Tags:Sachin Tendulkar|Roger Federer|Rafael Nadal|Muhammad Ali|Michael Schumacher|Lance Armstrong|Carl Lewis
Comparisons are odious. But truth be told, there's nothing sports fanatics love more. And so, for all the disclaimers about how it's impossible and unfair to compare greats from different eras, we insist on doing precisely that. One question that's increasingly being asked is whether Sachin Tendulkar is a greater cricketer than Sir Don Bradman.
The answer, at least according to netizens who participated in a recent Sydney Morning Herald poll, is a resounding yes - by a whopping margin of 67% to 33%.
Even as we were digesting this result, along came an interview by Usain Bolt. The world's fastest man admitted to being a huge Sachin fan. He also said that given a chance, he'd like to ask Sachin "how he has managed to work so hard to stay at the top for so long and what advice he'd give other sportsmen".
Clearly then, Sachin is idolized not just by millions of cricket lovers, but also champions of other sports. It's easy to understand why: After all, he has sustained excellence at the highest competitive level for a scarcely believable 21 years, while cheerfully bearing the crushing burden of knowing that a billion hopes rest on his shoulders every time he bats.
Not many sporting legends of any event or era can make such a claim. So, is Sachin not just the greatest cricketer but, in fact, the greatest sportsperson of all time? It's a question that's bound to stir a heated debate. So, we decided to throw it open to our readers as well. We prepared a shortlist of 12 of the greatest sportspersons ever. Sachin, naturally, figures in it. But choosing the other 11 proved immensely challenging.
We decided not to have more than one player from each sport - with the exception of tennis, where we picked one man and one woman. Settling on the greatest player from each sport itself set off passionate arguments.
Did Pele's sublime skills make him a greater footballer than the spellbinding but volatile Maradona? Rocky Marciano is the only heavyweight boxing champ in history to retire undefeated with a proud 49-0 record. But generations of fans believe the only deserving contender for the title of GOAT (Greatest of All Time) is the man who floated like a butterfly but stung like a bee, Muhammad Ali.
Roger Federer may own the record of 16 Grand Slam titles but is he really greater than Rod Laver, who won all four Grand Slam championships in a year not once but twice? For that matter, is he even greater than his fierce rival, Rafael Nadal? Should the amazing versatality of Carl Lewis count for more than the overwhelming dominance of Bubka and Moses?
Now, we invite you, our readers, to join the debate. Log in to www.timesofindia.com, cast your vote. Let us know whom you support, or whose name you would have liked to see on the list. And let a million arguments bloom!
The answer, at least according to netizens who participated in a recent Sydney Morning Herald poll, is a resounding yes - by a whopping margin of 67% to 33%.
Even as we were digesting this result, along came an interview by Usain Bolt. The world's fastest man admitted to being a huge Sachin fan. He also said that given a chance, he'd like to ask Sachin "how he has managed to work so hard to stay at the top for so long and what advice he'd give other sportsmen".
Clearly then, Sachin is idolized not just by millions of cricket lovers, but also champions of other sports. It's easy to understand why: After all, he has sustained excellence at the highest competitive level for a scarcely believable 21 years, while cheerfully bearing the crushing burden of knowing that a billion hopes rest on his shoulders every time he bats.
Not many sporting legends of any event or era can make such a claim. So, is Sachin not just the greatest cricketer but, in fact, the greatest sportsperson of all time? It's a question that's bound to stir a heated debate. So, we decided to throw it open to our readers as well. We prepared a shortlist of 12 of the greatest sportspersons ever. Sachin, naturally, figures in it. But choosing the other 11 proved immensely challenging.
We decided not to have more than one player from each sport - with the exception of tennis, where we picked one man and one woman. Settling on the greatest player from each sport itself set off passionate arguments.
Did Pele's sublime skills make him a greater footballer than the spellbinding but volatile Maradona? Rocky Marciano is the only heavyweight boxing champ in history to retire undefeated with a proud 49-0 record. But generations of fans believe the only deserving contender for the title of GOAT (Greatest of All Time) is the man who floated like a butterfly but stung like a bee, Muhammad Ali.
Roger Federer may own the record of 16 Grand Slam titles but is he really greater than Rod Laver, who won all four Grand Slam championships in a year not once but twice? For that matter, is he even greater than his fierce rival, Rafael Nadal? Should the amazing versatality of Carl Lewis count for more than the overwhelming dominance of Bubka and Moses?
Now, we invite you, our readers, to join the debate. Log in to www.timesofindia.com, cast your vote. Let us know whom you support, or whose name you would have liked to see on the list. And let a million arguments bloom!
Read more: Is Sachin Tendulkar the world's greatest sportsperson of all time? - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournaments/sachin-tendulkars-half-century-of-centuries/Is-Sachin-Tendulkar-the-worlds-greatest-sportsperson-of-all-time/articleshow/7153644.cms#ixzz18zzMi3Wg
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