Sportstar·India·Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 03:51 AM

Sunil Gavaskar: It is so, so refreshing to see truly memorable moments in sports celebrated with humility

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Sunil Gavaskar

A hug after the battle: Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka share a moment of respect after the US Open final. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

A hug after the battle: Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka share a moment of respect after the US Open final. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The last Major of the world of tennis saw two winners who celebrated their wins without any of the theatrics that seem to be such an integral part of modern sport. When Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka, she just closed her fist, gave a dimpled smile and turned to her coach and support staff to acknowledge and thank them. When Alexander Zverev won the final point, he wasn’t even aware that he had won the title. He also just smiled and rushed towards the net to greet his opponent, Ben Shelton. It was so, so refreshing to see truly memorable moments celebrated with humility, without trying to rub the vanquished opponent’s nose in the dust as we see so often in sports today.

Imagine if Sabalenka and Shelton had won. Sabalenka, who screams after every point she wins while making loud grunting noises during the point, would have had what can only be called a TV-friendly celebration. Shelton, who also yells after every point he wins, would have yelled the whole arena down if he had won. Of course, winning titles, especially Majors, is extraordinarily special and must be celebrated. But it would be wonderful if the defeated opponent could be spared the histrionics that are seen even as he sits in the chair.

A few years back, Shelton was making waves with his game and perhaps even more so with his telephone-answering celebration after every other point. Then he played Novak Djokovic, who simply blew him off the court and started to mimic Shelton’s telephone-answering celebration. The Serb was pulled up by the media for mocking a young opponent. So, when Shelton was doing that during his earlier matches, he wasn’t mocking his opponents? These double standards weren’t surprising as the winner of the most Majors in tennis has never quite enjoyed the universal popularity that his other two great rivals, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, did.

That is usually, not always, the way the fandom responds when their hero is being usurped by another emerging star. They try to find faults with the new star and ask questions about him to show that their hero is still the best. While this is understandable to an extent in an individual sport, it is not at all healthy in a team sport, especially when the country’s team is playing. In trying to show that your hero is better, the other star gets run down and, in doing so, the team suffers. By all means, wish the bestest for your hero, but don’t run the other star in the team down when the country is playing.

Heroes also should be aware that their actions will be emulated by their young, impressionable followers. Today’s era is all about putting everything out there. That means total effort and, when the effort is successful, not holding back the emotions. It’s all about having a celebration that will be all over the public media, which gives non-entities a hook to hang their take on it to increase their followers. How often in cricket have we seen cameras immediately pan to a fielder in the deep after a batter has been clean bowled? That fielder had nothing whatsoever to do with the dismissal, but it’s the screaming show of delight that the TV guys think the public wants to see. If only they could see the clip of Syed Abid Ali taking four wickets in his first spell in the second Test in Manchester in 1971, walking quietly back to his mark after every wicket. Even the fielders who took the catches were just given a pat on the back, and the head, and the game moved on. The fielders in the deep didn’t even leave their spots, and so there was no issue with the over-rate either.

The number of young fans who have appreciated this surprised me and gives hope that they will also enjoy their hero or team winning and celebrating, but not by humiliating and rubbing the opponent’s nose in the dirt with gestures and words.

How good was Abhishek Sharma’s yogic meditation celebration after scoring the quickest T20 international hundred between Full-Member countries? Can we have more of the same, please?

Published on Sep 23, 2026

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