The Final Lap
'Triiiinnngggg!!!', sounded the alarm bell. Arjun extended his arm from under the blanket and hit the snooze button. In five minutes the alarm went off again, again he hit the snooze button, pulled the blanket over his head and slept peacefully. The alarm rang for the third time and this time Arjun switched it off and thought to himself, "mom will wake me up when it's time, I don't need the alarm". He slept like a log. The rays of the morning sun entered the room through the window and lit up his face. He woke up, sat in bed and stretched himself wondering why his mom had not woken him up. Suddenly he realised he wasn't at home, he was at the National Athletics Academy in New Delhi. He was training for the races at the upcoming commonwealth games.
"Oh my God, it's seven thirty already, had to be at the training ground at five", he said to himself. He rushed out of bed, quickly brushed his teeth, wetted his hair, wore his uniform, put on his shoes, did not even tie the laces and ran out of the room towards the training ground. "Good morning sir", Arjun said to his coach as soon as he reached the ground, panting for breath he hunched with his hands on his knees. His trainer, Rohit sir, asked him to sit down on a bench behind him. Arjun sat down and tied up his shoe laces. As he caught his breath again he saw the others running, the practice races were going on. The athletics team captain, Karan, came up to talk to Arjun. "Where were you Arjun? You know you have been missing too many practice sessions, we are counting on you brother", said Karan. "Early morning sleep is so sweet, very difficult to get out of bed", said Arjun as he laughed and winked at Karan. Rohit sir saw this and was not at all amused by Arjun's attitude, after all, Arjun had been handpicked by Rohit sir from the university team.
"Wow, these guys are superb runners. They are so lucky and blessed, I wish I could run like them", said Arjun to Karan. Rohit sir had had enough of it, he now lost his temper. He walked angrily towards Arjun and clapping his hands in anger said, "come on, are you ready? You're running the next race". He asked some of the best runners to line up beside Arjun. They lined up at the start line and with sir's whistle the race began. Arjun had a flying start and opened up a decent gap ahead, but soon ran out of steam and slowed down to eventually finish the race in 5th place. Rohit sir called him aside. "You think these other runners are blessed, they are lucky? You are mistaken lad. Yes they are blessed with talent, but talent alone does not guarantee success. They work hard and toil every day. They are here for training every day as instructed. You were the fastest at the start of the race, that's talent, but eventually you lost out, because you have not backed your talent with hard work and practice. Get your act together boy, pull up your socks, you have a lot of talent but if you don't get serious about training, I will have to send you back to the university. Here you are training for the commonwealth games, you will represent the country, you will bear the tricolour on your chest, if you have no pride in it then you don't belong here ", said Rohit sir and walked away. Arjun was stunned in silence.
Arjun went back to his room and sat on the chair lost in thought. Karan went over to his room and cautiously opened the door to find Arjun sitting alone in the dark room. The room of the hostel was a simple one. A desk, a chair, a single bed, a two door cupboard and a window. Karan walked in and drew the curtains to let the sunlight flood the room. He then made himself comfortable on Arjun's bed. There was silence in the room for some time then Karan spoke. "You know Arjun, when you were picked for the commonwealth games, Rohit sir had said that one gold in the 5000 meters is guaranteed. He feels sad and angry at the same time, with your casual attitude. You need to work hard my friend, you have the potential, you have the talent don't let it go to waste. We need you, the country needs you, make us proud", said Karan with a smile on his face. Arjun turned and looked at Karan in the eyes. "I promise Karan, I will put in my best effort and you will see a race that will be worthy of remembrance, it will go down in the history books", said Arjun with a lot of determination. Karan got up and patted Arjun's shoulder in acknowledgement. "Come now let's go have lunch", said Karan and the two of them left for the mess.
The next morning Rohit sir reached the training ground on time, 5 AM, as everyday. In the distance, against a dim light, he saw someone warming up . Rohit switched on the flood lights which lit up the entire ground, nice and bright. As this guy approached him, he realised it was Arjun. Arjun bent down again, not huffing and puffing from running because of being late, but to touch the feet and take the blessings of his trainer. Rohit sir was pleased and so was team captain Karan who was next to arrive. With absolute dedication Arjun started training, following every instruction of his coach and dietician to reach the pinnacle of his performance. Days went by and it was time for the final selection of the team that would represent India in the commonwealth games. Rohit sir, Karan and the selection committee had a long meeting after which the names were announced. Arjun's heart was filled with pride and honour upon hearing his name, his hard work had paid off. What followed was event specific training. The athletes were given training schedules specific to the events they were chosen for, strategies were formed and videos of who they would be competing against were shown. Arjun specialised in the long runs, 5000 meters and more, he was taken to the video room along with the other runners. "You will compete against some of the most elite runners", said Rohit sir addressing Arjun, he started the video and explained the strengths and weaknesses of the other runners. "Watch out for these two runners. Johnny Adams of Australia and Akhtar Khan of Pakistan. Johnny will go fast from the start, don't chase him he slows down later but you will run out of steam. The real one to watch out for is Akhtar, his running style, speed and records are as good as yours. Pace yourself with respect to him and concentrate on your own strength, don't be lured out of your strategy by someone else's", instructed Rohit sir and left the boys in the video room to watch and learn.
