Chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju and MMA fighter Puja Tomar chat about losing like winners

What’s the first thing that goes through your mind when you’re about to step into a high-stakes match?

PT: Firstly, there’s this looming pressure: Are Indians even good at MMA? Because for 30 years, nobody brought home a medal. Then I think back to where I came from, how girls aren’t valued there and how my victory could be their victory too. For me, winning is not only about bringing glory to my country, it’s also about bringing change to my village.

GD: The mental toll that each game takes on a player is quite high, especially at the top, where there isn’t a single easy game for a stretch of two to three weeks. You sit at the table and cannot afford to lose your focus for five hours straight. It gets to me, but I feel like the nerves are also my North Star. I get worried if I don’t feel nervous before a game because being slightly on edge means that my brain is fully locked in.

Winning is all well and good but having to deal with failure in public requires a different kind of strength. How do you do it?

PT: I won’t deny that it feels great when people recognise me at the airport because it motivates me to continue along the path I am on. When I won the UFC fight, some journalists travelled to my village. The locals couldn’t understand what was happening since my mother hadn’t told them where I was or what I was doing. So instead of answering the media’s questions, they started asking questions of their own. They’re very proud of me now and there’s always a grand welcome waiting when I return home. That said, I have no qualms about admitting that losing a match makes me cry a lot. After I have pacified myself, I assess my flaws to see why I lost and whether I need to work on my attack or defence.

Puja Tomar reacts after her victory against Rayanne dos Santos of Brazil in a strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at KFC Yum! Center on June 08, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. Jeff Bottari/Getty Images.