Indian Table Tennis Players Get Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Boost; Sathiyan, Batra Among Beneficiaries
New Delhi: Indian table tennis players Diya Chitale and Swastika Ghosh were given approvals for advanced level training in South Korea and Japan respectively after the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) commissioned the paddlers’ proposals. The MOC also approved proposals of Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra for financial assistance for participation in WTT Feeder events.
While Diya will head for Paju-si, South Korea to train under Coach Shin Min Sung, Swastika Ghosh will go to Osaka, Japan to train under Coach Qiu Jian Xin. Sathiyan will head to Beirut, Lebanon to take part in WTT Feeder and WTT Feeder 2 events. On the other hand, Manika, along with her coach will head to Singapore to participate in WTT Singapore Smash followed by 2 WTT Feeder Tournaments in Beirut.
Among other sportspersons, the MOC also approved proposals for competition for shuttlers Kiran George and Anupama Upadhaya, doubles women’s team of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand and shooter Rudrankksh Patil.
While Kiran and Anupama Upadhaya will participate in the BWF Orleans Master, the team of Treesa and Gayatri along with their coach and physio will head to Germany to compete in the BWF German Open. Meanwhile, India rifle shooter Rudrankksh Patil will head to Dortmund, Germany to compete at the International Saison Start for Shooters (ISAS 2024) events.
Their airfare, boarding/lodging costs, entry fees (for Rudrankksh), training fees (for Rudrankksh), and local transportation costs, among other expenditures, will be covered under TOPS funding. Requests for various equipment for Athletes Paramjeet Singh Bisht, D P Manu, Rohit Yadav and Kapil were also cleared during the meeting.
MYAS, under its Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) funding will cover the athletes’ Airfare, Boarding/Lodging costs, coaching fees, insurance and visa costs and local transportation costs among other expenditures.