Indian athletes from seven sports, including shooting, badminton, archery and hockey, will skip the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday because of COVID-19 concerns and competitions lined up the next day, leaving just about 30 in attendance at the event.

From hockey, only flag-bearer, men’s team captain Manpreet Singh, will participate in the ceremony. “Archery, judo, badminton, weightlifting, tennis, hockey [men and women], shooting, the above are not participating due to matches on 24th, practice sessions on 24th and staying safe,” Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra said.