Chase dreams as they come true: Tendulkar to Indian youth

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Saturday advised youngsters in the country to chase their dreams to excel in their respective fields, but discouraged them from wasting too much time on modern gadgets.

-It has been a dream journey and I have no regrets: Tendulkar

Tendulkar, speaking at an NDTV programme to honour 25 Greatest Global Living Indians, said that dreams come true if one chases them hard.

"I would encourage the youth of India to dream because dreams come true if you chase them hard," he said after accepting the award from President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

"I also at times had to face defeat but the most important thing I learnt from my sport was when you are defeated you stand up to face another challenge.

"I am extremely honoured to receive this award. I was asked to give a message to youth of India and I could not think of anything than the advice I got from my grandmother who said 'Health is wealth, take care of your health'," said Tendulkar, who recently retired from international cricket after an illustrious career spanning 24 years.

He asked the youth to engage in outdoor activities to keep themselves fit and in good health so that they can focus on their respective fields.

"When today, I look at the current generation, they are so much into videogames, laptops, computers, mobile phones which unfortunately only exercises your thumbs. I would urge our youngsters to engage themselves in outdoor activities, play some sport, find some passion in life where you could be competing against your friends," he said.

"It is about fitness and good health which will allow you concentrate longer, focus harder in whatever you want to be in life," said Tendulkar who retired with almost all batting records in his kitty.

Tendulkar, who hit a phenomenal 100 international centuries, said he had always played the game in the right spirit.

"For me, when my career started 24 years ago, my sport got me lot of things. To play the game in the right spirit, respect the opposition, not to take things for granted, have strategies as the standard of playing got better and better, to be able to execute your plans," he said.

The other 24 eminent persons honoured were Kapil Dev, Leander Paes, Ela Bhatt, Hariprasad Chaurasia, C N R Rao, Amartya Sen, S S Badrinath, Fali Nariman, Indra Nooyi, M S Swaminathan, Anish Kapoor, A R Rehman, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Shah Rukh Khan, Waheeda Rehman, Mukesh Ambani, N R Narayana Murthy, Ratan Tata, Syed Haider Raza, Venkatrama Ramakrishnan, Vikram Seth, Yusuf Khwaja Hamied and Zubin Mehta.