India's hockey squad, boxers and archers, who were already in the village, were present at the ceremony, apart from the few shooters who have already checked into the Village.
Rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra, the country's first individual gold medallist in Beijing, could not take part in the ceremony as he had left for Germany to continue his training,
Among the boxers, India's lone woman pugilist, MC Mary Kom also missed the event as she was scheduled to arrive in London only after a few days.
India had sought a postponement of date for its flag-raising ceremony, which is also called the 'Welcoming Ceremony', so that a larger contingent could be present at the function. But the London Olympic Games organisers refused to sanction any change in the schedule and stuck to the original roster.
The Indian contingent's Deputy Chef-de-Mission Brigadier PK Muralidharan Raja had confirmed about India's request of postponing the ceremony. "We wanted a postponement of India's flag raising ceremony, but the organisers are keen to stick to the original schedule drawn up by them," said Brig. Raja.
London Olympic Games Organising Committee (LOCOG) officials had said that India were among a number of the nations with similar requests but that would have affected schedule and crowded the date closer to the Opening Ceremony, which is scheduled for July 27.
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