CHENNAI: SIX-TIME world champion MC Mary Kom and her junior rival Nikhat Zareen were among 10 boxers included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Asian Championships gold medallist Amit Panghal was the big name to be included in the men’s corner. Despite not being in the best of form, 2015 World Championship bronze medallist Shiva Thapa was also included in the scheme that was decided by Sports Authority of India (SAI) in a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by Sandip Pradhan, SAI director general.
Boxers under TOPS: Women: MC Mary Kom (51 kg), Sonia Chahal (57 kg), Neeraj (57 kg), Nikhat Zareen (51 kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69 kg). Men: Amit Panghal (52 kg), Kavinder Singh (57 kg), Vikas Krishan (75 kg), Shiva Thapa (63 kg), Manish Kaushik (63 kg).
Praneeth also named
Shuttler B Sai Praneeth, who won a historic bronze at the Worlds in Basel, has also been named. Shooter Yashaswini Singh Deswal, who recently secured an Olympic quota for India in Rio de Janeiro, was also included. Apart from selection of athletes, financial proposals worth `1.4 crore were cleared in 11 sporting disciplines — weightlifting, wrestling, shooting, archery, table tennis, athletics, badminton, tennis, para-badminton, para-archery and para-shooting.