Olympian Sushil Kumar asked to promote vegetarianism

New Delhi, Aug 27 : People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has asked Olympics bronze medallist Sushil Kumar, a brawny wrestler who shuns meat, to be their brand ambassador for promoting vegetarianism through their advertisement campaigns.

In a letter addressed to Kumar, who follows a strict vegetarian diet, Anuradha Sawhney, chief functionary, PETA said: “We would like to feature you in one of our vegetarian ads."

"Our campaigns are known for featuring attention-getting images, and the muscularity you displayed in winning your victory would certainly attract attention - and make it clear that a vegetarian diet can lead to a body built for Olympian feats,” she said.

She added: “Your well-honed physique could also help young (and not-so-young) men understand that when it is time for a real workout, they should avoid meat if they want to achieve maximum performance.”

The letter, sent Tuesday, was also marked to Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi.

On being asked whether PETA has received any response to the letter, Sawhney told IANS: “We haven't received any response yet. But people mostly agree to be a part of our campaigns and I am sure Sushil will do the same.”

Sawhney sounded sure of what PETA wanted in their ad campaign with Sushil. “There will be a lot of body showing and that is primarily because we want to send across a message that one can have his kind of muscles even with vegetarian food,” she said.

In the past, cricketer Anil Kumble has also supported PETA's vegetarianism campaign.

Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Yana Gupta had won the title of “Asia's sexiest vegetarians alive” through a poll conducted by PETA in June.

There will be yet another similar poll conducted by the organisation in October and Indian cricketers Parthiv Patel and S. Sreesanth will be a part of it.

--IANS