Tokyo Olympics: Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh to be India’s flag bearers for the opening ceremony

India’s flag bearer for the opening ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics will be six-time boxing world champion Mary Kom and India’s hockey captain Manpreet Singh. Bajrang Punia, a silver medalist in the World Championships, will carry India’s flag at the closing ceremony on August 8.

The Indian delegation will consist of around 126 athletes and 75 officials, for a total of 201. According to the IOA, the Indian contingent is made up of 56 percent male athletes and 44 percent female athletes. The participants will compete in around 85 medal slots, with 78 quota places available.

Mary Kom will compete in her final Olympics after winning bronze in the 2012 London Games. Manpreet will be competing in his third Olympic Games, having previously represented his country at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games. Bajrang, the reigning Commonwealth and Asian Games champion, will compete in his first Olympics.

Sources told ANI, “IOA is planning to declare the names on the 5th of July. We have some names which we are sorting out but as of now, majorly it is on PV Sindhu and Bajrang Punia but again it’s not official. Final names will be declared by 5th of July,”

Meanwhile, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) continued their efforts to sensitise Tokyo-bound athletes with a session titled “From India with Pride,” which helped them understand Japanese culture and overcome potential barriers while also serving as ideal ambassadors for the country.

PV Sindhu, Sai Praneeth, Manika Batra, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and others were among the badminton and table tennis players that attended Tuesday’s practise. The session, which Go Sports Foundation is a knowledge partner for, was moderated by renowned media specialist Joy Bhattacharjya. For all Tokyo-bound athletes, the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Olympic Association are conducting three-session sensitization programmes.