# Asian Games TT pair Syndrela, Payas join TOPS Development group 2026-08-27T08:08:32+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Asian Games-bound table tennis players Syndrela Das (17) and Payas Jain (21) have been added to the Sports Ministry's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) Development group. Senior star Manika Batra, omitted from the Asian Games squad, received approval for funding to compete in WTT Contender tournaments in Bulgaria and Kazakhstan in September. Syndrela, from Kolkata, won a girls' doubles silver and singles bronze at the Asian Youth Championships in Thailand this year, and swept three National Ranking age-group singles titles in 2023. She now joins the Development group alongside Payas and Ankur Bhattacharjee in men's doubles. TOPS created the focused youth group earlier this year to build India's bench for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and 2036 Olympics. India's 10-member Asian Games squad bats with Syndrela, Payas and eight others. ## Indian Opinion Analysis TOPS Development tier targets athletes who are unlikely to medal at the next Olympics but could contend in two or three cycles. For table tennis, that means the 2030 Commonwealth Games and 2036 Olympics. Syndrela and Payas join a group that started this year with 14-to-17-year-olds. The senior Olympian Manika Batra, omitted from the Asian Games squad over a domestic-play rule, gets separate MOC funding for WTT Contender events in September. The question is whether the Development pipeline can produce the depth that singles-focused countries like Japan and China maintain. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Neutral report listing ministry decisions and squad selections without editorial slant. This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Manika Batra, Mission Olympic Cell, Payas Jain, Syndrela Das, table tennis, TOPS Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/asian-games-tt-pair-syndrela-payas-join-tops-development-group/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/asian-games-tt-pair-syndrela-payas-join-tops-development-group/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/