By Amarpreet Kaur:
Back in April 2011, the whole of India was rejoicing at what was a golden moment in the history of Indian cricket. The team had conquered the world after a long hiatus of twenty-eight years. The World Cup belonged to India and the hero of this stupendous achievement was man of the tournament, Yuvraj Singh.
The celebrations were out in the open, champagne was flowing. But little did Yuvraj know what was coming. Sadly, he was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his lungs. The odds were against him, death was staring him in the face with every passing day. But the fighter that he is, one thing was for sure that this man was not going to give up no matter how dark things seemed to be.
Yuvraj has proved to be a fighter and a very brave one. The agony, the pain, the endless chemo sessions: he faced them all with a rock-solid belief in his heart that he would definitely beat the monster called cancer. The dream of living his life and representing his country in that blue shirt again was his guiding light. So much so that cancer was in no way going to be an impediment in his journey forward. And Yuvraj proved that right.
After being successfully treated for the disease in the United States, he made his way back into the Indian squad for the ongoing World Twenty20 tournament. As is expected from a man of his grit, Yuvraj did not disappoint at all. Though he would have loved to score more runs with the bat than he actually did, his bowling and fielding were spectacular to say the least. What really stood out was the determination in his eyes to prove that no battle is tough if you have a steely resolve to face it head on.
Life is a wonderful journey and the path is replete with ups and downs. As human beings, we have to respond positively to all situations, both good and bad. No hurdle is too big if we have faith in God and in ourselves to face it, no matter how difficult the circumstances may be. The key is to never give up. Yuvraj Singh is an appropriate example for us all to emulate. He embodies the fact that if you fight for yourself, you are definitely going to win one day.
As Bern Williams rightly said, “Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.”