The Sports Ministry has approved the extension of ongoing training camps for javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and wrestler Vinesh Phogat abroad till July 25 before they leave for Tokyo Olympics.
Neeraj, in Portugal since June 6, will begin training in Uppsala, Sweden, from June 21 with biomechanical expert Klaus Bartonietz and physiotherapist at a cost of ₹34.87 lakh.
Vinesh, in Europe since late April, will now also have a 10-day training camp in Talinn, Estonia, and a 16-day camp in Budapest, Hungary at a cost of ₹9.01 lakh. She is being accompanied by coach Woller Akos and physiotherapist.
While the government has provided approximately ₹1.61 crores to Neeraj in the current Olympic cycle through the ACTC and TOPS, it has spent ₹1.81 crores on Vinesh.
The Government’s Mission Olympic Cell also approved wrestler Bajrang Punia’s proposal to engage men’s 70kg u-23 world champion Mirza Skhulukhia as additional sparring partner in Russia at a cost of ₹2.53 lakh.