The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has announced a list of 258 athletes under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme Development Group (TOPS Juniors) on Wednesday. According to Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, it was the beginning of India’s solid preparations for future Olympics (2024 and 2028). The list includes 11 from the State of Telangana and these 258 shortlisted athletes in 12 disciplines will be provided top class training with a monthly pocket allowance of Rs 25,000 to every athlete.
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National chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand's daughter Gayatri, Samiya Imad Farooqui, Pranav Rao Gandham (all singles players) and doubles players P Vishnuvardhan Goud were included from the badminton disciplines while Esha Singh, Zahra Muffadal Deesawala, Kynan Chennai and Dhanush Srikanth made the list from shooting discipline. Weightlifters T Priyadarshini and Varalakshmi Pavani Kumar, along with 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist boxer from Nizamabad Mohamed Hussamuddin were also selected.
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With the city of Hyderabad being the badminton hub, it didn’t come as a surprise when four members from the State were selected for this scheme. “I was very happy to see my name on the list. This is a huge boost for me. The inclusion in the scheme will give me an extra bit of motivation to work harder to achieve my dream of playing in the Olympics,” said the 17-year-old shuttler Vishnuvardhan who clinched doubles gold along with partner B Navaneeth in this year’s Khelo India Games in Guwahati.