Working in small groups of 4 to 5 students, go back over the two passages on Santosh Yadav and Maria Sharapova and complete the table given below with relevant phrases or sentences.

Points of Comparison/Contrast

Santosh Yadav

Maria Sharapova

1.

Their humble beginning

She was born in the small village of Joniyawas of Rewari District in Haryana.

the Siberian born teenager

2.

Their parents approach

in line with the

prevailing custom in the family, Santosh had to make do with the local village school.

At sixteen, most of the girls in her village used to get married. Santosh was also under pressure from her parents to do the same.

her parents refused to

pay for her education

her father slowly getting used to her urge

she was packed off to train in the United States.

trip to Florida with her father Yuri launched her on the path to success and stardom.

My father was working

as much as he could to keep my tennis-training going.

3.

Their will power and strong desire to succeed

Wishing always to study 'a bit more'

her urge for more education

She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi.

She saved money and enrolled in a course at Uttarkashis Nehru Institute of Mountaineering.

I headed straight for the training.

Instead of letting that depress me, I became more quietly determined and mentally tough

unwavering desire to

succeed and readiness to sacrifice

I work hard at what I do.

the most important thing is to become number one in the world. That's the dream that kept me going.

4.

Evidence of their mental toughness

She began living life on her own terms from the start.

From the very beginning I was quite determined that if I chose a correct and a rational path, the others around me had to change, not me.

she politely informed them of her plans to earn money by working part time to pay her school fees.

Santosh went on an expedition every year.

an amazing mental toughness

mental strength impressed her seniors.

I learnt how to take care of myself. I never thought

of quitting because I knew what I wanted.

I would have put up with much more humiliation and insults than that to steadfastly pursue my dream.

5.

Their patriotism

Then I unfurled the Indian tricolour and held it aloft on the roof of the world. The feeling is indescribable. The Indian flag was flying on top of the world. It was truly a spiritual moment. I felt proud as an Indian.

Russian. It's true that the U.S. is a big part of my life. But I have Russian citizenship. My blood is totally Russian. I will play the Olympics for Russia if they want me.