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‘Sitaare Olympics par’; But was it really needed?

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aritra029
aritra029
A sports fanatic, blogger, writer, thinker and an aspiring journalist. At 21 looking to explore the world but not by accepting everything as it is

There has always been a ‘Tu Tu Main Main’ relation between Bollywood and Indian Sporting fraternity. That is of course if we leave Cricket out of the debate, not because it has anything to do with the recent turn of events but it is the only sport which can throw a tough challenge to Bollywood in terms of popularity and Bollywood is fully aware of that. But when it comes to sporting mega events like the Olympics, Indian sports-persons have maintained a conscious distance from the movie stars. So, the IOA’s sudden decision to appoint Salman Khan as the goodwill ambassador for the 2016 Rio Olympics cannot be accepted with open arms.

First of all was there a need to appoint Salman? Does he have a significant contribution to Indian sports? Is he funding Indian Olympians? If the answers to the above set of questions are in negative then only the IOA can find logic to justify Salman’s appointment.  Clubbing Bollywood into every single matter can only attract unnecessary controversy that detracts the audience from the actual event and also insults the people concerned, in this case our sports-persons.

In his upcoming film ‘Sultan’, Salman plays the role of a wrestler. Surely that can’t be sufficient enough to qualify him for being the ambassador of the world’s biggest sporting event. His father and famous writer Salim Khan may have confused between his son’s silver screen avatar and his real one. Salim tweets “Salman Khan may not have competed but is an A lever swimmer cyclist and weight lifter.” No wonder it started a twitter battle with Olympic great Milkha Singh. Nothing against Salman, he is undoubtedly one of the most popular superstars of the country. But what value additions will he do to Indian Olympians, is surely questionable.

If Bollywood personalities like Hema Malini and Kirron Kher are to be believed then Salman Khan’s presence will add to the popularity of the game. Well surely it will. But will people turn up to watch the game or to catch a glimpse of their favourite star? ‘Bhaijaan’s’ presence is more than enough to attract whistles and applause but the likes of Yogeshwar Dutt and Mairaj Ahmed Khan would want a small part of that cheer too. We are certainly not giving the right message to India’s first Olympic gymnast Dipa Karmakar or to Rower Dattu Bhokanal, who have fought against all odss to grab an Olympic participation. Unfortunately they might never be invited as chief guests to the Filmfare awards, not that they want to, but showbiz stars can surely walk into their world for the sake of ‘goodwill’.

It is high time we stop using movie starts’ popularity to grab eyeballs. It is not only futile but also a kind of disrespect to the sports-persons. Officials will have to come forward and give the front seat to the deserving. After all watching an athlete receiving a medal at the Olympics is no less than seeing a super star receiving an award; perhaps it is even bigger, GREATER.

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aritra029
aritra029
A sports fanatic, blogger, writer, thinker and an aspiring journalist. At 21 looking to explore the world but not by accepting everything as it is
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