Invisible Enemy Leave Athletes in Unfamiliar Olympic Arena
The team, which comprises 10 players, including Ahsan’s doubles partner Hendra Setiawan, the coaches and supporting officials, had been in Kumamoto for quarantine before moving to Tokyo on Monday (19/7).
By
Kompas Team
·5 minutes read
HUMAS PP PBSI
The Indonesian badminton team left for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Thursday (8/7/2021).
The Red and White contingent is facing an invisible opponent at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as COVID-19 makes an “unprecedented appearance” in the global biggest multisporting event.
It will certainly call for an unusually extra level of concentration from the athletes, as not only do they shoulder the responsibility to fight for the nation, they are also at the Olympics with their families at home under a worrying situation due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Chayra, 7, hugged the legs of her father, men\'s doubles player Mohammad Ahsan, on the day the national badminton team was leaving for Kumamoto, Japan, (8/7/2021). The eldest of three siblings seemed did not want her babah, as the children call their father, to go.
“During the ongoing pandemic, Chayra even wailed against me playing. She said it was dangerous because of COVID. I had to make her understand that I still had to work and [promised] I would always take care,” Ahsan said about the last meeting with his family two weeks ago.
The team, which comprises 10 players, including Ahsan’s doubles partner Hendra Setiawan, the coaches and supporting officials, had been in Kumamoto for quarantine before moving to Tokyo on Monday (19/7).
“Feeling worried was inevitable as we left during the pandemic. I was worried about my family. So, were they about me. Right now, I\'m becoming more worried because the situation in Indonesia is getting worse than when I went to the All England and Thailand. I try to maintain my health and always pray,” said the 34-year-old player.
Like Ahsan, Hendra has three children. The day before leaving for Kumamoto, after practice, he took the twins Richard and Richelle, 7, and Russell, 4, for a ride.
“We just drove around. We didn\'t get out of the car because the situation was unfavorable,” Hendra said, adding that it would have been unbearable to keep the children locked up at home.
He knew how important the family’s support was in the ongoing situation.
"My family always prays that I can keep my health, from the time I depart to my arrival back home," he said.
HUMAS PP PBSI
Senior men\'s doubles Hendra Setiawan (left) and Mohammad Ahsan underwent the last training session at the Cipayung National Training Center, Jakarta, on Wednesday (7/7/2021).
Men\'s singles hopeful Jonatan Christie also expressed his apprehension about competing in the Olympics in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We feel tense because we never know what will happen in a condition like this. Take the All England, for example. We were there, but failed to play. It caused our mentality to drop," he said.
Their families’ support and prayers are encouragement for the athletes while they are in Tokyo, as Rio Waida acknowledged. The national surfing team member said his mother, Kaoru Waida, had sent him a short message saying he should trust himself and enjoy the competition.
They said that they would gather in compliance with health protocols.
At home, the family, relatives and friends of sprinter Lalu Muhammad Zohri in Pemenang village, North Lombok, planned to hold a supplication gathering for the athlete’s success. They said that they would gather in compliance with health protocols.
Mentality shapeup
Long before the contingent’s departure to Tokyo, the coaches had tougher time in preparing the athletes, having to take into account the possibility of the athletes’ enduring psychological drawbacks as the pandemic had caused the delay or cancellation of several competitions.
Eni Nuraini, the sprint head coach of the All-Indonesia Athletics Association (PASI), said on Tuesday (6/7) that it had been a mounting challenge to manage athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said athletes should not be overworked in training for fear of causing their immune system to drop.
In order to prevent boredom among the athletes because they only practiced without competing abroad, PASI held a sparring event once a month featuring the national runners in the Olympics training camp against Jakarta runners.
The Indonesian Shooting Association (Perbakin), as a commission for training and education in the target shooting division, Perbakin head Glenn C Apfel said that organized sessions of fishing and hunting also moved from Jakarta to Bandung, West Java, to address the athletes’ possible decline in playing spirit.
Shooter Vidya Rafika Rahmatan Toyyiba said practicing without getting the chance to show off in a competition gave the athletes a sense of desperation about gauging their personal progress against competitors.
AP PHOTO/HIRO KOMAE
A Tokyo 2020 staff member stands by to help direct team members from other countries for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games as they arrive at Haneda international airport in Tokyo on Sunday, July 18, 2021.
To overcome the destress, Vidya liked to play the online game PlayerUnknown\'s Battlegrounds.
"When feeling bored, I will usually take selfies and post them on Instagram," she said.
The athletes and coaches have found it a huge task to not only challenge their foes in the playing arena at the backdrop of limited resources for their workout, but also to deal with anxiety over the invisible enemy at the Olympics and at home. (IYA/DRI/ZAK/COK)
