“In sports, it is easier to win a championship than to remain a champion in subsequent seasons. And the same is true in life. Once you reach the top, it is more difficult to stay on top. Because, when you become the best in sports, and in life, everyone expects more from you and they want to take you down.”
1999
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So if you're taking up the sport, take it up seriously. Have fun, enjoy it, otherwise you won't do well, but when you do get those opportunities, ensure that you leave a mark.
"Leadership, at times, is a lonely place: Kumar Sangakkara" http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/78506/leadership-at-times-is-a-lonely-place-kumar-sangakkara-former-sri-lanka-cricket-team-captain (Interview; March 9, 2016)

“How you climb a mountain is more important than reaching the top.”
Source: Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman

“After winning MMA world championship, I will be retired to professional sports.”
Source: One of the factors of my success has been and is away from the margins of sports. After winning MMA world championship, I will be retired to professional sports. https://www.borna.news/fa/tiny/news-1256573 BORNA News, (November 4, 2021)

Foreword (dated 15 May 1950) to The Grasses & Pastures of South Africa, D. Meredith (ed.), 1954