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Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS):
- To improve India’s performance at Olympics and Paralympics, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) started the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) in September 2014.
- This was revamped in April 2018 to establish a technical support team for managing the TOPS athletes and providing holistic support.
High Priority Sports:
- The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports is responsible for appointment of TOPS members with emphasis on ensuring representation from ‘High-Priority’ sports (Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Hockey, Shooting and Wrestling).
Recent Success:
- The TOPS sponsored athletes gained relative success at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
- P V Sindhu and Sakshi Malik captured silver and bronze in Badminton and Wrestling respectively at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
- In the 2016 Paralympic Games, the TOPS Athletes won 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze demonstrating the effectiveness of the Scheme.
- In the Commonwealth Games, out of the 70 athletes who won medals at the, 47 of them were supported under the TOP Scheme.
Mission Olympic Cell:
- The Mission Olympic Cell is a dedicated body created to assist the athletes who are selected under the TOP Scheme.
- The MOC is under the Chairmanship of the Director General, Sports Authority of India (DG, SAI).
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF):
- The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) was established in November, 1998 under Charitable Endowments Act, 1890 with the aim of promotion of sports and games in the country.
- NSDF has been vital in the working of TOPS across disciplines.