olympics 2020 have kickstarted with a good high after a years lull driven by the pandemic with stringent measures and protocols in place athletes are intensively training to bring home laurels however thats coming at a pricey cost for some of the athletes such as simone bilescelebrated athlete and medalwinning highprofile gymnasts recent exit from the tokyo olympics was not just shocking for fans across the world but also highlighted a very important point why mental health matters for sportspersons toothe 24yearold renowned us gymnast whose initial pullout was cited to be a medical injury was later said to be because of mental health issues in a later conference her words post the exit not just explained the state of mind she was in but also won her a different kind of laurels its been really stressful this olympic games its been a long week a long olympic process a long year i think were a little too stressed out we should be out here having fun and thats just not the casein recent months japanese tennis player and the world number 01 naomi osaka withdrew from a postmatch press conference citing high stress which also invited her a huge fine and ire but solidarity from fellow athletes many more olympians have been vocal about their struggles particularly hard training sessions during the pandemic and most of all how the drive to win has become extra hard on their healtheven so while talking of their struggles and challenges havent brought the athletes medals mental health professionals worldwide have been lauding them with medals of bravery for speaking of such a taboo widely undiscussed topic and its time we pay attention too mental health matters be it in your personal life or professional life international sporting events including the olympics can be extremely challenging and mentally dauntingthe olympics are as good a time as any to highlight the challenges and pressures sporting events can come withwhile sportspersons and athletes have an inbuilt competitive and resilient spirit in them the competition in itself can get quite scary biles pull out right before the team finals event is now serving as a good example of the undiscussed mental health issues amongst olympians and athletes in general the competitive spirit for one and the pressure to excel in an event of such a broad spectrum can invite undue stress and anxiety with the olympics not only could athletes represent their best talent at the sporting show but also represent the country and hence there could be immense pressure to do well or win exemplary honours skateboarder nyjah huston who was placed 7th in the olympic event also recently talked of the challenges and the pressures he faces like many of his peers of being an internationallymedal winning athlete taking to instagram the acclaimed athlete shared that he often struggles to treat the sport as a sport and feels bad if he doesnt win all the timei feel like i let a lot of