Chokers to champions

Bengaluru: Chokers, they shout. When the bones and muscles feel like jelly. 

Chokers, they mock. When every inhale and exhale rams into the throat. 

Chokers, they accuse. When the finish line in sight seems but a fading mirage. 

Chokers... Well, they give up. 

That gives you a clue of what this is all about - the concept of ‘choking’ when the outside noise amplifies the demons residing within ‘self’. When VICTORY is written bright and bold, but a sudden downpour of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ drown those seven big letters deep under their deluge. 

Remember the South African men’s cricket team in the 1999 World Cup semifinals against Australia? Remember golfer and 5-time Major champion Rory McIlroy’s painful 2011 Masters campaign? Or the current women’s World No. 1 tennis player Aryna Sabalenka’s tryst with double faults at big moments? Or 2-time Olympic medal-winning shuttler PV Sindhu’s struggles with crossing the final hurdle for years?

Heartbreaking, isn’t it?

Ask McIlroy when his back nine debacle on the final day, after leading by three shots until then, at Augusta due to nerves became a tutorial on meltdowns. A double bogey on the 10th and a triple on the 12th saw the overnight leader slump to eight-over 80 to finish tied-15. Though he remained a favourite ahead of every Masters tournament there after, trusting him to win it was a risky bet because of this episode. 

Closer home, Sindhu was on the receiving end of such brickbats too. Big-match pressure was something she had to learn to overcome as ‘at least she will come back with a medal’ comments mounted following every one of her near-misses. It also earned her the uncharitable moniker ‘Silver Sindhu’. 

Brutal, yes. But the phenomenon of choking is an unavoidable part of many sporting careers. 

According to Dr Nanaki Jahnavi Chadha, a Chartered Sport Psychologist under the British Psychological Society (BPS), this can be best described as a form of anxiety when the athlete/ team has all the skillsets but experience a psychological breakdown, resulting in a significant decrease in the performance when under pressure. 

“Extremely high expectations, fear of failure, big crowds, over importance on the outcome could be some of the factors. This state when the mind freezes, even after years of expertise or practice, can happen to any athlete at any stage,” explained Nanaki, who is based in Delhi and was a former golfer herself.  

Is it fair, then, to term every big loss as choking for an athlete/ team with this tag? 

“No, of course not. Without really understanding the meaning of it, calling performers as chokers when they fail, over-simplifies the complex outcome. A loss could also be due to technical, tactical mistakes. A loss, similar to a win, is never one-dimensional,” pointed out Nanaki. 

Sabalenka, plagued by ‘serving yips’ which also put her on the brink of quitting, is a case in point here. Her 440 double faults in 2022 is something the three-time Grand Slam champion prefers to be kept buried. But what the Belarusian tennis star believed was her mind playing games at crucial junctions of a contest was actually an issue related to the biomechanics of her serve technique. 

“That’s the dark side of giving someone a label as callous as this,” opined Nanaki. 

“It infiltrates and tarnishes the internal belief system and forces the individual to question ‘are we really good enough?’. And paying attention to growth is compromised. 

“Take for example the South African cricketers. The old guards left carrying a part of that baggage as new ones entered the team shouldering its burden. Meanwhile, in the 27-year period of them referred to with this nickname, few have acknowledged their growth, consistency or the quality of players they have produced.”

What is the solution? How does one get out of this sticky situation?

“Building awareness about it and identifying the factors with the athletes, especially youngsters. Because usually they come and say ‘I don’t know what is going on. My body was feeling tight. My mind went blank’.

“We make them understand how their thoughts lead to fluctuations in their emotions and body sensations. Tools such as visualisation and establishing strong pre-performance routines are developed to counter it. But the most important is the deeper cognitive restructuring we do. It deals with rationalising their critical dialogue or self-talk with some supportive thoughts,” explained Nanaki.  

McIlroy, who fumbled as a 21-year-old at the 2011 Augusta National, overcame the memories of that collapse and constant jibes by taking a similar approach. 

“A couple of years ago I would say, ‘I need to win a Masters. I need a green jacket.’ Whereas now it’s, ‘I want to win it. And I’d love to win it. But if I don’t I’m okay.’ That is the difference,” the Northern Irishman had said in 2019. At this year’s Masters, the 36-year-old golfer finally grabbed a maiden green jacket on his 17th attempt. 

A younger McIlroy would have probably succumbed to the pressure. But not anymore. The extensive inner work that most athletes talk about over and over again in a result-obsessed profession, where showing vulnerability is perceived criminal, became his saviour to break the curse. 

It was the same for Sabalenka, who after in-depth course correction for over 1.5 years went on to become a multiple Grand Slam winner, topped the ranking charts and became the most fierce competitor on court in the current era. 

For Sindhu, redemption came when she broke the jinx by winning the 2019 World Championships in Basel, Switzerland after having fallen short in the final twice before (2017, 2018) and two bronze (2013, 2014) previously. With it the Hyderabadi got rid of the old pet name and was instead anointed the ‘Golden Girl Sindhu’. 

As for South Africa, here is a summary of how they healed a 27-year-old wound in 3.5 days last weekend. Over to the commentators now, to best understand the arc in the narrative.

How it began: I reckon Australia are blowing them away and are pretty warm favourites. 

How it went: Well, South Africa are still in it. 

Start of day 4: 69 runs too far away (for the quintessential chokers) to win with eight wickets in hand.

How it ended: “And South Africa make history! Years in the waiting. Class of 2025, are the ICC World Test Champions,” a calm Shaun Pollock announced through the microphone as he stood in the commentary box. The former Proteas pacer, remember, was part of the Class of 1999 in Edgbaston, Birmingham (England) on that dreaded day when they were first called ‘the chokers’. 

“It will be great to not have to hear that anymore. That’s for sure,” Aiden Markram, the player of the match, said in the post-match presser on the evening of June 15, 2025 at Lord’s. Allan Donald, somewhere, perhaps smiled and agreed.  

Winners, they cheer. When the mind, body and soul feel rock solid. 

Winners, they praise. When the ebb and flow of breath becomes rhythmic.  

Winners, they adore. When every doubt disappears and the race is conquered. 

Winners, well, they celebrate... When chokers become champions.