Loyalty, Sacrifice and Hope

“In our competitive society, where it seems that only the strong and winners deserve to live, sport also teaches us how to lose. It forces us, in learning the art of losing, to confront our fragility, our limitations and our imperfections. It is through the experience of these limits that we open our hearts to hope. Athletes who never make mistakes, who never lose, do not exist.”

— Pope Leo XIV

In the world of sport, 2025 has been the year of the underdog. Crystal Palace won their first major trophy in 119 years. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won their first-ever Champions League title. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won their first ever IPL (Indian Premier League) title and South Africa won their first ever trophy in cricket yesterday! (Amongst many others in the image above.)

I am not a sports player by profession, but as a fan who has followed all sorts of sports all my life, the stories and lessons from players and coaches have helped me immensely. They have been a great source of inspiration and have helped me in times of need.

There is something else in common amongst these teams. They’re popularly known amongst fans as “chokers”. In big games, in moments when it matters most, they stuttered and failed. Other than occasional flashes of brilliance, they never really had what it took to be a championship team.

You see, for me, it’s hard not to be romantic about sport. I’ve fallen in love with watching high quality generational talent like Virat Kohli for RCB, Neymar-Messi-Mbappe for PSG and AB de Villiers for South Africa. Sheer talent brought them close to winning a championship, but talent alone was never enough. Just like in life, in sport - talent doesn’t always win.

I remember the joyful wins, but even bigger heartbreaks when these teams failed after being on the brink of winning a title. I remember watching RCB lose the 2016 final narrowly and PSG losing to Bayern Munich 1-0 in the 2020 Champions league final. The heartbreak was unbearable.

Individual talent gave us fans hope - that someday, we too can be champions. That same hope broke hearts every year. Except this year, there’s been change. These teams now no longer depend on a few superstar players. They have found a way to involve the entire team as one cohesive unit. Not only is this a more sustainable and sure way to win, but also gives the team the opportunity to have their own unique style and identity.

PSG for example, had a very exciting, fast-paced, young team with a dynamic set of midfield and forward players. RCB always found a new match-winner when they desperately needed it, and had dedicated roles for each player - something that we have never seen from them in the past. They played with great depth, energy and masterful use of modern tactics. The underdogs have triumphed. Broken hearts - mended.

Over the past year, I have had to endure losses both personally and in my career. I over relied on my talent and failed to work hard. In big moments, I too fell short - talent doesn’t carry you when it matters most. Discipline does. Hard work does.

Sports helped me during this time - to learn to lose properly. Just as these underdog teams had to undergo massive transitions to win titles, which sometimes even meant letting go of their superstar players, I too needed to be humble enough to accept my mistakes. To start all over again, to give it another chance, and this time - to do it right. I too embraced a new approach - to work hard, make sacrifices and be obsessed. To not rely on occasional flashes of brilliance alone, but learn from my past mistakes and realise that it takes intense loyalty, great sacrifice and persistent hope to achieve anything great.