There are many factors that have a say in an athlete's life. Of course all the hard work, perseverance and such govern a large part of the success but then there are the intangibles. Across the board stories of 'would have, could have, should have' creep into the narrative of sportspersons lives. Injuries, wrong place, wrong position and so on. But perhaps the biggest of them all is timing.
And that was probably never more in play than after the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics. As the news filtered down that it was postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there are many who are coming to terms with the consequences. For some it's turned out for the better while for others the road just got harder.
Neeraj Chopra is among the former. The junior world record holder in javelin throw had endured an injury-ravaged few months. The extra year is music to his ears.
"The training has been going on for a while but not competing was difficult," said the Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medallist. "I had prepared well. But now that there is another year, I have a chance of doing even better."
At 22 years of age, Chopra has age on his side but racket sports veterans Achanta Sharath Kamal and Leander Paes are racing against time.
Paes had started the season as the final one of his career, dubbing it his 'one last roar' tour. An eighth Olympic appearance featured heavily in his plans. Now the 46-year-old is left rethinking his decision.
For Kamal too it is a dramatic change. The 37-year-old, the highest ranked men's table tennis player in the country at 31, now has a lot of work ahead of him.
"It takes longer than it used to, over two months, for me to start peaking," Kamal pointed out. "We don't know the qualification if the rankings are of 2019, 2020 or 2021. If its 2021 then I will have to be on Tour as much as possible and that's going to be very hard."
However, even this cloud is not without its silver lining.
"I wanted to wait and see if I can go for 2022 Birmingham (CWG) and Asian games but now there is only 9-10 months between Olympics and CWG. I will surely go," he said.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are a few for whom this extra year has cracked open the door of hope.
"This postponement I feel is god's blessing for me," stressed wrestler Narsingh Yadav. Four year ago, Narsingh was a big medal hope for the country. After a failed dope test under controversial circumstances, he was slapped with a four year ban. It would have kept him out of Tokyo.
"I've been working throughout the four years. The whole country knows I was framed. Now there is a chance. I will do all I can," he said.
Gymnast Dipa Karmakar is yet another for whom the chances have brightened although it still remains her personal Everest. Dipa had vaulted her way into Indian consciousness when she narrowly missed out on a podium in Rio. A knee injury robbed her of almost all of 2019, there were two more qualification events. But the pandemic has given the gymnast time to recover.
"Chances are there for her, more than what it would have been, but it will be very difficult. The qualifying competitions remaining, she will have to do very well. So we will try," said her coach Bishweshwar Nandi.
For some, the stars have aligned while a few others are left battling constellations.
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