Sachin Tendulkar's pledge to transform India from a sport loving nation to a sport playing nation

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It is my endeavour to transform India from being a sport loving nation to a sport playing nation. I urge you all to participate in this effort and help make my dream, our dream. Always remember, dreams do come true! Jai Hind <a href="https://t.co/h6l3Iq5lHT">https://t.co/h6l3Iq5lHT</a></p>— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) <a href="https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/status/944130986794610689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">22 December 2017</a></blockquote>
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[MenInG]

Wish we had some pledges like that from our Pak sportsmen

 

[Proactive_]

Correction: "Cricket" loving nation.

That's why people like Sachin Tendulkar have become gods and Bharat Ratnas while legends like Viswanathan Anand who have contributed just as much if not more to Indian sports struggle to even get 3 lines in the Sports section after being the Top Indian chess player for 30 years and a 5 time world champion. And this is just one example. There are hundred others.

 

[Hitman]

Correction: "Cricket" loving nation.

That's why people like Sachin Tendulkar have become gods and Bharat Ratnas while legends like Viswanathan Anand who have contributed just as much if not more to Indian sports struggle to even get 3 lines in the Sports section after being the Top Indian chess player for 30 years and a 5 time world champion. And this is just one example. There are hundred others.

It's the fans of a nation that decides which sport they like and which sportsperson they like. It's not like the BCCI rammed down cricket in every Indians throat, it's the Indian fans who chose to love cricket over other sports/games. And Sachin didn't demand us Indians to become the most loved sportsperson in India, us Indian fans decided that. Why? Because we have the choice, and we are not compelled to love or follow each and every other sport in the country. And obviously even the greatest sportsperson of all time won't get that fame and adulation if he is involved in a game like chess which has minuscule popularity in India. It's like whining how Jahangir Khan never enjoyed the same adulation in Pakistan as Imran Khan did. It's that simple.

 

[Proactive_]

It's the fans of a nation that decides which sport they like and which sportsperson they like. It's not like the BCCI rammed down cricket in every Indians throat, it's the Indian fans who chose to love cricket over other sports/games. And Sachin didn't demand us Indians to become the most loved sportsperson in India, us Indian fans decided that. Why? Because we have the choice, and we are not compelled to love or follow each and every other sport in the country. And obviously even the greatest sportsperson of all time won't get that fame and adulation if he is involved in a game like chess which has minuscule popularity in India. It's like whining how Jahangir Khan never enjoyed the same adulation in Pakistan as Imran Khan did. It's that simple.

Nobody is blaming Sachin here. Don't get so defensive about your hero for no reason . It's his statement that India is a sport loving nation, which is inaccurate. Even WWE has a bigger viewership than most sports in India. So much for India's "sports loving" culture. If India even had a fraction of the money influx that cricket gets in other sports, we wouldn't be returning with an embarrassing < 5 medals in the Olympics.

Tendulkar getting the politically motivated Bharat Ratna right before the 2014 elections was a big big joke though.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Great initiative.

And it is sad that an olympic gold medalist is selling gol gappas to earn a living

And I am sure we have same situation in Pakistan as well.

 

[www787]

It can’t be done unless it starts from early school life of a child, and that can only be done if the government of that district, town,state and federal government work together to implement it at the school level.
Great initiative by the great ambassador of the sport and India.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Correction: "Cricket" loving nation.

That's why people like Sachin Tendulkar have become gods and Bharat Ratnas while legends like Viswanathan Anand who have contributed just as much if not more to Indian sports struggle to even get 3 lines in the Sports section after being the Top Indian chess player for 30 years and a 5 time world champion. And this is just one example. There are hundred others.

India is not a cricket loving nation either. Otherwise there won't be silence in the crowds when the opposition batsman plays great shots. Indians would jump on any sport which gives them international recognition and boosts their collective self esteem.

Although wish Tendulkar really does take the initiative seriously. He has very poor attendance in the upper house, and took so many years to raise something in the parliament.

 

[Proactive_]

India is not a cricket loving nation either. Otherwise there won't be silence in the crowds when the opposition batsman plays great shots. Indians would jump on any sport which gives them international recognition and boosts their collective self esteem.

Although wish Tendulkar really does take the initiative seriously. He has very poor attendance in the upper house, and took so many years to raise something in the parliament.

This is a valid point. Indians indeed love to live vicariously through their heroes whether it be sportspeople or actors. Explains why they boast so aggressively of factoids that have nothing to do with them as individuals like Kohli's brand worth or how IPL is throwing obscene amounts of money at players for playing 8 weeks of T20.

And who can forget that (in)famous image of Indian fans leaving the stadium en masse when India had lost 5 odd wickets in the CT Final. So much for the passion for cricket and supporting your team through thick and thin.

 

[maxamax]

Don't they play cricket? I'm confused.