Stages of life and my favourite Sportsperson

I am a certified sports nut. I follow most of the major sports. It has been an obsession with me since childhood. Maybe it has got something to do with my not being endowed with natural athleticism, though I play most of the racquet sports decently and has had limited success in Age group Cricket tournaments as a teenager.

The other day, I was looking back at my favourite sportsmen during the last three decades and it stuck me that my choice has a lot to do with my development as a person.

As a young boy, brought up in a conservative environment and taught to be obedient, I had gone in for the more orthodox and traditional Sunil Gavaskar rather than the artistic G R Viswanath. The trend continued in my teens with my following the deeds of the Iceman Bjorn Borg and the traditional Chris Evert than the mercurial, brash but brilliant John McEnroe or the unconventional Martina Navratilova. I was never taken in by the charms of the wild Ian Botham but rather liked the clinical Richard Hadlee. Preferred the conventional Gordon Greenidge over the flamboyant Viv Richards

As I flew away from the nest and started exploring the world first as a MBA student and later as a young professional, I had a different perspective of the world. I started becoming more daring, liberal and unconventional but the streak of conservatism remained. I took the middle path. Though I was not ready yet for the non conformist Boris Becker or the dull drab Lendl or Wilander, I still went in for the graceful but traditional Stefan Edberg and the pretty, talented Gabriela Sabatini. Liked the lazy elegance of Mark Waugh over the scrapping of his twin Steve and followed the trail of the the artistic and straight Alan Prost rather than the rebellious Ayrton Senna, who died tragically in the racetrack.

Post mid thirties, my personality had undergone a sea change. I had become much more liberal, very very unconventional and a rebel at heart. I also found out that being conventional and correct will take you only this far and no further. One need to have the streak of a rebel and non conformist to succeed. Inborn talent coupled with hard work, a tinge of nonconfirmism and a ferocious will to win is what it takes to be a winner. Fortunately for me there were two outstanding sportsmen during this period who fitted in beautifully to my personality. The brilliant Michael Schumacher and the genius Roger Federer. I admired Michael for his commitment, ability to take calculated risks, win at all costs philosophy and his sheer brilliance in driving. And Roger!! Genius is a much abused word in the world of sports. But no other word can be appropriate while describing Roger. What amazing talent!. The guy is a magician. True artist. It is when you see Roger Federer that one believes in God. To have created a sportsman and a gentleman like him, he must have been in one of his rare good moods. It is so unfair for one man to be endowed with so much talent and skill. More importantly, each of Rogers match and even each of his shot is a lesson in strategic management. He has 6 different shots at any given point of time and he chooses the right one every single time. His opponents have tried so many different strategies while playing him but he has a counter to every single one of them, the French open against Nadal excluding. The beauty lies in his ability to execute the strategy to perfection day in and day out. And though renowned as an attacking player, many don't realise how good he is while defending. A strategic managers dream. In my book, the greatest sportsperson of all time and my all time favourite.

On reflecting again, I find that even while being a traditionalist as a youngster I did have a soft corner for the maverick chess player Bobby Fischer, the graceful Nadia Comenchi, the firebrand Dennis Lille, the touch artist Prakash Padukkone, the crazy but immensely talented Ille Nastase, the unconventional Doug Walters and the brilliant Jack Nicklaus. And of course I have always liked the poetry of the Brazilian Football team and the magic of Diego Maradonna.

Is it likely that the rebel and the aesthetic existed inside me dormant even as a youngster??... I wonder...