A display of Brazilian culture greeted the Indian contingent at the formal welcome ceremony in the Games Village.
The ceremony, which lasted about 45 minutes, saw more than half of the Indian contingent attend it. They were dressed in white India tracksuits and looked upbeat on eve of the Games.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president, Narayanswamy Ramachandran, and Chef de Mission of the Contingent, Rakesh Gupta, presented the mayor of the Village with two gifts. One of them was a pair of silver elephants and the other was gold-plated peacock.
Each nation’s flag and anthems were played during the ceremony. Music composed by late Brazilian legends Raul Seixas and Tim Maia was also played alongside some latest hits.
Among those present included shooters, Jitu Rai, Prakash Nanjappa, Gurpreet Singh, Chain Singh; athletes Khushbir Kaur, Manpreet Kaur; women’s hockey team; swimmers, Sajan Prakash and Shivani Katariya and some of their coaches and officials.
The Village has 31 buildings and has 3,604 apartments. It is expected to host more than 17,000 athletes and officials.
