Excerpt #6 form the Chapter 14 - The Date with Deng

An Other Tale of Two Cities - A Novel by Ravi Krish

An Excerpt # 6 form the

Chapter 14

The Date with Deng

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Kula had booked a berth for a Quarter final show down against Deng. He had been rattled by the Meiling - Joy episodes very much though he didn’t display his anger to his young lady friends. He had understood from some indirect observations of Li’ll’y that Deng could have been behind the problems for Joy and him, right from the beginning, including the ‘hand-gun-shot’ scare that Joy was subjected to. He believed that Deng had instigated some of his team mates loyal to him, the Deng’s Gang, to rattle the Indian talent and snuff them out, outside the court. Deng was also determined to break their run on court, using any means and used Dan too in his ploys. Hence Kula was looking forward to this match to settle scores. Kula, normally a cool self, never had been as bitter as on that day. It was not just rivalry any more, but chivalry as Deng had offended Jay not just once, but twice. He wanted to beat Deng in the Quarter Finals with vengeance and beat him badly too. This was the first time that Kula had ever got into a match angry with the opponent and with a mind full of vengeance. It showed in his game.

Kula was trailing and trailing badly in the first game 2-8. Nothing was working for him. He was hitting his shots all over, missing the table. He was over reacting to each shot and making unforced errors. The anger and the vengeance in his mind were working adversely on him.  Kula had somehow forgetten that raw anger doesn’t help you overwhelm a challenge, while he should have been channelizing his anger and raising up to the challenge that Deng was. Deng was no ordinary challenge and even Kula at his best would have had to struggle big against him. But in his anger, Kula had exposed a fair amount of the chinks in his armour and was paying the penalty. By the time Kula realized that his anger was actually counter productive, the first game was over 11-5 in Deng’s favour and that he was trailing the second game at 1-6. That he was almost half way on the path to defeat.

Kula needed time to compose himself and reorient his energies. He can’t afford to let Deng take any further lead. It would be disastrous. Kula knew that he had to act quickly and tactically, or else this game and the match would slip off his hands. He focused hard on the ball. That was always his strongest points. He knew that during the last two games that he trailed Deng, his concentration had gone awry. He hadn’t been sighting the ball as much.

Anger is such an enemy; worse than the actual enemy; the object of the anger itself. He needed to first flush out his anger. Unfortunately, he was forbidden by the Games Appeals Jury from using yoga and meditation during the game. Meditation was his preferred mode of cooling his mind. He had to do something and quick.....

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Happy Reading :-) Merry interactions :-)

Ravi Krish

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