Dipa Karmakar, Sakshi Malik, P.V. Sindhu who knew them before today? So what changed in the last few days? These players have been playing for several years and have been good at their respective sports for several years.
What changed in the last few days is that they graduated from being good to being "the best" by winning at the Rio Olympics. This has a very important lesson for all of us. India probably has lot of sports people who are good in different fields and yet when Rio Olympics began the country's pride was hanging in thin air for 11 days. The grim realization that although we have lot of good players, we probably have none who is the best. We cannot use the power of our billion plus population advantage everywhere. Hundred good athletes cannot join forces and come together to win one medal at olympics. It has to be only one alone, that one who is the best and not just good.
Here is how some of the global headlines looked like
"It took 11 days and more than 100 athletes, but India finally won a medal at Rio Olympics"
"By winning a bronze medal in wrestling, 23-year-old Sakshi Malik helped India avoid a potentially embarrassing Olympic blackout."
While we owe a big thanks to Dipa Karmakar (will win the medal in 2020 :) ), Sakshi Malik and P.V. Sindhu for saving a nation of 1.2 billion from a mega embarrassment on the world stage, we must learn from it. We are all good and doing good in life, but that is not such a good thing because it makes us complacent. Being good keeps us satisfied and happy and probably stops us from trying to be the best. How many of us can claim to be the best and not just good in anything?
We will probably lead a happy life being good but will we be able to shine in that one critical moment in life that can be a make or break situation. Can we pass if put to such a test that demands us to be the best or perish? Suddenly being good doesn't look good enough. We are doing good in life just because we have not been put to a test that only the best can survive. We are probably not even good, maybe just lucky. So should we be happy being one of those millions who are good or should we try to be the best? Remember it's not just about our sports people, sports infrastructure or sports budget & policy. It's about us, all of us in every field.
What changed in the last few days is that they graduated from being good to being "the best" by winning at the Rio Olympics. This has a very important lesson for all of us. India probably has lot of sports people who are good in different fields and yet when Rio Olympics began the country's pride was hanging in thin air for 11 days. The grim realization that although we have lot of good players, we probably have none who is the best. We cannot use the power of our billion plus population advantage everywhere. Hundred good athletes cannot join forces and come together to win one medal at olympics. It has to be only one alone, that one who is the best and not just good.
Here is how some of the global headlines looked like
"It took 11 days and more than 100 athletes, but India finally won a medal at Rio Olympics"
"By winning a bronze medal in wrestling, 23-year-old Sakshi Malik helped India avoid a potentially embarrassing Olympic blackout."
We will probably lead a happy life being good but will we be able to shine in that one critical moment in life that can be a make or break situation. Can we pass if put to such a test that demands us to be the best or perish? Suddenly being good doesn't look good enough. We are doing good in life just because we have not been put to a test that only the best can survive. We are probably not even good, maybe just lucky. So should we be happy being one of those millions who are good or should we try to be the best? Remember it's not just about our sports people, sports infrastructure or sports budget & policy. It's about us, all of us in every field.
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