Ever since Bollywood star Salman Khan was named as goodwill ambassador for the Indian Olympic contingent a couple of days ago; sports persons, celebrities and the hoi polloi have been sharply divided in their reactions to this appointment. While many have cheered and welcomed the decision, others have had reactions that basically boil down to – और कोई नहीं मिला?
Why Salman Khan?
The appointment is seen by many as a promotion stunt for Salman Khan’s upcoming film Sultan, where he plays a wrestler. Milkha Singh felt that a sportsperson should have been chosen for the post and that this appointment ought to be revised. Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, bronze medalist at the last Olympics in London was clearly displeased with the decision; his tweets questioned such an unprecedented appointment:
Dutt said that Salman Khan has done nothing to merit such an appointment and said that the Olympics was not the right place to promote a film. He pointed to the fact that Khan has no association with sports and said that if a “goodwill ambassador” had to be appointed, it should have been a sportsperson. Former hockey player Dhanraj Pillai also thought that former players or actual medalists should have accorded this honour.
The rapier wit of twitterers also came to the after party:
Why not Salman Khan?
The appointing authority, the IOA has said that this is only a gesture that doesn’t involve any monetary compensation and that there is no question of reversing the decision. The appointment is meant to grab more attention for Olympic sports in the country and there are indications that there could be more such appointments from icons from various other arenas such as music, the arts, sports etc.
Many sportspersons have supported the decision too. Hockey captain Sardar Singh pointed to the fact that the star has a huge fan base that would help more people connect the the Olympic event. Boxer Mary Kom also supported the appointment saying that it was a good thing for athletes to have a brand ambassador like Salman Khan.
Twitter fans also supported the actor; one tweeting that he had been a swimming champion in his school days, another saying that the actor’s movies have bigger viewership than all sporting events combined.
Amidst all the for and against views there is one question that remains unanswered – what precisely is the function of an Olympic Goodwill Ambassador? Other than assume this rather lofty sounding appellation, that is?
Author – Reena Daruwalla
