In a unique initiative, Sunil Gavaskar, P T Usha, Geet Sethi, Dhanraj Pillay and Irfan Pathan have come together to spread the message of 'Sports for Development and Peace' among the country's youth.
The five champions will be ambassadors for "Game4Change", a project that attempts to involve and engage the youth of the country on issues of importance to society, using sports as a medium.
Sports Minister Sunil Dutt released a book and carried out the investiture ceremony of Sethi, Usha and Pillay at the launch function in Delhi on Thursday.
While the three would be ambassadors of 'Game4Change', Gavaskar and Pathan, both of whom could not make it to the programme, would be Patron and Event Ambassadors respectively.
Organised by the National Youth Foundation and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Game4Change is an evolution of 'Cricket for Peace', a tournament featuring mixed teams, which was held in Halol in Panchmahal district of Gujarat, the scene of post-Godhra communal riots.
The tournament, first held in 2003 with 12 teams, had 35 teams, including three women's teams, the next year.
Dutt said youth hold the future of the country and their "energy, hot blood and concentration" must be channelised in the ways of non-violence.
"Gandhi was 61 when he took the walk [in 1930] but several of those who accompanied him were below 30," he said.
The minister also invited eminent sportspersons to take part in the re-enactment of Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi March in 1930, as part the 75th anniversary celebrations of the famous Satyagraha Movement next month.
