Indian athletics legend Milkha Singh on Tuesday hit back at Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s father Salim Khan by saying that the movie industry hasn’t done any favour by making a film on him.
Earlier Salim had defended his son’s appointment as the goodwill ambassador of the Indian contingent for the Rio Olympic Games by claiming that Bollywood has resurrected Milkha Singh’s story from fading away into oblivion.
In an interview with Times Now, he said:
Let him (Salim) have his views. I don’t have anything to say regarding this. I have already put in my views. All the members of the Olympic contingent are our ambassadors.
“The IOA should have thought of what’s the need of the ambassador. I’m saying that the team who all are going whether it is shooting, wrestling, boxing or athletics, they all are our ambassadors. Out of 120 crore people in India, they have been our ambassador then what is the need of any other ambassador?” he added.
It doesn’t make sense to appoint someone in this role. If an ambassador is required, we have many great sportspersons, like Sachin Tendulkar, PT Usha, Ajitpal Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
Milkha, who finished fourth in the 400 metres sprint at the 1960 Olympics, continued: “It’s okay they have made a film on me. I don’t think that the movie industry has made a favour to me by making a film about my life.
If they have any function, will they put any sportsmen as their chairman or ambassador? I gave my story for Re 1 and it is not a little thing. The movie made crores.
The ‘Flying Sikh’ remained stern with his views and said, “If Salman Khan’s father is saying that Milkha Singh has said anything wrong, then I don’t agree with it because the entire nation is saying that I am right and they are with me.”
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