The Sports Authority of India's (SAI) Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) granted Rs 33.18 lakh in funding for its Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) development archers on Wednesday. Parth Salunkhe, Aditya Choudhary, Dipti Kumari, Simranjeet Kaur, Neeraj Chauhan, Ridhi, Madhu Vedwan, Sudhanshu Bisht, Divyansh Kumar, and Tisha Punia are among the beneficiaries. Each archer will receive nearly Rs 3.5 lakh to spend on equipment.
They have been given support to add second equipment (bow set) for international contests, including upcoming World Cups and Asian Games, according to a SAI statement.
Archer Ridhi, who has been selected to represent India at the upcoming World Cups, said of the financial assistance in obtaining the second bow: "The second bow set will be critical for us because World Archery recently changed their rules and will no longer allow us any extra time to set up in the event of an equipment malfunction.
"Having a backup piece of equipment will be critical for all of us to avoid losing time or compromising our performance." Simranjeet went on to say: "Having a second bow set will also help us relax during practise and competition because we will have an immediate backup in case of equipment failure.
"In the event of an equipment malfunction, we won't miss any practise or event time, and we'll be able to practise with the second bow and become used to it quickly." In March of this year, the Archery Association of India (AAI) named the national teams for the forthcoming four stages of the Archery World Cups.
Parth, Aditya, Dipti, Simranjeet, Neeraj, and Ridhi, all TOPS development archers, have been selected for these upcoming events.