Mumbai, Aug 30: 2011 ICC ODI World Cup Player of the Tournament and star batsman, Yuvraj Singh, received the Arjuna award at a glittering ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, yesterday. Yuvraj was conferred the award by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee.
“It’s a special award for me. I had been nominated few times but finally I got it this time. It’s a proud moment for me and my family. The award will give me a lot of confidence to make a comeback and perform well,” Yuvraj said.
Yuvraj, who has been picked in India’s T20 squad for the New Zealand series and the ICC World T20 to be played in Sri Lanka next month, also sounded confident of doing well despite concerns related to his fitness.
"Experts are not watching me. They don't know about my fitness. It's me who knows what's going on. It's me who is feeling it from inside," Yuvraj said. “I know myself better and I am confident enough to do well in the World Cup in Sri Lanka.”
Yuvraj had undergone treatment for a rare germ-cell cancer in the United States earlier in the year, which involved three sessions of chemotherapy. Following his recovery, Yuvraj began training at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore
“The experts over there [at the NCA] are watching my fitness level. I know what I am doing and I just want to concentrate on my return and playing cricket,” the swashbuckling batsman said. “If you look at the last three months, I am really training hard and peaking well. I am looking forward to playing my first game after a year,”
Meanwhile, London Olympic heroes, Vijay Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, were jointly honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award at the same ceremony.
