Tokyo Diaries: Risky shopping amid Covid, an Indian in Tokyo

Most Indian athletes haven’t yet been able to go to the merchandise store in the village to pick up stuff for friends back home. For this is the one place where there is maximum chance of exposure. A few athletes said that the moment new stock arrives, athletes from across the village flock to the store and everything is sold out in a couple of hours. Many are worried they might’ve to leave Tokyo without buying anything.

Om Mundra, a 71-year-old from India, is attending his sixth Olympics in Tokyo. Mundra, who has worked as a volunteer in many multidiscipline events, has somehow managed to get himself accredited this time around too because none except the media are allowed in Tokyo from India. He carries with him numerous packets of bhujia, bhel, barfi and chiki, and is a huge draw in the media centre where Indian journalists reach out to him for a taste of back home. Mundra has also been to 13 cricket World Cups and six Fifa World Cups.