Sara Bayman is an England international currently competing in the Commonwealth Games. She has previously captained the under 21’s England team, as well as starring for Team Bath in the SuperLeague.
Writing exclusively for intosport.com, Sara gives will be blogging throughout the Games in Delhi.
The final build-up is now underway and the anticipation and excitement is building. After meeting up In Surrey for our last training camp on home soil, the hard work really began on Monday morning with a solid two hour court session.
This was followed up by the choice of a weights or yoga session (no real choice for me as my raging hatred for yoga continues to burn strong). Finally we played six quarters against a composite Bath side in the evening.
We were able to put into practice some of the things we’ve been brushing up on and although tired by the end, we were pretty satisfied with a very solid day’s work.
Tuesday started with some sore legs, but it was back to the court for a two hour session. Let’s just say that our mental toughness and staying power was put to the test so it was good to get through that session. After some last-minute packing and a cheeky visit to Starbucks we were on our way to Heathrow for our flight to Delhi. Not before we had tried on our new dresses however!! I know you’re all going to be watching us on BBC anyway, but if there was ever any doubt believe me, the dresses this time are a little bit special...cheers Kukri.
The surreal experience of the Commonwealth Games began when we realised we were on a flight full of athletes, not just from England but Wales, Jersey, Antigua and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Luckily I managed to get a few hours sleep on the flight, which is more than some of the girls so when we arrived in Delhi at 10.30am local time (4.5hours ahead of the UK) there were a lot of tired faces. We’ve spent today getting to know our surroundings and trying to stay awake. The entertainment has included an induction to the village, a game of rugby (ish) in the pool and the excitement that is the 24hr food hall!!!
It’s amazing to be here and see so many athletes from other countries. I think we’re all just taking it in today, before we refocus tomorrow with some video work and a (hopefully) solid training session.