After much debate on the fate of the Tokyo Olympics thanks to the COVID-19 situation, the Games were finally declared open on Friday as fireworks kickstarted the Opening Ceremony here at the Japan National Stadium.

With the emergence of COVID-19, many athletes had to train for the showpiece event in isolation and this was the highlight during the Opening Ceremony as performers showed how they have been connected by their hope and shared passion. After the fireworks and lighting show, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach was welcomed on the stage. The IOC had decided that only six officials will be allowed per contingent.

Tokyo Olympics 2020 opening ceremony begins at Japan National Stadium, in Tokyo on Friday.Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka

Japanese athlete Naomi Osaka on Friday became the first tennis player to light the Olympic cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Games. Osaka had the distinct honour of serving as the final torchbearer of the Olympic Torch Relay, lighting the cauldron inside the Olympic Stadium for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021. Osaka, 23, is a four-time major champion in tennis who is making her Olympic debut. She won her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier in 2021.

During the ceremony, parading athletes observed physical distancing. At the beginning of the ceremony, the Japanese flag entered the Olympic Stadium and after that, the light show began.

This year’s Olympics will feature a record 33 sports comprising 339 events. The initial video which kicked off the ceremony showed Tokyo’s elation at winning the bid to host the Games and then the stadium went into darkness as the 2020 event had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There have been questions raised in Japan over the hosting of the Olympics even when the host nation has been witnessing a surge in Covid-19 infections and total Games-related cases have risen to 106. Even though the Opening Ceremony kicked off, protestors took to the streets to voice their unhappiness of the Games going ahead in Tokyo.

The torch relay had recently concluded its journey through Tokyo having spent most of the 15-day final leg of its nationwide tour off roads and away from the public.

Star boxer Amit Panghal (52kg) is among the four Indian pugilists who received byes into the Tokyo Olympics pre-quarterfinals as per the draw unveiled on Thursday. Satish Kumar, Simranjit Kaur, and Lovlina Borgohain are the other three players who have received byes.

ASix-time world champion pugilist Mary Kom will be leading India’s charge in the upcoming showpiece event. She will lock horns with Dominica’s Miguelina Hernandez on Sunday. In-form Pooja Rani will square off against Algeria’s Ichrak Chaib in her opening bout while Vikas Krishan will play against Japan’s Mensah Okazawa in the round of 32 on Saturday to kick-start India’s quest for a medal.

India last won a medal in boxing in the 2012 London Olympics when Mary Kom clinched a bronze four years after Vijender Singh finished third in the 2008 showpiece event. Since then, India has not won a medal in the Olympics in the discipline.

However, India did come close to clinching a medal in the 2016 Games before boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav faced defeat in the quarter-finals.

The men’s boxing side comprises number one and Asian Games champion Panghal (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), and Satish Kumar (+91kg). The women’s squad includes Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), and Pooja Rani (75kg).

With 127 athletes, Tokyo Olympics will see India’s highest-ever playing contingent competing. Tokyo Olympics will begin on Friday and the Games will run up to August 8 this year. The event was slated to be held last year, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With ANI inputs

Novak Djokovic knows how close he is. Not just to creating history and becoming the first man to achieve a Golden Slam by winning all four major tennis tournaments and an Olympic singles gold medal in the same year. Sure, that’s on Djokovic’s mind as he enters the Olympic tournament starting Saturday.

But it’s the bigger end product that would be the result of such an achievement that is weighing most heavily on him surpassing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to be considered the greatest tennis player ever. The goal is so great that Djokovic doesn’t even want to consider the consequences.

“I don’t want to be part of the debate. I don’t want to be compared to anybody, the top-ranked Serb said Thursday. It’s still a very long way to a potential historic achievement.

“I know that there is a lot of things on the line. I know there’s history on the line. I’m privileged and motivated to be in this position. I’ve worked very hard to be here. But let’s talk about history if everything goes great here,” Djokovic added. “Right now all focus goes to the next challenge.” In Serbia, the debate is already over. Olympic committee chief of mission Natasa Jankovic introduced Djokovic at the team’s news conference as “the most successful tennis player ever.”

By winning Wimbledon this month, Djokovic matched Federer and Nadal with his 20th Grand Slam title having opened the year by capturing the Australian and French Opens. He is the only one of them to have won each Slam twice. He is the only one to hold all four major titles simultaneously, something he did over the end of 2015 and start of 2016. The only tennis player to achieve a Golden Slam was Steffi Graf in 1988.

“I’m not in touch with Steffi, but if you can connect her, I would be delighted to ask her how she did it, Djokovic said, recalling how he briefly worked with Graf’s husband, Andre Agassi.

“When I was thinking about her (Golden Slam) I didn’t think that would be achievable. But right now it seems more and more realistic for me. Of course that’s one of the goals and dreams. Making matters more straightforward for Djokovic is that neither Federer nor Nadal are playing in Tokyo.

But that also was the case at last year’s U.S. Open, where Djokovic was disqualified for unintentionally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. “I have not experienced too many big tournaments in the past 15 years without Roger and Rafa playing, Djokovic said. So it’s a little bit strange, to be honest, because I’m used to seeing at least one of them.”

