Cricket legend Steve Waugh believes that by offering knowledge in crucial fields like technology, high-performance coaching, sports science, and sports medicine, Australia can significantly contribute to “helping” India become a worldwide sporting giant.
Waugh asserted that Australia can undoubtedly help the nation in Olympic sports, despite India’s dominance in cricket both on and off the field.
“They don’t need any help in cricket. They do it very well in India. But they have the sports where Australia can definitely help,” Waugh stated during a conversation on the fringes of an occasion.
Through Australia Essence, a firm he co-founded, Waugh is stepping into India’s business corridors with the goal of introducing premium Australian brands to the nation’s consumers in the areas of food, wellness, and lifestyle.
“We have got the best of technology. The best sports science. The best sports medicine. Sports clothing. A couple of power brands in Australia, in that sporting area.
“So we have got the technology and expertise in Australia. That will definitely help India become better at sports,” the former Australia captain added.
India still lacks the strong and dynamic sports culture that Australia is recognized for, as well as the continuous production of legends in a variety of sports.
Speaking about his childhood days, Waugh reminisced, “Sport was everything to me. I went to school basically to play sport. It was sport 24×7. And then education. I fitted that in alongside sport.
“India is the other way around. Education is number one. And then you want to play a bit of sport. But just recently I have seen a change. There is a lot more focus on sport in schools and education institutions.”
“Australia is really great at that. I know that India are very keen to have a positive influence on the world stage, not just in cricket but at the Olympics. I think Australia can really help you.”
Since leaving the game, the renowned athlete has been actively involved in charity endeavors. In addition to creating the Steve Waugh Foundation in Australia to support children with rare diseases, he has dedicated himself to helping the Udayan home in India that cares for children with leprosy.
Waugh, 60, actively participated in charitable endeavors, with a meeting with Mother Teresa in the mid-1990s serving as the impetus. Many of his cricket peers became interested in coaching, commentating, and administration.
“It just sort of happened. I don’t really know (how I got into charity), it sort of found me.
“Just sort of happened by accident. I was on a tour to India. One of the journalists during an interview asked me was: ‘which person do you most admire in the world’? And I just said Mother Teresa.”
Waugh visited Mother Teresa on one of the tour’s off days.
“We were staying at the Oberoi Hotel in Calcutta (Kolkata). We had a day off from cricket. And he said. Do you realise you can meet Mother Teresa? I said how? Pretty simple. We just go to a rickshaw for The Missionaries of Charity Mother House.
“6 am in the morning, with the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity Mother house, witnessed an early morning mass. Which is a pretty incredible time. I’m not really a church goer… I try and do the right thing. But I don’t think I’m a really religious person.
“But that (visit to Mother House) sort of convinced me that there was something definitely more there. So I was watching all these nuns praying. It was pretty surreal watching it,” he said.
