New Delhi, May 10 -- As some of India's brightest athletes take to the playing field, it's not just training, practice, and preparation that guide them alone, but also the quiet rituals followed by their moms back home. From giving up their favourite fruit to uninterrupted prayers and match-day habits, here's how moms of these sporting stars rally behind their kids on match days.

A mom's 'Cheeku' sacrifice

Long before Vidit Gujrathi became one of India's biggest chess stars, he had narrowly missed achieving his GM norm 13 times as a teenager. It was then, that his mother Dr. Nikita Gujrathi quietly made a promise to herself. "I love the fruit cheeku. I decided I won't eat a cheeku till he becomes a GM. For two years I did not eat one," ...