Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has congratulated India’s Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra for being nominated for the prestigious Laureus ‘World Breakthrough of the Year’ award.
Besides him, five others have been nominated for the award – Emma Raducanu, Daniil Medvedev, Pedri, Yulimar Rojas, Ariarne Titmus. The winners will be revealed in April.
23-year-old javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra became only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal and first in track and field. He bagged the gold in Tokyo earlier this year with a throw of 87.58 metres.
Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to express his happiness and congratulated India’s new sporting mega-star.
“My heartiest congratulations to you @Neeraj_chopra1 for your continued success representing India on the world stage. A #Laureus22 nomination is another great achievement – with many more to come!” Tendulkar tweeted.
Here’s is Sachin Tendulkar’s congratulatory tweet for Neeraj Chopra:
My heartiest congratulations to you @Neeraj_chopra1 for your continued success representing India on the world stage. ?
A #Laureus22 nomination is another great achievement – with many more to come! https://t.co/ehbRV3yNe7
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 3, 2022
Chopra is now only the third Indian to fetch a Laureus nomination after cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar (2020) and wrestler Vinesh Phogat (2019)
Tendulkar received Laureus best sporting moment award in 2020. Tendulkar being carried on the shoulders of his teammates following India’s historic World Cup triumph in 2011 at the Wankhede Stadium was voted as the Laureus best sporting moment in the last 20 years during the 2020 edition of the awards ceremony.
When MS Dhoni finished off in style with a maximum, it fulfilled Sachin Tendulkar’s dream for 22 years, since he first played for India in 1989. As a 10-year-old Tendulkar had seen India win the World Cup in 1983 when Kapil Dev’s team beat all odds to win their maiden World Cup in England.
Tendulkar became God of Cricket with his batsmanship and also how he carried himself on and off the field. However, the one trophy continued to elude him for a long time – 22 years – before he finally got his hands on the coveted World Cup trophy in 2011. Tendulkar retired in 2013, and still remains the leading international run-scorer, and the record holder of 100 international hundreds.
