Saina brand ambassador for CWG
July 27: Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and boxing hero Vijender Singh are among the half a dozen sportspersons who were on Tuesday were named brand ambassadors for this year’s Commonwealth Games.
Best athlete of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Samaresh Jung, Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar and four-time world champion boxer M.C. Mary Kom are the other three brand ambassadors for the Delhi big event. “These champions have done India proud with their achievements and will serve as remarkable brand ambassadors for the Games,” Commonwealth Games organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said at the inauguration of the event’s main venue Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
“Their passion, personality, and presence as well as their amazing pursuit of excellence truly reflect the vision of the Organising Committee. Their focus, mental strength and resilience make them role models, inspiring generations of Indians not just with their achievements but also with their work ethic, discipline and determination.
“It ties up with the ideals of the Organising Committee and I am sure these champions will inspire Indians to back the Commonwealth Games and take to Olympic sport,” he added.
The 27-year-old Bindra won top honours in the 10m air rifle event at the ISSF World Shooting Championship in Zagreb in 2006 and became the first Indian to clinch an individual gold medal at the Olympics.
Barely 20, Saina began with a quarterfinal appearance at the Olympic Games and has since won three Super Series crowns in the past 12 months. Air pistol expert Jung, 40, has won seven gold medals, three silver and a bronze in the last two editions of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and Melbourne. His haul of five gold, a silver and a bronze in 2006 saw him being named for the David Dixon Award for the best athlete of the Games.
Before his middle weight category bronze in the Olympic Games, the 24-year-old Vijender won a silver in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games as well as bronze medals in the Asian Games at Doha in 2006. Last year, he became the first Indian boxer to clinch a medal at the World Amateur Championship by managing a bronze in Milan.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday congratulated badminton champion Saina Nehwal for winning three Super Series badminton tournaments. Amid thumping of desks, Speaker Meira Kumar said these victories have catapulted Nehwal to No. 2 position in the world ranking which is a “unique achievement” in the history of Indian badminton.
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