Hyderabad: Sports continue to adapt, fighting to cope with COVID-19 pandemic. As the year of the health crisis, which was declared as International Year of the Nurse by the WHO, came to end, the global community embraces 2021 with high hopes of coming back to normal life from unrivalled new normal.
But the fear of being infected, with a new mutant strain of the virus spreading quickly across the world, will be omnipresent in 2021, as well at least for the first part of the year, until scientists and researchers find a conclusive way of getting over this dangerous time.
Coronavirus, a contagious disease, disrupted normal life. Physical-distancing became the new norm. With lives at stake, the world rushed to lockdown to minimise contact.
There is no industry which got a reprieve from its deadly effect. Everything came to standstill.
Sports in the new year
Sports is one of the worst affected industries, courtesy COVID-19. 2020 is over, but not its rippling effect. However, countries like Germany, Spain, Italy and England showed us the way to keep the virus at distance. Creating biosecure bubbles and putting strict safety and hygiene protocols in place, matches were being held.
But sports which have commercial values only got the nod to go ahead, while top-notch events like the Olympics Games, Euro Cup and T20 World Cup were rescheduled. Many Grand Slam tournaments, Olympic qualifiers, Super Series events, athletics meets were either cancelled or postponed, leaving athletes in a roll.
India was no different. Since March 24, 2020, when the Centre announced nationwide lockdown intending to break the infection chain, people of this country have been struggling to adapt to an eccentric situation.
In October-November, Indians saw high decibel Indian Premier League (IPL) being staged successfully, albeit in the UAE. Ever-criticised BCCI set an example to other sports bodies about how to organise a multi-team event without any hitch.
However, it was not cricket, sports returned to India through football, which is also the first sport to be played amid corona fear in Germany. Indian Super League made multiple biosecure bubbles in Goa to stage the 11-team tournament. The seventh edition of the top flight Indian football began on November 20, and the league's first 11 rounds are set to get over on January 11.
2020 was a year of shocks. Global soccer legend Diego Maradona bade final goodbye, leaving his devotees to cry on the streets. India's most successful limited-overs captain MS Dhoni announced retirement from international cricket. Deaths of India's very own football mavericks PK Banerjee and Chuni Goswami left fans devastated leaving for their heavenly abode. Training of all sports was cancelled. Athletes were either staying at hostels or their home.
Now, as the news of corona vaccines making waves, sports administrators felt empowered to organise sports events with much aplomb. Once the vaccine hit the medical stores, there will be non-stop sports throughout the year across the world. Olympic Games, rescheduled in July-August in Tokyo, will be the biggest of all sports events in 2021.
India at Olympics
This year India have many things to prove to the world. From organising major events to elevating their performance graph in the Olympic Games.
74 athletes, including men's and women's hockey teams, have already secured their place in the Tokyo Games, and more athletes will have chances to board Japan-bound flights once postponed Qualifiers resume. Qualifying events will test Indian athletes' fitness, instinct and skills. Athletes who managed to maintain these key factors would have greater chances to make it to the Games. Long break and lack of competition time will make them rusty. So, overcoming this hurdle qualifying in the Olympics will itself be a matter of pride for the athletes.
Before the COVID-19 caused havoc on the world, Indian sports administrators were expecting to send the largest Indian contingent ever to the Olympics, breaking Rio Olympics' record when Indian Olympic Association sent a strong 118-member contingent only to return with two medals - a silver and a bronze medal.
But in Tokyo, India will expect to demonstrate their best ever show in the Olympic Games, thanks to the overwhelming performance by shooters, boxers, wrestlers and badminton in 2020.
Chances of making history in Tokyo
Indian shooters have booked a record 15 individual quotas boosting the country's chances of winning more than one medal. In 2019-2020, India cruised to the top of medal tally at ISSF World Cup, winning a record 21 gold, six silver and three bronze. In doing so, Indian shooters emerged as the world-beaters. They did better than their Chinese and American counterparts. Hence, if shooters fail to win gold medals that will be surprising, and it will raise a question on their ability to perform at the big stage.
In wrestling, four Indians have qualified for the Olympics till date. Wrestling Federation of India will expect World No. 1 Vinesh Phogat (53kg) to overcome her Rio blues and finally make her coach Mahavir Singh Phogat's dream of winning Olympic medal true. Expectations will also be high on ace wrestler Bajrang Punia.
However, after shooting India's second-biggest medal spinner is expected to be boxing. Since a record nine boxers have qualified for Tokyo, expectations would be high on the pugilists. Legendary Mary Kom (51kg) will vie for gold in her final appearance in the Olympics Games. Among the boys, World No. 1 Amit Panghal will be India's best bet in the 52kg category. But, Boxing Federation of India's (BFI) unwillingness to provide him with a coach amid the pandemic could prove as a disaster in the time to come.
In badminton, BWF World Championships gold medalist PV Sindhu, who is currently in England, where the mutant new COVID-19 variant was found, and trying to travel to Thailand to participate in Thailand Badminton Open, will be India's strongest medal hope in Tokyo.
But Sindhu's absence from professional court since All England Open, held in March 2020, is a big concern. The Rio silver medalist urgently needs to return to the court to get her mojo back before time runs out.
Thailand Open will mark the resumption of the sport since the Denmark Open in October.
While Indian contingent needs to race against the time to prepare themselves for the Olympics, National Sports Federations' (NSF) failure to create biosecure bubbles deprived Tokyo bound Indian athletes a stage to maintain their rhythm. Meanwhile, a legal battle that saw 54 NSFs losing recognition also made athletes worried about their future.
Time to prove
Time to turn to cricket, India's staple sport. After a successful IPL, Indian cricket team finished 2020 with an inspiring year-end win against Australia in the marquee Boxing Day Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. With two more Tests remaining, India will look to emulate their 2018 showing Down Under.
However, coming back home the Indian team will face a litmus test. As world champions England are scheduled to tour India in February for four Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is, BCCI's organising skills will be under the radar. England's visit will be the first biggest cricket event in India since COVID-19 outbreak hit the country.
A severely curtailed Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is the only event that BCCI has decided to organise from January 10, while the future of tournaments like Ranji Trophy still at lurch. Hosting England keeping coronavirus at bay is a must for BCCI as T20 World Cup in October-November will pose them a greater challenge.
Though the big-ticket tournaments are embarking, training for Olympic sports is yet to resume. If this is the situation at the highest level, then it is palpable how the conditions will be at the grassroots level.
Administrative apathy exposed
At this juncture, we can only hope for a better time. There is a high hope that with the arrival of the vaccine the global community will be able to return to the normal life from the neo normal. Until then, sports behind closed doors can only continue amid fear of infection.
While the disruption that COVID-19 caused to the sports world is unbearable, there is an important aspect that this virus has exposed is the fragility of body contact sports to a contagious disease. It led to sports administrators to look for new avenues and innovations, at least at the commercial level, to run the showdown in empty stadiums.
With new ways are being discovered, we can hope that major sports events that were rescheduled would take place welcoming athletes to compete in the months to come.
While Japan, a country whose Olympic history is as old as India's, is leaving no stone unturned to stage the multi-billion-dollar Olympic Games in front of spectators, India has brazenly failed to match their counterparts even in creating an infrastructure for their athletes to prepare for the Games, which is now nearly six months away.
-- By Sudipta Biswas
