Emphasising on the importance of good family background in a sportsman's career, cricket legend Kapil Dev today said such a support system helps mould top talents into stars.
The 1983 World Cup-winning skipper compared retired batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and his talented school mate and fellow cricketer Vinod Kambli to buttress his point while speaking at the felicitation ceremony of the parents of successful sportspersons here.
"They both started together and were equally talented. Kambli, maybe, was more talented, but his support system, the environment at home and his friends circle, was totally different than what Sachin had," Kapil pointed out.
"We all know what happened later. Sachin went on to play for 24 years and Kambli just disappeared as he failed to lived up to the success he achieved early in his career," said the former all-rounder.
"Talent is one thing, but a sportsperson needs more than that. Support of friends, parents, brother, sister, school, college...everything," he added. Kapil, however, urged the parents not to impose their own passion on their children.
"Parents should give a chance to children to grow. Their job is to take the children to the ground. What the children do and learn is up to them. Do not push them to do something they don't want to do," said Kapil.
The former India captain also said that his team's triumph in the 1983 World Cup, the first-ever time the country had won the coveted trophy, helped the next generation of cricketers to reap the rewards.
"Actually our triumph helped the next generation to enjoy the fruits of our victory. The Cricket Cricket Board (BCCI) then was a small body, but later it went on to become one of the richest and influential sports bodies in the world and the current generation of cricketers are benefiting from it," he said.
Parents of successful sports men and women, including cricketer Zaheer Khan, tennis star Sania Mirza, former hockey captain Dhanraj Pillai and current football captain Sunil Chhetri were felicitated by the Pune International Sports Expo here.
They were felicitated by Kapil and PISE founder and director, Vishwajeet Kadam with medals and bouquets, a media release said.
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