- Trump addressed 100,000 Indians at a "Namaste Trump" rally at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday.
- "Your people cheer on some of the greatest cricket players, from Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli," Trump said. The crowd cheered despite the mispronunciations.
- Trump also gave up trying to pronounce the name of Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda, and laughed it off.
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Trump botched the pronunciation of India's two greatest sports stars, and a Hindu monk, in a speech to kick off his visit to the country .
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a
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Donald Trump encountered some difficulty in pronouncing the names of two of India's greatest sportsman during his welcome speech on Monday .
Trump began his 36-hour trip to India by addressing 100,000 Indians at the "Namaste Trump" rally at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, the world's largest cricket stadium.
In his speech, Trump praised the Bollywood movie industry, mentioning the classic films "DDLJ" and "Sholay."
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However, he had some trouble name-checking former Indian test cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar and current captain Virat Kohli.
"Your people cheer on some of the greatest cricket players, from Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli, the greatest in the world," Trump said, to wild cheers.
Watch the moment here:
Moments before, Trump had quoted the Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda , but gave up half way through trying to pronounce his name and laughed it off.
"As the great religious teacher Swami Vive..kamun...nund once said, 'the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him, that moment I am free'," Trump said.
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U.S. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive for a
Reuters/Al Drago
Despite the blunders, Trump got a warm reception from the huge crowd.
Attendees wore "Namaste Trump" hats and thousands lined the streets near the stadium, according to The Washington Post.
The Post reported that city authorities built a large wall to hide from view a slum near the route of Trump's motorcade.
Trump, travelling with his wife Melania, visited the Taj Mahal later on Monday.
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He is scheduled to meet Indian president Ram Nath Kovind and prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
India probably reveres cricket more than any other nation in the world, and its national players are treated like royalty.
Tendulkar himself holds several international records, and is widely considered the greatest batsman of the modern era. Kholi is currently the number one rated test batsman in the world.
Trump is not known to be a fan of the sport, and has never spoken about cricket publicly before. Confusion abounded in August 2015 when Trump started following an obscure Australian cricketer , Damien Martyn, on Twitter.
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