Sachin Tendulkar opens up about love for other sports, the role of television and more
The relentless showers in the City of Dreams on a lazy Tuesday afternoon did not deter the excitement and zeal of hundreds of sports frenzy people patiently waiting for the arrival of the iconic cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, at a promotional event.
With the Little Master about to grace the event, the humongous screen in front of the crowd displayed a very famous quote describing one of the greatest players produced in the modern era; If Sport is a teacher, then you are the best student.
And just as Harsha Bhogle tried telling Sachin that he could be a teacher, the cricketer shot back saying, “I believe that even if one has reached the pinnacle of success, the learning never stops. Sports trains you to become a better version of yourself and I shall always remain the student of the game because, for me, sports inspires life. It has been my life, and it is very difficult to live without sports.”
The journey from a young kid to one of the stalwarts of Indian cricket
The memories of the last day of his final Test match at the Wankhede Stadium and his tribute to the pitch post match still gives cricket fans goosebumps.
Despite being such a prolific performer for the team, not many in the world are aware of the fact that a 10-year-old Sachin was inspired by the heroics of Kapil Dev and co in the 1983 World Cup.
“At the age of 10, I watched Kapil Dev lift that beautiful trophy at Lord’s and from there on my journey started. Along the way, 24 years that I have played with some of the great cricketers, I believe that we had contributed in some way to motivate the youth of the nation.”
Passion for other sports
The Master Blaster is someone who embodies the true essence of sports and ever since he has drawn curtains to his illustrious international career, he has often been seen at various sporting events across the globe.
He recently made an appearance at the Royal Box of the Wimbledon to support his favourite player, Roger Federer. And, it is no surprise that Tendulkar and Federer have an immense amount of respect and mutual admiration for one another.
“Roger follows cricket. Something which I have learnt is that whenever Roger is playing video games, he prefers to be Sachin and when I am playing any racquet sports, I prefer to be Roger,” he said.
While Sachin has mingled with the royalties of the sporting arena, there has been an impeccable amount of mutual admiration for one another which he terms as an incredible experience.
“You rub shoulder with some of the champions of the sport, not just in the current era but also in the past. They are great personalities who have achieved so much in life and to be able to soak in the atmosphere itself is something incredible,” he said.
He also recalled an interesting incident about the Formula One race which helped him understand the sport in a much better manner by saying, "I remember a race at Silverstone in England which I watched with Sir Frank Williams and Sir Jackie Stewart, the great Formula One champion. Sir Jackie did a grid walk with me saying I will take you around and speak more about the sport.
“I sat with the two of them, and it was the most incredible experience for me because I could hear what they were communicating with the driver. It was enlighting to see what goes beyond the Formula One race and not just the cars going round and round the circuit“.
Dipa Karmakar and the importance of television
The 44-year-old who was unveiled as the Ambassador for Sports of the Sony Pictures Sports Network also spoke about the growing influence of the visual information on the younger generation by citing to a young lady sensation from Agartala who took the world by storm with her impressive performance at the Rio Olympics.
“When I started travelling post retirement, the biggest sporting event was in Rio where we saw some incredible performances. I felt that in badminton we did well and also in some of the other sports, it was a mix of excitement and some disappointment. But, the performance of Dip Karmakar, a lady from Agartala is something that caught my eye.
“She participated in gymnastics and to get to where she reached is an amazing story. This is what happens when you get to see heroes on television which is a platform to change the nation”, he concluded.