Centre not to send delegations to Olympics, instead include more supporting staff

In a bid to optimise the performance of athletes, the Sports Ministry on Friday said it has decided against sending its delegation to Tokyo Olympics and instead accommodate "maximum" support staff, including coaches and physiotherapists.

A total of 100 Indian athletes have so far qualified and another 25 to 35 might cut the delayed Tokyo Olympics scheduled from July 23 to August 8.

In a statement issued, the ministry stated that the visit of any person other than athletes, coaches and support staff will be taken up only if there is any protocol requirement.

As per the norms, the number of officials travelling to the Olympics cannot be more than one-third of the athletes' contingent.

With the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese government had also decided to restrict the staff accompanying the foreign ministers to 11 per head of state while limiting the cabinet-level delegations to five people.

Furthermore, the Ministry also decided to set up an Olympic Mission Cell in the Embassy of India in Tokyo in a bid to provide logistic support to the Indian athletes and to ensure that all possible assistance is rendered seamlessly.

The number of qualified athletes could yet increase and, along with the support staff, the Indian contingent could include about 190 members.

Indian athletes in 12 sports - badminton, boxing, hockey, wrestling, archery, shooting, fencing, rowing, table tennis, equestrian and sailing - have qualified for the Olympics. The number of officials travelling to the Olympics cannot be more than one-third of the contingent.

(with inputs from PTI)