Press Releases 2008

U.S. AMBASSADOR CONGRATULATES YOUNG BASEBALL PLAYERS FROM INDIA ON THEIR WAY TO AMERICA

May 2, 2008

NEW DELHI – U.S. Ambassador to India David C. Mulford today congratulated two young Indians who won the "Million Dollar Arm Hunt," a nation-wide competition to find the fastest baseball pitchers in India.

Rinku Bhramdeen Singh and Dinesh Kumar Patel will be departing for the United States shortly to begin a year of professional training under the sponsorship of J.B. Bernstein, a talent scout for Major League Baseball.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Mulford said, "This is an absolutely fantastic opportunity for these young men, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity for Major League Baseball. In Major League Baseball there is a wide variety of participants from other nations, but there has been no representation at this point of any magnitude from the great nation of India."

The "Million Dollar Arm Hunt" was launched in India in December 2007 to find the fastest baseball pitcher in India as part of the American sport’s global search for talented athletes.

The two young men from small towns in India will soon be heading to the Los Angeles, California, to train with baseball professionals. As winner of the competition, Rinku Bhramdeen Singh won a contract for US $100,000 to train for one of America’s leading sports leagues.

The competition in India began with a tour of 20 cities, followed by qualifying rounds in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Chandigarh, culminating with the final in Mumbai.