The shockingly poor medal haul of the Indian contingent in the ongoing Paris Olympics has left sports fans deeply disappointed. The media hype before the event had raised expectations sky high but now it is clear that India will get very few medals.
Legendary badminton player Prakash Padukone was surrounded by media persons for his comments after Lakshya Sen lost his bronze medal match. During his chat with the media, Prakash emphasised the need for psychological training of the players. He felt that the Indian players tend to cave in under pressure. They need to be mentally strong and remain focussed.
“Lakshya played well but he couldn’t finish it. He was leading at different stages of the match but could not keep up the pressure on his opponent. The Olympics are the most high-pressure sports event in the world. It is important to prepare oneself both physically and mentally for the challenge of the Olympics. In India, we do not give enough importance to the mental aspect of the preparation. We need to appoint specialists and work more on this aspect,” he said.
Gold medalist’s method
The importance of mental training and keeping one’s mind focused but tension-free was amply demonstrated by another athlete. Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchickh did one of the most unusual things ever seen in the Olympic Games.
She entered the field equipped with a green bedroll which she unfolded and laid down on the grass. After taking one jump and before her next turn came, she would snuggle into the bedroll and go to sleep. Or perhaps she was meditating.
She explained to the media later that it was her way of taking her mind off the fierce competition and relaxing. “I look up at the sky and watch the clouds floating by. It fills me with tranquility. I take care to breathe deeply. All these things make me relax and I get up fresh for my next jump.”
Her strange method worked wonders and she finally won the gold medal.
What’s in a name?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell just as sweet,” wrote William Shakespeare in his famous play Romeo and Juliet. One was reminded of that well-known quote when an athlete from Jamaica named Rajindra Campbell took the bronze medal in the men’s shot put competition.
All Indians assumed that he was one of the people in the West Indies whose origins lie in India. But that was not the case. Rajindra Campbell is a tall and burly black person of African origin. Then why is his name Rajindra?
The reason for that lies in the fact that his father is a huge cricket fan. The gentleman’s favourite player was a bowler named Rajindra Dhanraj, a West Indian cricketer of Indian origin, who played in Test matches for the West Indies in the mid-1990s.
Dhanraj’s skillful leg spin bowling impressed the senior Campbell so much that when his son was born, in February 1996, he named him Rajindra. So that is how a man of African origin acquired an Indian name.
A costly blunder
Back in the 1930s India had a very talented sportsman by the name of M.J. Gopalan. From his school days, he was an excellent cricket player and a very good hockey player too. When he grew up he represented India in both cricket and hockey.
But in 1936 he was faced with a difficult choice. He was named in the Indian cricket team which was about to begin its tour of England under the captaincy of the Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram (Vizzy). But at the same time, he had also been selected for India’s hockey team which was going to play in the Berlin Olympics under the captaincy of the legendary Dhyan Chand.
Gopalan chose cricket over hockey and went to England with the cricket team. But soon the controversial methods of Vizzy and his infighting with Lala Amarnath ruined the tour. India lost two of the three Test matches. To top it all, Gopalan was not selected to play in any Test match.
The hockey team on the other hand won the gold medal in the Berlin Olympics with outstanding victories in all matches. It was thereafter hailed as the most successful team ever seen in hockey history. For the rest of his life, Gopalan regretted his decision to choose cricket over hockey on that occasion.
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