Image Courtesy- Insidesport
The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, which was delayed by a year due to the Corona epidemic, was held on Friday evening. Usually, the opening ceremony and the march past of players from all countries are one of the highlights of the Olympic Games, but this time due to Corona, only 1000 players and officials were present in the event. According to the estimates of the International Olympic Committee, about 350 million people worldwide watched the broadcast of the Opening Ceremony on devices such as TVs, smartphones, laptops.
The players’ march past began with a contingent from Greece, the organizers of the first Summer Olympic Games held in 1896. After this, there was a march past of the refugee players. The Indian team came at number 21 in the players’ march past. 25 members including players and officials participated in the march past of the Indian contingent. After the march passed, the athletes were administered the oath of the Olympic spirit.
This time around 11,238 players are vying for 339 gold in 33 sports in the Olympics. Emperor Naruhito of Japan also attended the opening ceremony. Mohammad Yunus of Bangladesh, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, was awarded the Special Olympic Prize.
Olympics 2021 will see the introduction of new competitions including 3×3 basketball, freestyle BMX, and Madison cycling, as well as further mixed events. These Games will see karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding make their Olympic debuts, as well as the return of baseball and softball for the first time