"Planning to send Indian contingent for Tokyo Olympics in advance to adjust to the climate and train there": Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju

The Indian contingent for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics will travel to Japan in advance to get themselves acclimatized to the conditions there, according to Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju.

More than 70 Indian athletes have already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to take place from 23 July 2021 to 8 August 2021. With three months still to go for the Games, there is a chance that the contingent size will increase.

"The ministry is also planning to send the Tokyo Olympics team in advance so that they would get time to adjust to the climate over there. They will be able to train in those conditions which will help them during the competition," Rijiju told ANI.

Rijuju further added that he has been working with the Indian Olympic Association on this plan. He went on to reveal that a committee headed by him is working out the logistics for the same.

"Arrangements are being made for our athletes and their team (technical), they will be put up in different locations in Japan. We have made a detailed plan for it. I have spoken to the Indian Olympic Association and we have a committee headed by me to plan and prepare for the Olympics and the entire management," Rijiju added.

India's contingent for the Tokyo Olympics keeps getting larger

Abhinav Bindra carries the Indian flag during the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Last week, four of India's top table tennis players - Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee - booked their spots for the Tokyo Olympics.

Last weekend, Bhavani Devi CA became the first fencer to qualify from India for an Olympic Games. The 27-year-old will compete in the individual sabre-fencing category at the Tokyo Olympics.

Here is a list of some of the Indians who have booked their berths at the Tokyo Olympics.

Archery - Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav, Deepika Kumar

Athletics - KT Irfan, Sandeep Kumar, Rahul Rohilla, Avinash Sable, Murali Sreeshankar, Neeraj Chopra, Shivpal Singh, Kamalpreet Kaur, Bhawna Jat, Priyanka Goswami, 4x400 Mixed Relay team

Boxing - Vikas Krishan, Lovlina Borgohain, Ashish Kumar, Pooja Rani, Satish Kumar, Mary Kom, Amit Panghal, Manish Kaushik, Simranjit Kaur

Equestrian - Fouaad Mirza

Field Hockey - Men’s National Team, Women’s National Team

Shooting - Anjum Moudgil, Apurvi Chandela, Divyansh Singh Panwar, Deepak Kumar, Tejaswini Sawant, Sanjeev Rajput, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, Manu Bhaker, Yashaswini Singh Deswal, Saurabh Chaudhary, Abhishek Verma, Rahi Sarnobat, Chinki Yadav, Angad Veer Singh Bajwa, and Mairaj Ahmad Khan

Wrestling - Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Deepak Punia