Prominence of Mental Health of Indian Athletes at The Paris Olympics 2024

In India, when an athlete bags a medal at a prestigious platform like the Olympics, the hearts of the citizens swell with pride and vigour. But what all the athletes go through if they miss this opportunity and come back home disheartened, without earning the medal, the laurels, the respect, the dream? The pressure is immense, and it is their mental health that starts taking a toll on them.

Let us shed some light on how mental health is extremely important in influencing the performance of Indian athletes at The Paris Olympics 2024:

Being Resilient

Vinesh Phogat was all set to enter Olympics 2024 women’s wrestling for the final match in 50 kgs category but was disqualified based on being overweight by just 100 grams as per the permissible limit.

Vinesh, the Indian Wrestler, must be devastated but the player has washed off her worries by saying “it’s part of the game”. It takes a lot of determination and resilience to be so close to a historic win but suddenly not being able to perform. The girl needs to be applauded for her strong mental capabilities and right attitude to take the learnings positively.

Taking Responsibility

Lakshya Sen was a big hope for all Indians in this year’s Paris Olympics but sadly we could not gain any win from this shuttler. Prakash Padukone, the iconic badminton player of India, expressed his disappointment by Sen’s performance and stated how the players must start taking responsibility for their mediocre performance despite being provided with all the necessary resources and environment. He also mentioned how Indian athletes must be conditioned to cope with high pressure and learn from their mistakes.

Staying Focused

Haryana (in India) is a place well known for producing wrestlers and boxers, but Manu Bhasker is unique. She has bagged a bronze medal for India at the Paris Olympics this year as the first woman shooter (10m air pistol). She also has a story from Tokyo Olympics 2020 where she was denied a shot due to pistol’s malfunction in the same category.

Her will power and conviction brought her motherland so much gratification and thus, she has also been chosen as India’s flagbearer at the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024.

Providing Right Mental Aid

It is the first time that a psychiatrist and sports psychologist have accompanied the Indian athletics contingent to the Paris Olympics 2024. Dr. Sameer Parikh, who has been included as a psychiatrist in the Indian Olympic Association’s medical team, has expressed that, “we seem to understand that the mental wellness of an athlete is extremely important too”.

Digital Transformation

Mindfulness

Neeraj Chopra qualifies for Paris Olympics Javelin Final”. The golden boy of India has smacked all his opponents, yet another time and it brings so much joy to watch him win. His agility, his self-belief, his balance, and his sheer love for the game clearly is seen in all his matches. It is this kind of mental wellbeing that a player must have to be able to put forth favourable results.

Artificial Intelligence has made life simpler, and it can be penetrated in enhancing the mental health of our players too. For example, AI can be used to provide personalized mental routines as per their specific needs. Based on their physiological and psychological assessments, they can be catered to several exercises and strategies to help them cope with any mental issues.

AI is very efficient in detecting any kind of distinct or unfavourable behaviour. Thus, the AI algorithms can be used to keep a qualitative track of an athlete’s daily patterns and help them right away if they seem to be losing the grip or simply needing an additional mental support.

There are also AI driven applications that have been consistently working on providing interactive sessions and trainings to athletes to uplift their morale and help them deal with their stress issues.

Artificial Intelligence when effectively used can help the players bridge the gap between their mental wellbeing and help in increasing their productivity. AI is a powerful tool that can also become a medium for the coaches to monitor the patterns and mental states of the players and thereby ascertain their gaming strategies accordingly.

Tags :

Artificial Intelligence,Mental Health,Olympics,Paris Olympics 2024

Social Share :

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *