First batch of Indian Olympics squad to leave for Tokyo on July 17

The first batch, including the two hockey teams, archers, swimmers and shuttlers, is scheduled to fly out on July 17. The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8

The Indian contingent for the Tokyo Olympics will leave in batches from here though all the dates are yet to be finalised. As per the Games protocol, athletes can enter Tokyo only five days before their event and leave not later than 48 hours after their competition ends.

The Indian women’s hockey team. (Getty Images)

The first batch, including the two hockey teams, archers, swimmers and shuttlers, is scheduled to fly out on July 17. The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) wants to send them by July 14 because athletes going from high-risk countries like India need to be in quarantine for three days. IOA is yet to receive clarification from the Tokyo organising committee on this. “We are waiting for clarity on the dates. We would like the first batch to leave on July 14. Things will be clear in the next 48 hours,” an IOA official said on Tuesday.

The second batch, which will include athletes and golfers, is expected to leave on July 22. The Indian contingent will be around 126 athletes, including alternate players for team sports, and 75 officials, taking the total strength to 201, an IOA statement said on Monday.

Sending the contingent is a logistical challenge for IOA. With the quarantine rule for India announced only on June 18, IOA had to rejig travel plans. There are also many squads like shooting, boxing and wrestling training abroad that will fly directly to Tokyo from those training bases. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is in Uppasala, Sweden and wrestler Bajrang Punia is in Russia. The good thing is, unlike their compatriots going from India, they won’t have to quarantine.

The squad of 15 shooters will reach Tokyo on July 17. Their events start on July 24.

“We had written to Tokyo OC whether the entire squad and coaches can fly together, considering the five-day entry restriction. They have got back saying while entering Japan, the full squad can come together, but departure within 48 hrs of competition has to be followed event-wise,” said a shooting federation official. Eight coaches and a physio are part of the shooting squad.

The nine-member boxing squad, training at the Olympic Centre in Assisi, Italy, is likely to fly out on July 18.

There are seven athletes, including Chopra and some boxers, and 17 support staff who are overseas, who are yet to get their second dose of the Covid vaccine. Though Games organisers have not made it mandatory to be vaccinated, India is looking to send a fully-vaccinated contingent. The sports ministry and the external affairs ministry are looking to arrange for vaccination in Indian missions overseas.

Mane qualifies

India No. 2 Udayan Mane’s qualification as the second Indian golfer, after Anirban Lahiri, was confirmed on Tuesday. Aditi Ashok is in the women’s competition. The qualification of Mane, 30, ranked 356 in the world, was confirmed with his inclusion as the last member in the 60-player list put out by the International Golf Federation on Tuesday. Mane was the first reserve after Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo withdrew on June 24. The Chennai-born Pune resident has 11 wins on the Indian tour.