Great Sportsmen or athletes are known for their incredible performances on the field or court or ring, depending on the games they play, but some among these have pulled off incredible acts outside the sporting domain and saved people and other living creatures from extremely dangerous situations. Whether it is Muhammed Ali or Sunil Gavaskar the athletes have had their share of noble deeds in their personal lives as well. They have played the roles of saviours not only in sporting encounters but in real life as well. Therefore, today we will be focussing on the other sides of our sporting heroes, the ones not many are aware of.
Muhammad Ali
Unarguably one of the greatest pugilists to have graced the world of sports, Muhammad Ali also happened to be a nice gentle soul outside the boxing ring. Apart from floating like a butterfly and stinging the opponents like a bee inside the ring, Ali had the gift to leave the audience spellbound with his oratory skills as well. In fact, he had once saved the life of a young man using his diction snd eloquence. In 1981, when a young man suffering from mental ailment decided to end his life by jumping out of a nine-storey window of a building, everyone from police to psychiatrists failed to talk him out of the grave situation he was in. However, Ali, who happened to be there in the near vicinity where the incident was unfolding, climbed to a window adjacent to that of the young man and dissuaded him from taking his life through some motivational talks.
Sachin Tendulkar
The “God Of Cricket” also showed his divine side off the field once to save the life of a bird. Just like he had helped Team India save its face on numerous occasions, Tendulkar came to the rescue of a bird on a beach. As per reports, the bird was on the verge of death when Tendulkar spotted it on the beach, and he immediately fed the bird to give it a new lease of life. The incident also went viral on social media, and Sachin had captioned the video, “A little care and love can make this world of ours a much better place”. The incident showed Tendulkar was not only one of the greatest cricketers but a kind human blessed with a heart of gold.
Sunil Gavaskar
Whether Dennis Lillie or Imran Khan or Michael Holding, the prolific Mumbai batsman had taken on the best in the business with elan. But even outside the field, Sunil Gavaskar fought valiantly against the most venomous to save the vulnerable. According to his son Rohan, in 1993, immediately after the Bombay bomb blast, a tense atmosphere had engulfed the city. A few days after the ghastly incident, when they were all, including Gavaskar, standing on a balcony, they saw a violent mob encircling a family. Realising the danger family was in, Gavaskar immediately stepped out of the building and reached the family in distress and confronted the bunch of angry men bravely. He then asked the group of hate mongers to do to him first what they intend to do with the family later on. Seeing the tough posture of Gavaskar, the group stepped away, and the family got saved in the nick of time.
