New Delhi: The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) has released assistance to the tune of Rs 6.1 crore in last two months for the training of 31 top athletes as well as eight sporting institutions for conduct and participation in tournaments held at home and abroad. According to a media release issued by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, in the period between April 1 to June 17, this year, the above mentioned fund has been released. Out of the 31 athletes preparing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, 24 are those, who are beneficiaries of government assistance under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) scheme.
Athletes who have benefited from the fund include shooters Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Heena Sidhu, Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, Ankur Mittal, Anisa Sayyed, Kynan Chenai and Mohd. Asab, boxer Mandeep Jangra, squash players Dipika Pallikal, Harinder Pal Singh and Kush Kumar. Archers Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das, Jayanta Talukdar, Mangal Champia, Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi, Rimil Buriuly, Laxmi Rani Majhi, Sanjay Boro, Atul Verma, Ranjit Naik, Dola Banerjee, Madhu Vedwan, Viswash, Snehal and Binod Swansi have also benefitted from the scheme. Sailors Aishwarya and Varsha Gautham, athlete Vikas Gowda and ice skater Nischay Luthra also received funds.
