A great display of grit, determination and killer instinct in Sports was shown by Moritz Furste of Germany in their crucial Quarterfinal game against New Zealand in men's hockey at Rio Olympics.
With 41 seconds to go, New Zealand was leading Germany 2 - 1, when Germany earned a Penalty Corner, an opportunity to equalize and prevent New Zealand from getting an epic victory.
Germany was seconds away from elimination when their sturdy, bearded Penalty Corner specialist Moritz Furste took position to take the penalty corner hit. The camera closed on him, showing a face with a steely resolve, without any sign of nervousness.
The Kiwis closed in, forming a cordon to prevent the German from getting that coveted goal. They knew very well that allowing the Germans to score at that juncture would snatch their imminent victory against their more fancied European opponent.
The burly German took an icy look at the defense and hit the ball with immaculate accuracy. Even in slow motion replay the ball went like a bullet from his stick. The Kiwi defenders tried to thwart the ball away, frantically sweeping their hockey sticks.
Fruste's hit went like a rocket, past their extended sticks and the stretched legs of the Kiwi goalkeeper into the net. The Germans scored the equalizer. That was just 41 minutes the final whistle.
Germans had a curtailed celebration. Before the Kiwis could wipe off sweat from their foreheads, galloped they slithered their way to score one more field goal, as the hooter sounded signalling the end of the game and an improbable German win - a game they were on the verge of losing just 41 second ago.
Lessons from competitive sports at the highest level - if you relax and let your guard down, your opponent can pounce on you. Even you haven't slacked, as in case of the Kiwis, a never say die attitude and relentless optimism can put you back in the game.
Moritz Furste and the Germans "Never, Never, ever give up" attitude I was so fortunate to watch live yesterday, was a game changer, something worth emulating by one and all, if one aspires to succeed at the highest level.
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