India celebrated its National Sports Day on Wednesday (29th August) and on this special occasion, Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar paid tribute to one of India's greatest sporting icons - Sunil Gavaskar.
Noteworthy, the National Sports Day is celebrated every year on 29th August on the birth anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand, who is regarded as the greatest hockey player in history and one of the most iconic sportspersons from India.
On the occasion, Tendulkar, who himself is one of the greatest Indian sportspersons of all-time and is cherished across the globe for his achievements in the game of cricket, went on social media to pay his homage to `the former Indian captain Gavaskar.
He wrote on Twitter, “To me, #SunilGavaskar is the epitome of unwavering concentration & courage. To step out on the field against a team that was well-known for ferocious pace bowlers and still achieve one of his highest batting averages. All I can say is … Wow! #NationalSportsDay #SportPLAYINGIndia”
To me, #SunilGavaskar is the epitome of unwavering concentration & courage. To step out on the field against a team that was well-known for ferocious pace bowlers and still achieve one of his highest batting averages. All I can say is … Wow! #NationalSportsDay #SportPLAYINGIndia pic.twitter.com/2s8KRnu8O3
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 29, 2018
Meanwhile, Gavaskar was also moved by Tendulkar's gesture. While reacting to Tendulkar's tribute, he told India Today, “That's very sweet of him. I can only reciprocate by saying that some years I wrote in Telegraph of UK that he's closest thing to batting perfection that I have seen.”
He also added that Tendulkar is an ideal role model for the youngsters, as well as, lauded for his demeanour on and off the field.
Gavaskar signed off by saying, “He's such an ideal role model for youngsters because of the way he's carried himself on and off the field. His demeanour on and off the field has been absolutely incredible. He's had so many pressures on him, the pressure of expectations. But yet he's handled himself absolute terrific and that's why he's a fantastic role model. I now see that in the second innings of his life, he's doing a lot of charity. These charity initiatives are absolutely terrific and I think he will feel a great sense of satisfaction and fulfilment from these charity initiatives in the second innings of his life than the first innings of his life where he did so much for India and the Indian cricket loving public.”