The team flew to Manchester for the games. Team India's bus arrived at the venue and at the same time, team Pakistan arrived as well. The teams alighted their respective bus and that's when Arjun and Akhtar came face to face for the first time. "Salaam Akhtar bhaijaan", greeted Arjun. "Namaste bhai", replied Akhtar, they smiled, shook hands, sure they had studied enough about each other to have mutual admiration and respect. The teams trained hard and observed each other to find their weaknesses and strengths. The games began with a glamorous opening ceremony. The preliminary rounds of the various events were played out and it was time for the final round. Arjun and Karan had both made it to the 5000 meters race finals. The athletes arrived for the finals and after some warm up exercises walked out on the track to take their position. Arjun and Akhtar shook hands and wished each other all the best, a front page picture for the media from around the world. All the athletes took their positions and silently prayed in their hearts with eyes closed. There was much anticipation for this race and the stadium was packed to capacity.
The gun shot went off and the athletes were away. As expected they all kept steady pace and ran in a group. After a few hundred metres, as expected, Johnny picked up his pace and went ahead of the pack. Johnny kept up his pace and was soon way ahead of the rest. Arjun was getting restless, his instincts told him to shoot after Johnny but his training said otherwise. "Stick to the strategy", said Karan to Arjun, sensing his restlessness. When Johnny had pulled away a long distance, Arjun could no longer curb his instincts and in an instant started sprinting after Johnny. "Arjun wait", shouted Karan, in vain. "No Arjun, what is he doing!!!??" yelled Rohit sir from the side lines and in sheer frustration, threw down the napkin and a water bottle he had in his hand. The officials asked him to leave the dugout and he walked furiously away to the dressing room. Rohit was the coach after all and coaches are supposed to adhere to the code of conduct, millions of youngsters around the world look up to their coaches and learn from them. The race continued and the two lead men were pulling away from the rest of the group all the time. Akhtar and Karan stuck to their strategies. At around the half way mark in the race, the duo stepped up their pace and they too pulled away from the pack. Akhtar, though, was much faster and managed to open up a gap between Karan and himself. The lead pair was now way ahead and about to end the penultimate lap.
The lead pair now started the final lap with Arjun tucked in right behind Johnny. Arjun changed his track and stepped up his speed. He was now side by side with Johnny, who in turn ran faster. Both the men continued to push themselves to the limit, using the last bit of energy they had in them. The lead duo entered the final bend, the spectators were on their feet, this was a cliffhanger, the crowd clapped to encourage the two strong runners. Arjun had the inside line and the advantage in the final bend, it was going to be a nail biting finish.
Suddenly a loud scream was heard and the crowd went silent. It was Arjun, he started limping suddenly and holding his left thigh immediately went to ground. The crowd was stunned in silence, Rohit sir watching on TV could not believe what he had just seen. Johnny went past, it was a sure gold for him, but the spectators were least interested in seeing him win. The other runners saw what happened on the big screen. Arjun was down in pain and agony, he had torn his hamstring muscle. With tears of pain and sorrow he was lying on the ground grasping his thigh. What can a man do, so much hard work, so much effort and such a tragic end. Yet, we always have a choice, when life beats you down, you either stay down, crib and complain or you get right back up, push on and go for your target with whatever you have left in you. Arjun was a brave lad, he wiped the tears off his face with the back of his hand and tried to get up again. The spectators were in awe of the lads courage and everyone applauded his effort to get back up again, some how that day, no one was bothered who won. As Arjun tried to pull himself up, someone helped him get back to his feet, it was Akhtar. He helped Arjun to his feet, smiled, shook hands and went on his way to the finish. With all his strength, Arjun hopped on one leg towards the finish line which wasn't too far. Karan who was approaching from behind saw his friend's courage and deliberately slowed down. Thousands of spectators clapped to encourage him on and indeed Arjun hopped across to finish line to claim bronze medal. This bronze was worth more than a gold. He got the loudest applause ever heard in an athletics stadium. The other athletes hugged him and congratulated him for his brilliant effort before he was taken away to the hospital to check his injury. That day the world found three heroes. Arjun who overcame the barriers of pain and got back up when he was down, Akhtar who respected and helped his competitor from across the border and Karan who let his friend take the medal because he knew how much it meant to Arjun. Life, after all, is what we do for others while we are on the way to our own goals.
