The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will begin on Friday, July 23, 2021 with the Olympic opening ceremony. After a year-long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s top athletes rallied in Japan to take part in 28 different sports. India’s contingent includes 127 participants from 18 sports. IOC amended its motto to ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Highlights
- The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games begins on Friday, July 23, 2021
- A year-long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- The world’s top athletes will take part in Japan in 28 different sports
- India’s contingent includes 127 participants from 18 sports
- IOC amended its motto to ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’
- The earliest reliable date for the first Olympics is 776 B.C.
Why Did Tokyo 2020 Delay for One Year?
After a year-long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s top athletes rallied in Japan to take part in 28 different sports in hopes of winning a gold medal. After a long wait, the athletes and fans alike are delighted with the event. There will be some football and softball action ahead of the Olympics, but the opening ceremony will mark the official start of the 2021 Summer Games. The opening ceremony would be fun to watch, but it will also be a little sad as the world reunites at the Olympics after a devastating disease that is at the level of everyone’s mind.
When Will the 2021 Olympics Begin?
First day: Friday, July 23 Opening ceremony time: 7 am ET / 4 am PT. The 2021 Olympic Games will kick off on Friday, July 23 with the opening ceremony of the Olympics. That will happen at 7 a.m. ET on Friday and will happen at 8 p.m. local time in Tokyo. For those who do not want to get up in the morning, the event will be rebroadcast on Friday night with a good start from 7:30 p.m. ET. That will continue until midnight. The readers must know that some soccer and softball games are on July 21-22. The start of archery and rowing begins on July 23.
Amended Motto of Olympics: ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) amended its motto to ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ with the addition of ‘Together’. IOC President Thomas Bach highlighted the necessity during tough times during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said, “We have to adapt the motto to our times,” “The collaborative effort is bringing faster and better results than working in silos and protecting each silo from the progress of the other silo,” “This is a milestone in our development and sends a clear signal. We want to put special focus on solidarity.”
The original motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ in Latin was chosen in the 19th century by the founder of the modern Games Pierre De Coubertin. The changed Latin version becomes ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communis’ and is known in english as ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’.
History of the Olympic Games
The Olympic Games are a sporting event that originated in ancient Greece. The most reliable date of recorded history gives the evidence of the first Olympics in 776 B.C., although all historians think that the Games began before that. During the summer between 776 B.C. the ceremony was held in Olympia on the civilized east coast of the Peloponnese peninsula. The festival was always a regular event, held during the golden age of pre-Christian Greece.
The first Greek games were organized every four years for several centuries, until they were stopped in the early Christian era. The revival of the Olympic Games took place in 1896, and since then they have been organized every fourth year, with the exception of World War I and World War II (1916, 1940, 1944).
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Perhaps the most fundamental difference between the ancient and modern Olympics is that the first was the ancient Greek way of honoring their gods, and the modern Games are a way of propagating sports talents on the citizens of all nations. The first Olympics feature competitions in music, speech, and theater. Today’s games have a broader sports agenda.
How to Watch Olympics Live Telecast
The NBC family of networks will televise every live event during the Tokyo Olympic Games. There is a 13-hour time difference between Tokyo and the Eastern time zone, therefore many tape-delayed coverage will be shown throughout the event.
NBC, USA, NBCSN, CNBC, Olympic Channel, Golf Channel and NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, fuboTV will do live streaming of events from the Tokyo Olympics. NBC will host the live coverage of the opening event and all other Olympic events through its family of networks. The main network, NBC, will host the opening events.
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There are many streaming options for Olympic fans as well. Peacock is a free NBC broadcaster and will be in charge of opening ceremonies. NBCOlympics.com will be the same. FuboTV, which offers a free seven-day trial, is also a way to broadcast these events.
What Is the Time for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics?
The opening ceremony of the Olympics is about four hours long. The event starts at 7 a.m. ET and until 11 a.m. ET. In Tokyo, the event begins at 8 p.m. until 12 a.m. local time.
