Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has talked in support of the USA's artistic gymnastics star, Simone Biles, who has withdrawn from the women's all-around final in the ongoing Olympics in a bid to focus on her mental health. Mental health has become an important topic of discussion in the post-pandemic era in every field but especially in sports as most of the players, athletes around the world are staying in bio-bubbles with restrictions and nowhere to go for long periods of time and away from their families and loved ones.
Ravi Shastri, who has talked about the struggles of bubbles previously saying that you get cooked mentally, supported Simone Biles saying that she owed this to herself at this tender age and doesn't owe anyone any explanation about the same.
"Take your time @Simone_Biles. You have earned the right to owe it to yourself at this tender age. 48 hours or 48 days it might take. Just do it Champion. You owe no explanation to no one. @naomiosaka, you too. God bless you girls #Olympics," Shastri wrote in a tweet.
USA's gymnastics team on Wednesday had informed that Simone Biles won't be taking part in the finals of the all-around competition owing to her mental health and said in a statement that they fully support her in that decision.
"After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health," the governing body said in a statement.
"Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week's individual event finals. Jade Carey, who had the ninth-highest score in qualifications, will participate in her place in the all-around.
"We wholeheartedly support Simone's decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many," the statement further added.
Recently Japanese Tennis star Naomi Osaka had withdrawn from the French Open due to the same reason and missed the Wimbledon as well.
Last year, Australian star batsman Glenn Maxwell took a break from cricket for a few months to focus on his mental health, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has spoken about the mental pressure he had gone through during the England tour of 2014 when he was not able to score runs. Recently, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) talked against the stricter bio-bubbles as it will only increase the mental fatigue of the players.
