With Asian Games approaching, 24 athletes including right compound archers added to Target Olympic Podium Scheme

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Jyothi Surekha Vennam at Madrid World Cup. (Photo Credit: World Archery Media)

Twenty-four new athletes have found their names in the updated list of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), with eight compound archers making the cut after the inclusion of compound archery in the 2028 Olympics.

The latest updated list of the scheme has a total of 118 athletes, 24 more than 94 athletes after the 2024 Paris Olympics. 61 para athletes and 57 able- bodied athletes have made it to the list, after it was trimmed down to 94 last year 2025 from 179 in 2024. After India’s poor performance at the Paris Olympics — winning just six medals — the government decided rationalise the scheme, which allows the athletes to design custom-made training plans.

Apart from the core list, 18 athletes were added to the developmental group, with Tejaswin Shankar (Asian Games medallist Decathlete) and Animesh Kujur (100m and 200m national record holder) being the biggest names.

Push for archery

Earlier, recurve archers Deepika Kumari, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat were part of the TOPS list but now, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Abhishek Verma, Parneet Kaur, Aditi Swami, Ojas Deotale, Priyansh, Prathmesh Jawkar and Rishab Yadav are also on the list. Historically, India has been dominant in Compound Archery at the global level and the inclusion of mixed team events at the LA 2028 Olympics means that there would be a genuine medal hope given the strength of the Indian compound archery team.

India’s best performer at the World Athletics Championship, javelin thrower Sachin Yadav has been included in the list after he finished fourth at the Worlds, ahead of double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra. Sarvesh Anil Kushare, who finished sixth in the high jump final at the Worlds, has been included in the list also.

Mirabai Chanu remains the only weightlifter on the list while U23 World champion wrestler Sujeet Kalkal and Asian champion Manisha are the latest addition to wrestling along with Paris medallist Aman Sehrawat and multiple World Championships medallist Antim Panghal.

While Shooters form the largest chunk of the list, there hasn’t been any promotion or demotion with 18 shooters in TOPS core list and 19 shooters in TOPS developmental list. The absence of multiple World Cup-winner Suruchi Phogat continues to raise eye-brows, so does the continuous absence of boxing world champion Jaismine Lamboria.

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The Target Asian Games Group (TAGG), which is designed to support athletes for this year’s Asiad in Japan, has 48 names with golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Diksha Dagar among the prominent ones alongside tennis players Sumit Nagal, Yuki Bhambri and the rapidly-rising Maya Rajeswaran.