A bad volleyball game and why one must hurt one’s ego to make progress

Colonel Jaswal happened to be a diehard sports fanatic. He had made it very clear to all of us that sports were one of his primary focus areas, and had passed specific orders to the battalion that the volleyball team must focus on improving their game as losing was out of the question and would not be accepted. Thereafter, all playing members of the volleyball team were excused from their fatigue duties, and the only task that they were expected to do was to play volleyball. They were also provided with a special nutritious diet. The Commanding Officer wanted a progress report of volleyball training almost every day, and so, Havildar Chattar, who was the senior-most playing member and was the in-charge of the team, was tasked with briefing our Commanding Officer on the progress of the team. Chattar was a senior Havildar in the Battalion and was soon going to be promoted to a Naib Subedar.

Therefore, apart from the obvious responsibility of the performance of the team, the personal stakes for Chattar were also extremely high. For the team, this meant that he would go the extra mile, and the gruelling schedule of the playing members ensured that the team was shaping up well. While the team was practising well, to gain a better understanding of the nuances of the competition, Chattar was interacting regularly with the team members of the neighbouring battalion since they had spent a considerable amount of time in Patiala. He was surprised to see the other teams being headed by young officers who were regularly practicing with their team. On further enquiry, Chattar was alarmed to find out that it was compulsory to have an officer as part of the playing six in the team.

This rule was not in vogue in our previous station, and therefore, came as a shock since none of our officers were good at volleyball and could in no way qualify to be part of the battalion team. The new rule struck us all like a lightning bolt and created a crisis, considering the fact that only a few days were left for the tournament to commence. Colonel Jaswal immediately called for a conference in his office, which was attended by the Second-in-Command, the Subedar Major (the senior-most junior Commissioned Officer) and Chattar.

Eventually, I was called in by the commanding officer and informed that I was the lucky officer who had been selected to lead the battalion Volleyball team, and he instructed me to join the team forthwith. Colonel Jaswal was pretty well known for his short temper, and therefore, I preferred to keep quiet. However, I aired my reservations to the Second-in-Command once we were finished with the conference. I explained to Major Arora that in all my life I had never played this particular game, and it would be unfair on my part to be the cause of defeat for the battalion. Major Arora did what he was known for, and simply smiled! The very next morning, reluctantly, I reported to the battalion volleyball court, only to find the Commanding Officer…