Mirabai Chanu takes US route to prepare for Tokyo Olympics; SAI clears her training, rehabilitation programme | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: World Cup gold medallist weightlifter, Mirabai Chanu, will train in Kansas City of the US to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. Mirabai will soon be leaving for the US on a two-month long overseas training programme, along with her coach and physiotherapist.
An amount of Rs 40 lakh has been sanctioned by the Sports Authority of India‘s (SAI) Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) for the purpose. Mirabai’s trip will be funded out of her Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) account. During her visit to the US, Mirabai will also undergo rehabilitation for her long-standing back injury which had forced her to miss the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.

Mirabai, a 2017 World Cup gold medallist who competes in the women’s 49kg category, will be eyeing to seal her Tokyo spot through the last Olympic qualification tournament in Nur-Sultan in April next year, where she has aimed to lift 210kg. Mirabai will be consulting sports physiotherapists and doctors in Kansas to recover from her back injury ahead of the Asian qualifier.
During the MOC’s online meeting on Monday, financial proposals of over Rs. 1.5 crores of athletes in six sports shooting, badminton, boxing, para sports, weightlifting and hockey were taken up for discussion.
“We are completely focussed on providing the best facilities to our Olympic-bound athletes. It was felt by the experts on the committee that Mirabai can get the best rehabilitation programme in the US along with training, and therefore her coach and physio are also accompanying her. I am sure this exposure will help her greatly in her Olympic preparation,” sports minister Kiren Rijiju later said.
In shooting discipline, the MOC sanctioned the proposal of shooters to procure ammunition so that they can train at their own home ranges due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The committee also sanctioned the proposals of Anjum Moudgil and Mairaj Ahmad Khan for their equipment and training requirements.
In boxing, the committee ratified the three month overseas training programme (effective from September 7) of Vikas Krishan along with his personal coach Ron Simms Jr. in the USA, while in badminton, the MOC sanctioned the participation of Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal and Lakshya Sen in the Danish Open Super 750 next month. Further, it also sanctioned Lakshya’s training in Denmark and participation in the SaarLorLux Open.
In para-sport, the committee approved the coaching fees of Sharad Kumar’s coach Yevhen Nikitin till the Tokyo Paralympics for a period of one year.
The MOC also sanctioned the proposal of the Indian men’s hockey team to appoint physiotherapist RB Kannan for an initial period of three months after the departure of the foreign physio.