SAI's Mission Olympic Cell clears proposals worth Rs 70 lakh in seven sports

Bidding to provide continuous support to its athletes, the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) Mission Olympic Cell has cleared financial proposals amounting to more than Rs 70 lakh across seven sports.

During a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell, chaired by SAI Director General Sandip Pradhan here, three national federations -- athletics, boxing and wrestling -- shared their roadmap for the 2020, 2024 and 2028 Olympics with regards to strategy, planning and talent identification.

In table tennis, the committee has approved the proposals of three players -- G Sathiyan, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra -- for their training and competition requirements in India and overseas.

The committee has also given its green signal to the proposals of four men's shuttlers -- Kidambi Srikanth, Sameer Verma, H S Prannoy and Sai Praneeth -- to pay salaries of coach Siyadath Ullah and trainer Ganesh.

It has also approved the proposals for equipment, fitness and coaching requirements of female shuttlers Ashwini Ponappa and N Sikki Reddy, besides Chirag Shetty, Pranav Jerry Chopra, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Srikanth.

Pistol shooter Rahi Sarnobat's proposal for ammunition requirements was also approved.

In cycling, the committee has sanctioned the proposal of four Indians, who will be participating at the UCI World Cup in New Zealand from December 6-8.

The committee has given its go-ahead to woman wrestler Vinesh Phogat to train in Bulgaria for two weeks, besides clearing Bajrang Punia's proposal to hire a strength and conditioning coach Naresh till the Tokyo Olympics.

The committee has also approved the proposal of five para-badminton players -- Pramod Bhagat, Suhas Yathiraj, Sukant Kadam, Manoj Sarkar and Tarun -- for their training and competition in Japan later this month.

It has sanctioned the participation of Jayanti Behera at the Para-Athletics World Championships.