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KUALA LUMPUR – When the stakes are as high as the Olympic Games, representing your country in competition can be stressful regardless of the depth of your experience.
Now, with more and more uncertainties arising due to the ongoing pandemic ─ from the Games being postponed to a host of new regulations ─ the pressure has reached unprecedented levels.
Sports associations have had to adapt to the New Normal by creating ‘sports bubbles’ within major sports centres, such as the Bukit Jalil Stadium, where athletes and sports personnel are subjected to quarantines to train and prepare for the big day.
If common folks find it a struggle to be quarantined in the comfort of their own homes, imagine the kind of mental and physical toll that these high-performing individuals have had to bear throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO)?
How indeed are our national athletes managing to prepare for a competition as monumental as the Olympics while in a state of quarantine?
The Vibes had the honour of speaking with Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz, to shed some light on this issue.
Datuk Ramlan, who is a sports medicine consultant and working part-time at the National Sports Institute (ISN) after his civil service retirement, acknowledges first and foremost that our athletes have had to make sacrifices in these tough times and that their emotional state is of “paramount importance”.
“It’s possible for athletes to spend time with their family outside of the bubble if they are willing to lose a few weeks of precious training time to undergo the tests and isolation upon their return.”
This being said, athletes are faced with a difficult dilemma when it comes to juggling the disparity between their personal and professional lives. Since they have to choose one over the other, a majority of our athletes sacrifice time with family and friends outside of the bubble to focus on their training and preparation.
“We have been training since January 2; you can only imagine how long and frustrating that feels. The last time I visited my family in Kuching was just before we started quarantine training on June 9,” expressed national diver, Pandelela Rinong, on her current situation.
Understandably so, and according to Datuk Ramlan, psychological strategy is especially crucial right now.
As athletes are physically, psychologically, and physiologically challenged, it is critical for coaches and the training team to “device new ways to conduct their training sessions,” to overcome the monotony of daily training and prevent our athletes from developing feelings of boredom.
Apart from distracting athletes from the time they spend undergoing these training regimes on a daily basis, creative and fun training programmes can help reduce their mental stress and fatigue.
“Athletes cannot be training all the time and creativity needs to be incorporated with the introduction of virtual competitions or mock competitions,” exclaims Datuk Ramlan.
This pandemic has not only clearly pushed the athletes’ mental and emotional faculties to the brink, it has had the same effect on the coaching team, who have to constantly conjure up training programmes that are both creative and effective.
Amidst all of this, Datuk Ramlan puts on record that surrounding yourself with the appropriate company is a key factor in getting through these trying times; as he says it, “misery loves company”.
“People feel better if they weren’t suffering alone. Before the bubble, athletes were training on their own. Comparatively, the intensity and challenge aren’t the same as when you train together with other athletes.
“Now that they all can come and live together, there is enormous progress. The athletes are able to bounce off each other and ensure that they are at their optimal best.”
He also added that “there should be a session for people to talk through their troubles and exchange notes, to understand what the others are going through and not feel like they’re in over their heads.”
This is exactly where Rinong finds solace.
“I find comfort in friends that have stuck with me, at the centre and online.”
The Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (ASUM) also expressed their ongoing efforts in taking care of their athletes, such as Pandelela Rinong.
Secretary-General, Mae Chen, commented that although ASUM staff can’t all be there to support their athletes physically, they can all be approached for anything as their office is always open.
“Although they are all well looked after in MSN, we want the athletes to know that they are not alone and that we share their stress. I do check on them often and they know that I’m always available.”
Throughout these hard times, it is undeniable that our national athletes have found themselves deep in the trenches but each of them is doing the nation proud by valiantly pushing through so that when the times comes, they can bring glory to us all. ─ The Vibes, 26 March, 2021
