We often like to imagine our sporting heroes as infallible. We tend to forget that Michael Jordan missed thousands of shots, that Tiger Woods has hooked drives and missed putts at crucial times and that Sachin Tendulkar has been out without scoring 34 times in international cricket.
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Like us, they too wrestle with demons and gremlins. They too suffer crises of confidence and periods of self-doubt. They too can stare wistfully at greener grass on the other side. In his autobiography, Roberto Baggio, the former Juventus and AC Milan forward, writes eloquently about his penalty miss in the 1994 football World Cup final against Brazil in the United States.
"Only those who have the courage to take a penalty miss them," he said. "I failed that time. Period. And it affected me for years. It is the worst moment of my career. I still dream about it. If I could erase a moment from my career, it would be that one."
For Rahul Dravid, the nightmares were most vivid in 2008, a year in which he averaged just 30.96 from 15 Tests. Had the young pretenders cashed in, his career would have been over. Instead, he went to Mohali, for a Test match against England, and scored a career-saving hundred.
"I knew that if I didn't score runs in that innings, I could well have been dropped," he said. "I would have had no complaints about it. If that had happened, at that stage, I probably would have moved on because I couldn't see myself coming back after that."
Baggio was the consummate penalty-taker and he struggled to explain what happened that afternoon in Pasadena.
Dravid, an exemplary professional who has never left anything to chance, also has difficulty pinpointing what went wrong after 2006, when he was universally acknowledged as one of the world's premier batsmen.
One possible explanation was the anxiety that afflicts even the seasoned professional as the physical powers wane. There was also an unhappy two-year stint as captain, marred by all sorts of controversies caused by Greg Chappell, a coach intent on root-and-branch reform of Indian cricket.
When announcing his retirement in 1951, Joe DiMaggio, the baseball great, had said: "When baseball is no longer fun, it's no longer a game, and so, I've played my last game."
Dravid was in a similar place, but refused to walk away.
The mental fatigue had affected the most organised of batting techniques.
"My bottom hand was getting tighter, maybe because I was tense," he said. "So I made a conscious effort to make my bottom hand very loose.
"It's not something I've not done earlier. When you tell someone about the basics of batting, you say that the left hand dominates. It's not rocket science. But at some level, I was tightening up without being aware of it."
That he emerged from the rut is testament to the mental strength of a man who has played nearly as many roles as Laurence Olivier, the legendary late actor. Once stereotyped as a dour accumulator of runs, he scored 153 in a one-day game. He also has a 22-ball 50 to his credit.
When the lack of balance in the XI forced India to look for a makeshift one-day wicketkeeper at the start of the new millennium, it was Dravid that they turned to. One of the great slip catchers of his or any age, he did the job more competently than several specialists.
When Chappell's experiments with the batting order saw the need for a new opening partner for Virender Sehwag, it was Dravid who stepped forward once again. The man for all seasons was also the team's Mr Fix It and tagged with a nickname he hates: The Wall.
It is hard to tell how much it took out of him. There were times during his captaincy when he looked almost haunted, caught between Chappell and an unhappy dressing room, not to mention a press pack that scented blood as soon as the results started to get worse.
After the series win in England in 2007, he was almost heckled at a press conference at The Oval after India failed to push for victory. It was only when Michael Vaughan came in and said that he would have done the same thing - protected a 1-0 lead - that the hysteria abated.
Through good times and bad, one word has defined Dravid the player and human being: equanimity.
After his pivotal century in India's recent victory over the West Indies at Sabina Park, questions were raised about the failure of the new boys in the side. A more selfish man might have tried to guard his turf by putting down the competition. That is not the Dravid way.
"These youngsters are even better than we were, in terms of talent," he said.
"We put too much pressure on youngsters; we need to relax and give them time, we need to be patient with them."
In an age when icons swear into television cameras or take out super injunctions to cover up misdemeanours, Dravid has also been a classy ambassador for his sport. Win or lose, he has never been less than gracious.
Before the Mohali hundred that proved to be a lifeboat for a career caught in the squalls, he was asked how he felt.
"I need to get a big score not only for myself, but for everyone who has constantly wanted me to do well," he said. Small wonder then that thousands still hope he leaves with an Indian summer behind him.
sports@thenational.ae
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
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The biog
Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."
Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell
Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
