Junior Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS): Benefits & Features

The official announcement of the scheme was made by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju at a launch ceremony. The honorable Sports Minister was launching a book which has been written by Boria Majumdar and Nalin Mehta. Called “Dreams of a Billion – India and the Olympic Games”, this book provides information about various sports. The honorable Minister said that he is enthusiastic about the implementation of this scheme.

Right now this plan has only been announced. At this time, no information related to the application has been shared with the public for this scheme. The implementation of this scheme has been said by the Sports Ministry soon. On getting any kind of information in this regard, we will update it on our website.

This scheme has been launched with an aim to encourage young athletes toward sports for the time being. Through this scheme, special facilities will be provided to the youth to participate in sports. At the time of the announcement of the scheme by the Sports Minister, it has been said to give financial assistance and encouragement to young athletes between the ages of 12, 13, and 14 years.

Sponsorship and funding remain an integral part of any sportsman's journey as they strive to accomplish their professional goals. In a country where the sporting landscape has been dominated by cricket for decades, it has been tough for other Indian sports and athletes to find sponsors with deep pockets to help them excel on the international stage.

New Delhi: Preparation for International events including the Olympics is a continuous process. A High-Level Committee was constituted to oversee the preparation of the Indian contingent for the Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020. During the second wave of Covid-19, several athletes were sent abroad for training so that they may remain unaffected by the ongoing pandemic in the country. Other Tokyo probably were trained in the training camps with social distancing.

Training and competitive exposure to sportspersons preparing for international sports events including the Olympics is taken care of under the funds allocated for the scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations. Customized training of medal prospects is taken care of under Target OlympicPodium Scheme (TOPS) under the overall ambit of the National SportsDevelopment Fund.

‘Sports’ is a State subject. It is the primary responsibility of the State Governments to develop sports including the development and creation of sports infrastructure of international standards. However, Central Government also provides financial assistance under the scheme of ‘Khelo India’ to States/UTs to develop critical sports infrastructure and other infrastructure, where there are gaps, including for sports science and sports equipment on the basis of viable proposals from them.

Training for Sportspersonspreparing to participate in major international tournaments such as the Olympics is mainly held at Centres of Sports Authority of India, which have adequate facilities. Further, in order to improve the facilities owned by the State Governments, each State is permitted to identify one existing sports facilities to be declared as Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (SLKISCE)wherein financial support is provided for manpower and up-gradation of sports infrastructure facilities by conducting gap analysis. Such 24 SLKISCEs have already started across the country.

The debacle of Rio 2016 only proved what the realists had pointed out for a long - the fortuity of 2012, where most of the 6 medals we had won were unexpected, and that it was just a false dawn. 2016 has shown us that we have not really arrived – anywhere. Thank the girls we saved some face, but international publications have ripped apart India on how we are the worst nation at the Olympics in terms of medals/people, medals/GDP, and any other count that can be devised.

One nation was in a similar situation 20 years back. Great Britain had seen a steady decline over years, and hit its nadir in 1996 at Atlanta – the nation went home with its worst haul in decades at 15, with just 1 Gold. A rude wake-up call and they did wake up.

From the depths of 1996, Great Britain has steadily climbed up and ended second in the medals tally at Rio. However, it did not come easy. Each of the medals at Rio was estimated to have cost the nation 45-47 crores. But, there are a few clear lessons to be learned from Britain's journey.

1. You cannot win unless you spend - Athletes do not magically appear and you need to spend on them to support and nurture them.

2. Focus your spending on your strengths – Great Britain slumped to its worst in 1996, but the few medals they won came from their traditional strong suits – 12 of the 15 came from Athletics, sailing, cycling and rowing. When they started winning again, these are the same four where they won their most. Through every single Olympics, they kept increasing the numbers on these before other disciplines started kicking in.

3. Have plans for the short-term and long-term – While they focused on the traditional areas, they had 0 medals in Gymnastics until 2004. 1 in 2008, 4 in 2012, and Gymnastics was the second-biggest contributor for the nation in 2016 with 7 medals.

An overwhelming number felt we should indeed spend more to change this ignominious state we have found ourselves in at the greatest stage in world sports. However, almost half of those voters also expressed the view that we should exercise caution while spending and aim for a modest 10 medals for the next two decades. We cannot really afford the huge sums that Britain has plowed into its program, but, we could learn from what they have accomplished.

In the simplest terms, choose and invest. The Sports Ministry came up with the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) before the current Olympics. The scheme was well-intentioned but ended up achieving zilch as they sprayed their resources on everyone including those who had no chance of ending up anywhere close to the podium.

Before you jump on point 2, the physical disadvantage has been telling as we struggle in sports that demand raw athletic prowess and stamina. Studies have aimed to show how certain races and nationalities hold an advantage over others in the domains of endurance and strength. It has been hypothesized that Jamaica's success in the athletics arena, including Usain Bolt, can be attributed to the leaps in public health that the nation experienced thanks to the Rockefeller foundation's works in the middle decades of the last century.

As a benefit of Aditi Ashok’s recent heroics at the Tokyo Olympics, for the first time, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports’ Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) has added 5 golfers to its schemes. Olympians Aditi Ashok, Anirban Lahiri, and Diksha Dagar have been named alongside various athletes in other disciplines who will receive support under the Ministry’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) which looks to nurture potential medal winners in Olympics, Asian, and Commonwealth Games. 24 yr old  Shubhankar Sharma who plays the European Tour ( now renamed as DP World Tour)  and India’s leading player on the Ladies European Tour, Tvesa Malik – have also been named in this program. 

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

"When I saw her steely resolve and of course, her body structure and muscle suited for long jump, I knew she would go a long way," Anju told PTI in an interview. "Later, I found out that she is a fast learner, always tries to improve, and has a never-say-die attitude. In short, she is more or less like me," added the 44-year-old Anju, who won a bronze in the 2003 senior World Championships in Paris.

The event Anju referred to was the National Junior Championships in Vijaywada in November 2017. Shaili had taken part in the girls (age group 12-14) long jump event and finished fifth with a 4.64m effort.

But her steely demeanor and lean frame attracted the attention of Sports Authority of India (SAI) High-Performance coach Robert Bobby George, Anju's husband. Anju, the only Indian to win a World Athletics Championships medal, came down to Visakhapatnam a few days later during the National Inter-State District Junior Athletics Meet (NIDJAM) and saw Shaili's potential.

Midfielder Manpreet Singh is set to lead the Indian men’s hockey team at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games while the experienced former captain Sardar Singh has been left out of the 18-member squad. Chinglensana Singh Kangujam will vice-captain India, who open their campaign against Pakistan on 7 April.