Sachin Tendulkar at Laureus Awards ceremony: 'I feel this trophy belongs to all of us'

India’s batting legend Sachin Tendulkar stated that he was honoured to represent his nation one more time, this time at the highly regarded Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin on Monday.

The 46-year-old won the Laureus Sporting Moment of the last two decades for his World Cup winning moment. Tagged 'Carried on the Shoulders of Nation', the point of time in which his teammates carried him on their shoulders after winning the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai got the most number of votes to emerge as the winner.

Calling to mind the 2011 World Cup winning moment, the Masterblaster stated that he was lifting the cup merely on behalf of his countrymen and it was the 'proudest moment of his life'.

Talking after receiving the trophy at the Laureus Award, Sachin said, "To be holding this trophy, I would like to thank the Laureus Academy members for giving this memory to me. I think it is really special. Also, the people who voted and felt that the moment we saw on screen was worth voting for.

"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, there are no mixed views. Very rarely the entire country celebrates.

"Very rarely there are no opinions, everyone sits together and celebrates and this is a reminder again of how powerful sport and what magic it does to all our lives. We experience the power of sport. Even now when I watch that it has stayed with me.

"But somewhere I knew something special had 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."

Sachin Tendulkar also looked back at his meeting with Nelson Mandela on one of his earliest tour to South Africa. While making an address to the gathering of athletes, Sachin Tendulkar stated that his award belonged to all of them inspiring young with their celebrated career.

"I had the honour of meeting the great man in South Africa, president Nelson Mandela when I was only 19. His hardship did not affect his leadership. Out of many messages he left behind with us, the most important I felt was that sport has got the power to unite, unify everyone," Tendulkar said.

"Today sitting in this room with so many great athletes, some of them did not have everything but they made the best of everything they had. They went on to become champion athletes.

"I thank them for inspiring youngsters to pick a sport of their choice and chase their dreams. Today, I feel this trophy belongs to all of us for having inspired youngsters, it's not just about me."

Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar bats for resumption of India-Pakistan bilateral series [Video]