New Delhi: The Sports Ministry revamped the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) for 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. To make it more athlete-centric in the build-up, the ministry on Thursday doubled the number of former athletes as core members of the MOC.
The MOC drives India’s Olympics preparation through Target Olympics Podium (TOPS), an initiative of the Ministry. This has been done to accelerate India’s progress on the global sports stage. The new MOC will include former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, World Athletics Championships Long Jump medalist Anju Bobby George, former India hockey captain Sardara Singh, rifle shooting legend Anjali Bhagwat, former hockey captain and CEO Olympic Gold Quest Viren Rasquinha, table tennis star Monalisa Mehta and badminton ace Trupti Murgunde as non official members.
Olympian sailor and sports science specialist Dr. Malav Shroff will continue to be in the MOC. President Athletics Federation of India Adile Sumeriwala, President Athletic Federation of India and CEO TOPS Cmde Pushpendra Garg are other former players in the MOC. Arjun Munda, Cabinet Minister, Ajay Singh and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by virtue of President of Archery Association of India, Boxing Federation of India and Wrestling Federation of India will be part of the MOC. The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur said the decision was driven by the experience gained in the last Olympic cycle.
“The inputs by former athletes in the incumbent MOC played a significant role in supporting the training and competition of the athletes who competed in Tokyo 2020 and won 7 medals and 19 in Para Olympic Games,” he said in a release.
