Ravings of the Maverick

          How many of you have ever felt happiness, satisfaction, contentment after you lose? How many of you have walked upto the victor to have a jolly good chat and compliment him/her on the victory?

          Yesterday I felt these feelings. In this largely materialistic world, where selfishness and ego is the way of life, it is hardly possible to accept defeat. Much easier to celebrate a victory, but difficult to accept defeat with dignity. And yet, yesterday was a day when I felt happy in defeat.

          I play TT (Table Tennis) a lot. What started off as a great stressbuster, has now become an obession. You see different facets of the game. Understand your opponents' games. There is a need to adapt to each opponent's playing style and strategy. And it is always feels great when you end up as the victor. The exhilaration, the frequent "Come on" cries when you miss a shot, the required "Fight" motivation calls to yourself when you are playing sloppy or losing a game, and the muted but equally vocal Fist pumping when you hit a winner shot.

          Yesterday night, after the office day's horrendous grind, I needed the stress release. I went upstairs to the sixth floor of my office wherein the recreation room is set. A few players were playing. I awaited my turn for single game. I knew all the players playing there. I was confident that I could defeat all of them and continue playing since we were playing 'Winner to stay'. At the same time, Prakash Shetake was playing carrom with his friend. I had met his friend before too, we had been introduced, but as usual, I had forgotten his name. As fate would later dictate, his name would remain etched in my mind for a long long time. His name is Gaurav.

          I had my one singles game which I won easily. And then, Gaurav asked if we could play doubles. Everyone was fine with it. And we started. I was shocked to see Gaurav's technique. He uses the 'Pen Grip' technique. And the finesse of his technique is beautiful. His backhand is a cannon. He gets great top spin on his forehand shots. All in all a complete package. A all-round game and performance. We played two games as partners and won both comfortably. After that I asked to change partners. I wanted to play against Gaurav. And was I impressed. His returns from the backend were like blazing bullets and his forehand returns had heavy top spin. I had to understand his shot selection. Even after that, the speed and spin had to be countered. A pretty uphill task that. I could return a few returns which had some heavy top spin. Had to allow the spin to roll away before I could return and that too onto the table. And it was mightily satisfying. Lost more, won less. But it was a treat for watch him play from both sides, as a partner and as an opponent. A real gem of a player. Later on, I played two single against him. Lost the first tamely, lost the second at a respectable 21-16. But loved the games.

          The reason why I felt so urged to write this blog was the simple fact that I found a worthy opponent. I have been playing for a long time and by now I have understood many peoples' games. Have been able to strategize and outplay others. For me, the exhilaration lies in the fact that I have been outplayed easily. It just illustrates the fact that I can improve more, play better. One more milestone to be reached in the improvement process. When you start winning easily against others, you sort of slacken off. When you meet someone who outplays you, you are awoken from your slumber. I had the same done to me. It removes the rust, the mental cobwebs, sharpens your attention, your thoughts. It is not just about TT, but about everything else. Finding someone worth emulating fuels the need to improve. You see these as steps, improve till the point you are on the same level as the other. And then you choose someone else to emulate. If this becomes a sustained process, improvement is guaranteed.

Well, before I finish this blog, just got one thing to say "GAME ON".