Pune: The global sporting community, along with all works of life, has come to a standstill due to the novel coronavirus. For the past month, there has been ‘zero’ action in the world of sports.
Fans in India are dearly missing the jam-packed cricket stadiums around the country at this time of the year, the Indian Premier League (IPL) but now cricket’s biggest festival is postponed for an indefinite period, while in Europe football, Formula One, and tennis events have taken a hit. And how can we forget the biggest sporting spectacle of them all, Tokyo Olympics, which got postponed by a year.
The latest sporting event casualty is Wimbledon as well, which was cancelled for the first time since 1945, the Second World War period. The championships will now be held from June 28 to July 11, 2021.
In these tough times, and less entertainment, sports broadcasters have come forward and showcase re-runs of the by-gone era that fans relive today.
“If you are searching for a real source of entertainment in real life, then it has to be sports. With major events already cancelled or postponed, while we self-isolate it’s hard to keep ourselves busy. But from the past one week, I have been glued to my TV set watching the full ball-by-ball action of some of India’s great cricket wins, along with Pakistan in the World Cup,” said freelance photographer Mineet Thakkar, a sports buff from Pune.
While on-field sports get fans engaged and excited, online sports is also not far behind.
“The rise of people getting interested in virtual sports/gaming is there to see. In times of lockdown, with no live-action, sports fans are keeping themselves occupied with fantasy leagues and online gaming events,” said founder-member of Playground esports Kedar Pradhan.
“I am a hardcore racing fan. I can get the nostalgia through old re-runs or Formula one races that happed in my growing up days, which is wonderful,” added Kedar.
With sports association and players from various background coming forward to support the COVID-19 cause, as fans of the great game, let’s all stay home and fight the pandemic.