INDIA could have won, despite losing the World Cup final! What an opportunity they had of winning the hearts of millions throughout the world if they had only displayed grace and big heartedness when they lost. What was shown by them was a crude, crass and churlish display of being bad losers. Our sportsmen need to understand they have millions of youths in the country who look up to them, and every thing they do is followed by these youngsters. The crass behaviour of Virat Koli will soon be followed by our own youth and the public weeping by another cricketer could have easily been avoided.
We played a game, we did not go to war! As much as we have to hone our skills to win, we need to learn to acknowledge someone more skilled. In life this is one of the skills that one must learn to be successful. The skill of being a good loser will take us far in life, whether we play sports or we enter any competing activity. We need to build the skill of reacting with sportsmanship when disappointing things happen.
I remember the Oscars of 2017, when the host announced the wrong winner of the Best Picture Award: Instead of announcing the prize for ‘Moonlight’ he announced, ‘La La Land’. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway then presented the award to the producers of the wrong movie. They started delivering the acceptance speech, when the flustered hosts ran up and announced to the startled audience that the wrong winner had been announced and the award should go to ‘Moonlight!’ But what was so beautiful was how the producers of La La Land, “gracefully” handed over their trophies to the winning team! The word is ‘graceful’! Can you imagine how they must have felt? One moment victory, the next moment, defeat! One moment absolute joy, the next deep disappointment!
But it’s during this moment of defeat the world looks to see how you take it: In fact, more eyes are focused on you the loser, than the winner, and when you are graceful in defeat, you are a winner in the eyes of the world. As much as we train ourselves to be winners, win ten games in succession, the coach should have also trained the team to accept defeat!
People may not remember who won the Oscar in 2017 ten or even five years from now, but they’ll always remember how a defeated producer gave up his trophy gracefully! We need to teach our cricketers this, and maybe other leaders too; about being good losers! Many of the suicides by our youths over being rejected by a lover or failure in exams could be prevented if our men in blue lead from the front and show how to become good losers. Yes, India could have won, despite losing the World Cup final..!
—Email: bobsbanter@gmail.com
