NEW DELHI: Sports equipment and gears of India’s Olympics and Paralympics stars, including badminton rackets of Krishna Nagar and S L Yathiraj, Neeraj Chopra’s javelin and gloves of Lovlina Borgohain, are among Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mementos that are drawing the maximum bids in an e-auction by the Culture Ministry.
So far, the highest bid has been received for the boxing gloves of Lovlina Borgohain who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. It has received a bid of Rs 1.92 crore against a base price of Rs 80 lakh.
Chopra’s javelin which gave India its sole gold in the 2020 Olympics has drawn a bid of over Rs 1.55 crore while its base price is Rs 1 crore.
Badminton rackets of Paralympians Krishna Nagar and S L Yathiraj and the fence used by CA Bhavani Devi at the Olympics received bids of Rs 10 crore each during the day, but in the evening when the bids were reviewed, they were found to be fake.
As of now, the highest quoted bids for the badminton racquets of Nagar and Yathiraj are Rs 80 lakh and Rs 50 lakh respectively, at par with their base prices.
The bid for the fence used by Devi also stood at Rs 60 lakh, its base price.
Devi is the first Indian fencer to ever qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
A javelin autographed by Sumit Antil, the gold medallist at the Tokyo Paralympics, has received a bid of Rs 1,00,08,000 against its base price of Rs 1 crore.
The sharp-shooting glasses worn by Manish Narwal, who bagged a gold medal in the mixed 50m pistol SH1 final at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, received a highest bid of Rs 95.94 lakh during the afternoon, but it was reviewed to Rs 20 lakh at end of the day.
The shooting glasses were presented by him to the prime minister.
A badminton racket and bag of Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist PV Sindhu received a bid of Rs 90.02 lakh against its base price of Rs 80 lakh. In this round, around 1,330 mementos are being e-auctioned.
The auction began on Friday, Prime Minister Modi’s birthday.
The javelin used by Neeraj Chopra in the Tokyo Olympic Games is among the items with the highest base price at Rs 1 crore.
The lowest priced item is a small-sized decorative elephant for Rs 200.
The proceeds from the e-auction will go to the Namami Gange Mission aimed at conserving and rejuvenating the Ganga River.
The memorabilia include sports gear and equipment of the medal-winning Olympians and Paralympians, a replica of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Chardham, sculptures and paintings among others.
The wooden model of the Ram Mandir placed inside a glass box has received the highest quoted bid of Rs 3 lakh so far.
Another interesting memento which has grabbed eyeballs is the replica of the Rudraksha Convention Centre in Varanasi which has got a bid of Rs 40 lakh.
Individuals and organisations can participate through the website pmmementos.gov.in between September 17 and October 7.
After the auction ends, the ministry will notify the highest bidders through email.
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