The Glory of Sports and Munificent Spirituality of Sportsmen

The theory that physical activity in any form, whether playing a game or any other form of exercise, is necessary not just for longevity but also for a congenial and stable personality and mental balance has been espoused and accepted by people across all timelines. On a personal level, being passionate about sports (admittedly only as a passive follower) but habituated to some kind of physical activity, the feeling that sports represents the pinnacle of glory and sportsmen symbolise munificent spirituality (comparable to any spiritual or religious Guru) came home to me while following a couple of recent happenings in the world of sports spanning different canvasses.

In the post pandemic era, when organized sport is making a slow but seemingly steadfast recovery, sans the existence of spectators (or in any case with only limited spectators) watching recent events such as the French Open and the Euro 2020 (which although being staged in 2021 still, for somewhat unusual but understandably practical and commercial reasons still goes by the nomenclature of the original year in which it was supposed to be held) made evident, in no small measure, the glory of sport and the talismanic effect that sportsmen can have which I talked about in the beginning.

Having long been a passionate follower of sports with Tennis, Football and Cricket being my particular three passions, I have keenly followed the exploits of the Big three- Federer, Nadal and Djokovic for the last almost two decades. With contrasting personalities and playing styles ranging from the cool demeanour and Swiss clinical efficiency of Federer to the Spanish Matador epitomised in Nadal to the battle scared Djokovic( having faced the travails of growing up in war-torn Serbia and a childhood spent amidst the pounding of bombs) these three have dominated the world of Tennis in a manner unheard of so far.

Admittedly, being an unabashed admirer of Nadal (much to the chagrin of the die-hard Federer and Djokovic fans), I expectantly looked upon the French Open a couple of weeks back, with renewed interest in the hope of my favourite Nadal clinching an unprecedented 14th French Open title and in the process eclipsing Federer’s existing record of 20 Grand Slams and reaching another landmark. It was in this heightened expectation, that I sat glued to the Television screen, by my standards at an insanely late hour, to watch the much anticipated semi-final clash between Djokovic and Nadal with the fervent hope of watching another Nadal master class on clay — his by far the favourite surface and a repeat annihilation of Djokovic in the manner that he did in the final last year.

Of course, my despair knew no bounds and my disappointment was endless when Nadal succumbed, albeit after a spirited fight, in four sets to Djokovic for his only the third loss at Roland Garros ending hopes of his eclipsing Federer’s record in the immediate future (specially discomforting in view of his subsequent withdrawal from Wimbledon). While the third set lasting more than 90 minutes (a duration in which most matches normally end) was a Tennis master class in itself with each player going for the jugular, raking in volleys, passing shots, lobs, service winners and what have you from not only apparently unreachable but impossible positions in a no holds barred and no holds given contest. The quality of Tennis was unparalleled, the physical effort put in and the determination, in both these champion athletes, to go for the kill self-evident. However, the amazing part of it was the high level of sportsmanship, grace and dignity exhibited by them, with their impeccable and conformist behaviour, eschewing any boorish gestures and exhibiting restraint in demeanour. Of course while, Djokovic’s exuberance and Nadal’s disappointment was only to be expected, their interaction and interpersonal behaviour was shorn of any ill-will — with the victor being elegant in victory and the vanquished accepting defeat most gracefully.

Given this and putting my disappointment at Nadal losing on his favourite clay surface and to see his despondent face at the end of the match behind, my thoughts turned to the history of Tennis for the last almost two decades in which this trinity has ruled the Tennis world as in a manner never before. Although, they have had an almost vice-like grip on the world of Tennis in that period and dominated their respective favourite surfaces, their behaviour both on and off the field has left an indelible mark and is something which we all of us need to emulate to the highest degree.

In spite of the relentlessness competition, ruthless pursuit of success, constant needling by ever intrusive media and stratospheric pressure of their respective followers , admirers and fans, these three have maintained a kind of quiet dignity and unparalleled composure in their behaviour and inter-personal dealings, both on and off the Court. While on the Court, they are no holds barred competitors with frequent pumping of fists, constant egging of the crowd and scant regard for each other’s presence, their behaviour on the Court , off the Court and with each other in something which ceases to amaze no end.

In the growing-up years having watched the antics of McEnroe, Connors, Tiriac, Nastase etc. on Court with expletives flowing all around with gay abandon, rackets being flung and line calls being disputed, confrontations with the Umpires and Linesmen at the drop of a hat and abuses blurted out without any scant respect for millions of families watching on the Sport on TV and on the ground and of course, in the process hurting the sanctity and glory of Sport and throwing the spirit of sportsmanship into the bucket, the behaviour of these three greats not just on the field but also off the field is something which leaves us spellbound. Needless to say in their pursuit of excellence and glory, these three real competitors have, in their own right, scaled boundaries of perfection, analysed each other games to the minutest degree, sought relentlessly to determine chinks in each other’s armour and to break through the fortress of the respective opponents. In their own personal mind-space and in their interaction with their teams, unrelenting effort would be put on as to how to conquer and demolish any of these opponents on any given day but all this has nowhere been reflected in their behaviour or even outward personality.

This to my mind personifies the glory of sport and the spirituality of sportsmen to the optimum degree. Their mind space might be predominantly occupied with plotting each other’s downfall the next time they come face to face with each other, the quite dignity and the elegance that comes out in their behaviour is something unparalleled in the history of world Tennis and was seen only in 1960s and 70s, before the game had turned professional, when the likes of Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, et al were ruling the roost, not to forget the silken-grace of Arthur Ashe and the icy-cool temperament of Bjorn Borg in the subsequent years. The Holy Trinity has not let this relentless competition reflect in their attitude towards each other, whether in their public appearances, press briefings, interaction with the media or their personal behaviour In fact, the innate respect that they have for each other is clearly reflected in their approach and demeanour. It is in this context that watching the French Open semi-final followed by the marathon five set final between the Djokovic and Tsitsipas was something of a revelation not just for the quality of Tennis but also for the sublime behaviour of the actors involved.

The glorious behaviour of these three greats is something that I have come to admire and appreciate is something that has become permanently ingrained in my mind. If only people in other fields, specially politicians, engaged in similar levels of competition were to follow the example set by these relentless champions and no -holds barred competitors and imbibe a certain sense of civility, decorum and tolerance in their outlook, approach, demeanour and speech, much of the negativity that we so frequently encounter in an even otherwise overtly stressed world would rapidly tend to dissipate. This is something that is desperately needed to restore some sanity, balance and equilibrium in our personal mind-space and society.

Not only that, simultaneously, during Euro 2020 two incidents brought out to me the excellence, humanity and compassion that sports in general and sportsmen in particular represent. The first was the sudden fall of Danish star Christian Eriksen on the Football field as he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and his heart almost stopped beating. The presence of mind shown by the Danish players, in particular their Captain Simon Kjaer in rushing to his aid, providing him the initial support, pulling out his tongue so that he would not choke and attempting to open his air ways exhibited not just presence of mind but deep-rooted compassion and empathy. In fact, watched by millions of people the world over followed, the manner in which the entire stadium stood in silence, weeping disconcertedly and praying fervently, irrespective of which team they supported, watching on in not just horror but also deep concern as to what had happened on the field was to say the least ethereal and numbing. The gestures of both the teams, with Danish players forming a protective wall around the player to protect his privacy, comforting his wife and the opposition players almost in tears watching one of their own lying on the field and fearing the ultimate was numbing. More so the dignity and the compassion with which the spectators, behaved enabling the para medics and the medics to work on the field and to ensure that he was provided with the initial CPR before making way to the hospital at the earliest was something again beyond words and reflected outstanding humanity and compassion. Of course, in this entire process one was left wonderstruck and in deep awe at the seamless manner in which the entire machinery functioned with the entire posse of medical personnel of both the teams swinging into action within not even split but nano seconds.

This was followed by, his Inter- Milan team mate and Belgian forward, Romelu Lukaku, immediately after scoring a goal in the match against Russia veering away towards the cameras and delivering a message to Christian “Chris, Chris, I love you” to convey the extent to which he was missed and how desperately they were awaiting his return. In fact, as one of the reporters said these players spend more time with each other than with their families and given that the gestures, the deep bond, emotional understanding and sentiment they feel for each other was something was only natural. Sometimes opponents, sometimes team mates, sometimes team mates playing for the opposite club but playing for the same country or playing for same club but opposite countries and in all manner of combinations these players develop a bond for each other which, to say the least, is intimate and more often than not inextricable.

