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India Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday (July 8) announced star badminton player PV Sindhu as the female flag bearer for the Paris Olympic Games while table tennis star Sharath Kamal will do so for the men's contingent.

The appointments were confirmed on Monday with the majority of Indian athletes having touched down in Paris ahead of the Olympics ceremony which takes in little over two weeks. On the other hand, the 2012 London Games shooting bronze medallist Gagan Narang will be the contingent's Chef-de-Mission where he replaced MC Mary Kom.


Sindhu, Kamal to lead India's contingent


I was looking for an Olympic medallist to lead our contingent and my young colleague is an apt replacement for Mary Kom," IOA President PT Usha said in a press release.

"I am also delighted to announce that India's only woman to win two Olympic medals, PV Sindhu, was the female flag-bearer alongside table tennis ace A Sharath Kamal in the opening ceremony," Usha said.

After a change in Olympics protocol in 2020 (held in 2021), every country participating in the Olympics must name a male and a female flag bearer. In the Tokyo Olympics, Mary Kom (boxing) and former hockey captain Manpreet Singh were named as flag bearers. This year Sharath Kamal was named the flag bearer in the male contingent back in March, but the announcement of the female bearer was delayed.


On the other hand, Mary Kom's refusal to take the honour of Chef-de-Mission meant, the deputy in charge Gagan Narang would now take charge during the Paris Olympics. Like Mary Kom, Narang also won an Olympic medal when he shot bronze in the London Games in 2012 in a 10m pistol.