Is Sachin Tendulkar lobbying for cricket inclusion in the Olympics?

(Rio de Janeiro, brpress) - Sachin Tendulkar might have come to Rio not just for supporting Indian athletes but also to campaign to push cricket into the 2024 Olympic Games.

(Rio de Janeiro, brpress) – May the force be with them – or with him. The “Star Wars” slogan could be adopted by and for the cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, India’s goodwill ambassador for the Olympics, who is in Rio cheering up for the country’s delegation – and also campaigning for the inclusion of cricket in the Olympic Games according to sources close enough to the icon. 

Despite the fact that the first week of the Games has not been great for Indian athletes, Tendulkar keeps steady on his support. “Olympics are the biggest and most competitive sporting event on Earth. It’s not a joke to represent one’s country. The athletes give their best in their efforts to win a medal. All the Indian athletes in Rio 2016 have my support. They work for years and years but when you miss out narrowly, you obviously feel bad”, twitted Tendulkar.

Discrete presence

The icon has been avoiding the media, specially after the Indian author Shobhaa De has twitted a comment mocking India’s performance in Rio 2016. He’s rarely been seeing publicly at the Olympic Village, but according to some Indian papers, the legend has taken some time to meet privately some athletes in order to deliver a positive message. 

The cricket star has also watched some events, including the match of Indian women’s doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare, and was spotted at a rugby seven match along with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. The meeting, as speculations are pointing out, would be part of a larger campaign to push cricket into the 2024 Olympic Games.

There would be big advantages in harnessing the sport’s potential exposure to 1.2 billion people in India and millions more across the sub-continent. “Wonderful spending time with Mr Thomas Bach, IOC president at @olympics,” Tendulkar tweeted after meeting the IOC chief. The cricket icon was also mingling with rugby union executives who could provide an insight into how they managed to convince the governing body to introduce sevens to the list of sports at the Games.

Depending on Sachin Tendulkar willing, its a matter of wait and see cricket becoming an Olympic sport. Regarding Rio 2016’s experience, he said “Different stories. Different experiences. One common thing- passion! Best wishes to all Indian athletes”.