SAI's Mission Olympic Cell clears financial proposals worth 70 lakhs across seven sports

The Sports Authority of India's (SAI) Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) on Thursday cleared financial proposals of over 70 lakh across seven sports.

Three national federations of Athletics, Boxing and Wrestling also shared their roadmap for 2020, 2024 and 2028 Olympics with regards to strategy, planning and talent identification.

The following financial proposals in seven sports were approved:Table Tennis: The committee has approved the proposals of three players Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra for their training and competition requirements in India and overseas.

Badminton: The committee has approved the proposal of four men's players Kidambi Srikanth, Sameer Verma, HS Prannoy and Sai Praneeth to pay salaries of coach Siyadath Ullah and trainer Ganesh. The committee has also approved the proposals of equipment, fitness and coaching requirements of Ashwini Ponappa, Sikki Reddy, Chirag Shetty, Pranav Jerry Chopra, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Kidambi Srikanth.

Shooting: Ammunition requirements for pistol shooter Rahi Sarnobat were approved by the committee.

Cycling: The committee has sanctioned the proposal of four Indian cyclists who will be participating at the UCI World Cup in New Zealand from December 6-8.

Wrestling: The committee has sanctioned the proposal of Vinesh Phogat to train in Bulgaria for two weeks. Bajrang Punia's proposal to hire a strength and conditioning coach Naresh till the Tokyo Olympics has also been approved.

Para-Badminton: The committee has approved the proposal of five players Pramod Bhagat, Suhas Yathiraj, Sukant Kadam, Manoj Sarkar and Tarun for their training and competition in Japan this month.Para-Athletics: The committee has sanctioned the participation of Para-Athlete Jayanti Behera for her participation at the Para-Athletics World Championships

In the meeting, the Athletics, Boxing and Wrestling Federations shared their expectations from the 2020 Olympics and they also shared the roadmap for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics.

The key points which were discussed are as follows-- Anticipated performance at 2020 Olympics, talent Identification plan for 2024 and 2028 Olympics, coach development plan, identifying training centres and bases both in India and abroad for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics, how to increase the base of athletes and coaches in the coming four years, improving competition structure at domestic level and the upgradation of existing training centres.