Monday, August 18, 2008

Winner takes all

Everyone knows that Abhinav Bindra is a winner. He showed it by bringing home the gold medal that he won for shooting a perfect score in Beijing. But he showed in perhaps even more in his mien - that cold, unflappable, focussed way of responding to everything, be it the actual moment of winning or the stupid questions that the media (especially the Indian TV channels) flung at him or his meetings with the political biggies in this country, from the President and Prime Minister to the various functionaries whose attentions he has been subjected to.

Mnay say that the reason he won and, more importantly, the reason he was able to develop that winning ambition was the financial support he had without really asking for it. His father, a fairly successful businessman, was able to give him everything he needed to reach his goal, from his own shooting range at home to specialised training abroad when he needed it. He had a psychologist, a trainer, even what could be called a life coach, someone who helped him develop a certain blinkeredness in achieving that winning personality, literally. Bindra's own psyche allowed that distance and coolness to mature, no matter that he seems to have parents who are exuberant and far more outgoing than he himself is. Maybe he is shy, reserved, preferring to save that bubble and brightness for a very select circle that he chooses to know.

That same selectiveness labels many as snobs. Maybe most people have seen Bindra as a snob too. But does that matter? After all, snob or not, he is a winner!

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