1. TOPS Secret: The Initiative Behind Blinging Performance By Indian Contingent At Tokyo Games.
Tokyo Paralympics 2020 saw the largest Indian contingent ever, with 54 players participating in various sporting events. It also saw a collection of impeccable performances by Indian athletes with 19 medals – 5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze – in the tally.
2. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports started a flagship program called Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) in 2014.
The program ramped up its mechanics in 2018, after which the government spent roughly Rs8.2 crore on the para-athletes and provided athlete-specific assistance such as foreign training, coaching camp, equipment, and a stipend of Rs50,000 per month for each player.
3. Double medalist Avani Lekhara had a computerized digital target at her house, which was funded by Sports Ministry. The ministry also supported the costs of her very expensive air rifle, along with its ammunition and other accessories.
Silver medalist Bhavina Patel was provided with a Table Tennis robot called Butterfly- Amicus Prime and an Ottobock Wheelchair, which helped the TT star immensely to improve her game. The financial aid for the equipment was provided by the sports ministry in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
4. TOPS also collaborated with numerous private entities and initiatives like GoSports and Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ). As a result of all the efforts by both government and private entities under the flagship TOPS, India showed marvelous results in the international games.
5. In the Olympics, too, India saw the best haul of seven medals, with the Indian hockey team winning a medal after 41 years and the first-ever gold in athletics bagged by javelin star Neeraj Chopra.
Total medals :
1 Gold · 2 Silver · 4 Bronze = 7
Ch Narmada Naveen Kumar |