I first met Gavaskar during the All England Championships in the early eighties, when he had come to watch his close friend Prakash Padukone in action and also cover the event for a magazine.
All the players in the Indian badminton team were amazed at how humble and friendly he was. Instead of sitting in the Royal Box, he would watch the matches by sitting with the Indian players and his enthusiasm for badminton was evident by the searching questions he asked and the tactical understanding he had for the game. While watching the men's doubles match, he was so fascinated with the speed and power of the rallies that he had commented that it's like two West Indies fast bowlers bowling at each other!
I came to know him better as a person at Bombay Gymkhana where he played badminton every afternoon with childhood friend Gautam Thakkar. He would play badminton like he did in cricket - well-planned, precise and tactically smart. While he was playing badminton at the Bombay Gymkhana, I noticed that he approached each session seriously - doing proper warm up, taking a long knock up and displaying rapt concentration, anticipating his opponents' shots and constantly using tactics to outsmart his sparring partners.
His love for all sports, his sense of humour and his ever-willing desire to help young needy sportspersons are the special qualities for which I admire him the most. He prefers to do all his charitable work without seeking any publicity and that is what makes him great.
As a cricketer, he was the backbone of the Indian team and his bravery and success (without a helmet or protective gear) against the top fast bowlers including the mighty West Indies, makes him a true 'Bharat Ratna.' His records may be broken, but there may never be another cricketer like him.
Happy Birthday Sunil.
(Pawar, a four-time National doubles badminton champion and 1982 Asiad bronze medallist has been Gavaskar's close friend. He spoke to Gaurav Gupta).
