India at Tokyo Olympics 2020 LIVE updates, news, photos, training, predictions & analysis: Indian team undergoes intense training sessions

Good night

It is way past midnight in Tokyo and the athletes have retired for the night. We hope you've had a good sneak peek of what our Indian athletes are up to in Tokyo, their preparations and the fun they are having.

Tune in tomorrow morning to our LIVE blog to get more updates, more news and a better insight of what to expect from Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Visual representation of a lifelong dream coming true...in a snap ♥️#Tokyo2020 @ankita_champ pic.twitter.com/nRpOqsXbIQ
— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) July 20, 2021

Annu Rani and Shivpal Singh complete their training at SAI, Pune

India's javelin throwers Annu Rani and Shivpal Singh, on Tuesday, trained at the Sports Authority of India's Pune center. The two athletes are in their last leg of preparations before leaving for Japan.

Annu Rani became only the second Indian female thrower to qualify for the Olympics after Gurmeet Kaur who qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Shivpal Singh who has represented India at the Asian Games before will be competing in the men's javelin throw along with Neeraj Chopra.

Shivpal Singh training at the SAI center in Pune (PC: SAI)

Annu Rani training at the SAI center in Pune (PC: SAI)

A message from the Master Blaster

"You will have heard that winning and losing are a part of sport. Let us win and let the others lose," said Sachin Tendulkar while addressing India's Track & Field contingent for the Tokyo Olympics, at their virtual sending off organized by the Athletics Federation of India.

A track to cheer the Indian athletes

India's iconic music director duo Salim-Sulaiman have composed an anthem - Apne Olympians - to motivate the Indian athletes as they head to Tokyo to compete in the Olympic Games.

The song, featuring the vocals of singer Sukhwinder Singh and rapper Dee MC, has been launched on the Olympics Channel website.

You can listen to the track here.

Say cheese!

India's lone gymnast finds time to capture herself in the perfect frame at the Olympics - with the Olympic rings.

At the 2019 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Mongolia, Pranati Nayak won the bronze in the women's vault and will be gunning to have a good Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Gymnast Pranati Nayak with the Olympic rings in Tokyo. (PC: SAI)

Vishnu Saravanan hits the gym!

Indian Sailor Vishnu Saravanan completed a training session at the gym on Tuesday. The 22-year-old will be competing in the Laser Standard event at the Tokyo Olympics.

Vishnu Saravanan qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a second-place finish at the Mussanah Open Championship in Oman. He is a part of the four-member Indian sailing contingent that will take part at the summer games.

Vishnu Saravanan training at the gym. (PC: SAI)

Sajan Prakash acing it in the swimming pool in #Tokyo on Tuesday.
Video: SAI (@Media_SAI) #TokyoOlympics2020 #Tokyo2020 #TokyoOlympics #Olympics #Olympics2021 #Olympics2020 #Swimming #India #swimmingpool

Follow updates 👇https://t.co/uItEn522cK pic.twitter.com/HSNznHB05f
— Hari Kishore Malladi (@journomalladi) July 20, 2021

After a hard day's work

The Indian women hockey team seemed to have a fruitful and an intense training session on Tuesday.

Indian women's hockey team at the Games Village. (PC: Hockey India)

The Tokyo Olympics could still be cancelled!

The head of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Toshiro Muto, has said that the games could be cancelled if a spike in Covid cases is reported. Muto added that the organizing committee will keep a close eye on the number of cases and hold discussions, if necessary.

With 10 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, the total figure of affected people has reached 68. This adds further pressure on the organizers to cancel the summer games, as residents in Tokyo fear that holding the Olympics under the present circumstances may lead to a sharp spike in the number Covid cases.

A first is always special

Indian swimmer Maana Patel is excited in her debut Summer Games.

On Instagram, she said: "Super excited and honored to represent the tri colors at the Olympics! Hoping to do my country, coaches and parents proud on the 25th when I race! . Good luck to my team mates Sajan and Srihari for their respective events and all other Indian athletes.C’mon let’s cheer for India."

Swimmer Maana Patel at the swimming poolside. (PC: SAI)

Bajrang Punia enters the mat

One of India's medal hopefuls, Bajrang Punia had his first training session on Tuesday.

