Sachin Tendulkar hints at playing till 45, says his other passion is cars

July 28, 2012

tendulkar

Mumbai: Ask Sachin Tendulkar about life after cricket, and you're unlikely to get too far. He indicates he will keep playing till he nears 45.

When asked about his options after cricket, pat comes the 39-year-old's reply. "It'll be difficult to answer what I'll do 5-6 years from now."

Quite clearly, for the man who has scored more runs than anybody else in international cricket, retirement is the ugliest word in the language (as the late writer Ernest Hemmingway famously said).

"Whenever I think of going away from it, that is when I can afford to divert my attention to other things. Till that moment, my focus will be on cricket," the man who is arguably the world's best-ever batsman told ET in an exclusive chat hours after unveiling the new BMW 3 series on Friday.

The time for 'other things' may be some time away, but that isn't stopping him from indulging in his other passion--cars. His eyes light up-in much the same way they would when smacking a Shane Warne googly out of the park-when he talks about a recent test drive of the new BMW 3 series in England as part of a promotional exercise.

"To experience these cars on the race track is an awesome experience," says Sachin, who also recollects the days when he would go carting with his friends all night, till 5 in the morning.

It wasn't always this way for Sachin, who fell in love with cars at the age of 6 when he would gaze out of the balcony at the wheels passing by.

In the times when "my pockets were not that deep", Sachin's first car was a Maruti 800, followed by the now extinct Maruti 1000. Then, as the runs began to come, at age 21, he slipped behind the wheel of a second-hand BMW 320i.

Although there has been a Ferrari in between, today it's been beamers all the way, not just for the master blaster but the entire family.

Sports management, motor sports, cricket administration - Sachin insists he hasn't begun thinking about all these alternatives for life after he hangs up his cricket gloves.

The association with BMW is as far as he will go away from the sport that he eats, drinks and sleeps. And he even draws a parallel between cricket and cars. "I can drive on as well as off the field," he chuckles.


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Agencies
July 31,2020

Northamptonshire, Jul 31: Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez has tested positive for coronavirus, and as a result, he will miss the British Grand Prix.

The Racing Point driver was absent from the circuit on Thursday after self-isolating following what his team called an "inconclusive" test. Perez then re-tested later in the day and it returned positive.

Formula 1 is following a strict testing regime as part of the safety protocols put in place when racing resumed earlier this month, and this is the first time a driver has tested positive.

"Perez has entered self-quarantine in accordance with the instructions of the relevant public health authorities, and will continue to follow the procedure mandated by those authorities," Formula 1 and the FIA said in a statement.

"With the assistance of the local organiser of the British Grand Prix, local health authorities and the FIA COVID-19 delegate, a full track and trace initiative has been undertaken and all close contacts have been quarantined," the statement added.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 1: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are aiming to set up their preparatory camp for the 13th edition of the tournament from early August.

This year's IPL was slated to commence from March 29 but the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel had confirmed that the 13th edition of the mega event will commence on September 19 in the UAE.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, CSK players have been asked to report to Chennai first, following which they will leave for Dubai via a charter flight only after approval from the Indian government.

The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements for the tournament. Also, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) around securing eight teams for 51 days across three venues will be formally established in that meeting.

CSK, who has the oldest squad in the IPL, are looking for a month's preparation before ahead of the tournament.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the side was the first team to start their training camp in March. Senior players like Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu had begun training their training in December 2019.

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News Network
February 19,2020

New Delhi, Feb 19: An Indian wrestler whose family story was immortalised by Bollywood is hoping to create a blockbuster of her own by becoming her country's first world champion in the high-octane sport of mixed martial arts.

Ritu Phogat, who initially followed her father and two elder sisters into wrestling, is now charting a new path after making an explosive MMA debut in November.

Phogat's father Mahavir, and her sisters Geeta and Babita were the subject of 2016 movie "Dangal", telling the story of the wrestling coach who raised his daughters to become Commonwealth champions.

But Ritu, 25, is forging a different career. After winning her first MMA fight in less than three minutes, she will face China's Wu Chiao Chen at this month's ONE Championship fight night in Singapore, which will be held behind closed doors because of the coronavirus.

The youngest Phogat daughter is trading an attempt at an Olympic medal to tackle MMA, but she said she was attracted by the lure of making history in her new sport.

"I got a chance to train with the best in Singapore and there was no looking back," she told AFP during a promotional event in New Delhi.

"There was the 2020 Olympic Games but I thought that I would do well in mixed martial arts. I have come with an aim of becoming the first girl from India to become a world champion in mixed martial art."

The nimble but strongly built Phogat said wrestlers were a good fit for the fast-growing contact sport, which is yet to take off in India.

"Top seven champions in mixed martial arts are wrestlers, so I believe that wrestlers have an edge in this sport with their ability to take down the opponent," she said.

"It is all a matter of skill. You just have to practise hard. I think MMA is not much different from wrestling in terms of preparation.

"One has to take risks to do something new and as an athlete I am ready to embrace every challenge."

She added: "Without the support of my father and sisters I would not have been where I am. My father always taught me to be far-sighted, hard-working and with strong resolve. Three traits will take you a long way."

Phogat won 48kg gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship and followed it up with a silver in the under-23 world championships the next year.

"She used to watch a lot MMA and one day told me that I will win a gold in this game. So we all backed her and the result is there for everyone to see," he said.

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