Saturday, April 22, 2006
I came to know abt him through urdu newspaper ,,when one of my favourite urdu columist , gave his example to a boy ,who lost his all family in 8 Oct earthquake,,,from then,,he became inspiration for me and will be with me as an inspiration ,,,,,,and gives me strenght to bear the pain of living life ,,,,,,,,
let me tell u abt Arthur Ashe............
Arthur Ashe born and raised in segregated Richmond, Virginia, Arthur's physical stature did little to indicate his future career as a professional athlete. "Skinny as a straw," Arthur derived countless hours of pleasure reading and listening to music with his mother, Mattie. He also showed a surprising flair for tennis from the first time he picked up a racquet. At the age of six, Mattie passed away suddenly. Though heartbroken, Arthur's memory of his beloved mother was a source of inspiration throughout his life.
Upon graduation from high school, Arthur was good enough to earn a tennis scholarship to UCLA.His college career culminated in his winning an individual championship in 1965.In actuality, Arthur Ashe was a trailblazer for African-American males in tennis every time he succeeded on the court, in much the same fashion as Althea Gibson had for African-American females some 10 years earlier.In a year (1969) when he was basking in the international fame he had gained the previous year after winning the US Open and playing a key role on the United States winning Davis Cup team, two separate issues came to the forefront and helped shape Arthur the activist, a role he never ran from throughout his life if he believed in the cause. Later that year, as the #1-ranked American and one of the best players in the world, Arthur applied for a visa to play in the South African Open, a prestigious event. His visa was denied because of the color of his skin. Though Arthur was well aware that this would probably be the case, he decided to take a bold stand. His call for expulsion from South Africa from the tennis tour and Davis Cup play was quickly supported by numerous prominent individuals and organizations, both in and out of the tennis world. In effect, he raised the world?s awareness to the oppressive form of government (apartheid) of South Africa. Buoyed by Arthur Ashe?s initial efforts, blacks in South Africa slowly but surely began to see change come about in their country.
but the thing inspire me most is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
In 1988, he tested positive for HIV. Doctors told him he most certainly contracted the virus by getting an infected blood transfusion in during a 1983 heart operation. one of his fan wrote a ltter to him and asked !
Why does GOD have to select you " Arthur " for such a bad disease? "
To this Arthur Ashe replied:
The world over -- 5 crore children start playing tennis, 50 lac learn to play tennis, 5 lac learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbeldon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD "Why me?"
And today in pain I should not be asking GOD "Why me?"
He once said,,,
"If I were to say 'God, why me?' about the bad things, then I should have said 'God, why me?' about the good things that happened in my life."
This is the story of arthur ashe,,,I wrote it on my blog because i want me to remember this,,there is a message hidden in this story ,,there is strenght,,,and there is HOPE
I feel like uplifted ,,,,,,,,,,,
