S Kannan in Paris
For all the hype over 117 Indian athletes qualifying for the Paris Olympics, the actual number who will be seen during the opening ceremony along the Seine River may be just about 50. The total number of Indians who will be on the boat is 68, according to official sources. This will include athletes, led by the two flag bearers, PV Sindhu and Sharath Kamal. In addition, there will be Gagan Narang, the chef de mission, and other officials.
As it is, out of the 117 athletes, 21 shooters are based in Chateauroux, which is three hours away from Paris. They are not part of the names on the initial list prepared for the opening ceremony. And now with high-speed trains from Marseille to Paris hit by vandalism, it is very much possible that sailors Vishnu Saravanan and Nethra Kumanan will also not make it in time.
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Chaos in France ahead of the #OpeningCeremony.
Vandalism strikes French railways and Indian sailors stuck in between. @BoriaMajumdar with the details 👇@ThumsUpOfficial #Paris2024 #Olympics #OlympicGames #Olympics2024 pic.twitter.com/nzY7wBu1sO
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) July 26, 2024
This will perhaps be the lowest number of athletes to be paraded at an Olympics opening ceremony from India. In the past, the numbers have been larger. Of course, by the time the closing ceremony comes around, most athletes would have flown back home.
There is intrigue about the opening ceremony today in Paris, along a 6km stretch of the Seine River. Seeing is believing and the number of Indians who will be part of the ceremony will only be confirmed when the world tunes in through their TV sets and other devices. As of now, we’ve been told that a nation of over a billion will be represented by just 68, in their ethnic chic finery. Who those representatives will be remains a matter of suspense!
Also Read: Why Indian shooting raises hopes of medals at Paris Olympics