Indians know very little about India’s Olympic quest at Rio; reveals‘Namak ke Waastey’survey by Tata Salt

·         40 % under the age of 30 believe India stands a chance to win an Olympic medal for Cricket

·         48% of the people surveyed believe that India has hosted the Olympic Games in New Delhi

·         87% of women under 30 years wish to have chosen being an Olympic sportsperson as a career, over being film stars and entrepreneurs

National, 1st August, 2016: One in every three Indians believes that India has a chance to win an Olympic medal for cricket, according to the Tata Salt ‘Namak ke Waastey’survey. Conducted to gauge the Olympic quotient of Indians in the run-up to Rio Olympics 2016, the nationwide survey is one of the initiatives under the ‘Namak ke Waastey’ campaign. The campaign is aimed at catalysing conversations and generating mass support for Indian Olympians headed to Rio.

Tata Salt ‘Namak ke Waastey’ survey reveals India’s fascination with its favourite sport with around 40% men and women under the age of 30 believing that India stands a chance to win the medal for cricket, which isn’t even an Olympic sport! On the other hand, only 14% of those surveyed pin their medal hopes on shotput, while boxing and wrestling have secured support from 30% and 40% respondents respectively. Call it the effect of a recently released Bollywood movie or just their new found admiration for the strenuous sport, but wrestling seems to be reigning among Indian women. Almost 60% of women have chosen wrestling as the sport that could get India its Olympic medal.

The survey however paints a surprisingly different picture when it comes to aspirational career choices.  87% of women and 69% men under 30 years of age would have wished to be an Olympian sportsperson, overriding popular career options such as writer, film star/ rock musician/ rock/pop star and entrepreneur. It is noteworthy to mention that nearly 75% of the total respondents under 30 years chose Olympic sportsperson as an aspirational career if given a choice. These results clearly demonstrate that India is a hotbed of young sports aspirants.

Speaking on the results of the survey, Mr. Sagar Boke, Head- Marketing, Tata Chemicals Ltd. (Consumer Products Business) said, “The purpose of conducting the Tata Salt ‘Namak ke Waastey’ survey, was to gauge the Olympic sentiment among Indians and is an initiative to connect effectively with the audience. The survey findings throw light on various facts that us Indians are ignorant of, from whether Olympics has ever been held in India to cricket being an Olympic sport! Though Indians seems to be ignorant about the Olympic Games and our athletes in general, the surprising and positive highlight of the survey is that if given a choice, maximum number of them want to be Olympic sportspersons. India is indeed brimming with sporting talent, just waiting to be explored. The ‘Namak ke Waastey’ campaign has been crafted with this very purpose in mind – first, to create a genuine platform for the Indian Olympians in general which brings forth their struggle, passion and indomitable spirit thus educating the masses on what goes on behind the scenes and second, to catalyze conversations and bring about unity in our support for them.”

Finally, the most shocking insight was the answer to the question whether India has ever hosted the Olympic Games, where 48% of the people surveyed answered in the affirmative, stating that they were held in New Delhi. In fact, the only  international multi-sport event held in Indian was the 2010 Commonwealth Games whereas in 2015 it was agreed that 2024 is too early for India to bid for hosting the Olympic Games.

India is sending its largest ever delegation to the Rio Olympics 2016 and in an effort to garner mass support for the Indian athletes, Tata Salt tied up with the India Olympics Association (IOA) as a proud sponsor of the Indian Olympics contingent. The brand is dedicated to generating awareness about less sensational sports and winning mass support for players representing the nation at Rio this year. ‘Namak ke Waastey’ is a step forward in Tata Salt’s journey of augmenting consumer trust over the years, through innovative brand building and distinctive campaigns. While the campaign brings forth their stories of hard work, determination, hope and most of all, the pride of representing India at the Olympics, the objective is to spark the change from indifference to mass support amongst a nation of 1.2 billion people.