WATCH: Indian athletes parade to loud cheers at Deaflympics 2021 opening ceremony

The Deaflympics 2021 kickstarted with a grand opening ceremony on Sunday at Caxias do Sul, Brazil. India has sent its largest-ever contingent of 65 athletes, including heavyweights like wrestler Virender Singh, golfer Diksha Dagar and others for the quadrennial event.

The opening ceremony of the 15-day event saw the traditional "Parade of Nations" on Sunday. The Indian contingent in the parade was led by the tennis World Deaf Championships medallist Prithvi Sekhar.

Several of the athletes, who were in the parade danced to the upbeat music of the opening ceremony and looked jubilant. The Deaflympics this year will feature 209 events across 17 sports. The Games were originally scheduled to take place in December last year but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.