Sachin Tendulkar marks his presence in Rio Olympics

India’s greatest cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar is the goodwill ambassador for the country for the Olympic games of 2016 in Rio de Janerio. Sachin has travelled to Rio and met and encouraged the Indian contingent ahead of the games. On the first morning of the Olympics Sachin accompanied by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, were in attendance for the opening matches of a shortened version of rugby.

Rugby was reintroduced in the Olympics 2016 after 92 years and the world Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper feels that the inclusion of his sport will benefit cricket in its bid to be included in the games as well. “Sachin was here for a whole session, loved it and was interested in rugby’s journey to the Olympics and why that’s an interesting prospect, possibly, for cricket,” Gosper said.

“If cricket has similar ambitions to rugby, which is to take its footprint out of its comfort zone, then there’s nothing like the Olympics to allow you to do that.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has of late been pro-active in trying to expand cricket beyond the handful of nations that play the sport at the moment and an Olympic entry will give it a huge boost. It also plans to approach the IOC with a proposal for inclusion of Twenty20 cricket matches in the 2024 Olympics.

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T20 will suit the 18-day event’s requirements and will definitely push the viewership for the event from the Indian subcontinent which is not only the biggest market for cricket but also has a potential for other sports to be consumed if at a grand stage like the Olympics.

Gosper agreed that both the sport of cricket and Olympic games will gain if the proposed association works out. “Of course, cricket would be good for the Olympics too,” he said. “It would certainly bring an Indian audience, which is considerable …”

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