MC Mary Kom & Manpreet Singh named flag bearers at Tokyo Olympics

Why in news ?

Boxer M.C. Mary Kom and men’s hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh have been named for flag bearers at Tokyo Olympics from India.

About:

• Both of them will be flag bearers for India at opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics which is scheduled to get underway on July 23, 2021.
• Wrestler Bajrang Punia will be flag bearer at closing ceremony on August 8, 2021.
• This decision was communicated by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to Organising Committee of Olympics Games.
• In 2016 games in Rio De Janeiro, India’s lone individual Olympic gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony
• Gender parity

In order to bring equality and parity among gender, International Olympic Committee had made provisions for flag bearers, at the executive board meeting, from both genders at the opening ceremony. IOC Executive Board also decided that, there should be at least one female and one male athlete in each of 206 teams and IOC Refugee Olympic Team which are participating at Games of the Olympiad