"Oh my God, it's seven thirty already, had to be at the training ground at five", he said to himself. He rushed out of bed, quickly brushed his teeth, wetted his hair, wore his uniform, put on his shoes, did not even tie the laces and ran out of the room towards the training ground. "Good morning sir", Arjun said to his coach as soon as he reached the ground, panting for breath he hunched with his hands on his knees. His trainer, Rohit sir, asked him to sit down on a bench behind him. Arjun sat down and tied up his shoe laces. As he caught his breath again he saw the others running, the practice races were going on. The athletics team captain, Karan, came up to talk to Arjun. "Where were you Arjun? You know you have been missing too many practice sessions, we are counting on you brother", said Karan. "Early morning sleep is so sweet, very difficult to get out of bed", said Arjun as he laughed and winked at Karan. Rohit sir saw this and was not at all amused by Arjun's attitude, after all, Arjun had been handpicked by Rohit sir from the university team.
"Wow, these guys are superb runners. They are so lucky and blessed, I wish I could run like them", said Arjun to Karan. Rohit sir had had enough of it, he now lost his temper. He walked angrily towards Arjun and clapping his hands in anger said, "come on, are you ready? You're running the next race". He asked some of the best runners to line up beside Arjun. They lined up at the start line and with sir's whistle the race began. Arjun had a flying start and opened up a decent gap ahead, but soon ran out of steam and slowed down to eventually finish the race in 5th place. Rohit sir called him aside. "You think these other runners are blessed, they are lucky? You are mistaken lad. Yes they are blessed with talent, but talent alone does not guarantee success. They work hard and toil every day. They are here for training every day as instructed. You were the fastest at the start of the race, that's talent, but eventually you lost out, because you have not backed your talent with hard work and practice. Get your act together boy, pull up your socks, you have a lot of talent but if you don't get serious about training, I will have to send you back to the university. Here you are training for the commonwealth games, you will represent the country, you will bear the tricolour on your chest, if you have no pride in it then you don't belong here ", said Rohit sir and walked away. Arjun was stunned in silence.
Arjun went back to his room and sat on the chair lost in thought. Karan went over to his room and cautiously opened the door to find Arjun sitting alone in the dark room. The room of the hostel was a simple one. A desk, a chair, a single bed, a two door cupboard and a window. Karan walked in and drew the curtains to let the sunlight flood the room. He then made himself comfortable on Arjun's bed. There was silence in the room for some time then Karan spoke. "You know Arjun, when you were picked for the commonwealth games, Rohit sir had said that one gold in the 5000 meters is guaranteed. He feels sad and angry at the same time, with your casual attitude. You need to work hard my friend, you have the potential, you have the talent don't let it go to waste. We need you, the country needs you, make us proud", said Karan with a smile on his face. Arjun turned and looked at Karan in the eyes. "I promise Karan, I will put in my best effort and you will see a race that will be worthy of remembrance, it will go down in the history books", said Arjun with a lot of determination. Karan got up and patted Arjun's shoulder in acknowledgement. "Come now let's go have lunch", said Karan and the two of them left for the mess.
The next morning Rohit sir reached the training ground on time, 5 AM, as everyday. In the distance, against a dim light, he saw someone warming up . Rohit switched on the flood lights which lit up the entire ground, nice and bright. As this guy approached him, he realised it was Arjun. Arjun bent down again, not huffing and puffing from running because of being late, but to touch the feet and take the blessings of his trainer. Rohit sir was pleased and so was team captain Karan who was next to arrive. With absolute dedication Arjun started training, following every instruction of his coach and dietician to reach the pinnacle of his performance. Days went by and it was time for the final selection of the team that would represent India in the commonwealth games. Rohit sir, Karan and the selection committee had a long meeting after which the names were announced. Arjun's heart was filled with pride and honour upon hearing his name, his hard work had paid off. What followed was event specific training. The athletes were given training schedules specific to the events they were chosen for, strategies were formed and videos of who they would be competing against were shown. Arjun specialised in the long runs, 5000 meters and more, he was taken to the video room along with the other runners. "You will compete against some of the most elite runners", said Rohit sir addressing Arjun, he started the video and explained the strengths and weaknesses of the other runners. "Watch out for these two runners. Johnny Adams of Australia and Akhtar Khan of Pakistan. Johnny will go fast from the start, don't chase him he slows down later but you will run out of steam. The real one to watch out for is Akhtar, his running style, speed and records are as good as yours. Pace yourself with respect to him and concentrate on your own strength, don't be lured out of your strategy by someone else's", instructed Rohit sir and left the boys in the video room to watch and learn.
