Slowly transforming ourselves into a sports playing nation, says Tendulkar

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday said that the country is slowly transforming itself from a sports-loving nation to a sports playing nation.

Tendulkar also advocated a healthy lifestyle with a focus on the right diet.

"I believe that everyone should live a healthy lifestyle. It is important to focus on your diet, it is essential for a common man to think about eating habits. From a sports-loving nation, we are slowly transforming ourselves into a sports playing nation," Tendulkar said after flagging off a marathon in Mumbai.

The Master Blaster also briefed about the marathon and said fitness plays an important role in everyone's lives.

"Almost 20,000 runners have participated in this marathon. Fitness plays an important role in everyone's life. The marathon is getting a good reception from people. It was raining this morning, but still the runners kept on going," Tendulkar said.

"This is the speciality of this marathon, it always happens during the rainy season. I think this marathon has been a remarkable success this year. All credit to the participants, the whole movement is about fit and healthy India. It is not a necessity that if you are young, you will be fit," he added.

Earlier this year, Tendulkar became the sixth Indian to get inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

"It is an honour to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, which cherishes the contribution of cricketers over generations. They have all contributed to the growth and popularity of the game and I am happy to have done my bit," Tendulkar had said.

He retired from the 50-over format in 2012. He scored his hundredth century in his second last match. The master blaster last featured in a Test against West Indies at home in November 2013, which was his 200th match.

Since his retirement, Tendulkar has made appearances at ICC events as an ambassador of various tournaments including the 2015 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and the 2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup.

He has been serving as a mentor to the Mumbai Indians that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL).