Lagatar24 Network
Ranchi, Dec 2: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has doubled the number of former athletes as core members of the revised Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) to make it even more athlete-centric than it has ever been.
The MOC advances India’s Olympic preparation through the Ministry’s Target Olympic Podium (TOPS) initiative. This has been done to accelerate India’s progress on the global sports platform.
The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur said that this decision was inspired by the experience gained in the last Olympic cycle. “Input from former athletes in the current MoC has been instrumental in supporting the training and competition of athletes who have participated in Tokyo 2020 and won 7 medals and 19 at the Para Olympic Games,” he added.
The new MoC now includes former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, World Athletics Championships long jump medalist Anju Bobby George, former India hockey captain Sardara Singh, rifle shooting legend Anjali Bhagwat, former hockey captain and CEO Olympic Gold Quest Viren Rasquinha and Table Tennis star Monalisa.
Dr Malav Shroff, an Olympian sailor and sports science expert, will continue at the MOC. President of Athletics Federation of India Adile Sumariwala, President and CEO of Athletics Federation of India and TOPS Commodore Pushpendra Garg are other former players in the MOC.
The MOC will be headed by the Director-General of the Sports Authority of India. MP Arjun Munda, Cabinet Ministers, Ajay Singh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, President of Archery Association of India, President of Boxing Federation of India and Wrestling Federation of India will also be part of the MOC.
