New Delhi: For unknown reason, Indian hockey male and female national campers were not entitled to the out-of-pocket allowance (OPA) by the government under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) over the years. Since the establishment of the tops in September 2014, the athletes of other subjects benefited from the philanthropy of the Sports Ministry’s monthly stipend in the well -known pool of the players, but not hockey players. However, this discrepancy was corrected at the recent meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) here on Thursday. The meeting of the 156th Governing Council of MOC has approved the OPA of Rs 25,000 per month for national campers of both men and women’s hockey teams after considering the request of the National Federation of Sports – Hockey India (HI). A total of 80 players (40 men and 40 women) will benefit from the allowance that is given to the athletes in the development group of the top. Athletes get a monthly stipend of Rs 50,000 in the main group of tops. A ministry official said that the allowance will spend Rs 20 lakh per month to hockey players.
“The allowance was requested by Hockey India for some time and we have decided to accept the demand. The players have performed properly and this (this allowance) is being given on qualification. The Federation will have to present a list of players to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) every month.” Last year, in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the later Paris Games, the men’s team was considered for OPA after winning two back-to-back bronze medals. The team also won a gold at the Hangzo Asian Games in 2023. The women’s team ended a reliable fourth in Tokyo. Both teams are currently playing in the European leg of the FIH Pro League. A ministry official said that proposals worth Rs 4.28 crore from athletes were approved by the MOC, which included financial assistance of Rs 1.38 crore for tennis players, which to Maineni, Jeevan Nadu.
