Four of the six protesting wrestlers, including Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athletes Bajrang Punia (65kg) and Vinesh Phogat (53kg), have got a go-ahead to train abroad.
The other two are Bajrang’s wife Sangeeta Phogat, a 62kg National champion who will be the sparring partner of World championships medallist Vinesh, and his close friend Jitender Kinha, a 74kg wrestler who will be the sparring partner of the Olympic medallist.
The two sent in their proposals to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) TOPS team and the same was cleared within 24 hours of their request, said a press release on Thursday.
While Bajrang will travel to Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, for a 36-day training camp, World Championships medallist Vinesh will move to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for a week’s training before proceeding to Tata, Hungary, for 18 days. They are set to leave for their respective destinations in the first week of July.
Vinesh will also be accompanied by physiotherapist Ashwini Jeevan Patil and coach Sudesh.
Apart from Jitender, Bajrang will have the services of coach Sujeet Maan, physiotherapist Anuj Gupta and strength and conditioning expert Kaazi Hasan.
It is learnt that TOPS has approved over ₹8.4 lakh for Vinesh’s training and over ₹9 lakh for Bajrang’s trip. While the government will bear the expenses of the four wrestlers and two coaches, Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) will sponsor the other support staff’s trip.
Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyawart Kadian, who were among the protesting wrestlers, are not TOPS athletes.
