Virat Kohli urges people to back Indian athletes in Tokyo Olympics

India cricket captain Virat Kohli on Sunday urged people to back the athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics.

In a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on their social media accounts, Kohli said," Watch our Indian athletes in the Tokyo Olympics."

"#TeamIndia captain @imVkohli is cheering for our athletes at @Tokyo2020 Let's join him and #Cheer4India," wrote BCCI in the tweet along with Kohli's video.

India's first batch, comprising 88 athletes, reached Japan for the Tokyo Games on Sunday. The badminton and table tennis contingent have also checked into the Games Village in Tokyo.

"So far, athletes and support staff of 13 different disciplines -- badminton, archery, hockey, judo, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics, shooting, boxing, rowing, sailing, weightlifting and table tennis -- have reached Japan. The remaining contingent, including wrestling and athletics teams, are expected to join them soon," an official from Tokyo Olympics was quoted as saying.

The Indian Boxing team, spearheaded by Amit Panghal and Mary Kom, also arrived in Tokyo on Sunday from Italy.

The Indian boxers were in Italy training for the mega event and they departed for Tokyo on Saturday. The men's boxing side comprises of Asian Games champion Panghal (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), and Satish Kumar (+91kg). The women's squad includes Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), and Pooja Rani (75kg).

The first group of Indian athletes received a formal send-off on Saturday at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The athletes were addressed and sent their best wishes by Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, and Nisith Pramanik, Minister of State, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The ceremony on Saturday was also attended by Narinder Dhruv Batra, President, Indian Olympic Association; Rajeev Mehta, Secretary-General, Indian Olympic Association, and Sandip Pradhan, Director-General, SAI among other dignitaries. To maintain the safety of players, entry into the event was only allowed of dignitaries and other officials who had a negative COVID test report.

The upcoming Tokyo Games will be held from July 23 to August 8. The multi-nation event was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but was postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, everything is not good in the Games Village as Tokyo Olympics organisers on Sunday reported three new cases of COVID-19 infection among athletes. Just five days before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, two South African footballers became the first competitors to test positive for coronavirus in the athletes' village in Tokyo. South Africa's Football Association confirmed Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi as the cases. Another athlete from outside the village also tested positive on Sunday.