New Delhi: The government of India has designated 12 Olympians, including Beijing Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra, as National Observers in their respective disciplines to assist in preparation and implementation of the long-term development plan.

Besides Bindra, other named as National Observers are PT Usha and Anju Bobby George (athletics), Sanjeev Kumar Singh (archery), Aparna Popat (badminton), MC Mary Kom and Akhil Kumar (boxing), Jagbir Singh (hockey), Somdev Devvarman (tennis), Karnam Malleshwari (weightlifting), Sushil Kumar (wrestling), IM Vijayan (football), Khajan Singh (swimming) and Kamlesh Mehta (table tennis).