The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) approved Neeraj Chopra’s request to train at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom during its 86th meeting on November 18. (UK).
Neeraj will train for 63 days at Loughborough, and he will go to the UK later this week alongside coach Dr. Klaus Bartonietz, physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha, and others.
Along with Neeraj, the MOC approved the proposals for shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, who will train for 29 days at Prisma Sports Club in Jakarta, Indonesia, along with his coach and physiotherapist; wrestler Deepak Punia, who will train for 34 days in Michigan, USA; and javelin thrower and Commonwealth Games medalist Annu Rani, who will train for 4 weeks at Leichtathletik-Gemeinschaft (LG) Offenburg, Germany, along with her physiotherapist
These expenses, along with others, would be covered by funding under the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which would also pay for the player’s and their support staff’s travel, lodging, and food expenses locally.
Additionally, TOPS will provide each athlete a $50 daily out-of-pocket stipend for any additional costs they may incur while they are there.
The Ministry of Youth Affair and Sports’ (MYAS) National Sports Development Fund will be used to cover the estimated total cost of training all the aforementioned athletes, which is around Rs 94 lakh (NSDF).
