India is
still celebrating the success of the golden girl Sindhu. And, why not? For a
nation of 1.3 Billion, we still don’t have enough sports icons. Sportspersons, who are
the best in their sport.
But, the journey
to Sindhu’s gold was not an easy one. It was littered with several heartbreaks.
On the big sports platforms – be it the world championships, all England championships
or the Olympics, Sindhu would many a time falter at the very top.
Sample
these statistics. In the 5 world championships held before 2018, Sindhu reached
the Quarter Finals once, won the Bronze twice, and silver once.
In the 5
super series premier tournaments of the last five years, Sindhu has lost in
the quarter finals 6 times, semi finals twice, finals one and won a championship
once. She was reaching the knockout stages and then losing the plot.
It had
started to become a pattern. Sindhu was a fantastic player. The player to beat.
But, when it came to the last stages- she could come short. More and more it
was becoming a mental thing.
What
changed in Basel, where she won the gold?
If you had watched matches featuring Sindhu, in each of the breaks you would hear a
smattering of Telugu, the language Sindhu and her coach Gopichand speak. Gopi
would advice her, exhort her, motivate her. Then console her, for the lost
medal.
What we saw
in Basel was a south Korean lady , Kim Ji Hyun– chastising, pushing, driving
Sindhu towards a win.
What these animated
chats did not tell us was the greatness of Guru Gopi. Gopichand must have realized
that while he is a great coach, he is not able to impart the killer instinct. He
is able to shepherd his players to the finals, but not to the podium.
In choosing
to cede the coaching space to someone with a better killer instinct for the
country’s success and Sindhu’s success, Gopichand did something that most
leaders cannot do. Sacrifice their power. Guru Gopi, the man who built Indian badminton
from scratch, showed the power of ego-less, selfless leadership.
This is the
hallmark of true greatness.
Some
questions crop up in mind..
Can our Prime Minister Mr Modi take a leaf out of
Gopi’s book and seek Dr Manmohan Singh’s help in fixing the economy.
Or Virat
Kohli seek Anil Kumble’s help in delivering the killer punch in ICC
tournaments?
Wishing thinking?
No harm in being an optimist, right?
#Sindhu #Selflessleadership #Sacrfice
