Taekwondo: Olympic medallist Heday Malak adjusts to training in living room amid Covid-19

Egypt’s Olympic bronze medallist Hedaya Malak says she imagines her front room is a taekwondo corridor as she tries to regulate to coaching from dwelling as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and preserve in form for her third Games.

The 27-year-old, who completed third within the -57kg class on the Rio Olympics 4 years in the past, has already certified for the Tokyo Games, which have been postponed for a 12 months to 2021 in March.

Since the brand new coronavirus outbreak her coaching companions at her Cairo condo are her brother — who additionally practises taekwondo — and a human-shaped kicking pad donated by a sponsor.

“Most of it is mental because you have to challenge yourself and push yourself to keep on training every day, which is not so easy when you’re at home and everybody’s watching TV or studying, or playing around the house,” she stated.

“So it’s challenging. But at the same time you know that everybody around the world is in the same situation.

“I try to imagine that this is my taekwondo hall, and this is where I am training and this is where I find my athletes and my friends, my team mates, as if they’re training with me.”

Malak stated she was shocked when she heard the Games had been postponed for a 12 months, however is utilizing the time to get better from accidents and research different athletes by watching movies.

She has additionally been cooking and drawing, and enjoys seeing extra of her household.

Egypt has confirmed greater than 35,000 coronavirus circumstances. Gyms in addition to cafes, mosques and faculties have been closed. Malak is meant to return to an Olympic coaching centre in mid-June.

“It’s not going to be easy,” she stated. “We won’t have sparring or fighting with each other, I think we will be far from each other … and I think everyone will be wearing their gloves, wearing their masks and everything, so everybody’s protected.”

(This story has been revealed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content. Only the headline has been modified.)

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