No other Indian sportsman has donned as many roles with as much ease and success as has Vijay Amritraj, whose appointment as UN Messenger of Peace has yet again underlined his unique status as an international sporting statesman.
“The United Nations could not have made a better choice. It is through sport that one can unify and Vijay is the right person to do that. I am happy that the UN has realised the true value of a very special sportsman of our times,” said Suresh Kalmadi, President, Indian Olympic Association. N Kumar, President, Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA), welcoming the gathering at the Hotel Park Sheraton, Chennai on May 7, 2001, said that Vijay was the first Asian sportsman to become a UN Messenger of Peace and this “brings glory not only to Tamil Nadu, but to all sports loving people”.B S Adityan, President, Tamil Nadu Olympic
Association, pointed out that nobody in Indian sport was better suited to spread the message of peace worldwide. “Vijay is the pride of Tamil Nadu and a torch-bearer of sporting excellence,” he said. Ashok Vardhan Shetty, Chief Minister’s Secretary and Member Secretary, Sports, Government of Tamil Nadu said, “Vijay is a genuine all-Indian hero at a time when many heroes are found to have feet of clay.”
Arun Bewoor, President, Madras Management Association, said Vijay was “an icon with a winning smile”. With a winning smile, Vijay Amritraj thanked the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association, the Park Sheraton Hotel and the Committee of Hosts for honouring him. “When I took up this appointment, it gave me the greatest feeling of being an Indian,” said Vijay. Manoj Virmani, Manager, Park Sheraton Hotel, proposed a vote of thanks.
Suresh Kalmadi, President, Indian Olympic Association, presenting a citation to tennis legend and UN Messenger of Peace, Vijay Amritraj, at a felicitation function in Chennai. The TNTA President, N Kumar, is at right.