Legends, present icons and future stars from the world of sport came on one platform at the inaugural edition of HT Nxt to discuss the ability to perform under pressure and reflect on their personal journeys. The athletes talked about how they overcome personal hurdles and what the future holds for Indian sport.

Mastering a specialised role

During a virtual session, cricket World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev and all-rounder Hardik Pandya delved deep into the role and experience of being both fierce pacers and explosive batters.

“It’s not pressure, it’s pleasure,” Dev said about the all-rounder’s dual role. “If a batsman suffers twin failures, imagine the pressure? An all-rounder if he fails in batting, he can make up by picking up wickets. I enjoyed doing something extra on the field, batting, bowling or fielding.”

Pandya agreed with the point, and stressed that all-rounders have a double shot at making an impact. “For me, batting holds a very special place in my heart. I love to see the ball go in the air and I enjoy doing that,” Pandya, one of the biggest hitters in cricket right now, said. “But now I have started to enjoy my bowling more as well… Now I love batting and bowling equally,” he said.

Performing at the big stage

The ability to work with “real pressure” instead of trying to pretend that the pressure doesn’t exist and the experience of competing at the big stage are key to success at the Olympics, according to two of India’s Olympic heroes, 2008 Beijing gold medallist Abhinav Bindra and bronze medalist Vijender Singh.

Bindra, India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist, said a lot of athletes try to run away from that pressure or simply do not have a Plan B in place to adapt if something goes wrong.

“No other championships can be compared to the Olympics. It is the grandest stage of all,” said Bindra. “When you are competing at the Olympic Games, you will be under pressure and I think, perhaps athletes make the mistake of trying to run away from this pressure or try to be in a make-believe world that there will be no pressure and this will be just like another competition,” said Bindra in a session moderated by Sharda Ugra.

Singh said he learnt valuable lessons from his stint at Athens Olympics, before he became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal.

“Going to the Olympics in 2004 was a big deal for me. I was being called Olympian Vijender Singh in my village… Then I saw [Rajyavardhan] Rathore winning silver at Athens. That time I realised it’s easy to reach there but the podium is the real place to be. I was more mature and experienced in Beijing,” he said.

Overcoming hurdles

Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri does not set long-term targets but the 2023 Asian Cup is an event the India captain said he is willing to make an exception for. “It would be very fruitful and satisfying if I can be part of that tournament,” he said. Chhetri will be almost 39 by the time the Asian Cup starts and accepted there would be many hurdles — India being able to qualify among them. Should that happen, Chettri would have played three editions of the Asian Cup, the continent’s biggest international football competition. It would also stretch his 19-year career into the third decade. He has got this far, he said, with a bit of luck and by following a continuous process.

“It’s about doing everything as good as possible every day…. Once you have done that, make peace with the result,” Chhetri said.