Milkha's shoes, Sachin's bat, Messi's ball help raise Rs 1.96 crore in bid fest
Milkha Singh's 1960 Rome Olympics shoes were auctioned for a whopping Rs 24 lakh. Picture courtesy: Wills Book of Excellenceu00a0-- The Olympics
Milkha's shoes, Sachin's bat, Messi's ball help raise Rs 1.96 crore in bid fest 
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The proceeds of the auction were donated to The Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to creating a world without discrimination.
The ICC World Cup 2011 ball autographed by the two men who captained the historic final at Wankhede -- India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sri Lanka's Kumara Sangakarra -- fetched the highest bid of Rs 38 lakh.
Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra bid successfully for legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh's Rome Olympics 1960 running shoes for Rs 24 lakh, which also was the second highest bid.
The bat signed by members of theu00a0 2011 World Cup-winning Indian team fetched R14 lakh while Sachin Tendulkar's bat was sold for Rs 11 lakh.
Items autographed by cricket greats Imran Khan (bat), Sir Richard Hadlee (ball), Kapil Dev (shoes) and Sir Ian Botham (1982 Ashes) went for R8.5 lakh. Lionel Messi's autographed football was sold for R11 lakh followed by Rafael Nadal's autographed shoes, which fetched Rs 6.5 lakh.
VVS Laxman's bat with which he scored 148 against Australia in 2003 was sold for R6 lakh, while a set of four balls signed by the spin quartet Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, BS Chandrashekhar and S Venkataraghavan went for Rs 5.5 lakh. Magic Johnson's autographed LA Lakers vest was sold for Rs 5.5 lakh.
Eminent sportspersons like Milkha, Kapil, Prakash Padukone, Bedi, Prasanna, Dhanraj Pillay and Viren Rasquinha were present for the auction.
Bose, who started The Foundation, said: "It is a great testament to the generosity of spirit that Indians have towards making the world better for our children. This auction would be nothing without our champions.
"They are champions not only in their sport but in the largeness of their hearts. We are humbled and grateful."
Bestsellers
* ICC World Cup 2011 ball signed by MS Dhoni and K Sangakkara -- Rs 38 lakh
* Milkha Singh's Rome Olympics 1960 running shoes -- Rs 24 lakh
* Bat signed by members of the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian team -- Rs 14 lakhu00a0u00a0
* Sachin Tendulkar's bat -- Rs 11 lakhu00a0
* Football autographed by Lionel Messi -- Rs 11 lakh
* Tennis ace Rafael Nadal's autographed shoes -- Rs 6.5 lakh
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