Olympians, Paralympians proud to have auctioned gear for a cleaner Ganges
For those who had been glued to the recent Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, it will be interesting to note that the precious gear of sportspersons that recently went under the hammer, has now got its right price! The e-auction of these prestigious equipments — which were presented by Olympians and Paralympians to Prime Minister Narendra Modi — ended recently, and gold medallist Neeraj Chopra’s javelin received the highest bid of ₹1.5 crore!
Among the favourite picks in terms of the highest bid at the auction was the autographed fence of Bhavani Devi (₹1.25 crore), Sumit Antil’s javelin (₹1.002 crore), an ‘angavastra’ autographed by the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic contingent (₹1 crore) and Lovlina Borgohain’s boxing gloves (₹91 lakh).
The proceeds of this e-auction were pledged to Namami Gange Mission, for the conservation of river Ganga. And the sportspersons were delighted to be a part of this initiative.
Para badminton player Pramod Bhagat, 33, who won a gold medal in Tokyo Paralympics says, “For me, Ganga is a holy river, and if I can be a part of its cleaning, then it’s a proud moment for me. That’s why I gave up my racket with which I won the gold. Every player’s equipment is very special to them, and that racket is special to me. The fact that my racket was destined to benefit the nation in so many ways is something I’m very happy about!”
And gold medallist, para javelin thrower Sumit Antil, who is now hailed as the boy with a golden leg, got emotional when he was asked about what his javelin meant to him. “My most favourite memory with my javelin is that I made new Paralympic records with it, back to back. Hum koi bhi equipment jab use karte hain, toh humare ghar pe pehle uski pooja hoti hai. And the fact that my javelin will be used to clean the Ganges is an honour for me. Koi bhi sportsperson ke liye desh ki seva se badh kar kuch nahin hota, uska favourite equipment bhi nahin. Our life is also dedicated to the nation,” says the 23-year-old.