You don’t win the silver, you lose the gold!!

'Whoever said, 'it’s not whether you win or lose that counts,' probably lost.' This statement was famously quoted by Martina Navratilova and she does know a thing or two about winning . Chew on this - She won 18 grand slam singles titles, 31 major women’s doubles titles (an all time record) and 10 major mixed doubles titles, she reached the Wimbledon singles 12 times , including nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990 and won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times ( she made quite an unusual sight in white shorts). That said let’s get down to the shorter form in length and breadth – table tennis.

Table tennis also known as ping pong is a sport in which two or four players hit a light weight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by the net. Except for the initial serve, the players must allow a ball played towards them only one bounce on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side. Points are scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. A skilled player can impart several varieties of spin to the ball, altering its trajectory and limiting an opponent’s options to great advantage.

A fortnight ago, a table tennis tournament styled on the lines of davis cup was organized in my better half’s office. 20 teams (populated by a mix of 4 men and a single woman) participated in the mother of all clashes. The team chose incredibly original names like – Famous five , A Team ( I was searching for Bradley cooper , guess he was recovering from a  hangover), ek  tha tiger ( inspiration from one Mr. Khan – not the epiglottis), Misys commanders ( no the team did not dress up in army fatigues) daredevils , cunning stunts ( incidentally the first team to get knocked out – talk about cunning eh?) and a host of other names inspired by the need to sound aggressive and pitch it just right to engage the audience.  The water cooler and lunch table conversation revolved around strategies by the spin doctor , inspiration quotes spamming the mailbox of the participants and as the tournament progressed  dinner table conversations at home were all about the need to focus on the point , not the past or the future.

As ability would have it , the top 4 teams qualified for the semis ( famous five , A Team, Hum Paanch and Top spinners- the team names needed to show a element of camaraderie and team spirit) and as expected the semi final was the real knock out with all kinds of mental games being employed – mental disintegration, stare till the opponent blinks , sizing up the opponents during the practice sessions. The first semi final was a hum dinger of an affair with the Famous five and Top spinners thrashing it out. It closely resembled a grand slam tournament where the opponents in true gladiator style were not willing to give an inch away (not a quarter more nor a quarter less) and once the lucky charm (nudge nudge wink wink – yours truly) entered the hallowed turf of Misys, the ‘Famous Five’ team were firing in all cylinders – think a Lambretta turning into a bat mobike with the nitro booster. As per hearsay and the local grapevine, the ‘Top spinners’ were a bunch of swollen egos and  over-achievers who believed that they just needed to show up and win while forgetting that the team needs to put in the hard miles and win the championship. The team spirit and the camaraderie displayed by the ‘Famous Five’ with the chest thumping would put Paes, Bhupathi and Mirza to shame (post the Olympic Shambolic). The ‘Famous Five’ team had five incredibly varied characters ranging from the poster boy – Chandra aka Messi who had all the shots in the book. Partha the keen strategist who had the knack of understanding the opponents weaknesses, guess the “Macher Jhol” does the trick. Avijit had the ice cool demeanor & passive aggression. Divyesh the maverick of the team who just wouldn’t give up and knew how to needle the opposition. And last but certainly not the least, the incredibly versatile player who could sing, dance & play with finesse - is it a bird, is it a machine or is it a supergirl, no it’s the wonder kid Nisha. This team believed in the simple philosophy – all for one, one for all and brought their A game to the table when it mattered the most. The crowd reception was tremendous with new names being coined for the seating arrangements, read ‘Vijay Mallya pavilion - for the early birds as per the scheduled time while the late comers had to make do by cheering on their feet. The two referees were in their elements and seemed to enjoy the game much more than the clashing teams. They looked like an odd brookeback mountain meets dostana couple

The semi-finals was a marathon affair with men’s doubles team from the famous five team delivering the knockout punch – a la Mohammad Ali beating George Foreman – rumble in the jungle . The crowd was involved in every aspect of the game and would applaud each and every point notwithstanding the teams. For many naysayers   in the crowd it was the first time they were watching a match of such epic proportions- guess everyone from the senior director to the gym instructer had come to see the match – talk about office productivity. It was an energy sapping day for all the teams with no one really doing a day’s work at office (closely resembling just another day in Parliament).

Closer home at Pai Layout the focus was all around the final and staying in the present with ‘Sunshine’ also looking on cluelessly to its mistresses’ anxiety.

Cometh the moment cometh the man – the ‘Famous Five’ scripted their own success story

The final  which was held the next day on a Friday was a hum drum affair with some big names being squashed. Both the teams had contrasting strategies – the ‘Famous Five’ believed that they could win all the matches in any order whereas the ‘The A team’ seemed inflexible in going against the run of play and that’s where they lost the plot. The mixed doubles and mens doubles using the perfect concoction of caution and aggression won in straight sets – it was all about the initial punch and the team got it spot on taking a 2-0 lead. The first of the men’s singles match was a nerve wracking five setter with seven championship points lost. The ‘famous five’ rallied around each other and absorbed the loss taking it in their stride delivering their best in the second men’s singles closely resembling the five setter played previously with the obvious difference being the way Partha played his game of ‘no prisoners of war strategy’ to the maximum and winning the championship.

The crowd erupted with joy and it was a sight to behold with everyone congratulating the victorious team on their seem-less victory. One tends to notice that such victory galvanizes the team environment and everyone is on a high with cheer and loud high fives completing it

I for one thoroughly enjoyed the games played with spirit, sportsmanship and even display of mental and physical skills. I had battled all this with a niggling cold, nausea, fever and the works but then what the hell, nothing beats the experience of your heart going ‘woku-doki’ because of the hours of practice put in by the wonder kid along with ‘Coach Carter’ at home.

Love, life, luck and laughter.

Shekhar Vijayan.