Where Are the 2021 Olympic Games Held?
The 2021 Olympics are being held in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo was awarded the Olympic bid, originally scheduled for 2020, back in 2013. The official cost of the Japanese government to host the Games is $ 15.4 billion, but some estimates suggest that the actual cost was doubled.
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The location will also have an impact on how North American spectators watch the Olympics. Tokyo time is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, which might impact on many events that will be broadcasted on tape delays for major time viewers in the United States and Canada.
What Are the Games at the Tokyo Olympics?
Here is a full list of sports that will take place at 42 Olympic venues spread across Japan.
- Aquatics: Artistic swimming (2),Diving (8), Swimming (37), Water polo (2)
- Archery: 5
- Athletics: 48
- Badminton: 5
- Baseball: Baseball (1), Softball (1)
- Basketball: Basketball (2), 3×3 basketball (2)
- Boxing: 13
- Canoeing: Slalom (4), Sprint (12)
- Cycling: BMX freestyle (2), BMX racing (2), Mountain biking (2), Road cycling (4), Track cycling (12)
- Equestrian: Dressage (2), Eventing (2), Jumping (2)
- Fencing: 12
- Field hockey: 2
- Football: 2
- Golf: 2
- Gymnastics: Artistic (14), Rhythmic (2), Trampoline (2)
- Handball: 2
- Judo: 15
- Karate: Kata (2), Kumite (6)
- Modern pentathlon: 2
- Rowing: 14
- Rugby sevens: 2
- Sailing: 10
- Shooting: 15
- Skateboarding: 4
- Sport Climbing: 2
- Surfing: 2
- Table tennis: 5
- Taekwondo: 8
- Tennis: 5
- Triathlon: 3
- Volleyball: Volleyball (2), Beach volleyball (2)
- Weightlifting: 14
- Wrestling: Freestyle (12), Greco-Roman (6)
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: India Participates in 18 Sports Events
India is sending a strong 228-member team from India to participate in 18 sporting events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The Indian team includes 127 participants from 18 games. Below are the names of the Indian athletes who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics:
Archery
- Tarundeep Rai, Men’s Recurve
- Atanu Das, Men’s Recurve
- Pravin Jadhav, Men’s Recurve
- Deepika Kumari, Women’s Recurve
Three of the men will also compete as a team in Tokyo 2020.
Athletics
- KT Irfan, Men’s 20km race walking
- Sandeep Kumar, Men’s 20km race walking
- Rahul Rohilla, Men’s 20km race walking
- Bhawna Jat, Women’s 20km race walking
- Priyanka Goswami, Women’s 20km race walking
- Avinash Sable, Men’s 3000m steeplechase
- Murali Sreeshankar, Men’s long jump
- MP Jabir, Men’s 400m hurdles
- Neeraj Chopra, Men’s javelin throw
- Shivpal Singh, Men’s javelin throw
- Annu Rani, Women’s javelin throw
- Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Men’s shot put
- Dutee Chand, Women’s 100m and 200m
- Kamalpreet Kaur, Women’s discus throw
- Seema Punia, Women’s discus throw
- 4×400 Mixed Relay
- Men’s 4x400m Relay
Badminton
- PV Sindhu, Women’s singles
- B Sai Praneeth, Men’s singles
- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, Men’s doubles
Boxing
- Vikas Krishan (Men’s, 69kg)
- Lovlina Borgohain (Women’s, 69kg)
- Ashish Kumar (Men’s, 75kg)
- Pooja Rani (Women’s, 75kg)
- Satish Kumar (Men’s, 91kg)
- Mary Kom (Women’s, 51kg)
- Amit Panghal (Men’s, 52kg)
- Manish Kaushik (Men’s, 63kg)
- Simranjit Kaur (Women’s, 60kg)
Equestrian
Fouaad Mirza is India’s first equestrian to qualify for the Olympics in 20 years.
Fencing
Bhavani Devi is the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics.
