The gold medalist for India, Abhinav Bindra’s mantra for the youth of the country is very relevant: make winning a habit. It is important to set a goal in life and then strive to achieve it. One has to be totally focused motivated by a sense of purpose. In every sport a fighter earns praise regardless of the eventual outcome. This is in keeping with the spirit of the competition. Let it be admitted, how-ever, that in the end everyone talks about the victor provided, of course, the means adopted by the concerned individual or team are also fair.

Commitment is the key ingredient to success in every sphere of activity. In public life Mahatma Gandhi has achieved a lot in a manner that has left the likes of Albert Einstein wondering whether a man like him has truly ever walked on the earth. There are several such shining examples of courage of conviction around the world. Sadly in our country we tend to give up easily. Yes now we are talking strictly in terms of our- sports performances. How can we explain our decline in hockey? For the first time we have failed to qualify for the Olympics in a game in which we have held the sway for decades. Not many even remember that we have, been quite a force in, football as well till the 1950s.

What has plagued us is our negativism. There is then greed on the part of officials to stick to their posts by hook or by crook. It is a silver lining, therefore, that the latest reverse in hockey has led to a purge with positive results so far. What has deterred us is not simply the lack of facilities. For a developing country like ours it is only to be expected that we make do with whatever is available on hand by away of amenities. What is disappointing is that we kill the enthusiasm of young person’s to excel. We do so by doubting their capacity all the more so if they happen to belong to small towns or economically weaker families.

All of therefore, to make it a habit to say it that we can do it. This mindset is not changing appreciably. All of us have, therefore, to make it a habit to say it to ourselves that we can do it; we can stand up
against the best in the globe, and we can win. The only way to break the habit of losing is to begin to get into the habit of winning. Merely offering excuses for not rising to the occasion does not work. If you can accept losing you can’t win. If you can walk you can run. No one is ever hurt. Hurt is in your mind. Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. And Abhinav Bindra has so rightly stated that ‘you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time.’