SOCHI: The Indian athletes will march without the national flag during the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics on Friday night, an embarrassing situation for India as billions of people all over the world will witness the opening ceremony at the Fisht Olympic Stadium on the Black Sea.
Three Indian athletes luger Shiva Keshavan, Alpine skier Himanshu Thakur and cross-country skier Nadeem Iqbal will have to walk behind the International Olympic Committee (IOC) flag, because the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was suspended by the IOC in December 2012 due to its failure to comply with the Olympic charter.
The athletes will compete under the “independent athletes” category and will be represented under the Olympic flag.
