Anshu Pande still remembers the day her visa hopes fell apart. She had done everything right. She studied in Australia, took on unpaid gigs, cleaned homes, stuck through a teaching job despite debilitating period cramps. But when the company she had poured herself into refused to sponsor her visa, she was forced to pack her life into suitcases and board a flight back to India. “I was mentally exhausted,” she says. “I had no idea what to do next.” This isn’t a story about winning. It’s about people like Pande — and so many others — who lose: opportunities, careers, dreams. But they keep going.

One can react badly, like chess world No 1 from Norway, Magnus Carlsen, who shocked the world by slamming the table on losing to world champion D Gukesh during  a classical match in the Norway Chess 2025 championship last week. Or, one can get up and try again, like Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), which went on to lift their maiden IPL trophy last week after nearly two decades of heartbreak. And like PV Sindhu, who clawed her way back into form at the Indonesia Open after a series of injuries and disappointments. Looking at them, we’re reminded that it is in the persistence after a fall, and a willingness to show up again, that finesse reveals itself.

Going from 0 runs to 100 in his debut, Dilip Vengsarkar never looked back at the failed moments. Pic/Instagram@DilipVengsarkarCricketAcademy