TV
'Practice doesn't make you perfect, it's perfect practice that makes you perfect,’ was the lovely piece of advice to young sportspersons by none other than popular former Indian cricketer Madan Lal while addressing a massive gathering on the occasion of 31st Ekalabya Puraskar for the year 2023.
The award is instituted by IMPaCT, the charitable wing of Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Limited (IMFA). Madan Lal, who was a member of the 1983 World Cup squad, termed the Ekalabya Puraskar a motivation for the youngsters and revealed that he likes to meet people and read their minds.
“I concluded that the champion people think differently. Their desire to be successful is very strong. The champions think that they want to make their own destiny and where they want to reach there. They have a strong desire to become a champion,” he said.
In his advice to young sportspersons, Madan Lal said youngsters who have set their desired goal in mind are disciplined.
“You need to focus on the process instead of thinking about the result. Once the process is right, which means doing the right thing at the right time; a good coach and mentor is important for sportspersons. When I was a young kid, I always wanted to play. I had small goals like playing for district, state, and nation. As a cricketer, I achieved that goal. It is a total commitment of 8 or 9 hours every day. You need to see only one goal,” he said.
The member of the 1983 World Cup squad further asked youngsters to manage time and keep doing things as per routine over and over again.
Read | Fought for Debashish Mohanty’s selection in 1999 World Cup Squad: Madan Lal at Ekalabya Puraskar
Sharing his experience towards reaching heights, Madan Lal said, “I never blamed selectors or coaches or anybody, rather I blamed myself. l always analysed myself whether I had done a good job, or performed well. The only thing that was in my mind was performance, performance and performance.”
According to Madan Lal, he never saw what Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar or Vengsarkar were doing.
“I used to think about my performance and what I was doing. All these great players set the bar high and keep catching it. These small things for sportspersons are very important. I believe the next 10 to 20 years will be of sports,” said Madan Lal.
My Father Knew That I Would Be Playing Cricket After 10 Years
“Sports is now a must for every kid. Today, parents are sending their children to play sports. My father came to know that I would be playing cricket after 10 or 20 years. These days parents are sending their kids for sports which is a good thing. Sports will never harm you. It is always going to benefit you. You will be healthy, gain name, fame and money. It is all on you to work hard and get it,” he said.
Winning World Cup Was Happiest Thing Happened To Us
Winning the 1983 World Cup was the happiest thing that happened to us, said Madan Lal.
“Winning the World Cup was the happiest thing that happened. I don’t have an ego but when people recognise you, that’s the happiness you get. Recognising you as a champion, gives happiness. When you do something like this, you are going to get recognised by the government, people, teachers, coaches and everybody. Make sure that you are on the right track.”
Never Been Late For One Second
Value of time, helped me a lot, said Mandal Lal who played professional cricket in England for 20 years.
“I always tell sportsperson never to waste time. I worked for TV, and I was not late for even one second. I played 20 years of professional cricket in England and learned what professionalism is. Every year I did well, people used to come and ask what all if I needed...car, house or else. All these things can only happen when you think about the performance. Playing for 20 years in England is not a joke, they were paying my salary,” said Madan Lal.
Recalling an incident, Madan Lal said, “I was bowling and got a hairline fracture and there was a match. My secretary came and said Mr Lal what do you think about the game? He said, you are a right-hand bowler, don’t think about batting, you bowl with your right hand. I learnt that they were paying to win the games. That’s where I learned to defend. The 20 years I was focused on cricket and performance as I was not doing for anybody, but for myself,” he said.
Reward Is Important
According to Madan Lal, the next 10 to 20 years will be of sports.
“Look at Common Wealth games medals, cricket, football or hockey, the government is also rewarding them. Reward is important. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is calling them and rewarding the sportspersons. I have never seen this before,” said Madan Lal.
Khelo India Khelo is also a good initiative as it is a platform where talents from rural areas come and the selectors get to know and nurture them.
“Hence, I say that it will be time for sports. But you need to be committed in life. The youngsters should do smart work instead of hard work as 'practice doesn't make you perfect, it's perfect practice that makes you perfect.’ When you go to the ground, make sure that you improve your game and practice every day. Don’t go just to pass your time, you need to see that you are improving day by day,” he said.
Game Needs Money
“There is a lot of opportunity for sportspersons these days. A lot of infrastructure has developed, coaches are there, and corporates are there to encourage you. Games need money, once you have money, sports can be run better,” said Madan Lal.
“When we won the World Cup, there was no money and we have no regrets. Nowadays cricketers are getting a lot of money and I am happy for them. Now we have a one billion dollar cricket industry in India. This happened as we won the 2011 World Cup, and other cricket tournaments like Asia Cup, Test championship. Growth happens when you keep winning. This inspires youngsters and they want to become like you. That’s where the games grow,” said Madan Lal.
