New Delhi: Indian Olympic Association Secretary Rajeev Mehta has announced that Olympic gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will carry the Indian flag at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England from 28th to 8th August.
Neeraj, who won gold in javelin throw in Tokyo, is the first Indian athlete to win gold in Olympic athletics. Neeraj also led the Indian team with the national flag at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games.
Meanwhile, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur released the official kit of the Indian team for the Games yesterday. The first team for the Games was also given a send-off. Indian hockey captain Manpreet Singh, Malayalam goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, female athlete Hima Das, Chief of Mission of the Indian team Onkar Singh and others attended the ceremony.
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India is sending a team of 322 people including players and coaches to the Commonwealth Games.
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The team consists of athletes. 107 of them are women.
Tejaswin Shankar in the team
The Athletics Federation of India has informed the Delhi High Court that high jumper Tejaswin Shankar has been included in the athletics team for the Commonwealth Games. The AFI informed the court about this after giving an ultimatum on Tuesday that the final decision in the case of Tejaswin should be communicated immediately. Tejaswin was included in the men’s 400m relay team in place of Arokya Rajeev.
Meanwhile, confusion continues over Tejaswin’s participation in the Games. The last date for submission of details of competitors for the Commonwealth Games was June 29.
It was after this that the Athletic Federation decided to let Tejaswin compete. It is not clear whether the Federation’s late recommendation has been approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation.