Dope-tainted Reetika dropped; compound archers enter TOPS core group

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) Dope-tainted wrestler Reetika Hooda was dropped, compound archers like Parneet Kaur and Abhishek Verma were promoted to the core group while decathlete Tejaswin Shanker found a place in the developmental list of the updated directory of athletes supported by the Sports Ministry's flagship Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

The list was drastically pruned from 179 to 94 last year, marking the end of the 2024 Paris Olympics cycle. But it has been redrawn to reflect the performances of the past one year.

The number of core group athletes has now gone up marginally to 118, comprising 57 able-bodied and 61 para-athletes.

Hooda, an Asian Championships medallist who competed in Paris, failed a dope test during a selection trial in July last year. She was a part of the TOPS core group released in February last year.

"She has been dropped now," a Sports Authority of India (SAI) source told PTI when asked about Hooda's status.

However, World Para Athletics Championship gold-winning sprinter Simran, whose guide Umar Saifi flunked a dope test in October last, has been retained in the core group.

"We won't take a knee jerk decision in her case. She is there and her case will come up in the next Mission Olympic Cell meeting," the source said.

Simran, who was born with a visual impairment, is also a Paris Paralympics bronze winner in the 200m event.

The latest list offers a major upgrade to compound archers, who would be strong medal contenders in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after the discipline was included in the Games roster.

Eight compound archers, including Parneet, Abhishek, and Jyoti Surekha, have made the core group alongside the three recurve stars in Deepika Kumari, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat.

Aditi Gopichand Swami, Ojas Pravin Deotale, Priyansh, Prathmesh Samadhan Jawkar and Rishab Yadav were the other compound names in the updated list.

In athletics, javelin ace Neeraj Chopra has been joined by Sachin Yadav, who outperformed him in last year's World Championships by finishing fourth.

Chopra, hampered by fitness issues, stunningly ended eighth in the global showpiece.

The other names from track and field in the list are steeplechaser Avinash Sable, long jumper M Sreeshanker and new addition Sarvesh Kushare, the high jumper who won a silver in the Asian Championships and finished a creditable sixth in the World Championships.

Three-time para-world championships medal-winning club thrower Ekta Bhyan has also been been placed in the core group.

The core group continues to be without names from tennis, golf and swimming.

In the developmental group, fast-rising sprinter Animesh Kujur (200m), who holds the current 100m and 200m national record, and Tejaswin, a silver-winner at the Asian Championships, are among the new names added to the athletics list.

The men's 4x400m relay team of Vishal T K, Jay Kumar, Rajesh Ramesh, Amoj Jacob, Muhammad Ajmal V and Santhosh Kumar has also been included in the developmental group, joining their female counterparts.

Rising Table Tennis players Manush Shah, Manav Thakkar and Diya Chitale have been placed in the developmental group as well.

Golf, Surfing in TAGG ============== The Target Asian Games Group (TAGG), which is designed to support athletes for this year's Asiad in Japan, has 48 names with golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Diksha Dagar among the prominent ones alongside tennis players Sumit Nagal, Yuki Bhambri and the rapidly-rising Maya Rajeswaran.

Also finding a place in this list were equestrians Fouaad Mirza and Anush Agarwalla, fencer Bhavani Devi, and gymnast Pranati Nayak among others.

TOPS athletes, including Core and Development group, are paid Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 paid respectively as Out of Pocket Allowance.

They are also given USD 25 per day during the period of training and competition overseas in addition to this.

Last year, the MOC also approved an additional 60 days of domestic and international training for TOPS athletes beyond the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) proposed by National Sports Federations (NSFs).

The performances of the athletes are evaluated every 12 months to update the list. PTI PM PM PDS PDS