New Delhi: Indian Olympic Association has named Indian Boxer MC Mary Kom and men’s Hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh will be flag bearers at opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics. The Tokyo Games are scheduled to open on July 23 and over 100 Indian athletes would be gunning for podium finishes at the showpiece, which was postponed by a year because of the Covid – 19 pandemic.

Wrestler Bajrang Punia will be flag bearer at the conclusion ceremony on August 8. The IOA has communicated the decision in this regard to the Organising Committee of the Games.  India is having two flag bearers’ one male and one female at the upcoming Tokyo Games to ensure gender parity. This was recently informed by IOA Chief Narinder Batra.

The International Olympic Committee at its Executive Board meeting last year had made provisions for flag-bearers from both genders at the opening ceremony. The IOC Chief Thomas Bach said that IOC Executive Board also decided that there should be for the first time ever at least one female and one male athlete in every one of the 206 teams and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team participating at the Games of the Olympiad.