Why the mental health of athletes should be valued | Economic Times

"I have snapped at a journalist,” says Viswanathan Anand. The chess grandmaster recalls a 2013 press conference where the questions were getting progressively difficult. A Norwegian journalist pushed him about his comeback in a match Anand was trailing. “I said, ‘I am sorry you don’t understand English.’ He was very happy because this was exactly the reaction he wanted — to show that I was seething inside. That is exactly what he got. Afterwards, I felt I had let myself down,” says Anand. Sportspersons have always had a complex relationship with the media, with the latter often being accused of “kicking people when they’re down”, as tennis player Naomi Osaka recently said, when she pulled out of the French Open to focus on her mental health. The 23-year-old World No. 2 was fined $15,000 for skipping the news conference after her first-round victory at Roland Garros. Organisers and officials said postmatch press sit-downs were part of the package. How has the unique serve and volley between journalists and sportspersons — a non-sport sport, a postmatch game — played out for Indian players? ‘TOUGH WHEN YOU LOSE’ “By and large, sports journalists are understanding. There are always a few who lack basic sports experience or human sensitivity,” says billiards and snooker champ Pankaj Advani. “Journalists need to ask questions in a way that’s respectful of the athlete’s emotions and state of mind.” Advani looks at press conferences as part of the job, and the media, like fans and federations, as something he can’t control. “The only thing that is in our control is our performance,” he says, wishing though that post-match press conferences were a “more fun, educative exercise than a gruelling, attacking, controversial one”. Tennis player Rohan Bopanna says he finds it difficult to prepare for live press conferences because of unpredictable questions. “I go with the flow and speak my mind. [But] when you are representing your country for a long time, you know a lot of the journalists. There is mutual respect,” he says.83476795Advani adds that humour can be the bridge between hard questions and frayed emotions. “I love the way [Novak] Djokovic and [Roger] Federer change the tone of serious conversations by adding humour,” he says. Bajrang Punia, wrestler and World No. 1 in the 65 kg men’s category, says, “I ask for tentative questions. It reduces my stress before an actual interview. I am also more comfortable speaking in Hindi; it brings out my natural responses.” ATHLETES COME FIRST Sports marketing managers say that the mental health of their athletes is the priority, especially in the midst of a pandemic. Mustafa Ghouse, CEO of JSW Sports and a former pro tennis player, points out some factors contributing to stress. “The uncertainty around competitions, the feeling of losing the best years of peak performance and sitting at home because of the pandemic while peers return to training, can be frustrating,” he says. Namrata Parekh, cofounder of sport marketing agency Meraki Sport & Entertainment, shares an instance of a player who was mentally and physically drained after her performance in the Asian Games and wanted to skip the press interactions. “Some of the press understood, some complained, and a few threatened the manager with repercussions because of the player’s ‘attitude’. Calls were made to the national federation to put pressure on the athlete. Thankfully, the federation did not push her. Please note, she didn’t lose. She had won,” says Parekh. Neha Mathur Rastogi, CEO, WordsWork Communications Consulting, says there’s also a growing empathy among the media and brands on what it takes to be an athlete, adding, “Once a rarely any conflict.” SELF-IMAGE VS SELF-ESTEEM Writer Deepak Chopra says a match outcome can have a deep impact on the mood of an athlete or any person in the limelight. “Osaka was right in taking the action that she did. Being in the spotlight with her mental distress would have only aggravated it further,” he says. “Today’s media maximises profit through melodrama. Instead of participating in solutions they are, in fact, guilty of creating mental anguish by focusing only on the outcome rather than on the grace and process in both the athletic and entertainment fields.” Life coach Anand Chulani, who has worked with sportspersons like Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, says that every athlete he has worked with has had some version of anxiety. “We need to look at athletes with some compassion and see them for who they are, not some fantasised version of them,” he shares. While Chulani calls Osaka’s decision to pull out of the games “courageous”, Neerja Birla, founder of mental healthcare foundation MPower, says the incident has been an eye-opener. It’s time to value the mental health of athletes far more than contractual media obligations and commercial commitments, she says. Dr Sahir Jamati, head of the Psychology Department at Mumbai’s Masina Hospital, also says it’s important to identify mental fatigue. “Few may not even have a particular diagnosis, but have symptoms of poor mental health like overwhelming aggression or frustration,” he says. Needless to say, each sport star employs a unique approach in interacting with the media. For badminton champ Kidambi Srikanth, it is answering questions with honesty. “There have been times when I am asked questions for which I am yet to find answers for. The important learning is to stay calm and composed. They are doing their job and I need to know how to do mine.”