Boris Becker reckoned his first Wimbledon title, at 17, came too soon. Emma Raducanu won her first Grand Slam at 19, but has since come under immense pressure to keep winning. In badminton, Ratchanok Intanon won her first and only world title at 17, but despite a stellar game – always elegant and not lacking in winners – couldn’t quite scale the peaks of the World Championships again, or the Olympics ever.In a nuanced and translated interview, Akane Yamaguchi, it appears, learnt to stub her emotions – screams and smiles – even as she emerged as a Japanese prodigy. And though she clinched her third World title at Paris this year, she put such a leash on her feelings that she barely smiled. She’s supposed to be a hoot in the company of friends and limited number of teammates. But getting her to grin after a World title is tough for photographers, because she was once told to never cry after a loss. An awkward, shy half-smile is the best she offers, after being goaded to pose.The poker face isn’t exactly a reflection of how happy she is, or sad even, but it’s what she associated with winning in sport, even while being painfully shy of attention. Winning early – she collected titles compulsively – doesn’t always end up being processed by athletes who barely know what losing is.As a corollary, those who take ages to win big, wandering in search of solutions to weaknesses in their games, aren’t necessarily lost cases. If anything, Indian badminton shows that early losses can keep the hunger alive, and the quest of a perfect game can help prolong careers, and keep the fire burning.Worth the waitSaina Nehwal had an Olympic medal at 22, but the missing World Championship medal sent her in search of more in the game. An injury smack in the middle of the 2016 Rio Olympics, and subsequent surgery, left her with a point to prove as she returned with gusto to take a Worlds medal next year.It might seem like an extreme case of delusional optimism but PV Sindhu missing out on the gold at Rio might well have pushed her to become a stronger athlete in the following years. Even the two World Championship final losses, and that ‘Silver Sindhu’ phase, kept her pushing the limits and culminated in the Basel Worlds gold in 2019. It’s no surprise that the slump thereafter, though she medalled at the Tokyo Olympics, meant that the same motivation took years to be revived.Both Carolina Marin and Chen Yufei struggled with motivation and an emptiness after winning their Olympic titles early. On the other hand, Kidambi Srikanth and even Pullela Gopichand kept chipping at every jagged edge in their game before winning their Worlds silver and All England title respectively, at 27.Story continues below this adIt’s a bunch of other things too, but the early hype around Lakshya Sen (hype – not the necessary support which he fully deserved), could well have left him thoroughly confused, grappling with fame, promise and performance. Dealing with the fourth place at the Olympics – though it looks like a wretched place to be in now – might well help him temper expectations, and train smartly going forward, knowing he has miles to go before he thinks he’s arrived as a superstar.Sure, HS Prannoy made a Junior World Championship final – and lost. And he would’ve traded all those fine results of the last few years on the turn of 30, and the game package and skillset even, for the same set of wins a decade earlier. But having taken his time to get everything in place, he did well to realise his potential and boasts of one of the most well-rounded games capable of fighting back from any scenario. All that happened because he persisted and perfected his trade.Satwik-Chirag weren’t exactly massive prodigies, though the buzz about Satwik’s giant smash, and Chirag’s unreal speed on the front court (even when he played in the back court!), had gained decibels in 2015. Their successes have come steadily in their mid 20s, and happily for India, consistently, keeping the sport afloat when other results dried up.The two Olympic losses have no succour till they get remedied with a medal. But the pursuit of that elusive podium finish has kept them committed to the grind.Story continues below this adDriven by hungerNot winning early improves the game. It adds necessary layers of emotional maturity, and though a whiplash realisation at first, it takes the edge off that pressure to keep winning. For early champions, pedestals are often tightropes, and a frame of comparison that never stops being thrown at them as a standard.On the other hand, look no further than Nehwal, Manu Bhaker, Vinesh Phogat, Mirabai Chanu, Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang and Bajrang at the Olympics for how missed medals made them stronger for the next shy at the Games. Had Sindhu logged in the Worlds gold in 2017 against Nozomi Okuhara, who knows if Basel 2019 would have looked like the imperious 21-7, 21-7 final it was?That missing title, the teasing goal still left to achieve, carries value. It’s perhaps what pushed Sachin Tendulkar and Lionel Messi – certified greats even earlier albeit with asterisks of no World Cup title – into elevating their games to the next level. It keeps the journey interesting for those watching. It keeps those traversing it focused on the goal.