Smriti Mandhana’s remarks on ‘feeling low’ returns after her wedding setback with Palash Muchhal

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Indian women’s cricket star Smriti Mandhana has been in the news in recent times following the confirmation that her wedding with music composer Palash Muchhal has been called off, a sudden announcement that has left fans shocked and rallying behind the cricketer.

Amidst this significant personal upheaval, as Mandhana returns to practice ahead of Team India’s upcoming five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting December 21, an old interview detailing her emotional resilience has resurfaced and gone viral across social media. The resurfaced clip from a three-year-old interaction with Humans of Bombay offers a glimpse into Mandhana’s mechanism for coping with difficult times: focusing immediately on professional goals and leaving the past behind. Her remarks are now being celebrated as a powerful testament to her strength and determination to prioritize her professional commitments and national duty above all else.

As news of the called-off wedding, originally scheduled for November 23 before being postponed due to a family health emergency, dominated headlines, Mandhana’s words on coping with difficulty became a source of inspiration for her legion of fans. The resurfaced interview, recorded three years prior, details her method for managing personal lows by immediately shifting her focus to her professional responsibilities. She described her mechanism as simple and routine, revealing: “It’s pretty easy for me. I have short-term goals. Say if I feel low today, I will just start writing what I have to work on for the next six days or for the next seven days, in my batting or in my fitness.”

Mandhana’s ability to use her demanding cricket routine to compartmentalize and overcome emotional pain resonated deeply with the public, who praised her mental discipline as she returns to the nets with her focus firmly fixed on the upcoming international series. She elaborated on the effectiveness of this technique, adding that by shifting her headspace, she can deliberately forget the source of the emotional distress: “So once I start doing that, I just forget what’s happening. I just focus on what I have to do.” Her ability to quickly transition her emotional state and dedication to representing India at the highest level provides a powerful example of an athlete converting personal challenges into professional motivation.

Also READ: “I need to clarify that…”: Smriti Mandhana calls off her wedding with Palash Muchhal

In the same viral interview, Mandhana cemented her status as a role model for resilience by drawing a profound and simple parallel between the game of cricket and her approach to life, stressing the crucial importance of constant fresh beginnings. This analogy serves as the philosophical backbone for her ability to move forward gracefully from the recent personal setback, with her brother, Shravan Mandhana, sharing a photo of her back at cricket practice shortly after the announcement. Mandhana articulated this life philosophy, sharing: “You have to always start your day as a new day because you start your innings on zero, even if you score a hundred.”

The viral clip immediately struck a chord with the public, who flooded social media platforms with messages of encouragement, lauding her ability to derive such positive life lessons from her sport. The cricketer concluded her life lesson with an appeal to perspective, which now seems to be her guiding principle as she resumes her duties ahead of the Sri Lanka T20Is: “So that’s the biggest takeaway from what I have learnt. Whatever happens in your life, the next day is a fresh day.” Her determination to focus on playing and winning trophies for India for as long as possible reaffirms her commitment, assuring her supporters that her professional focus remains her highest priority moving forward.

Also READ: Family members react to the resumption of Smriti Mandhana and Palash Muchhal’s wedding plans

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.