Sessions with sports psychologist has helped: Chirag Shetty

The Tokyo-bound badminton doubles specialists says it is always good to hear different kind of perspective which usually they don’t talk with coaches.

Hyderabad: Given the fact that Covid-19 pandemic has put a different kind of pressure on the Tokyo-bound Olympians, the Sports Authority of India and TOPS came out with an important decision to help these athletes in this volatile situation. These athletes can seek the help of the sports psychologists, who can guide and motivate them.

Taking this opportunity, doubles specialist Chirag Shetty has already had six sessions in the last three weeks with Divya Jain, who is head of Psychological Services for the Department of Health in Fortis Memorial Research in New Delhi.

The 23-year-old Shetty, who with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy qualified in the badminton men’s doubles for the July 23 Tokyo Olympics, acknowledged that he found it pretty useful in his six sessions that he had with the sports psychologist. “So far it has been good in the six sessions. I discussed with her my game on the court and what goes in my mind. It is always good to hear different kinds of perspectives which usually we don’t talk with coaches. Discussing with a sports psychologist, who knows how the brain works, is beneficial to any sportsperson. I’m looking forward to couple of more sessions with her,’’ said Shetty.

Shetty said the training sessions at the Sports Authority of Telangana State Indoor Stadium and at the SAI-Gopichand Academy is going on well. “With Olympics a few weeks away, the training has been intensified. We are focused on the training,’’ he said.

Dutch Olympian Mathias Boe is in charge of the doubles team while Pullela Gopichand is overall in charge of the camp.

Meanwhile, Divya, who said she would not share any specific related questions on her sessions with Shetty, said this Olympics is very tough on the players because of the situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic. “It is different from the other Olympics because of the restrictions. It is important for the players to mentally prepare for separate quarantine, isolation etc. They should be prepared to keep themselves engaged and focused on the games instead of worrying about pandemic related issues. They should not be caught off guard. They should be ready for all types of restrictions imposed by the organisers,’’ she said.

According to Divya, there is always a pressure for any sportspersons for any big event like the Olympics or Worlds or Asian Games. “There are strategies for coping with that pressure. It is better to stick to their routine level of training and get into the zone so that they cannot be distracted or overwhelmed. They should control their own preparations rather than think of make-or-break moments.’’

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