Steve Waugh Reveals How Mother Teresa's Organisation Changed Him: "All These Nuns..."
Even as India dominates world cricket on and off the field, Steve Waugh said Australia can definitely assist the country in Olympic sports.
Cricket icon Steve Waugh feels Australia can play a significant role in "helping" India become a global sporting superpower by providing expertise in key areas such as technology, high-performance coaching, sports science, and sports medicine. Even as India dominates world cricket on and off the field, Waugh said Australia can definitely assist the country in Olympic sports. "They don't need any help in cricket. They do it very well in India. But they have the sports where Australia can definitely help," Waugh said during an interaction on the sidelines of an event.
Waugh is venturing into India's business corridors through Australia Essence, a company that he has co-founded and aims to bring premium Australian brands across food, wellness, and lifestyle to the country's consumers.
"We have got the best of technology. The best sports science. The best sports medicine. Sports clothing. A couple of power brands in Australia, in that sporting area.
"So we have got the technology and expertise in Australia. That will definitely help India become better at sports," the former Australia captain added.
Australia is known for its strong and vibrant sports culture and the country has consistently produced legends across disciplines, something India still lacks.
Speaking about his childhood days, Waugh reminisced, "Sport was everything to me. I went to school basically to play sport. It was sport 24x7. And then education. I fitted that in alongside sport.
"India is the other way around. Education is number one. And then you want to play a bit of sport.
"But just recently I have seen a change. There is a lot more focus on sport in schools and education institutions.
"Australia is really great at that. I know that India are very keen to have a positive influence on the world stage, not just in cricket but at the Olympics. I think Australia can really help you."
Meeting with Mother Teresa was catalyst for his philanthropic efforts
The legendary player has been heavily involved in charitable work since retiring from the game, establishing the Steve Waugh Foundation in Australia to support children with rare diseases besides committing himself to supporting the Udayan home in India for children affected by leprosy.
While many of his contemporaries from the cricket fraternity got involved into coaching, commentating, and administration, Waugh, 60, actively took part in philanthropic works, a meeting with Mother Teresa in the mid 1990s proving to be the catalyst.
"It just sort of happened. I don't really know (how I got into charity), it sort of found me.
"Just sort of happened by accident. I was on a tour to India. One of the journalists during an interview asked me was: 'which person do you most admire in the world'? And I just said Mother Teresa." Waugh took advantage of an off day on the tour to visit Mother Teresa.
"We were staying at the Oberoi Hotel in Calcutta (Kolkata). We had a day off from cricket. And he said. Do you realise you can meet Mother Teresa? I said how? Pretty simple. We just go to a rickshaw for The Missionaries of Charity Mother House.
"6 am in the morning, with the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity Mother house, witnessed an early morning mass. Which is a pretty incredible time. I'm not really a church goer... I try and do the right thing. But I don't think I'm a really religious person.
"But that (visit to Mother House) sort of convinced me that there was something definitely more there. So I was watching all these nuns praying. It was pretty surreal watching it," he said.
Maple Leafs prospect Jacob Quillan believes he can be a full-time NHL player
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Jacob Quillan hopes that he can make the jump to the NHL on a full-time basis soon.
He was announced to the 2025 Prospect Showdown roster on Tuesday alongside the Leafs’ other top prospects in Easton Cowan, Ben Danford, and Tyler Hopkins among others. Quillan and his fellow Leafs prospects will soon head to Montreal to square off against the Ottawa Senators on September 13 and the Canadiens on September 14.
When asked by reporters what he hopes to get out of the weekend festivities, Quillan simply stated that he wants to keep improving.
“Just take every opportunity I can to get better, try to prove myself, and find a spot on the team,” he said. “I put the work in every day in the gym, on the ice, nutrition stuff like that. So I think I’m looking forward to it this year.”
He is coming off his first pro season in the Leafs organization after joining towards the end of the 2023-24 campaign with the Toronto Marlies. Having spent the majority of this past season in the AHL, he recorded 37 points (18 and 19 assists) in 67 games played while going scoreless in two playoff games.
Quillan also got to make his NHL debut against the Senators on January 25th, though he only registered 5:21 of ice-time after a knee-on-knee collision with Nick Cousins that knocked him out of the game.
“I believe I can. I put the work in every day, so I’m confident in myself and my abilities,” he said on his chances of making it back to the NHL this year. “It kind of made me realize what I’m pushing towards, and it showed me how good those guys are in the NHL. They showed that I have a lot of work to do, so it’s good to get a taste of that.”
He stated that his goals for the upcoming season were to improve his all-around game with an emphasis on playing sound defensively and limiting scoring chances against. Many people in the organization are confident that he can achieve it, as Quillan mentioned that Marlies coach John Gruden told him recently that he hoped not to see him down in the AHL this year.
The focus currently is on having a good showing at the Prospect Showdown while also passing down some wisdom he learned about the pro-lifestyle to his fellow prospects.
“He’s a great player, great playmaker. Looks like he got faster this year a lot,” he said of Cowan. “It’s gonna be fun playing with him and [Borya] Valis out there. They’re two good players, so I’m excited to see what we can do.”
