The news items like Serena Williams has won another US Open Championship or one more Grand Slam title have no sense of newness for us. She had been one of the greatest in the history, but suddenly I started thinking of this year’s winner of Wimbledon's single title for women and suddenly I started thinking of winners who could be easily forgotten and but very certainly they also had not been any less than the greatest in their respective fields.
Marion Bartoli had been very unlikely winner of women's singles title at Wimbledon 2013. Her previous best performance had been some six years ago when she was a finalist here. What a win it was for her, she won the championship without dropping a set on her way to lift the trophy. I'm not much of the tennis enthusiast or an expert but on 6th July 2013, I was watching the women's singles final on television. What immediately struck to me was her unusual serve, very unorthodox as it appeared as if her straight hand was moving in a circle while serving. It appeared even unusual with no ball thumping and execution of the service in one single motion. Her style of play appeared to be intense with double handed forehand and backhand but certainly she didn't appear to be very good mover on the court. Still she was in the finals and won her match against Sabine Lisicki convincingly in straight sets. Incidentally it was her 47th appearance in grand slam tournaments before winning her first; a record of sorts for any grand slam winner.
That evening while seeing her lifting the shining trophy, on the television, I had a peculiar sense of happiness and a feeling of relief of not seeing all those regular champions lifting the trophy. Was it for an underdog within me who was feeling happy for another underdog or maybe I was thinking on behalf of all those underdogs who never got an opportunity to be recognised for anything they keep doing with all passion and dedication all their lives? This feeling lingered within me for quite some time thereafter also and I kept wondering as to what is the next for this new Wimbledon champion and mostly I was seriously worried every single day thereafter whenever I used to open the sports page of the morning newspaper. I could feel the dread of the defeat of the champion against anyone. By the time one month had passed and one fine morning I was feeling the same dread while opening the sports page and then suddenly I took a decision on her behalf that she should retire from the game immediately. By the time I could reach on the sports page I saw this news item that Bartoli has announced her immediate retirement from the professional tennis on 14th August 2013. Again there was a feeling of peculiar sense of relief within me.
In this peculiar world there are peculiar parameters for judging champions and winners but again we fail to understand that the life is not always about being champion and winners only. What we call passion or dedication remains unnoticed most of the times for most of us who know that they are certainly not the best if judged on the basis of the established parameters but still they keep chasing their passions. After starting her carrier in 2002, Bartoli had been able to win her maiden Grand Slam in 2013 and the feeling of being arrived in life for her could only be guessed which might have come with its profound side-effects. In the real life, championships will keep coming and those having relatively better skills will keep winning these championships and titles. Incidentally, most of the time winners remain the same because they are supposedly the best and most of the sports are dominated by a few stars whom we know to be the greatest. While thinking of those less than the great, the underdogs, who had the opportunity to make it big only occasionally; what is a real life situation and particularly for those who always knew in their heart that they are not certainly the best in the field but there had been occasions when they had been on top. For this kind of underdogs being on top is a different ball game and on thinking about this situation repeatedly brought me to the same conclusion, rather same painful and sad conclusion that once on top gracefully come out with the feeling of being at top for all the times to come in life.
I have had been a school topper but I always knew that possibly I was not the rightful person for the decoration because I was lacking all those qualities required for this purpose and also I knew all along that the future tournaments were not meant for persons like me so far these kind of laurels are concerned. People like us keep getting our Bartoli moments and my understanding is that they should gracefully come out of the race immediately thereafter so that the feeling of being at top could linger on throughout your life bringing happiness all along. We have examples of cricketers who have been compelled to retire long after their prime was over but still they were continuing for some unsporting reasons. I started looking around then I found that most of the British prime ministers have simply faded into oblivion very gracefully after completing their terms or after losing elections or being replaced by someone else. Recently I found Julia Gillard, the Australian Prime Minister, has simply retired from active politics after her party failed to win the election, she is just 51 years of age. People are calling themselves to be youth leader in this country. Mr. L.K. Advani still thinks of taking a shot at Prime ministership despite the fact that his party lost 2009 general election in his leadership.
I was thinking of Ashwini Nachappa, the girl who outran the great P.T. Usha and she was not around for very long time in athletics thereafter and slowly she graduated into a movie star and then into a social worker and educationists. I keep thinking of the great Pulela Gopichand who announced his retirement after winning all England Championship in Badminton.
There is a curious case of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of United States who was pushed to the post of vice president in1900 only primarily to control his style of working. As the destiny had its way and the incumbent president Meckinley was assassinated and he was sworn in as the youngest ever president of United States in 1901. What a term he had thereafter, he won next presidential election in 1904 but somehow he declared not to run for the second term. He is still considered to be one of the greatest presidents of America. After demitting his officers in 1908, he was supposed to fade into oblivion but in next presidential election in 1912 he ran as independent once he failed to get Republican nomination and he lost to the Democrat Woodrow Wilson, then to compulsorily fade into oblivion. Time and tide waits for none and it is always advisable to count your pennies and blessings both for what you already have in life. The pride and glory, like any other thing have its own expiry date and trying to cling to it makes it rancid and very ungraceful.
Continuously being on top certainly requires some divine intervention besides your own skills, capabilities, qualities, passion and dedication coupled with numerous factors affecting your performance in that particular field at particular period of time. Having arrived at top has got its own side-effects and particularly for those who know in their hearts that possibly they might have not been the best person to stand there continuously. I can only sympathise with Abhinav Bindra, our own Olympic gold medallist in shooting, has not been able to repeat his performance afterwards. It has been a great feeling to accept that I had been an average person who had been lucky enough to receive always more than his expectations and also to say that I too had my own Bartoli moments in my life to keep me happy for all the times to come and before signing off I have to repeat again emphatically that I have retired from all the tournaments long back.This morning I opened the sports page of today’s newspaper and found that Rafael Nadal has won another US Open Championship and his 13th grand slam, it was a no new to me.
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