In a world dominated by cut-throat competition where every one is perennially seeking to cut the other persons throat, this kind of spontaneous display of concern, grief, willingness and bonhomie and above all extraordinary presence of mind in a split second is something to be cherished. In fact, in the stadium immediately after Christian’s fall while the Finnish fans shouted “Christian” the Danish fans spontaneously responded “Eriksen” as if to show a sense of bonding, concern and send a message to the fallen player and his grief stricken family as to how they are united together in prayer and expressing concern and solidarity with Christian was again something that stood out. As somebody very thoughtfully remarked– “Even in its darkest times, this is a beautiful game”.

The ability to rise above Club and even National loyalties and to put Football rivalry and the intense, nee savage, competition that comes with it aside and to stand together in the face of calamity is what this episode exemplified. Not to forget the gesture of the Belgian players to kick the ball out of play in the tenth minute of their game against Denmark (Eriksen wears the №10 shirt for Denmark) so that the fans could give a loud ovation to Eriksen and send a message to him that he is being really remembered. Watching the entire scenario unfolding while leaving me misty eyed only brought home the fact that the feelings and sentiments, compassion, humanity, love, gratitude and tender and loving, care are still alive and kicking in the world and that when the need arises and circumstances demand the heart can and does rule over the head.

The third instance of the level of excellence that sport ultimately represents came to fore in the goal scored by the Czech striker Patrik Schick from almost inside the half-line, in the match against Scotland in the group stage of Euro -2020, ( officially measured at 54 yards a distance almost half of the football field). Seeing the opposing goal keeper rushing out of the goal leaving an unguarded goal wide open displaying extraordinary presence of mind and skill he took a long circling short that bounced into the goal leaving, as a Journalist put it , the Scottish Goalkeeper “clawing at thin air” and the spectators rubbing their eyes in disbelief at the amazing spectacle unfolding before them. That action and its end-result reflected what excellence and presence of mind in sport is all about and what the combination of two can do in any situation.

Sometime back I had read a quote emphasizing on the value of time, a part of which said — “And if you want to know the nature of one hundredth of second, ask the athlete who won a silver medal in the Olympics”. To which we could add, ask Patrik Schick, who within the unthinkable nano second required to blink an eyelid, observed the opposing goalkeeper charging out, changed tack spontaneously and immediately took a long shot to book a permanent place in the history of all-time Football greats.

Amidst these happenings my thoughts also went back almost forty years to the one -off Golden Jubilee Test against England in 1980 to celebrate and commemorate 50 years of India’s entry to International Cricket. For some reasons, the legendary Gundappa Vishwanath (“Vishy”) who was known for his silken square cuts, wristy elegance, grit and grace was captaining India on that occasion. During the course of the match, with India in an almost impregnable position, when Bob Taylor appeared to be disappointed at being given out, something riled Vishy’s mind and after consulting his teammates he withdrew the appeal and called him back. His sporting gesture in withdrawing the team’s appeal and recalling Bob Taylor who had wrongly been declared out, even at the cost of harming his team’s gesture would go down as one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship in sporting history. For the record India went on to lose the match and Vishy never captained India again. But the Gentleman Cricketer that Vishy was, never regretted his decision. On the contrary, his gesture is invariably recalled as an exemplary instance of demonstration of the ideals that sport represents and of course the spiritual influence that the behaviour and demeanour of sportsmen can have on lay folk, of course, if understood and emulated with a correct perspective.

All in all, these incidents, summarised to me the glory, the passion, the munificence and, of course, the physical prowess that sports involves and the spiritual lessons that sportsmen offer, much more valuable and profound then almost all of our self-styled Gurus (by whatever name called). Considering the massive fan following that most of these sportsmen have, the domino effect that their behaviour can have on society generally and impressionable minds, particularly, can only be exponential. Perhaps people in whatever activity or vocation that they may be engaged in could learn from the examples cited above. The lives of these super -achievers are perfectly emulatable not just for what they wear, the brands they endorse, their hairstyles or the number of tattoos on their body but also for the dignity, compassion, restraint, grace and elegance and the positivity of approach that they invariably exhibit, exemplify and espouse.