New Delhi sources have stated that the Olympic Task Force, set up by the Sports Ministry, on Monday recommended formation of an 'Empowered Steering Committee' for the 2020 Tokyo Games along with removal of salary cap for the Indian coaches and the Empowered Steering Committee (ESC) along with High Performance Director (HPD) will work cohesively to create an atmosphere which brings out the best from the potential medal hopefuls going into Tokyo 2020.
Among eight recommendations is the introduction of 'Pradhan Mantri Gold Card' for elite athletes and coaches giving them access to emergency quota in air/rail/bus tickets where a 24x7 NADA helpline would help the athletes get a clarity on the kind of supplements they can use.
The eight-member task force, including lone Olympic
individual gold medalist Abhinav Bindra and national badminton coach
Pullela Gopichand had met sports minister Vijay Goel on Monday.
It was stated that sports science to be accorded top priority. It must play a key role in assisting HPD and the coaches to deliver results. It will ensure all sportspersons have access to the latest in the world, be it medicine, nutrition advise, anti-doping, etc. Meanwhile a special cell within ESC should be established to take care of all the logistical issues for athletes, so they can concentrate on training alone.
