Kolkata: Urging the need to create sports
cities, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar today said his vision
is to see India becoming a multi-sport nation.
"I would like to see India as a multi-sport nation. We
should also look at creating 'Sport Cities'. There is a need
for more and more sports academies to nurture young athletes
along with creating new infrastructure to catapult India from
a sports watching nation to a sports playing nation,"
Tendulkar told PTI today.
"Every child should have the right to play and have
access to infrastructure. Over the years I have seen various
sports gaining grounds in terms of awareness in people and the
government initiatives towards it. Sports like Badminton,
football, kabaddi among others have seen increasing awareness
and appreciation towards athletes," Tendulkar, a Rajya Sabha
MP said.
"Appreciation is important for athletes and has the
ability to motivate them to achieve their full potential. I
applaud the 'Khelo India' initiative of Indian government. It
is the step in the right direction, and strong grass roots
competitions will surely make us more competitive," Tendulkar
said.
Here in the city to promote the IDBI Federal Life
Insurance Kolkata Full Marathon, Tendulkar who will flag off
the race tomorrow furthter called for a "Swasth Bharat".
"The nation contributes to the overall development of the
country. There has been an increase in number of people
suffering from lifestyle diseases over the years. Being fit is
not a luxury but the need of the hour. It is the change we
need to make, if we see ourselves competing with other
nations."
"Being associated with the marathons from IDBI
Federal gives me an opportunity to spread awareness and
inspire people to take up healthy lifestyle habits," Tendulkar
said.
Concerned that India has become the diabetes capital of
the world, the cricket icon said: "It is not something we
should be proud of. Each one can motivate the other to
inculcate the habit of walking, exercising, running or taking
up one sport and moving towards a healthy lifestyle.
PTI
