Sports Ministry approves foreign training for Lakshya and Sindhu ahead of Paris Olympics

Indian badminton players PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen will get training in Germany and France respectively as part of their Olympic preparations after the Sports Ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell approved financial aid to cover the expenses for both of them.

Lakshya Sen had asked financial aid for a 12-day training session in Marseille, France. He will play in the men’s singles event in Paris, will train at The Halle des Sports Parsemain with his coach and support staff from July 8 to 21 ahead of the Olympic Games. PV Sindhu proposed for Saarbrucken, Germany to train at the Hermann-Neuberger Sportschule. She will train there for over a month with her coach and support staff before moving to Paris.

“MOC approved their funding their airfare, boarding/lodging cost, local transportation charges, Visa Fees, shuttlecocks expenses under the Ministry’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS),” the ministry said in a release. During the meeting, MOC also approved table tennis player Sreeja Akula and archer Tisha Punia’s proposals for support to procure equipment and golfer Aditi Ashok and swimmer Aryan Nehra’s request for assistance to travel to various competitions. “TOPS will fund their airfare, accommodation cost, local transportation cost and Aryan’s equipment and Aditi’s caddy fee.”

MOC also permitted the inclusion of table tennis player Harmeet Desai and the Women’s 4×400 Relay Team in the TOPS Core group and the promotion of wrestlers Nisha (68kg) and Reetika (76kg) to the Core group. MOC also introduced upcoming golfer Kartik Singh in TOPS Development with a focus towards the 2028 and 2032 Olympics in Los Angeles and Brisbane respectively.