The sports fraternity across the country on Wednesday condoled the demise of Union Sports Minister Sunil Dutt, who had worked hard towards promoting sports culture among the youth of the country.
The 75-year-old, who specifically asked for the Sports and Youth Affairs portfolio, always emphasised the importance of sports activity in the development of the country's youth and in his brief one-year stint took special interest in promoting many lesser-known sports.
Emphasising this aspect of the minister, Rajya Sabha member and Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Rajiv Shukla said, Dutt "had done so much for the cause of sports in a short period as minister that his demise is a huge setback to sports lovers across the country".
Indian Olympic Association secretary-general Randhir Singh said the actor-turned-politician's death is "a great loss to the nation as he was a very popular man of art and culture and a great national political leader".
All India Tennis Association secretary-general Anil Khanna paid glowing tributes to Dutt, saying he had a tremendous desire to raise the level of sport in the country.
"Dutt had a very humane approach towards life and, in particular, towards sports and the sportspersons. His desire to raise the level of Indian Sport in the international arena was tremendous and with his passing away a huge void has been created which shall take a long time to fill."
Indian Hockey Confederation president Vidya Stokes said, "We have lost a great humanitarian, great social worker and a principled politician."
In Kolkata, former Indian soccer skipper Chuni Goswami described Dutt as a 'perfect gentleman' who was always ready to lend his ears to suggestions for bettering the standards of Indian sport.
Ex-Olympian hockey player Gurbux Singh recounted that Dutt along with other Bollywood personalities like Mehmood, Pran, Dilip Kumar and Johny Walker were regular visitors to hockey grounds in Mumbai.
"They were great fans of hockey. And their presence enthused us to no end," said the legendary player.
President of the Asian Cricket Council and former BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya described him as a man of pleasant personality who was keen for the development of all sporting disciplines in the country.
"He was a perfect gentleman with a very pleasant personality. He always exhibited true sportsman spirit and interacting with him was a pleasure," Dalmiya said.
