Virat Kohli urges people to support Indian athletes in Tokyo Olympics

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has asked people to encourage the country's athletes, participating in the Tokyo Olympics. The Games is slated to get underway from July 23 and will run up to August 8 this year.

"Watch our Indian athletes in Tokyo Olympics," Virat Kohli said in a video posted by BCCI on Twitter. The video was accompanied by the caption, "#TeamIndia captain @imVkohli is cheering for our athletes at @Tokyo2020 Let's join him and #Cheer4India @IndiaSports| @Media_SAI| @WeAreTeamIndia."

Earlier on Sunday, the Indian badminton contingent spearheaded by PV Sindhu and the Table Tennis team were cleared to travel to Games Village for the Tokyo Olympics. An 88 member Indian contingent including 54 athletes arrived in Tokyo on Sunday for the upcoming Olympic Games. With 127 athletes, Tokyo Olympics will be India's highest ever playing contingent.

Athletes and support staff in eight disciplines Badminton, Archery, Hockey, Judo, Swimming, Weightlifting, Gymnastics, and Table Tennis arrived in Tokyo.

The Indian Boxing team spearheaded by Amit Panghal and Mary Kom also arrived in Tokyo on Sunday from Italy. The India boxers had trained hard for the showpiece event in Italy and departed for Tokyo on Saturday.

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).

The first batch of Indian athletes was given a formal send-off on Saturday at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The athletes were addressed and sent their best wishes by Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, and Nisith Pramanik, Minister of State, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

(ANI)

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