So, at that point in time, I was feeling very low on confidence. And then they started training back, the Bundesliga was back, all the other leagues were back and just continued to do the job. Because, nobody else (in other sports) stopped so long, they all probably stopped for two or three weeks. I felt like I was behind the rest of the world in terms of Olympic preparation for almost six months. I think, that was really hard, especially since we stopped in March and the lockdown on continued, the stadiums were not open until August. The Olympic qualifiers were just two weeks away at that point in time, and suddenly we had to completely stop there and start all over again later. Because a year ago, last March, I won the Oman Open and it felt that I'm getting there and getting in shape. Excerpts: How's the feeling now after one year of waiting, uncertainty? That was the most difficult part, the waiting and uncertainty. "A positive in all the negatives, yes?" he says. As younger partner, rival and city-mate G Sathiyan followed him shortly, as did women, Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee, the elder statesman of Indian table tennis paused, took a breath and reflected on a strange year and how he eventually made most of it. A year later, on Thursday, Sharath Kamal - ranked 32 in the world - became the first Indian table tennis player to qualify for the rescheduled Olympics in Tokyo. It was a strange time for everyone, for Sharath Kamal, mingled with the Oman Open win, a rich vein of form and the approaching qualifiers, was also the fear of cancellations.
The pandemic was threatening a global shutdown, with doubts swirling over the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics. He was at an age where even water would turn to fat, he had laughed.
NEW DELHI: Around this time a year ago, Achanta Sharath Kamal was good-naturedly bemoaning his advancing years.
0 kommentar(er)
