Earlier in the month, Sachin Tendulkar became the third person to come on board as a goodwill ambassador for the Indian Olympic Association at this year’s Rio Olympics in August. He joined Salman Khan and Pankaj Advani as the ambassadors for the Indian contingent. Salman Khan was earlier named as the first goodwill ambassador and the sporting fraternity were up in arms, most notably Gautam Gambhir.
Since then, the IOA have done well to rope in ace billiards player Pankaj Advani, Sachin Tendulkar and most recently, A.R. Rahman. Sachin Tendulkar was glad to accept the invitation by the IOA to come on board. Read what he said in his acceptance letter below.
Mr Rajeev Mehta & Mr N Ramachandran
Indian Olympic Association,
New Delhi, India.
Dear Mr Mehta & Mr Ramachandran,
Thank you for the letter dated April 28, 2016 regarding the upcoming Olympic Games at Rio De Janeiro.
I have had the privilege and honour of representing our nation for twenty-four years and I continue to bat for India off the field. The welfare of sportspersons and encouraging them to give their best is very dear to me.
I strongly believe that the sportspersons from different parts of the country, pursuing their unique skills are the true ambassadors of the growing sporting culture in this country. Awareness about their struggles, discipline and single minded focus will help develop many more world beating champions and courage passionate following of the Olympics in our country.
It will be my pleasure to meet these world-class athletes before they leave for Rio to learn about their experiences and preparations. I am also happy to be part of any awareness campaign that can rally the country around our athletes and motivate them, including amplifying their efforts and success on my Twitter and Facebook accounts.
I have mentioned the nature of the role as envisaged by me as I am keen to rally enhanced support for our champion athletes. I look forward to receiving details on your planned initiatives towards this objective.
My best wishes to the entire contingent as we look forward to them proudly expressing themselves in Rio!
It shall be interesting to see who joins this burgeoning list of superstars as India gears up for Rio.
