Their Olympic flag marchpast is a moment every watching country keeps its eyes peeled for. But as the teams made their way at the Beijing Opening Ceremony on Friday dressed in their native best, the Indian contingent cut a somewhat sorry figure in their mismatched costumes.

The contingent was led out by flag bearer Athens silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, with the men dressed in off-white sherwanis.

However, the female members, it seems, had forgotten to discuss their costumes with each other, making it seem like a veritable go-as-you-like.

Straight off training

The tennis duo of Sania Mirza and Sunitha Rao seemed to have come straight off a training session, attired in black trousers and practice jackets. Making them look even more out of place was the presence of Delhi table tennis player Neha Aggarwal, who chose a green saree for the occasion.

The Indians did receive a big cheer from the generous crowd at the Bird’s Nest Stadium, with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in purple silk saree with golden border, waving at the Indian athletes with a broad smile.

Sonia was accompanied by her MP son Rahul, daugher Priyanka, son-in-law Robert Vadra and two grandsons, along with Sports Minister M S Gill.