Many Indian athletes to skip Opening Ceremony

The hockey players, tennis stars, archers and weightlifters are set to miss the show. The pre-show is at 7.15 p.m, and the inaugurations starts at 8. The athletes are scheduled to march in from 8.43 p.m.. It could be past midnight when the athletes return to their rooms.

Abhinav Bindra, will be carrying the national flag for the first time in his fifth appearance in the Olympics.

It is a matter of pride to walk into the stadium with the athletes of the world, from more than 200 countries, during the inauguration of the Olympics. However, if you wake up at 4.30 a.m. IST to catch a glimpse of some of your favourite Indian players in the marchpast during the Rio Olympics, you may be disappointed.

Even as the Olympic gold medallist and former World Champion, Abhinav Bindra, carries the national flag for the first time in his fifth appearance in the Olympics, the hockey players, tennis stars, archers and weightlifters are set to skip the show.

Making a statement, the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent, Rakesh Gupta, pointed out that the athletes were either competing on Friday, like the archers going through the ranking round, or were preparing for competition on Saturday. Most of them have events on Saturday, like the men’s hockey team and the men’s and women’s doubles matches in tennis.

‘’The athletes are scheduled to board the buses to the venue at 5.15 p.m. The pre-show is at 7.15 p.m, and the inauguration starts at 8. The athletes are scheduled to march in from 8.43 p.m.. It could be past midnight when the athletes return to their rooms’’, said Gupta.