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Of prodigies and prodigals

 

Referring to child prodigies, celebrated Israeli-American violinist, conductor, and music teacher Itzhak Perlman described them as “ a curse because you’ve got all those terrible possibilities.”

The operative word here is of course ‘possibilities’. In the sporting sphere too many have been blessed with tremendous potential, many labeled ‘gifted’, proclaimed as the ‘next big thing’ and quite a few precocious performers who have lost their way completely to disappear into the wilderness. While in the past it would be said that the ability was found out in practical situations and their talent could not survive the test of time, in the current scenario that would be an over simplistic explanation indeed.

The huge media attention while overburdening the talent with undue expectation also facilitates his/her detour into the alleys of faux self-estimation and focus-erasing pursuits. While some do of course recover and are able to course correct midway, most are consigned to the league of what-might-have-beens. And for quite a few, this apparent blip on the radar is portentous of what the future holds for them. Take the curious case of the latest Indian batting sensation Prithvi Shaw, who after having booked a place in the squad for the test series down under discovered that fate had other plans for him.

Touted as the answer to India’s opening woes, a freak injury in a practice match ruled him out of the opening test. However it was not yet curtains for him as he was put on a ‘fast track’ rehabilitation plan in order to orchestrate his comeback, and shore up the team’s opening performance in the last couple of tests. While all cricketing fans were waiting with bated breath for his virtuoso act in the last couple of tests, his return back to India followed a hurried announcement revealing the underestimation of the extent of his injury.

The manner in which this was done smacked of mismanagement but the success of his replacement Mayank Agarwal and the all conquering Indian eleven meant that the issue died a natural death. The tabloid press was however not going to let the matter rest and reports began to surface about how Prithvi was grounded not due to impairment but indiscipline. Be that as it may now his presence in the final eleven is not quite as assured as Mayank seems to have cemented his place in the opening slot for the time being at least.

Prithvi’s performances in IPL 2019 till date have not exactly set the stands on fire, and while IPL performance is no indication of cricketing abilities or form in the longer version, the young man would be deluding himself if he does not pause and ponder on his priorities. One would do well to remember the way a certain Ambati Rayudu’s career panned out. Once widely held as a cricketer of definite promise and destined for greater things, serious disciplinary issues and planetary positions arranged themselves in a certain way, and Rayudu found himself relegated in the pecking order in the prodigy sweepstakes.

That he managed to revive his career from the doldrums and put forth his candidature for the Indian national team deserves due credit, but years hence, the verdict is clear…clearly an underachiever,. The pressure to perform is huge, nowhere more apparent than in the case of Il Fenomeno , the Brazilian superstriker Ronaldo who suffered a seizure just moments before the soccer world cup final in 1998 (at the tender age of 21).That he recovered to lead Brazil to their 5th world cup triumph (in 4 years time in 2002 ) is a tribute to his mental faculties and talent but other have been less fortunate.

The unforgiving world of professional sports requires the sportsman to adapt quickly and make changes on the move and failure to do so could be fatal. A sports psychologist to help deal with the demands of the sport and set things in perspective, especially when their minds are still malleable, is a definite requirement. This of course apart from the mandatory parental supervision that at least allows them to start their game on the right foot till they find their footing.

Article By : Shantanu Sharma 

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