Hyderabad, October 09: Be it rivalry or competition between India and Australia, it should be based on mutual respect,” Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist said while referring to cricketing and other sporting ties between the two countries. India and Australia are incidentally vying for the top slot at the ongoing Commonwealth Games.
“Now the focus has shifted to India due to the Commonwealth Games,” the cricketer said addressing a press conference on Friday. He was present along with Chris Grange, vice-principal (administration), University of Wollongong (UOW) as the varsity’s brand amabassador. The Australian varsity is located 80 km south of Sydney.
On his third tour as the amabassador of UOW, he appealed to Indian IT firms to set up their operations in Australia, especially at the university and its Innovation Campus (IC), besides wooing Indian students.
“Wollongong is a highly respected name in Australia and is something overseas students should look at,” Gilchrist said. The university will enter into a strategic agreement with a Bangalore-based IT firm on Saturday. Chris said the UOW not only provides education but made full-fledged arrangements to help students pursue studies in a safe environment. “The Innovation Campus gives resident companies an opportunity to tap research institutes and highly competent graduates. We are continuing talks with several IT and technology firms to enter into an R&D partnership with us,” Chris said. The R&D partnership will focus on research in IT, environment, infrastructure, engineering and science.
As for VVS Laxman’s match-winning knock in the recent Mohali Test, Gilchrist said, “He is definitely a match-winner and has proved it time and again. Laxman loves challenges. As his team-mate for the last three years in Deccan Chargers, I found him to be a kind and gentle-hearted man,” Gilchrist said.
Regarding racial attacks on Indians, he maintained it was embarrassing if such things continued. “Such incidents are detrimental to national interests. But what pleases me is there were no such instances in the recent past,” he observed.
Gilchrist informed the university was raising resources to fund research and other works through T-20 tournaments. “Two Indian students played in the recent T-20 tournament,” the cricketer informed with a smile. He will next visit Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai to promote the Innovation Campus as an investment destination for Indian IT firms.
–Agencies