Indian athletes, including the boxers and shooters, hit the ground running as they started their pre-Olympic training, hoping to live up to massive expectations in the pandemic-hit Games.
With the boxing competition getting underway on July 24 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, the Indian pugilists — both men and women — sweated it out in their first training session a day after landing here for the Tokyo Games.
Sports Authority of India (SAI) posted photos of the women boxers — MC Mary Kom, Pooja Rani, Simranjit Kaur and Lovlina Borgohain.
The Indian male boxers were also seen working on their skills in a video posted by Amit Panghal.
The Indian shooters also underwent their first training session at the Asaka Shooting Range, getting a feel of the venue four days before the Olympics opens here.
The shooting events will be held at the Asaka Shooting Range, which is located in Saitama Prefecture, north west Tokyo, from July 24 to August 2.
The likes of archers Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das, table tennis players G Sathiyan and A Sharath Kamal, ace shuttlers PV Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth and lone Indian gymnast in fray, Pranati Nayak, also started their training on Monday.
While archery couple Atanu and Deepika started sharpening their skills at the Yumenoshima Park, paddlers Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal too began their preparations in search of an elusive Olympic medal in the sport.
Also shuttler Sindhu and Praneeth trained with singles coach Park Tae Sang, the men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy hit the courts along with their coach Mathias Boe.