SANIA MIRZA: LIFE WILL NEVER WILL BE THE SAME WITHOUT SACHIN
Sania Mirza, Sushil Kumar, Vinod Naidu, Sunil Bhalla and Rajeev Shukla present at Salaam Sachin India Today Conclave
SUSHIL KUMAR: TOUCHED SACHIN’S FEET WHEN I FIRST MET HIM
SUSHIL KUMAR: SACHIN SHOULD BECOME SPORTS MINISTER
SUNIL BHALLA: HE IS REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT HIS ART
VINOD NAIDU: HE IS ALL ABOUT INSPIRATION
RAJEEV SHUKLA: WILL PUT IN BEST EFFORTS TO RECOMMEND SACHIN FOR BHARAT RATNA
RAJEEV SHUKLA: SACHIN WAS THE TEAM’S ELDER STATESMAN
RAJEEV SHUKLA: SONIA GANDHI HAD RECOMMENDED SACHIN FOR RAJYA SABHA
LAVA Salaam Sachin India Today Conclave’s session- Sachin: Universal Icon: Transcending The Boundary of Cricket- moderated by Boria Majumdar, Consulting Editor, Sports, India Today Group, saw Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and Double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar heap praise on Sachin Tendulkar
Sania Mirza said that life won’t be same without Sachin Tendulkar.
“There will be people who will keep the legacy of Indian cricket but it will never be the same without the Sachin. As athletes we have grown up with his presence.”
Sushil Kumar narrated his experience after he had won the second Olympic medal in London in 2012.
“I was so overwhelmed, when I won my second Olympic medal and after that I got an opportunity to talk to him on phone. When I met him first time I touched his feet.”, Sushil reminisced.
He appealed to every sportspersons that Sachin should be an inspiration to everyone.
“Followers of Sachin always learn from him and every Olympian should learn from him.
On being asked what should Sachin do after retirement Sushil had an interesting suggestion.
“Sachin should become the Sports minister of India.”
More interesting anecdotes emerged from Brand Sachin Session where corporate honchos and ad gurus paid their tributes to Sachin Tendulkar
Speaking to Headlines Today‘s Managing Editor Dr. Nalin Mehta, Sunil Bhalla Co-Founder & Directpr, LAVA Mobiles regarded Sachin as the humblest person he has ever met
“He has his feet firmly on ground and is really passionate about art”. Bhalla added
Founder and CEO, Seven3Rockers Technologies, Jatin Ahluwalia, shed light on Sachin’s immense popularity on social media.
“Today there are 12 million likes on Facebook. Such is the love of people for him”.
Managing Director, Autographs of the World Hamilton Bland put Tendulkar in the pantheons of the greatest sportspersons that the world has ever seen.
“There are many different players with different records, Mohammad Ali has won Heavyweight thrice, Michael Schumacher has won 7 FIA World titles,Roger Federer has 14 Grand slams and Sachin has 100 international centuries under him” .
General Manager of World Sport Group Vinod Naidu paid rich tributes to the Master Blaster even sharing his own personal anecdote.
“He is all about inspiration. My father loves to watch Sachin bat. Sachin has bought the idea of commercialisation in cricket. Sports actually brings people together”.
In Untold Stories of Sachin Session moderated by TV TODAY’S Deputy Editor Sweta Singh, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla backed Sachin for India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna
Shukla said, “There used to be a hitch earlier when similar demands were made for Sachin to get the Bharat Ratna. That being he was still playing and it will be difficult to award him the Ratna. But now that he will be retiring we will renew our demand to give him the Bharat Ratna”
Shukla narrated an interesting incident on Sachin Tendulkar’s statesmanship during John Wright’s tenure as Team India coach, an incident the Kiwi cricketer had himself written in his book- Indian Summer.
Shukla said, “”An irate Wright had once grabbed Sehwag by the scruff of his collar after Viru got out and came back to the pavilion. Sehwag and Ganguly made it clear that the team will not leave the dressing room unless Wright apologises. That’s when Sachin stepped in and took me(Shukla) aside making it clear that no way Wright should be forced to apologise in front of the whole team as it would demean his authority”
Shukla recalled the hue and cry in the media when Sachin Tendulkar had applied for a waiver of import duty for his Ferrari.
“The then Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had cleared the paperwork and allowed Tendulkar to get an exemption. Sachin, when he heard media reports raising a hue and cry on his exemption, agreed to pay the duty to steer clear of any controversy”
On Sachin Tendulkar being nominated for the Rajya Sabha Shukla said the suggestion had come straight from Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
