Sachin Tendulkar accepts Olympics ambassador role with an emotional letter to IOA
Sachin Tendulkar has accepted IOA's offer to become the goodwill ambassador of the Indian contingent at the Rio Olympics. The cricketing legend became the 3rd person to be appointed in this role, after Salman Khan and Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, with A R Rahman expected to join the ranks.
"Sachin Tendulkar has accepted our request to become goodwill ambassador of Indian contingent at the Olympics. We have received the official communication from him accepting our request.
"We are very happy to have an iconic sportsperson like Mr Tendulkar on board as goodwill ambassador. We are thankful to him. We hope his association and the association of other goodwill ambassadors will take Indian sport forward," IOA Secretary General Rajiv Mehta told PTI.
In a letter written to the IOA, Sachin accepted the role and has promised to help raise awareness about Olympics in India.
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!
After Salman Khan's appointment as Olympics ambassador earned wide-spread criticism, the IOA approached Sachin Tendulkar, Abhinav Bindra and A R Rahman for the role. While Bindra and Sachin have already accepted the offer, the IOA is still awaiting A R Rahman's response.
"Mr. Rahman is yet to communicate to us but we are hopeful that he will also accept our invitation," Mehta said.
Rajiv Mehta also insisted that the appointment of these celebrities across the field of sports and entertainment will help in uplifting the image of Olympics in the nation. He said, "These iconic sportspersons and celebrities will spread the idea of Olympic movement in every nook and corner of the country, every village, block and city of India. They will help in building up a sporting culture in this country. We need a sporting culture if we want to become a sporting country," Mehta added.
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