Five of the six women quartermilers who were suspended for anti-doping rule violations between mid-2011 and mid-2013 have been named among the 39 athletes added by the Union Sports Ministry to its much-hyped Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.
Besides, the way several other athletes have been accommodated and omitted has put a big question mark over the intention and competence of the selection panel that picks sportspersons for the scheme.
Six women 400m runners, Priyanka Panwar, Ashwini Akkunji, Jauna Murmu, Sini Jose, Mandeep Kaur and Tiana Mary Thomas, were caught for doping in 2011 and subsequently suspended by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) for two years.
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Three of them were part of the gold medal winning 4x400m relay teams in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Amidst recent reports of some athletes fleeing the Thiruvananthapuram camp to evade dope testers from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the mention of Priyanka, Ashwini, Jauna, Sini and Mandeep among the TOP scheme beneficiaries has come as a surprise.
Interestingly, Sini last competed in 2011 and the other four have not taken part in any competition in 2015.
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The selection of these atheletes only reflects the sympathetic approach adopted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) towards them and the hope spread by the National federation that such experienced athletes can get a relay medal for the country in the Rio Olympics. The AFI has also got the approval of the Sports Ministry to hire erstwhile relay coach Yuriy Ogorodnik, who was sacked following the doping scandal in 2011, ahead of the 2016 Olympics.
Anu Raghavan, Anju Thomas and Jisna Mathew, who have been named in the current Indian 4x400m team for Asian championships, do not figure in the TOPS list.
Anju has found place in the development group for the 2020 Olympics, while Jisna, currently the number three 400m runner among seniors [behind Anilda Thomas (52.71s) and M.R. Poovamma (53.41s)] in the country on the strength of her silver medal winning performance (53.84s) in the first Asian youth athletics championship in Doha earlier this month, has not been considered good enough to be supported for the Tokyo Games.
For the record, Jisna is currently world No. 7 in under-18 and No. 30 in under-20 age groups and is the National record holder in the youth and junior sections.
Tintu Luka, a trainee of sprint queen P.T. Usha and the 2014 Asian Games silver medallist in 800m, who is preparing for the upcoming Asian championship and next year's Olympics in the two-lap event, has been clubbed with the 4x400m relay runners.
There is no clarity as to whether the scheme will cover Tintu's training requirements for her pet 800m event.
Boost for archersThe inclusion of 16 archers, including prominent names such as Tarundeep Rai, Jayanta Talukdar, Mangal Singh Champia, Deepika Kumari and L. Bombayala Devi, is the major highlight of the new list.
Under the TOP scheme, the Ministry had named 45 athletes in the first phase. So far, it has spent around Rs 1.35 crore for 10 athletes and organised mental training camp for the archers.
The list of new athletes:
Athletics:Men: Race walking: K. Ganapathy, Manish Rawat, Sandeep Kumar, Devender Singh; Shot put: Inderjeet Singh.
Women's 4x400m relay: Priyanka Panwar, Tintu Luka, Debashree Majumdar, M.R. Poovamma, Anilda Thomas, Ashwini Akkunji, Jauna Murmu, Sini Jose and Mandeep Kaur.
For 2020 Olympics Development Group: Chavi Sahrawat, Anju Thomas, Nirmala, Arpitha M.; Discus (For 2020) Navjeet Kaur Dhillon.
Archery: Men: Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das, Jayanta Talukdar, Mangal Singh Champia, Vishwash, Ranjit Naik. Women: Deepika Kumari, L. Bombayala Devi, Rimil Buruily, Laxmi Rani Majhi, Dola Banerjee, Snehal.
For 2020: Junior Boys: Sanjay Boro, Atul Verma, Binod Swansi; Junior Girls: Madhu Vedwan.
Boxing: Men: Sumit Sangwan (81kg); Women:
For 2020: Sarjubala Devi (women's 48kg).
Shooting: Men: Chain Singh (rifle).
Swimming:Women (For 2020): Manna Patel (100m, 200m backstroke).