The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced on Sunday, 15th July, that Sushil Kumar, a bronze medallist at the Beijing Games, would be India’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics on July 27.
Speaking at a conference in New Delhi, IOA Acting President V K Malhotra announced that the Olympic bronze-medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar will be India’s flag-bearer.
The names of top boxer Vijender Singh, tennis legend Leander Paes and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra were also doing the rounds for the honour. Vijender, Sushil and Bindra had all returned with medals from the last edition of the Games in Beijing in 2008.
While Abhinav Bindra was the first choice for IOA, it wasn’t possible with his 10m air rifle event scheduled for July 30. He was reluctant to do the honours for close to six hours as that could lead to some injury ahead of his event.
Similarly, Vijender's weigh-in is scheduled for July 28 so it was tough for him to do the honours. Paes had led the contingent in 2000 Sydney Games and IOA decided Sushil should do the honours this time.
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