What's the Story?
Indian cricketers KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant pledged their support for Indian figure skater Nishchay Luthra. The eighteen-year-old is currently gearing up for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
German sportswear brand, Adidas recently launched a digital campaign titled “Fan the Fire” to raise fund for Nishchay's endeavour of winning a gold medal for India next year.
KL Rahul shared Adidas’s video featuring Luthra on Twitter and also changed his display name to “Nishchay Luthra”. Rohit Sharma and Rishabh also poured in their support for the young skater via the microblogging site.
In case you didn't know...
This nine-times National Gold medalist has four International medals to his credit as well. He was training in the USA but returned to India due to insufficient funds. This is when Adidas stepped in to help the cause and commenced their campaign #FanTheFire.
This is the first initiative by Adidas as a part of their Adidas Uprising campaign that aims at bringing the lesser known athletes to the fore.
Nischay is currently training in Florida all by his own.
The heart of the matter
Nischay was performing internationally without any funds or recognition. However, he remained dedicated to refining his skills which led to his victory in several national events.
Due to the insufficient funding, Luthra had to come back but the youngster did not give up on his Olympics dream easily. He resumed his training in Florida all by himself while eyeing the gold medal in the Winter Olympics 2018.
The video shared by Rahul and other members of the Indian team documents Luthra's journey, with his mother beautifully narrating the importance of struggling. The video calls out to everyone to pledge their support for the skater. The #FanTheFire crusade trended on Twitter and directed the enthusiasts to Adidas's crowdfunding page Milaap.org.
Tweet Speak
Author's take
It is amazing to see cricketers promoting the lesser known sports. They are aware of the fact that being the most loved sportspersons in India, they can reach out to masses.
Using their popularity to direct the attention towards other players from different sports is a commendable act.
Adidas is playing a key role in this remarkable initiative that will bring Luthra and several others like him to public notice. It will give a chance to all such athletes to change the game for themselves.
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