Ping pong robots and kitbag fencers - Indians innovate in lockdown

New Delhi/Mumbai: For someone who lost a season to a nagging elbow injury that needed surgery, Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra understandably welcomed the postponement of the Tokyo Games last year.

The mop-haired former world junior champion, potentially independent India's first track-and-field Olympic medallist, had hoped to use the extra time to get back to full fitness and try to find his best form. Instead, the 23-year-old was soon sent scurrying back indoors as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world's second-most populous nation, then surged again in a devastating second wave this year.