Tokyo playing on Olympian minds
Had the contagious Covid not spread its vicious web around the world so thick and fast, P. V. Sindhu would be smashing shuttles to uproarious applause, Rajani Etimarpu would be right in the middle of battle, literally dressed as a warrior fighting for medals of a different kind and Sania Mirza would be drilling forehand winners to the delight of rackety supporters at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo right now.
Well, the virus has won the first round against the world, forcing postponement of the Olympics that were to be held in Japan from July 23 to August 8 this year. The sporting community has in a way conceded, and made the wise decision to live to fight another day... next year to be precise.
Tokyo is surely playing on the minds of Olympians though. “If not for this virus, we would have been in the middle of Olympics now,” badminton world champion P. V. Sindhu broods.
“Nobody expected this. We had worked hard and were prepared to go out there and do our best,” rues Rajani, goalkeeper of the Indian women’s hockey team, before adding “But sportspersons are trained mentally to move on and look ahead to the future challenges and that’s what we are doing now, preparing to come back stronger next year.”
Multiple Grand Slam winner Sania has accepted things as they are and is not “gonna sit and dwell on it.”
“There’s nothing in our control... we just have to work around it. Hopefully, this will end soon and we all will come back to a certain new normal at least. One year is a really long time for an athlete... it can ruin a lot of careers.
Hopefully we will still be fit enough and young enough to play the Olympics next year,” the
33-year-old adds. They are upset alright but nobody’s complaining though.
“When they announced the postponement I was disturbed but then it was the best decision in the interest of everyone. I took it in a positive way and told myself to work harder for another year to be prepared for the big event. It’s an everyday process where you give your 100 per cent all the time,” Sindhu says.
She knows it’s a Hobson’s choice. “Right now, we haven’t even started playing and we don’t know what the situation is going to be in the next few months. I guess the social distancing, wearing of masks and sanitising will continue for a while even after this virus is gone. I think we need to understand that the situation is very bad all around the world and realise that we are dealing with a deadly virus,” the
25-year-old says. Amidst the gloom, Sindhu also sees the bright side. “The positive to take out of this home confinement is that I am able to spend time with my parents and nephew. I am also learning painting and cooking, it’s kind of nice and I enjoy that. I’ve never had such a big break,” she bursts out laughing.
Another badminton ace Sai Praneeth plays a similar line. “If everything was okay, we would have been playing at the sporting world’s biggest stage. Now we have to wait for one more year, which is a long time, for we don’t know what might happen during that period. It’s definitely not good but the situation is not in our hands. We just need to be positive going forward and hope for the best. It is a setback mentally because we give it our all to prepare for such big events,” says the 27-yearold who is comfortably placed in the qualification race at No.13 in men’s singles where the top 16 are assured of an automatic place.
Dashing doubles player Rankireddy Satwiksairaj was full of beans when the can of Corona worms spilled over. At No.10, Satwik and his partner Chirag Shetty are poised to make the main draw. “It would have been my first Olympics,” the 19-year-old sulks.
“To win a medal at the Olympics is a dream for any sportsperson. I know of many big players who had planned to bow out after the 2020 Games. Alas, they will have to drag on for another year, which is not easy,” Satwik says, encapsulating the idiom so near, yet so far.