Village Voices: Sleepless at the Olympics, QR codes and the human touch

Rush, rush, rush. That’s how I started my day. I was late for the shooting competition. It’s 7am and the Asaka Shooting Range is around 40km from the city. I have to catch the bus from Tokyo Media Centre and get there in an hour. The restrictions mean I can only take Games transport. No time for breakfast. I hop on, relieved to see my Indian media friends–all sleep-starved zombies–waiting in the bus. I’m not the only one with a late start.

Another heady day after Mirabai Chanu’s silver. Will the next medal come from shooting? Our bus reaches the stop from where we have to change to another one for the venue. It’s a beautiful location by the bay, but waiting for the buses can be a long, hot, shadeless affair. Last night’s rain though, had cooled things down just a bit. A British journalist walks past us, notices our press cards and says, “Meera…” and we complete the name in unison.

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On entering the temporary range, I grab a bento box and move to the shooting area. The range, maintained by the Japanese Defence Forces, is one of those compact army ranges with an old-world charm, quite cut off from modern competition venues.

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You could see shooters doing their dry holdings in the area just at the start of the range through a small entrance. The change room is in the same place and when rifle shooters move in with their big weapon cases, unfold it and wear their kits before a competition, it’s really cramped for space. The sun is beating strongly as the air rifle event gets over and it’s time to leave the range after Indian shooters fail to qualify for the finals. As I walk back dejected, I am reminded that I have to take an antigen test. A media volunteer helps me with the registration through a QR code. Sometimes it seems like the Games are being run on QR codes, apps and web tools. I have lost count of how many we need to have.

If there’s a lot of software involved in Tokyo 2020, there’s also the human touch of the most efficient and helpful volunteers that I’ve ever encountered at an event. Every problem is solved quickly and with a smile behind the mask (you can see it in the eyes), an “arigato” (thank you) and a little bow.