Athletes are seen as celebrities or higher entities in India, as we all know. We Indians even regard some athletes as Gods in various sections of the country. As a result, we might mistakenly believe that meeting someone in real life is merely daydreaming. But, while assuming this, keep in mind that they’re just like us. And, despite the fact that we’re accustomed to seeing them on the big screen, we occasionally find them doing regular stuff at regular places. It doesn’t matter whether they are their fans or not but those moments will be etched in our memory as one of the fondest memories of our lives for the rest of our lives.
For many people, meeting their favourite player is a dream come true. Some people are fortunate enough to run across great athletes, while others are fortunate enough to meet them on a more regular basis as a result of their occupations.
Here’s what it was like for people to meet some of India’s most famous athletes:
1. When Ankur met Bumrah at Ahmedabad Airport in June, 2018
“I rushed to the baggage belt to be the first one in queue. There I saw a lean, tall guy who I thought was Bumrah. He was just standing there like a commoner with no one giving him attention what so ever which made me doubt if he really is Bumrah. I dared to ask and to my surprise it was him. I really admire him a lot as a bowler and it was a total fanboy moment.” –Ankur Chandra
2. When Anirudh met Dravid near Dravid Padukone Academy in Bengaluru
“Rahul Dravid is the humblest person ever. I was passing by Dravid Padukone Academy in Bengaluru and I spotted him. My niece of 4 years hugged him without even knowing his work, that’s how charming he was. He obliged us with a pic as well.” -Anirudh Sridharan
3. When Rabin met Jadeja by chance in a nightclub of Chennai
“It was 28th December 2014 and a boxing day test match between Australia and India was going on in Melbourne. I happened to visit one of the famous nighclubs in Chennai that night. Ravindra Jadeja was there. Me and my friends were very excited and wanted to go and take a picture with him. We politely asked for a picture. He never seemed to react back to us and then we asked him again and again but he acted as if he didn’t hear us.” –SK Rabin
4. When Rohan Met Dhoni and team coincidently in one of Bengaluru’s hotel
“Me, my brother and my parents were staying in a Bengaluru hotel during a Test series against New Zealand. We met the Indian team at breakfast. MS Dhoni is an incredibly humble and patient man. Me and my dad walked up to him and asked for a pic, and he was very nice. He said,”Kyun nahi, aa jao”. Keep in mind that we were interrupting his breakfast.” –Rohan Mishra
5. When Vinesh met Chhetri after India won by 2-0 against Bangladesh in World Cup Qualifier
“Couldn’t see the match live but watched the highlights of the game. Sunil Chhetri, the man who’s always got our back! This was exactly 3 years ago, when I met him and got his autograph on the Indian football jersey.” –Vinesh Prabhu
6. When Aaditya met Yuvraj in Chandigarh near Local museum
“Met Yuvraj Singh in Chandigarh. He was so kind and humble, we shook hands, had a 5 min chat and he also asked me from where did I buy that jersey. He signed me an autograph and went on to shoot for his chat show. I still have that autograph with me and always cherish that very moment.” –Aaditya Khanna
7. When Noaman met Ganguly after attending Anil Kumble’s birthday party
“Was very lucky to meet the entire 2002 Indian Test Cricket Team. Happened to be Anil Kumble’s birthday party in one of the hotels my cousin worked at. After taking pictures and autographs of most of the cricketers it was time to see Saurav. He happened to leave the party and get into the lift in the lobby corridor when he saw us running behind him. He waited for us in the lift, took us to his floor clicked a picture, signed us his autograph and dropped us down to the ground floor.” –Noaman Ahmed
8. When Aditi met Zaheer when he and his wife Sagarika Ghatge were in Ahmedabad’s jewellery mall for the launch of Platinum Evara jewellery
“I met former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan!! He is such a humble person. When I and other people tried clicking a picture with him, his bodyguards didn’t allow us. But he told them to not stop us and let us get near him.” –Aditi Kiri
9. When Abhishek met Bhajji at National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru
“I was a junior state cricketer in my younger days and thus had the privilege to often meet cricketers. I once met Bhajji at NCA(National Cricket Academy) in Bengaluru for a tournament. He is one of the coolest guys ever. We spoke about spin bowling when I told him I was a spinner.” –Abhishek Tmr
10. When Sankalp met Bhuvi at his house in Meerut
“I once met Bhuvneshwar Kumar in his house at Meerut. The coach he trained under was a junior to my uncle. When he entered the room, he touched his coach’s feet and sat next to his mom. Treated me like someone he knew since ages. Offered me snacks etc. After that I took a selfie with him.” –Sankalp Mishra
11. When Rishabh recalls how his mom met Saurav Ganguly when he was hurt and rushed to the hospital where Rishabh’s mom worked
“The India team was playing the Pakistani team at the Punjab Cricket Association(PCA) in Mohali. Ganguly was hit by a very fast delivery by Shoaib Akhtar. Retired hurt, he was rushed to a hospital. My mom, being the HOD of Radiology, was given the task of finding out what was wrong with him. Ganguly kept urging my mom to hurry with the X-rays and other stuff. He said “I need to be with the boys”. When it was ascertained that he had some sort of fracture, he tried to run away from the hospital. “I want to be with they boys,” he explained. “I can still play.” My mom was fascinated by his determination to be with the team despite a bad injury.” –Rishabh Kochhar
12. When Naresh met Kohli in a hotel where Indian cricketers were staying in the West Indies
“We were in West Indies, staying at the same hotel the Indian cricketers were staying at. My wife and I were walking around the hotel after breakfast. Virat Kohli was walking towards us, we said Hi, he said Hi and smiled. The next day, we were sitting in our patio, happily singing. Virat Kohli was walking up the open stairs. He peeped in thinking it was Dhoni’s room. When we looked at him, he apologized to us a couple of times. A couple of nights later, we got dinner at a restaurant and he was there too. We finally asked him if we could take a picture with him. He asked us to come, asked his brother (who was also visiting) to take a picture.” –Naresh Murali
13. When Vaibhav met Rohit Sharma in Novotel, Vishakhapatnam
“For the 3rd one day International, between India and Sri Lanka on 17 December 2017, I met Rohit Sharma in Novotel, Visakhapatnam. I gave him a hand shake and wished Good Luck. I asked him wheather, I could take a selfie with him. Rohit said, “We will loose concentration, if you concentrate on selfies now”. And also said sorry to all the fans.” –Vaibhav Kartik
14. When Gargi recalls how in 2016, his father met Gopichand in Kerala
“My father met Gopichand at the HP-cast conferance held in Kerala in 2016. He asked him that being a father and a trainer how does he train his kids. To this Gopichand replied, “My kids just listen to me and no one else.” –Gargi Gupta
15. When one celebrity met another celebrity as a fan
“Met him today at an event here in Kolkata, I tell u all that he is one of the few humblest athlete I have come across. May he remains the same in future as well, Mark my word he will get minimum one more Gold for our country in Olympics. God bless Neeraj Chopra.” –Manoj Tiwary
Did you also happen to run across any of these people or other athletes? If yes, then what was your general impression of the experience?