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Suniel Shetty holds forth on Milkha Singh’s irritation with Salman Khan being selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for Rio Olympics
Upala KBR (DNA; April 26, 2016)

The appointment of Salman Khan as the Goodwill ambassador of India’s Olympic contingent, has irked some sports people. The legendary sprinter Milkha Singh is one such critic who feels that a sportsperson from shooting, athletics, volleyball or other sports should have been picked instead. Suniel Shetty, the former brand ambassador for Indian hockey and someone who has always encouraged the growth of sports in India, disagrees. He feels that selecting Salman as the Goodwill Ambassador is a good decision. “Salman is the most popular star in the country today. The world knows him. Selecting him as the GA is not going to harm the sports fraternity, but only going to help as through Salman they can get media attention and if in this way we can get attention to various sports in India, why not? If they want they can also have a sports ambassador from the sports fraternity like PT Usha or Rajyavardhan Singh Rathod as they are legends. It would be such a dynamic and crazy combo if say a Virat Kohli and Salman came together!”

While Suniel understands the sentiments of Milkha Singh, he feels Salman’s appoinment is not wrong. “One can have anybody who is popular. It’s like saying only cricketers should own cricket teams. As long as it benefits the sports it doesn’t matter. Stars make a difference, and you can’t deny that. Gujarat used Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) as their brand ambassador even though he’s not a Gujarati. The entrance of Shah Rukh and Preity Zinta in IPL has made it the biggest cricket league in the world. Ranbir Kapoor in ISL and Abhishek Bachchan in Kabaddi have inspired millions of young boys to join the sports. When two things can combine and give you crazy prominence in the social media why not? Salman has a humongous fan following and can inspire so many. Aamir, Shah Rukh, Amitji... They are so hugely popular too and can become ambassadors too. When such famous figures become brand ambassadors they can pull up the sport though their popularity, wake up the rest of India and educate them more.”

Suniel questions, “Why bash a Bollywood star? Let’s not look at things negatively. It was Farhan Akhtar who helped the Milkha biopic (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag based on the life of Milkha Singh) become a legendary film. Bollywood is a medium like sports and if you can get oil and water to mix it would be an explosive combo!”

He concludes by saying, “Maybe this time we will have more sports persons than officials in the Olympics.”