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“The most important thing in sports is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
No, we didn’t just replace Olympics with sports in Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s enormously famous Olympic creed. These are words used by the Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri as he met and interacted with the Dabang Delhi squad hours before their match vs Patna Pirates here at the Thyagraj Stadium. Asserting on how it was extremely important to keep their calm and not let the pressure of playing in front of big crowds bother them, Chhetri asked them to remain unfazed and keep believing in their own capabilities.
In an interaction with the media afterwards, he conceded, “These are champion athletes we are talking about. As much as it seems like me giving a pep talk to them, it’s not so. All I did was to sit with them and share my experiences and soon they opened up about theirs. It was massively inspiring for me too.”
Talking about their interaction with the diminutive striker, Dabang Delhi Coach Honnappa Gowda said, “He was indeed very encouraging. See, we try and talk to the boys but if someone of his stature comes and makes them believe that they have what it takes, it lifts their morale immensely.”
The likes of South Africa born Swiss explorer Mike Horn who has assisted World Cup winning squads in 2 different sports epitomize how important it is to have a motivator around and Chhetri’s session emphasized the same, because the Dabangs which took the mat yesterday were a rejuvenated lot – much unlike the ones which had gone winless for 4 fixtures before that.
