Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir inaugurated Vellore Institute of Technology’s (VIT) four-day international sports and cultural festival – Riviera 2018 – on Thursday.
The day began with a marathon that saw a participation of nearly 6,000 persons. The 9.9-km marathon was on the theme ‘Defying the odds.’
As Riviera 2018 got off to a colourful start, Kalpana Chawla Ground at VIT turned festive with scores of students gathering to catch a glimpse of Gambhir.
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The cricketer, when asked by a student to advise budding engineers on inconsistencies in performance, recalled that he faced a similar challenge during the early years of his cricketing career.
“Consistency comes with maturity and belief. When I started my career, I started believing in what I did. It boils down to the belief in our processes, performance, and abilities. Do not run behind consistency. It comes as you start going forward; it is a byproduct of your processes,” he told the students.
Stress and rejection in life, he said, were part of the journey to greatness. “Rejections make you mentally tough. Rejections have made me a better player in my profession,” he added.
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To a question on what his thoughts were when early wickets fell during the final match of 2011 World Cup that India won, Gambhir said cricket is not about an individual player but eleven persons believing that they can win a game. “If you do not believe that you cannot win a game of cricket, you do not deserve to play,”
On being back in the IPL team of Delhi Daredevils, he said he started his IPL career with the team, and wanted to finish it with the team. He noted that it was tough to leave Kolkata Knight Riders after leading the team for seven years.
Asked about his foundation, he said it took care of the education of the children of martyrs. “Right now, we are sponsoring 14 children and we want to cover more. I could not join the defence forces, and this has been regret in my life,” Gambhir aid.
When a student asked who his role model was, he said he had not analysed anybody except Bhagat Singh. Students from over 400 colleges and universities from 24 nations, apart from India, are taking part in this year’s festival, according to VIT’s chancellor G. Viswanathan. A total of 128 events have been lined up for Riviera 2018.
Prizes distributed
Mr. Gambhir handed over prizes to winners of the marathon. Among men, Mikiyas from Ethiopia came first by completing the race in 25 minutes and two seconds. Santhosh Kumar of Islamiah College came second, followed by Binu Peter of St. Stephen’s College, Kottayam in third place.
Among women, Kalaiselvi of Jenneys College of Physical Education, Tiruchi, came first by completing the race in 41 minutes 46 seconds, followed by M. Vinitha of the same institution in second place and Merina Mathew, a TCS employee, in third.
Among others, VIT’s vice-president G.V. Selvam, pro vice-chancellor S. Narayanan and vice-chancellor Anand A. Samuel were present.
The Hindu is the media partner for the event.