The Weekend Leader - Winning and losing is in the mind

Winning and losing is in the mind

Chennai

22-January-2014

International motorcycle racer, Sarath Kumar, whose inspiring rise to success from a humble background got him into The Weekend Leader’s list of ‘unsung heroes of Tamil Nadu,’ shared some of the secrets of his success with students of VIT Business School, Chennai, recently.

Addressing the students and faculty members of the VIT-B School, he said a race is won or lost even before one enters the grid.

Sarath said it was important to be mentally tough to win races (Photos: Media Ramu)

“It is all in the mind. The slightest doubt over the fitness of your bike, or any form of fear can make you lose the race. I have lost races due to distractions. One has to enter the race with total concentration to win,” he said.

He said one had to be mentally strong on the track to win races, and not give in to the intimidating tactics of other racers who would sometimes join forces to box him in at the bends.

Training is not just fine-tuning one’s racing skills, but also about painting the right mental picture.

He said while training he would visualize the mistakes he made in the races he lost, and coax himself not to repeat them again. He would also imagine winning the race and standing on the podium.

Sarath expressed his gratitude to his mentor Ramji, an ex racer, who spent crores of rupees to support his fledgling racing career.

Ramji, who is now his manager, even mortgaged his property to raise funds for his races. “He is always a constant source of encouragement. He has a lot of faith in my abilities,” Sarath said.

In a lighter vein, he said he had this belief that he would not do well in a race if there were pit girls near him. “I make sure that none of them are at the starting point,” he said.

Answering questions from the audience, he said it was more dangerous to ride a bike on Chennai roads than on the track.

“Bus drivers have tried to ram my bike for stopping at the traffic light. They seem to be always in a hurry, and hate waiting at the signal,” he said, adding that he prefers using the car these days to travel in the city.

P C Vinoj Kumar, Editor, The Weekend Leader, presenting a memento to Sarath, as Kalyani Rangarajan, Dean, VIT Business School, Chennai looks on

To another question, he said he would love to move to car racing, but it was more expensive than bike racing and only the really rich could afford to participate in the sport.

He also recalled the day he received a call from his namesake actor-politician, Sarath Kumar, who is currently sponsoring him.

“When he told me that he was actor Sarath Kumar, I thought it was a prank call and just hung up. He called me again and only then I believed him.”

The Weekend Leader’s Editor, P C Vinoj Kumar, said if there was a lesson that one could learn from Sarath’s life, it was that no situation could stop a man who was bent on achieving his goals.

Earlier, VIT Business School, Chennai, Dean, Kalyani Rangarajan introduced the guest and presented a memento to the champion.

Final year MBA student Revathy Jayaraj’s submission to the ‘My Experience in Volunteering’ contest announced by The Weekend Leader for students of the VIT Business School, Chennai, was selected as the best entry.

Revathy wrote: “Once in my early UG days, I had an opportunity to help the blind children at St.Louis Blind and Deaf school, Adyar. I taught a blind boy for his exam by reading out his history book.

"He was in class 7 and was able to understand the content of it instantly. Finally he did his exam well and scored good marks in his exam.

"I was delighted on hearing from him that day and was very much pleased to have helped him to do better in his studies.” - TWL Bureau



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