Manjit Singh wants TOP Scheme inclusion after gold
New Delhi: Asian Games gold medallist Manjit Singh, who doesn't have a regular job, on Tuesday requested the sports ministry to include him in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme to prepare for the upcoming big events like the 2020 Tokyo Games. Manjit, who won a gold in the men's 800m race in the Asian Games, was left without a job in March 2016 after his contract was not renewed.
Despite the odds, he continued training under army coach Amrish Kumar before getting a National Camp call-up. "I lost my job in March 2016," he said. "But now I have won a gold in Asian Games. I hope the Sports ministry will take notice of my achievement and the hardships I am facing. I don't have any sponsor or any company giving me assistance. I am hoping that the Sports Ministry will include me in the TOP Scheme so that I can continue training," Manjit said during an interaction.
The international season is over now and Manjit said next year will be crucial for him as the Asian Championships and World Championships are lined up. "I want to do well in both the Asian Championships and World Championships next year. After that is the 2020 Olympics but for that I need financial assistance for training. I hope the sports ministry will help me out," he added.
The 29-year-old Manjit, a native of village Ujhana in Jind district of Haryana, said he was on the verge of quitting the sport when his contract was not renewed two years back. "I was feeling very low and I did not know what to do. I am from a farmer's family and my family cannot afford to send big amount of money for my training. But somehow I continued with help from my coach Amrish Kumar," he said.
"I briefly thought I would quit athletics but my father (a former state level shot putter) said I should continue and so I continued with the meagre income from my family."
Manjit earned a spot in the Indian athletics team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games but failed to qualify for the final round. He finished fourth in the Asian Championships in Pune in 2013 and won a silver medal in the Federation Cup in 2014. His first and last gold medal until the recent win came in 2013 and he admitted that he mostly finished second in Nationals. He was not selected for the CWG and Asian Games in 2014.
