Her big smile said it all. Indian women’s cricket captain Mithali Raj was delighted on being presented a brand new BMW car by Maxivision Super Speciality Hospitals at Gopi Chand Academy in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
“This is not the first time I am being presented a car. Chamundi sir (former junior national cricket selection panel chairman and ex-Ranji star V. Chamundeswaranath) gave a car a few years ago, the keys of which was handed over to me by the great Sachin Tendulkar. I can never forget these wonderful gestures,” Mithali said.
“Not many know that he always gives me new cricket bats before every major championship and I must say that I scored most of my runs with those bats. When I met him this morning, I asked him if he was presenting me any new bats again. You can always count on his support,” Mithali said. “And the best part is that he has been doing this for many years to any athlete from any discipline,” she added.
“These gestures are important in a sportsperson’s career and getting this honour at Gopi Chand Academy is truly memorable. This is my first visit and I am really impressed with the facilities for the players here. No wonder he is producing so many champions,” said the best-ever women cricketer from India.
“I thank the sponsors Maxivision for this. Generally, women’s cricket or the players don’t have too many sponsors and I hope many more would line up in the days to come to help the needy players,” Mithali said.
For his part, Gopi said it was a privilege to have Mithali at his Academy. “Frankly, till recently, we knew only one name in Indian women’s cricket and that was Mithali. But thanks to the Indian team’s wonderful performance in the recent World Cup, we now are familiar with many players,” he said.
G.S.K. Velu, chairman of Maxivision, Kasu Prasad Reddy, founder and mentor, Maxivision, presented the lifetime Maxivision Eye Cards offering free services to Gopi, Mithali and her coach R.S.R. Murthy.
Cricketer felicitated
Later, the South Central Railway Sports Association (SCRSA) felicitated Ms. Raj, who was appointed the Officer on Special Duty (Sports) a day before, at Rail Nilayam Auditorium. SCR GM Vinod Kumar Yadav showered praises on her for her leadership qualities and batting skills. Ms. Raj gave credit for her success to the SCR and said the “best decision” taken by her parents was to “accept the job offer from Railways”. She pointed out that 10 players of the Indian team were from Railways.
