Safety first is the watchword

Parents seek to allay fears of health risks

Getting it right: Maintaining social distancing will be a major issue facing coaches and players.

Safety first is the watchword now that the BWF has announced the schedule of major events from August.

Chief National badminton coach P. Gopi Chand insists that all safety measures will be implemented. “We will not be complacent, for health is of paramount importance. Obviously, no one wants to be caught wrong-footed," he said.

But, quite a few parents seem to be haunted by the fear factor in the changed scenario.

“I want to be doubly sure about the measures in place before resuming training,” says P.V. Sindhu’s father Ramana.

Olympic hopefuls should have training sessions separate from othe Indian campers, he suggests. “That way, a lot of management issues can be sorted out,” says Ramana.

The physio being sanitised every time he attends to a different player, coaches maintaining social distancing, hygienic maintenance of props used for training and rest are some of the logistical concerns he points out.

It remains to be seen how much time a player would need to peak with this changed training schedule, Ramana adds.

Krishna Reddy, father of doubles international N. Sikki Reddy, feels serious thought should be given to having doubles sessions separately to avoid over-crowding at training venues.

"It will be a big challenge for players in the changing context of training," he says.