Go Yuvi, Livestrong

The one who played a key role in India winning the cricket world cup after 28 years in 2011 and in turn became the player of the tournament, the great Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Seminoma. Cricket means a lot to Indians as Ice hockey to the Swiss. So in a land where thousands of Gods are being worshipped, Yuvi also became a God-like character. As he received the twitter message from Lance Amstrong, “Go Yuvi, Livestrong”, Yuvi took it as the greatest inspiration he could get and a personality he could look forward. I also remember the days I gave talks to the school students and every time I took the example of lance Armstrong to motivate the students who are crippled with a lot of real life struggles. He was a big inspiration to those who battled their life under life threatening sicknesses. He was a hero for many. But when he is now found guilty of doping and later he is stripped of all the seven Tour de France medals, I get confused. Whatever people say, he remains still a hero to me. He came back to life with a bang after fighting a testicular cancer and the brain tumor. I still remember the quote from him which I used to read several times whenever I needed a push in life. It runs so. “We each cope differently with the spectre of our deaths. Some people deny it. Some pray. Some numb themselves with tequila. I was tempted to do a little of each of those things. But I think we are supposed to try to face it straightforwardly, armed with nothing but courage”. Yes, Amstrong continues to be a model of inspiration. His fight against the cancer is bigger than his doping. As Yuvi says “Lance continues to be my hero. As a cancer survivor, I know it is difficult to come back and perform. I don't know how they banned him but he will always be an inspiration to me".