Never thought my racquet would serve such unique and noble purpose: PV Sindhu

New Delhi [India], September 19: Double Olympic Medal winner PV Sindhu on Sunday said she never thought that her racquet would serve such a unique and noble purpose on PM Memento e-Auction and her contribution to the #NamamiGange programme.
"I got to know about NamamiGange mission and I couldn't feel more proud for the fact that I can also contribute towards cleaner greener India. I gifted my Olympic Badminton racquet from Olympics to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, and that racquet is being auctioned along with other gifts received by honourable PM sir from September 17 to October 7 to raise funds for NamamiGange mission," said PV Sindhu in a video tweeted by Ministry of Culture.
"Never thought that my racquet would serve such a unique and a noble purpose. I am eagerly waiting for September 17 to see who is going to be that lucky person to get my racquet and contribute towards the cleanliness and well being of river Ganga. Come on join me in this noble cause and let's make our Ganga river cleaner and greener once again," she said.
Earlier, Neeraj Chopra's Tokyo Olympics javelin and Lovlina Borgohain's boxing gloves hogged the limelight on day two of the third edition of the e-auction of gifts presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
Neeraj's javelin and Lovlina's boxing gloves have currently fetched Rs 10 crore respectively according to the PM Mementos website. Star shuttler PV Sindhu's racket and badminton bag have fetched Rs 9,00,00,100 till now.
The prestigious and memorable gifts presented to PM Modi for the third edition of the e-auction include sports gear and equipment presented by winners of the Tokyo Paralympics and the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The third edition of the e-auction of gifts presented to PM Modi is being held from September 17 to October 7 through the web portal https://pmmementos.gov.in.
Other interesting artefacts include replicas of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Chardham, Rudraksh Convention Centre, models, sculptures, paintings, angavastras among others.
In this round of e-auctions, around 1330 mementoes are being e-auctioned. Javelin used by gold medalist Sumit Antil in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the javelin used by Neeraj Chopra in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are the items with the highest base price at Rs one crore each.
The lowest-priced item is a small-sized decorative elephant for Rs 200.
"Some of the other items like boxing gloves used by Lovlina Borgohain that are blue with strapped handles at the bottom signed by the player herself are also put for the auction," read a PIB release.
The badminton racket autographed by Krishna Nagar, Gold Medallist in Paralympics, is also in the bid.
Also, there is a Table Tennis racket autographed by Bhavina Patel, Silver Medallist, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
According to PIB, proceeds from the e-auction shall go to the Namami Gange Mission aimed at conserving and rejuvenating Ganga.
According to the statement, Narendra Modi is the first-ever Prime Minister of India, who has decided to auction all the gifts he receives for a noble cause of conserving the lifeline of the country -- the river Ganges through "NamamiGange".
The PM has often described Ganga as a symbol of the country's cultural glory and faith, and that from the point of the river's origin at Gaumukh in Uttarakhand to where it merged with the sea in West Bengal, the mighty river enriched the lives of half of the country's population.