London: India's national flag was unfurled at the Olympic Games Athletes Village on Sunday in the presence of 35 athletes and other delegates.
Deepika Kumari, the world No. 1 archer from India, was the star attraction of the ceremony. The tennis doubles pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna - who checked into the Olympic Village on Saturday - the boxers and some members of the hockey team, were among the other Indian sportspersons present on the occasion.
Rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra, the country's first individual gold medallist in Beijing, could not take part in the ceremony as he had left for Germany to continue his training,
Among the boxers, India's lone woman pugilist, MC Mary Kom also missed the event as she was scheduled to arrive in London only after a few days.
The athletes and delegates were entertained by local youngsters with lovely musical performance complemented by some acrobatic moves. The performers danced to the song "we are the champions" and ended with a salute to the champion athletes, who will compete for glory at the sporting extravaganza.
India had sought a postponement of date for its flag-raising ceremony, which is also called the 'Welcoming Ceremony', so that a larger contingent could be present at the function. But the London Olympic Games organisers refused to sanction any change in the schedule and stuck to the original roster.
The Indian contingent's Deputy Chef-de-Mission Brigadier PK Muralidharan Raja had confirmed about India's request of postponing the ceremony. "We wanted a postponement of India's flag raising ceremony, but the organisers are keen to stick to the original schedule drawn up by them," said Brig. Raja.
London Olympic Games Organising Committee (LOCOG) officials had said that India were among a number of the nations with similar requests but that would have affected schedule and crowded the date closer to the Opening Ceremony, which is scheduled for July 27.
(With inputs from PTI)
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