Mumbai, Sep 26 (IANS) A big fan of football who even trained with the Manchester United squad and attempted to play professionally in 2017, multiple-times Olympic gold medallist and world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, has revealed that the hard work put in by cricketers has inspired him to excel in his chosen field, athletics.

Bolt, who still holds the World Record in the Men’s 100m World Record of 9.58 seconds and the 200m mark of 19.19 seconds, and who has bagged eight gold medals in the Olympics and 11 top-podium finishes in World Championships, said he is a huge fan of cricket growing up..

“For me, I was a huge cricket fan growing up. So, I watched cricket growing up. Watching all the talent of the cricketers growing up and the way they worked and the way they pushed themselves and the way they carried themselves was something that inspired me at a young age to work hard and to be the best that I could be,” said the Jamaican in a “Fireside chat” at the Jamnabai Narsee Campus here on Friday.

Bolt lit up Mumbai on Friday as part of his India visit for a private corporate event.

Reflecting on his experience, Usain Bolt said, “Being in India is an incredible experience. Meeting so many passionate fans reminds me why sports matters and why they connects people everywhere. The energy here is amazing, and I’m glad to be part of DreamSetGo’s vision to create world-class experiences that bring fans even closer to the sports they love.”

Asked what describes his road to greatness, the legendary Jamaican sprinter said hard work is all that matters to achieve success.

“For me, it’s as simple as hard work, you know what I mean? It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to the sport. I love track and field, so it’s something that I loved growing up and I worked very hard on.

“It was a tough road because it’s never easy to get to the top, but I really wanted to be the best in the world, so I pushed myself through injuries and doubts and tough times to be one of the best in the world, so it’s just dedication,” said the 39-year-old.

His Mumbai visit now complete, Bolt will move to Delhi for the second leg of his India tour.

Bolt was earlier expected to visit and participate in India during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and represent Jamaica along with Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake. But he withdrew from the Commonwealth Games to prepare for the World Championships, which were held in the same year.

–IANS

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