This has been a tough year for Yuvi. So when the first question was fired at him by a group of mediamen and it was on cancer, Yuvraj was a bit flustered.
"That’s a thing of the past, let’s talk about these awards and the achievements of the athletes from the London Olympics,” he shot back.
Flanked by friends and mother Shabnam, Yuvraj was emotional.
When you look at 18-year-old archer Deepika Kumari winning the Arjuna Award, you sense that for Yuvraj, it has been a long time coming. "I know I came close to nominations before and am very happy now,” said the 2011 World Cup player of the tournament, who has been selected for the forthcoming Twenty20 Internationals against New Zealand and the subsequent World Twenty20.
Yuvraj made his international debut in the ICC Knockout in Nairobi in 2000. He has proved his worth repeatedly in ODIs and T20s, so it’s surprising that he has got the Arjuna Award after 12 years of service. However, the southpaw is enjoying the attention again and has been training hard for the last three months in Bangalore.
His hair has grown again and for someone who battled lung cancer so spiritedly, his fighting abilities are clear. "I have been training hard at the NCA for three months now. I am peaking now and looking forward to playing my first match after almost one year,” said Yuvraj.
The conversation veered to doubts raised in some quarters over his fitness. "Experts are not watching me every day. I have been working hard and I know what I am doing,” he said.
Then came a topic away from cricket — Lance Armstrong.
When Yuvraj was battling lung cancer and getting treated in the United States, Armstrong had reached out to him.
And from Yuvraj’s reply, it’s clear that even as Armstrong faces the drug cheat taint, he has a great fan. "For me, Lance will always be my hero. He fought cancer hard and came out of it. I will always see him as my hero,” said Yuvraj.
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