Dubai: Sachin Tendulkar reached the zenith of glory, breaking almost all batting records in the game, with his determination to succeed backed by ceaseless dedication. During an interview with Gulf News on Friday, he opened up about some of the factors that contributed to his success.
Asked what was the secret of his longevity as a player — to be in peak form for nearly 25 years — Tendulkar said: “I think it is discipline, focus, desire, passion and fitness.
“All these thing have to come together for anyone to have any form of longevity in any field. It is not just sports, but generally in life if you want to achieve something it requires a disciplined, dedicated effort and that is what I followed.”
While talking about the pressure to perform, Tendulkar revealed how the expectations of fans helped him.
“I think pressure will always be there. It is good to have those pressures — people are expecting something from you, which means you are good. I would not have liked it if people were not expecting anything from me. That means I am not good enough to perform.
“People always start expecting from you and sometimes the expectations are difficult to meet, but I always wanted people to expect something from me.”
Tales of Tendulkar’s coach Ramakant Achrekar keeping a one rupee coin on his stumps and gifting it to him if he never got out in a session, are an inspiration for youngsters. When asked whether he loves to talk about those incidents now, he said: “I like to talk about what has happened in my life as there have been many interesting moments. My coach was the one who made me play rather than watch others. Once he even scolded me for being at Wankhede stadium and cheering for the senior team.
“He used to tell me people should clap for you and you should not go clap for others — and that will only happen if you play and practice and not by watching. From that day I decided not to miss any match or watch other games.”