PV Sindhu to be the official flagbearer for India at CWG 2022 opening ceremony

PV Sindhu

With Neeraj Chopra having pulled out due to a groin injury, badminton superstar PV Sindhu got the nod ahead of weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and boxer Lovlina Borgohain to become India's flagbearer at the opening ceremony on Thursday.

She will lead the Indian contingent, which has been allowed a maximum of 164 participants, including officials, at the Opening, where Birmingham's world famous band Duran Duran will be star performers. An Indian connection will be the vocalist, Ranjana Ghatak, who was born and brought up in the UK.

Also Read: Just want to be best version of myself in CWG 2022: Kidambi Srikanth

Going for gold

Sindhu won a bronze medal at the 2014 Games in Glasgow and then lost in the final to Saina Nehwal at Gold Coast. She will hoping to finally win gold at these Games. She has also won a silver medal at 2018 Asian Games, but her greatest achievement has been at the World Championships in Switzerland 2019; a silver medal at 2016 Rio Olympics and a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Sindhu was chosen after a four-member committee comprising IOA acting president Anil Khanna, IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta, IOA treasurer Anandeshwar Panday, and Team India Chef de Mission Rajesh Bhandari, shortlisted the three athletes.

Khanna said: "It's with great pleasure that we announce PV Sindhu as the flagbearer for Team India. The other two athletes, Ms Chanu and Ms Borgohain, were immensely deserving, too, but we went ahead with Ms Sindhu because she is a two-time Olympic medallist. We expect Ms Sindhu will continue to do well and perform with excellence at these Games."

IOA hope to inspire girls

He added: "The 2022 edition of the Commonwealth Games has the largest contingent of female athletes in the history of the Games, so the IOA deemed it fit that we spotlight our commitment to gender equality, in adherence to the spirit of the Olympic

Charter, by shortlisting three women athletes for the prestigious role of Team India's flagbearer at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. "We hope that watching Ms Sindhu lead Team India with the Indian flag in her hand at the Opening Ceremony will inspire millions of girls in India to take up sports."

UK PM to miss opening

Meanwhile, the news is that the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is expected to miss the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. While Johnson will not be there, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, who are fighting it out to be the next Premier, are expected to be present at the Alexander Stadium.

The Games will be declared open on Thursday by the Prince Charles, who will be representing the Queen. Johnson has resigned as PM but he will remain in the position till a new Conservative Party leader is elected in September. In 2014, when the Commonwealth Games were held in Glasgow, the then UK Prime Minister David Cameron, had also skipped the Opening.