Just few hours before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics, India’s flag bearer Mariyappan Thangavelu and five other members of the contingent have been forced to go into quarantine after all of them had come in close contact with a person, who returned positive for Covid-19.
In what could be a big relief for India is that none of the six person have tested positive in past one week.
However, as a precautionary step, they will remain in quarantine.
Confirming the development, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) said: “Thangavelu Mariyappan will not be part of India’s opening ceremony today. He has been replaced by Tek Chand as the country’s flag bearer. On his flight to Tokyo, Mariyappan came in close contact with a covid positive foreign passenger.”
“Though on reaching the village he has been Tested for 6 days and all his reports are negative, but the Organizing Committee has advised not to make Mariyaapan participate in the Opening Ceremony today,” it added.
Meanwhile, Tek Chand, another Indian para-athlete, has been named as the new flag bearer for India at the opening ceremony later on Tuesday.
The openeing ceremony will begin at 4:30 PM IST and will be telecast Live on Eurosport/HD.
The Live feed from Eurosport will also be streamed on the Discovery+ app.