Apart from being a great leveler, sports are a great medium of binding us together. Most sports do not necessitate too much expenses (at least not initially), ensuring that pretty much anyone and everyone can enjoy them without worrying too much about the related economics and affordability.
Sportsman's spirit
Most sports teach us about sportsman's spirit - though in today's gender-agnostic/neutral world, it could also be renamed as sportsperson's spirit (but that's not the point, you get the drift, right?). Each sport offers many pertinent life lessons that are worth imbibing.
The crux of the matter is that each sport teaches us to be humble, to win but not at 'any' cost. Sport teaches us to play hard, play to win but to not sacrifice fairness and grace in our pursuit of victories. At the end of the game, even after the most intense battles on the field, win or lose - you smile, shake hands (in many sports, even exchange t-shirts/jerseys) with your opponents, and appreciate each other to round off the day with a "well played!" with teammates and opponents alike.
Not to forget, the fact that talent and temperament trumps everything else. You may be anything or anyone in other spheres, but ultimately, your performance will be determined by what you actually do, how you perform in the field of play and not by any extraneous pedigree.
Equally importantly, each game and each match begins afresh. Even if you have seen the highs of your last match, there is no guarantee that you will be perform just as well in your next one too. Certainly not if you are complacent and think that it's a given thing. Conversely, it is equally true that just because you were a dud in the last match, it does not necessarily mean that you will continue to flop in your next one too. Certainly not, if you learn from your mistakes and do not give up on yourself. Just like life.
Okay, enough of boring you with all the learnings and sermonizing. If you are still awake, let's look at a couple of real-life examples of all that I've been talking about. A lot has happened in the world of sports in the last month or so.
1) The great Rafael Nadal won this year's Australian Open, beating Medvedev in an epic final.
2) After losing ignominiously in T20s at home to Ireland, the West Indian cricket team pulled itself back and rallied soon after, to beat England's strong T20 team.
Both these occasions taught me that oft-repeated but even more consistently undervalued virtue of a never-say-die attitude. Never give up. Never ever.
Again, as in life, keep learning, keep improving, and keep believing in yourself. Never let failures or any kind of adversity make you doubt yourself. Never ever.
Playing the final, Nadal was already 2 sets down in the best-of-five sets final. In the 3rd set, when the match score (situation) for Nadal read 2-6, 6-7, 2-3 (0-40), the tournament's Artificial Intelligence predictor gave Medvedev a 96% chance of winning. In other words, it was a 4% chance of a win or a 96% chance of a loss for Nadal. Of course, Nadal knew (and believed) better. Oh, and you can also file this as another exhibit why AI can still do only so much and why it can never really or fully replace human intelligence, self-belief and capabilities!
The other instance, from the West Indies' roller-coaster ride after losing to Ireland and then beating England, is yet another example of self-belief, a phoenix-like renaissance, rising from the ashes, and continuing to enjoy the game. Of all these qualities, enjoying the game is something that WI know very well. Not many sides (from any sport) in the world are better at enjoying the moment, enjoying the game with such abandon, freedom, and unbridled enthusiasm that the Caribbean sides have always possessed in much abundance. It's always nice to see them do well, especially after a disappointing loss. Makes you believe that much more in the fairness of sport, makes your heart gooey to see all the nice people from WI, NZ and SA do well, makes you feel good about the world and life in general.
Before I conclude, here's another footnote to celebrate another memorable sporting day: As recently as yesterday. Last night, India played a not-so-crucial match against West Indies - the first T20 of a 3-match bilateral series. Ok, and India won. What's the big deal, you might ask.
The big deal that made yesterday special, at least to me, was the performance of one of my favorite batsmen, Surya Kumar Yadav. I've been a fan of his batting for as long as I can remember, especially since the last 3 seasons (2018-19 onwards). The range of his shots, the game plan, the versatility, the ability to be a hitter as well as a run-pincher (stealing ones and twos consistently), the cool and smiling nature - all make him someone I keep rooting for. It doesn't help that he's on the wrong side of the right age for a cricketer. Already 31, Surya needs to make the next few years count. He's too good a batter to miss out on playing for India. It's already taken him much longer than it should have, to sport the Indian jersey.
The only chink if I can say, in his armor, is that he gets too ahead of himself at times. Too often, much against the run of play, he has been guilty of getting out when he is all set, to a nothing ball and a nothing shot. That too, when he has had the field and bowling team at his mercy. I've been praying and wishing for him to be there till the end, whether in the first innings or in the chase. Yesterday was one such day and he came to the party, staying not out till the end and shepherding the chase really well. No surprises, no against-the-run-of-play dismissal, no disappointment! What I loved the most was the fact that in the post-match conference, he himself stated that he would like to stay till the end a lot more and it was like music to the ears. Surely, the man himself knows more than anyone else, what needs to be done. I was just happy I have felt the same way as he has. Hopefully, this was the first of many, many such innings from this gem of a batsman (and person), touchwood! May the sun never set on ya, Surya! More power to you, Jai Ho!
