Meltdowns, a knotty quiz in modern day sport

Meltdowns in sport are not uncommon. The standard pun on athletes or teams snatching defeat from the jaws of victory says it all. This is a phenomenon sports psychologists have been trying to unravel for decades without being able to offer any great solution to the problem.

But they know it exists and try to get into the heads of sportsmen to try and prevent it. Mind coaches are obviously failing at their job considering how many meltdowns have been witnessed in the most recent past.

One representation of this sporting phenomenon was seen in the way Bangladesh imploded in their WorldT20 game against India. The simplest task of making two runs in three balls after having sewn up the match in the first half of the final over with two boundary hits was botched by the sheer hubris of one batsman wishing to hit a heroic six at the climax. The instinct to play to the grandstand seemed to have consumed Mushfiqur Rahim. Unfortunately, his colleagues learnt nothing from his fall.

Bangladesh are no more novices in limited-overs cricket after having registered significant victories from the World Cup of 1999 onwards. What they buckled to was an excessive desire to beat Team India, which may have been fuelled by last year’s World Cup experience of a disputed catch off a full toss being ruled in Rohit Sharma’s favour. Conspiracy theories sprouted quickly, a trend so well established that there was a huge recurrence after Bangladesh’s mysterious meltdown in Bengaluru.

The Bangladeshis were soon to be in good company as others also went under to the sporting phenomenon of meltdowns. Take Barcelona FC who were steamrolling on their way to a treble when the yips suddenlyseized them. This usually only happens to golfers when they are in sight of the summit.

It happened only last week to one of the world’s best golfers as he was walking down the 12th hole at the Masters. At 7-under and five stroke in the lead with nine to play, even if was yet to negotiate the dreaded Amen’s Corner at the Augusta Masters, another green jacket should have been a cinch for Jordan Spieth (22).

Now, Spieth is known for his incredible self-confidence so visible in his body language and a temperament far beyond his age. A natural successor to Tiger Woods, the American was on the way with such big opening and second rounds that bookmakers were contemplating novel ways to hide their grief when facing the scenario of the biggest payout on the shortest priced favourite in a long time. What happened to Spieth in a quadruple bogey (the first ever in his career) on the 12th is something that will be talked about in golf forever. Suffice it to say he lost to a 28-year son of a vicar, with Danny Willett becoming only the second Englishman ever to win the Masters. Spieth’s was the mother of all meltdowns.

Or, was it What about Barcelona then, the Rolls-Royce among football clubs, “the guys who don’t make mistakes.” Take their meltdown — on April 2 they were 13 points ahead of Real Madrid and nine clear of Atletico. A fortnight later, they find themselves just one point ahead of Real and level on 76 points with Atletico in the La Liga. This is after they led Real by a goal in the Clasico only to lose it 2-1 and dropped their 39-game unbeaten run record as well.

Since then there has been only one win in five games and Barca seem incapable of marching on to the title, leave alone the treble. They say Spanish football has not seen a sensational collapse like this.

Why does this happen to sportsmen In trying to analyse the causes of why he is not winning, Rory McIlroy said, “I don’t think it’s anything to do with my game. I think that’s more me mentally, I’m trying to deal with the pressure of it and the thrill of the achievement if it were to happen. I think that’s the thing that’s really holding me back.”

The very thought of winning seems to stress them out, even if they are already on the cusp of victory and seemingly only a stroll away from the title. Meltdowns are a knotty quiz for modern sports teams, which have on call such specialists as mind trainers, psychologists, icons as team mentors.