A sport connects people in deep and personal ways. Just like me, for many athletes, sports is their identity. The world of sports, and the world at large, is going through unprecedented times. & mental health is often left out of the conversation when it comes to health and fitness in general or for even competitive sports. The COVID-19 crisis has side-lined millions of athletes, from professionals to high school students to weekend warriors.
Here’s Happy me, doing what I love to do the most. I was preparing for my upcoming Selection Trials for Team India. But even the trials got postponed as the cases of omicron are increasing rapidly in the country. Everything was planned. I was very excited to go and to perform, to get back to that competitive environment. One day before leaving for trials we got to know that they have been postponed. All the excitement, planning even the training felt like it’s was of no use. Now I don’t know what to do! Just wait till the next competitions? But no one knows when that will happen. Of course, we’ll have to wait but again for how long? Just waiting for all this to get over feels like I’m stuck here and it’s already exhausting and frustrating. Because, years are passing by, just staying at home or only practicing for months and not getting to play any competitions will not help me grow as a competitive shooter. How am I going to achieve my dreams if my important years of life are going in this pandemic!
It’s The Time. Time doesn’t stop for anyone. We all have been waiting for this lockdown to get over since last 2 years. Will this year also be the same? I guess we’ll find out that eventually. It is the uncertainty of not knowing when all this will be over. Till then, it’s important to focus on the things which are within your control. It is important to be aware of the potential negative impact that a crisis can have on our mental and physical health, often because of a breakdown in self-care. Like taking care of your physical health, everyone needs to focus and to recognize their mental struggles and take care of them appropriately.
I think, mental health as a topic is still shoved into the corners of our collective social consciousness. We talk about it more, but still not enough. And not in the ways that I think would benefit the most people. If you’re also going through some though time, I would suggest you should first, talk to someone. Someone you trust, someone you’re comfortable sharing your thoughts with. It can be anyone, your mom, friend, teacher, coach, physiatrists etc. Their advice might help you, might not help you but I’m sure just letting your thoughts out, speaking about it, recognizing them, will be helpful in a lot way. In my case, I did talk with my coach and her advice is really helping me. Have faith things can get better, and they get better when you put in the work.
It’s normal to feel anxious, depressed, even defeated. It’s also okay to mourn the loss in your sport. But it’s important not to give up. Keep training. Sports will be back, stronger For now, be creative, adapt, and reach out for help if you need it.
SHOOTER PRANALI SURYAWANSHI
2 gold medals in 62nd National School Games. (Open sight, U-19, (2016))
3 Gold medals in 5th West Zone Shooting Championship (Peep sight, 2017)
1 silver & 1 bronze in 27th All India G.V. Mavlankar Shooting Championship (Peep sight, 2017)
1 gold & 1 bronze medal in 23rd Captain Ezekiel Shooting Championship (.22 rifle, 2019)
1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze medal in 7th West Zone Shooting Championship (.22 rifle, 2019)
1 bronze medal in 29th All India G.V. Mavlankar Shooting Championship (.22 rifle, 2019)
1 Silver & 1 bronze medal in 63rd National Shooting Championship Competitions (.22 rifle, Junior women team, 2019)
Steam Scholarship from ABTP from September 2020.
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