Sports psychology has never been more important than it is today. In our digitized world of constant connections, sports are more competitive than ever before and just like physical fitness is an integral part of any sport, the mental aspect of the game is no longer being overlooked as it is the ‘X’ factor that separates the winners from the losers. Moreover, athletes have never been exposed to as much pressure, distractions and negativity as they do today and being able to navigate through these influences while still remaining focused on sports is easier said than done.

Let’s delve deeper into this subject with sports psychologist Ms. Madhuli Kulkarni who speaks about its importance in sporting performance, adopting practices for mental wellbeing, destigmatizing mental health issues, dealing with negativity, future of sports psychology and more!

Q 1) As a  sports psychologist with over 15 years of experience, how much of an edge does mental wellness help athletes in improving their sporting performance, especially Olympics?

Mental fitness will always give you an advantage over the rest of the opponents. If we talk about the Olympics, most of the athletes competing at that level are similar in terms of technical skills and physical fitness. The key differentiator is how mentally strong the athlete is. Our mind has the power to leave the time and space frame. Now this power can also act against us if the mind is not trained properly. All performances, whether during the olympics or local tournaments, happen in the present moment. Imagine during that time if the mind starts thinking about the expectations, winning medals and ranking, how will the (athlete’s) mind stay in the moment or focus on the game?. For peak performance a well trained mind is paramount.  

Q 2) What are some of the practices that not just athletes but ordinary individuals adopt on a day-to-day basis to be mindful of their mental wellbeing?

1. Control the controllables: It makes life a lot easier if you focus on what you can control. . There are a lot of factors that are beyond our control. Like family members, friends, colleagues and situations. If we take the current situation (pandemic) there are a lot of uncertainties, various things beyond our control. When we think about these factors (which we cannot change) we get irritated,  frustrated and angry. This does not help anyone. On the contrary, if we focus on the factors that are within our control, which is our response to these things, life seems to be in much better shape.  We may not be able to change the people around us or the situation we are in, but we can definitely change our response to it.

2. Looking beyond us: We are so much focused on ourselves, about our  performances, selection, grades, admissions etc. We have become self-centred, because of which we have exaggerated, amplified our problems and our egos. If we can have gratitude for what we have got, and help others in need, life will be very beautiful. I have seen a lot of people doing that during this pandemic, they have helped so many lives around them. 

Q 3) A big obstacle psychologists have to overcome is ‘resistance’ to feedback and changes that are often recommended to those who require help. How do you navigate through it and destigmatize mental health issues that are often looked down upon?

Being non-judgmental and showing acceptance to how they are feeling. Stigma is something that we are ashamed of, something that we feel will not be accepted by others. If we have to destigmatize anything we have to accept it without being judgemental.   We all experience stress, anger, frustrations, depressions etc . The intensity or the degree of such experiences may vary with everyone, but there would be no person on this planet who hasn’t experienced it. I remember listening to Sachin Tendulkar’s interview where he said that before every match he feels nervous. Athletes often talk to coaches and friends about negative emotions like pressure, giving them the acceptance that this is normal and can be changed gives more power and confidence. 

Q 4) How have you helped the Malaysian cricket team adopt the idea of ‘Inspired Living’ and enhanced not just their sporting performance but also their quality of life?

Inspired living is a journey towards a higher goal. It’s not about achieving something but creating something bigger than you. I am fortunate to have got an opportunity to work with an organization that believes in this. Malyasian Cricket Association’s (MCA) vision statement is to make Cricket a major sport in Malaysia. Honestly, I didn’t play any part in adopting that idea, as it was there even before I joined. Infact, that inspired me to join the team. I believe every member of the MCA team is inspired and is working towards the same goal.

In the last two years with MCA and supporting its vision, I got a wonderful platform to work with amazing people and to do some amazing stuff. Mental training is about bringing a change in your mindset or thinking process. If you change it in the game, it also reflects in your everyday life. You can see that the way our players have handled this pandemic is awesome thanks to the strong support by families, coaches and support staff.

Q 5) In an era of social media where athletes are constantly subjected to hate, racism, negativity etc, what advice would you give to deal with it without taking a toll on mental wellbeing?

As I said earlier we need to control the controllable. We can not control what people say on social media. We can not tell them to stop. All the athlete can do is ignore  what is being said . They have to focus on what they can control.

I think that is what helps my players. They are aware that they can do nothing about what happens on social media;  they can not delete someone’s account or stop them from expressing their opinions. They can only control their own response which would be to ignore it and move on.

Q 6) What do you envision in the future of sports psychology? What sort of impact will it make to the sports industry?

I think sports psychology has a very bright future. It is still in its initial stages not just in Malaysia but here in India as well. The scope of sports psychology is not just limited to athletes, but also can have a major impact on developing a positive culture within the organization. A lot of focus is put on just the athlete when we talk about sports psychology but that is not the only person we work with. It is not just limited to the athlete's performance, we even have to work with coaches, sports staff, the management, associations and the clubs. It has a very broad scope and we have not tapped that yet. I think that is the direction we are headed in for the future. Sports psychologists will be present in those areas as well.

If we psychologists put in the work it requires, the impact that it will have in the future would be massive. That would lead to high performance and close competition which of course any audience would love. The sports would then produce nail biting performances and athletes would compete with themselves to get better and better with every game.