Tokyo Olympics: Indian contingent given rousing send-off by passionate sports enthusiasts

The visuals of the Indian contingent being given a rousing send-off to Tokyo ahead of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics have gone viral on social media. The 2020 Summer Olympics gets underway next Friday i.e. July 23 and a lot will be riding on the Indian athletes as they will be expected to showcase a record-breaking performance this time around.

Tokyo Olympics: Fans boost Indian athletes' morale ahead of the quadrennial event

Former Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju took to his official Instagram account and posted the image of the Indian athletes at the airport as they head to Tokyo for participating in this year's Summer Olympics Games. 

As the Indian contingent arrived at the airport to board their flights to Tokyo, they were greeted with 'India India' and 'Vande Mataram' chants. The standing ovation and claps continued till the end of the video. Rijiju went on to caption the video as 'The power of sport to unite a nation'.

Watch the video here:

Sports Minister formally sends off Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian contingent

The newly-appointed Sports Minister Anurag Thakur was present at the Delhi Airport to formally send off India's first batch of Tokyo Olympics-bound athletes from eight disciplines. The Sports Minister had notified sports fans of the same via a tweet he sent earlier in the day. Thakur was accompanied by Minister of State for Sports, Nisith Pramanik, Sports Authority of India Director General Sandip Pradhan, and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials.

Anurag Thakur was recently appointed as Kiren Rijiju's successor as the Union Sports Minister during the Cabinet reshuffle that had taken place almost a couple of weeks ago. Meanwhile, Rijiju is serving as the Law Minister. 

Indian athletes competing at Tokyo Olympics

India will be sending across its biggest contingent to the Tokyo Olympics, with 127 athletes set to represent the country across 18 sporting disciplines. Athletes include legendary female boxer Mary Kom and tennis ace Sania Mirza, among many others. India will take part in 69 cumulative events, the highest ever for the country.