City student to be trained for Olympics

Coimbatore: A badminton player, who is studying in a city college, has been selected for the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS), whereby young sports talent would be groomed for 2024 and 2028 Olympics by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
K Sathish Kumar, a third year B Com student of Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science in the city, is among the 258 who have been selected from across the country for TOPS.
Sathish said he was selected based on his performance in tournaments last year. He had won two bronzes, a silver and a gold medals, and had also come first nationally in singles at the All India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament held in Bengaluru last year.
TOPS would offer him an allowance of Rs 25,000 per month and would also allow him to train at SAI academies free of cost. “My aim is to get trained and represent the country at the 2024 Olympics to be held in Paris, if not that, then at the 2028 Olympics to be held in Los Angeles,” he said.
The 19-year-old had been playing in Under-19 category till last year and he would be playing in senior category from this year. The Chennai native says he has shifted his training to an academy in Coimbatore.
A swimmer as well, Sathish says he got inspired by his brother, who was a badminton player, to take up the sport seven years ago.