Tell me your success story - something that you fought for & won or achieved!

I'm only looking for success stories - small or big does NOT matter. I believe each one of us has a success story; no matter how big or small. It could be winning your lost friend, it could be simply saying 'sorry' (it's difficult), or trying to get into top 5 in your class, or coming out of a tough situation by fighting against all odds. Remember: the size of your success is immaterial. The purpose of this thread is to have our story permanently stored in a place which we can refer to any time we are down.


I haven't shared this story with anyone so far; but this is my chance! I was in std. 9th and was representing my school at district level badminton competition. All the schools from the entire district were participating and boy the competition was tough. I was 'somewhat' good at the game and being a left-handed player game an unfair advantage over my opponents who were typically used to playing against the right-handed ones.

Having won all the games throughout the quarter and semi-finals (singles competition), my confidence level was all time high. I was almost certain that the final match is going to be an easy sail because I had seen the opponent play. There were only 2 games (best of 3 game, it was) standing between me and all the nasty fame and applause (and the trophy). In short - I just knew it was my day; all the way!

The match was scheduled at about 3:30 PM and the hall was jam packed. My mother had come to cheer for me and I had already informed my friends to cheer for me 10x louder for every point I scored because that'd bring the morale of my opponent down. The hall was jam packed for the final match. I remember the ambiance, the lights, the court, the net, the general noise in the hall, the racquet and the opponent! He didn't look confident at all. He had seen me play and it was apparent that he knew he was going to lose! The toss confirmed that the luck was in my favour and I chose the side (over the first service).

...and the match begins.

Love all (score: 0-0) says the referee and my opponent gets the first service. I reply swiftly and expect him to do the same.

HOLY CRAP!

He replies with a smash, I'm totally unprepared for - and the referee announces the new score! 1 - 0. What?...the...hell! Ok, come on, K, this dude needs a spank on the ass. Gotta show him who's the boss.

He makes the second serve. Yet another surprise. The shuttle moves so fast that it lands in my court even before I make a move! NO NO NO NO NO. This isn't the way I thought this game was supposed to be. Enough is enough, this must stop!

2 - 0

He makes the serve again and I make the right move. It's a trick most of my opponents would never expect. But this dude was all there, in place, as if he knew what was I going to do! He responds with a new surprise for me! He's got this weird trick that literally spins the shuttle in the air - making it impossible for me to send my response. CRAP! 3 - 0

4 - 0

...5 - 0

By this time, all my friends had already accepted defeat and preferred eating their sandwich over cheering for me. No one wants to be with the one who's certain to lose. I was totally clueless about what was happening to me. My opponent was slapping me left and right; and I just didn't know what to do! I was SCARED.

SIX - LOVE

I thought of fighting back. I looked at mom. She was still with me. Maybe she was expecting me to make a comeback. He served again. I fought back. I delivered a smash with all my might. The shuttle almost passed through the net.

SEVEN - LOVE
EIGHT - LOVE
NINE - LOVE

I looked at my friends. The almost every-dam-body was cheering for my opponent as he decimated my confidence and ego as well. The guy had all the surprises for me. He was basically making me dance to his tunes and I was following his commands like an obedient servant. I hated it. Thank God I was sweating profusely. It helped me hide the tears in my eyes.

He serves again. The shuttle fails to cross the net. His over-confidence had decided to do me a favour. It was my chance to serve now.

Just 15 minutes ago, this hall was preparing itself to celebrate my victory and now it was laughing back at me. But I didn't want to lose on BIG ZERO. Afterall, I had beaten so many of them to get to the finals. My friends would laugh at me if I lost the match on ZERO. I had to score JUST ONE. But it was impossible because my opponent was calm as if he knew how to snatch the shuttle back from my hands. Moreover the game would be over if he scored just two more points.

I make the serve, the one I had mastered so-thousand-many times. The shuttle lands safely on his court.

ONE - EIGHT

Did I just score ONE? Wow, it feels like I won the match!

But back to reality, thinking of 'winning' was stupid. I looked at my mother again. She was smiling to show support to my small victory. Cool! Let's do the last trick again.

TWO - EIGHT

WHAT? The guy fell for my trick again! Nice! Let's repeat it for one more time.

THREE - EIGHT!

THREE EIGHT! I've had that score so many times in the past; and I had won several games even with that score! Time to regain some confidence. Should I repeat my trick? Or should I try something new? Will he fall for it again? What if he gets the service back? Will it be game over for me?

I made him the simplest service, the most regular one and it turned out to be the most difficult for him; but he manages to send the shuttle back and makes a mistake. The shuttle is in my court, at just the right height and I reply with my ass-bursting SMASH! The shuttle lands right on his face.

MUWAHAHA. DON'T MESS WITH THE BOSS! 😁

FOUR - EIGHT

Okay baby! I'm back in the game. My non-hungry friends have changed their minds and are cheering for me now. It's time to bring the morale of my opponent down. I smile at him.

The smile had a destroying effect on him. Maybe it made him think that it was all a part of MY PLAN to let him score till the game point and then humiliate him in front of everyone.

FIVE - EIGHT
SIX - EIGHT
SEVEN - EIGHT
EIGHT - ALL

UNBELIEVABLE! I felt like running to the streets and shouting out all! I wanted everyone to see what I had achieved in the last 5-8 minutes! Come on people, I'm being AWESOME!

It was my time to smile and gave the audience a NASTY look. I had learned the weak points of my opponent. I no longer feared him getting the service. I was now confident enough to think about winning!

NINE - EIGHT
Mom's still smiling!

TEN-EIGHT, ELEVEN - EIGHT, TWELVE-EIGHT, THIRTEEN-EIGHT, GAME POINT - EIGHT!

The audience I had lost was back to cheer for me! Just one point and I'd have bagged the first game. In a best of three game; winning the first game puts tremendous pressure on the opponent! I sincerely felt sorry for my opponent. It just wasn't his day.

I made the service with the same trick as I had for my first one; and it won me the game. Boy! Was I dreaming?

The next game was straightforward too. I managed to stop him under 5 and was declared the winner.

The Learning:

Returning from a point of no hope is a big deal! The only thing is to keep going and just not call it quits. If you quit - you're declaring the failure. That day, I could have lost on zero or after scoring a few points. But that would have taught me another lesson. Typically we try to 'learn' from our bad experiences. It's important to learn from your own successes as well. 😀

I hope you enjoyed my story. I'll share another story straight from my childhood. It's about not giving up and I'm sure you will enjoy it too. I look forward to your stories. I'm sure each one of you has at least one story to share!

PS: Ignore the grammar, typos, obvious mistakes if any. I didn't proof read before submitting it.