Third Time Not the Charm: Lessons Learned from Three Silver Medals

This year marked the third year in a row that I found myself standing on the podium, the weight of three silver medals hanging around my neck for the 3rd Malaysian Youth Polo Tournament (3MYPT). While it would have been easy to feel disheartened or frustrated, I chose to see this streak as a way to uncover the lessons hidden within the shadows of defeat.

This year, more than in previous years, the lessons I learned are based less on my polo and improving things like a nearside backhand. Rather they are reminders of how fortunate I am. I am healthy. I am surounded by a supportive community, from my own family, to the global polo family. And I get to play polo, the game I love, with talented young players from around the world. In this way, I am able to meet many young people from all over the world such as Jake Ednie-Brown, who I met during the second Malaysian youth polo tournament and have been friends with ever since. I have been over to Australia to play with him there, and this year he stayed with me during the youth tournament.

Yes, winning is always my goal, however, this year, it was not my criteria for success. Despite being rivals on the field, Imran and I share a camaraderie that transcends competition. Our matches are not just battles of skill but also celebrations of friendship and mutual respect. This year I gave everything I had in one of the most intense polo battles I have had so far, and despite my loss on the field, I think I was successful in creating and building upon friendships that will last longer than individual victory.

In conclusion, the third time may not have been the charm if the benchmark was a win, but it was certainly a valuable chapter in my polo journey—an opportunity to learn, and grow, and it gives me more motivation than ever to become the best polo player I can be. I look at these 3 silver medals not as failures, but rather as stepping stones from which I will learn and improve.

As Giannis Antetokounmpo once said,

"Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships; the other nine years was a failure? That's what you're telling me? There's no failure in sports."