Making his maiden appearance at the Olympic Games, star India striker Mandeep Singh has been enjoying every experience since the team arrived in Tokyo on Sunday. Recounting the moments, Mandeep said, “It has been great so far. Although it took us some time at the airport due to testing and other procedures, ever since we checked into the Games Village it has been incredible. Everything is well-organised and everyone is very careful about all the protocols.” Mandeep also said that the team is quite used to the routine testing and maintaining social distancing and other norms that are mandatory at the Games Village.“I think living in a bio-bubble for nearly 15-16 months in SAI, Bengaluru, we are very used to the covid-protocols. Here, we get tested every morning, it is a very simple process and the results come out by evening,” he said.

Talking about the food, Mandeep said, “The food is very good and there are some Indian dishes being served everyday too. The support staff is also ensuring we are in good shape physically and mentally ahead of our first game.” He further expressed that the team has been clocking good training sessions since Monday. “We have been using the training pitch since Monday. We have a session each day and the energy level amongst the players is quite high ahead of the start of our campaign here in Tokyo.”

“Since our quarantine period ended today, we are now allowed to interact with other teams. Today was the first day we also got to play on the main competition pitch and no doubt, it is a fantastic stadium, and we are eager to play our first match against New Zealand,” Mandeep added.

Twenty-six members from the Indian contingent will attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics scheduled to be held on Friday in view of the COVID-19 concerns in the Japanese capital.

Manika Batra, Sharath Kamal Sutirtha Mukherjee, and G Sathiyan from the Table Tennis team will attend the ceremony. Amit, Ashish Kumar, Mary Kom are among the eight boxers who will be present at the function. Six Indian officials will take part in the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, Indian Hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh will also be there along with the above-mentioned athletes as he is the flag bearer along with Mary Kom.

Archers, shooters, shuttlers, and hockey players (except Manpreet) among others from the Indian contingent will not be attending the Tokyo 2020 Olympics opening ceremony.

Earlier in the day, sources in the know of the developments told ANI that Manpreet (hockey), the eight boxers, four table tennis players, two rowers, one gymnast, among others will be present along with six officials. Notably, all those who are asked to skip the opening ceremony have their respective events the following day.

In the ceremony, India is at serial number 21 in the march past. The sequence of march past is as per the Japanese alphabet and only six officials can participate from each participating nation. A total of 127 athletes across 18 sports disciplines from India are participating in Olympics. This is the biggest-ever contingent India is sending to any Olympics. The 69 cumulative events across the 18 sport disciplines that India will participate in are also the highest ever for the country.

Having helped India snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the second ODI against Sri Lanka, pacer Deepak Chahar has revealed how watching MS Dhoni finish games helped him plan his innings in Colombo on Tuesday. “Watching MS Dhoni close out matches has been a big factor. I have watched him for a long period and I have always seen him finishing matches. When you talk to him, he always tells you to take the game deep. Everyone wants us to win, but when the match goes deep, it is thrilling for everyone involved,” he said during a virtual press conference. Asked if being seen as a bowler who can bat matters to him, the cricketer said tags don’t mean much to him and it is all about giving the batsman at the other end confidence.

“I have always worked on my batting, my father has been my coach. When I talk to him, we always talk about my batting. It does not matter whether people see me as an all-rounder or not. The batsman who is playing alongside me, will get confidence that I can hang around and will not give my wicket away. It is very important for a batsman to know that his partner will support him. It does not matter whether people see me as an all-rounder or not,” he pointed.Chahar further said how coach Rahul Dravid believing in him further helped him script the win in the second game of the ODI series.

“Rahul Dravid is coaching the senior side for the first time, but he has been there with the A side and I have played under his guidance and coaching. There have been times that a situation has arisen of the batsmen being dismissed and me being out there in the middle. I have played good knocks for India A and that is why Rahul sir has the confidence in me. It always helps you when the coach backs you. It is always there at the back of your mind that the coach backs you.“When I was batting with Krunal, my role was different, I had to rotate the strike. When Bhuvneshwar came in, it was there in the back of my mind that do I need to play my shots? But the way he started, he was looking comfortable and it gave me confidence. His batting gave me the boost and I was not required to take the risks,” he said, while replying to a query during the press conference.

Asked if he has an eye on the T20 World Cup to be played in October-November in the UAE, he said: “World Cup is far away, I have just one target and it is to prove myself with both bat and ball. The selection is not in my hands, it is not in the hands of any player. We can just perform, I was looking for an opportunity to show my capability with the bat. For the past two years, I did not get a chance to bat for a long period, so it was a good opportunity. I am happy I was able to make use of this chance.”

Chahar said he has also been looking to work on his bowling and add variations. “I have been playing the T20 format for a while, and if you do not have variations in that format, it can get easy for the batsmen. Swing is dependent on the wicket and conditions, but if you get variations, you can hold your own in this format. I took a wicket on the knuckleball in the last game,” he explained.