'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Indian badminton queen PV Sindhu is all set to become one of the two flag-bearers for the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics.
Rio 2016 Olympic Games silver medalist PV Sindhu is the front-runner to win the honor, according to sources at the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The opening ceremony will be held on Friday, July 23, 2021.
India will have one male and one female athlete as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony this time around.
PV Sindhu almost certain to be a flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics
Although the official announcement by the IOA will be made in a few days’ time it is almost certain that Sindhu will be one of the flag-bearers.
“Reigning world champion PV Sindhu is most likely to be one of the flag-bearers. She is a silver medalist in the previous Games and deserves the recognition,” said an IOA source.
The IOA chose PV Sindhu as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the opening ceremony of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games held in Australia. The opening ceremony was held on April 4, 2018.
Sindhu’s father, PV Ramana, said:
“It will be a great honor for Sindhu to be flag-bearer at the Tokyo Olympics. As a parent, seeing my daughter carrying the national flag at the opening ceremony in Tokyo will be the ultimate satisfaction. I will cherish that moment forever. There is no better feeling for an athlete to carry the national flag at the biggest sporting event of the world.”
Former Indian volleyball player Ramana remembers when PT Usha carried the flag during the opening ceremony of the 1986 Asian Games.
Ramana added:
“I was a member of the Indian volleyball squad at the Seoul Asian Games. I distinctly remember PT Usha being our flag bearer. Sindhu getting the honor to be the flag-bearer in the Tokyo Olympics means a lot to us. It will be the second time in three years that she will be given the honor by the IOA after being the flag-bearer at the last Commonwealth Games.”
Although there is no pre-defined rule, the convention has been that last Olympics’ medal winner always has been the flag-bearer for the next edition.
The other medal winner at the Rio Olympics -- wrestler Sakshi Malik – failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
World No. 7 Sindhu is the only Indian women’s singles player to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The other three badminton players to qualify are B Sai Praneeth (men’s singles) and Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (men’s doubles).
