NEW DELHI: About 22 athletes and six officials from the Indian contingent will attend the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics on Friday evening at the National Stadium, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Dhruv Batra informed on Thursday. The athletes will include both the Indian flag-bearers, six-time world champion boxer, M C Mary Kom, and national men's hockey team skipper, Manpreet Singh.
The decision was taken in view of the numbers of Indian matches scheduled on the first day of Olympic competitions on Saturday. The ceremony is likely continue well past midnight Tokyo time and it would be difficult for athletes to line up for their morning matches on Saturday without proper sleep and rest.
Both men's and women's hockey team's preliminary round matches are scheduled for Saturday, but Manpreet has agreed to lead the contingent, alongside Mary Kom, for the ceremony. India's star men's freestyle wrestler and one of the biggest medal hopes, Bajrang Punia, will be the country's flag-bearer at the closing ceremony on August 8.
"The numbers shared till now for the participation in the opening ceremony of the Indian contingent by the Village office are: Particpating -- Hockey (1), Boxing (8), Table Tennis (4), Rowing (2),
Gymnastics (1), Swimming (1), Sailing
(4), Fencing (1) and Officials (6). Both the flag-bearers M C Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh are participating in the opening ceremony," Batra informed.
The IOA president, however, added that the numbers are subjected to change. Those athlete who won't be participating at the ceremony include from disciplines namely Archery, Judo, Badminton, Weightlifting, Tennis, Hockey (men and women) and Shooting.
