Just when the controversy over Salman Khan’s appointment as India’s Olympic Goodwill Ambassador threatened to spiral out of control, the Indian Olympic Association came up with a masterstroke involving the master-blaster. It has appointed cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar and India’s only Olympic gold medal winning shooter, Abhinav Bindra, as goodwill ambassadors too. 

Bindra confirmed the news about the appointment on Twitter :

The shooter in a series of tweets also said that he would support the Olympic mission but also said he would need to stop his duties early to compete in Rio. 

And he began his duties on the first day itself:

But he needn’t worry. After the controversy sparked by the appointment of Khan as a goodwill ambassador, there were reports that the association could seek other goodwill ambassadors. Alongside Sachin, musician AR Rahman was also among the names doing the rounds. 

With the appointment of Bindra, there’s some small comfort in knowing that at least one of them is an Olympian.