Enjoying training again with childhood coach
With all sporting events suspended, and most training centres and national camps shut, what are athletes doing with their forced leisure time? Everyday a top athlete will talk about her or his experience of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. This is Amit Panghal, the silver medallist from the 2019 World Championships who sealed his Tokyo Olympics berth by reaching the semi-finals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers earlier this month. in the morning and evening, all of it being indoor. I stretch for 30 minutes, jog and warm up, then do pads, punching bag and finally abdominal exercises and relaxation.
There is also a gymnasium hall in the university where I do my weights training. I get instructions regarding how may sets and reps I have to do. I make a video of it and send it back to our chief coach. I am not sparring, which, in any case, is not needed now. I have just come back from training and competition, so this is more of a transitional period.
We were anyway scheduled to take a break after the Olympic qualifiers, and it might get extended now with this pandemic. There was no competition scheduled between the qualifiers and the Olympics, but we would have gone for training in the US and Italy, which is not happening now.
Yes, it will be huge challenge for every athlete to prepare for the Olympics (postponed to next year). But, I am fully motivated. Winning an Olympic quota is big and the goal is to win a medal for the country.
If the Olympics do not happen, then dreams will be crushed but at the moment I am not thinking about it. I am doing what I can control.
The best part about staying at home is getting to eat my mother’s food. But I am maintaining good eating habits as well as my sleep pattern.
As told to Avishek Roy
WE WERE ANYWAY SCHEDULED TO TAKE A BREAK AFTER THE OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS, AND IT MIGHT GET EXTENDED NOW WITH THIS PANDEMIC.