World champion PV Sindhu will open her campaign in the Tokyo Olympics with a somewhat easy outing against Polikarpova Ksenia of Israel on July 25.
Sindhu, who lost to Spain’s Carolina Marin in the 2016 Olympics final, has been clubbed in an easy Group J, which also has Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi.
Ngan Yi is ranked 34th in the world while Polikarpova is 58th. World No. 7 Sindhu is seeded sixth in the tournament.
In men’s singles, B Sai Praneeth will face Misha Zilberman of Israel in his opening Group D match on July 24. Like Sindhu, he too is seeded sixth.
The world No. 10 men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Ranki Reddy and Chirag Shetty will take on Chinese Taipei duo of Lee Yang and Wng Chi-Lin in their opening Group A match.
Hockey inclusions
Defender Varun Kumar and mid-fielder Simranjeet Singh are set to make their Olympic debuts after they were added to the India men’s hockey squad following the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s decision to allow “alternate athletes” in team events because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hockey India (HI) has now added two players each in both the original 16-member men and women squads.
While Varun and Simranjeet were late inclusions in the men’s team, defender Reena Khokhar and experienced mid-fielder Namita Toppo were added to the women’s side.
Traditionally, hockey teams in Olympics have comprised 16 players, but the IOC has made an exception this time around, allowing every competing nation to have two extra players in their squads for the Covid-19 hit Summer Games.
While Varun, Simranjeet and Reena will be competing in their maiden Olympics, Namita was part of the team that qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics after a hiatus of 36 years.
‘Advantage India’
No crowds at the Games could spell ‘advantage India’, feels renowned physiotherapist John Gloster, who has worked with 11 Games-bound athletes from the country, focusing more on the mental aspect of their well-being.
Gloster, who has also been a physiotherapist with the Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals, spoke about his experience with some from the Olympic-bound group.
“I actually think we are going to see improved performances from our athletes primarily because we are able to build and work more on the mental side of the game because of Covid-19,” Gloster added.
Gloster has been working with 11 elite Indian athletes, including fencer C A Bhavani Devi, shuttlers Sai Praneeth and Chirag, discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur and swimmer Sajan Prakash.
“...this (Olympics without spectators) may be advantageous for the Indian contingent, because in some of the sports they play, perhaps they are more used to playing in emptier stadiums, or stadiums with little crowd...It may be advantageous for a lot of them,” he explained.
Positive cases
An official of the IOC’s refugee team has tested positive for Covid-19 in Doha, leading to a delay in their travel plans even though all others have returned negative results for now.
Also, a coronavirus cluster at a Japanese hotel where dozens of Brazilian Olympic team members are staying, has raised new concern about infections.
Seven staff at the hotel in Hamamatsu city, southwest of Tokyo, had tested positive for the coronavirus, a city official said. The Brazilian delegation, however, has not been infected.
Members of the South African rugby team are in isolation after arriving, as they were believed to be in close contact with a case on their flight.