From being bullied in school to scoring centuries on the pitch... Suresh Raina speaks about his cricketing life and its highs and lows.
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00:00Who is your favourite player, Sachin or Rahul?
00:04You probably said, who is your favourite player, Sachin or Rahul?
00:07I said, Rahul bhai.
00:10Then Sachin said, okay, so you don't like me.
00:13When I saw the Neeraj Chopra medal, I was remembering when we won the World Cup in 2011.
00:17What is your favourite sport?
00:26Me and my friend used to bunk classes and watch Sachin matches.
00:31What is your experience of Lucknow Sports College?
00:35Lucknow Sports College, I went to in 1998.
00:38Guru Govind Singh Sports College, Lucknow.
00:40Initially, it was very difficult.
00:42I couldn't deal with ragging and bullying and everything.
00:44It was tough as a youngster.
00:46But I took it very positively.
00:49I thought, this is the time to express ourselves.
00:52When you are very young, you get to know a lot of obstacles in your life.
00:56I'm glad I managed to overcome all those.
00:59How did you become a part of Air India?
01:03I was lucky to be part of Air India's system.
01:06I think they gave me a scholarship.
01:07I used to get 10,000 bucks monthly.
01:09What club did you play for?
01:12I used to represent one more club in Calcutta called Momna Sporting Club.
01:16We used to play a lot of matches, under-16, under-15.
01:19I think one team went to Bangalore.
01:21I was watching him before he was going to play for India.
01:24I think he was practising a lot in the bowling machine.
01:27He was very disciplined, very calm.
01:29He spoke to us for 10-15 seconds.
01:31It was a dream come true to meet a person like him.
01:34What did you say when a newcomer came to the team?
01:38When a newcomer came to the team, you need to speak for 2 minutes or something.
01:42I said, hi, I'm Suresh Raina, coming from UP.
01:45And then UP Babas said, who is your favourite player, Sachin or Rahul?
01:49I said, Rahul bhai.
01:52Then Sachin said, okay, so you don't like me.
01:55I said, no, no, bhaji, you're my favourite player also.
01:57When did you start playing football?
02:00I was nervous when I represented my first game.
02:03I played in Sri Lanka.
02:04I couldn't sleep the whole night.
02:05How did you prepare for the World Cup?
02:09I think 2007 was very crucial because I missed the World Cup in West Indies.
02:13And I was doing really, really well.
02:15And I didn't know what happened to my knee.
02:16I think I was very, very young.
02:18I couldn't control my emotion.
02:20I got my house and I was on loan or something.
02:23But my father always told me, you need to believe in yourself.
02:26More than playing a game, you need to stand on your feet and work hard.
02:29I think that was the lesson I learned.
02:31How did you prepare for the World Cup?
02:35Emotion was full on and everyone was hugging each other.
02:38Everyone was crying in the dressing room.
02:40My first World Cup was at the age of 23 or 24.
02:43And we won it for the first time in home soil.
02:46I think you can't ask for more.
02:47This was the last game for us.
02:50We just need to give it whatever we have in our heart.
02:53Make sure when we come back from the ground to the dressing room, we come back with the cup.
02:57When I saw the Neeraj Chopra medal, I was remembering when we won the World Cup in 2011.
03:01How did you prepare for the World Cup?
03:05I had to go to England.
03:07I told Sachin, I need to practice. Can you give me one or two weeks?
03:11He said, come to Mumbai, we'll practice together.
03:14Every time he was telling me, everything is there, you just need to believe in yourself.
03:17I think he must have said so many times.
03:19And every time he said, you just need to believe.
03:22Then I tattooed the word belief here.
03:29When you play team sports, you bring that glory to the nation.
03:32You want to show them what India is all about in sports.
03:35I knew I have to give everything I have to the Indian team or on the ground.
03:39So I did believe in myself.
03:41When I came back from the ground, I never regret anything because I always played the game with good energy.