The team flew to Manchester for the games. Team India's bus arrived at the venue and at the same time, team Pakistan arrived as well. The teams alighted their respective bus and that's when Arjun and Akhtar came face to face for the first time. "Salaam Akhtar bhaijaan", greeted Arjun. "Namaste bhai", replied Akhtar, they smiled, shook hands, sure they had studied enough about each other to have mutual admiration and respect. The teams trained hard and observed each other to find their weaknesses and strengths. The games began with a glamorous opening ceremony. The preliminary rounds of the various events were played out and it was time for the final round. Arjun and Karan had both made it to the 5000 meters race finals. The athletes arrived for the finals and after some warm up exercises walked out on the track to take their position. Arjun and Akhtar shook hands and wished each other all the best, a front page picture for the media from around the world. All the athletes took their positions and silently prayed in their hearts with eyes closed. There was much anticipation for this race and the stadium was packed to capacity.
The gun shot went off and the athletes were away. As expected they all kept steady pace and ran in a group. After a few hundred metres, as expected, Johnny picked up his pace and went ahead of the pack. Johnny kept up his pace and was soon way ahead of the rest. Arjun was getting restless, his instincts told him to shoot after Johnny but his training said otherwise. "Stick to the strategy", said Karan to Arjun, sensing his restlessness. When Johnny had pulled away a long distance, Arjun could no longer curb his instincts and in an instant started sprinting after Johnny. "Arjun wait", shouted Karan, in vain. "No Arjun, what is he doing!!!??" yelled Rohit sir from the side lines and in sheer frustration, threw down the napkin and a water bottle he had in his hand. The officials asked him to leave the dugout and he walked furiously away to the dressing room. Rohit was the coach after all and coaches are supposed to adhere to the code of conduct, millions of youngsters around the world look up to their coaches and learn from them. The race continued and the two lead men were pulling away from the rest of the group all the time. Akhtar and Karan stuck to their strategies. At around the half way mark in the race, the duo stepped up their pace and they too pulled away from the pack. Akhtar, though, was much faster and managed to open up a gap between Karan and himself. The lead pair was now way ahead and about to end the penultimate lap.
The lead pair now started the final lap with Arjun tucked in right behind Johnny. Arjun changed his track and stepped up his speed. He was now side by side with Johnny, who in turn ran faster. Both the men continued to push themselves to the limit, using the last bit of energy they had in them. The lead duo entered the final bend, the spectators were on their feet, this was a cliffhanger, the crowd clapped to encourage the two strong runners. Arjun had the inside line and the advantage in the final bend, it was going to be a nail biting finish.
Suddenly a loud scream was heard and the crowd went silent. It was Arjun, he started limping suddenly and holding his left thigh immediately went to ground. The crowd was stunned in silence, Rohit sir watching on TV could not believe what he had just seen. Johnny went past, it was a sure gold for him, but the spectators were least interested in seeing him win. The other runners saw what happened on the big screen. Arjun was down in pain and agony, he had torn his hamstring muscle. With tears of pain and sorrow he was lying on the ground grasping his thigh. What can a man do, so much hard work, so much effort and such a tragic end. Yet, we always have a choice, when life beats you down, you either stay down, crib and complain or you get right back up, push on and go for your target with whatever you have left in you. Arjun was a brave lad, he wiped the tears off his face with the back of his hand and tried to get up again. The spectators were in awe of the lads courage and everyone applauded his effort to get back up again, some how that day, no one was bothered who won. As Arjun tried to pull himself up, someone helped him get back to his feet, it was Akhtar. He helped Arjun to his feet, smiled, shook hands and went on his way to the finish. With all his strength, Arjun hopped on one leg towards the finish line which wasn't too far. Karan who was approaching from behind saw his friend's courage and deliberately slowed down. Thousands of spectators clapped to encourage him on and indeed Arjun hopped across to finish line to claim bronze medal. This bronze was worth more than a gold. He got the loudest applause ever heard in an athletics stadium. The other athletes hugged him and congratulated him for his brilliant effort before he was taken away to the hospital to check his injury. That day the world found three heroes. Arjun who overcame the barriers of pain and got back up when he was down, Akhtar who respected and helped his competitor from across the border and Karan who let his friend take the medal because he knew how much it meant to Arjun. Life, after all, is what we do for others while we are on the way to our own goals.
Too good, very practical. We all can use this as an example in our daily life.
ReplyDeleteToooo good... Ppl now a day's r ready to pull leg rather giving a support hand... V should apply this in our life it will be vsrver very beautiful...
ReplyDeleteVeryyy well written Bhai
Too good
ReplyDeleteThank you so much
ReplyDeleteSuch a heart warming story! Finishing is more important than winning; helping others to finish and achieve their goals is the greatest thing that we can do.. Waiting for the next story now!!
ReplyDelete