Neeraj Chopra’s ‘Golden’ Javelin Up For Grabs At e-Auction Of PM’s Gifts

New Delhi: The javelin which Neeraj Chopra used to grab a historic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last month will be one of the most sought-after items at the e-auction of gifts and mementoes received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The e-auction is being organized by the Union Ministry of Culture to mark Modi’s birthday on September 17.

The base price of the javelin, which Neeraj presented to Modi recently, is expected to be around Rs 75 lakh. It won’t be a surprise if the buying price goes up to a few crores after intense bidding.

The T-shirt worn by Paralympics gold-medallist Avani Lakhera will have a base price of Rs 15 lakh, while Paralympics gold-winner Sumit Antil’s javelin is learnt to have a base price of Rs 1 crore.

According to ministry sources, bronze-winner Lovlina Borgohain’s boxing gloves will start at Rs 80 lakh.

A stole with signatures of Tokyo Olympic sportspersons will have a base price of Rs 90 lakh.

There will be about 1,300 items in the auction, including sports gear and equipment of other medal-winning Olympians and Paralympians, replica of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir presented to the PM by UP CM Yogi Adityanath and a wooden replica of Chardham presented by Uttarakhand Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj.

The proceeds from the e-auction will go towards Namami Gange Mission, which aims to conserve and rejuvenate the Ganga. There are also other models of important buildings, sculptures, paintings and souvenirs that the PM received from visiting dignitaries and during important functions over the last two years.

How to participate in e-auction:

Individuals and organizations can participate in the e-auction through the website https://pmmementos.gov.in between September 17 and October 7. Once the auction ends, the ministry will notify the highest bidders through email.

To prevent any fake bid, an upper limit for each bid has been fixed.

Three such auctions have been conducted by the Ministry of Culture — in February 2015, January 27-April 1, 2019, and September 14 to October 24, 2019 — since Modi became PM in 2014