iSporter Aswath B focuses on three Sports which are very different from each other - Cricket , Tennis and Formula 1. Each of these sports requires immense level of skill of different kinds but the basic skill sets are quite similar. Find out more!
To be successful in any Sport, an athlete requires good skills, high fitness levels and some luck. But to remain successful and sustain it over years together requires that extra bit in the form of perseverance, dedication and high levels of determination and concentration combined with hard work. The levels of sync between the mental and physical attributes of an athlete play a major role in the shaping of his career.
A sportsman, especially in the three sports being discussed here, lives a very glamorous life. It is very easy to get distracted and lose focus from the job at hand and the possibility of the mind wavering is also quite high. This causes an imbalance in the levels of sync between the mental and physical attributes and could be deterring to the long term career of the athlete. Commercialization of sport has also played a major role in this. Many a times, when people rake in the Dollars at a very early stage in their career, they tend to get carried away by distractions. This is bound to have a profound impact on their professional lives. The media too, plays its part and the players are exposed to a plethora of things happening around them. A good performance is glorified. When the player strings in a series of good performances, comparisons begin to creep in immediately. How justified is this?
Unarguably, Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher are statistically the greatest sportspersons in Cricket, Tennis and Formula 1 respectively. It is not necessary to delve too much into the data but to give you a sneak peek - Sachin Tendulkar has made in excess of 33,000 international runs with 99 centuries and counting and has more than two decades in the sport at the highest level. Roger Federer has 16 Grand Slam singles titles and has enjoyed 285 weeks (237 consecutive) at the Numero Uno position and has spent in excess of 13 years in the Sport yet. Michael Schumacher is a Seven time World Champion, has 91 race wins to his name and also has spent more than 20 years in the Sport and has no plans of calling it quits anytime soon.
What makes these athletes perform at the highest level for such a long time? Surely it cannot be skill alone. It is a wonderful combination of skill, confidence, determination, dedication and motivation. This has earned them the respect of the World in their respective sports. However, each of them has left behind a legacy which is quite different from the other, and we would not look into that part in this article. Here is just respecting the fact that their achievements have been unparalleled and what got them there.
Since these people are constantly in the public eye, it is difficult to avoid comparisons and speculations. Every person has an opinion and rightfully so. The expression of the opinion can sometimes turn unrealistic and people need to be wary of the fact.
In Cricket, any player making a good start to his career is immediately compared to Sachin Tendulkar and people begin to talk of that player overhauling Tendulkar's records. They linearly extrapolate statistics after a few games and come up with ridiculous statements. Will the player play for two decades? Will he sustain the same levels of performance as that of a Tendulkar? Very improbable. Not everyone would have the levels of determination and longevity like Sachin Tendulkar has. Players like Alastair Cook in Tests and Kevin Pietersen in ODIs, after making good starts to their respective careers were immediately compared to the Master. Now, people may laugh at the fact. When Ricky Ponting was enjoying a purple patch in his career, the comparisons began again and discussions started as to who would finish on top. It is now clear for everyone to see. Jacques Kallis has now arrived on the comparison radar. How long it will last is only for time to tell.
In tennis, Rafael Nadal was a tough nut to crack for Roger Federer. He has already won 10 Grand Slam singles titles to date, which is a phenomenal achievement. He was motoring along at one point and some people said he would easily overtake Roger Federer. Easily was the wrong word to use. He could still end up with more titles than Federer but the efforts needed in that direction are humongous. He has already begun to have injuries affecting his game as the physical effort he puts in to win games is quite high. He is mentally very strong no doubt, but the Sync between the two is better for Roger Federer. Federer has been able to sustain high levels of performance without much strain to his body. The climb from 10 to 16, even though not impossible for Nadal, is going to be extremely difficult. And remember, Roger Federer is still playing and would love to end his career on a high note. Novak Djokovic after enjoying a phenomenal 2011 has already begun to break down physically. It would only be good for World Tennis if he regains his fitness soon.
Coming to Formula 1, Michael Schumacher had a tremendous run of form between 2000 and 2004. He had also won two World Championships earlier (1994, 1995). He went past Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five World Championships in 2003. In 2005, a new Champion in Fernando Alonso arrived. It was good for the sport at that time because Michael Schumacher was endlessly winning. New rules for qualifying and some other changes too took place which was primarily attributed to the impact of Schumacher winning endlessly for five consecutive years. Immediately talks began about Alonso overhauling Schumacher's record of seven titles. Then came Lewis Hamilton who promised a lot, but flattered to deceive. Now there are talks of Sebastian Vettel doing the same. Hopefully, the young German driver does not get carried away by the media and his achievements yet as he still has a long way to go and a lot more to achieve in his career.
The fact that people begin to compare the player in the current best form (which keeps changing) to Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher is enough to speak volumes of their Greatness.
Longevity is the key here and a common denominator to these Champions. This combined with sustained levels of great performances and the ability to handle name and fame with ease, separates the Good, the Great and Beyond. For any athlete to progress from the stage of Good to Great takes many years. However, only a gifted few enter the sphere beyond greatness.
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PROF N. RAMANATHAN
said:
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... Gr8 article. It is not often that one sees such an analysis across several sports. The writer has done good research and his analytic ability is very good. Keep it up Aswath. You can write a book in due course. Best wishes. |
moorthy
said:
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... Unarguably, Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher are statistically the greatest sportspersons in Cricket, Tennis and Formula 1 respectively. It is not necessary to delve too much into the data but to give you a sneak peek - Sachin Tendulkar has made in excess of 33,000 international runs with 99 centuries and counting and has more than two decades in the sport at the highest level. |
moorthy
said:
|
... Unarguably, Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher are statistically the greatest sportspersons in Cricket, Tennis and Formula 1 respectively. It is not necessary to delve too much into the data but to give you a sneak peek - Sachin Tendulkar has made in excess of 33,000 international runs with 99 centuries and counting and has more than two decades in the sport at the highest level. |
moorthy
said:
|
... Unarguably, Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher are statistically the greatest sportspersons in Cricket, Tennis and Formula 1 respectively. It is not necessary to delve too much into the data but to give you a sneak peek - Sachin Tendulkar has made in excess of 33,000 international runs with 99 centuries and counting and has more than two decades in the sport at the highest level. |
moorthy
said:
|
... Unarguably, Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher are statistically the greatest sportspersons in Cricket, Tennis and Formula 1 respectively. It is not necessary to delve too much into the data but to give you a sneak peek - Sachin Tendulkar has made in excess of 33,000 international runs with 99 centuries and counting and has more than two decades in the sport at the highest level. |
moorthy
said:
|
... Unarguably, Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher are statistically the greatest sportspersons in Cricket, Tennis and Formula 1 respectively. It is not necessary to delve too much into the data but to give you a sneak peek - Sachin Tendulkar has made in excess of 33,000 international runs with 99 centuries and counting and has more than two decades in the sport at the highest level. |
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