After the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the new schedule for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Indian table tennis player Sharath Kamal said that he was hoping the event to take place a 'little bit' earlier.
IOC on Monday announced that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed due to coronavirus, will commence from July 23 next year.
"I was hoping that the dates would have been a little bit earlier because the longer it gets, the anxiety grows up. I was waiting for four years. I was hoping for April or May, but it is July. Now I know when to start my preparation. There is still a lot of information awaited about qualification and all," Kamal told ANI.
Earlier, the Games were slated to begin from July 24. However, the coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of the event. Kamal said that he will have to start all over again and be mentally strong.
"Practice is not getting affected, because we were prepared to go into the Olympics in July this year. Unfortunately, it is has been postponed by one year now. So the process has to be started again. We will have to start all over again, have to be mentally strong now. People will keep on saying that it would be my last Olympics. I want to prepare as if this would be my last Olympics," he said.
As the country in under 21-day nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19, Kamal said he is just doing basic conditioning and spending time with his kids.
"There is not much difference between your life and my life now. Everybody is doing the same thing probably. There is not much of fitness happening, just basic conditioning. I have two kids, nine years and three years old. So I am getting to spend time with them. There have been many celebrities, who have given messages, so nothing new to be said. We have to accept whatever is happening. We cannot control the situation. We have to stay home and do our bit," Kamal said.