Along with constantly pushing themselves to their maximum limit and moving out of their comfort zone, athletes need to develop the ability to handle the enormous pressures of competing at high levels [10]. That is where their ability to deal with adversity, setbacks and challenges can be used to their advantage. Sport psychologist, Dr. Mustafa Sarkar talks about how negative events may have a “silver lining”. He elaborates on how individuals who have experienced adversities in their lives may actually “reap the rewards” in the future [11]. They will be better equipped to handle pressure, and not consider situations to be extremely challenging, given that they have faced more demanding situations in the past, which they have successfully managed to overcome. The traumatic events may ignite the fire in athletes to succeed at any cost and it also provides them with the strength to fight against future setbacks. This is how negative emotions/circumstances can be used to achieve a positive goal.

According to Haudan (2016), “Adversity is the Fuel of Greatness. If there is no adversity, there is no growth”. This notion has been supported by a number of researchers, who believe that athletes have the potential to benefit from difficulty [12][13]. Also known as ‘growth following adversity’, individuals may show positive changes post facing adversities or traumatic events, where some adversities may actually be beneficial and lead to growth and development [5]. A number of terms (given by different researchers) have been coined for this phenomenon, including perceived benefits, positive changes in outlook, post-traumatic growth, stress-related growth and adversarial growth [13].

The term ‘Adversarial Growth’ can be used to define the positive changes that occur due to adversities or difficult life circumstances [14]. Some of the greatest athletes in the world have benefitted from traumatic events faced during early childhood or sometime during their life [8], which can be non-sport related – personal events such as parental divorce, broken homes, physical or mental abuse, poverty or accidents. Athletes can also face sport-related adversities such as serious injuries, non-selection, burnout, unexpected failures and so on [4][5][8][10][13].

According to Collins and MacNamara, “Talent needs Trauma” [4][15] but how the traumatic event is perceived and managed is extremely crucial. Most individuals who experience adversity are not successful at the highest levels [12]. Athletes need to be supported through the challenges they face so that they can cope and overcome the stressors, and use them to their advantage.

In order to fuel the chances of success, inducing adversity in an athlete would be unethical and wrong. On the contrary, if an athlete has gone through adversity, then the environment around him or her needs to be supportive enough to help convert these adversities into positive outcomes in order to enhance their performance [4][5]. In no manner does it mean that adversity is all one needs to be successful. If that were the case, then most individuals would have been achieving success at the highest levels

To be the best in any field in life will be dependent upon many factors. One of the factors which could be of primary interest (as seen from most examples) for success in sportspersons is the adversity that they have faced in life.

Middle- and long-distance running are known to be one of the toughest races [19]. Kenya and Ethiopia, along with other African countries are known to produce the best middle- and long-distance athletes in the world [20][21]. A lot of athletes from these countries come from deprived backgrounds. Acute poverty can be an adversity, and desperation is a huge driver. Developed countries like the United States of America and Europe have more technical inputs, infrastructure and facilities for their athletes, yet the African’s somehow emerge victorious in these events.

Like the Kenyans, Indian athletes can be an equally powerful force, but unfortunately, they lack the basic support along with knowledge, facilities and infrastructure at the grass-root level. According to research, it is the poor that win the medals for India [22]. Most Indian athletes face tremendous adversity, but they have not been able to convert their adversity into success at the world level.

Unfortunately, Indian athletes are restricted by the system they find themselves in. The Indian Athletic Federation and The Kenyan Athletic Federation are both at very nascent levels. Yet, Kenyan athletes are winning medals and no Indian athlete (other than Abhinav Bindra – who built his own support system [23]) has won an Olympic gold (individual event) since Independent India was formed [24][25]. Even though genes are a major factor contributing to the success of Kenyan athletes [21], another reason that can be attributed to this is that Kenyan athletes, despite the hardships they have faced, have gone out into the world, competed, found component coaches and agents that have helped them to rise to the top. To date, no Indian athlete has followed through with the same process. Indian athletes perform well to a certain extent but due to several factors, are still unable to find a spot among the best athletes of the world. This is where the need for a nurturing environment and correct support system comes into play. Adversity alone cannot lead to success, the athletes need to know how to overcome adversity and use it to their advantage, for which they require immense support.

German Coach Dr. Otto Peltzer, who himself was a world champion and world record holder in 800m and 1,500m advised Milkha Singh to compete in dozens of races for two seasons in the European circuit before the Olympics [29]. It was this opportunity of competing at the International level that made Milkha realize his potential. Further, he went on to be the favourite at the Rome Olympics in 1960 [30]. 

Courtesy of the British High Commission, India hired Steve Ovett’s coach Harry Wilson for two years to prepare India’s middle- and long-distance athletes. He discovered a 5000 meters runner, Bahadur Prasad who according to him was running well but was unable to break the 14 minutes barrier due to the high-temperature conditions and the fact that he was training and competing with no competition. Harry Wilson then invited Bahadur to England in 1991 and exposed him to 4 to 5 high-level competitions at cooler temperatures. Bahadur ran as a guest in the UK National Championships and clocked 13.29.71 to finish second behind Jack Buckner. What is amazing to note is that this 1991 record still stands in India [27]. Residing in a small village in India, Bahadur Prasad belonged to an economically weaker section. He had parents who had never been to school. He faced adversity, found the right support system, and turned his adversity into advantage and success [31].

In India, the North-Eastern part of the country is most deprived of sport facilities and growth chances. Yet, a number of athletes are being discovered and there has been a lot of talent which has emerged in the recent years from that geographical region.

Mary Kom is a great example of an athlete who overcame all the hardships to achieve success at the highest levels. She is the only woman in the world to have become the World Amateur Boxing champion 6 times and only woman to have won a medal in each one of the first 7 World Championships. Despite coming from the most deprived region of the country, along with battling poverty, she is the only boxer in the world to win 8 World Championship medals [30].

The old saying by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ can be used to talk about athletes who have faced adversity, and yet, have gone on to achieve great success in their respective fields. Researcher Mark Seery talks about how adversity can help individuals develop a ‘psychological immune system’ which helps them cope with future hardships. He further states that those who have no experience with dealing with adversity may have a more difficult time dealing with future challenges. If individuals have surpassed certain traumatic events early on in life, they will be better equipped to handle future stressors [31].

Author, J.K Rowling spoke about the benefits of failure, stating how ‘rock bottom became the solid foundation on which she rebuilt her life’. She stated that she was the ‘biggest failure’ she knew. Living in a cramped apartment with her daughter, with no job or money, she fell into depression and even considered committing suicide [32]. Fast forward to the present day, she is a successful author, film and television producer, screenwriter and philanthropist.

Oprah Winfrey, a media executive, actress, talk show host, television producer, and philanthropist, overcame years of abuse, poverty, and neglect to become one of America’s most influential people and the first African American billionaire [33]. She learned to grab the opportunities that were thrown at her. She was resilient, and found a way to not only overcome all the trauma that she had faced early on in life, but managed to use what she had learned from those unfortunate circumstances, and develop and grow as a result of those traumatic events. She turned her life around and become extremely successful. She stated, “Turn your wounds into wisdom”, and spoke about how living in poverty made the experience of creating and building success more rewarding [34].