Big decision: Athletes who are genuine medal contenders will receive funding

After the disappointing performance of athletes in the Paris Olympics, the Sports Ministry is going to cut funding.

The central government has spent around 470 crore rupees on training for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite this, the performance of Indian athletes has been extremely disappointing. India won six medals in the Paris Olympics, including one silver and five bronze medals. After this disappointing performance, the government is now considering cutting funding for athletes under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

The meeting was attended by former athletes, coaches, government officials, and sports administrators. A proposal was put forward to create new criteria for providing financial assistance to athletes and to only provide assistance to those who are real medal contenders.

Decision taken in the meeting

According to reports, the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) held a meeting recently, which was attended by former athletes, coaches, government officials, and sports administrators. In this meeting, a proposal was put forward to create new criteria for providing financial assistance to athletes and to only provide assistance to those who are real medal contenders.

Over 300 athletes receive financial assistance

Currently, more than 300 athletes receive financial assistance under the TOPS scheme. An official who attended the MOC meeting said that if the new selection criteria are implemented, around half of the athletes will be dropped from the TOPS scheme. However, no cuts are being made yet, but a review is underway.

Separate criteria for the Olympics

According to reports, the meeting also discussed creating separate plans for the Asian Games and the Olympics. Under this, many athletes who are medal contenders in the Asian and Commonwealth Games but have a weak claim in the Olympics will be considered. The MOC has been divided into several sub-committees, each responsible for creating selection policies for specific events.