The Hindu : Sport : Paes among Olympic torch-bearers

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Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008
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Paes among Olympic torch-bearers

Special Correspondent

MUMBAI: Leander Paes, actors Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan, Tata Consultancy Services CEO Subramanian Ramadorai, Ingram Micro India CEO Jaishankar Krishnan and orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Vaibhav Bagaria from Nagpur have been chosen — on the basis of extraordinary achievement in a particular field — as the six torchbearers who will run the Beijing 2008 Olympics torch relay in New Delhi on April 17.

Announcing this at a media briefing on Tuesday, the India MD of Lenovo, the worldwide partner of the 2008 Olympic torch relay programme, said: “Lenovo is celebrating the power of the Olympics by honouring these individuals who embody the Olympic spirit and motivate their peers and communities. We plan to honour them globally.”

Each torchbearer was nominated based on certain criteria and all six have demonstrated innovation in their respective fields. The chosen six will hold the Lenovo-designed ‘Cloud of Promise’ torch.

Paes is an Olympic medallist and expected to compete at Beijing as one of the country’s medal prospects in the men’s doubles. Saif and Soha are Lenovo brand ambassadors. S. Ramadorai is known for global leadership in software services. J. Krishnan is reputed to be one of the most prolific business minds and is known for his contribution in improving IT distribution services.

Dr. Bagaria — who runs a charity hospital in Nagpur, providing healthcare to adopted villages — is the winner of the nation-wide open nomination programme conducted by Lenovo, topping the list out of 400 nominations received.

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