Sachin Tendulkar on Friday praised the media for their role in helping athletes to perform better and work harder on their skills, emphasising that appreciation amplifies performance for sportspersons. (More Cricket News)

"I always feel that appreciation amplifies performance. If there is no appreciation, then it is not the right environment for any athlete to express himself," Tendulkar told sports reporters who gathered here to celebrate his upcoming 50th birthday on April 24.

"The way you have appreciated my efforts gave me a lot of strength to try harder. There were occasions when I stumbled, I fell down, but this beautiful sport taught me to get back up again and move forward. But to move forward, you provided that fuel.

"On an empty fuel tank I do not think I would have covered the distance that I did. You played a major role in that," he added.

The cricket icon recalled his association with sports journalists and said it transformed from a player-journalist over the years into friendships.?

"Right from my first interview to the last one it has been magnificent. Over the years we also became good friends, initially it was just a player-journalist relationship, but then you get to know personalities, you get to know the other side of a journalist trying to find out a quotation," he said.

The batting legend said he would not read what was written about him on a regular basis, but that did not have any impact.?

"On very few occasions I would re-run or follow what is being written about me, once the series was done, then I would look at it, but not the next morning or only after the game because I wanted to be in that zone.

"But in spite of a number of journalists knowing that I do not read the next morning, my relationship was intact," he said.