India’s para shuttlers eye Tokyo with hope despite pandemic pangs
Excellia School in a township on the outskirts of Lucknow is a restricted area nowadays as the Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian para-badminton players train in a biobubble here. Their national camp at the Uttar Pradesh Badminton Academy campus was suspended due to a spike in Covid-19 cases, forcing them to switch camp.
Thermal scanning, hand sanitisation and steam inhalation for the 20-odd shuttlers and support staff thrice a day is part of the routine. “This is our bio-secure bubble since training at the UP Badminton Academy was suspended. We didn’t want to discontinue our preparations for Tokyo,” the team’s chief coach Gaurav Khanna said on Thursday. “We had a similar system even last year when the pandemic struck and we faced the lockdown.”
Managing funds and at least four cartridges of shuttles needed daily are part of the tasks at the camp. Three flats have been rented in the township for the campers.
“Besides six Tokyo-bound players in the camp, there are others too. A few are locals but as part of the bio-secure bubble, no one is allowed to go home and we all, including our cook, are staying away from people. We don’t want anybody to break the bubble. Everyone’s safety is my top priority,” said Khanna who belongs to the state capital.
“I make sure that every shuttler, including the support staff, take steam twice daily during three different training sessions here. For this, we have bought eight steaming kettles and have fixed them inside the badminton hall,” he said.
“The school is closed due to the spike in corona cases, so there is no disturbance to our training.”
The shuttlers include 2019 Para World championship double gold medallist and world No.1 1 in SL3 category Pramod Bhagat, Palak Kohli, Manoj Sarkar, Sukant Kadam, Nilesh Gaikwad, Abu Hubaida, Prem Kumar Ale, Ammu Mohan, Parul Parmar, Chirag Baretha, Krishna Nagar, Hardik Makkar, Abhijeet Sakhuja, Nehal Gupta, Rahul Kumar Verma and Shashank Kumar.
“Here at this centre, we have all facilities for top class training with four courts, including two Hova courts. Within 15 days, we will have all other modern facilities like sauna bath, Jacuzzi etc, and it’s being done privately,” said Khanna.
“I wish to develop this centre as one of the best in the country for badminton players,” he added.
This isn’t the first time when para-shuttlers chose to “create” their own training centre.
Even before having an officially sanctioned national camp, these shuttlers had been honing their skills at the Uttar Pradesh government-run Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, especially after Khanna became the national chief coach of the team in 2014.
Last month, the Indian para shuttlers won 20 medals at the Dubai Para Badminton International 2021, and took their medals tally to 337, including 101 gold, 100 silver and 136 bronzes.
“Two of our shuttlers are on the brink of qualifying for the Tokyo Games, and if they made it, there would be eight from India in the fray,” said Khanna.
He, however, said that due to the tough travel protocols the Indian para-badminton team is expected not to travel to Spain for an international event. “It’s our last international outing before the Olympics, but due to tough travel protocols, we are unable to travel to Spain as we had plans to leave on Friday. In fact, we are scared about what would happen if we get stuck in Spain as the corona crisis is hovering over the world.”
“Now, we are focused on our preparations for Tokyo Games. With the spike in corona cases, things are tough to handle. At the same time, we have to prepare for the big event,” said Khanna, who also targets success for the Indians at the BWF Para Badminton World Championship in October, Uganda Para Badminton International in November and the Asian Youth Para Games in December in the post-Olympic scenario.