Golf
- Anirban Lahiri
- Udayan Mane
- Aditi Ashok
Gymnastics
Pranati Nayak is the second Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics.
Hockey
The group includes two alternate players and one reserve goalie in men’s and women’s hockey squads, respectively.
Men’s National Team
- Goalkeepers: P. R. Sreejesh
- Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Birendra Lakra
- Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit
- Forwards: Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh
Women’s National Team
- Goalkeepers: Savita
- Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Nikki Pradhan, Gurjit Kaur, Udita.
- Midfielders: Nisha, Neha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Nanjot Kaur, Salima Tete.
- Forwards: Rani, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Sharmila, Devi.
Judo
Sushila Devi Likmabam is India’s only participant in Judo at Tokyo 2020.
Rowing
- Arjun Jat
- Arvind Singh
Sailing
For the first time, India has more than two sailors at the Olympics Games. Nethra Kumanan is the first Indian woman sailor. First time India competed in more than one sailing event – Laser Radial, Laser Standard and 49er.
- Nethra Kumanan, Laser Radial
- Vishnu Saravanan, Laser Standard
- KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar, 49er
Shooting
India has the largest Shooting contingent with 15 shooters.
- Anjum Moudgil, 10m Women’s Air Rifle
- Apurvi Chandela, 10m Women’s Air Rifle
- Divyansh Singh Panwar, 10m Men’s Air Rifle
- Deepak Kumar, 10m Men’s Air Rifle
- Tejaswini Sawant, 50m Women’s Rifle 3 Position
- Sanjeev Rajput, 50m Men’s Rifle 3 Position
- Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, 50m Men’s Rifle 3 Position
- Manu Bhaker, 10m Women’s Air Pistol
- Yashaswini Singh Deswal, 10m Women’s Air Pistol
- Saurabh Chaudhary, 10m Men’s Air Pistol
- Abhishek Verma, 10m Men’s Air Pistol
- Rahi Sarnobat, 25m Women’s Pistol
- Chinki Yadav, 25m Women’s Pistol
- Angad Veer Singh Bajwa, Men’s Skeet
- Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Men’s Skeet
Swimming
- Sajan Prakash
- Srihari Nataraj
- Maana Patel
Table Tennis
In March, four Indian table tennis players qualified for the Olympics at the Asian qualifiers in Doha. Sharath Kamal is making his fourth appearance at the Games.
- Sharath Kamal
- Sathiyan Gnanasekaran
- Sutirtha Mukherjee
- Manika Batra
Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra to compete together in the mixed doubles after earning their Olympic berths at the Asian qualifiers.
Tennis
Sumit Nagal got a last minute entry in the Olympics Games after some players withdrew their names. Sania Mirza qualified for Tokyo 2020 via her protected ranking. She will partner Ankita Raina in the women’s doubles.
- Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina, Women’s Doubles
- Sumit Nagal, Men’s singles
Weightlifting
Mirabai Chanu is India’s only representative in weightlifting at Tokyo 2020. Ranked second in the world, she is among the favorites for a medal in the women’s 49kg weight division.
Wrestling
India represents seven wrestlers to Tokyo. Sonam Malik won the quota in the 62kg category.
- Seema Bisla, Women’s Freestyle, 50kg
- Vinesh Phogat, Women’s Freestyle 53kg
- Anshu Malik, Women’s Freestyle 57kg
- Sonam Malik, Women’s Freestyle 62kg
- Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Men’s Freestyle 57kg
- Bajrang Punia, Men’s Freestyle 65kg
- Deepak Punia, Men’s Freestyle 86 kg
Tokyo 2020 Chief Muto Didn’t Rule Out Cancelling Olympic Games
On Tuesday, Tokyo 2020 organizing committee chief did not rule out cancelling the Olympics if more athletes are tested COVID-19 positive and sponsors ditched plans to attend Friday’s opening ceremony.
Toshiro Muto said he would keep an eye on infection numbers and liaise with other organizers if necessary. “We will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases,” he said. “We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks again. At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises.”
