Nerves, sweat, chokes – what fun is sport without pressure?

Nothing causes more self-loathing than the choke in sport.

- Rohit Brijnath Assistant Sports Editor

The feeble fold under pressure. The inability to deliver skill as stress multiplies. The polite smile of a friend which says he loves your collapse on a November morning.It’s 1-1 and the third and last game of pool at a resort in Bintan. We're barely playing sport, more like ancient buddies dusting off memories. But winning in anything breeds edginess.

All I need is to pot the last ball which is happily positioned near a pocket. Pool ace Aloysius Yapp could do this blindfolded and hungover. This should be easy but since when is a last shot ever easy? It’s like a four-foot breaking putt to win a Sunday golf match at the 18th.

Nervous, hero?

What’s at stake when you putt? Just a beer or bragging rights. But everyone – which is three people in your group, not 19 million on TV for Rory Mcllroy at the 2025 Masters - is watching and you can feel it. Judgment has weight and not everyone has the cool of Lee Trevino. The golf legend grew up picking cotton as a kid and once said, “you don’t know what pressure is until you’ve played for $5 a hole with only $2 in your pocket.”

So do you reread your putt with sweaty hands? Are you thinking, “man, I lost to these bums last time, not again.” Every pond on a course is the home of hurled putters, but I don’t break my pool cue when I miss and lose. Just sulk a little.