How a sport changed my life
There are some defining moments and
experiences in life which one can go back to anytime in order to reorient and
refresh oneself. These moments are inspirational and serve as waypoints on our
journey through life. The values one gets after passing through experiences are
hard won and all the more precious for being so. I can recall one such moment
in my life which remained with me thereafter.
Surprisingly, it was nothing more ordinary than a cycle race. I was in the ninth standard and used to cycle to school every day. Till then, I had never considered cycling to be a real sport, but thought it to be more of a means of transport.
My family lived in the campus of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, where my father was a senior faculty member. The residential block where we lived was rectangular in shape and consisted of two rows of ten houses each, placed back to back, adjacent to a large sports ground. A road ran between them and continued on to encircle the block completely. The Institute used to hold an annual Sports Day for the residents and faculty, which was an eagerly awaited event in my calendar. There would be multiple races, athletic events, sports competitions and more. I was at the age where sports fever was at its peak along with the required physical strength and stamina to back it up. The announcement of a cycle race added to the excitement.
I must tell something of myself at this point. As already mentioned, I was in the ninth standard at school, of above average height and strongly built. I was very athletic the time, taking part in multiple sports like cricket, football, tennis and especially badminton. However, I was a bit of an underachiever, doing well in everything but never excelling. I had a close friend, whom I shall call Raja, for the purpose of anonymity. He was very similar to me in everything – we went to the same school together on our cycles, played all sports together, etc. However, there was an important difference in that Raja excelled in everything he put his mind to. He was an excellent bowler and used to beat me regularly in tennis and badminton though the matches were hotly contested and closely won. In summary, he was a step ahead of me in everything. Both of us decided to take part in the race.
The day of the race – after a long wait – dawned bright and clear. It was the middle of March and the conditions were perfect for outdoor events. I was full of anxiety and doubt about my chances of winning the race. However, I was determined to give a good account of myself. I told myself, “just stay in the race and let in happen!”
The race was supposed to start in the sports ground and then proceed onto the road encircling our housing block, of which we were supposed to make five laps. As the contestants gathered for the race – there were some twenty odd in number – I noted to my satisfaction that only Raja and myself had the necessary cycles for a fast race. In my mind, the race was already between the two of us only!
We took our positions and due to space constraints I had to stand with my cycle in the rear. As soon as the referee gave the signal, we took off. In the crowd I was unable to move ahead and in fact, was the last out of the ground. I did not give up despite this initial jolt but pushed on and by the end of the first lap emerge in the second place behind Raja, who as usual was at the head of the column. By this time we had accelerated significantly and outpaced much of the crowd. I place myself close behind Raja. My instinct was to try and overtake him but my brain took over in time. I was already breathing fast and there was a steady pain building up in my legs. I made up a strategy on the spur of the moment to stay behind Raja till the last lap and keep on stretching him. In this way I could just concentrate on cycling while he would have to expend extra effort to stay ahead. In the last lap I could try and push ahead.
The strategy worked like clockwork. I kept close behind him throughout, forcing him to maintain his lead at great cost. Both of us had set a punishing pace and in fact out-lapped the other contestants. All this effort was not without its toll. I was almost gasping and the pain in my legs and now chest too was becoming intolerable. I gritted my teeth and kept on though.
By the beginning of the last lap, Raja had enough. He suddenly retched and vomited while I took the opportunity to slip ahead to the first place. We finished like that, me first and him second. The rest of the crowd was a distant third, maybe two or three laps behind us.
That race changed a lot of things for me. It was the first challenge where I had taken the knocks and was still able to emerge victorious. I had made a strategy, stuck to it and got the results – it showed me the power of a good plan. I had conquered great odds in winning the race – not the least my own insecurities. What I got most from that episode was however, a belief, that if put my mind on something, I could do it.
That moment of victory, that race, is frozen in my memory, like a drop of water hanging from a roof edge. I can go back anytime and refresh and renew myself and regain that belief in moments of doubt and uncertainty. That is the power of a race and a sport!
