For me it was a normality having a father who was a world champion. I grew up with that, so it was never extra pressure. And I've never felt the need to emerge from his shadow.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I had had a father whose shoes I could never fill, against whom I would never measure up; yet, I felt no pressure do so.
I think some of the pressure comes from the expectations of other people. Like if your father played baseball, they expect you to be the big lifesaver or something when you play a sport.
My childhood was defined by my father's absence. His presence looms so large. Up until the age of 18, he was a superstar for me.
As a kid, I used to see how Sachin Tendulkar used to win matches under pressure for India in Sharjah or other places. So I was always keen to repeat the same in similar situations. I don't take pressure on myself when I am in the middle. I love pressure, and I always believe that pressure makes you more focused.
Until late in life, I was never quite good enough for my father, and I suppose that is part of what drives me even now, well after his death in 1992.
My father was never around. But I glorified my father, and I was always daddy's little girl. He was my first soccer coach.
There was a great complexity to my father. He was a devoted family man. But, in the same breath, he simply was not suited to an anchored life. He should have been somebody who had a backpack, an old map, a bit of change in his pocket and that was it - roaming the world.
Since my father was a superstar, without me knowing it, I became a child star, as my father's entire fan base liked me, and I can't thank my father enough for this, as it was so effortless.
The fact I had my father as an adversary was such a powerful tool to work with. I subconsciously fought him to the degree that I drove me to be one of the most successful musician in the world.
It is a burden because I get asked about my father all the time. I just need to accept that he was a champion before me.