Bajrang Punia will head to the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as World No.2 in the men's 65 kg category. The 27-year-old was seeded behind Gadzhimurad Rashidov of Russia.

The last time India won Olympic medals in men's wrestling was in 2012 when Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt bagged silver and bronze respectively at the 2012 London Olympics. Bajrang Punia will look to end that 9-year medal drought.

Bajrang Punia during a training session. (PC: SAI)

Bajrang Punia in a training session. (PC: SAI)

How will Japan's climate conditions impact the performances of Indian athletes?

Climate change and the risk of intense heat and high humidity threaten the performance and health of athletes, according to a study by the British Association for Sustainability in Sport (BASIS).

Temperatures in the host city, Tokyo, are forecast to average between 26.3 and 27.4 degrees Celsius in August, reaching a maximum of 39.1 degrees Celsius on August 3. Annu Rani (javelin), Tejinder Toor (shot put) are scheduled to play on this day. It is also one of the days when the semifinals of the hockey event will be held.

Equestrian, tennis, road cycling, racewalk, sailing and triathlon are predicted to be most affected by adverse climatic conditions.

Read the link below to understand more!

How will climate conditions impact performance of Indian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics 2020?

Bhavani Devi lands in Tokyo, checks-in into Games Village

India's first fencing Olympian and lone fencer in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Bhavani Devi has landed at Tokyo and has checked-in into the Games Village.

Bhavani Devi was training in Italy with the Italian team and reached Tokyo directly from there.

Bhavani Devi at the Tokyo Airport. (PC: SAI)

Bhavani Devi on her way to the Games Village. (PC: SAI)

Archers get down to business

The Indian archery teams are sweating it out during practice. India's Deepika Kumari is entering the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as the World No. 1 archer.

Also, there is a debut for archery this time around - the mixed team event - where the husband-wife duo of Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari are all set to make waves, especially after their good show in the World Cup Stage 3 in Paris last month.

The Indian archery team at the archery range on Tuesday. (PC: SAI)

Swimming contingent trains together

The three Indian swimmers - Maana Patel, Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash - had a joint-training session on Tuesday.

While Maana Patel and Srihari Nataraj flew from New Delhi, Sajan Prakash joined the duo with his coach Pradeep from Dubai.

The three swimmers, under the watchful eyes of their coaches, had a training session in the pool on Tuesday.

The swimming events start on July 25.

The Indian swimming contingent (PC: SAI)

From left: Swimmers Srihari Nataraj, Sajan Prakash and Maana Patel during a training session. (PC: SAI)

Indian shooters sweat it out, literally

Indian shooters got down to practice at the Asaka Shooting Range in Tokyo and were sweating it out, literally.

In what came a surprise reality check, the air conditioning in the 10m rifle and pistol hall wasn't working as well as it should be.

It was extremely hot in Tokyo, and the shooters were feeling the heat even inside the arena.

Indian coach Ronak Pandit was spotted pressing chilled water bottles, like ice-packs, to various parts of his body.

Day one of Indian shooting team's training in Tokyo

Mary Kom gets down to business

India's celebrated boxer Mary Kom started her training routine in Tokyo.

She was practicing and posing for pictures during an intense training session ahead of the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

The 38-year-old will be participating in her second Olympics.

Mary Kom is all smiles as she poses during a training session. (PC: SAI)

Mary Kom at a training session. (PC: SAI)

After completing their mandatory checks, the athletes have begun practice in Tokyo.

The Indian contingent left for Tokyo Narita Airport after a rousing send-off at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Airport staff, fans, officials from the sports fraternity and from the Indian government gave the athletes a never-seen before kind of a send-off.

Good afternoon and welcome to Sportskeeda's LIVE updates of Indian training sessions in Tokyo for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

With just four days to go for the Summer Games, this will be your one stop shop for all updates on India's contingent in Tokyo.

Watch out for breaking news, training photos previews, predictions, travel updates, COVID-19 news and much more as we make sure you stay updated on what India at Olympics are up to.

A part of the Indian contingent have reached Tokyo and have begun their practice sessions after clearing all mandatory tests and checks.