hockey, Shooting and Wrestling).
    • The total members of the committee are to be decided by MYAS. TOPS constitution does not stipulate minimum/maximum members for the committee.

RECENT SUCCESS

  • Vinesh Phogat was sent to train in Belmeken, Bulgaria in high altitude terrain under this program.
  • Athletes like Neeraj Chopra have also been benefited.
  • The TOPS sponsored athletes gained relative success at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
  • P V Sindhu and Sakshi Malik captured silver and bronze in Badminton and Wrestling respectively at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
  • In the 2016 Paralympic Games, the TOPS Athletes won 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze demonstrating the effectiveness of the Scheme.
  • The recent success of the Commonwealth Games emphasized the efficacy of the Scheme.
  • Out of the 70 athletes who won medals at the CWG, 47 of them were supported under the TOP Scheme.