An autographed badminton racquet signed by Thomas Cup gold medallist K Srikanth became the top grosser in the e-auction of Prime Minister’s mementos on Wednesday. Sporting memorabilia received 214 bids at a base price of Rs 5 lakh.
Among the sports memorabilia items on offer are a T-shirt autographed by Tokyo Paralympic Games gold medallist Manish Narwal (Rs 50.25 lakh) and a T-shirt autographed by parapowerlifter Sudhir (Rs 50.20 lakh), who won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022. Sports memorabilia, most of which started at Rs 5 lakh, received the most bids.
In addition to sports items, typically more expensive, a model of the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex, presented by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to the PM, also attracted the most bids during the 26-day auction.
The highest bid came in at Rs 41,71,500 for a black marble sculpture of Subhas Chandra Bose presented by sculptor Arun Yogiraj. It got 131 bids, going up to Rs 29.95 lakh, for its base price of Rs 32,400, also presented by the UP CM. An exhibit of the Golden Temple model and a memento from the recent Chess Olympiad won Rs 19.73 lakh and Rs 19.72 lakh, respectively.
Once all quoted bids are approved by the respective bidders at the auction closing, the objects will be dispatched to them after payment is received, according to officials in the Ministry of Culture, which was responsible for executing the auction.
