Berlin: Sachin Tendulkar being lifted on the shoulders of his teammates after their World Cup triumph at home in 2011 was voted the Laureus best sporting moment in the last 20 years.
With the backing of Indian cricket fans, Tendulkar got the maximum number of votes to emerge winner on on Monday.
Tendulkar, competing in his sixth and last World Cup, finally realised his long-term dream when skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smacked Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Kulasekara out of the park for a winning six.
The charged-up Indian cricketers rushed to the ground and soon they lifted Tendulkar on their shoulders and made a lap of honour, a moment etched in the minds of the fans.
Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh handed the trophy to Tendulkar after tennis legend Bros Becker announced the winner at a glittering ceremony.
It's incredible. The feeling of winning the world cup was beyond what words can express. How many times you get an event happening where there are no mixed opinions. Very rarely the entire country celebrates, Tendulkar said after receiving the trophy.
And this is a reminder of how powerful a sport is and what magic it does to our lives. Even now when I watch that it has stayed with me.
Becker then asked Tendulkar to share the emotions he felt at that time and the Indian legend put in perspective how important it was for him to hold that trophy.
My journey started in 1983 when I was 10 years old. India had won the World Cup. I did not understand the significance and just because everybody was celebrating, I also joined the party.
But somewhere I knew something special has happened to the country and I wanted to experience it one day and that's how my journey began.
It was the proudest moment of my life, holding that trophy which I chased for 22 years but I never lost hope. I was merely lifting that trophy on behalf of my countrymen.
The 46-year-old Tendulkar, the highest run-getter in the cricket world, said holding the Laureus trophy has also given him great honour. He also shared the impact the revolutionary South African leader Nelson Mandela had on him. He met hin when he was just 19 years old.
His hardship did not affect his leadership. Out of many messages he left, the most important I felt was that sport has got the power to unite everyone.
"Today sitting in this room with so many athletes, some of them did not have everything but they made the best of everything they had. I thank them for inspiring youngsters to pick a sport of their choice and chase their dreams. This trophy belongs to all of us, it's not just about me.
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Bengaluru, Mar 29: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Friday said there are no leaders other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who can solve all the problems at the national level.
At the same time, the JD(S) patriarch underlined the need for better coordination between his party and BJP to achieve the target of winning all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka.
JD(S) joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September last year. As part of the seat-sharing deal in the State, BJP will contest in 25 constituencies and the JD(S) in three.
Noting that the role of former Chief Minister and BJP stalwart B S Yediyurappa was very important, Gowda said he must forget whatever had happened in the past "because the time is very short".
"Our opponents are so strong. Don't think that we are going to win all the 28 seats unless and until we forget what all had happened in the past and our differences," the 91-year-old said at a coordination meeting of the two parties here.
Stating that "other than Modi there is no leader in this country", Gowda said he knows each and every corner of the nation having served the country as Prime Minister for a decade.
"Only Modi and Shah are the two leaders who can solve all the problems at the national level," the nonagenarian leader said.
Gowda cautioned the BJP and JD(S) leaders against taking the Congress lightly as, he claimed, the Mallikarjun Kharge-led outfit has "huge financial resources."
"In the present Congress government (in Karnataka), money reserve is one of the major areas for them. Can you challenge? Entire Bengaluru and every department are in the hands of one leader. It is not easy to challenge the Congress resources. Not so simple," he said.
According to Gowda, no one knows how much money has been pumped in by the Congress in Mandya from where his son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is contesting as the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate.
"Today this so-called Congress is only in four states and the money has to be supplied from Karnataka. The president of AICC (Kharge) is from Karnataka. Please understand. It is not so easy (to win the election)," he said.
To highlight the "resource mobilisation" by the Congress in the Lok Sabha election, Gowda said never ever in the history of Karnataka 94 MLAs are holding the position of cabinet rank (including by way of holding positions as chairpersons of various state-owned boards and corporations.)
He also lashed out at Siddaramaiah for his statement "where is JD(S) in the state?"
"I will prove that 91-year-old Deve Gowda has the strength to demonstrate where the JD(S) is. I will not be scared. I don't have any fear," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Yediyurappa expressed confidence that the BJP-JD(S) alliance will win all the 28 seats.
Yediyurappa also hit out at the Congress government for allegedly stopping all the development works.
"There is nothing much to say about this government. People have lost their trust in it. Its coffers are empty and development works have come to a halt," he added.