PM Modi's e-auction a grand hit due to Olympic and Paralympic athletes

To celebrate the 71st birthday of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Culture has organised an e-auction of the gifts and mementos received by PM Modi. The proceeds from the auction will go towards the Namami Gange Mission, that is in-charge of conserving and rejuvenating the Ganges river that forms the lifeline of a large part of India.

Among the items of offer at the e-auction, the most-eyed pieces of memorabilia belong to the Olympics and Paralympics retuned athletes, who presented the PM with a variety of gifts after pulling off an heroic outing at Tokyo.

In all honesty, India's campaign at both the Tokyo Olympics as well as the Tokyo Paralympics has been a raging success, with athletes returning with a bountiful of medals from both. While at the Tokyo Olympics, Neeraj Chopra's gold-winning stint in javelin throw made all the difference in the 7-medal haul the Indian Olympians had, the Paralympics saw a full-fledged medal shower with 5 golds, 8 silvers and 6 bronze medals neatly tying up the 19-medal haul.

.@MinOfCultureGoI is organizing e-Auction of gifts and mementos received by Prime Minister @narendramodi, from 17th September onwards.

To participate in the e -Auction visit https://t.co/WsovnD8Pon between 17th Sept & 7th October, 2021

Read: https://t.co/motK6O345e pic.twitter.com/Dtja3uubUi

— PIB India (@PIB_India) September 16, 2021

With the Olympic and Paralympic fever still nigh in the air, the e-auction of PM Modi's gift items couldn't have taken place at a better time. On the lips of every Indian right now, are the names of the multiple Olympic and Paralympic medallists and a mad scramble has naturally begun for the prized items they used at the Games, en route to their medal-winning stint. Without a surprise then, these gifts from the athletes are getting the highest bids so far, with 19 days still to go for the auction to close - and already the zeroes keep expanding and the bids keep rising for certain priceless items on offer.

Here are some of the prized items being auctioned that the Olympian and Paralympians have gifted:

After winning the gold with a throw of 87.58m at the Tokyo Olympics, Neeraj Chopra became the golden boy of the country overnight. No wonder, Chopra's javelin is grabbing a lot of eyeballs and bids as well as the base price of the javelin autographed by the star athlete was set at Rs. 1,00,00,000 but once the auction took off, the price has hiked to touch Rs. 10,00,00,000 (yes, that is ten crores!)

2. Lovlina Borgohain's Boxing Gloves

Lovlina Borgohain created history by becoming the first female medallist from Assam as she won the bronze in the Women's Welterweight (64-69kg) category. The base pice of her autographed blue gloves was kept at Rs. 80,00,000 and currently they have soared to a whopping Rs. 10,00,00,000.

3. Sumit Antil's Javelin

Paralympian Sumit Antil's gold-winning run at the Tokyo Paralympics was stunning, to say the least as he broke 3 World Record's enroute to the victory! His javelin had a base price set at Rs. 1,00,00,000 and currently that has gone up to reach Rs. 3,00,00,000!

4. PV Sindhu's Racquet and Badminton Bag

PV Sindhu ensured that she does not return from the Olympics empty-handed once again as she won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics to add to her silver collection from Rio 2016. With this feat, Sindhu became the first Indian female to win two medals at the Olympics. The base price of her racquet

5. Pramod Bhagat's Racquet

Pramod Bhagat, the World No. 1 para badminton player had a stunning outing at the Tokyo Paralympics and returned with a gold medal to crown his efforts. The base price of his racquet was kept at Rs. 80,00,000 and it has soared to Rs. 90,00,100 with 19 days remaining to go before bidding closes.

6. Rani Rampal's hockey stick with signatures of the Indian Women's Hockey team

The greatest success story of the Tokyo Olympics was definitely the Indian Women's hockey team who played phenomenally and even reached the bronze medal stages of the event and most importantly, handed Australia a defeat. The Rani Rampal-led side gifted the PM with the hockey stick of Rakshak brand which Rampal used at the Olympics and it is signed by all the players. The base price of the hockey stick was kept at Rs. 80,00,000 and it is currently at Rs. 1,00,00,500, with 13 bids quoted so far.

7. Krishna Nagar's Racquet

Krishna Nagar played top-notch badminton at the Paralympic Games and was phenomenal from start to finish, leaving no doubt that he would go get the gold - which he ultimately did after pulling off a great comeback in the finals. The base price of Krishna's racquet was kept at Rs 80,00,000 and is currently at the Rs. 90,00,000 mark.