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Kolkata: No hugs and handshakes while entering the camp, no pat on the back from the coach, no more sharing of water bottle and no more helping each other with drills. For those who returned to sports coaching camps after a gap of six months, the place no longer seemed the same where one not only trained but also bonded with fellow players over a square cut, dribble, netlift or knockout punch.
“We have divided the trainees into small batches and are focussing mostly on physical trainings and minor batting and bowling techniques as of now. For football, the focus is on physical fitness. We are trying to limit as much jostling and hard tackles as possible. Health cannot be compromised at any cost,” said Arijit Majumdar of Bulan football and cricket academy at Vivekananda Park.
At Piyush Shukla Badminton Academy in Naktala, the number of students per batch has been reduced to eight instead of the usual 30 before the pandemic. “The response has been slow to begin with. But we are not bothered about it at present. The lesser the better, according to the current situation. But we are enforcing strict hand sanitizing and social distancing protocols for each student,” said Shukla, former national shuttler and head coach of the academy.
At games like boxing and wrestling where close physical contact is a must, the entire training schedule has been changed to fit the pandemic norms, coaches said. “We are yet to start training with boxing gloves. They need to be sanitized regularly. Also, the boxing sandbags and speedbags which has to be shared by trainees are also not in use at present. We are focussing more on strength building exercises, maintaining as much distance between each student as possible,” said Sanjay Prasad of Balaji boxing academy in Bhowanipore.
The trainees said the sheer joy of returning to the ground has helped them to overcome fear of contracting infection. “For months, I was stuck at home, unable to train and play as I used to do. I even realised I was losing reflexes and had to get back to train,” said Ranjan Hati, a resident of Kasba who trains at Vivekananda Park.
Class XII student and batting all-rounder Dibyanhshu Sarkar too looked satisfied being back in the nets after a long gap with just a handful of mates. “It’s unusual but with few trainees around it gives me more time at the nets which I need to rework on my batting techniques. I missed timing the first few balls I faced but slowly got back on track,” said Sarkar.
“We have divided the trainees into small batches and are focussing mostly on physical trainings and minor batting and bowling techniques as of now. For football, the focus is on physical fitness. We are trying to limit as much jostling and hard tackles as possible. Health cannot be compromised at any cost,” said Arijit Majumdar of Bulan football and cricket academy at Vivekananda Park.
At Piyush Shukla Badminton Academy in Naktala, the number of students per batch has been reduced to eight instead of the usual 30 before the pandemic. “The response has been slow to begin with. But we are not bothered about it at present. The lesser the better, according to the current situation. But we are enforcing strict hand sanitizing and social distancing protocols for each student,” said Shukla, former national shuttler and head coach of the academy.
At games like boxing and wrestling where close physical contact is a must, the entire training schedule has been changed to fit the pandemic norms, coaches said. “We are yet to start training with boxing gloves. They need to be sanitized regularly. Also, the boxing sandbags and speedbags which has to be shared by trainees are also not in use at present. We are focussing more on strength building exercises, maintaining as much distance between each student as possible,” said Sanjay Prasad of Balaji boxing academy in Bhowanipore.
The trainees said the sheer joy of returning to the ground has helped them to overcome fear of contracting infection. “For months, I was stuck at home, unable to train and play as I used to do. I even realised I was losing reflexes and had to get back to train,” said Ranjan Hati, a resident of Kasba who trains at Vivekananda Park.
Class XII student and batting all-rounder Dibyanhshu Sarkar too looked satisfied being back in the nets after a long gap with just a handful of mates. “It’s unusual but with few trainees around it gives me more time at the nets which I need to rework on my batting techniques. I missed timing the first few balls I faced but slowly got back on track,” said Sarkar.
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