HYDERABAD: Summer’s almost here and it’s officially sports season. Hyderabadis are all excited about some major tournaments -- there’s the ongoing Prime Volleyball League and IPL is coming up in a month’s time. Now, amid all the excitement, not everything is fun and games. One thing that’s common among all these tournaments is the bio-secure bubble that sportspersons are confined to, to keep Covid at bay.
Simply put, a bio-secure bubble is a hosting arrangement for sporting events amid the Covid-19 pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus. The protocols must be strictly followed by the teams and their staff. But this shutting off from the outside world can affect the players’ minds negatively, if left unaddressed.
Badminton champion Parupalli Kashyap talks about the downside of adhering to a bio bubble. “Initially, it was a bit of a hassle to adjust to the bio bubble, but with having been used to it for two years, it, sort of, has become the norm now. Badminton tournaments don’t last for months — all we did earlier was practise, head to our rooms, go check out a mall, eat, play and return. However, a bigger problem now has been the worry of cost. Pre-pandemic, I had the freedom to choose my own accommodation, which would be an apartment that would cost me 30 euros a night. Today, I have no choice but to be put up at the official five-star hotel that costs around 250 euros a night,” he says.
Like everyone else, Kashyap, too, has to fund himself. So, room service is a luxury. “For my most recent tournament in Europe, I placed an order from an eatery nearby and got food delivered to my room.” Kashyap mentions that while his entire Europe trip before the pandemic cost him about Rs 2 lakh, his recent one cost him `7.5 lakh! But he says he understands the nature of the pandemic and hopes things will go back to being normal soon. “It is a necessity we can’t shy away from.”
The Prime Volleyball League is going on in full swing in the city, amid strict Covid protocols inside the quarantine bubble. Vipul Kumar, captain of the Hyderabad Black Hawks, shares his experience of life inside the bubble. “It was definitely hard on us at the beginning, but we’ve begun to see the positive side of it all now. Everything has become more controlled and the boys are extremely disciplined because our lunch/dinners, practice hours, etc., are all time-bound. By not being able to venture out of the hotel, we have been able to focus better on the game. Our energy is not wasted on other things, we remind ourselves,” he says.
Vice-captain Amit Gulia points out that the biggest thing they miss is the spectators. “There are no loud cheers from the stands every time we score. Even though all our eyes are on the ball and the referee, when we look around during our time-outs, we miss our families, friends and fans yelling out our names and asking us to go get the cup! Some of the boys tell us that they miss home, and we understand where they’re coming from. We remind them of the harvest that all this will reap soon. We lift each other up and boost each other’s morale whenever any such mental stress crops up, but it has come down to a minimum now,” Amit shares.
Organisers are aware of the toll a bio-secure bubble takes on players. They say they’re going all out to tackle this well. “Recently, we booked a golf course for our players, where they could play in the open. This was also a part of the bubble. These are difficult circumstances, but we hope that such activities help them relax and bolster up for the upcoming matches,” Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO of the Prime Volleyball League, India, tells CE.
What is a bio-secure bubble?
Simply put, a bio secure bubble is a hosting arrangement for sporting events amid the Covid-19 pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus. The protocols must be strictly followed by the participating teams and their staff. This shutting off from the outside world can affect the players’ minds negatively, if left unaddressed. But organisers sure are aware of the toll a bio-secure bubble takes on players, who already feel pressured about performing well. They say they’re going all out to tackle this well. For instance, the organisers of the Prime Volleyball League recently booked a golf course for the players for them to relax