Not just Saina, it’s time India adopted Kohli’s attitude

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Digging deeper, India as a country has been rooted in the values of non-violence and peace. The land’s long, successful struggle for freedom is the result of systematic non-violent action by the masses. The citizens pride themselves for not having ‘attacked’ any other country unprovoked, despite having the third largest military force in the world. Calm, passive, peace-loving- all qualities expected of ‘Mama’s favourite’. All this reflected on the sports field. A combination of cricket’s gentlemanliness and Indian culture’s niceties meant the biggest international sports persons of the country went into a game as the good guys, played it fair, respected the ‘others’ and stayed humble.

In stepped Virat Kohli, going in as the bad guy, playing it fair but hard, looking to show the opposition their rightful place and backing his abilities. He wouldn’t back down from a fight, and giving it back became his trademark. His strident attitude led to much criticism from critics, fans and contemporaries all over. He was, after all, committing sacrilege by not heeding to the ‘code of conduct’ drilled into him by India and cricket. He was “that a******”, and until recently Facebook pages abounded with names like 'I hate Virat Kohli'. Now the same Kohli, for all his non-typical Indianness, is the nation’s best cricketer today. His aggression drives his hunger to win and Kohli has channeled it into producing astounding results day in and day out. The Delhi boy is among the best athletes around the world who have embraced this audacity and fearlessness to reach heights of excellence in their field.

What unites all these athletes from various backgrounds and fields is their apparent swagger, their unswaying belief in their abilities, their drive to win and the absolute aggression that stems from it. These are athletes that do not cheat or look to unsporting ways to win. They simply want it bad enough and it shows. It shows in the intensity with which they strike a ball, swim a lap or celebrate a win. Their displays of aggression are a signal of intent, but not always of arrogance. And the results are there for all to see. Of India’s most successful athletes in recent times, a majority of them are the ones who wear their heart on their sleeves. Leander Paes- two time calendar slam winner, 18 Grand Slam titles to his name- celebrates vociferously. Sushil Kumar, arguably India’s best individual Olympian has never shied away from making statements of intent. Vijender Singh has always been the aggressive pugilist, unafraid of declaring his ambitions and his willingness to fight. Touted to be India’s next best bet in badminton, PV Sindhu has displayed attacking intent and aggression in all of her historic wins, never letting her opponents believe they could win.

Aggressive displays, are almost always the fuel to a winning drive, to a passionate performance. A confident, ambitious opponent gets into the rival’s head, toying with their belief. Kohli’s pre and post match comments, especially against the Aussies, displayed an attitude of standing up to the opposition, a vital psychological victory. His passionate celebrations and his habit of sledging them back showed them that he wasn’t going to be trampled over. It was an indication of his hunger to succeed and win. Virat Kohli’s on field actions send a clear signal to the opposition of what success means to him and the pains he has taken to get there. Nothing unfair. Just hard, intense sport. Saina Nehwal, after her Australian Open victory on Sunday, said she was surprised by her attacking display and admitted that her triumph was because of her new-found aggression-inspired by Virat Kohli. On social media, she told the Indian Test captain that she wanted to be more like him to achieve success. It’s time the entire sporing fraternity of India followed suit, and stepped on to the path of greater success.