Published: Mar 25, 2017, 07:26 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 25, 2017, 10:29 AM (IST)
Bengaluru: Top Indian rally rider CS Santosh on Friday said he draws inspiration from various sportspersons including cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and boxer Mike Tyson. “I have got inspired by various sportsmen. I actually look up to boxer Mike Tyson. Even Sachin Tendulkar. They have qualities that makes them great. You cannot describe their brilliance. They have that X factor,” Santosh, a Red Bull supported rider, told PTI. “When you watch Sachin Tendulkar bat, it is that you get the feeling from inside. To watch his brilliance like you know it is something out of this world,” he said. About Tyson, Santosh said he was an extraordinary boxer for simple reason that he was short man and yet knocked down many a tall boxers. Sachin Tendulkar opens up on how Team India recovered from 2007 World Cup’s early exit
“I also like Abhinav Bindra. He is an intellectual and that is what I love about Bindra. It is just the way his thought process is and everything about him as an athlete,” he said. Santosh said to overcome the hardship of riding on salt flat in Bolivia with four-inch water logged on it was the turning point in Dakar rally. “I had a bike malfunction on my motorcycle in Bolivia. There were two or three inches of water on salt flat, and we asked to cancel the stage because salt water and electrical wires don t mix, but the organisers refused,” he said.
“Next moment, I saw riders dropping off like flies. At one stage my bike too stopped. I had to jump-start it using cables and what not. I went through all of that, but I made sure I finished,” he said. Santosh said the biggest moment at Dakar was when he was draped around the Indian tricolour. “The first thing is biggest moment was when I had the Indian flag draped around me. At first, it did not hold any weight, but when I got on that podium I felt the weight of it. It’s different and puts it into perspective when they say you are the first guy from India,” he said.
