Who said what: Sporting fraternity reacts to Salman Khan's appointment as Goodwill Ambassador for Rio 2016

Salman Khan with athletes on the day of the announcement

Bollywood actor Salman Khan was on Saturday elected as the Goodwill Ambassador for the Rio Olympics and that decision by the Indian Olympic Association(IOA) was met with mixed responses from sportspersons in the fraternity.

Here’s a compilation of those who supported the move and who didn’t:

FOR

1.Abhinav Bindra

Dear @BeingSalmanKhan , am sure you will use your tremendous goodwill to help Indian Olympic Sport and Olympic athletes (cont..)

— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) April 24, 2016

In their pursuit towards excellence. Congratulations on being appointed ambassador of the Indian Olympic Team! @BeingSalmanKhan Cont.

— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) April 24, 2016

2.Saina Nehwal

Perfect brand ambassador of Indian contingent for Rio Olympics .Good to see him encouraging sports @BeingSalmanKhan pic.twitter.com/OjrXjnaIhB

— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) April 27, 2016

3.Balbir Singh Sr.

4.Sardar Singh

“Salman has a huge fan base. He has good views on sports and it’s a good thing for Indian sports that he has come on board. A lot of people are getting connected to Olympic sports because of him. People are entitled to their views and I respect their opinion,”

5.Sunil Gavaskar

“If he can bring a lot more awareness to that particular profession, then why not? I don’t see anything wrong in it. How has the IPL benefitted by having Bollywood stars in it? It has helped considerably by bringing crowds to the stadium. Having Shah Rukh, Preity (Zinta) in the ground, a lot of people come to see them, so that’s a plus”

6.Mary Kom

“It hasn’t happened before, so it’s a good thing for the athletes. It’s good for us to have a brand ambassador like him.”

7.IOA Vice-President Tarlochan Singh

“When celebrities who appeal to public come forward to help naturally we get more publicity which is good for sports".