Unit V: Sports and Fitness & The Convocation Speech

Sports and Fitness:

Sachin Tendulkar was born April 24, 1973 in Bombay, India. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, popularly holding the title ‘God of Cricket’ among his fans. Some commentators, such as former West Indian batsman , have labelled Tendulkar the greatest cricketer of all time. He took up cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test debut against Pakistan at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent domestically and India internationally for close to twenty-four years. He is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a , the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket and the 16th player and first Indian to aggregate 50,000 runs or more in all forms of domestic and international recognised cricket.

Early Years Largely considered cricket’s greatest batsman, Sachin Tendulkar was born to a middle-class family, the youngest of four children. His father was a professor while his mother worked for a life insurance company.

Named after his family’s favorite music director, Sachin Dev Burman, Tendulkar was not a particularly gifted student, but he had always shown himself to be a standout athlete. He was 11 years old when he was given his first cricket bat and his talent in the sport was immediately apparent. At the age of 14 he scored 329 out of a world record stand of 664 with Vinod Kambli in a school match. As his accomplishments grew, he became a sort of cult figure among Bombay schoolboys. After high school Tendulkar enrolled at Kirti College, where his father also taught. The fact that he decided to go to the school where his father worked was of no surprise. Tendulkar’s family is very close and years after he had achieved stardom and cricket fame, he continued to live next door to his parents.

Professional Play Tendulkar made his debut in international competition at 16 with a match against Pakistan in Karachi. He wasted little time matching the expectations surrounding his arrival on the professional field. At the age of 18 he scored a pair of centuries in Australia, then in 1994 racked up a score of 179 in a match against the West Indies.

Tendulkar was just 23 when he was named of his country’s team for the 1996 World Cup. While the tournament proved to be a disappointment for his team, Tendulkar did nothing to diminish his own standing as one of the world’s dominant players. He finished out the World Cup as the event’s top scorer. In 2005 he became the first cricketer to score 35 centuries in Test matches. In 2007 Tendulkar reached another major milestone, becoming the first player to record 15,000 runs in one-day international play.

In India, Tendulkar’s star shone even brighter. In a country reeling from troubled economic times, the young cricketer was seen as a symbol of hope by his countrymen that better times lay ahead. One national newsweekly went so far as to devote an entire issue to the young cricketer, dubbing him “The Last Hero” for his home country. His style of play—aggressive and inventive—resonated with the sport’s fans, as did Tendulkar’s unassuming off the field living. Even with his increasing wealth, Tendulkar showed humility and refused to flaunt his money.

Tendulkar’s dominance of his sport has continued, even as he has moved well into his thirties. He scored his record-breaking 35th century in Test play in December 2005 in a match against Sri Lanka. In June 2007 he set another mark when he became the first player to record 15,000 runs in one-day international play. In January 2010 he again moved into the record books when became the first batsman to score 13,000 runs in Test play. Just one month later he registered another first, a ‘double century’ in a match against South Africa. That same year he was named the 2010 International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year. In April 2011 Tendulkar chalked up another milestone when he became part of India’s World Cup victory, his first in his long career. During the tournament, the batsman again showed why he is one of the sport’s greatest athletes by becoming the first batsman to score 2,000 runs and six centuries in World Cup play.

In 2012 he became the first the first player to score 100 international centuries which could be a mark that lasts forever just like Bradman’s average of 99.96. Though he announced his retirement from the shorter version of the game, he continued to serve the nation in . In December 2012, Tendulkar announced his retirement from ODIs. He retired from Twenty20 cricket in October 2013 and subsequently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, retiring on 16 November 2013 after playing his 200th and final Test match, against the West Indies in Mumbai's after playing the game for 24 long years – one of the longest and most illustrious cricketing careers in the world. Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs.

After a few hours of his final match on 16 November 2013, thePrime Minister’s Office announced the decision to award him the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. He is the youngest recipient to date and the first ever sportsperson to receive the award. In 2012, Tendulkar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. He was also the first sportsperson and the first person without an aviation background to be awarded the honorary rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force. Convocation Speech

- N.R. Narayana Murthy

Dr. N. R. Narayana Murthy Infosys founder and Chairman-Emeritus delivered the convocation address at the JNTU, Hyderabad on 7th May, 2012. At the outset, he greets everyone present on the occasion-the governor of Andhra Pradesh who is also the chancellor of the university, the vice chancellor of the university, other dignitaries, faculty of the university, guests, the graduating students and their parents. He begins his convocation address by congratulating the engineering graduates who have just finished their study at one of the most respected universities. He reminds them that it is time for them to make their country a better place for everyone else.

Dr. N.R. Narayana Murthy, observes that he now sees an extraordinary India and never before in her history she has commanded such respect from the world community. He then starts listing the progress of the country has made during the last several years. He says that India today is commanding respect from everyone. The country’s foreign exchange reserves are around $300 billion, the country has become the software development centre of the world, and its economy is growing at more than 7 per cent for the last three years, the highest since Independence. India has the highest number of billionaires in Asia. He cited a recent OECD report that said India has created maximum number of jobs among emerging economies. Portfolio investments and foreign direct investment into India are healthy despite some concern among foreign investors. dancing has become popular among western youth.

While these developments look promising, there is another India steeped in deep poverty, illiteracy, ill- health and malnutrition, and without hope and confidence in the future, for no fault of hers, Mr. Murthy said. Three hundred and fifty million Indians cannot read or write. More than 200 million have no access to safe drinking water. About 750 million do not have access to sanitation. Dr. Murthy also expresses his anguish that we have created a political system with incentives for most of our politicians to keep our people poor, illiterate and helpless. Thus we are consistently among the lowly ranked nations in human development index.

He however sees hope to solve these problems. He says that for the first time in 300 years we have an economic environment that engenders confidence that poverty can be overcome and a better future created for every Indian.

He also expresses the hope that 30-40 years from now, this country will have a set of 40 to 60-year-olds who will be different from the current 60-65-year-old like him and that they will create a developed India without many of the current problems such as poverty, illiteracy, ill health and malnutrition. He feels that history has bestowed on the shoulders these young men a great responsibility the carry out the task of transforming India into a developed nation.

Dr. Murthy appeals to all the youngsters to identify themselves as Indians and rise above all other petty consideration like caste, creed and faith. He adds we must accept meritocracy and enthusiastically play the role we are best suited to. He tells them leading by example is the most powerful advice we can give to anybody. Discipline, hard work and small sacrifices can lead us to success and glory.

He concludes his inspiring address by reposing his faith in the skill, the strength and the resolve of the youth of the country. He requests them to enjoy the responsibility and also have fun. He says that only a happy and fulfilled mind can achieve great things.