Chirag Shetty’s Asian Games gold winning jersey, signed Satwiksairaj Rankireddy to go for auction | Badminton News
The shirt worn at the end of the final Asian Games gold medall Chirag Shetty and signed him and his partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, will go up for auction on Sunday, November 26, at 2 p.m , on the instagram channel @solibad_charity.
All benefits will go to children in need at Sri Meikandaar Matric Higher Secondary School which was built the NGO HUMAN Uplift. “It is situated in the village of Mannachanallur, in Trichy, centre of Tamil Nadu, one of India’s poorer areas where families from the Dalit caste, have no means to send their children to school. The money raised will be used to set up a global sport program for up to 900 children for a year. Sports will include badminton, but not only,” the charity Solibad, Badminton without borders, said in a press release.
Solibad added that the shirt was the one Shetty put on right after his match point celebration, posing for the world’s photographers. “This piece of hory is quite unique as it was India’s first ever gold medal in the Asian Games for any category in badminton – a real breakthrough for India’s badminton. Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have been Solibad Ambassadors for a couple of years and believe it is their responsibility to give back to the community, especially those who are in need.
“Giving back and helping children in need is really something that fulfills me and makes me really happy – more than anything else” Chirag was quoted the press release. He and his teammates from Team India had raised over 5000 US$ in a previous auction for Solibad with a shirt signed the Thomas Cup team in 2022.
“We know from our previous experiences in all our programs how impactful sport is for children in these environments. Not only for the hours they spend having fun – one of the few times they get some time to enjoy themselves – or for the benefits on their health, but also – and this is particularly true for badminton – for their mental wellbeing” said Solibad’s founder and president, Raphaël Sachetat.
“Our sport enables children with very low self-esteem and self-confidence to progress quickly and be good at something – sometimes for the first time in their lives – something our educators know how to value. It’s a game changer and has tremendous impact on their future.”
The auction will last 6 hours only, and will start on Sunday, November 26th 2023 at 2 p.m Delhi time on Solibad’s Instagram account @solibad_charity, until last bid at 8 p.m. (The winning bid will be the one with no higher bid for 5 minutes after 8 p.m). The winner of the auction will also get a signed photo of Chirag and Rankireddy together with the shirt.
Highest bidder will have 24 hours to send a proof of payment through a bank wire or online donation before the shirt is sent to him/her international courier from France.
