"You’re too nice. You’ve got to be a little b****y out there sometimes. You’ve got to be mean,” says tennis legend Chris Evert in the Netflix documentary Break Point.
In essence, the 68-year-old 18-time Grand Slam champion is explaining a vital ingredient needed to thrive, not just survive, the ruthless world called professional sport.
And for someone known to be one of the nicest people on the Indian golfing circuit, Neha Tripathi resonates well with this constant battle between inherent personality and adopted mentality all too well.
It is a trait that has both helped and troubled her, she admits. The Kolkata-born professional overcame these demons within to emerge champion in the 10th leg of the WGAI at Prestige Golfshire last week. The title ended more than a four-year barren spell for Neha.
“I think I have understood it to some extent,” says Neha when asked about her work taking precedence over helping others. “While I’m available (to help her peers), I have become selfish when I need to do the work. I have gotten better in that regard.
“But I don’t think I would like to ever let go of my individuality. I like to help and look out for the others on tour even if it threatens my position in the tournament. It will all come back in one way or the other,” offers Neha, who holds the record for best 18-hole score of 10-under on the Indian women’s pro tour.
Neha, who began her professional journey in 2010, was touted to be the next big thing in Indian golf. Being one of the longest-hitters on tour, Neha had made fitness an integral part of her game.
She was marching towards bigger pursuits with her never-give-up attitude, but her climb up began to slow down in 2017, and almost came to a halt in mid 2021. High expectations from herself, injuries and a strained personal life plateaued her progress, affecting her mental health. The only thing she loved the most was slipping out of her hands.
“Things were going well but there was unsaid, unwanted pressure,” points out the 31-year-old.
“Bunch of injuries which nobody could figure out. The lower back troubled me for quite some time. Missing cuts on WGAI was the final nail in the coffin. I told my coach I want to quit,” recollects Neha who trains under Jesse Grewal in Chandigarh.
“I like being beaten up to the gore and don’t voice out till I have really had it. And I think I took way too much at that point of time. I began therapy for six months in 2021 and Jesse sir asked me to take a break from golf and become his apprentice. On the personal front, a divorce happened.”
The turnaround came in 2022 when prioritising herself became the main goal - something she wasn’t quite used to. Neha clawed her way back on the Indian tour while having a few decent finishes on the Ladies European Tour before making the cut at the Indian Open after five years in October 2022.
The roller-coaster ride she is on had a moment of joy after four years and five months here last Friday. It was a feeling she was missing and waited patiently. And when it came, Neha felt gratitude more than self-accomplishment.
“Selva has been on my bag for more than 10 years. He was my caddie when I won my first WGAI event at KGA back in 2011-12. I hugged him tight and told him that this win was because of you, my parents, coach and everyone who didn’t give up on me,” she said.
Nice people things: Crediting everybody else but themselves.
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