"Exclusive":Roger Federer plays Cricket
Roger Federer may be a nine-time Grand Slam winner in tennis. But, when it came to cricket, the top player was Clean-bowled and did not last at the crease even for an over.And, the prized wicket was taken by none other than a youth in a tsunami-affected village near Parangipettai on Saturday.
The UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Federer,failed to score runs in a friendly cricket match with the volunteers of the Nehru Yuva Kendra in the tsunami-affected Kinnur Pudupettai hamlet. The volunteers invited him to participate in the cricket match and one Madan (13) bowled him out with a tennis ball.
"It was good fun playing cricket here," Federer , told Reuters after knocking a few balls that drew huge applause from tsunami survivors.
"I know the sport is huge here. I follow it myself," said Federer, whose mother is South African.
"In the beginning they threw the ball at me slowly, and then realised that I was not that bad after all.
"In the end, they did get me out."
Accompanied by the UNICEF officials, Federer visited the permanent houses, constructed by the SOS children village for those affected by the tsunami that wrecked havoc on December 26, 2004, in Chinnur Pudupettai. Federer spoke to the tsunami-affected children and watched the paintings drawn by them.
The children and youths apprised him of the water quality and efforts taken to improve the sanitation facilities. They also apprised him of the support rendered by the government and the NGOs in the tsunami-affected village.