“Awonderful, wonderful…” he started off when told about the final verdict of the DNA Sportsperson of the Year poll. For a person of his stature, he was inconceivably humble and refreshingly modest. “It’s really a wonderful, wonderful feeling to be Sportsperson of the Year. I thank your readers who have voted for me. I’m extremely happy for this honour,” he completed the sentence. He has won many an award, with the Bharat Ratna waiting to be conferred on him but Sachin Tendulkar looked as happy as ever, about the DNA readers’ choice.
“I thank the almighty that the people of the country keep loving me and push me to keep improving myself,” he said, sounding unfailingly truthful. While players of his age could be counting their golfing handicaps to stay fit, improving their vocabulary to eke a career out of commentary or going for a morning walk to wriggle off the unwanted pounds off their ballooned up bellies, here he is, going on and on and on... Twenty one years on, there are no signs of slowing down. Retirement? The word does not seem to be there in his lexicon. He talked of hard work and raising the bar for himself. “My duty is to work hard and keep raising my bar which I have been trying to do all these years.”
He has qualities envied by many and possessed by few and yet he never forgets his roots. “I thank my parents for the upbringing I have had,” he said, like a proud son. “They have instilled in me the discipline which has helped me to keep trying for my best. They have stood behind me through thick and thin. My family has been a great support system.” He knows that entire India holds its collective breath when he bats and he thanks the country too. “I also thank everyone in the country, who has wished me well.”
One of the secrets of his unparalleled success is his desire for knowledge and quest for excellence. He could go and bat at the nets all day, and yet when he faces the last ball of the day, he would show as much intensity as in the first ball. Gary Kirsten would never have free time when he is at the nets. For him, the search for excellence is never complete. Even after 21 years.
“The secret is to keep the desire burning, to get better and perform better,” he avers and thinks that is normal in every sportsperson. “It is normal and natural that a sportsperson always wants to get better every time.”
If only Tendulkar is right here…India would have had a few more Sachin Tendulkars
