COVID-19: Serb Matic yearns to go back home

Veselin Matic scheduled time away from the Indian senior men’s basketball national camp in Bengaluru to visit his family in Belgrade this summer. Shy of booking tickets, the head coach had it all planned out.

Three months on, he’s still wandering the empty streets of Bengaluru with a growing hope that he will be allowed to travel to Serbia later this month. After the Indian government announced a lockdown due to the pandemic, Matic has spent most of his time ‘cooped up’ in an accommodation provided by the Basketball Federation of India.

“It’s very difficult to stay away from family at a time like this,” the coach told DH. "The situation back home isn’t too bad but it isn’t great either. People are dying and my family is worried. I hope to go back as soon as the third lockdown is lifted and I think after May 18, I can do that. There’s only so much you can offer in terms of reassurance over video calls,” he adds.

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While seminars and online training programmes have kept him occupied, Matic, who helped Iran to a bronze medal in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, says chief among things helping him through this phase is the long walks in the city.

“I walk close to 20 kms a day. It was especially weird initially because there was no one on the streets. I used the maps and I kept walking. I then realised what a special city this is,” he says.

"People talk about Bangalore of the old and I can say I got to experience it. It’s stunning. But also sad. I felt alone. I couldn’t help but think about my family back home and how helpless they must also be.”

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COVID-19 has affected over ten thousand people in Serbia, a nation with a population of over 70 lakhs, including over 200 deaths since the first week of March.

Asked if social-distancing norms would force a hand in changing the rules of the game in the future, Matic shot down the possibility. “How can we change the game? There’s nothing we can do. Sweat will be there. Close contact will happen. If we test the players, referees and coaches and support staff then that area should be safe,” he explained.

He insisted, however, that nothing could be done about crowds. “We cannot control crowds. We can’t possibly test everybody at the venue. In that sense, it’s going to be a big blow to the sport because we can’t have crowds for a while. And unlike most sports, we barely get televised. That’s going to be tough on my athletes."