Deepika Kumari, Hockey Teams Included In TOPS; Dope Tainted Neeraj Phogat Removed

Archer Deepika Kumari, who played a major role in getting the quota to the country in next year’s Olympics, has been included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

Apart from Deepika, the list of TOPS includes two more Archers, Ankita Bhakat, who secured a silver medal at the Asian Archery Championships and El Bombayla Devi.

 

Shooter Chinki Yadav, who won the Olympic quota in the 25m pistol event at the beginning of the year, has also managed to find a spot in the TOP scheme.

Chinki has been cast alongside Tejaswini Sawant, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar and Meraj Ahmed Khan. The men’s and women’s hockey teams have also been included after qualifying for the Olympics.

On the other hand, national medalist female boxer Neeraj Phogat, who won a bronze medal at the Strandja Memorial Tournament has been dropped from the TOP scheme after failing a dope test. Neeraj Phogat was found to be positive for the performance-enhancing drug ‘ligandrol’ which helps to increase muscle mass.

In its release the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said, ‘Neeraj has been dropped from TOPS following temporary suspension from NADA. The shooters Ravi Kumar and Om Prakash Mitharwal were also excluded from the list due to their poor performance.”

It is to be noted that Ravi, who had won bronze medals in the 10 meter air rifle and the 10 meter rifle mixed team at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games respectively has not been able to repeat his performances after a surgery this year, similarly, Mitharwal won two golds in 2018 – at the World Championships and the World Cup in Guadalajara has failed to win a single medal this year.

New names included in Tops: Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, Meraj Ahmed Khan, Tejaswini Sawant, Chinky Yadav (Shooting), Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, Bombayla Devi (Archery). Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams. Vivek Chikara, Harvinder Singh, Rakesh Kumar and Shyam Sundar (Para Archery). Nishad Kumar, Ajit Singh, Yogesh Kathunia, T Mariyappan (Para-Athletics). Nagar Krishna (para-badminton)