Sachin Tendulkar accepts IOA's invitation to become India's Goodwill Ambassador for upcoming Rio Olympics

New Delhi: After Abhinav Bindra and Salman Khan, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday also accepted the invitation to be the Goodwill Ambassador for India at the Rio Olympics this year.

According to report in India Today, the legendary cricketer said he would be happy to accept the honour and added that he would do whatever he could to promote sports in the country.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had invited Tendulkar to come on board on April 29.

IOA came under intense scrutiny after it appointed Bollywood superstar Salman Khan as a Goodwill Ambassador ahead of other sporting luminaries.

However, IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta had said in a statement that Khan is not going to be the sole face of the Indian Olympics contingent, adding they are in talks with two other big names in music and cricket industry (Sachin Tendulkar and AR Rahman) to popularise Olympic sports.

“Mr Salman Khan is only being appointed from Bollywood segment and we are in talks with two other big names in music and cricket,” he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Bindra accepted the offer after his father received a letter from IOA on Friday and expressed his gratitude through a tweet.

pic.twitter.com/uhNLtmynv0 — Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) April 29, 2016