Legendary hockey player Leslie Claudius today turned 83. It was a quiet family affair at his relative’s place in Perth, Australia.
Talking to PTI over phone on this occasion, the former India captain, whose name is etched in history along with Udham Singh for having won the maximum number of Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) in hockey, rued that nobody remembers him anymore in India.
“It's a biggest surprise to have been remembered on my birthday. Nobody remembers about us anymore, so there is hardly any celebration,” Claudius said, pleasantly surprised at the call.
But when the conversation moved to cricket, it was clear he couldn’t escape the Indian Premier League buzz and thoughts on Sachin Tendulkar. Claudius turned out to a huge Sachin fan.
“No doubt, God is great but Sachin Tendulkar supercedes God when he plays. By doing impossible things, like notching 200 not out (in ODI) at his age is just unimaginable,” he said.
Asked to compare Tendulkar with Sir Don Bradman, Claudius said, “Sachin will be the greatest player ever no doubt. He is playing so fluent at this age. He has such an array of strokes. He is a freak. With age, he is getting better.
“The greatest quality in him (Sachin) is that he is so humble, a thorough gentleman. Youngsters should learn this from him. When you do something with dedication and perseverance, even if you do not reach great heights you will end up being satisfied,” Claudius said.
The octogenarian hockey legend rued that after India's 1983 cricket World Cup victory, hockey declined in India. He, however, was all praise of the IPL concept.
“With the rise of cricket after the 1983 World Cup success, hockey is the least favoured sport. But IPL is huge success. It's fast and nice. We get to see a mixture of players from all parts of the world and it's played in the right spirit. The atmosphere is terrific,” he said.
