Sporting Life

As world looks to Messi, Tendulkar offers insight into the great athlete's mind

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Lionel Messi will wake up this morning and know he is not allowed to fail against France. It's best he doesn't look at the newspapers but he already knows what is written. He is supposed to make the impossible look inevitable.

Genius is his daily responsibility and the amazing is his obligation. It makes you wonder, how does he sleep, keep calm, stay sane, manage criticism, but perhaps athletes like him exist on a separate plane.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 30, 2018, with the headline As world looks to Messi, Tendulkar offers insight into the great athlete's mind. Subscribe