The Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) decision to “not consider” ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra as India’s flagbearer for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024 has drawn criticism from renowned Indian athlete Anju Bobby George. IOA announced earlier this month that table tennis ace Sharath Kamal will represent India as the flagbearer at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics and Olympic bronze medallist MC Mary Kom will be chef de mission for the Summer Games.
Commonwealth and Asian Games medalist Anju Bobby George took to Instagram and questioned IOA’s decision to not consider Neeraj as flagbearer and wrote, “Surprisingly, the Indian Olympic Association did not consider our golden boy Neeraj Chopra as a flag bearer for the 2024 Olympic Games .. ????? ( All the federatins including Table tennis, yet to announce the team for Olympics) ?ultimately its Neeraj’s choice based on his own assessment of the situation.. still..why ???….@weareteamindia,” she wrote.
Sharath Kamal, ranked 88th in the world, holds a record ten victories in the national table tennis championship. At the CWG, he took home 13 medals, including seven golds. In the Asian Games, he has also taken home two medals. In addition, the renowned TT player has won three bronze medals at the World Championships.
Mary holds the distinction of being the first female boxer in boxing history to win six world titles. The five-time Asian champion made history in 2014 by becoming the first Indian female boxer to win a gold medal in the Asian Games.
