After winning the greatest Laureus Sporting Moment of the last 20 years, former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday dedicated the award to the supporters of Indian cricket.
His famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the 2011 World Cup win, titled 'Carried On the Shoulders Of A Nation', was voted the greatest Laureus Sporting Moment of the last twenty years.
Taking to Twitter, Tendulkar wrote: "Thank you all for the overwhelming love and support. I dedicate this @LaureusSport award to India, all my teammates, fans and well wishers in India and across the world who have always supported Indian cricket".
India skipper Virat Kohli also congratulated the Master Blaster on winning the award.
"Congratulations Sachin paaji on being honoured with the prestigious Laureus Sporting Moment Award. A great achievement and a proud moment for our nation. @BCCI @sachin_rt".
Accepting the award in Berlin on Monday, Tendulkar said that the iconic moments like these are reminders of "how powerful a sport is" and the magic it brings to lives.
"How many times do you get an event happening in which there are no mixed opinions, no mixed views? Very rarely does the entire country celebrate together, very rarely are there no varied opinions," Tendulkar said.
"Everyone sits together and celebrates. And this is a reminder of how powerful a sport is and what magic it does to all our lives. This moment has stayed with me," he added.
On his sixth attempt at the World Cup, and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy in 2011 as India defeated Sri Lanka in the finals.
Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city of Mumbai.
The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way. This campaign had shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.
( With inputs from ANI )
