Shapath Bhardwaj is India’s youngest athlete to be named in Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme

India shooter Shapath Bhardwaj (15) from Merrut has become the India’s youngest athlete to be named in the Union Government’s Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme. He is among 45 elite athletes, including Olympic medallists PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Saina Nehwal, to be selected for the scheme.
The TOP scheme elite athletes identification committee, which is chaired by ace shooter and Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, selected the athletes after evaluating their performance in relation to the international standard. The purpose of the TOP committee is to identify and support potential medal prospects for 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games under the TOP scheme.