It was BCCI, which had made a winning bid of Rs 1.5 crore for Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra's javelin when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's collection of mementos was e-auctioned last year, a Cricket Board official told PTI on Friday.
Chopra had presented one of his javelins to Modi when Prime Minister hosted Indian athletes after the Tokyo Games. The javelin was part of many items that were presented during the e-auction, the proceeds of which went to 'Namami Gange Programme'. 'Namami Gange Programme', launched in 2014, integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river.
The auction was held between September and October in 2021. "BCCI had made the winning bid for Neeraj's javelin. But we also bid for a couple of other collectibles.
It (Namami Gange) is a noble cause and the office bearers in BCCI felt that as one of the premier sporting bodies in the country, we had a duty towards the nation," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity. "As an organisation we are proud that we have a sporting good of one of India's greatest athletes," the official said.