Odishatv Bureau
New Delhi: Parliament today hailed Sachin Tendulkar`s feat of completing a century of centuries, with members in both Houses lauding the cricketer and terming the achievement as a matter of "national pride". In the Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar made a reference congratulating Sachin for becoming the first cricketer to score a hundred centuries in international cricket.

The Speaker said the outstanding batsman achieved this incredible feat during the one day international match against Bangladesh at Mirpur on March 16, 2012. "This exceptional accomplishment is a matter of national pride and is a source of inspiration for budding cricketers throughout the cricket playing nations," she said. "We convey our best wishes to Sachin Tendulkar and the Indian Cricket Team for their future endeavours," Kumar said.

In the Rajya Sabha also, members complimented Sachin for completing 100 centuries in first-class cricket, with opposition using the opportunity to take a dig at the government saying it has come at a time when things were not going right in the country. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Tarun Vijay (BJP) said Sachin`s century of 100s "represents the hope of India for a better future" and added he has "given a dream to the younger generation".

He said it has come at a time when things were going wrong for India, saying, "he gave an opportunity to India to be happy". "Sachin has given dream to younger generation...that you can do it and achieve it..", he said, adding that he has "proved that if you have self confidence" you can achieve anything. S S Ahluwalia (BJP) also complimented Sachin as also Virat Kohli for hitting 183 runs against Pakistan which helped India score victory over the neighbouring country. Other members in the Upper House also congratulated Sachin.

In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker also congratulated ace badminton player Saina Nehwal for winning her first title of the season. She retained the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold trophy with a straight-game victory over China`s Shixian Wang in the summit clash at Basel, Switzerland. The world number five Indian defeated Shixian, ranked third, 21-19 21-16 in a 48-minute thrilling women`s singles competition to defend her title.

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