Each Indian athlete in Rio is a symbol of perseverance and hard work: Sonia Gandhi

Wishing great success to the Indian contingent ahead of the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday asserted that the entire country will be watching the games with keen interest adding that her thoughts and prayers will be with all Indian players.

"Each Indian athlete in Rio is a symbol of excellence, perseverance and hard work. May the Olympic values of friendship, respect & excellence dominate the spirit of each participant & be their strength always," she said in a statement.

Stressing that their contribution to National pride and glory will forever remain etched on the nation's consciousness, Sonia Gandhi congratulated the team management, coaches and organization responsible for preparing the contingent for the games.

The Indian tricolour was raised at the Olympic Athletes Village amid the humdrum of Samba beats and cultural performances on Tuesday.

The flag-raising is one of the prominent ceremonies at the Olympic Athletes Village, which is organised when a fair number of the country's athletes have checked into the village.

The Indians have been arriving in the village in small numbers, but now most have settled in. Several of them arrived at the ceremony after training stints.

The other shooters visible easily were Prakash Nanjappa, Gurpreet Singh, Chain Singh, besides some athletes like Manpreet Kaur and Khushbir Kaur, the women's hockey and two swimmers in Sajan Prakash and Shivani Katariya.

India are fielding their largest continent of nearly 120 athletes in 15 disciplines.