New Delhi, September 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Teachers’ Day announced the Professor Ramesh Tendulkar Memorial Fellowship, honouring the memory of his late father and seeking to support young doctors pursuing specialised training in cleft and craniofacial care in Srinagar.
The fellowship will provide financial support each year to one Doctor of Medicine (MD) for a year-long opportunity to specialise in the field. On completion of the programme, the fellow will receive a certificate from the Sachin Tendulkar Foundation (STF).
Announcing the initiative, Tendulkar reflected on the role his father played in shaping his life and career, saying the values that guided him were instilled at home long before his emergence as a celebrated cricketer.
“When I think about the people who shaped my journey, I do not begin with a cricket ground or a coach. I begin at home,” Tendulkar said in a statement released by STF.
Ramesh Tendulkar was a professor, writer and poet. For Sachin, however, he was above all a mentor who gave him the freedom to pursue cricket while stressing the importance of character and integrity.
“Failure is okay, but cheating is not. Never take shortcuts,” Tendulkar recalled his father telling him.
He said his father recognised his passion and potential without attempting to dictate his future. That freedom, Tendulkar said, helped him discover his own path.
“That, in many ways, is what a great teacher or mentor does. They recognise a possibility in you before you can recognise it yourself,” he said.
Tendulkar said the fellowship reflected his father’s belief that education creates opportunities and that those opportunities acquire greater meaning when used to serve others.
He noted that talent is widespread across India, but many young people lack access to appropriate coaches, mentors, learning environments and healthcare support to realise their potential.
“My father gave me the confidence to find my own path. He dedicated his life to educating and guiding others, and I hope we can create that same sense of possibility for others,” he said.
Through the fellowship, Tendulkar hopes to extend his father’s legacy by helping young healthcare professionals acquire specialised skills that can ultimately benefit patients and communities.
“The lessons of a teacher may begin with one student, but their influence can travel much further, from one life to another and from one generation to the next,” he said.
Ramesh Tendulkar died of a heart attack at his home in Mumbai in 1999 at the age of 68. His guidance and support played an important role in shaping Sachin Tendulkar’s journey and allowing him to pursue cricket.
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