PARIS (France): With star shuttler PV Sindhu and seasoned table tennis star Sharath Kamal as the flagbearers, the group of 78 India athletes and officials arrived in the Parade of Nations at the River Seine in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 on Friday.
During the Parade of Nations, donning specially designed traditional attire, Indian athletes and officials were spotted at Seine and waved towards the fans.
Even though rain lashed out in Paris, the enthusiasm of India’s athletes and officials didn’t drop.
The iconic French midfielder Zinedine Zidane made an appearance in a pre-recorded video carrying the Olympic flame to kickstart the opening ceremony. From Stade de France, he sprinted and carried the flame.
The first 18 delegations were introduced to the Parade of Nations from the Pont d’Austerlitz. The parade was led by the founding nation of the modern Olympic Games, Greece, in their country themed attire.
Greece selected NBA star Giannis Antetekounmpo as their male flagbearer, alongside Antigoni Ntrismpioti, a race walker.
Lady Gaga produced an enchanting performance as she performed Mon truc en plumes, an original song by Zizi Jeanmaire, while standing on a grand staircase. She was a French ballet dancer and actress who passed away at 96 in 2020.
Heavy-metal band Gojira enthralled the fans with their electric performance in the rain. Gojira was followed by opera singer, Marina Viotti.
In the 33rd Summer Games, 117 athletes make up the Indian contingent in 16 sports disciplines, comprising 70 men and 47 women. They will compete in 69 events and vie for 95 medals.
The sixteen sports disciplines include archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, and tennis.
India will get their first shot at a medal during the mixed team air rifle medal matches scheduled on Saturday at the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux. Two Indian teams, Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan and Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal, will compete in this event. Manu Bhaker will compete in two individual pistol events and the 10 m air pistol mixed team competition as well.
Prominent athletes from India during the Parade of Nations:
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 MannSailing: 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. (ANI)