Making a comeback after a near-fatal car accident is almost impossible in any sphere, more so in sports. But trust Tiger Woods to make anything possible as he had done several times in the past. Though Woods finished close to the bottom of the Masters leaderboard on March 10, his participation at the Augusta National, especially after a tryst with disaster, is nothing short of an epic comeback. The appearance, coming fourteen months after a car crash, which forced doctors to amputate his right leg, is something that would remain etched on our minds for years to come. This speaks volumes about the resilience and valour of the legendary US Golfer. However, Woods is not alone on this count as he is in the company of some legendary athletes who have also had to defy insurmountable odds to be back in business. Let us find out who these sporting brave hearts are.
Ben Hogan (Golf)
Unarguably one of the greatest golfers the world has witnessed, Hogan is renowned for the impact he left on golf swing theory and his capacity to strike the ball hard. However, the American professional golfer also got badly impacted by a deadly car accident in 1949 and doctors looking after him were unanimous that Hogan will never be on his feet again. However, defying all the doomsday predictions he went on to win 6 majors post the disastrous crash. Also, this happened at a time when technology was not even at a nascent stage unlike the players of today.
Monica Seles (Tennis)
Those following the sport of tennis closely would not require any major effort to understand what Monica Seles meant for the game. For the uninitiated, she is a former world number one player who represented both Yugoslavia and US and won 9 Grand Slam titles, 8 while representing the former country and one while representing the latter. Tragically, in 1993 she became a victim of a murderous knife attack on the tennis court which kept her out of action for two years. However, she stormed back to the court, later on, to win Australian Open in the year 1996.
Mario Lemieux (Ice Hockey)
Of the stories regarding spectacular comebacks no less remarkable is the tale of this Ice Hockey great. Mario Lemieux was blessed with great agility and he used to breach the opposition defence with consummate ease through an array of techniques at his disposal. In a cruel twist of fate in 1997, he was diagnosed with cancer and he had to take a 3-year sabbatical due to the same. But after slaying the deadly internal enemy he came back to the sport in 2000 and won a Gold medal for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Niki Lauda (Formula One Driver)
The Austrian Formula One Driver has scripted several success stories in the race circuit. Niki Lauda happens to be the solitary figure in F1 history to be crowned champion in both Ferrari and McLaren, two of the game’s biggest constructors. But in 1976, the three-time F-1 champion’s Ferrari went up in flames during the German Grand Prix. Resultantly, his life was hung on a loose thread after getting choked by the smoke coming out from the car and suffered several burns in the process as well. However, the Austrian was back on the wheels six weeks later and won two more championships after the unfortunate incident.
Yuvraj Singh (Cricket)
The Punjab southpaw was a nightmare for the bowlers during his heydays as he smoked sixes effortlessly off the best in the business. If he was unstoppable in the 2007 T-20 World Cup then he was at his imperious best four years later in the 2011 ODI World Cup where he was finally adjudged Man Of The Tournament. But immediately after these highs, there was a painfully low phase in his career when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. It looked all but over for the stylish left-hander in international cricketer but Yuvi in his inimitable style fought the internal enemy like a true-blue warrior and hit the ground running after a few months. He later on represented Team India in the 2014 T-20 World Cup and 2017 Champions Trophy apart from attracting astronomical sums in the 2014 and ’15 IPL seasons before calling it quits in 2018.
