Cricket great Sachin Tendulkar called on Indians to keep sport "free from personal attacks" after a Sikh player from the national team suffered a torrent of online abuse for dropping a catch in a match against Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Most of the vitriol directed against Arshdeep Singh, after he dropped an easy catch at a crucial moment in the Asia Cup clash on Sunday, focused on the fact that he is from India's Sikh minority.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His Wikipedia entry was briefly altered to link him to the Khalistan Sikh separatist movement and Twitter users accused him of having ties to Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
There were also large numbers of tweets supporting him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Former player Tendulkar, the top run-scorer of all time who still enjoys huge adulation in India, tweeted on Tuesday that all "athletes representing the country give their best and play for the nation always.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"They need our constant support & remember, that in sports you win some & you lose some. Let's keep cricket or any other sport free from personal attacks," he wrote.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Tendulkar, 49, who is from India's Hindu majority, also tagged 23-year-old Singh, telling him to "keep working hard".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It is not the first time that cricketers from Hindu-majority India's religious minorities have faced such attacks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Last year Muslim player Mohammed Shami became a target of abuse after India were thrashed by Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India's hopes of qualifying for the Asia Cup final on Sunday are all but over after defeat to Pakistan was followed by losing to Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Dubai.<\/p>\r\n\r\n