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Abhinav Bindra Accepts InvitationTo Be Goodwill Ambassador For Rio Olympics

Amidst Salman Fiasco, Abhinav Bindra Accepts Invitation To Be Goodwill Ambassador For Rio Olympics
NEW DELHI, INDIA - AUGUST 12: Indian Olympic Gold Medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra during an interaction with Hindustan Times on August 12, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Bindra says that he shies away from media interactions as he does not have any achievements to talk about. He became the fourth Indian shooter to win a quota place for the Rio Olympics after he finished sixth in the Men's 10m Air Rifle final at the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Munich. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
NEW DELHI, INDIA - AUGUST 12: Indian Olympic Gold Medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra during an interaction with Hindustan Times on August 12, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Bindra says that he shies away from media interactions as he does not have any achievements to talk about. He became the fourth Indian shooter to win a quota place for the Rio Olympics after he finished sixth in the Men's 10m Air Rifle final at the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Munich. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra on Friday accepted the Indian Olympic Association's invitation to be one of the country's goodwill ambassadors for the upcoming Rio Games.

"Received a letter this afternoon from the President and Secretary General of the IOA inviting me to be a goodwill ambassador. I am humbled that they thought I am worthy enough for this honour. I respectfully accept this with gratitude," Bindra, the lone Indian Olympic individual gold medallist, wrote on Twitter.

Received a letter this afternoon from the President and Secretary General of the IOA inviting me to be a goodwill ambassador. CONT.

— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) April 29, 2016

Received a letter this afternoon from the President and Secretary General of the IOA inviting me to be a goodwill ambassador. CONT.

— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) April 29, 2016

pic.twitter.com/uhNLtmynv0

— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) April 29, 2016

"While my focus will be to perform at Rio, I will be writing to every member of the Indian Olympic team & offering them any help they may want," he said.

While my focus will be to perform at Rio,I will be writing to every member of the Indian Olympic team &offering them any help they may want

— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) April 29, 2016

"I would be open to doing this until the 15July & after that my focus will completely be towards my own performance until my event," added Bindra, who won the gold medal in men's 10mm air rifle shooting event in 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The IOA's decision to make Bollywood actor Salman Khan as goodwill ambassador left the sporting fraternity divided with London Olympics bronze-medallist Yogeshwar Dutt and legendary sprinter Milkha Singh questioning the move.

Meanwhile, those in support of Salman believe that his selection would give a glamour quotient to the Indian team's presence at the Olympics and would also help in drawing maximum attention from the masses for the Games.

Earlier in the day, the under-fire IOA had approached cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar for the same post with reports of the apex sporting body considering 'more people' for the role.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.