The year 2020 has been dominated and dictated globally by the coronavirus, with the outbreak of COVID-19 restricting the movement of millions under government-imposed lockdowns.
Australian shuttler Louisa Ma was affected, that too in one of her nation’s worst hit cities – Melbourne. Tired after scrambling around the world in 2019 in her quest for Olympic points, home quarantine was welcomed as an opportunity to rest and recover.
It also opened the 25-year-old’s eyes to mankind’s enduring quality.
“Humans are resilient and it’s amazing to see how so many people have moved to adapt to our current conditions,” Ma told Badminton Oceania.
“There has been a big emphasis on maintaining the human connection. Being stuck at home has allowed people to ‘slow down’, spend more time with family, call and check in with friends and focus on maintaining mental health.
“It was a good chance to recover from some small issues I’ve been having. However, there are a lot of things I’ve missed, like more court time, seeing friends and just getting out and about.”
While in isolation, Ma tried various routines to find the perfect balance between work, home-based trainings and video calling friends to keep morale high.
“The restrictions changed frequently, which was frustrating. However, living in Melbourne, I’ve had the opportunity to try out many different routines by now, so I know how to conduct my week and figure out what sort of things work well for me,” she revealed.
Ma, who broke into the world’s top 100 for the first time in November last year, has her sights set on making the rescheduled Olympics in Tokyo next year when the HSBC BWF World Tour returns.
** First published on Badminton Oceania website by Tom Leonard.