'Why Salman, Why Not Sachin Tendulkar?'

Like Flying Sikh Milkha Singh, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt is very unhappy about Salman Khan’s selection as brand ambassador for the Rio Olympics. Dutt was in Georgia when the controversy exploded. after he returned to his village gohana in Sonepat district, Varun Bidhuri  tracked him down atDevii Lal Stadium where he is training for the games. The hall in which athletes train is in fact named after him and Sushil Kumar, a gold-winning wrestler. Here he expresses his anguish about an actor becoming the face of the greatest sporting event of the world.

- Varun Bidhuri 

What do you have to say about Salman Khan’s selection as a brand ambassador for the Rio 2016 Olympics? There are legendary figures in sports who could have been shortlisted but weren’t. Why?

I don’t have any issue with Salman Khan himself. My issue is with IOA. When the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) is selecting an actor as brand ambassador for sports then, they shouldn’t have forgotten that there are players who have become legends in their lifetimes. IOA should not have ignored athletes and players who are also household names because of their achievements in sports. If IOA really want to promote the Olympics, then they should have to picked up one sportsman from each field of sports. My request to IOA please don’t keep the players in last row because Olympics is all about players. If IOA really wanted a big name, than there is s Sachin Tendulkar. I don’t think there is a bigger name.

So what is your guess? Why do you think Salman Khan was brought into the Olympics? Will he popularise the Olympics or promote sports?

Listen, let me make it clear, Salman’s selection won’t bring medals to the country. Whether his fans watch Olympics or not will not matter in the end. What India really wants is more medals — only if we bring home a rich haul will we make Olympics more popular around the nation. If we bring more medals, people will automatically be interested in news about the Olympics and watch the events on television. They will get attached to sports. So I would any day go with sportspersons as brand ambassadors rather than an actor. I request IOA not to ignore players. There are lots of big names in our world. Why were these names not even considered when they were choosing a brand ambassador?