Carrying a country’s flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is one of the most privileged honors that can be bestowed upon an athlete.
Only a handful of athletes have had that opportunity and at the Paris Olympics, it will be two-time Olympic medalist P.V Sindhu and 42-year-old paddler Sharath Kamal for India.
Sindhu’s silver and bronze at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics respectively made her a household name. Sharath Kamal has carried India’s table tennis hopes on his shoulder and this will be his fifth Olympic appearance.
With just a few hours left for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, The Bridge takes a look at the flag bearers for India at the past editions of the Olympics.
Tokyo 2020: Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh
Nicknamed ‘Magnificent Mary’, the stalwart boxer from Manipur was the only female Indian boxer at the 2012 London Olympics and she also won the bronze medal at the Games.
On top of that, she is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, the only female boxer to have won a medal in each one of the first seven World Championships, and the only boxer (male or female) to win eight World Championship medals.
Manpreet Singh is a halfback for the Indian hockey team and a four-time Olympian. He captained the Indian hockey team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, India’s first podium finish in hockey since 1980.
He was also part of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea and was also part of the silver medal-winning Indian squad at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Rio 2016: Abhinav Bindra
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, India’s first-ever individual gold medalist Abhinav Bindra carried the flag of the country in his last Olympic appearance.
Gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra won India’s first and only gold medal in shooting in the 10m air rifle event after missing the mark at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
In what was a thrilling final round, Bindra came out on top and won India’s first-ever individual gold medal at the Olympic Games, a moment etched in history.
London 2012: Sushil Kumar
Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar was honored with carrying India’s flag at the 2012 London Olympics.
He won a bronze medal in the men’s 66kg category at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the London Olympics did one better by winning the silver medal in the men’s 66kg category.
Added to that, he won a gold medal in the men’s 66kg category at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships, the first Indian to win a world title in wrestling.
He won three gold medals in the 2010, 2014, and 2018 Commonwealth Games as well.
Beijing 2008: Colonel Rajvardhan Singh Rathore
A military veteran who fought for India during the Kargil War, Rathore has won 25 medals for India in international events in the men’s double trap event.
It included a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, Athens, in the men’s double trap category. He also has three Commonwealth Games gold medals and a silver medal to his name.
Athens 2004: Anju Bobby George
Long jumper Anju Bobby George is the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics, jumping 6.70 meters and securing the bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics, Paris.
She also won a gold medal at the 2005 World Athletics Final, along with several other medals at the international level.
She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2002, Khel Ratna in 2003, and Padma Shri in 2004.