Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's appointment as goodwill ambassador of the Indian Olympic contingent on Sunday triggered a furore with star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and sprint legend Milkha Singh questioning the move even as IOA and some other athletes backed the decision.
Salman, who is playing the role of a wrestler in his upcoming film 'Sultan', was named goodwill ambassador by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Saturday in the presence of star woman boxer M C Mary Kom, hockey captain Sardar Singh, and shooter Apurvi Chandela among others.
The position itself is unprecedented and IOA's decision to pick Salman for it left the sporting fraternity divided with london Olympics bronze-medallist Yogeshwar and the legendary Milkha leading the criticism.
Milkha too felt that the IOA has taken a wrong decision and should reconsider the move.
"India has produced so many sportspersons who have given their sweat and blood for the country like PT Usha, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Ajit Pal and so many others. One of these could have been made a goodwill ambassador. What was the need to import a person from BollywoodIJ" he asked.
Milkha, who won gold in 1958 and 1962 Asian Games, said the fact that no Indian sportsperson had been picked up as ambassador saddened him.
"I want to make it clear that I am not against Salman Khan, but the decision of the IOA is wrong and the Government should intervene in the matter. This is for the first time I am seeing a Bollywood hero being made goodwill ambassador for Olympics. I want to ask has Bollywood ever made any sportsperson an ambassador for any of their mega eventIJ" he said.
"I want that the decision to name Salman Khan as ambassador should be revised," he said.
The sentiment was echoed by the likes of former hockey star Dhanraj Pillay. "I would like to see a sportspeson as brand ambassador. We have legendary players such as Milkha Singh, P T Usha, Abhinav Bindra. No doubt Salman is one of the best faces of Bollywood and whatever he says sells. But in sports I feel sportperson should be ambassador," Pillay said.
However, Sardar and Mary Kom felt that the Bollywood celebrity's mass appeal will help raise awareness about Olympic sports ahead of the Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.
"Salman has a huge fan base. He has good views on sports and it's a good thing for Indian sports that he has come on board. A lot of people are getting connected to Olympic sports because of him. (But) People are entitled to their views. I respect their opinion," Sardar said.
"It hasn't happened before, it's a good thing for the athletes. It's good for us to have a brand ambassador like him," opined Mary Kom, a bronze-medallist from the 2012 london Olympics.
Commonwealth Games gold-medallist discus thrower Krishna Poonia said although an athlete would have been a better choice, Salman's popularity is undeniable.
"There is no dearth of athletes in our country. There is P T Usha, Sachin Tendulkar, so many who have done us proud. The public, however, loves filmstars and probably it was thought that it would help popularise Olympic sports. I wish all the luck in his new role," Poonia said.
We will rope in more icons as ambassadors: IOA
On the backfoot after Salman Khan's appointment as goodwill ambassador of India's Olympic contingent was criticised by some top sportspersons, the IOA on Sunday said it would also rope in icons from music, cricket, and other sports to motivate the athletes.
"We are very happy and thankful on Salman's offer to support Olympic Sports in this country. This association is only a gesture and does not include any monetary consideration," IOA Secretary General Rajiv Mehta said in a statement.
"...Our key objective of bringing him on board is to draw maximum attention from the masses, due to which there will be more eyeballs and viewership which will eventually result in popularizing Olympic sports in the country. We may appoint more icons from other walks of life like music, cricket, art culture and Olympic sports etc," he added.