PV Sindhu Appointed as Commander and Brand Ambassador of CRPF

Badminton star PV Sindhu added another accolade to her name after she won a silver medal in Rio Olympics.

Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu and her coach Pullela Gopichand wave to the crowd after reaching the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. (Photo: AP)

Country’s largest paramilitary force CRPF has decided to appoint Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu as it’s brand ambassador and bestow the honorary rank of Commander on the ace badminton player.

Official sources said the force has moved a formal proposal in this regard to the Union Home Ministry and after getting required sanctions, Sindhu will be honoured and presented the rank badges and camouflage combat fatigues of the CRPF at a ceremonial event.

It is understood that Sindhu has been informed and her consent taken by the CRPF in this regard. A Commander’s rank in the CRPF is equivalent to the position of a Superintendent of Police (SP) and such an officer commands a battalion of about 1,000 personnel, when posted in field operations.

They said that the force which is strengthened by about 3 lakh personnel and is the mainstay for anti-Naxal operations and various internal security duty tasks in the country, chose Sindhu for the honour as her appointment will not only motivate the personnel to do better, but will also send the message of women empowerment and that they are second to none.

Being the brand ambassador of the force, they said, Sindhu would be asked to hold motivational sessions with troops when she is not playing or practising and her messages would be sent to all the personnel deployed across the country.

The Central Reserve Police Force also has the credit of raising the first all-women battalion in a central paramilitary or a police force way back in 1987 and at present has four such contingents, with three in active duties. Few years ago, border guarding force BSF had appointed cricketer Virat Kohli as it’s brand ambassador.

Sindhu won a historic silver in the women’s singles badminton at the recently concluded Rio Olympic Games and was on Monday conferred India’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, along with other Olympic stars that includede wrestler Sakshi Malik (bronze medallist), gymnast Dipa Karmakar and shooter Jitu Rai, by President Pranab Mukherjee.