Gerald D'Cunha

  “How a person wins or loses is much more important  than how much a person wins or loses.” Tom Krause   “S ir, is there a class today?” Mehul’s* mother asked me, half-an-hour before the class. “Yes Ma’am, there is,” I replied, “In fact, they are expected to write a Test, today.” “My son is glued to the T.V.,” the mother updated the position at home, “He is expecting India to win the Semi Finals.” I was surprised to see Mehul in the class five minutes before the Test time… “What happened to the match?” I asked… I was not following this World Cup series, and I didn’t even know, that it was the Semi Finals yesterday, and Pakistan team was already in Finals… Mehul seemed visibly shattered… That’s when I guessed, that our team had lost… Mehul is 17. I have been seeing this mega disappointment for years before Mehul was born… When India loses to Pakistan, it’s just not palatable… “How can we lose to Pakistan?” is the painful question… “It’s okay if we lose; ...

Pic.: Vinod Vazirani “It is your response to winning and losing that makes you a winner or a loser.” - Harry Sheehy C arolina Marin of Spain definitely played better than Sindhu, yesterday. So, she deserved the Gold. And, our Sindhu? I, too, watched the badminton (singles) Olympics finals, last evening (on my cell-phone), along with my wife. And, I did that like all my fellow-Indians and like all others who rooted for Sindhu. I wanted her to win… and, when she did win the first game, I felt immensely happy. But, then, I knew, somewhere along, that it would be Carolina… and not Sindhu. That’s sports. True sports. The winner takes it all… Well, this Post is not about winning and losing in Olympics. This is about that amazing quality called sportsmanship… which, our Sindhu, delightfully displayed after she lost that all-important contest, watched by millions of people, all over the world. It is that little gesture which Sindhu exhibited by goi...