When Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s collection of memories was put up for e-auction last year, BCCI submitted the winning bid of Rs 1.5 crore for Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra’s javelin, a Cricket Board official informed PTI on Friday. When Modi hosted Indian sportsmen Neeraj Chopra following the Tokyo Games, Chopra gave him one of his javelins. The revenues from the e-auction, from which the javelin was one of many items offered, went to the “Namami Gange Program.” The auction was held between September and October in 2021.
The 2014-launched “Namami Gange Programme” unifies the efforts to clean and safeguard the Ganga river.
“BCCI had made the winning bid for Neeraj’s javelin. But we also bid for a couple of other collectibles. It (Namami Gange) is a noble cause and the office bearers in BCCI felt that as one of the premier sporting bodies in the country, we had a duty towards the nation,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
“As an organisation we are proud that we have a sporting good of one of India’s greatest athletes,” the official said.
