How Does This Top Spin?

Though the name of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme does suggest Olympics and medals there, the accent of late seems to have been on the Asian Games and, to a lesser extent, the Commonwealth Games. It sounds odd to have a SCHEME TARGETING an Olympic medal and yet not having enough athletes chosen for the global event while packing it with Asian Games probables.

- K. P. Mohan

Is the Target Olympic Podium(TOP) Scheme meant to support sportspersons for the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games?

Though the name of the scheme does suggest Olympics and medals there, the accent of late seems to have been on the Asian Games and, to a lesser extent, the Commonwealth Games. It sounds odd to have a scheme targeting an Olympic medal and yet not having enough athletes chosen for the global event while packing it with Asian Games probables.

OF THE 152 sportspersons named last month by the Union Sports Ministry to receive financial assistance through the TOP Scheme, a large majority has been chosen only for the Asian Games or the Commonwealth Games or both. Several badminton players and shooters, among others, have not been categorised at all but it is being taken for granted that the top stars would be available for all the three games.

The TOP Scheme is the successor to OPEX (Operation Excellence) that was launched by the then Sports Minister, Ajay Maken, in March, 2011 in preparation for the London Olympics. London proved a huge success for a country that did not have a decent past in the quadrennial games. India doubled its three-medal tally of Beijing in 2012 but it ended upwith just two medals in Rio, those won by P. V. Sindhu (badminton silver) and Sakshi Malik (wrestling bronze)

Neither in 2011 nor in 2014 when TOP Scheme-1 was launched towards moulding potential medal winners in the Rio Games, did the question of an immediate Asian Games or Commonwealth Games come up.