Be sensitive: Indian athletes support Naomi
I feel Osaka did the right thing by valuing her mental well-being. VIJENDER SINGH , Indian professional boxer
Every time you walk onto the field, people want you to do well. HARBHAJAN SINGH, Indian cricketer
Covid-19 has shown how important it is to focus on one’s mental health. And many voices have been heard in the last one year, but none so powerful as Naomi Osaka’s, who opted to pull out of the French Open last week rather than participate in post-match press meets. In a statement, she revealed she experiences “huge waves of anxiety” before speaking to the media. Now, the fourtime Grand Slam champion and world number 2, has pulled out of the Berlin WTA 5000 tournament, placing her appearance at Wimbledon, which begins on June 28, in doubt. There is no confirmation as to when the Japanese player will return to the court.
The tennis star has since won support from fans, her corporate sponsors, and sportspersons such as Coco Gauff, Billie Jean King and Serena Williams. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif too tweeted: “It’s high time we acknowledge the issue of mental health in sports. Let’s be sensitive.”
Echoing the sentiment, Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh says one shouldn’t be “punished” for prioritising themselves.
Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh shares, “Every time you walk onto the field, people want you to do well. And if you fail, there are lakhs of opinions about you.”
Indian race walker, Priyanka Goswami, however, feels that athletes at this level are “answerable to the public” and adds, “I speak from my heart during interviews. We are answerable because of the place we are in.”
Yet, she is quick to point that “Osaka knows her struggles best”. She says, “Each person processes stress in their own way and I can’t judge her action.”
On why public figures face such anxiety being the centre of attention, Dr Priyanka Trivedi, a psychologist, says, “The main problem of being a famous person is excessive public and media attention. Celebs are normal people like everyone else and they cannot be perfect at all times.”