What happens when sportspersons and Bollywood actresses appear under one roof? Shutterbugs go berserk and the actress, invariably, becomes the cynosure.
What happens when sportspersons and Bollywood actresses appear under one roof? Shutterbugs go berserk and the actress, invariably, becomes the cynosure.
The scene was different on Thursday when Olympic medallists, MC Mary Kom and Vijay Kumar, along with young pugilist Laishram Devendro Singh entered the banquet hall of the Bombay Gymkhana.
They were accompanied by the svelte Deepika Padukone who was dressed in all whites and sported those hep, knee-popping jeans.
The lenses, this time, were firmly trained on the Olympians.
Ms Padukone moved a step behind in order to allow the photographers to get a better view of the athletes. This was their day after all.
“I felt so happy to see that all the photographers were focussing on sports personalities and weren’t running after the beautiful Deepika. Things are changing and for the better,” said Geet Sethi, co-founder and director of Olympic Gold Quest.
Mary Kom, subedar major Vijay Kumar, Devendro and Pullela Gopichand were felicitated by the Olympic Gold Quest, co-founded by Prakash Padukone and Sethi.
Devendro, bashful as always, had to be coaxed into smiling, while Mary Kom gracefully declined requests to sing. She thanked her people for their unstinted support, especially husband Onler Kom. Her voice choked with emotion as she wrapped up the speech. “I was slightly disappointed with the bronze medal. But I promise that in Rio 2016, I’ll change the colour of my medal,” she said.
“I was also upset that the men (Indian pugilists) couldn’t bring a medal home this time. But I am proud that I won a medal. I brought laurels to the country and that too in a sport not considered appropriate for a woman,” she added.
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