Haryana to launch `Best of Luck` campaign as build up to Oly

Chandigarh: The Haryana government is launching a 10-day campaign, called `BOL India`, from tomorrow to let fans wish the Olympic-bound Indian athletes and spread awareness about the mega event.

"The campaign is intended to give people a platform to wish `Best of Luck` to the Indian contingent taking part in the Olympics. It is a build-up to the Olympics and will motivate people, especially the youth, to take interest in sports," Haryana`s Director Sports, O P Singh said here today. The Sports Department is also planning two roadshows, where vehicles, carrying photographs of all Olympic qualifiers from India will move through the state. "The roadshows will disseminate information on the Olympic qualifiers from the country, the schedule of the Games, when our qualifiers are likely to play, and also the opportunities that exist for a career in sports. We hope to motivate many youth with our effort," he further said. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will flag off the `BOL India` roadshow from his residence here tomorrow. Singh said that fans can show their support for the campaign on the social networking sites as well as by sending their messages. "Digital boards will also be put up where people can write best of luck messages for the Olympians," he said. Besides this, all the sports complexes in the state will have interactive module having components such as on-the-spot quiz, Olympics schedule involving Indian athletes, information on international players and Haryana Government`s sports promotion programmes. There would be about 80 sportspersons in the Indian contingent which would participate in the Olympics and 18 of them would be from Haryana. In the last four years, the number of Olympic qualifiers from Haryana has doubled--from 9 to 18, and 16 of them are in individual games. The number of women Olympic qualifiers from the state has also gone up from two to four, with Geeta Phogat of Bhiwani being the first Indian woman wrestler to ever compete in the Olympics, Singh added. PTI