What have I got to lose… in trying?

What have I got to lose… in trying?


This happened when I was in schools, 9^th standard. I never had won any prize in sports till then, but I always made sure I participated. I loved pinning the chest numbers on to the shirt, the cheers that I heard when I ran, though it was meant for the champs. There were instances where everyone had to wait for me to finish the round, especially in 400 mtrs running race.

I was the shortest in my class, or rather the shortest in my age group and it was more of a comedy show for others when I tried my luck in high jump and long jump. But to me, my slogan was “What have I got to lose… in trying?”


Back to the incident – as I said I was in 9^th standard and it was sports day again. I had joined for high jump and 4X100 mts relay running race. My team consisted of me and 3 more short boys who wanted to participate but was not taken up by other teams. To make things worse, we had two other teams with district and state level champions. The team got nervous and asked me if we should quit, to which my answer was “What have we got to lose… in trying?”, three heads nodded in agreement. The mantra worked on them as it had worked on me for almost a decade.


I was the first one to start the relay in my team. Though the outcome was hundred percent predictable I could hear my heart pound, as it was not just about me, I had a team’s pride at stake. The “bang” from the gun went off and I ran as fast as I could, holding tight to the baton. I could see the red baton creating a pattern on my side as my hand moved swiftly with my legs. I did not care about my position; I just ran as fast as I could and handed over the baton to my eagerly awaiting teammate. I was totally out of breath and almost collapsed as sweat drops rapidly ran down my forehead and neck. Trying to calm down my breath, I looked at the track. My eyes almost popped out with excitement as I saw our team coming in first, beating the champs. For the first time, all the cheers were for me too. We ran to each other hugging and jumping up and down like kids. The happiness and excitement were beyond what we could handle.


The same day I won second prize for high jump too. I am sure the energy that came in from the first success pushed me over the hurdle.


I never won any prize for sports after that, but the two trophies still give me lot of energy and I still stick onto my slogan “What have I got to lose… in trying?”