TOPS: Hockey players to get monthly allowance, training money sanctioned for wrestler Sushil

NEW DELHI: The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Sports Ministry on Wednesday approved a monthly allowance of Rs 50,000 for each of the 18 members of the men’s hockey team under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). The monthly allowance under TOPS has been started by the ministry last year but the hockey team is getting the pocket allowance for the first time. The decision to include hockey was taken after India’s performance improved under new coach Harendra Singh as they finished runners up in the Champions Trophy in the Netherlands. Among the other notable decisions taken, double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar has been sanctioned Rs 6.62 lakh for hiring two sparring partners and a physiotherapist during his ongoing training stint in Georgia. Another Rs 3.22 lakh has been sanctioned for Bajrang Punia and Sumit for their training and tournament participation in Turkey.