‘A Barrier to Performance’: How Mental Health of Athletes Is Perceived in India

Tennis star Naomi Osaka’s 2022 Roland Garros tour may have come to a disappointing end with a first-round loss, but all was not in vain. The Japanese player made headlines at last year’s French Open for withdraw from the tournament, citing mental health reasons. The furor caused by this shocking departure has since led the sports fraternity into incisive deliberations about the pressures of high-performance events on young athletes.

One of the key changes that Osaka’s bold step has brought about can be seen in the 2022 edition of the French Open, where authorities have created a mental health program with psychologists and psychiatrists on site to provide contestants with anonymous dates.

“We treat athletes like racehorses. We can see wounds on the outside, a player limping, a boxer bleeding, but the scars on the inside are not visible. We want them to run and jump for us, win medals, and then we throw them away. How many of us go up to an athlete and don’t ask for speed or kilometers but just hug them and ask ‘how are you today?’” said Joydeep Karmakar, an Indian rifle shooter.

According to Indian athletes, sports psychologists and representatives of sports administrative bodies, it is easy to say that the mental health of Indian athletes is not recognized, let alone diagnosed and treated. In India, a country where the sports fraternity functions in a disorganized environment, questions about the psychological health of the athlete, especially when he participates in major events, is a mirage.

Delhi-based sports and performance psychologist Sumiran Tandon, who has worked with athletes in England and India, said: “In 2015 at Fenesta Nationals, Delhi, one of the athletes had a high fever and came to my office for medication and rest. He later he went out, played and won the games. This was glorified by saying that he had pushed his weaknesses into victory. I had no voice in the process as a psychologist. It only depended on the coaches, the federation and the physiotherapists.”

Tandon’s frustration is common among sports psychologists in India. Most feel that athletes’ mental health issues are often overlooked. Many people consider sport psychology to be linked only to elite athletes like golf players. Therapists are primarily viewed as “filler” during international athletic events, tasked with achieving last-mile preparation for star athletes before they are thrust into a highly stressful world of performance anxiety and related complications.

The emphasis is always on robust physical health, which is taken to translate to “mental toughness.” In fact, the image of a “mentally tough” athlete is given an uncomfortable pedestal by coaches and federation officials, making players reluctant to talk about their psychological problems, as they are most likely get them fired from the teams.

“The main obstacle in identifying mental health problems in athletes is the “mental toughness” framework, the perception that if you are an athlete, you have to be mentally tough. Physical wellness and exercise are always equated with mental wellness,” said Abhilasha Saharan, a sports psychologist based in Delhi.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further deepened the repressed psychological problems faced by athletes in India.

When seven-time Olympic medalist and star gymnast Simone Biles choose stepping back from the final competition at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, said that Osaka inspired her to focus on mental health. Biles reportedly suffered from a case of “twisties,” a mental block that prevents gymnasts from knowing where they are while spinning in the air. She told NBC’s Today show host: “We’re human too and we have emotions and feelings and things that we’re working on behind the scenes that we don’t tell you about. So, I think it’s something that people should be more aware of.”

Bajrang Punia, an Indian wrestler and silver medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, told this reporter, “During the lockdown, all of us [athletes] It faced problems because training was stopped, grounds and stadiums were closed and then the Olympics were also postponed. I also experienced some mental discomfort and insecurity during this period. When training resumed and the Olympic Games were announced, I was able to get back on track with my dream of winning a medal for my country.”

In November 2020, Bengaluru FC officials started a mental health support program called ‘Care Around the Corner’. The mental health initiative saw athletes receive mental health support within endless bio-bubbles. A large number of group and individual sessions with a designated mental health professional were initiated to raise awareness and address issues such as loneliness, boredom, anxiety about restarting game season, etc.

Kunaal Majgaonkar, Head of Media for Bengaluru FC, said: “Mental health is not talked about enough and we anticipate it will intensify in the lockdown period. We are aware that around 10-12 children out of a team of 30 have taken advantage of the program and had more than one personal session with the expert. This was very encouraging for us as it validated our actions. We are going to continue with the program and introduce it to our youth teams.”

Confirming the stressful conditions athletes were exposed to during the pandemic, Sourav Ganguly, former Indian cricket captain and Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told the veteran Bollywood superstar and talk show host of Amitabh Bachchan games in Kaun Banega Crorepati (reality game show), “The fight for mental health is real. Even Ben Stokes pulled out at the last moment after being named in the India-England series. There is extreme performance pressure for all players, all the time. It has always been there, some can speak and others cannot.

Deep Dasgupta, a cricket commentator and former goalkeeper for the Indian national team, agreed: “There are more low days than high days, everyone faces it. [in sports]. I remember Sandy Gordon [senior sports psychologist accompanying the team] he came and talked to us when we were on tour in 2002, he really helped me. It has become customary for golfers and tennis players to have sports psychologists with them, and I strongly support that.”

‘Mentally tough under performance pressure’

The opposing view that athletes are meant to be different, that is, physically and mentally strong, has many supporters within the sports world itself.

Asked about how mental health issues are affecting Olympic athletes, Bhaichung Bhutia, a former Indian soccer captain, said: “It makes me sad to see today’s athletes getting softer and softer. When you compete at the highest levels, performance pressure is expected.”

“We have had great sports personalities in the past who have battled against difficult conditions, entire administrations and much worse situations. Legends like Muhammad Ali come to mind…the South American soccer team had to fight the mafia, there was a Colombian goalkeeper whose brother was shot dead after conceding three goals…those were the real ones! Now you can have a bad dream one day and not show up for the game the next day!” he said.

“I feel like mental health issues have become glamorous after the Simone Biles incident. I’m not saying there aren’t real problems, but there are now more people trying to create problems that don’t exist after seeing these examples. I mean, if you look at us as Indians, the struggle of daily life that more than 50% of the population goes through is more likely to endow us with mental toughness than the foreigners we are comparing ourselves to.” said Jharkhand sports psychologist Karanbir Singh.

One of the main reasons for the downward spiral of Indian athletes may be the drastic jump in height after winning international sporting events. Sports psychologist Tandon said that athletes become demigods and are discarded like rags in a matter of a single medal won or lost. “(In England) athletes are driven by finance, here they are controlled by finance,” he added.

Indian rifle shooting legend Joydeep Karmakar said: “I can say emphatically that Olympic athletes from India are technically on a par or perhaps superior to their counterparts abroad. One of the main things that prevents them from performing to their full potential is the mental barrier/patterns that our society creates for them.”

Mugdha Dhamankar-Bavare, former professional swimmer and founder and director of mind sports, told this reporter, “As a psychologist, I have always tried to shift the focus from winning to enjoying the sport. This will help more talented people join the sport.”

Sreemanti Sengupta is a Kolkata-based freelance writer, poet and professor of media studies.