Superstars hold class on how to handle highs and lows in sport

Ahmedabad, September 28

The stage was full of modern day superstars — double Olympics medallist PV Sindhu, India’s first athletics World Championships medal winner Anju Bobby George, batting great VVS Laxman, ace rifle shooter Gagan Narang and Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra. These superstars were brought together on one stage as part of the first Sports Conclave. The idea was to tell the budding athletes about the challenges of sports.

“Whenever you start to take interest in a new sport, you will always find some people who will question you. When I picked up the javelin, I was told it wasn’t a popular sport. There was hardly any awareness about javelin throw or athletics in general,” Chopra said. “The key is to always believe in yourself because there will always be someone who will try to find fault in your decision. Just perform and prove them wrong,” he added.

Narang chipped in with his own experience. “When I started, no one took our team seriously as everyone thought we were only happy with participation. Then Abhinav (Bindra) and I started winning, the mood changed,” the London Olympics bronze medallist said.

Other setbacks were also discussed at length. “When I failed to win a medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics I was heartbroken. I had decided to retire as I did not train for two months after the Games,” Anju said.

“But then the moment I realised that the next World Championships were round the corner, I started to train again. It is a cycle, athletes need motivation all the time,” she added.

The best advice, however, came from Laxman, who urged the youngsters to keep at it because sport built characters. “There will always be only one champion. Sport teaches you the ability to handle success and failure. Not everyone can achieve his or her goals but everyone can become a sportsperson,” he said.