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

New Delhi: Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen and P V Sindhu will train in France and Germany respectively as part of their Olympic preparations after the Sports Ministry's Mission Olympic Cell approved financial assistance to cover the cost for both of them.

Sen had sought financial assistance for a 12-day training session in Marseille, France. Sen, who will compete 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.

Sindhu's proposal was for Saarbrucken, Germany to train at the Hermann-Neuberger Sportschule. She will practice there for over a month along with her coach and support staff before heading 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 approved inclusion of Table Tennis player Harmeet Desai and Women's 4x400 Relay Team in TOPS Core group and the promotion of wrestlers Nisha (68kg) and Reetika (76kg) to Core group.

MOC also inducted upcoming golfer Kartik Singh in TOPS Development with focus towards 2028 and 2032 Olympics in Los Angeles and Brisbane respectively.