Sports Ministry’s TOP scheme funds wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s training in Bulgaria
Vinesh, accompanied by her physio Ashwini Patil, is training under former Olympic Silver medallist Serafim Barzakov at the camp which will last for 19 days
New Delhi [India], November 16 (ANI): Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) has approved wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s proposal to train in Belmeken, Bulgaria, which is a High Altitude training area situated approximately 2600m above sea level.
Vinesh, accompanied by her physio Ashwini Patil, is training under former Olympic Silver medallist Serafim Barzakov at the camp which will last for 19 days (November 7-26, 2022).
The international camp is also expected to have other top wrestlers such as Bilyana Dudova (2021 World Championship Gold medallist), Evelina Nikolova (2020 Olympic Bronze medallist) among many other prominent wrestlers.
Funding for the same is being provided under Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and would cover Vinesh and her physio’s flight, accommodation, local travel, and food costs among others. TOPS will also provide her with an out-of-pocket allowance of USD 50 per day for any other expense she might incur.
Meanwhile, TOPS is also set to financially assist Tokyo Olympic Bronze Medallist Bajrang Punia in taking part in the Bill Farrell International Wrestling Championship, which will be held in New York, USA from November 18-19, 2022.
The competition would give Bajrang a chance to compete against some of the prominent and upcoming wrestlers in the USA, who were one of the best Wrestling nations in Men’s freestyle events at the recently concluded 2022 World Wrestling Championships.
The Target Olympic Podium Scheme or TOPS was launched in 2014 under the aegis of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), Government of India (GOI).
The TOPS Scheme has seen successes in the form of PV Sindhu (badminton) and Sakshi Malik (wrestling), who won the silver and bronze medals respectively in the 2016 Rio Olympics. TOPS athletes also won four medals including two gold in the paralympic games of 2016.
At the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast in 2018, 47 out of the 70 medal-winning athletes had been supported by the TOPS scheme. (ANI)
