Indian desk tennis star Sharath Kamal says it isn’t the easiest way to put together for Tokyo Games when the nation is in the midst of a lethal COVID-19 pandemic but assured that the gamers won’t be under-prepared in their quest for a first-ever Olympic medal. India’s well being care system is struggling to address an unprecedented second wave of COVID-19, with the nation reporting 3 lakh new circumstances and 2000 deaths on every day foundation in the previous couple of days.
“It just isn’t the way in which we must always put together for Olympics, but we’ve got to discover a method to give attention to our efficiency and work in direction of it. We try to hold ourselves afloat and take a look at to obtain the purpose,” said Sharath during a virtual press-conference arranged by Sports Authority of India (SAI). Gearing up for his fourth Olympics, Sharath said he is “mentally better” as in contrast to final yr when India was hit by COVID-19 for the primary time.
“Last yr we had been scared, afraid of the whole lot, there was solely negativity. I didn’t really feel like taking part in with so many individuals dying. Now we’ve got a job at hand, we’ve got some type of path and purpose to take a look at,” he said “It is not easy to have a clear plan and travelling is also an issue. Earlier I could go for two weeks to China or Korea, it was lot easier. We were thinking of inviting few foreign players but now it is really tough.” India produced present at Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Doha final month with Sharath and Manika turning into the primary Indian pairing to qualify for Tokyo Games by successful the occasion. Sharath and Manika additionally booked their respective singles berth as did G Sathiyan and Sutirtha Mukherjee.
“I don’t assume we’re going to be below ready. In Doha, all of us did very properly. We had stayed in India and had educated with the sources we had,” said the nine-time national champion. “I felt my levels didn’t dip, which means preparation is fine, We can make use of what we have in hand. I don’t think we will have any regrets about preparation,” mentioned the 38-year-old from Chennai.
Talking in regards to the security protocols in the course of the Doha occasion, he mentioned, “We had been examined each third day, we had to keep protocols. There is numerous stuff that is occurring in the pinnacle apart from the sport.” “I started in September after the lockdown, it has been like this since then, we don’t know how to handle it, we still have to do our fitness, everything has to go on and we don’t know how much of this distraction and negativity will affect our performance.” Sharath mentioned it isn’t going to be a “social” Olympics this time in Tokyo with strict health and safety protocols. “It is not going to be festival. Olympics is the largest event across the world, that festivity and celebration, … this time, in a social way, it won’t be the best Olympic Games.” Sharath mentioned he’s aiming excessive this time as his singles rating has been good. The Asian Games bronze in combined doubles has additionally given him the self perception to win an Olympic medal.
“Last 5 years we’ve got been dreaming about it, so now there’s a state of affairs the place successful medal is a actuality,” said Sharath, who alongwith Manika, managed a short five-day training stint in Chennai last week. Sharath had become the highest-ranked Indian paddler when he claimed the 31st spot following his title winning performance at Oman Open.
He said he does not “know how long he would continue” and is simply “hoping to be round for some time”.
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