India will have a strong presence at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, with 78 athletes and officials from 12 disciplines participating in the Parade of Nations. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11 pm IST.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha and Chef-de-Mission Gagan Narang have prioritized athletes in the composition of the contingent. All available athletes will participate, though some have opted out to focus on their upcoming competitions.
PV Sindhu, star shuttler, and Sharath Kamal, veteran table tennis player, will serve as India’s flag-bearers, marking a historic first for their respective sports at such a prestigious event.
India has already made its mark in the Games, with both men’s and women’s archery teams directly qualifying for the quarter-finals. The country’s first shot at a medal will come on July 27 in the mixed team air rifle event, featuring two Indian teams: Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan and Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal.
The Indian contingent for Paris 2024 includes 117 athletes across various disciplines. Prominent participants in the opening ceremony include:
– Archery: Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai
– Badminton: PV Sindhu
– Boxing: Lovlina Borgohain
– Equestrian: Anush Agarwalla
– Golf: Shubhankar Sharma
– Hockey: Krishan Pathak, Nilakanta Sharma, and Jugraj Singh
– Judo: Tulika Mann
– Sailing: Vishnu Saravanan and Nethra Kumanan
– Shooting: Anjum Moudgil, Sift Kaur Samra, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, and Anish
– Swimming: Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu
– Table Tennis: Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra
– Tennis: Rohan Bopanna, Sumit Nagal, and Sriram Balaji
(Inputs from ANI)