Seasoned kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat replaced Tajinderpal Singh Toor as India's flag-bearer at the Asian Games opening ceremony on Saturday, as the celebrated shot-putter will be unable to attend the gala event because his ceremonial kit was not in his luggage.
Toor was to join shooting ace Manu Bhaker in leading the national contingent during the ceremony.
The 30-year-old Sehrawat, who was a part of the gold-winning Indian men's kabaddi team in the previous Asiad, will now take Toor's place, chef-de-mission Sahdev Yadav told PTI.
"I am told that my ceremonial kit will reach at 3pm at the (Nagoya) airport. Reaching the opening ceremony venue after collecting my (ceremonial) kit from airport on time will be very difficult. So, I have told IOA (Indian Olympic Association) that I am not coming for opening ceremony," Toor told PTI.
"My ceremonial kit is lying in India. Nobody in athletics team has ceremonial kits with them," he revealed.
The athletics team has been training at the University of Tsukuba near Tokyo since September 13 as part of an acclimatisation camp and is scheduled to reach Nagoya on September 21, two days before the start of athletics events.
They were not expected to be a part of the opening ceremony which explains the absence of ceremonial kits in their luggage.
However, the 75-strong contingent has received its official competition kits and this was confirmed to PTI by multiple members of the group.
Deputy chef-de-mission Anjali Bhagwat had earlier said that 158 members of the Indian contingent will take part in the opening ceremony.
Bhaker's name as the female flag-bearer was on expected lines. She made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by becoming the first athlete from Independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympic Games by clinching bronze in individual and mixed team 10m air pistol events.
In the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, in 2023, athletics contributed 29 medals (6 gold, 14 silver, 9 bronze) while shooting's share was 22 (7 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze).
India had won a record 106 medals overall, including 28 gold, at that time.
(With inputs from PTI)