Being an Olympic flag-bearer is among the highest honors for an athlete, perhaps second only to winning a medal. Representing the nation’s values at the Summer Games, the flag-bearer embodies Olympic ideals and serves as an inspiration and role model. India’s flag bearers have been trailblazers in their sports, bringing glory to the nation and recognized as some of India’s greatest athletes.
Who will be India’s Flag bearers at Paris Olympics?
Table tennis star Sharath Kamal, who is a two-time Commonwealth Games champion and Khel Ratna awardee, will be the flag-bearer for India’s contingent at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics as announced by Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
India’s Flag bearer in Tokyo Olympic
India’s Flag bearer in previous Olympics 2020 were former world champion Mary Kom and former hockey men’s team captain Manpreet Singh.
1 | 1920 | Purma Bannerjee | Athletics |
2 | 1932 | Lal Shah Bhokhari | Field hockey |
3 | 1936 | Dhyan Chand | Field hockey |
4 | 1948 | Talimeran Ao | Football |
5 | 1952 | Balbir Singh, Sr | Field hockey |
6 | 1956 | Balbir Singh, Sr | Field hockey |
7 | 1964 | Gurbachan Singh Randhawa | Athletics |
8 | 1972 | Desmond Neville Devine Jones | Boxing |
9 | 1984 | Zafar Iqbal | Field hockey |
10 | 1988 | Kartar Singh | Wrestling |
11 | 1992 | Shiny Abraham-Wilson | Athletics |
12 | 1996 | Pargat Singh | Field hockey |
13 | 2000 | Leander Paes | Tennis |
14 | 2004 | Anju Bobby George | Athletics |
15 | 2008 | Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore | Shooting |
16 | 2012 | Sushil Kumar | Wrestling |
17 | 2016 | Abhinav Bindra | Shooting |
18 | 2020 | Mary Kom, Manpreet Singh | Boxing, Hockey |
19 | 2024 | Sharath Kamal | table tennis |