Six officials, besides athletes, allowed for Games Opening
A final decision on the number of athletes who will be present during the march will be taken on Thursday.
The Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee has further reduced contingent numbers for the opening ceremony after cases being reported from the Games Village and a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases in the city. In a meeting of chef de missions, it was decided that only six officials, besides the athletes, will be allowed to be part of the Games Opening on Friday.
It was also decided that those who are serving the three-day quarantine will not be allowed in the opening ceremony. Athletes from some countries, including India, have to go through the extra quarantine. India has a contingent of 126 athletes but a far smaller number will be present at the opening ceremony. Those who have their competitions starting in the next two days have been asked to focus on their matches.
A final decision on the number of athletes who will be present during the march will be taken on Thursday. India will have London Olympics bronze medallist MC Mary and hockey men’s team captain Manpreet Singh as flag bearers.
Teams are choosing to send very small numbers for the opening ceremony to minimize the risk of contracting Covid-19. Only 30 of the 376-member team Great Britain will be part of the ceremony for example.