Sachin Tendulkar, Bharat Ratna, met President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Vimarsh Shrinkhala event in New Delhi on Thursday, February 6, 2025.
Accompanied by his wife Dr Anjali Tendulkar and daughter Sara, Sachin presented the President with a signed Indian Test jersey.
The President and Tendulkar also took a round of Amrit Udyan.
For Sachin, this visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan was different from his previous ones, when he had come down to receive several awards. This was the first time he attended as a guest of the President.
'Honourable President and me talked about the World Cup hockey in Bhubaneswar, which I saw sitting alongside my friend Dilip Tirkey. We spoke about food in Odisha. As I walked through the corridors of Rashtrapati Bhavan, I saw portraits of our freedom fighters adorning the walls. It gave me goosebumps,' said the legend.
Sachin entertained the audience with anecdotes from his playing days. He recalled he used to work with Virender Sehwag's mindset to bring out the best in him
'With Sehwag, he would do opposite of what I wanted him to do. So I would tell Viru if I wanted him to defend for a few overs, I would tell him "Viru go and start blasting the bowlers and hit big sixes." Viru would then say, "No paaji, I think I should defend for four overs and then try hitting sixes".'
Sachin also revealed how he motivated Yuvraj Singh, who was low on confidence ahead of the 2011 World Cup, with a simple but powerful message.
'I called Yuvi for dinner and asked him why he looked a bit down on energy. He said, "paaji, I am not timing the ball well." I told him to forget about batting and concentrate on fielding. Set some fielding goals.
'I told him, "Yuvi, you will matter when it matters", and the spring in his strides was back,' recalled Sachin, who was conferred with the Bharat Ratna -- India's highest civilian honour --in 2014.
In the session attended by aspiring sportspersons and students of various schools and colleges, Sachin highlighted the importance of teamwork, taking care of others, celebrating the success of others, hard work, developing mental and physical toughness and so many other life-building aspects.
Future sportsstars, he predicted, will come from the remotest areas and from among tribal communities and areas that are not so privileged.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com and Anant Salvi/Rediff.com
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