CHENNAI: So Virender Sehwag thinks Roger Federer is a cow lover. In a surprise tweet on Tuesday, the former Indian opening batsman posted pictures of the Wimbledon champion and praised him for being a cow lover. “How nice,” said Sehwag who’s something of a champion for ‘nationalistic’ causes.
But there’s a further story to the cow Fed loves, which Sehwag may not be aware of. Wait. What?
The first picture is of a younger Roger Federer milking Juliette, a milch cow gifted to him by the organisers of the Swiss Open in 2003 (the second picture). The Telegraph newspaper quoted Federer back in 2003 as saying, “"I'm going to learn how to milk it. I'll do anything for it," Federer had said.
Well, what happened to Juliette thereafter? Alas, she was slaughtered.
Sports Illustrated reported that the cow was cared for by a farmer in Gstaad. Roy Emerson, the legendary Australian tennis player who has a home in Gstaad, was quoted by the Telegraph saying, "Juliette gave birth to a calf, and then she wasn't producing enough milk, so she was slaughtered.”
The third picture is again from the Swiss Open. Daily Mail reported that the cow Desiree was handed over as part of a homecoming ceremony for Federer, who competed in the 2013 Swiss Open for the first time since 2004.
However, Blick, a Swiss website claimed that Desiree didn’t stay in the Federer household for long. He was sold at a livestock auction in Gstaad, the report said.