New Delhi (AFP)

Swimming among fish and turtles, going after a model: Indian Olympic hopefuls adapt to try to maintain their physical condition despite the confinement for the Tokyo Games, postponed to the summer of 2021 in because of the coronavirus pandemic.

- Irrigation basin -

After winning three gold medals at the 2019 South Asian Games, SP Likith, India's best breaststroke swimmer, hopes to gain two seconds in the 100 meters from his personal best to reach Olympic qualifying time ( 59.93 seconds).

Confined since the end of February in the farm of his coach, a farm surrounded by thick forests in the state of Karnataka (south-west), he trains in a 20-meter-long basin which is usually used to irrigate crops.

Of course, the conditions are very different, "the water is really not clear, there are fish and turtles and we have no corridors", he smiles, while considering himself "lucky" to be able to continue practicing with 14 other swimmers gathered on site.

Training today comes down to "five or six weekly swimming sessions," says SP Likith, who also does yoga.

- Only in front of a mannequin -

Bhavani Devi also aims to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Forced to leave Italy, particularly struck by the pandemic, the 26-year-old champion now practices with a mannequin on the terrace of her house in Chennai in the south of India.

"It's not new to me. When I started fencing, we used to train with sticks (...) and hang a mask or a target on the wall", she remembers.

Fencing is a discipline little practiced in India and the country lacks weapons rooms.

"This period is an opportunity to prepare as well as possible with the resources I have to be ready when things resume," said Bhavani Devi, ranked 43rd in saber in September 2019.

"Being at home for such a long time after years of absence is also something really special for me. It gives more energy."

- mental exhaustion -

For Mohammad Anas, best Indian runner over 400 m, being confined to the National Sports Institute Netaji in Patiala (north), weighs on his training, now only indoors.

"For an athlete like me, who spends most of his time training outside, the confinement sometimes exhausts me mentally", notes the 25-year-old athlete, silver medalist at the 2018 Asian Games .

But some "light entertainment" and frequent contact with family and friends help him overcome "mental tension".

"I try to stay positive, I now have more time to train," said Anas. From the trip to Rio in 2016, he is once again aiming for an Olympic qualification.

© 2020 AFP