The Paris Olympics will see a number of veteran sports stars making their final appearance at the Games.
Salute the big names who will bid farewell to the Olympics in Paris...
Rohan Bopanna (India)
The 44 year old became the oldest World No. 1 in doubles tennis rankings at age 43. Despite a worn-out cartilege in his knee, Bopanna qualified for the Games with a direct entry to Paris 2024 because of his sub-World No. 10 ranking by the cutoff date.
He had come agonisingly close to a medal in the mixed doubles with Sania Mirza when they lost in the semi-finals at the Rio Games in 2016. He'd like to do one better and sign off with a medal as he teams up with N Sriram Balaji in the men's doiubles in Paris.
P R Sreejesh (India)
The 36-year-old hockey goalkeeper, a veteran of 328 International caps, including three Olympic Games, and multiple Commonwealth Games and World Cups, will feature in his fourth Olympics in Paris.
Last year, Sreejesh was the catalyst in India's gold medal-winning campaign at the Asian Games that sealed the team's berth for the 2024 Olympics.
Making his India debut at the South Asian Games in 2006, he had a crucial role in the silver medal-winning team of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and was one of the main architects of India's historic bronze medal win at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sreejesh was a part of various memorable wins for India, including a gold in the 2014 Asian Games and a bronze medal in the 2018 Asiad in Jakarta-Palembang.
He was also there in the Asian Champions Trophy-winning side in 2018, and the 2019 FIH Men's Series Finals champion team in Bhubaneswar.
Sharath Kamal (India)
Achanta Sharath Kamal will wield the paddle at his fifth Olympics in Paris.
With seven Commonwealth Games golds, two Asian Games medals, four Olympic Games appearances and two ITTF Pro Tour titles under his belt, 42-year-old Sharath Kamal is arguably the finest Indian table tennis player ever and is spearheading a six-member Indian table tennis contingent in Paris.
The TT veteran will be the joint flag-bearer for the country at the Olympics opening ceremony.
He played a pivotal role in helping India create history as the men's team qualified for the Olympics for the first time. The men's team comprising Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar and national champion Harmeet, will have a challenging opening round against top-ranked China.
Rafael Nadal (Spain)
The Spanish tennis legend won the singles gold medal in 2008 and the doubles title with close friend Marc Lopez in 2016.
The 38 year old is fighting fitness issues but in the run-up to the Games was a finalist in Bastad last week.
Besides the singles campaign, Nadal will be at his favourite Roland Garros, partnering reigning French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles campaign.
Nadal will look to end his Olympic campaign with another medal for Spain.
Andy Murray (Great Britain)
The first male tennis player to win two Olympic singles gold medals will play the final event of his glittering career at the Paris Games before heading into retirement.
Murray, widely regarded as one of Britain's all-time great sportsmen, won gold in London 2012 beating Roger Federer in the final and successfully defended his title in Rio four years later defeating Juan Martin del Potro.
Murray has a mixed doubles silver from the London Games, where he partnered Laura Robson.
The three-time Grand Slam winner has been laid low by fitness issues especially after hip surgery in 2019.
The tennis competition at the Olympics begins on July 27 and Murray, who made his Olympic debut in Beijing 2008, will play in both singles and doubles alongside Dan Evans in his fifth and final Games.
Simone Biles (USA)
The American gymnast, considered one of the greatest of all time, has confirmed that Paris 2024 will be her final Olympics.
The 27 year old owns four Olympic titles and 23 World crowns and will look to redeem herself at the Paris Games.
Three years ago at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Biles withdrew from the women's team final and four subsequent individual finals to prioritise her mental health as she dealt with a case of the 'twisties,' where a gymnast's body and mind fall out of sync.
She returned to competition in the balance beam final, where she won bronze.
Biles is expected to be herself in Paris and we can't wait to see the magic she creates on the bars.
Katie Ledecky (USA)
The 27-year-old swimmer is known for her dominance in freestyle events and has hinted that Paris may be her last Olympic appearance.
She has seven Olympic gold medals and 21 World Championship titles.
She rose to fame by winning the 800m freestyle gold at London 2012 as a 15 year old and has gone on to become Olympic champion at every distance from 200m to 1500m.
At Rio 2016, she bagged medals in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle; she also set new world records in the 400m and 800m.
With another gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay, she finished the second most decorated athlete behind the legendary Michael Phelps in Rio.
She became the first women's 1500m freestyle Olympic champion in Tokyo and will want to win the event in Paris.
Lebron James (USA)
The NBA legend has announced that Paris 2024 will be the last time he makes an appearance at the Olympics.
LeBron has been named the male flag bearer for the US at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, his fourth and final Games.
With the USA men's basketball team he won a bronze at Athens 2004, followed by gold at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
The 39 year old will become the first US men's basketball player to compete in three different decades.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)
The sprint legend is likely to retire after Paris.
A three-time Olympic champion, the 37 year old booked her place in the Paris Games, her fifth appearance at the Olympics with a third-place finish with a time of 10.94 seconds in the 100m at the Jamaican trials.
The legendary sprinter opted not to race the 200m, focusing solely on the 100m.
Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)
The distance-running legend could be running in his final Olympic Games.
The marathon world record holder has back-to-back gold medals at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 marathons, becoming only the third man in history to win two Olympic marathon titles.
Then, only 18, Kipchoge won the 5,000m bronze medal on his Olympic debut in Athens 2004 before upgrading to silver four years later in Beijing in the same event.
He is aiming for a hat-trick at the marathon in Paris for a final flourish.
Ma Long (China)
A five-time Olympic gold medalist, Ma will be China's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony.
With three team and two singles Olympic gold medals, he is one of the finest table tennis players in history.
Paris could be a chance for Ma to bow out of the Olympics on a high.
