HANGZHOU: You can block out the noise, modern society and technology is all about cancellation. We have mastered the science of blocking out external noise, but how do you block out the voices in your head, that strange mix of elation and anxiety, fear and euphoria? Have they devised an app for that yet? The sinking in the stomach after the soar of the heart. This is not about victory or defeat, those two impostors, or gold or silver. This is about life, physical safety, death even.
Naorem Roshibina Devi endured those conflicting emotions on Thursday. Was she as happy to end India’s 13-year-long wait for a silver medal from the wushu arena or did the worry lines furrowed on her forehead tell of another feeling.
