Courting controversies is part and parcel in cineworld and Salman Khan is not an exception to this. Indian Olympic Association’s decision to make actor Salman Khan as the goodwill ambassador for the Rio Olympic contingent snowballed into a controversy after wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt questioned the logic. Many have joined the chorus, while several athletes felt it will help in generating hype for the Games. We all look for improved show by our team in the Olympics and not attracted towards the controversies before the start of the game in any way. But one felt that the presence of a Milkha Singh or PT Usha would have a done world of good to the games as they are veterans in their own right and a natural choice as an ambassador instead of Salman Khan. Mixed feelings have been expressed by the sporting fraternity and Yogeshwar was highly critical and that kindled the controversy further. Mary Kom and Sardar Singh were supporting the decision but the select band of Milkha Singh, Dhanraj Pillay and Krishna Poonia joined Yogeshwar Dutt in maintaining that a sports personality would have been the obvious choice. Well done Olympics start with a controversy and it should not end with a controversy.
S. Abhishek Ramaswamy
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
