PATEL Maana Rajiv

General
EYES ON HANGZHOU
She was initially disappointed at the postponement of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China, as she was happy with how her training was going in early 2022. However, she came to appreciate the additional time to prepare for the Games. "Initially, when I heard, I was very disappointed. Because, you know, I was very confident on getting the 102 [swimming under 1:03 in the 100m backstroke] right now, like the way we were training, the way things were going, I was very happy. I was like I don't want to wait for another year, I just want to get it done right now. But then we changed our training programme when we heard the competition had been postponed, because we had more time now. So yeah, that's good. Next year [2023] I'm going to be fitter, better than I am right now. Yeah, I'm really excited." (hindustantimes, 12 Jun 2022)

OLYMPIC LESSONS
She says competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo helped her understand the challenges of competing in elite sport. "[The Olympic Games] is very exhausting and mentally taxing. People understand that going into the Olympics is amazing but they don't realise the amount of effort and hard work that goes into it. It has drained me so much. It took all of me to be there. I came back from the Olympics with a very good feeling. Ahmedabad [her hometown] was celebrating, there were hoardings of me, people were congratulating me but I have never felt so lonely. To match the international standards you have to make changes when it comes to your food and gym to get bigger and stronger like other international swimmers. I'm now following a proper diet and gym plan." (olympics, 29 Oct 2021)

COMEBACK FROM INJURY
She considered leaving the sport after a serious injury to her left shoulder in 2017. "I had a labrum tear in my left shoulder so the entire 2017 I took a step back. I withdrew from all the races and I was just focusing on my rehab. I had to start from zero, so it was very, very frustrating and very consuming - mentally and emotionally. I threw tantrums. There was a point that I really wanted to quit swimming. I was young and I didn't know how to handle the injury. I was super depressed." Her mother convinced her to keep swimming. "She told me, 'If you give up now you will probably form this habit of giving up, and that's what you will do for the rest of your life. This problem is not a big problem, everybody's working to get you back, everybody's trying to make you stronger and fitter, all you need to do is believe in yourself'." (indianexpress, 22 Jul 2021)