The sports fraternity of India remembered Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and paid tribute on his 88th birth anniversary on Tuesday.

Union sports minister Kiren Rijiju, taking to his official Twitter account, remembered the missile man of India and wrote, “Nations consist of people. And with their effort, a nation can accomplish all it could ever want” – APJ Abdul Kalam. I join the entire nation in remembering former President of India, Dr. #APJAbdulKalam on his birth anniversary today.”

“Nations consist of people. And with their effort, a nation can accomplish all it could ever want” – APJ Abdul Kalam.
I join the entire nation in remembering former President of India, Dr. #APJAbdulKalam on his birth anniversary today. pic.twitter.com/P6ZdNQRVRn

Advertisement

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) October 15, 2019

Former cricketers Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman also paid their tributes to the former president of India. On his Twitter timeline, Laxman wrote, “Tribute to Dr #APJAbdulKalam on his birth anniversary. His thoughts & vision are a treasure to safeguard and continue to inspire.”

Tribute to Dr #APJAbdulKalam on his birth anniversary.
His thoughts & vision are a treasure to safeguard and continue to inspire. pic.twitter.com/kmvm2ZDIxD

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) October 15, 2019

Sehwag posted a picture of the year 2002 when he had received the highest sports honour of India, the Arjuna Award, from the then-president Abdul Kalam. Sharing the old picture, Sehwag tweeted, “Humble tributes to Dr #APJAbdulKalam ji on his birth anniversary, one of the greatest Indians to have walked the planet . Kalam Sahab ko Salaam.”

Humble tributes to Dr #APJAbdulKalam ji on his birth anniversary ,one of the greatest Indians to have walked the planet . Kalam Sahab ko Salaam 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/o2d2gyU5kf

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 15, 2019

Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir paid his tribute as well. He tweeted the Hindi translation of Kalam’s famous quote “Dream is not something you see in sleep, dream is something that does not let you sleep.”

“सपने वो नहीं जो आप सोते समय देखते हैं, बल्कि सपने वो हैं जो आपको सोने नहीं देते” अपनी सोच और सहयोग से भारत को एक नई दिशा देने वाले हमारे पूर्व राष्ट्रपति अब्दुल कलाम जी की जयंती पर उनको शत-शत नमन. pic.twitter.com/LXdVY73XM5

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) October 15, 2019

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan tweeted, “Respected Dr. #APJAbdulKalam Ji, remembering you on your birth anniversary.. What the ‘Missile Man’ has done for our nation is invaluable.. Thank you for taking India to unimaginable heights, you are always in our thoughts and prayers..”

Respected Dr. #APJAbdulKalam Ji, remembering you on your birth anniversary.. What the ‘Missile Man’ has done for our nation is invaluable.. Thank you for taking India to unimaginable heights, you are always in our thoughts and prayers..🙏 pic.twitter.com/DMTH404NQ8

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) October 15, 2019

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was born on October 15, 1931, in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and is considered as a father-figure in India’s development of rocket science and missile projects. Other than receiving several awards and fellowship from various institutions across the world, he received the highest civilian award of India Bharat Ratna in 1997. He is also the recipient of Padma Bhuashan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990).

Dr Kalam had become the President of India in 2002 but would call himself a teacher first. Such has been his magnificence in the field of academia that the United Nations declared his birth date as World Studnet Day in 2010. He breathed his last on July 27, 2015, in Shillong.